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The basic problem with Bangalore Metro Rail design, which is a "carbon copy" of the Delhi Metro Rail design is:
i. its failure to define a catchment area and
ii. design for seamless integration of feeder services and metro rail system (with seamless ticketing and intermodal synchronization) - RIGHT AT THE INCEPTION.
When this "flaw" was brought to Mr. Sreedharan's notice, more than 2 years back, and to Mr. Sudhir Chandra - a senior official at BMRTC - both chose to wilfully ignore it. Mr. Sreedharan reluctantly agreed to some "patchwork" for the feeder system - like those lousy and rickety "Rural Transport Vehicles" called RTVs.
Too many stations make Delhi Metro painfully and inefficiently slow with more than 1hr. 30 minutes door-to-door travel time for a 24 km. journey say from Dwarka to Barahkhamba Rd. The same route is navigable by a car in an average time of 45 minutes., in our study with the added benefit/flexibility of having your car for further trip. Most of the stations are already stuffed with cars parked like unherded cattle. In a recent trip at 3:30 pm, I could not find a parking at Central Secretariat station and was asked to look for space at Patel Chowk. The parking lot was muddy and flled with water. Even if I could squeeze in some space for my car, the attendant would not allow b'coz there were 7 cars behind me. He was adamant on some silly logic that if he removed the boulders preventing me to enter, every one else will enter. It wasted me a total of 20 minutes before he agreed. As a case study, 3:30 pm at this station makes it a lean time..just imagine the time wasted in peak times.
The poor design has primarily lead to the chasm between potential ridership of 35 lacs. and actual of just over 5 lacs. This means that still so many cars are doing rounds which could be reduced by an appropriate design.
This was also brought to the notice of Mr. OP Agarwal then Jt. Secretary and Officer on Special Duty - MRTS. He expressed shock and dismay initially but it was too hot for him to handle. Even when I reminded a senior Urban Development Ministry official in Delhi last week, he told me that I should talk to Sreedharan for what is wrong with Delhi Metro.
The advantages of the MetroLITE design as it applies to high capacity systems like Metro Rail, wherever required or inevitable, for whatever reasons, in turn so are as follows:
A. Plan for optimal spacing of stations (~ 2kms.) in conjunction with a seamless feeder system saves capital cost (principal and interest repayment burden) as well as significant benefits in operational efficiency - better trip frequency, lower electricity bill, faster travel times, better ridership, on-demand operation management.
B. Enhances commuter benefits and economic viability of the proposed Bangalore Metro model.
2. I suggested Metro "at grade" only as a last resort. If you take a systemic approach, the problem can be entirely solved by MetroLITE using high occupancy cars and buses. Once we remove our blinkers or juvenile fantasies for swanky toycars - (for Mr. Sreedharan's bloated ego, Delhi Metro is the swankiest toy car of all..Can you beat it ? which is no different from Ratan Tata's fantasies of the 1 lakh car - the irony is both are highly energy inefficient, in their present form) and take basic measures to "localise" trips related to daily activities by a combination of incentives or regulation. This also implies that no private cars should be allowed on these routes with remaining lanes dedicated for essential goods movement and Bicycle/Pedestrian Lanes, as applicable.
Regards,
Vikash 312 users have liked.
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