Traffic in almost all major population centres in India seems to have been stuck in chronic congestion with an average vehicle speed of around only 10-15km/h. Indian urban centres have long lacked both a city railway network and short-distance rail lines connecting the suburbs. These cities are facing an explosive combination of rapid population growth, a sharp rise in the number of privately owned vehicles as city dwellers have been forced to depend on only buses, private-owned cars and two or three-wheelers for transportation. The low-quality fuel and inefficient engines used in cars and buses add to the toxicity of the prevailing problem of air pollution.
In this backdrop, it had become critical that a mass rapid transit system be developed in all major cities of India for accelerating the modal shift from automobile to the metro system. Cities with an operating Metro system in the country have seen successful alleviation of traffic congestion as well as the reduction in air pollution caused by exhaust fumes and emission of greenhouse gases.
Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Pune Metro and inaugurated several other developmental projects in the city.
In his address, the Prime Minister said that Smart Mobility for citizens is the need of the hour. This includes having more green transport, electric buses, electric cars, electric two-wheelers and the use of a single card for transport facilities.
“There should be Integrated Command & Control Center in every city to make the facilities smart,” PM Modi iterated emphasising that the more people travel in metros, the better it will be for cities.
Not only on cities but the Metro system also has a very positive impact on worker productivity. The system ensures that city-based employees have lesser stress of the commute with less time wasted in traffic. People are able to save money and are under less financial strain from car costs when they are seeking employment in different parts of their city. Metros have become the engines of growth as they are opening doors of opportunities for the poor who otherwise are limited by the lack of available transport or ability to pay. Clearly, the public health benefits of the Metro system are the real winner as lower pollution as well as fewer accidents are observed, as a great proportion of accidents happen during rush hours.
While the Metro system has been a boon, it needs to be seen as the first step towards the development of a sustainable long term mass rapid transit system. Currently, all urban mass transit systems are developed on the hub-and-spoke concept, where the transport system is the hub and users have to travel from various parts of the city and converge in the hub to use it. Prototypes of one next-gen MRT system, known as MINI ELEVATED cTrain (caterpillar train) developed by one of the engineers of Indian Railways had won a global competition on innovations at MIT, Boston. Rather than the current form of Metro coaches, the C-Train envisages a series of small, seating-only cars that would be “as high as an SUV” with a capacity of only 20 passengers. These would have wheels both below and on top, giving them the ability to travel on the track as well as under it, thereby giving them the appearance of a caterpillar. Further, due to lightweight coaches, C-Train would run on poles joined together to form an arch, and it would run on electricity (with battery backup). With a combination of such innovations on the horizon with solar power harnessing capability enhancement, India is looking to emerge as the true leader of next-gen public commutation.
SHARE
