The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday (4 July) announced that work on building elevated light rail transit systems for Srinagar and Jammu’s cities will commence soon and the urban transport project will be completed in four to five years at an estimated cost of Rs 8,500 crore, Daily Excelsior reported.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has already appointed technocrat Dr E Sreedharan as the Principal Adviser to Mass Rapid Transit Corporations (MRTCs) of Srinagar and Jammu.

Two Mass Rapid Transit Corporations (MRTCs), for Srinagar and Jammu, were incorporated in February this year and project will be funded through debt, State equity and Central assistance.

Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Principal Secretary to the Government, Housing and Urban Development Department Dheeraj Gupta said that in phase one of the elevated light rail transit system in Srinagar two corridors will be laid from HMT junction to Indra Nagar and Osmanabad to Hazuribagh.

Gupta added that a Light Rail System will be designed to ensure low carbon footprint, low noise, greater comfort and aesthetic appeal.

These two Mass Rapid Transit Corporations (MRTCs) will address the issue of urban mobility in the state in a holistic manner by providing safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access for the growing number of city residents.

This will enable them to commute for jobs, education, recreation and other such needs within the cities, thanks quality focused multi-modal public transport systems that are well integrated, provide seamless travel across modes, enable land use transport integration, equipped with intelligent transport systems for traffic management and more.

Gupta said that as per the mandate given, two MRTCs have also undertaken preliminary steps for operationalising city buses, within the jurisdiction of the MRDAs, to set new standards and benchmarks in public transport. “These will be app based, air-conditioned, smart e-buses with automatic fare collection systems”, he added.

Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) Ltd, an engineering consultancy company, specialising in the field of transport infrastructure, is slated to complete the DPRs (Detailed Project Reports) for the projects in next 15-20 days, he added.

”After the DPRs, we need to have certain approvals from the State Government and the Government of India. The work would be completed in four-five years” Gupta noted.

The first phase of Srinagar Light Metro will have 24 stations comprising of two corridors. The first corridor will originate at HMT (Shalteng) and terminate at Indra Nagar.

The second corridor is proposed to be build from Osmanabad to Hazuri bagh. In second phase of Srinagar Metro, two corridors will be laid from Indra Nagar to Pampore Bus Stand and Hazuri Bagh to Airport.

In Jammu, for phase one, two corridors from Bantalab to Greater Kailash and Udheywala to Exhibition Ground will be developed. In the second phase, corridors will be built from Greater Kailash to Bari Brahamana Railway Station and Exhibition Ground to Satwari Chowk to Airport.