The officials in the administration said though no formal communication has yet been received from the Ministry, the development is a welcome step urgently needed to augment the public transport system.

According to the engineering department, the cost of the underground metrorail has been estimated at Rs 350 crore per km, while for the surface metro rail the cost has been put at Rs 150 crore per km. The administration had put forward its case for the underground metro rail to save the city’s character and skyline.

Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have also agreed to contribute to the project.

The Metro rail project for the tricity will now have to be cleared by the Cabinet before the final formal approval comes from the Ministry.

Officials said it will take some months before the project report is prepared and submitted. The actual cost and the other details will be worked out after that.

After a series of meetings between the representatives from the UT and the neighbouring states under the committee set up by the Centre last year, the Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) project will cover a total of 87 km, which include Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Ropar, Kharar, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Baddi, Barotiwala and Kalka. In the first phase, 36 km would be built to cover Chandigarh and the tricity.

While seven corridors for MRTS have been identified and agreed upon, the work on two corridors — Khuda Lahora — Sarangpur to Maheshpur (on the eastern side of Panchkula) and IT Park to Mohali Sector 105 along the Purv Marg would also be started.

Before the 11-member committee set up by the Centre under K C Sivaramakrishnan turned down the UT's proposal for a metro in its report last month, the UT had identified the terminal stations for a Metro rail project.

Former UT Chief Engineer V K Bhardwaj told Newsline: “During the primary survey conducted last year, we had identified terminal stations for metro rail, which included ISBT 17, IBST 43, Railway station, Airport, PGI, Mohali railway station, IT Park, Panchkula Bus Stand and Mani Majra motor market.”

Giving an update on the planning, Chief Engineer S K Jaitley said: We have agreed for an underground metro only. But the details will only be worked out in the Detailed Project Report (DPR).”

Seven corridors
Seven corridors for MRTS in Chandigarh and neighbouring areas
1 Khuda Lahora-Sarangpur to Meheshpur (eastern side of Panchkula).
2 IT Park to Mohali, Sector 105 along Purv Marg
3 Mohali Sector 66 to Sukhna Lake
4 Sector 14 (PU) to mohali Sector 93 along Vidya path
5 Dadu Majra to Zirakpur/ Airport mainly along Dakshin Marg
6 Zirakpur to Panchkula Bus stand
7 Khuda Lahora to IT Park with a loop to Panchkula