Mass Rapid Transit Systems in India - Part I

Mass Rapid Transit Systems: the future transport of urban India

The modern India is a crowded place to be. All the more
reason for quickly building proper MRTS. 

There's a common saying going on allover our nation, what actually we live in is a duet of nations, namely the poor and primarily rural, lethargic Bharat, and its techier, flashier and faster younger brother, India. It is true that the modern regions of our nation, including the metropolitan cities of X category, and the Tier-II cities such as Surat, Patna, Bhopal and Indore, are actually absorbing a lot of resources for the sole purpose of their development. But then again, an urban future is the last hope for our nation. It's not a luxury, it's a necessity. The resources we're piling up to build our modern cities are going to return doubled and tripled, if we're careful enough while investing the required capital. In a way, cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai are similar to power stations. But instead of generating power, they generate capital, income, job opportunities. And in this process, the human resource of our country is automatically boosted to meet the challenges of the hour. Thus, urban development must be prioritized in our nation.

Why MRTS?

We have an arsenal of developing cities. At the top are the big-time (to loan the term from a Delhite friend of mine) cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chennai, and closely following them are smaller but efficient cities such as Indore, Surat, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Jaipur, Patna and Allahabad. All these cities have turned something resembling massive machines, or even living, breathing beings of titanic proportions. They take in capital and resources, process it, increase its value and sustain themselves. The remnant is contributed to the GDP of India, generating money, jobs and better lifestyle for virtually everyone. Even the people living in the most rural regions can now benefit from the intense development going on in big cities. This benefit is indirect, I agree, but it does exist.

Delhi Metro, the most modern and world-class
mode of public transit in India

The city-planners in 19th century England were among the first to understand the need for a standardized, massive and efficient system of transport for growing cities. The result - London Underground, also known as the Tube Rail System. It took us more than 37 years, since our independence, to build our first metro system, the celebrated Kolkata Metro Railway System. Later, Chennai MRTS projects were unveiled, but they could not keep pace with the immediate requirement of their services. To be honest, only two Indian cities today can boast about having working metro systems, Delhi and Kolkata. But I personally believe, this has got to change if we're to succeed as a functioning nation.

What is MRTS?

Before presenting my case, I'd like to discuss a few important facts concerning the MRTS. Many people are still not aware of the term, and for them, here it is once again - Mass Rapid Transit Systems. Now what really are they? To summarize the definition, and hide the technical details from sight, MRTS are networks of transport that can help transport lots of commuters across the length and breadth of the city, comfortably, quickly and affordably. Urban bus networks have long existed in our country, and MRT systems are actually the new generation of locomotives to lessen the burden on the existing infrastructure of road networks.

The Mumbai Monorail

MRTS reduces congestion, improves citywide mobility and helps maintain efficient connectivity between various parts of growing cities, even if the road routes are affected somehow. For a growing nation such as India, where population pressure is extreme and more people are migrating to cities everyday, MRTS are extremely crucial.

MRTS are costly to build and maintain, but they do payback. Evidence? The Delhi Metro, and even the much less sophisticated but somehow working Kolkata Metro network, are actually generating profits. That is why such systems are the need of the new century.

Existing MRTS in India 

A number of such existing MRTS facilities are already functioning across the length of India. Some of these are:

1. The Delhi Metro, which is the most sophisticated and modern of these modes, and indeed it's really a world-class service provided by the DMRC.

2. In addition, we have the Kolkata Metro, which is much less sophisticated and somewhat lagging behind, but still doing a wonderful job connecting the extremes of the city of Kolkata.

3. In addition to these two well known services, the Namma Metro (My Metro in the local language) is also on its way of becoming a major mode of transportation in the city of Bangalore.

4. The Chennai MRTS is not a full-fledged metro, but it does have its utilities. A much more modern and sophisticated Chennai Metro service is on its way of being implemented.

An elevated station of the Kolkata Metro Network,
N-S Corridore

5. The Kolkata Circular Railway, which is a convergence between the traditional railway system provided by the various branches of Indian Railways, and a mid-ranged MRTS to serve the city of Kolkata. It encircles the city of Kolkata, starting from the Dumdum Airport to the north and running deep into the southern fringes of the city.

