Nagpur, March 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the 13.5-kilometre phase of the Nagpur Metro through video conference on Thursday. This phase of the Nagpur Metro will be operational from March 8. Commuters will be able to enjoy free rides on the metro on its first day of operation. A metro mobility card has also been released.

"Common mobility card will not only be useful for transport but you'll also be able to do online payments through it. It'll be both your express card and debit/credit card, now your RuPay card and mobility card are merging," PM Modi said after inaugurating the Nagpur Metro. Nagpur Metro: Routes, Stations And All You Need To Know.

The Nagpur Metro Rail Project will consist of 41.700 Km metro corridor, 40 stations and 2 depots. The entire stretch will be divided into 2 alignments or corridors- Alignment 1 North-South Corridor and the Alignment 2 East-West Corridor. Delhi Metro Becomes Second-most Unaffordable Service After Tariff Hike, Mumbai Metro Ranked Fourth.

The metro will run from Khapri to Sitabuldi. The commercial run of the metro rail will begin at 8 am on March 8 on Sitabuldi. The work on the project started in June, 2015. The estimated completion cost of the metro project is Rs 8680 Crore.

Nagpur Metro had earned Rs. 132.51 crore from stamp duty and Rs. 6.87 crore from Transfer of Development rights even before the start of passenger operations. A special Nari Shakti women's coach will be in each metro.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 07, 2019 06:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).