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Metro Rail

Part I: Airport Rail Link - The Monorail Option

10 April 2008 - 5:53pm — Naveen

Airport Rail Link – the Monorail Option

The Airport-City rail link has been a much visited topic, but nothing seems to have been finalized, so far. The central government had recognized mass transit systems as vital for larger cities’ needs & had previously offered assistance to the tune of 30% (similar to Metro-rail systems), which is a small contribution – 70% still has to be met by state government & BIAL, including loans & debts. Negotiations always seem to have ended in deadlock as agreements over revenue sharing are uncertain with changing stands by the government/s involved. It appears that the central government has now changed its stand & is willing to provide more participation as this is a vital sector that can have far reaching consequences for the country’s economy.

Part I: Monorail

10 April 2008 - 5:46pm — Naveen

Monorail
About 60 kms of Monorail /Light rail has been recommended in the CTTP report on various potentially high-growth corridors (Western portion of ORR & Bannerghatta road) in the CTTP report.

Traffic/Transport Issues & CTTP-2007

10 April 2008 - 4:52pm — Naveen

There is deep concern about unmanageable volumes of traffic, the deteriorating road discipline & difficulties in commuting, all calling for very urgent interventions.

Part II: Non-Motorised User Facilities

10 April 2008 - 4:26pm — Naveen

Pedestrian Facilities
Excerpts from various sections of the CTTP report are as follows :
3.13.1.9: There is high pedestrian traffic in core area and some other areas in Bangalore. Footpath facilities are generally not adequate and their condition is deteriorating. Therefore up gradation of their facilities is very important.
5.5.8 (Preferred Strategy for Transport Development): Special facilities for pedestrians within the entire network specially in the core areas; Pedestrianization of selected shopping streets in side the core area going to be served by Underground sections of Metro; Provision of pedestrian sky walks, under passes, footpaths and other road furniture along the roads where necessary.
7.9: Recommends as many as 78 roads within ORR & 54 roads outside ORR for improvements & widening.
7.11.2.2 (Foot paths): Recommends a width of 2.0m for sidewalks for about 350 kms of city roads.

Part I: BRTS

10 April 2008 - 4:16pm — Naveen

Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS)
Earlier (1999), a feasibility study for BRTS had identified a promising network of 20 corridors for bus routes comprising twin central rings intersected by 8 radial routes, with assistance from SIDA, Sweden. A pilot project of 12kms from Jayanagar to Shivajinagar with a combination of exclusive lanes with priority of passage at signals & construction of rapid transit lines was planned but never materialized & was abandoned without any attempt. There is no mention of this in the CTTP-2007 report, either. If this had commenced then, we might have seen it progress to some extent & at least, public opinion about the value of such quicker means of public travel would have been recognized.

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Urban Rail - The Chennai Experience

1 April 2008 - 4:52pm — Naveen

Sometime back, I remember reading a report in a magazine (published from either HongKong or Singapore) about the Chennai Suburban Rail (CRS) & the newer MRTS. This report, I think was actually based on a study for economic assistance for expansion of the Chennai MRTS (Phases 2 & 3).

The need for BRTS

26 March 2008 - 8:01pm — Naveen

This refers to the article in TOI & the guest column by Muralidhar Rao.

The basic premise on which public transport is based is that if the road seems too narrow with high volumes of traffic, there is a case for public transport. The higher the volume of traffic on a road, the stronger is the case for public transport.

In India, the low–cost /low–quality public buses are now not preferred by the upwardly mobile strata. Rail-based systems (such as Metro /Monorail) are very expensive to build & maintain & will therefore, not have extensive reach for a long time to come. The city cannot make do with widening roads & adding elevated roads continuously. No city has ever been able to “build” its way out of the problem. A new, faster & cost efficient system is required for quality conscious groups, over & above the existing low quality bus network. BRTS fulfills these requirements & is perhaps, the only available alternative worth exploring.

The Traffic Quagmire – Using Logic & Rationality the Right Way

25 March 2008 - 9:35pm — Naveen

Vasanth - your post ‘Using Technology the Right Way’ made good reading.

We can come up with umpteen reasons for the chaos that traffic is, but simply put, there is just one real core issue – the city is trying to cope with traffic loads for which it’s road network certainly was never designed nor envisaged. Despite having lost the battle time & again, all efforts so far have been to satisfy the ‘Car lobbies’, even at the expense of pedestrians, bicyclists & public transport users. Planning & Construction of the Metro rail is the only exception.Plans, policies & procedures that involve a multi-dimensional approach to seek long-term & permanent solutions have never materialized, though efforts have been made.

work on the metro..

26 February 2008 - 7:29am

5 comments

METRO? When?

22 January 2008 - 6:46am — blrsri

We are talking of busses as a alternative till the metro comes up..but actually how safe are they? Its almost weekly that they go about claiming lives of innocent people, including children..I would say a serious study needs to be done as to how many busses a road can take at any point in time and limits should be set on that!

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