LUCKNOW: One of the world’s oldest cities on earth could well have the newest form of urban transport for its citizens. If a proposal mooted by the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) gets the nod from Union Urban Development ministry and other stakeholders, PM Narendra Modi’s constituency may become the first Indian city to have cable cars as means of transportation.
The idea has already cleared the first stage as RITES presented a draft Detailed Project Report to Varanasi’s divisional commissioner, Deepak Agarwal, who is also the ex-officio chairman of Varanasi Development Authority (VDA).
RITES did a ground survey and came out with its draft report which recommended the facility for the city. As per the report, the proposition of cable cars for public commutation would be 10 times cheaper than the Metro Rail.
According to sources, three leading companies are ready with presentations supporting the proposal to run cable cars with details of passenger capacity, operational costs, environment sustainability and impact on weather. The companies have said cable cars required no major ground coverage, as elevated stations were feasible in congested areas. One cable car could accommodate 80 passengers and the system could ferry more than 11,000 passengers per hour.