The metro link to major industrial and mining areas of Nagpur has started taking shape with the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) commencing preliminary work on phase II of the project.
To this end, the MMRCL has invited tenders for appointment of consultant for carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and preparation of Environmental Mitigation Plan (EMP) for 43 km network under Phase II.
The 43.8 km Phase II comprises 1.25 km at-grade with two stations and 42.55 km elevated with 30 stations.
This includes 31.7 km North-South corridor from Kanhan river to MIDC ESR with 22 stations and 12.1 km East-West Corridor from Transport Nagar to Hingna with 10 stations.
RITES Limited; a Railway PSU had prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Nagpur Metro Rail Project Phase II in November 2019, based on which the project is proposed to be implemented.
Phase I Metro Network
Nagpur is the third largest city in Maharashtra and a major commercial and political centre of the Vidarbha region in the state. The city is also considered as the second greenest city in India along with title ‘Tiger Capital of India’ as it connects to many tiger reserves in the country.
Rapid urbanization and intense commercial developments in recent past have resulted in steep rise in travel demand putting Nagpur’s transport infrastructure to stress. To relieve this stress, Nagpur Metro Phase I is already in operation.
The Phase I of Nagpur Metro comprises a 39-km-long elevated stretch, with 38 stations and two depots. The entire stretch has been divided into two corridors: North-South (Orange Line) and East-West (Aqua line).
The 19.6-km-long North-South corridor with 18 stops operates between Automotive Square and Khapri. The East-West corridor with a length of 18.5 km connects Prajapati Nagar on the eastern part of the city with Lokmanya Nagar in the western part of the city and has 20 stops.
Four Extensions
As part of the proposal, the second phase will start from places where phase I has ended in different parts of the city.
The four extensions are as:
- Corridor 1A: MIHAN – MIDC ESR (18.6 km)
- Corridor 2A: Automotive Square-Kanhan River (13 km)
- Corridor 3A: Lokmanya Nagar-Hingna (6.7 km)
- Corridor 4A: Prajapati Nagar-Kapsi (5.5 km)
It will connect the satellite cities like Transport Hub at Kapsi, Industrial areas of Hingna and Butibori and Mining areas at Kanhan.
The foundation stone of Nagpur Metro Phase II was laid down by the Prime Minister on 11 December 2022 and is targeted to be completed by 2026. The project with an estimated cost of Rs 6,700 crore will take the total length of Nagpur Metro project to 82 km.