There was a time Calcutta (now Kolkata) was the only city in the whole of India to have a dedicated metro service. It was something the City of Joy boasted of. But soon, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore followed suit and started their metro services.
The express service proved extremely beneficial in improving transportation within the respective cities, and now there are many others who are flagging off their own metro services.
Latest being Lucknow. The UP capital just got its very own metro line and it’s quite a big deal.
Transport Nagar to Charbagh Lucknow Metro line inaugurated in presence of UP Governor, CM Adityanath and HM Rajnath Singh pic.twitter.com/k6jpgqfNRM
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 5, 2017
The first phase of the Lucknow Metro line (running from Transport Nagar to Charbagh) was inaugurated today in the presence of UP Governor Ram Naik, CM Yogi Adityanath and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Enjoyed my maiden ride in Lucknow Metro today. Now Lucknow will also be known as 'Metro Ka Shahar'. Thank you E Sreedharan ji & Team LMRC pic.twitter.com/a7tcoszw8K
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 5, 2017
Rajnath Singh added how it’s a sign of progress.
Jis sheher mein Metro train chalti hai us sheher mein vikas ke naye dwaar khul jaate hain: HM Rajnath Singh #LucknowMetro pic.twitter.com/6B0NEbGA0k
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 5, 2017
The metro line is said to be 8.5 km long and has eight elevated stations. And, another interesting bit is that it has mostly female drivers.
#LucknowMetro: LMRC deputes mostly female drivers for metro train services. pic.twitter.com/7yeKvGyzlV
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 5, 2017
Lucknow metro rail corporation MD kumar keshav at launch of #LucknowMetro with female drivers of first train along with other staff. pic.twitter.com/eGQfZt9Lsw
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 5, 2017
The look and feel of the train is really royal and why not? It is the city high on nawabiness.
Home Minister @rajnathsingh and UP CM @myogiadityanath will jointly inaugurate the 8.5-kilometer first phase of #LucknowMetro today pic.twitter.com/IEkJxRyOxe
— DD News (@DDNewslive) September 5, 2017
Right now it connects Charbagh railway station to Transport Nagar. Plans are in place that the metro line would stretch till the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport.
Welcome to Lucknow Metro .It will run from today #InaugurationDay #SmartCity #LucknowMetro #feeling #proud pic.twitter.com/lq6cw0ELjW
— ankur verma (@ankur441) September 5, 2017
It will run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the highest fare between two terminals will be Rs. 30.
Lucknow is not the only UP city to be getting a metro line. Plans are on for other two-tier cities like Varanasi, Kanpur, Agra, Moradabad, Allahabad, Meerut, Gorakhpur and Jhansi. There might be monorail services in some cities.
It took over three years to have the service up and running. It will be open to the public by September 6. And, that’s just the beginning.