Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the Agra Metro from Kolkata on Wednesday.
“The metro has created history by being the first in the country to start running on the tracks almost nine months ahead of schedule. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flagged off the Agra Metro from the Taj Mahal Metro Station on this occasion,” as per an official release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
In the first phase, the metro will run for up to 6 kilometres, including six stations in the priority corridor. The general public will be able to travel in the Metro from Thursday onwards. AI surveillance will be conducted within the metro station.
The Agra Metro is the sixth metro running in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, the construction of the primary underground section was supposed to take 32 months, but it was completed in just 23 months. On December 7, 2020, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the Agra Metro.
On this occasion, CM Yogi said that the work on Agra Metro began in December 2021, and within two years, the first 6 km of work for the Priority Section was completed. This includes three elevated and three underground metro stations. With the completion of this work, metro services have also started.
“Prior to this, metro services had already been running in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, and Kanpur. Today, I am pleased that the sixth Metro facility is being made available to the people of Braj and Agra as well,” CM Yogi added.
Agra Metro has become the first in the country to achieve the record of developing three underground stations in an area of 3 km at a fast pace by completing the work before the stipulated time. This is an accomplishment in and of itself, he said.
CM Yogi expressed heartfelt gratitude to UPMRC for their service, noting that the corporation has demonstrated the effective implementation of PM Modi’s vision for the benefit of the people of Uttar Pradesh, along with that of visitors and tourists.
“The work on other facilities in Agra, like having its airport and its civil terminal, is also progressing rapidly. Ganga water should be available for drinking water under the JICA project. The government is also doing the work of rapidly pursuing those programs to develop this city in the form of the IT sector on a priority basis,” CM said.
After the Prime Minister gave the green signal, the metro embarked on its journey. Thirty-two students from Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1 were selected to travel in the metro train. They travelled from the Taj Mahal station to Taj East. CM Yogi flagged off the train. The children were visibly excited over their journey. Their principal, Rajesh Pandey, said that it was a delightful moment for their school.