Indore | Indore's Metro Rail Project has been making progress, with the track-laying work underway at the Gandhi Nagar depot. The process began on March 3 and has seen 70 meters of sleepers installed in 17 days, out of the total 920 meters to be laid.
With only six months left for completion, the authorities aim to finish 700 meters of track-laying by March 31, which means they need to lay an average of 60 meters of sleepers every day. However, the current speed of work is only at 4.5 meters per day, leading officials to increase the number of workers to speed up the process.
The trial run for the Metro is scheduled for September this year, and preparations are in full swing. Coach-making is underway in Vadodara, Gujarat, and the finished product is expected to arrive in Indore by August. The depot at Gandhi Nagar is being prepared to house the rolling stock, and maintenance work will be carried out there as well. Hence, it is essential to complete the track-laying work at Gandhi Nagar first.
The Super Priority Corridor track samples have been sent to Chennai and Mumbai for approval, and welding work is expected to begin soon after. Once the track is completed, the priority depot area will be prepared, where all the testing and maintenance work will be carried out. After this, the trial run will commence from the track to the ramp.
The 17.5 km Priority Corridor from Gandhi Nagar to Robot Square is under construction, but the trial run is only fixed for a 5.9 km stretch. The full-fledged operations will take some time as it will also connect the airport for direct Metro connectivity, which is estimated to be completed in one to one and a half years. The project cost for this is estimated to be around 300 crores.
