UK to assist Chandigarh in developing ‘sustainable’ mass transit system

In a major push to create eco-friendly transportation in the city, the United Kingdom will provide technical assistance to develop “sustainable mobility plan” for the city.

The broad objective of the UK-funded study is to provide support for de-carbonising the city’s transport and contribute towards the climate change agenda. The study will also focus on suggesting alternative eco-friendly transport system for the city.

Roping in the UK technical assistance is part of the UT administration’s fresh move to have a comprehensive mobility plan for the city. Complimenting the UK study, which will focus on the city, another study, to be conducted by the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), will cover the entire tricity and explore different Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) options for the city.

“The UK-funded study will provide support for de-carbonising the city’s transport and contribute towards the climate change agenda. The study will also focus on suggesting alternative eco-friendly transport system for the city,” said a senior UT official.

The study aims to deliver a ‘concept report for Chandigarh’ which will include an “As is Scenario” of city transportation. It will highlight the socio-economic profile, traffic, transportation characteristics, emission levels and also the key challenges and areas of intervention for de-carbonisation and EV transition.

Under the UK study, a detailed road map will be prepared to increase the uptake of e-mobility. Also, under the project, action plan and timelines for roll out will be created. Industry-government engagement to deliberate on roadmap will be done.

The project also includes a component of city twinning with a UK city. A framework for city twinning, based on the priorities of both sides and knowledge exchange visits, between cities will be carried out.

The inception of the idea for UK technical assistance happened during the meeting between the UT adviser Dharam Pal and the British deputy high commissioner Caroline Rowett over a month ago.

On Thursday, the administration was informed that UK government has given “in-principle” approval to the project. The adviser gave his concurrence to the study after a meeting with DHC representatives.

In a meeting, various aspects of the scope of the study to be conducted were discussed.

Madhuchhanda Mishra from British deputy high commission apprised the officers that the project would be funded by UK for a duration of 12 months and will tentatively start from January 2022. The project will be implemented by ICF consulting

ALL MRTS OPTIONS ON TABLE

Commenting on the RITES report, Pal, said, “The studies will examine which is the best MRTS model for the city. It can also be a hybrid model incorporating different systems like monorail, light metro for the city and metro for the tricity.”

After years in cold storage, the mass rapid transport system (MRTS) plans were revived in August this year by the administration after it decided to go in for a fresh study on the comprehensive mobility plan for the city.

The earlier RITES report, prepared more than a decade ago, was found to be outdated as the city’s requirements changed drastically during this period and also, the guidelines set by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry of the MRTS project changed.