The Mathura-Vrindavan rail line will be replaced with a double road, with the elevated one being developed as a twin Metro track.
Mathura, 2020.12.04 (VT): The Mathura-Vrindavan Metro which has been a long-standing dream of BJP MP (Mathura) Hema Malini and BTVP is going to be a reality soon. The Railway Ministry and related authorities have given an in-principle nod for replacing the underutilised Mathura-Vrindavan rail line with a double road and developing the elevated pathway as Metro Track.
Before the Lok Sabha elections, Smt. Hema Malini and BTVP’s Shailja Kant Misra had proposed the Metro to Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal as a solution for the unrelenting traffic which makes commute between Mathura and Vrindavan inconvenient and time-consuming. UP Power Minister, Shri Shrikant Sharma had also discussed the ‘Braj Heritage Metro Train Corridor’ with him. Clearance from the Ministry was mandatory as the property belongs to the Railways.
Rail Land Development Authority (Delhi) official Anjani Kumar and Agra DM conducted a meeting with BTVP’s Shri Shailja Kant Misra and district admin representatives to study the situation and project scope. It was decided that the rail line will be replaced with a double road, with the elevated one being used for the Metro. The twin Metro tracks will support to and fro commute between Mathura and Vrindavan.
The Metro ride is being envisioned as a tourist attraction in itself that will offer commuters an unrestricted view of Mathura-Vrindavan’s iconic temples such as Shri Krishna Janmasthan, Birla Mandir, and Pagal Baba Mandir among others. Further, shopping malls and parking facilities will be developed on either side of the Metro line where the stations are planned.
The RLDA will come up with the details within 2 months. BTVP will be responsible for management of the Project.
The 11.63 km metre guage Mathura-Vrindavan rail line has been underutilised for quite some time now. Recent attempts to replace ‘Radharani Express’ which ran on the track earlier with the ‘Rail Bus’ were also not very successful. Last year, the service remained suspended for several months. Further, the Rail Bus made just three rounds, ferrying not more than 72 passengers at a time. Hence, the burden of supporting most of the traffic between the two cities fell almost exclusively on the narrow Mathura-Vrindavan Marg. It was therefore imperative to develop an alternative for easing out the situation.
