Ahmedabad Metro now open for public, offers free ride for passengers for 10 days

Ahmedabad, Mar 06: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a 6.5-km stretch of phase one of the Ahmedabad Metro train service on Monday. After inaugurating the 6.5 km stretch, connecting Vastral to Apparel park area here, Modi also took a ride on the metro. Ahmedabad metro was thrown open for public from Wednesday which began its free ride from 10am. The free ride will continue for 10 days till the second train is introduced from March 16.

The first phase of the project costs around Rs 10,773 crore, for which Japan has extended a soft loan of Rs 6,066 crore to the Indian government through its funding agency JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).

The phase one of the project covers a distance of 40.03 km, of which 6.5 km is underground and the rest of the stretch is elevated.

Phase one comprises of two corridors. The north-south corridor runs from APMC to Motera along the existing railway line and will cover a distance of 18.87 km. The east-west corridor connects Thaltej to Vastral in the city covering a distance of 21.16 km.

Both the corridors will have 32 stations. The first phase of the project is expected to be fully operational by 2021.

The phase two of the project, which will cover a distance of 28.25 km, was given approval by the Union Cabinet in February 2019.

The second phase will connect Motera cricket stadium to Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.