Bhubaneswar: Work on the much-awaited metro train project in Bhubaneswar will begin by end of 2023, Housing & Urban Development Minister Usha Devi informed after a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Friday.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has been engaged as the consultant and the DPR for Metro Rail System for Bhubaneswar Capital Region is under preparation, she added.
“The CM is likely to lay foundation stone for the project in the month of June,” H&UDD Secretary G Mathivathanan said during the media briefing.
He further said that the survey for the proposed project has been completed. “The DPR, which is being prepared by the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation, has reached its final stage. The routes for running the Metro train have been identified. Initially, the Metro train will run between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and the service will subsequently be extended to Jatni and Puri,” he added.
On the occasion of Utkal Diwas, the CM had announced a metro train project connecting Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri and Khurda to make travelling easier for daily commuters and tourists. “The project has been studied by various stakeholders and feasibility reports have been prepared. It will be predominantly based on elevated corridors and will be entirely funded by the state government,” he said.
The project will reduce the time to cover the 64 kilometres between Puri and Bhubaneswar to less than half an hour, sources said.
During the flagging-off ceremony of Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express earlier this month, Railway Minister Ashwini Vishnaw had also said mentioned launch of Vande Sleeper and Vande Metro in Odisha. Vande Metro, a short-distance version of Vande Bharat Express, will run between cities separated by less than 100 km and provide a rapid shuttle-like experience to the passengers.