6. The Mumbai Monorail, our latest and flashiest of MRTS systems.

For a big country like India, all these services, even when put together, doesn't put much weight on the table. In addition to these facilities, we have suburban railways across Mumbai, public and private buses in almost all major cities, and of course the age-old Kolkata Tramways.

Future of MRTS in India

A number of cities, including several Tier-II cities such as Patna, Bhopal and Indore, have started planning their metros. Any city that has a population exceeding 2 million should actually have a working metro, that is the traditional definition. However, considering the lack of infrastructure in India and the lethargic schedule here, I believe we should first target those cities which have more than 50,00,000 people. These include the 8 metro cities - Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad - as well as other Tier-II cities.

Various types of urban MRTS can be implemented here. Some of these are:

1. Metros: These are the giants driving the modern MRTS. In my opinion, metros are the most powerful and effective systems in existing today, for a country like India. The time-gap between two subsequent metro locomotives can be controlled, keeping it low during the peak hours for example. Both the Delhi Metro and Kolkata Metro are wonderful examples of what these systems can actually be like.

2. Monorails: One of the spiciest gossips that followed the implementation of Mumbai Moronail services was, monorains are better than metros. I beg to differ. In fact, monorains can serve as feeder systems to existing metro lines in cities like Kolkata and Delhi. Mumbai doesn't yet have a metro of its own, so the purpose of the monorain is not properly met in the long term, if you ask me. However, monorains can effectively reduce congestion and improve the experience of your daily commute in smaller cities. In larger cities with tremendous burden on public transport, monorains can never be full-fledged solutions. Already, monorails in other cities, including Kolkata and Delhi, are being crafted. Delhi is set to have the longest monorail network, spread across a length of 90 KMs, followed by a 72 KM one for Kolkata.

3. Light Rails: The LRTS (Light Rail Transit System) is a cross between public buses and monorails. The only working LRTS can be found in the city of Kolkata, in the form of its shabby, ancient but still somehow functioning tramway coaches. Trams have ceased to be much efficient, and indeed they're regarded as a secondary mode of transport in Kolkata itself, especially for a joyride, or when you are not in a hurry. However, with proper investment, I believe more modern LRTS facilities can be developed in smaller cities. Already, Kolkata and Delhi, the two pioneers in terms of public transport, have planned their LRTS systems. The Kolkata LRTS will be completed in two steps, the first connecting Joka and Esplanade, and the second linking Esplanade and Barackpoore.

The Kolkata Tramway: only functioning LRTS in India

4. MERL Systems: MERL (Metropolitan Elevated Railway Line) systems include the Kolkata Circular Railway and the Chennai MRTS. These are a sort of experimentation, by using the ancient facilities provided by the Indian Railways for easing the burden on the roads. These are nowhere close to the metros or even the monorails, mind you, but they do have their uses. For example, during my journey onboard the Kolkata Circular Railway locomotives, I found them to be quite efficient in transporting goods and baggages across the length of the city. This is something we can't do on metros and monorails. For general movement of goods and cargo, MERL systems are very effective. However, in my opinion these systems are rather inefficient for public transit, because of their hectic schedules, slow speeds, and the simple fact that they require way-too-much space.

Final Words 

If you open the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_transit_in_India you'll see that Wikipedia lists quite a number of metro projects being worked on across India. It's a very optimistic claim to say that they'll be functioning within a few years, but we must continue working on them. A healthy India needs healthy arteries, and these MRTS lines are actually those arteries and veins powering the cities of our nation. Do we simply sit idly? No, let us spread the word, let us demand more! For long we've waited. And the time has finally come for us to raise our voices in unison, demanding the quick and safe implementation of these facilities in our cities and towns. In the next part of this series, I'll write about some of the major workarounds to gather more investment for our metros. 

Credits

The Times of India 

Wikipedia 

The Kolkata Metro Corporation 

Google Images