Make Metro a priority on Tonk Road: Residents

JAIPUR: While the ruling party BJP continues to sit over the Jaipur Metro phase-II project for over four years, 67% residents of Jaipur have shown interest to shift to Metro transport if corridor is constructed on Tonk Road.


With the city having 470 cars per thousand people, the need for Metro train on this route is increasing. This was revealed in a report submitted by a French company EGIS Rail SA hired by Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) to revise its existing detailed project report (DPR).



As vehicles have increased manifold, the roads in the city are becoming congested and the average travel speed has dropped to less than 20 kmph. The average travel speed in non-commercial areas of city came down from 28 kmph in 2009 to 18 kmph in 2018, the study said.

About 890 vehicles are added to city roads every day. In absence of efficient public transport system, thousands of office-goers and residents have switched to other means of transport, resulting in a cascading drop in public transport share in the city. The public transport share that was around 31% in 2009 has fallen to 18% in 2018.

Sources said that Metro train on Tonk Road is the need of the hour as the peak hour per direction traffic (PHPDT) is around 20,500 vehicles for the proposed corridor. “In case of corridors below 20,000 PHPDT, city authorities should opt for mono rails, Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) and BRTS. However, looking at the present scenario, the existing PHPDT is higher than normal and will likely increase in future so the Metro is the only option,” said sources.

The report reads that once the corridor is constructed, it would ferry 3.75 lakh commuters. Moreover, the Metro corridor would avoid emission of at least 5.6 lakh tonnes.

According to experts, the extension of Metro corridor is essential for increasing the ridership. Over past three years, the JMRC has extended the corridor by approximate 3 km. “Metros are operational in 12 cities across the country. The Jaipur Metro route remains the shortest as the phase-II work has not been taken up. Though at present, the Lucknow Metro route is shortest at 8 km, the authorities there have started extension work on the 15-km corridor. After completion, it will be a 23-km Metro route. Similarly, the Chennai Metro, which started operations on 10-km route initially, has extended it up to 28 km,” reads the survey report.

It is also believed that the JMRC would continue to face losses if the entire Metro network is not laid in the city.