Indian Railways has given in principle approval to the Bhopal Metro for the construction of an ROB (railway overbridge) to connect Habibganj to AIIMS Bhopal. The approval, which came a little late, will bring the scheduled trial run of the Bhopal Metro in September closer.

According to an official of the Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MPMRCL), approval for the ROB has been received. Construction of the prefabricated bridge is underway in Rajasthan. However, the exact date of the launch of the connecting bridge will depend on the timeline set by the railway authorities.

For now, the focus is on Bhopal Metro Line-2, which will connect Subhash Nagar Depot to Habibganj. The Alkapuri bus stand and AIIMS Bhopal connection is unlikely to be completed before the September deadline.

The ROB is proposed to be built on one of the busiest railway routes of the railways. It would be a distance of 65 metres, but stopping a main railway route comes with a lot of challenges, the official said.

Overall progress of the 4.5 km trial run track is expected to meet the September deadline. Officials are confident of completing the track and five metro stations by August.

The site (Stud Farm, Arera Hills) is marked as the main depot for the Bhopal Metro Rail. The track turning radius is limited to 100 metres for Metro, according to experts.