Nagpur Metro set a Guinness World Record by building the world’s longest double-decker viaduct (metro). The Wardha Road in Nagpur achieved this feat. The 3.14-kilometer-long double-decker viaduct on Wardha Road is home to three metro stations: Chhatrapati Nagar, Jai Prakash Nagar, and Ujjwal Nagar. These stations necessitate station-specific planning to meet the functional requirements of the metro, as well as site-specific constraints and double-decker viaduct requirements. The engineering thought process, concept, design, and execution of these stations are difficult.
Initially, the highway flyover and metro rail alignments were proposed on the same existing highway on Wardha Road, with independent piers at alternating locations proposed on the median. Later, it was decided to combine the Highway Flyover and Metro Rail to form a double-decker viaduct. The double-decker viaduct transports a highway flyover on the first level and Metro Rail on the second level, creating a three-tier transportation system with the existing highway on the ground level.
Nitin Gadkari on Nagpur Metro
Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, praised Nagpur Metro’s efforts and tweeted, “Another feather in the cap! Heartiest Congratulations to Team NHAI and Maha Metro on achieving the Guinness Book of World Record in Nagpur by constructing the longest Double Decker Viaduct (3.14 KM) with Highway Flyover & Metro Rail Supported on single column.”
“The project has already bagged records from Asia Book and India Book. Now receiving this eminent award is indeed a proud moment for us. I heartily thank & salute the incredible Engineers, Officers & Workers who persevered round the clock to make this happen,” Nitin Gadkari said in another tweet.
Longest Double Decker Viaduct on any Metro Rail System
“The double-decker viaduct of 3.14 km on the Wardha Road in Nagpur, Maharashtra was commissioned by Metro Rail traffic on 5 March 2019 and for Highway traffic, on 13 November 2020, is the Longest Double Decker Viaduct on any Metro Rail system,” according to a statement by the Guinness World Records, London.
The double-decker viaduct, measuring 3.14km, has already been certified as the longest structure in Asia and India by the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records, respectively.
