The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Kanpur Metro Rail Project having two corridors, which will connect major public nodes and city cluster areas of Kanpur. Implementation of Metro Rail System will result in less vehicular traffic and better movement on the roads leading to reduction in congestion, travel time, cost of journey and pollution.  The Metro Rail System will also promote transit oriented development which will lead to development of more residential and commercial complexes along the corridors.

Salient Features

Highlights of Kanpur Metro Rail Project include-

1.    The length of ITT to Naubasta corridor is 23.785 km, which is partly elevated and partly underground and comprises of 22 Stations (14-Elevated and 8-Underground).

2.    The length of Agriculture University to Barra-8 corridor is 8.60 km comprising of 4 Elevated & 4 Underground stations.

3.   Estimated cost of the project is Rs. 11,076.48 Cr. and project will be completed in 5 years.

Connectivity Highlights

IJT Kanpur to Naubasta corridor will pass through heart of the city covering several prominent educational institutions, Railway & Bus Stations, including IIT Kanpur. CSJM University. GSYM Medical College, Jhakarkati Bus Station and Kanpur Central Railway Station etc.

Agriculture University to Barra-8 corridor will provide smooth connectivity to various densely populated residential areas including Kakadeo and Govind Nagar etc. The Metro will provide Eco friendly and sustainable Public Transport to residents, commuters, industrial workers, visitors and travelers.

About 40 Lakh population is expected to be benefitted by Kanpur Metro Rail Project directly and indirectly at the time of commencement of commercial operations.

The proposed corridors will be having Multimodal Integration with Railway Stations and will have feeder network of Bus, Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) and Non Motorized Transport (NMT). The Project will have non-fare box revenue from rental & advertisement as well as Value Capture Financing (VCF) through mechanism of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Transfer of Development Rights (TDR).

The residential areas along these Metro Rail corridors shall be immensely benefitted by this project, as the people of these areas will be able to travel on trains from their own neighborhoods to reach different areas of the city conveniently.

 Project Details:

• 'Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation', a 50:50 jointly owned Company of Govt of Indiaand Govt. of Uttar Pradesh will be reconstituted as 'Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation

(UPMRC)' for implementation of project.

• The financing of Kanpur Metro Rail Project will be partly from Govt. of lndia  and Govt. of Uttar Pradesh    on    equal    equity    basis    and    partly    as    soft    loan    fromBilateral/Multilateral international funding agency/agencies.
• Govt. of Uttar Pradesh has already allocated Rs. 175 Cr. for this project during the financial

year 2019-20.

Impact

This project will provide continuous availability of affordable, reliable, safe, secure and seamless transport system in the urban agglomeration of the city, which will reduce the accidents, pollution, travel time, energy consumption, anti-social incidents as well as regulate urban expansion and land use for sustainable development.

Background:

          Kanpur is among one of the largest cities in Uttar Pradesh with estimated population of around 41 Lakh.  It has historical importance with large scale industrial and commercial activities.  Urbanization and rapid growth of vehicular traffic has lead severe stress on the urban transport system in the city resulting also in a deterioration in air quality.  In this backdrop, it is imperative to strengthen the public transport system in Kanpur and the Metro project will be able to meet this need.  While approving the project, the Cabinet has also stipulated that city bus services in Kanpur should be strengthened within one year of the approval of the Metro Project. 

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AKT/SH