Project Of The Month

Nagpur Broad Gauge Metro

Nagpur Broad Gauge Metro is a suburban rail (Commuter Rail) project planned for the city of Nagpur and extending up to adjacent districts of Wardha, Narkhed, Ramtek and Bhandara (also Nagbhid in the near future) in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India. This project will be executed by Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited.

The distance and number of stations on these 4 lines and 268.63 km long project are:- Wardha (78.8 km, 11 stations), Bhandara Road (59.2 km, 9 stations), Ramtek – (41.6 km, 6 stations) and Narkhed (85.5 km, 10 stations). The travel time is Wardha – 1 hour 10 min, Narkhed – 1 hour 15 min, Ramtek – 1 hour and Bhandara Road – 55 minutes. The cost of Metro tickets will be 1.38 times the railway fare.

The trains will travel at a speed of 120 kmph and reduce travel time by half. The project will now be submitted to the central government for sanction. The project was the brainchild of Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari.

The international funding agency – KfW – which has funded MahaMetro’s Phase I project, has agreed to finance BG Metro project to the tune of ₹ 305.20 crores of the total project cost of ₹333.60 Crore. Of the balance, the state government would also provide 50% of the Strategic Debt (SD) of the Government of India (₹ 7.10 crore) and 100% (₹14.20 crore) of SD incurred by the state government. Thus collectively, an amount of ₹21.30 crore would be sanctioned by the state government. Rest will be borne by the Central government.

The project was first proposed in 2018, and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Indian Railways, Government of Maharashtra & MahaMetro was signed in July2018. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared by Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC) in 2019 and estimates the project to cost Rs 418 crore, half of which will go towards procuring modern rolling stock. Railway Board approved the BG Metro project’s DPR in November 2019 and Maharashtra State Government’s cabinet in October 2020. The DPR envisions 70% of its total cost to be financed via a loan and 30% to be financed through the Maharashtra and central governments.

NagpurBroad Gauge Metro System Specifications

The trains will have three cars having total passenger carrying capacity of 885. The three cars with passenger capacity are driver motor car – 285, trailer car – 315 and car train – 285. Initially, there will be four trains. Later the number would be increased to eight. There will be total 10 trips in both directions on Wardha route, Narkhed – 8, Ramtek – 5 and Bhandara Road – 4. BG Metro facility would act as feeder service to Nagpur Metro services too and help in increasing its ridership.

Top Speed: 200 kmph Operating Speed: 160 kmph Track Gauge: Broad Gauge – 1676 mm Rolling Stock: 3 coaches (DT-T-DT) Capacity: 885 passengers Broad Gauge Metro Deadline: 2025

Project Cost: Rs 418 Crores The total cost of the project is Rs 333.60 crore. Trains will cost Rs 200 crore, fare collection system – Rs 11.64 crore, information technology (IT) infrastructure – Rs 15 crore, construction of car shed, station upgradation and passenger amenities – Rs 23.12 crore and station integration – Rs 25 crore.

Rolling Stock: Rs. 200 cr Line-3: Nagpur– Ramtek Depot: Rs. 80 cr Length: 41.6 km Station Integration with Nagpur Metro: Rs. 25 cr Estimated DailyRidership: 3,929 Station upgrades: Rs 23.12 cr End-to-End Travel Time: 60 mins ITInfrastructure: Rs. 15 cr Number of Stations: 7 Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) System: Rs. 11.64 cr Station Names: Nagpur Junction, Kalamna, Kamptee, Kanhan Pre-operative / Admin Expenses: Rs. 4.97 cr Junction, Dumri Khurd, Amdi Halt, Ramtek Taxes: Rs 48 cr

Nagpur Broad Gauge Metro Routes

Line 1: Nagpur– Wardha Length: 78.8 km Estimated DailyRidership: 5,669 End-to-End Travel Time: 70 mins Number of Stations: 13 Station Names: Nagpur Junction, Ajni, Khapri, Gumgaon, Bori, Borkhedi, Sindi, Tuljapur, Dahegaon, Seloo Road, Varud, Sewagram, Wardha Junction

Line-2: Nagpur– Narkhed Length: 85.53 km Estimated DailyRidership: 2,616 End-to-End Travel Time: 75 mins Number of Stations: 11 Station Names: Nagpur Junction, Godhani, Bharatwada, Kalmeshwar, Kohali, Sonkhamb, Metpanjra, Katol, Kalambha, Tinkheda, NarkherJunction Line-4: Nagpur– Bhandara Road Length: 62.7 km Estimated DailyRidership: 2,556 End-to-End Travel Time: 55 mins Number of Stations: 8

Station Names: Nagpur Junction, Kalamna, Kamptee, Kanhan Junction, Chacher, Rewral, Khat, Bhandara Road

Expected Fare: The minimum fare up to distances of 5 km is Rs 20 while the maximum fare for distances above 70 km is Rs 90. Monthly pass tickets will range from Rs 400 to Rs 1,800.

Expected Ridership:The expected daily ridership on various routes in 2021 is: Wardha – 5,669, Narkhed – 2,616, Ramtek – 3,929 and Bhandara Road – 2,556. The total ridership will be 14,700.