City of Nawabs, book this date! From September 5, Lucknow Metro to be run by all-women fleet

Lucknow, the City of Nawabs, where air is always full of itra and flavours of Awadhi cuisines is finally getting a metropolis wonder.

With Lucknow Metro's inaugural, the capital of India's most populous state, will finally join other major cities in the way it travels.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is also an MP from the UP capital, will flag off the Lucknow Metro on September 5.

With its launch, Lucknow Metro will become India's first metro services to be operated by an all-women fleet.

As many as 21 women drivers have been selected to manage the Metro network. In fact, the trial run was also operated by two female operators in December last year.

The Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) began selling Go Smart Cards from Friday.

Metro Tourism Cards will be available for Rs 200 from September 6. For the first time, the LMRC will be charging the fare not on distance travelled but number of stations covered and has fixed minimum fare to Rs 10 and maximum to Rs 60. Children below height of 90 cms will be allowed to enjoy free travel.

In its inaugural run, two Metro trains will be run by female operators on a very short route having four stations from Transportnagar to Charbagh.

The four-coach trains will have a capacity to accommodate about 1,100 passengers at a time with a seating capacity of 200 people.

Equipped with LED lights and CCTV cameras to check eve-teasing and crime, the LMRC has made provisions for separate sections for women and physically-challenged persons.

The project of Lucknow Metro was envisaged launched by the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government in 2014.

The LMRC Managing Director Kumar Keshav claimed that the first phase of the project was completed in record less than three years.

The final phase will be by 2019 when Lucknow Metro will be running on main thoroughfares of the City of Nawabs.