News: 26 Indian cities are ready for the Metro
(DNA 01/08/2006) Mumbai - The advantages of a Metro Railway come from the fact that it has exclusive right of way. It doesn't have to share space with any other mode of transport. So the speed it provides is unbeatable.
The "throughput" or the number of passengers it can ferry at any given time is also incomparable. That is why - as a rule of thumb - most cities contemplate a Metro when the population touches one million; and they have already implemented it by the time it touches two million.
In India, with financial and other constraints, the going is not so easy. Indian cities have, in terms of population increase and crumbling urban infrastructure, reached a stage when they really need a Metro.
And that includes, not just Mumbai and Delhi, but also smaller cities like Kanpur, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. With plans for Metros in 26 cities now, there will be both highs and lows.
There is going to be difficulty about the period of construction, particularly in a city which has narrow roads. The Kolkata Metro project was completely open-ended, with no timeframe or budget.
As opposed to this, the Delhi Metro was much more regimented, well-thought-out and had assured finances under a highly efficient leader like E. Sreedharan.
Can Metro projects be helped by private players? I'm not aware of any Metro in the world which has been funded by private money.
But it could happen with elevated or overground systems as are being planned in Mumbai, where the imponderables are less.
There are some solutions to these problems, resolute project management being the first. In Kolkata, the problems were not technical but managerial - irregular flow of funds, red tape, and an air of mistrust when it came to investment of money.
Things are better now, which should facilitate Metro Rail projects everywhere in the country, not hold them up.
The "throughput" or the number of passengers it can ferry at any given time is also incomparable. That is why - as a rule of thumb - most cities contemplate a Metro when the population touches one million; and they have already implemented it by the time it touches two million.
In India, with financial and other constraints, the going is not so easy. Indian cities have, in terms of population increase and crumbling urban infrastructure, reached a stage when they really need a Metro.
And that includes, not just Mumbai and Delhi, but also smaller cities like Kanpur, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. With plans for Metros in 26 cities now, there will be both highs and lows.
There is going to be difficulty about the period of construction, particularly in a city which has narrow roads. The Kolkata Metro project was completely open-ended, with no timeframe or budget.
As opposed to this, the Delhi Metro was much more regimented, well-thought-out and had assured finances under a highly efficient leader like E. Sreedharan.
Can Metro projects be helped by private players? I'm not aware of any Metro in the world which has been funded by private money.
But it could happen with elevated or overground systems as are being planned in Mumbai, where the imponderables are less.
There are some solutions to these problems, resolute project management being the first. In Kolkata, the problems were not technical but managerial - irregular flow of funds, red tape, and an air of mistrust when it came to investment of money.
Things are better now, which should facilitate Metro Rail projects everywhere in the country, not hold them up.
posted by InCar Group Press Room at 15:00
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