Cities Where Metro Will Steer Realty Towards Growth
Urban planners' push to Metro networks is largely based on the assumption that only through a high-speed effective transport method cities would be able to move faster towards growth. Indian cities, too, have jumped the bandwagon by introducing Metro networks that have power to transform them. The extent of this is evident from the fact that land rates shoot up in cities where authorities announce the construction of a Metro network.
PropGuide looks at the running Metro networks that have already changed the dynamics of property markets in cities. We also look at the planned Metro networks that are likely to give a major push to the real estate.
THE RUNNING ONES
India's first underground Metro that started operations in 1984, the Kolkata Metro has been keeping itself up-to-date by introducing technologically advanced methods. For those living in the City of Joy, the Kolkata Metro is a preferred choice for taking a joy ride.
The current 213-km long Metro network has a total of 166 stations, including six stations of the Airport Express Link. The network was opened to the public first in December 2002. Data suggest the Delhi Metro has helped in taking about 3.9 lakh vehicles off of the roads of the national capital.
While the first line of this ambitious project connecting Versova with Ghatkopar started operations in June 2014, the overall project completion date is 2021. According to private estimates, the daily ridership of this network is about 3 lakh.
Christened the Namma Metro, the first phase of the project is already complete, while the work on the second phase has yet to start. The network is divided into two lines – the Purple Line (the east-west corridor) and the Green Line (north-south corridor) . By 2021, the Purple Line is estimated to carry 6.5 lakh passengers per day, while the Green Line is expected to carry as many as 7.1 lakh passengers.
Gurgaon's Rapid Metro connects major commercial centres of the city -- Cyber City, DLF Phase 2 & 3 and the National Highway- 8 -- and also provides the citizens direct connectivity to the Delhi Metro Network. Built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,229 crore, the Gurgaon Rapid Metro started operations in November 2013.
The first Metro network in India to run on a double-storey track, the Jaipur Metro stared operations in June 2015. To be developed in two phrases, the east-west corridor from Mansarovar to Badi Chaupar is being executed as Phase-I, while the north-south corridor from Ambabari to Sitapura will be developed as Phase-II. The estimated cost of Phase-I is Rs 3,149 crore.
THE UNDER-CONSTRUCTION AND PROPOSED ONES
In 2010, a special purpose vehicle, Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar & Ahmedabad (MEGA) Company Ltd, was incorporated by the Gujarat government to implement the project. According to the official site, the total length of the Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-I is about 37.766 km, of which 6 km would be underground. The total project cost is estimated at Rs 10,773 crore.
With the help of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) this under-construction network is expected to start operations in 2017.
To be built at an estimated cost of Rs 5,182 crore, the Kochi Metro is likely to start by March 2017.
To give Lucknow resident's a better connectivity, the work on setting up the Metro network started in 2016 and the work on Phase-I is likely to be completed by the end of this year. The project for the first phase is estimated at Rs 6,928 crore.
The under-construction Nagpur Metro Rail Project will be a 39-km corridor, with 36 stations and two Depots. The network is likely to start operations by 2018 and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 8,680 crore.
The proposed Pune Metro project, which is expected to cost Rs 11, 522 crore, will be built in two phases. The two routes to be developed in Phase-I will be between Vanaz & Ramwadi and Chinchwad–Pimpri–Swargate. In Phase-II, lines of Phase-I will be extended along with construction of two new lines, one between ASI to Hinjawadi and the other between Deccan Gymkhana to Bund Garden.