As Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the Agra metro rail from Kolkata on Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flagged it off from Taj Mahal metro station.
The Agra metro rail is the sixth metro running in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, the construction of its primary underground section was supposed to take 32 months but it was completed in just 23 months. On December 7, 2020, Prime Minister Modi had laid the foundation stone of the Agra metro rail.
In the first phase, the metro will run for up to six kilometres, covering six stations in the priority corridor. The general public will be able to travel in the metro rail from Thursday onwards. Artificial Intelligence (AI) surveillance will be conducted within the metro stations.
It is worth mentioning that Chief Minister Yogi himself embarked on a journey in the Agra metro rail and travelled from the Taj Mahal station to the Taj East station, accompanied by public representatives.
Sharing his experience in the visitor book, the chief minister wrote, “Agra Metro was virtually inaugurated by the Honourable Prime Minister today. Timeliness is important along with the quality of the project. Agra Metro has upheld this standard. Best Wishes.”
On this occasion, Chief Minister Yogi said that the work on Agra metro rail began in December 2021 and within two years, the work on the first six kilometres of the priority section was completed. This includes three elevated and three underground metro stations. With the completion of this work, metro services have also started, he added.
Yogi continued, “With the commencement of the Agra metro rail, Uttar Pradesh has achieved the distinction of being the first state in the country to provide metro rail services in most of its cities. Prior to this, metro rail services have already been running in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, and Kanpur. Today, I am pleased that the sixth metro rail facility is being made available to the people of Braj and Agra as well,” Yogi added.
The chief minister further mentioned that the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation’s dedication to the Kanpur, Lucknow and Agra metro rail projects has been commendable. Agra metro rail has become the first in the country to achieve the record of developing three underground stations in an area of three kilometres at a fast pace by completing the work before the stipulated time. This is an accomplishment in itself, he added.
Chief Minister Yogi expressed heartfelt gratitude to the UPMRC for its service, noting that the corporation has demonstrated the effective implementation of Prime Minister Modi’s vision for the benefit of the people of Uttar Pradesh along with that of visitors and tourists.
He said that the Agra metro rail, like the Kanpur and Lucknow metro rails, would emerge as a symbol of public trust for the quality of work and its completion in record time.
Chief Minister Yogi mentioned that Agra is one of the oldest cities in the state, and the city of Brajbhoomi and this city is connected to the tales of valour and bravery of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for choosing Agra for the metro rail project.
“The work of other facilities in Agra, like having its own airport and its civil terminal, is also progressing rapidly. Ganga water should be available for drinking water under the JICA project. The government is also doing the work of rapidly pursuing those programmes to develop this city in the form of an IT (information technology) sector on priority basis. Keeping in mind the convenience of the citizens as well as the tourists coming here, the efforts started by the double-engine government are being implemented today in the form of metro, airport and other public facilities,” the chief minister added.
The chief minister extended his heartfelt congratulations to the residents of Agra for this gift being given to them before Holi. He thanked all the public representatives of Agra for their cooperation in completing these projects on time and expressed confidence that with continued support, future metro rail projects in Agra will also be completed on schedule.
After the prime minister gave the green signal, the metro rail embarked on its journey. Thirty-two students from Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 were selected to travel in the metro train. They travelled from the Taj Mahal station to Taj East. Chief Minister Yogi flagged off the train. The children were visibly excited over their journey. Their principal, Rajesh Pandey, said that it was a delightful moment for their school.
On this occasion, Union Minister of State Kaushal Kishore, Union Minister of State Prof SP Singh Baghel, local MPs, MLAs and other public representatives were present.
