Commercial operations of the metro rail in Indore in Madhya Pradesh will begin in the next five months, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday.
He was speaking while inaugurating the trial process of the Rs 7,500 crore first phase of the metro rail.
"Commercial operations (opening the line for passengers) will start in five months. The network will be extended to Pithampur industrial area and Ujjain. Indore today has completed the journey from tempo (autorickshaw) to metro rail. The start of the experimental trial of metro rail in the city is a new transport revolution," Chouhan said.
Metro rail travel will be cheaper than riding two-wheelers and this modern mode of transport will also bridge the gap between the rich and poor in the state's commercial capital, the CM added.
The previous Congress government under Kamal Nath (which was in power between December 2018 and March 2020) shelved the metro rail project here, while the BJP government was completing it on war-footing, he claimed.
Indore and its adjoining areas will be declared a metropolitan authority to boost the speed of development, he announced.
The trial run of the three-car metro rail was conducted on the 5.9 kilometre top priority stretch between Gandhi Nagar station and station number three of Super Corridor, officials said.
The CM also took a metro rail ride during the trial, they added.
The foundation stone for the first phase of Indore's metro rail project at a cost of Rs 7,500.80 crore was laid on September 14, 2019, and the total network planned will be of 31.50 kilometres, officials said.
-With PTI Input
