The Union Cabinet granted approval on Wednesday for the extension of the Metro network from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City in Gurugram. The extension will cover a distance of 28.5 km, featuring 27 new stations, and is expected to be completed within four years at a cost of approximately `5,452.7 crore.
The primary corridor, spanning 26.65 km with 26 stations, will connect HUDA City Centre to Cyber City, while the 1.85 km “spur” or extension will run from Basai Village to Dwarka Expressway and include one station.
This metro line aims to establish connectivity between Old Gurugram and New Gurugram, as well as provide a link to the Indian Railways.
Furthermore, future plans involve connecting the network to the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. With an estimated population of 25 lakh, Gurugram is projected to witness a daily ridership of 5.34 lakh by 2026, 7.26 lakh by 2031, 8.81 lakh by 2041, and 10.70 lakh by 2051.
The metro trains on this line will operate at a design speed of 80 km per hour, averaging 34 kmph. The entire project will be elevated and completed over the course of four years.
The execution of this project will be undertaken by the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited (HMRTC), established as a 50:50 special purpose vehicle of the Centre and the Haryana government once the sanction order is issued.
According to a statement from the Ministry, “The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved metro connectivity from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City with a spur line (branch line) to Dwarka Expressway, Gurugram, covering a distance of 28.50 km and having 27 stations on the route.”
The metro connectivity will feature a standard gauge line measuring 1,435 mm (5ft and 8.5 inches) and a spur line connecting Basai Village to the depot.
The metro connectivity will originate from the existing HUDA City Centre on Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line, and the new stations will include Sector 45, Cyber Park, Sector 47, Subhash Chowk, Sector 48, Sector 72A, Hero Honda Chowk, Udyog Vihar Phase 6, Sector 10, Sector 37, Basai Village, Sector 9, Sector 7, Sector 4, Sector 5, Ashok Vihar, Sector 3, Bajghera Road, Palam Vihar Extension, Palam Vihar, Sector 23A, Sector 22, Udyog Vihar Phase 4, Udyog Vihar Phase 5, and Cyber City.
The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry issued a statement indicating that the loan for the project is being secured through the European Investment Board and World Bank.
Additionally, the Haryana Government has proposed the construction of a metro link from Palam Vihar to Dwarka Sector 21, facilitating connectivity between the proposed Gurugram Metro and the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro.
The first phase, initially constructed by a consortium of DLF and two companies of the IL&FS group, namely IERS (IL&FS Enso Rail system) and ITNL (IL&FS Transport Network Limited), spans a route length of 5.1 km from Sikandarpur to Cyber Hub. It was operated by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Rapid Metro Gurgaon Limited since November 14, 2013.
The second phase is between Sikandarpur to Sector-56 with route length of 6.5 km, initially constructed by consortium of two companies of IL&FS i.e. ITNL (IL&FS Transport Network Limited) and IRL (IL&FS Rail Limited). This phase was run by SPV namely Rapid Metro Gurgaon South Limited since 31.03.2017.
The operation was taken over by Haryana Mass Rapid Transit Company (HMRTC) since 22.10.2019 in terms of the High Court order when concessionaire backed out to run this system.
The operation of this line has been entrusted to DMRC by HMRTC. Prior to this DMRC continued to run rapid metro line wef 16.09.2019. Average ridership of Rapid Metro Gurugram is about 30,000. In weekdays total daily ridership is about 48,000.