The Patna Metro Rail Project, one of the most ambitious projects in Bihar, aims to reduce traffic congestion in the state capital and transform urban mobility. This article explains the current status, phases, routes, benefits, and future impacts of the Patna Metro.
Patna Metro Overview
- Length: 32.91 km
- Stations: 25
- Lines: 2
- Track gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
- Speed: 80 km/h
- Type: Elevated & Underground
- Cost: ₹13,365.77 crore
- Completion Time: March 2025 (phase one)
About Patna Metro
The Patna Metro, also known as the Patna MRTS, is a rapid train system being built in Patna, the capital of India. Construction will be done in five phases and will be owned and operated by the state-owned Patna Metro Rail Corporation. In the first phase, five stations of the Patna Metro will be operational by March 2025.
The Patna MRTS will be built under a public-private partnership model at a cost of ₹13,365.77 crore, or US$1.6 billion. The cost of land acquisition is not included in this cost, which will be paid by the Bihar government. The first phase, consisting of the east-west and north-south corridors, will have 15.36 km (9.54 mi) of elevated track and 16.30 km (10.13 mi) of underground track.
Patna Metro Route
Patna Metro Line 1
The west to north line will start from Danapur State and end at Khemni Chak. The length of line 1 is 16.86 km. The Patna Metro project is underground and elevated. The elevated route is 9.36 km long, while the underground route is 7.5 km long. The elevated route will have seven stations, while Line 1 of Patna Metro will also have seven stations. There will be 14 metro stations in total.
Patna Metro Line 2
The line will start from the North-South Patna Junction railway station and end at the New ISBT. The length of line 2 is 14.06 km. Line 2 Patna Metro will also be underground and elevated. The elevated route is 6 km long, while the underground route is 8 km long. The Line 1 Patna Metro project will have seven stations on the underground route, while the elevated route will have five stations. There will be twelve metro stations across the country.
Future Project
The second phase is 16.75 kilometres (10.41 mi) from Bypass Chowk Mithapur to Didarganj via NH 30 Bypass; a bypass road will avoid it. The third phase, from Mithapur to Phulwari Sharif AIIMS via Anisabad via NH 30 Bypass is 18.75 kilometres (11.65 mi) long and will be equipped with a bypass road.The fourth phase is from Didarganj to Fatuha Junction.
Patna Metro Stations List
Line 1
- Danapur Cantonment
- Saguna More
- RPS More
- Patliputra
- Rukanpura
- Raja Bazar
- Patna Zoo
- Vikas Bhawan
- Vidyut Bhawan
- Patna Junction (interchange)
- Mithapur
- Ramkrishna Nagar
- Jaganpur
- Khemni Chak (interchange)
Line 2
- Patna Junction (interchange)
- Akashvani
- Gandhi Maidan
- PMCH
- Patna University
- Moin Ul Haq Stadium
- Rajendra Nagar
- Malahi Pakri
- Khemni Chak (interchange)
- Bhoothnath
- Zero Mile
- New ISBT
Patna Metro Progress
In January 2022, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) won an order from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to design and build Corridor-2 of Patna Metro Phase-1. L&T has described the deal worth ₹1,989 crore (US$240 million) as a significant order. The main scope of the project consists of six underground metro stations: Rajendra Nagar, Patna Science College, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, Gandhi Maidan and Akashvani of Corridor-2.
The first tunnel of the Patna Metro Rail Project, Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)-02, has been successfully completed. It is considered a significant achievement of the project. There is a 1480-meter tunnel between University Station and Moin Ul Haq Stadium Station. Its journey started in July 2023 and ended in May 2024, completed in ten months. Pune Metro aims to start train services on 2 corridors, with an estimated budget of over Rs 13,000 crore. The two are: one from Danapur to Mithapur and the other from Patna Railway Station to New ISBT. The Patna Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC) showed courage and overcame these obstacles despite the tunnel alignment of 900 buildings and 100 borewells.
Patna Metro’s underground corridor-2 is being built at a fast pace. 40% of the government works have been completed. Tunneling work for two line tracks is underway at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium. This corridor should be started by January 2027. The first tunnel boring machine (TBM) started working at this location last March. TBM-2 is about 600 meters away, while TBM-1 is about 850 meters away. The first machine will reached its location in March 2024, and the second was returned to Patna University by April 2024.
The Bihar government said it aims to complete the first phase of the Patna Metro by 2025. This ambitious target will be achieved through careful planning and active stakeholder participation.
Conclusion
The Patna Metro Rail Project is a revolutionary scheme aimed at improving urban life and innovating the city’s transport network. The future development of Metro Patna will feature two major corridors, state-of-the-art technology and numerous benefits for the environment and the economy. The people of Patna hope that construction will proceed and provide sustainable, environmentally friendly and reliable transport that will bring significant long-term benefits.