Ahmedabad Metro Begins Trial Runs to GIFT City

Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) on Sunday started trial runs (train testing) on a 5.4 km elevated section of the 28.25 km Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2 project from Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) Station Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) Station.

This development on Phase 2’s Package C1, built by Afcons Infrastructure, comes roughly 2 weeks after GMRC started trial runs on a portion of Package C2, built by Ranjit Buildcon, connecting Dholakuva and GNLU in Gandhinagar District.

With electrification work still ongoing, GMRC’s team like last time operated a Zephir battery-operated railcar mover to pull one of their 3 coach Hyundai Rotem trains through the line’s viaduct to GIFT City.

As always, GMRC’s primary goal was to check for Schedule of Dimensions (SOD) clearances and observe the train’s interaction with the civil structure to ensure there are no physical obstructions along the way.

Photo by GMRC
Heading out of GNLU Station – Photo by GMRC

Besides 2 stations at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) and GIFT City, this section (shown in green below) includes a 810m long bridge over the Sabarmati River which was completed by Afcons Infrastructure in December 2023.

Indicative route from Motera Stadium to Mahatma Mandir & GIFT City – view Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2 info & route map

A video posted by CNBC Bajar can be viewed here on X. Here are a few snaps by GMRC:

Sabarmati Bridge section
With GIFT City’s skyline
GIFT City Station – Photo by GMRC

The start of proper trial runs is still weeks away and depends on when GMRC energizes the line’s Third Rail. After that, they’ll be able to operate the train without a crutch and test their trains’ behavior and various systems like telecommunication, signaling & train control, tracks etc. as those systems get ready.

Per a GMRC official who spoke with the Times of India, GMRC plans to operationalize a 21 km section of Phase 2 in June 2024 from Motera to Gandhinagar’s Sector-21 which includes this 5.4 km spur to GIFT City. That timeframe seems ambitious to me as proper testing hasn’t started since trains don’t yet have access to Gyaspur Depot and there’s plenty of architectural & interior finishing works pending to make the stations presentable and usable by passengers.

For more updates, check out the Ahmedabad section or my Home Page! Sign up for free instant email notifications on new posts over here. Like this post? Get early-access to updates and support the site over here.

– TMRG

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Global traveler who prefers mass rapid transit

9 Responses to "Ahmedabad Metro Begins Trial Runs to GIFT City"

  1. satish says:

    in today’s(12 march) satellite imagery I can see that alot of viaduct/pier work is pending from sector 1 to mahatma mandir I dont think so phase-2 will be fully operational by end of 2024

    Reply

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