INDIA: Ahmedabad metro Line 2 and an extension of Line 1 have opened for passenger services after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 18·9 km elevated Line 2 links Motera Stadium in the north with APMC in the south, with 15 stations.
Construction started in January 2016, and following an inauguration ceremony led by Modi on September 30, opened for traffic on October 6. Trains initially run every 30 min.
The western extension of the east-west Line 1 which opened for traffic on October 2 runs 12 km from Apparel Park to Thaltej, with 6·6 km underground, and takes the line to 19 km in total. There are 10 stations on the extension including an interchange with Line 2 at Old High Court. Trains run every 20 min.
An intermediate station at Kankaria East is to open later, and a further 1·4 km extension west from Thaltej to Thaltej Gam is expected to open in March 2023.
The metro lines are operated using 32 three-car Hyundai Rotem driverless trainsets supplied under a 177·1bn won contract awarded in November 2017. They are 2 900 mm wide with a capacity of 782 passengers and have a maximum speed of 80 km/h.
