Start of commercial operations on Nagpur Metro Aqua Line between Lokmannya Nagar Metro Station and Sitabuldi Interchange with the flagging off tomorrow morning (28th January 2020) at the inaugural function to be held at Subhash Nagar metro station. Commercial Operations on 11 km Line to Start With 6 Metro Stations.
The inauguration shall be at the hands of Shri Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing & Urban Affairs, Civil Aviation, Commerce & Industry and Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
Shri Udhav Thakre and Shri Puri shall flag off the services through the video link while Shri Gadkari shall be present in person.
The above inauguration ceremony shall be done in the august presence of key ministers of Government of Maharashtra like Shri Eknath Shinde, Urban Development and Public Works (Public Undertaking) Minister, Shri Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister, Dr Nitin Raut, Energy Minister & District Guardian Minister and Shri Sunil Kedar, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Sports & Youth Welfare Minister.
Shri Sandip Joshi, First Citizen of Nagpur, Dr Vikas Mahatme, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Shri Krupal Tumane, Member of Parliament (Ramtek) and Shri Devendra Fadnavis, former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition (Maharashtra Legislative Assembly) will be prominent personalities who will grace the occasion.
Also prominent attendees shall be Shri Nago Ganar, Shri Prakash Gajbhiye, Prof. Jogendra Kawade, Prof. Anil Sole, Shri Girish Vyas all MLC, Shri Krishna Khopde (Nagpur East), Shri Vikas Kumbhare (Nagpur Central), Shri Mohan Mate (Nagpur South), Shri Samir Meghe (Hingna), and Shri Vikas Thakre (Nagpur West), all MLA will be prominent.
Shri Durga Shankar Mishra, Union Ministry for Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Chair-man Maha-Metro shall also grace the event.
Two third of Nagpur Metro becomes operations:
With the opening of 11 km long Aqua Line along with six stations, total 25 km line will the thrown open for public there by signalling commercial operations on two third of the total project length. Apart from the portion being opened now, 13.5 km of Orange line was inaugurated by Prime Minister on 7th March 2019.
Section being inaugurated
The 11 km section of Aqua line on Reach III being inaugurated shall have six operational stations- Lokmanya Nagar, Bansi Nagar, Vasudev Nagar, Rachana Ring Road, Subhash Nagar, Ambazari Lake View, LAD Square, Shankar Nagar, Institute of Engineers, Jhansi Rani Square and finally Sitabuldi Interchange. Other five operations of the section shall open progressively before April, 2020
Why the Name Aqua Line:
The North- South line of the Nagpur Metro Rail earlier is known as the Orange Line as the city is famously called. The East West line being opened, is called Aqua Line as it passes through the water-body life lines of Nagpur- Ambazari Lake, Gandhi Sagar and Nag River, the later gives the name Nagpur to the city
Line a Major Boost to the city
The opening of Aqua Line will give a major boost to the academic institutions, industrial areas, residential colonies amongst others prominently. Also it will provide major connectivity to the residents of these areas to the North-South areas of the city including but not limited to railway stations, the airport and inter-state and inter-city bus station
`A Perfect 20:20’:
Given the importance of the localities like Sitabuldi, Jhansi Rani Square, Ramdaspeth, Dharampeth, Hingna Road, Subhash Nagar, Vasudev Nagar, Lokmanya Nagar to name a few, and the traffic congestion, a road journey between Lokmanya Nagar and Sitabuldi takes in excess of 45 minutes. A Metro ride reduces this time drastically by more than half. One can commute between these two locations in just 20 minutes and has to pay just ₹ 20 for the same!!! It also will substantially reduce the pollution and road accident fatalities in the city.
Commercial Services from 8 am to 8 pm:
The commercial services on Aqua Line between Lokmanya Nagar Metro Station and Sitabuldi Interchange will begin on 28th January 2020. On the inaugural day, i.e. – 28th January, the passenger services will start at 2 pm and continue till 8 pm. Subsequently, commuters can avail of regular Metro Train services from 8 am to 8 pm every day. Train services will be available every half an hour.
Fare Structure:
The fare structure has been decided as per distance and the station concerned. The fare for journey between Sitabuldi Interchange and Lokmanya Nagar Metro Station will cost just ₹ 20. Same for ride till Vasudev Nagar. Those wanting to travel Sitabuldi Interchange to Metro Stations of Subhash Nagar, Institute of Engineers, Zanshi Rani Square, have to pay just ₹ 10 for the same. Similarly, ride from Lokmanya Nagar to Khapri, New Airport, Airport South or Jai Prakash Nagar will cost ₹ 30.
City on the fast forward mode:
With the operation on two third of the project length having commenced thus and the balance project stated for completion progressively by the end of the year 2020, the city is on a fast forward more and can boast of a world class , modern, comfortable, convenient, affordable, inclusive and environment friendly metro rail services.
