Rapid Metro Gurgaon

On 11 June 2013, IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Limited informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had been awarded a contract worth ₹ 266.5 crores to construct the elevated viaducts for Phase 2 of the project. The company also stated that the project would be completed within 24 months.[28] The company was later awarded a contract worth ₹ 84.3 crore to construct all 5 elevated stations in Phase II. The project completion period was specified as 24 months.[29][30] The southward extension is 6.6 km (4.1 mi) long double track and will extend from Sikanderpur to Sector 55 and 56 in Gurgaon.[31] It is estimated to cost ₹2,423 crore (US$300 million).[32] There are six stations on the extension and it will take around 20 minutes to travel the entire route. Land for the project and right of way will be provided by HUDA.[33] Trial runs were held on the first phase of the metro, between Phase 2 and Phase 3 stations, in October 2012. On the same day, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh laid the foundation stone for Phase 2 of the project.

Construction work on Phase 2 began in April 2013, and was given an initial deadline of July 2015. However, the deadline was later revised to mid-2016, September 2016 and then the last quarter of 2016.[34] By June 2016, 75% of work on the Phase 2 was complete.[35] Trial runs were conducted along the 6.3-km Phase-2 route between in December 2016.[34] Rapid Metro authorities applied for inspection of phase II by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety in March 2017.[36] The second phase of the system was opened to the public on 31 March 2017.[37]

Line 1 was built in two phases.[38] The first phase of the project covers a distance of 5.1 km (3.2 mi) north of Sikanderpur. The section between Sikanderpur and Phase 2 station is double-tracked, while the remaining stations are served by a single-track loop. The second phase is a 6.6 km (4.1 mi) long southward extension from Sikanderpur to Sector 55 and 56 of Gurgaon and mostly runs through the affluent Golf Course Road.[10] This section of a line opened on 31 March 2017 partially till Sector 53–54. The two remaining stations till Sector 55-56 opened on 25 April 2017.[3] Platforms are 75m in length.[39][10]

Sikanderpur station offers an interchange with Delhi Metro via a 90m x 9m walkway.[40]

On 21 April 2010, Siemens announced that it had been awarded a turnkey contract to build the metro line, including five three-car metro trains.[42] Siemens sub-contracted CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive to build the 5 aluminium-bodied air-conditioned trains.[4] The first three-coach train set built in China, arrived in Gurgaon on 11 September 2012.[43] RMGL ordered an additional seven three-car metro train sets for the second phase expansion of the metro. The final 4 of these 7 rakes arrived in Gurgaon on 5 February 2016.[44]

Each train with three coaches costs ₹300 million (US$3.8 million) and is silver and blue in colour.[45] The total length of a 3 coach train is 59.94 metres (196 ft 8 in). The coaches are 2.8 metres (9 ft 2 in) wide, have roof-mounted air conditioning and have 4 doors on each side of each coach. Each train has a capacity of approximately 800 passengers.[46] The metro is designed to carry 30,000 passengers per hour.[47]

The line was built and is operated by Rapid Metro Gurgaon Limited (RMGL), founded as a joint venture between Enso group, real estate developer DLF and IL&FS. DLF owns many properties near the stations, while IL&FS was the majority stake holder in the JV.[16] DLF later sold its stake to IL&FS, and exited the joint venture. Following the transaction, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL) held 82.8% stake in RMGL, and ITNL's subsidiary IL&FS Rail Ltd (IRL) held 17.2%. On 11 February 2016, ITNL announced that it had sold a 49% stake in RMGL for ₹509.9 crore (US$64 million) to its parent company, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), in an effort to reduce debt.[48][49][50]

The Rapid Metro charges are flat rate ₹20 (25¢ US) only in travelling at any stations of Phase-1 line & Phase-2 line stations separately, but travelling form Phase-1 line to Phase-2 line or vice versa the charges are ₹35 (44¢ US).[51] Delhi Metro tokens and smart cards are accepted on Rapid Metro.[52] The automatic fare collection system is supplied by Thales Group.[53]

Ridership of the Rapid Metro has been below expectations.[54] Phase 1 was expected to bring 100,000 riders per day, but only achieved 30,000, and even after the addition of Phase 2, daily ridership in 2018 hovered around the 50,000 mark.[54] Urban Transport News has described the Rapid Metro as a "failure" due to its high cost, low ridership and poor location.[55]

Trains run from 06:05 to 22:00[56] Three-coach trains operate at four-minute intervals.[16] Trains have a maximum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph), and operate at an average speed of 40 km/h (25 mph).[16]

For the passengers' safety, there are Emergency Stop Plungers at every platform, while the Blue Light Station feature enables passengers to contact the Control Room. A Press to Talk Button inside the coaches enables commuters to talk directly to the driver, in the event of any problem.[57]

Security in the Rapid Metro is being handled by a private security agency. The system has a dedicated Metro Police Station at Sikanderpur station, while a Toll Free Helpline for all passengers is operational for 24 hours. CCTV cameras are used to monitor trains and stations.[58]

Cyber City to HUDA City Centre metro or Gurgaon loop metro or Gurgram loop metro: In June 2023, Gurugram had 17 km metro network, 11.7km rapid metro and 5.3 km yellow line metro. On 7th June 2023, Union govt's cabinet approved additional ₹5452 crore 28.5 km long metro network with 27 new stations connecting the existing metro network at Cyber City metro station in the north and Huda City Centre in the south. It includes 2 spurs, 2.2 km spur from Basai to Dwarka Expressway (Sector-102) and second spur from Sector-5 to Gurgaon railway station, third spur (phase-iv) has been approved as a separate project which will connect Rezang La Chowk in Palam Vihar to IGI Airport through Delhi Airport Metro Express (Orange Line) at existing IICC - Dwarka Sector 25 metro station (India International Convention and Expo Centre). The new corridor will begin from the existing Cyber City metro station in the northeast, run northwest to Palam Vihar (spur to IICC Dwarka & IGI Airport), then southwest to Sector-5 (spur to Gurugram railway station) & Sector-9 (with a spur to Dwarka Expressway Sector-101) & Basai village, then run southeast via Udhyog Vihar-6 to Sector-48 & Subhash Chowk, then run north to the existing Cyber City metro station, thus completing the loop. Delhi–Alwar RRTS will pass between the Sector-22 & Udhyog Vihar-4 metro stations in the North and Udhyog Vihar-6 & Hero Honda Chowk in the south. Completion deadline is fy2026-27.[59]

The expected ridership of the expanded network is 530,000 by 2026, 730,000 by 2031, 880,000 by 2041 and 1,070,000 by 2051. New expansion will connect the old and new areas of the city. Cost will be split equally between the state and the Indian government.[59]

Rezang La Chowk-Dwarka metro or Palam Vihar-Dwarka metro or Gurugram-IGI Airport metro extension of Delhi Airport Metro Express (Orange Line): ₹1678 crore 8.4 km (4.4 km in Haryana & 4 km in Delhi) route will have 7 stations, Palam Vihar, Choma, Sector 110A, Sector 111 (in Gurgaon), Dwarka Sector 28, IICC - Dwarka Sector 25 metro station (India International Convention and Expo Centre) IICC metro station and existing which also connects to Blue Line at Dwarka Sector 21 metro station). In october 2022, the DPR (detailed project report) was approved by the Haryana government and construction will commence in 2023, construction of IICC - Dwarka Sector 25 metro station to Dwarka Sector 21 metro station is already underway.[60][59]