The Lucknow Metro is set to cross another milestone on Friday, when its commercial run on the 23-km North-South corridor would be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing from Kanpur in the presence of home minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Yogi Adityanath at Chaudhary Charan Airport Metro station in Lucknow.
Lucknow will enter the list of elite cities having a Metro network of more than 20 km. Apart from an across-the-Gomti ride, commuters will also travel through an underground tunnel for the first time.
“Metro will provide better mobility and reduce excess pressure on city roads. It is a blessing not only for general commuters, but also for businessmen, corporates and executives,” said Chandar Prakash, president, Lucknow Connect.
“The LMRC decided to construct the underground tunnel from Charbagh to KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium because they did not want to disturb the skyline of Hazratganj. Their respect for our heritage is praiseworthy,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The LMRC decided to construct the underground tunnel from Charbagh to KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium because they did not want to disturb the skyline of Hazratganj. Their respect for our heritage is praiseworthy,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“During the construction phase, the Metro people caused minimum disturbance. They managed the traffic better than on usual days,” said Kishan Chand Bhambwani, president, Hazratganj Traders’ Association.
“All markets of the city would be benefited by the launch of Metro as people would be visiting Alambagh, Singar Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Charbagh, Hazratganj, Nishatganj, Bhootnath without the worries of parking,” said Amarnath Mishra, trader leader.
“Metro will change the way Lucknowites travel. The 23-km ride from Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport to Munshipulia in 40 minutes would be a new chapter in the history of the state,” said Kumar Keshav, MD, LMRC.
He said, “Modernity does not mean that the culture of Lucknow is forgotten. In fact, train is inspired from the cultural heritage of the city. Its exterior is a tribute to the cultural richness of Lucknow. It is also inspired by chikankari craftsmanship here. The blend of black colour on the front of car is inspired by the modern Hazratganj.”
“Lucknow metro is the country’s most advanced Metro system. Ours is a state-of-the-art world class Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) that will be convenient, safe, fast, reliable and cost-effective,” he said.
Keshav said, “Lucknow Metro coaches are the safest and made according to the requirements of the city. They have the most advanced signaling and train control system – called the communication based train control System (CBTC) - which enables Metro trains to virtually operate on a ‘driverless’ mode.”