Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Metro projects in Bhopal and Indore have kick-started almost at the same time, however, the Bhopal Metro project is lagging behind the Indore Metro project due to various pressing reasons. Such is the scenario that the Indore Metro project is looking forward to start its commercial operation in this fiscal.
As far as the Bhopal Metro project is concerned then its commercial operation is unlikely this year. A senior officer of the Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation said that depending on the progress, there is an initial plan to go for commercial operation of the Indore Metro project in this financial year.
More tentatively, it will start between December and March. However, commercial operation of Bhopal Metro will take time and is likely to get started by September of next year. This means that the people of Bhopal would have to wait at least a year to enjoy the Metro ride. The construction of road over bridge (ROB) under the Bhopal Metro project is proving a cumbersome exercise and it is consuming more time than expected, thus hampering the progress of the project.
As far as Indore Metro project is concerned, out of sanctioned 25 sets of metro trains, seven have reached Indore. One set reached Indore on Sunday. In the meantime, 25 metro trains have been sanctioned for Bhopal and so far, five sets of metro trains have arrived. Two more sets are expected to be delivered by around December. Sources in MP Metro Rail Corporation Limited said Indore is a populous city with dense population and it needs metro train facility.
The introduction of metro in Indore will bring down the rush of vehicles on roads and will ease the traffic flow. On the contrary, Bhopal is a city with a vast landscape. Sources in Bhopal Metro said that different works are underway in different areas, including Karond.
In the meantime, testing of metro train sets is going on regularly. One of the metro train sets has reached up to the speed of 90 km per hour.
