Meerut Metro to Begin Operations on February 22 Alongside Namo Bharat; Lucknow Metro Phase 1B Advances

Meerut's Metro is all set to roll out on February 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming in to launch both the city's new Metro service and the last stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor under the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).

This launch means Meerut becomes the seventh city in Uttar Pradesh with a Metro. Plus, it wraps up construction on the 82-kilometer RRTS line that links Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi with Modipuram in Meerut.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be there too. Modi's also scheduled to speak at a public rally at the New Township site in Mohiuddinpur.

Right now, Namo Bharat trains are only running between Meerut South (Bhudbaral) and New Ashok Nagar in Delhi. After February 22, they'll cover the full stretch all the way to Sarai Kale Khan, stopping at the rest of the stations in Meerut. The corridor's built for speed: trains have finished the journey in about 57 minutes during trial runs, hitting up to 160 kmph. Trains arrive every 10 minutes.

Inside Meerut, the Metro will cover a 23-kilometer route with stops at all 13 planned stations. Some stations will serve both Namo Bharat and Metro trains; others will be for Metro only. The Metro trains themselves will go up to 120 kmph, keeping city travel and regional travel separate.

The entire RRTS corridor will be monitored from a control center in Duhai, Ghaziabad. They're also building a separate facility at the Modipuram depot just for the Meerut Metro.

All this adds to Meerut's growing list of new infrastructure: expressways, freight corridors, ring roads-the works.

Meanwhile, in Lucknow, the Metro's East-West Corridor (Phase 1B) is moving ahead. The Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) has picked a joint venture between AYESA Ingenieria Arquitectura SAU and AYESA India Pvt Ltd as the Detailed Design Consultant. The consultancy contract is worth Rs 15.9 crore and will run for five years.

The Centre greenlit the East-West Corridor last August, tagging the cost at Rs 5,801 crore.

Lucknow Metro Line-2 will stretch for 11.165 kilometers, connecting Charbagh Railway Station with Vasant Kunj and including 12 stations. There's a 4.286-km elevated section from Vasant Kunj to Thakurganj with five stations, and a 6.879-km underground leg from Charbagh to Niwazganj with seven stations.

The consultant will handle all the detailed designs-civil, architectural, electrical, mechanical, traction systems, plus depot facilities at Vasant Kunj. Tenders for the elevated section are coming up soon, with separate ones for the underground stretch and depot work in the pipeline.

With Meerut Metro about to begin and Lucknow's next phase in motion, urban rail in Uttar Pradesh keeps picking up speed.