UP, Centre to split ropeway work cost

GHAZIABAD: The estimated cost of the urban passenger ropeway project that has been proposed for linking the Metro stations of Vaishali on the Blue Line and Mohan Nagar on the Red line of the Delhi Metro rail network will be around ₹487 crore, said officials from the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) adding that the actual cost of the project will come down further as the Centre and the state will bear the expenditure equally.

A consultant recently submitted a detailed project report (DPR) of the ropeway project to the authority. The cost of the ropeway project is much less than ₹1,808.22 crore, which is the estimated cost of linking Vaishali to Mohan Nagar via the Metro rail network.

“The cost will be shared equally by the UP government and the Centre and UP’s share will further get divided between different agencies, including the GDA. So, the estimated cost to be borne by the state agencies will be about ₹187 crore; a part of the budget will also be borne by the agency which will operate the system. We will now send the DPR to the state and the Centre and invite global tender for selecting an agency for implementing the project,” said Ashish Shivpuri, GDA’s chief architect and town planner.

The ropeway is a transport system for ferrying goods or people, especially in mountainous areas or mines, wherein the carrier cars are suspended with the help of moving cables, powered by a motor system.

Officials said that the entire ropeway project will be elevated and stand on 27 pillars. It will move over the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) near Sahibabad. The DPR has proposed four stations for the ropeway--Mohan Nagar, Sahibabad, Vasundhara and Vaishali. The starting and ending points of the ropeway will be connected to the respective Metro stations with the help of 150m-long skywalks.

As per the DPR estimates, a passenger will have to shelve out a minimum of ₹20 and a maximum of ₹30 for travelling the entire distance. Officials are estimating that the ropeway system will be used by 80,000 passengers in a week.

“The system will cover the entire 5.1km distance between Vaishali and Mohan Nagar in 20 minutes with an average speed of 20kmph. A trolley will be made available every nine seconds with a capacity to accommodate up to 10 passengers. No passenger will be allowed to stand. About 50-60 trolleys will be roped in initially and can be increased to about 120 as ridership increases,” Shivpuri added.

The authority has planned the ropeway system in order to reduce the expenditure they have to bear for linking the two Metro stations via Metro rail.

Officials said the ropeway will require minimum land as all its stations, including the maintenance depot, will be at an elevation.