Infrastructure Urban Rail Transport

Urban Rail Transport Trends

and Policies in India:

Impacts of Rapid Economic Growth
Chaitanya Raj Goyal

nfrastructure has been the chant that is driving the Indian Metropolitans for the past few decades. The need for basic infrastructure is felt all the more because massive administrative regions like Mumbai and suburbs, National Capital Region, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, etc. are abundant in all the other amenities & resources needed for a good business climate. Being the financial focal of the nation and the hubs of its commercial and trade activities, such major Indian cities

together support around 50 million inhabitants currently. As far as the public transport system in Indian cities is concerned, dedicated city bus services are known to operate in 27 cities while rail transit exists only in 4 out of 35 cities with population in excess of one million. This has put the traffic conditions in many major cities in an alarming state and the present local rail infrastructure (wherever existent) has reached its overloading limits. In this context, the importance of intra-urban rail transpor-

tations capability of meeting the growing needs is paramount. Public transportation: Rapid rail transit is need of the hour While the per-capita income of India is still quite low, it has risen considerably with rapid economic growth in recent decades. Between 1980 and 2005, real per-capita income (adjusted for inflation) more than doubled in India. One result of higher incomes has been skyrocketing ownership and

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in the intra-urban infrastructure, several aspects of the transport sector are still riddled with problems due to outdated infrastructure. The demand for transport infrastructure and services has been rising by around 10% a year with the current infrastructure being unable to meet these growing demands. The share of bus transport is high as compared to the rail, but is negligible as compared to personalized vehicles, two-wheelers and cars which account for more than 80%of the vehicle population in most large cities. Extensive population migration from villages and towns along with increase in the commercial and industrial activities has further added to the transportation woes of the public. Most bus and train services (wherever available) are overcrowded, undependable, slow, inconvenient, uncoordinated, and dangerous. Traffic in Indian cities generally moves slowly, with traffic jams and accidents being very common. India has very poor records on road safely around 90,000 people die from road accidents every year. At least 13 people die every hour in road accidents in the country. Also in the year 2007, road accidents claimed more than 130,000 lives, overtaking China. Furthermore, the public ownership and operation of

most public transport services has greatly reduced productivity and inflated costs. Indias cities desperately need improved and expanded public transport service, especially in the form of Metro and Monorails since the existing road infrastructure in many cities is restrained and too narrow to support BRTS functionally. Unfortunately, meager government financial assistance and the complete lack of any supportive policies in the past had put public transport in an almost impossible situation. But, the government is recently starting to realize the importance of what had been ignored in the past, is making commendable efforts to do what should have been done way back. Government of India: Policies and Initiatives To remove the roadblocks in the sustainable development of Indian cities, the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has a plan underway to tackle the challenges presented by fast urbanization and motorization, by accelerating the supply of infrastructure and services with a prime focus on urban rail transit systems. As part of this overall plan, the Government of India has introduced some vital policies and initiatives. National Urban Transport

use of motor vehicles and since 1990, the total number of motor vehicles has roughly tripled in India. This has led to alarming increase in traffic deaths and injuries, air pollution, noise, traffic congestion, and energy use. Thus, if India continues on the path towards rapid motorization, its increasing contributions to air pollution, greenhouse gases, and energy use will far offset the modest reductions achieved in more affluent, developed countries. Despite the ongoing improvements

Present rail infrastructure in many major cities across the country have reached its overloading limits

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Infrastructure Urban Rail Transport

Policy (NUTP) was launched in 2006 by the Ministry of Urban Development, and was created to motivate the building of people centric urban transport solutions instead of focusing on improving the conditions for private motor vehicles. This is a significant departure from traditional urban transport practices in Indian cities, as the needs of the majority of the population using public transport and non motorized modes are now at the forefront. The prime objective of this policy is to ensure safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access for the growing number of city residents to jobs, education, recreation and such other needs within our cities. The objectives of this policy would be achieved through a multipronged approach. Some measures include integrating land use and transport planning, equitable allocation of road space, priority to the use of public transport, quality and pricing of public transport, technologies for public transport, integrated public transport systems, financing, role of Para-transit, priority to non-motorized transport, parking, freight traffic, capacity building, use of cleaner technologies and association of the private sector. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) launched

Government plans to remove roadblocks in development by accelerating the supply of infrastructure

by the Government of India central assistance fund, provided a timely platform for providing significant financial support for investments in urban transport infrastructure. The NUTP policy provides a meaningful policy guiding central financial assistance towards improving urban mobility and consequently quality of life in cities

The demand for transport infrastructure and services has been rising by around 10% a year

across India. After its launch, a remarkable decision was made to mandate that all urban transport projects receiving financial assistance from the JnNURM program are to conform with the rules and regulations stated under the NUPT mission. The NUTP has identified a wide spectrum of public transport technologies ranging from high capacity and high cost technologies like the underground Metro systems to high capacity and low cost bus rapid transit systems. National Action Plan for Climate Change was launched in 2008 and provided additional support and solidified Indias commitment to sustainable transport solution. A sub clause called "A National Mission to Sustainable Habitat" has been launched to make habitat sustainable through a modal shift to public transport, by promoting energy efficiency as an integral component of urban planning and renewal as well as facilitate the growth of medium and small cities in ways that ensure efficient and convenient public transport. The carbon credits obtained by the Delhi Metro Rail till date are a commendable achievement, thereby

