IEP Chandigarh, September 13
Haryana Government has proposed a next-gen cost effective Personalised Rapid Transport (PRT) based on POD Car to provide shortest and most cost effective connectivity between old Chandigarh International Airport and the new Airport located in Mohali.
The POD Car proposal was submitted by Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal at a recent meeting in Punjab Raj Bhawan convened by Chandigarh Administrator Banwari Lal Purohit and attended by senior officers of Haryana and Chandigarh.
The proposal on implementation will cut down on the long road travel which residents of Chandigarh Tricity comprising of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali besides neighbouring states have to take at present.
Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said that Haryana Metro Rail transport Corporation (HMRTC), a wholly owned company of Haryana Government , under HSVP, has proposed POD car system to connect Old Airport Terminal to New Airport Terminal which is cost effective, convenient and requires only about 6 acres of land along the boundary of Chandigarh International Airport. The ownership of this land will remain with the Air Force.
He said that a preliminary study has been got conducted by HMRTC to provide connectivity between old Airport Terminal and New Airport Terminal of Chandigarh International Airport wherein the total land involved is approximately 6 acres only.
Sh. Kaushal said that 77 numbers of pods are initially envisaged to be placed in service for transporting passengers as well as goods. It will be a guided transit system fully secured with only two stoppages. Pods cannot be forcefully stopped in between and thus it addresses any security concern. The time travel will be only 8 to 10 minutes, he added.
The project cost is just Rs 231.50 Crore, including Rs 116 Cr Infra Cost, Rs 77 Cr Control System and Rs 38.50 Cr Cost of vehicles/PODs as compared with over Rs 1,000 Cr in other alternatives. The Operation Cost is Rs 25 lakh in POD Cars as against Rs 2.90 Cr to Rs 7 Cr in other alternatives including Metro, Metrolite and Metroneo. The infra cost per km is also Rs 20 Cr in POD Cars as compared with Rs 115 Cr in Metro, Rs 110 Cr in Metrolite and Rs 52 Cr in Metroneo. Vehicle rolling cost and Control System cost of POD Cars are much less as compared to other alternatives.
Chandigarh U.T. Administration is already in the process of providing road connectivity from Chandigarh to New Airport Terminal. Two alternative alignments have been suggested and submitted to Indian Air Force, as Chandigarh being the Defence Airport. The proposals are under consideration in the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
Chief Secretary, Haryana explained that the two options of road connectivity under consideration are very costly and time consuming due to involvement of acquisition of land and removal of unauthorized structures.
U.T., Administration may continue with its proposal to provide road connectivity to the New Chandigarh International Airport and in addition, HMRTC may get the DPR of POD connectivity from Old Airport Terminal to New Airport Terminal prepared in next three months and submit complete/concrete proposal for consideration of U.T. Administration, Indian Air Force and CHIAL– the airport managing body.
The meeting also decided that UT administration will support the POD Car proposal and Haryana can go ahead for its implementation. The necessary clearances from Indian Air Force and involvement of CHIAL may be made accordingly.
Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) is a joint venture company incorporated under companies Act, 2013 by Airports Authority of India (AAI) in association with Governments of Punjab and Haryana. The airport runway is located in Chandigarh while the international terminal is located on the south side of the runway in the village of Jhiurheri, Mohali.
To cut down the distance and travel time two proposals – Underpass connectivity and Road Connectivity are under consideration since a long time.
A Techno feasibility study was conducted by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the Underpass and the estimated project cost was Rs. 1357 Crore. An underpass was proposed to be constructed in the airport area that would have reduced the distance by around 10 km for people coming from Panchkula or Himachal Pradesh.
However the project was dropped due to its huge capital cost investment citing its severe economic stress. Proposal also faced objections from the Indian Airport Authorities because an underpass below operational surface of IAF station would not be acceptable for security reasons.
Road connectivity along the boundary wall of the IAF station was also proposed after clearing all obstruction within its 100 mtrs. This would have reduced distance by 8-9 kms. However, it involves acquisition as well as demolition of illegal construction. Due to this & various other reasons the road connectivity projects also hangs in air.
Sh. Kaushal said that in view of the delay in implementation & non-finalisation of any proposal despite various meetings between the stake holders, Haryana Government had proposed the POD Car connectivity at a much less cost, including of land. He said that the current connectivity to International terminal is such that Passengers coming from the Himachal Pradesh, Panchkula, Ambala side to International Airport have to cover much longer distance to reach to the new international terminal. They have to cross a choke point where at times one has to waste 30-45 minutes.
Sh. Kaushal said that the POD Car proposal is easy to implement and less time consuming for the passengers to reach new terminal from the old terminal. Thus, it is proposed to connect old terminal with international terminal by PRT POD Car. Passengers will take 8-10 minutes by PRT to reach International terminal from Domestic terminal.
He said that for better and efficient utilization of PRT system, multi-level car parking and cargo terminal can also be given the connectivity. Some cargo PODs can be deployed to carry cargo. PRT will be a safe and secure transit as it will move non-stop between two terminals. It can’t be forced stop in-between hence it addresses any security concerns, he added.
HMRTC has submitted the proposal in September last year to Chandigarh International Airport Ltd. (CHIAL) that HMRTC can take up this project as implementing agency. Chandigarh International Airport Ltd. (CHIAL) may give seed money and user charges only as CHIAL shall be the major beneficiary of the ibid project.
Board of HMRTC in its 46th Board meeting held on 08.10.2021 accorded the approval to the proposal submitted by HMRTC and further resolved that, “in the light of the directions of the Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court given while taking suo moto cognizance with respect to further development plans of Chandigarh, to develop public transport system in the form of Mono Rail / Metro Rail etc. which would effectively and seamlessly connect Chandigarh with adjoining towns / cities, a DO reference from Chairperson HMRTC-cum-Chief Secretary Haryana may be sent to His Excellency Governor of Punjab-cum-Administrator Chandigarh Administration for taking up of the project under Tricity Council.”
According to the proposal POD car capacity is of 6 seater with ample space for luggage. However, the capacity can be changed as per the requirement.
The Chandigarh International Airport caters to six domestic airlines and connects Chandigarh to 18 domestic destinations besides International connectivity to Dubai and Sharjah
