Authorities of Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon informed that the operations of rail service would begin in March as scheduled.

   On October 2, the authority would conduct trial run of the first train set of the Rapid Metro Rail that had arrived in the city from China. The authority has already started integrating all the components and laying of tracks for the trial run.

   The metro rail service would ensure better connectivity in the city. However the Shankar Chowk station, one among the six on the network, would be initially closed as the work is lagging behind in the site. The good news is that the Delhi Metro commuters will not have to purchase a separate token to travel by the Rapid Metro. They can use the same token or smart card to do so and the fare, even though yet to be finalized, is likely to be a flat rate for all the six stations.

   The first train has already arrived and the remaining four will arrive by mid-December. The only station that will not become operational immediately will be the one at Shankar Chowk, just next to the national highway, the authority received land for it only a few months ago, said Sanjiv Rai, managing director, Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon.

   The authorities claim that the network will be used by at least one lakh commuters in the first year itself. The construction of the second phase of the project will begin in March, in which the network will be extended towards Sectors 55-56 and Udyog Vihar.