NPG assesses road, rail and urban transit projects

The 65^th meeting of Network Planning Group (NPG) was held in New Delhi, under the chairpersonship of Additional Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Sh. Rajeev Singh Thakur to evaluate five road, rail and urban transit projects from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Ministry of Railways (MoR), and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The NPG examined the projects from the perspective of integrated planning based on the PM GatiShakti principles. The project details were examined based on the planning/mapping on PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP). The key outcomes of the evaluation exercise were discussed with the objective of improving connectivity with various economic/Social nodes, and multi-modal infrastructure. The projects discussed are summarized below:

1. MoRTH: Highway projects in the Goa, Meghalaya and Assam

The projects from MoRTH pertains to four laning of 45 kms stretch of NH-66 in the state of Goa and development cum upgradation of Mawlyngkhung – Panchgram road from 2-Lane to 4-lane in the state of Meghalaya and Assam including greenfield stretch of 118 kms and brownfield stretch of 43 kms. Both the projects will have wider economic impacts including reduction in logistics cost, reduction in traffic congestion, and increase in average speed of traffic.

2. MoR: Construction of Rail-Over-Rail bulb line in Bihar

Besides, a railways project for the construction of a bulb line at Nabinagar (Ankorha) of approx. 17.49 km in Aurangabad district of Bihar was examined.  The construction of the ROR bulb line would result in grade separation of two railway lines leading to reduced detention of trains, decline in transit time, increase in logistics efficiency of coal movement to Nabinagar power plant in the vicinity, and enhanced section capacity utilization of main lines.

3. MoHUA: Urban metro transit projects in Bangalore and Delhi/NCR

The two urban transit metro corridor projects from MoHUA were discussed including Rithala-Bawana-Narela–Kundli (Haryana) Metro Corridor of DMRC in the NCR region and Phase-3 of Bangalore Metro Rail Project of 44.65 Km with 2 corridors from JP Nagar to Kempapura along ORR and Hosahalli to Kadabagere along Magadi road. Both the projects will result in multi-modal integration of metro with bus and rail stations, decongestion of roads, travel time savings, fuel cost savings, reliable operation and performance, and reduction in vehicular emission and pollution. The NPG suggested the project proponents plan for adequate transition infrastructure where inter-modal interface is involved.

It was emphasized during the meeting that these projects will play a pivotal role in nation-building by integrating various modes of transport, offer substantial socio-economic benefits and will contribute to the overall development of the regions.

Integrated planning under PM GatiShakti ensures multimodal connectivity and mandates transition infrastructure for smoother inter modal interfaces. The Network Planning Group evaluated five road, rail and urban transit projects against the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to assess alignment with integrated multimodal connectivity, logistics optimization, and socio economic and environmental co benefits. The review emphasised mapping conformity with the NMP, targeted reductions in congestion and transit times, capacity and logistics efficiency gains from grade separation, and the need for transition infrastructure in metro projects to secure effective inter modal integration.