[Pics] Lucknow Metro Starts Operations; Logs 31688 Riders on Day-1
A day after getting formally inaugurated, the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) on September 6 started commercial operations on the first 8.48 km elevated stretch of Lucknow Metro’s 22.878 km Line-1 (Phase-1A) between Transport Nagar and Charbagh. Operations began at 6 am with a headway of 7 minutes, and as Murphy’s Law would have it, two Alstom trains developed technical snags (cause unknown) at 7:15 am near Alambagh Station and at 11:50 am near Transport Nagar Station during which passengers had to be evacuated using the front emergency door.
Those glitches aside, it was a beautiful day in Lucknow with 31688 users riding the line on Day-1 and 28,216 on Day-2 (Sept 7). These numbers would have been a lot higher if services were launched over the weekend, as traditionally done by other operators around the country.
A brief history of the line can be viewed here and a list of contractors here. The 1st stretch includes 8 elevated stations at Transport Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Singar Nagar, Alambagh, Alambagh Bus Stand, Mawaiya, Durgapuri and Charbagh –
Transport Nagar – Charbagh section of Line-1 – view Lucknow Metro map & information
Some images –
In front of the historic Charbagh Railway Station – Photo Copyright: Alstom
Photo Copyright: Deepak Gupta/HT
Photo Copyright: Deepak Gupta/HT
Running down Kanpur Road – Photo Copyright: Shubhankar Chakraborty/HT
Passengers evacuating at Alambagh – Photo Copyright: Akhilesh Yadav
Photo Copyright: PTI
Photo Copyright: Lucknow Post
Photo Copyright: Lucknow Post
Photo Copyright: Lucknow Post
Lucknow Metro’s token – Photo Copyright: Abhishek Shukla
Photo Copyright: Abhishek Shukla
Photo Copyright: Abhishek Shukla
Photo Copyright: Abhishek Shukla
Photo Copyright: Prakhar Sahu
Photo Copyright: Shivansh
Photo Copyright: Shivansh
Underbelly of Transport Nagar – Photo Copyright: Lucknow Wali
Photo Copyright: Abhishek Shahi
Video – Train rolling into Alambagh Station
#LucknowMetro haan ji #kaamboltahai @yadavakhilesh @yasarshah_SP @MagadhYagna pic.twitter.com/7I0EnFrKl9
— M.Yasir siddiqui (@YasirS_Alig) September 7, 2017
Video – Passing through Mawaiya:
#LucknowMetro first ride pic.twitter.com/HZ8FKT8Fos
— Yusra Husain (@yusrahusainTOI) September 6, 2017
Video – Riding from Krishna Nagar to Transport Nagar
Video – Arriving at Charbagh Station and then departing back towards Transport Nagar
The line’s first extension is expected to open up towards the end of 2019 or in 2020. Construction work is underway in 2 parts on a northern extension by Tata-Gulermak (Charbagh – Hazratganj Ramp, 3.44 km – underground) and by Larsen & Toubro (Hazratganj Ramp – Munshi Pulia, 8.63 km – elevated) and work on the line’s southern extension by SAM India (Amausi – CCS Airport, 1.5 km – underground) has just commenced.
For more updates, check out the Lucknow section of The Metro Rail Guy!
– TMRG
Thanks for the post and great videos. I live in the U.S. and received my early education in Lucknow and remember ‘Gunjing” or hanging out in Hazrat Gunj. It’s great to see the dramatic modernization and a truly ‘world class’ Metro system in a city that is not on the international tourist circuit. Hats off to the people responsible and to you for highlighting this very attractive system which seems superior to the Delhi and Mumbai metros though I may be revealing my bias as an ex Martinian. I hope this portends better times for Lucknow and U.P.
akhilesh yadav bhaiya zindabad
Why are the English announcements made first? Hindi should be done first. Construction quality looks top class though.