NEWS IN FOCUS
Cheaper Metro Neo May Replace MetroLite
D
elhi is likely to become one of the first major cities in the country to have a “Metro Neo” corridor, which is a railguided urban transport system with rubber-tyred electric coaches powered by an overhead traction system running on elevated or at-grade sections. The light transit system, which costs about 20-25% of a Metro and also has lower maintenance costs, is likely to come up between Kirti Nagar and Bamnoli near Dwarka, where a MetroLite corridor was proposed last year. “While MetroLite also has a lower carrying capacity compared with Delhi Metro, it is a rail-based system and costs 40% of a Metro system. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had not only prepared a detailed project report (DPR) but also floated tenders for procuring MetroLite coaches”, a news report said.
While the 19km Kirti Nagar-Bamnoli MetroLite project was pegged at Rs 2,673 crore, the cost of a Metro Neo corridor would be around Rs 2,000 crore. The standalone corridor would connect Kirti Nagar interchange station, where Blue (Dwarka-Noida City Centre) and Green (Inder Lok-Brig Hoshiar Singh) lines of Delhi
“For the Kirti Nagar-Bamnoli corridor, a decision was taken by DMRC’s board of directors to explore the possibility of implementing the Metro Neo technology and get a DPR prepared fo r i t ,” M r A n u j D aya l , exe c u t i ve d i re c to r (co r p o rate communications), DMRC was stated saying. “Further modifications may be made to the technical specifications of the rolling stock as well as other allied requirements for this corridor. Therefore, the tender for procurement of 29 MetroLite trains has been cancelled. The tender may be floated again based on changes in technical specifications in the future,” he was further stated saying.
Metro meet with the high-speed Airport Express Line, which is also being extended from Dwarka Sector 21 to Dwarka ECC near Bamnoli.
METRO RAIL NEWS | November 2020 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN
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