The centre has given the green light to the underground metro project in Chandigarh. This means that the Punjabi city will soon get a subterranean metro service which will provide connectivity without losing the heritage value of the city. The approval was given by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs or MoHUA in a recent meeting with the officers of the UT administration. The project will be divided into three phases, the first of which will be completed by 2034.
Chandigarh To Get Underground Metro; Centre Gives Its Nod
According to an article which was recently published by the Hindustan Times or HT, this particular project will cost a whopping ₹19,000 crore. The first phase of the three phases will consist of three corridors. These will crisscross through regions like Mohali, Panchkula and Chandigarh.
Of the three corridors, the one which will be situated along the Madhya Marg will be completely underground as it will cross the heritage sectors one to 30 in Chandigarh. The other two sectors will be partly elevated and partly underground.
There will be three major routes in the first phase. The first is Sector 28, Panchkula from Sultanpur, New Chandigarh. Zirakpur ISBT from Sukhna Lake via Mohali ISBT is the second route. The third route will be from Grain Market Chowk, Sector 39, to Transport Chowk, Sector 26.
Other Important Details About This Upcoming Metro Network
Phase 1, as per reports, will be completed by 2034 and it is after 2034 that phase 2 will commence construction. For this phase, the proposed metro route is said to be 25 kilometres long. It will connect the Manakpur Kallar to Airport Chowk and will be five kilometres long.
The network will mostly be an elevated one. Earlier, the elevated network was also proposed for the section in Chandigarh as it would’ve been cheaper. However, insistence from Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee and other officials said that this would negatively affect the aesthetics of the heritage city.
How will this new metro network impact your travel? Let us know in the comments section below!
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