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Infrastructure Urban Rail Transport

like Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Indore, Nagpur, Kochi, Coimbatore, and Kozhikode. The Metro fever is catching up in smaller cities, thanks largely to the success of Delhi Metro. Cities like Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Bhopal are making a case for rail systems, even though they do not qualify on account of the population cut-off. Rapid rail transit systems in India: Current scenario Rapid rail transit systems in India consist of Metro and Monorail systems. The Mumbai Suburban Railway is the first rail system in India which began services in Mumbai in 1867. It transports 6.3 million passengers daily and has the highest passenger density in the world. Time to time modifications were incorporated in this system as the technology progressed making it what it is today the lifeline of Mumbai. But, due to extensive overloading and being unable to meet the rapidly growing demand of the city, the Mumbai Metro began construction in 2006, and is being built in three phases, at a total cost of ` 36,000 crore. The eight lines of the system are projected to have a total length of approximately 146 kilometers and are expected to substantially help in managing the load on the existing local rail network. Being the first modern railway network in India, the Kolkata Metro Railway began operations way back in 1984. The Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System was next to follow, starting its operations in 1997. A new 14.67 km east-west Metro rail corridor is being constructed in Kolkata by the railways to supplement the existing rail transit system as the existing line undergoes major modifications and extension. Chennai is also implementing a 45.05 km project based on the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) model, consisting of two corridors and expected to cost around ` 14,600 crore. The Delhi Metro in the capital city of New Delhi is India's third conventional Metro beginning operations in 2002.

Delhi Metros Sustainable design and systems are foundations for green transport systems in the future

laying the foundation for such energy efficient and green transport systems in the future. Owing to the new governmental policies and initiatives, commuters in cities that have population of more than 2 million can look forward to more comfortable and safe rides, if state

governments are willing to opt for modern Metro or Monorail network for intra-city travel. India will invest approximately ` 2 lakh crores in the Metro and Monorail systems in the next 10 years. The MoUD has decided to consider the proposal and even approved for Metro and Monorail in some tier II cities

Kolkata Metro was India's first modern rail network begining operations as early as 1984

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Hyderabad also completed the initial phase of MMTS its own suburban rail network, which began operation in 2003, but is now constructing a 71 km long (Phase I) Metro rail corridor to supplement it, costing approximately ` 16,000 crore and expecting completion by 2015. The latest is the Namma Metro in Bengaluru, which is India's fourth operational rapid rail transit system and started in 2011. The city has already got the detailed project report (DPR) ready for Phase II, a 72 km stretch that will cost about ` 25,000 crore. Currently, rapid transit systems have been deployed only in these cities and more are under construction or in planning in several other major cities of India. Jaipur is likely to be the first developing city to get the posh mode of transportation as the state government has agreed to bear ` 1,250 crore for the 9.25 km stretch under Stage I. The state government would be directly funding ` 600 crore while the rest would be borne by other wings of state urban development and housing departments. The 25.9 km phase II is expected to cost around ` 7000 crore for which government is considering the PPP mode.

Kochi has also jumped on the bandwagon. The MoUD will soon seek the Cabinet's nod for the project: a 25.3 km stretch, to be built at a cost of ` 5,200 crore. Other major cities like Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Ludhiana have got DPR for Metro projects prepared from DMRC, while similar reports for Indore, Bhopal and Chandigarh are currently being prepared. Though Patna, Coimbatore, Kanpur, Surat and Kozhikode also classify the grade for tier-II cities, they are lagging behind in availing of the Centre's offer, restrained due to the 2 million plus population requirement policy of the ministry. The ministry has also decided to bear half the cost of preparation of DPR for cities that come under the population cut-off bracket, thus proving their concern on the sustainable public transport development front. Monorails are generally considered as feeder systems for the Metro. The Mumbai Monorail will be the first Monorail in India. The first portion of the first line is scheduled to be operational by May 2012. The Thiruvananthapuram Monorail is under construction and will

start operating in 2016. It will be India's second largest Monorail network. Many other Indian cities like Kanpur, Patna, Aizawl, Kozhikode, Pune, Indore, Delhi, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, etc. have Monorail projects, in different phases of planning. Future of Metro rail in India Technology and luxury come with a price! In the case of urban Metro rails, this price is extensively heavy. Metro systems have been planned to reduce congestion on the roads and have quickly become very popular among the public owing to their fast, comfortable and cheap travel. Being ecofriendly and energy efficient also makes these systems preferable. However such systems planned in India have repeatedly been accused of cost overrunning and under utilization of capacity, especially by transportation engineering experts. Methodology and arguments used to justify these systems need careful analysis. High capacity system does not necessarily generate high demand. Estimation of passenger demand for transit services should consider complete journey of commuters including access time. With Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS) gaining popularity and continued stress from experts on development of cost effective door to door public transportation, the future for capital intensive Metro rails seems promising yet uncertain. But, for now, millions of Indian citizens can breathe a sigh of relief as the much awaited Metro and Monorail is all set to launch in their respective cities. Giants like Mumbai and Kolkata, forever cribbing about the lack of proper infrastructure, will have one less thing to complain about and this engineering marvel, which we will ride tomorrow thanks to the hard work of a crack team, will soon replace the existing modes of urban public transport for good! Photo Courtesy
www.vimanavarta.com, www.meriyatrra.com, www.geodesictechniques.com, www.moreindia.in www.www.ubifrance.com, Blurry Moments, www.tkmce-engineers-diary.blogspot.in

The proposed Mumbai Monorail project, currently underway, will be India's first ever monorail

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