Kashi ropeway is an under construction aerial cable car urban transit system in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. It will be the first public transport ropeway of India. It will be 3.75 km long with five stations connecting Varanasi Cantonment railway station to Godowlia Chowk. It is expected to open in August 2025.

History

When the development plan of metro was rejected in June 2018, the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) asked

Rail India Technical and Economic Service RITES Ltd, formerly known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, is an Indian public sector undertaking and engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field of transport infrastructure. Established in 1974 by the In ...

(RITES) to prepare

mass rapid transit system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tu ...

(MRTS) plan for the city in December 2019. RITES included ropeway and

light metro A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS trains are usually 1 to 4 cars. Most medi ...

in MRTS plan. It is being constructed under Parvatmala Pariyojana. The project was presented by

WAPCOS Limited WAPCOS Limited, earlier known as Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited, is an Indian consultancy service provider under the ownership of the Government of India and administrative control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The firm p ...

in November 2021 and the first tender was floated in December 2021 but was repeatedly delayed later. The two Austrian engineering firms Salzmann and Bernard Group planned the project. In December 2021, VDA authorised National Highways Logistics Management Ltd (NHLML), a subsidiary of

National Highway Authority of India The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI () is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and is responsible for management of a road network of over 50,000 km of National highways out of 1,32,499 ...

(NHAI) to execute the project which also conducted feasibility study. VDA and NHLML signed memorandum of understating with

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (International Organization for Standardization, ISO: ''Uttara Pradēśa Sarakāra''; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appoin ...

and

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

. The Government of Uttar Pradesh acquired the land for stations and towers. Sai Geotechnical Engineer Pvt Ltd conducted the geotechnical investigation. In April–June 2022, the tender was floated by the NHLML. In December 2022, the NHLML awarded the contract worth to Vishwa Samudra Engineering Private Limited and Bartholet Maschinenbau AG of Switzerland. The bid price was . It will be constructed using hybrid annuity model, in which 60% and 40% of the cost will be paid during the construction period and operation-maintenance period respectively. The company will maintain the ropeway for 15 years. On 24 March 2022, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

laid the foundation of the ropeway. The construction will cost . It will facilitate movement of local people, tourists and pilgrims to Godowlia, Kashi Corridor,

Kashi Vishwanath Temple Kashi Vishwanath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Vishwanath Gali, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple is a Hindu pilgrimage site and is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines. The presiding deity is kn ...

and

Dashashwamedh Ghat Dashashwamedh Ghat is a main ghat in Varanasi located on the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh. It is located close to Vishwanath Temple. There are two Hindu legends associated with the ghat: according to one, Brahma created it to welcome Shiva, ...

. The construction and operation are expected to start in May 2023 and in May 2025 respectively. It will be the first public transport ropeway of India and third in the world after

Mi Teleférico Mi Teleférico (, English: ''My Cable Car''), also known as Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car), is an aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area in Bolivia. As of October 2019, the ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Mexicable Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de Morelos and Tlalnepantla de Baz, in Greater Mexico City, and one station in Mexico City proper. It was created by the Government of the State of Mexico. The first part of this project was inaug ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Technical features

The line will be long. It will operate from Varanasi Cantonment railway station to Godowlia Chowk. It will have three other stations:

Kashi Vidyapith Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a public university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established on 10 February 1921 as Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed, it is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar Pra ...

(

Bharat Mata Mandir Bharat Mata Mandir (meaning "Mother India Temple") is located on the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith campus in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Instead of traditional statues of gods and goddesses, this temple has a huge map of Akhand Bharat ca ...

), Rath Yatra and Girja Ghar. There will be no passenger exchange at Girja Ghar. Total 30 towers with height ranging from 10 to 55 metre will be constructed. It is expected to transport 96,000 passengers per day. It will have a maximum capacity of 3000

passengers per hour per direction Passengers per hour per direction (p/h/d), passengers per hour in peak direction (pphpd) or corridor capacity is a measure of the route capacity of a rapid transit or public transport system. Definition The corridor capacity in the passenger t ...

. It will have 153 cars with capacity of 10 passengers each. It will operate 16 hours a day and will complete the trip in 16 minutes.

References

{{coord missing, Uttar Pradesh Transport in Uttar Pradesh Aerial tramways in India Buildings and structures in Uttar Pradesh Tourist attractions in Varanasi Buildings and structures in Varanasi

History

Technical features

See also

References