Rajkot's BRTS update

The much-awaited 10.7 km pilot project of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) from Gondal Road chowkdi to Jamnagar Road chowkdi on 150-feet Ring Road is finally gaining some momentum. Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials have set June 2011 as the deadline for running BRTS buses on the dedicated corridor. The project is being carried out under the central government-sponsored Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Senior RMC officials said the total length of blue corridor (part-1) pilot project from Gondal Road to Jamnagar Road junctions on the 150-feet Ring Road is 10.7 km and will have 13 bus stops on the route. “As per the original design of the BRTS corridor, foot overbridges were designed on the dedicated corridors to reach the bus stops, but now we plan to have an underpass to reach the BRTS bus stops. We will first construct an underpass as an experiment near the Big Bazaar junction on the BRTS route. We will see which would be more convenient from all aspects and then take a final decision,’’ said a senior RMC official. Sources said the underpass will be around 18 to 24 meters in length and 5 to 7.5 meters in width. “In all, there will be 14 junctions on the 10.7 km BRTS route. If this experiment goes well, we will decide whether to go for a foot over-bridge or an underpass at all the junctions,” sources said. RMC officials have also been learning from the successful BRTS experiment in Ahmedabad.
“We will soon have a meeting of all the stake holders regarding the BRTS project where in everybody concerned will be invited to discuss the plan. The issue of the underpass will also be discussed. Common people will also be invited for putting in their suggestions,” said the RMC official. The BRTS project in the city has already been delayed. Earlier, RMC had planned to start running BRTS buses on pilot corridor from January 2011. Now, the deadline has been extended till June 2011.
The entire project will be implemented in three corridors — blue, green and red — in a phased manner and cover 104.86 sq km area in the city. The total length of BRTS project is 63.50 km.