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Amritsar’s fairytale public transport project shelved Amritsar, August 27 The project would have seen magnetic pods running on an elevated guideway in Amritsar on the lines of Heathrow Airport in London. Sources said the bidder — ULTra Fairwood Pte Ltd — withdrew from the project as the state government wished to re-negotiate the deal, but the firm felt that it would have made the project financially unviable for it. Officials of the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) and the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) revealed that the project had been shelved, but they were reluctant to say this on record. “We have not received any written communication in this regard. There has been no word about it for quite long. It must have been dropped,” said an official, requesting anonymity. The government invited bids for the PRTS twice and both the times it was bagged by ULTra Fairwood Pte Ltd. The PRTS project was supposed to cost Rs 198 crore on BOT (build, operate, transfer) basis. Two routes were also planned. The first was from the railway station to the Golden Temple and the second from the bus stand to the Golden Temple. A total of 200 magnetic pods were to run in the holy city which would have facilitated 50,000 to 75,000 passengers daily. The tentative fare would have been Rs 30 to 32 from the railway station to the Golden Temple and Rs 20 to 25 from the bus stand to the Golden Temple. Launched apparently with an eye on the 2012 Assembly elections, the project never took off. Initially, it was the traders who came out against the project, fearing that it would take a toll on their business as commuters would embark on magnetic pods head straight to the Golden Temple from the bus stand and the railway station. The Hall Bazaar Traders’ Association even downed their shutters to protest against the move.Later, The Tribune highlighted the heritage lovers’ apprehension about the PRTS eclipsing the view of the holy city’s significant landmarks such as the Golden Temple, Town Hall, Jallianwalla Bagh and Hall Gate, besides adversely affecting the heritage character of the walled city. Subsequently, the government changed the route plan from the railway station to the Golden Temple. What is PRTS?
The ULTra (Urban Light Transport) PRT System is a four to six-seater driverless, battery-powered, laser-guided vehicle with a central control system known as magnetic pod that uses rubber wheels running on an elevated guideway. The PRT is like a personal taxi which is demand responsive to a commuter, which means it can facilitate on demand, non-stop journey within the track network with operational flexibility.
Projects hanging fire
The other project hanging fire in the holy city include food street, modern sports complex and CCTV surveillance. The foundation stone of the Sports Complex was laid on November 12, 2011, but the work is yet to begin. The work on the installation of CCTV cameras has also been put on backburner. The food street was supposed to come up on the premises of Company Bagh, but the ASI shot down the move.
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