COVER STORY managed to keep up with the work as soon as the Government permitted resumption of civil construction works. Agra Metro project will also have two corridors with a total length of approximately 29 Km. The metro route passes through the densely populated areas and connects the most famous heritage site of Agra, ‘Taj Mahal'. It is expected to benefit about 2.8 million population of the city. Commercial operations on Agra Metro are targeted by the end of year 2024. The target deadline to commence commercial operations for the priority section of Kanpur Metro is December 2021. UPMRC has a strong team of professionally trained professionals in Metro operations and maintenance. These highly skilled professionals have been trained in UPMRC’s ‘ Centre of
Excellence for Training' at Metro Depot in Lucknow. At this stage, we have planned to set up a local unit of an Operation Control Centre in Kanpur Metro Depot for overlooking the Operations and maintenance of Kanpur Metro Project. A centralized Operation Control Centre (OCC) in Lucknow will be responsible for the overall monitoring of Metro networks under UPMRC such as Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra from a common place. Kanpur Metro is planned to be operated and maintained by a combination of experienced team of Lucknow Metro and the new staff proposed to be engaged for Kanpur project. Testing and commencing of Metro system in Kanpur and Agra shall be managed by well experienced team of Lucknow Metro project.
The Kanpur metro project will have two corridors – IIT to Naubasta corridor and Agriculture University to Barra-8 corridor, connecting all major cluster areas and nodes of the city. About 40 lakh people will be benefitted through the Kanpur metro project. The Agra Metro Rail Project will have two corridors connecting prominent tourist places such as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Sikandara. Other key localities such as ISBT, Raja Ki Mandi railway station, the medical college will also be covered under the metro route. The distance between Sikandra and the Taj East gate will be covered in 28 minutes while the distance of Agra Cantt and Kalinidi Vihar will be covered in 32 minutes. Hence the project is expected to benefit about 20 lakh people in the city along with boosting tourism in Agra.
Q&A with Infra-man Mr. Kumar Keshav, Managing Director, Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Mr. Kumar Keshav has been a pillar of strength in tougher times who has led from front in realizing this dream of Lucknow Metro into reality. He continues to lead Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) in charge of all the Metro projects in the state of Uttar Pradesh like Kanpur Metro, Agra Metro, etc. UPMRC has also achieved numerous milestones, national & international awards under his supervision & visionary insight since inception of Lucknow Metro project. He was recently announced as the winner of ‘Infra-Man of the Year 2020’ at Rail Infra and Mobility Business Digital Awards 2020 for his remarkable achievements & exemplary contribution to the infrastructure sector. Moreover, UPMRC’s Lucknow Metro project was also adjudged as the ‘Green Mobility Project’ of the year. WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM
First, our heartiest congratulations on bagging “Infra-Man of the Year” award in the individual category at Rail Infra and Mobility Business Digital Awards 2020. What did you feel when you heard first time that you won this global award? Mr. Kumar Keshav: Thanks a lot for your wishes! I felt quite satisfied upon receiving this award and extend my gratitude to the Rail Infra and Mobility Business Digital Awards for this honour. We, at UPMRC, have worked consistently round the clock over the past 5 years to offer seamless services of the Lucknow Metro to the public.
Recognition like this not only boosts our morale & but continues to motivates us to constantly raise the bar and perform even better. We hope to carry this momentum of civil construction work for the upcoming Kanpur and Agra Metro projects as well. Awards like these foster a sense of pride and responsibility in our UPMRC team so that we can collectively strive hard to meet new challenges. Could you please tell our readers about your professional journey in Rail & Metro sectors? The challenges you had faced in the execution of major infrastructure projects under your leadership?
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