If everything goes well, Hubballi Dharwad cities will be the first in India to get Light Rail Transit (LRT) service. The project is being planned to ease traffic congestion in twin cities.
Dharwad in-charge minister Santosh Lad, who also holds the portfolio of the Labour ministry said that Light Rail Transit (LRT) will help to reduce the use of private vehicles.
‘The proposal for the same will be ready in 3-4 weeks, the project will be taken up under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and will be completed in 18 months’ he added.
Light Rail Transit (LRT) is an Urban Transportation System characterized by the combination of Tram and Rapid Transit systems. It will serve the floating population of Hubballi Dharwad.
The rolling stock (the train) is similar to a traditional Tram but it operates at a higher capacity and speed. Here is the view of Light Rail Transit operated by Utah Transit Authority known as ‘TRAX’.
Hubballi Dharwad already has a dedicated rapid transit system known as Hubballi Dharwad Bus Rapid Transit System (HDBRTS), also known as ‘Chigari’.
Minister Santosh Lad added that BRTS will not be scrapped once LRT is implemented. LRT requires a small ramp for the movement of rail, the existing space in the HDBRTS corridor will be used for LRT.
Hubballi Dharwad will grow leaps and bounds in the next 10 to 20 years, and the introduction of new transit systems like LRT will make the twin cities future-proof.
HDBRTS serving the twin cities of Hubballi Dharwad has a ridership of 80,000 to 1,00,000 per day on average. The addition of LRT will cater to the increased population in the coming years.
In this twin city of HBL & DWD all development happening in highway only. Connectivity from interior areas to the highway is very bad or is almost nil, hence people are forced to use own vehicles only. Even the autoriksha are so costly people avoid using autos to reach bus stands or buses plying on highway. For eg. Naryanpur, Dwd area to new bus stand no frequent public transport service, auto will charge Rs 50 to Rs 80 which is too costly hence people prefer to take own vehicle instead of depending on public transport service. Pl make auto ricksha fares cheaper so that people use autos to reach highway at lesser cost. Wrt auto fares & usage please study why people in Mumbai use autos to reach nearby railway station. If auto fares are made cheaper then people will avoid using own vehicles.