If you were to superimpose the recently declared map of Rs 15,000-crore 76-km Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro rail route over the Rs 1,350-crore BRTS network map, you’ll notice that the buses plying in reserved corridor will constantly be competing for passengers with the trains. Up to during 65% of BRTS network will be overshadowed by the metro. The routes either run parallel, too close to each other, or even overlap at times.
The Danilimda-Narol; Sarangpur-Dariapur-Civil Hospital-Memco Sports Complex; and Ranip-Vadaj-Dariapur stretches are some examples. With GIFT city officials also proposing a BRTS stop on their site, it seems that the routes of BRTS and metro rail will overlap for almost 25 km from Ranip-AEC Circle-Visat to the high-tech city in Gandhinagar.
Sources add that there are plans to take the metro to the state’s auto hub Sanand from Gandhinagar, along SG Road. The urban development department is now mulling some corrective steps. The present plan would indirectly burden the taxpayers in terms of ticket costs and imposition of taxes if one of the transport systems does not generate enough revenues to bear operational costs.
“It would have been preferable to have straight metro corridors running across the city and BRTS taking passengers to the metro. The recent metro plan will only send real estate prices into an upward spiral in the eastern part of the city. Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) may even think of selling land in this corridor to finance the construction of the project,” he says.
“Most of the metro network in Ahmeabad will be elevated while BRTS runs on roads. When the BRTS corridor was planned, the metro route was not ready. Hence there are few possibilities of an inter-nodal stations, where people can get off the metro rail and board a BRT on the same platform. In this case, overlapping of corridors will be a waste of public money,” the official adds.
Now that the urban development minister has declared the final route for the metro, it is worth mentioning here that till last year the metro plan was stuck to the 2003 draft drawn by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The plan targeted carrying capacity of 17 lakh passengers per day. The route followed the APMC in Vasna to Akshardham via Ashram Road and Koba Circle (total 32.65 km) with 31 stations. In addition, Thaltej to Kalupur via Delhi Darwaja (10.90 km) with 11 stations, in the first phase. In this phase, the state government has also planned to connect the airport and GIFT City with the metro network. In the second phase, the government had planned to lay the metro line from Sarkhej to Indroda Circle in Gandhinagar and another line from Vasna to Sarkhej. Preparation of DPR for metro rail was initiated by the GIDB in 2003, through DMRC and RITES. The DPR was first submitted by DMRC in June 2005, official sources said.
Soon after state assembly elections to be held towards the end of this year, the Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) may completely alter the third phase of the BRTS network in the city. The board members of AJL are for taking immediate steps after state urban minister Nitin Patel unveiled the 76-km metro rail route.
Amount of Rs 150 crore has budgeted for the third phase of BRTS in this financial year. In addition, most of the third phase work of the BRTS is at approval stage and in some areas has even reached the construction stage. The third phase will have nine new routes, which include Narol to Aslali Ring Road; Jasodanagar to Hathijan Ring Road; CTM-Hatkeshwar-Khokhara-New Cloth Market; Khokhra-Rakhial-Civil Hospital-Ghewar circle-Shahibaug Dafnala-Acher; Chadkheda-Zundal Circle; New C G Road-Visat Junction-IIT; Akhbarnagar-Gota, Sola Bridge to Science City; Shivranjani to APMC Yard; and Sarkhej to Thaltej.
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