Rapid Transit System in India

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway  system is an  electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation  from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on elevated rails above street level. Outside urban centers, rapid transit lines may run on grade separated ground level tracks.

Service on rapid transit systems is provided on designated lines between stations using electric multiple units on rail tracks, although some systems use guided rubber tyres, magnetic levitation, or monorail. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. Rapid transit is faster and has a higher capacity than trams or light rail (but does not exclude a fully grade separated LRT), but is not as fast or as far-reaching as commuter rail.

Major rapid systems in India are:

a) Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line (Line 1). It was the first such form of transportation in India, opening commercial services in 1984.

Benefits:

• Requires 1/5th energy per passenger km compared to road-based transport system.
• Causes less noise, no air pollution and eco friendly transport system.
• Occupies no road space if underground and only about 2.60 mtrs width of the road if elevated.
• More reliable, comfortable and safer than road based systems.
• Reduces journey time.

b) MONO RAIL in Mumbai

Considering the increase in population, increased travel demand and narrow road networks running through congested structures, there is a need of a system which will occupy less space as well as reduce travel time.

With the objective, to support public rapid transit system such as suburban rail system and metro rail system and where public rapid transit system is not available or impossible to provide such system and where widening of roads is not possible due to structures on either sides, Mono Rail system is proposed to be implemented in “ city of dreams” MUMBAI. Once completed it will be world’s second longest Monorail corridor.

Larsen and Toubro along with Scomi has received the contract to build and operate the monorail.

Salient features of Monorail system:

1. In Monorail System train runs on a narrow Guide way Beam, wheels of which are gripped laterally on either side of the beam.
2. Monorail is a Light Weight System and its cost of execution is less compared to heavy rail systems and it takes approximately 1.5 to 2 years for execution.
3. Mono rail System requires 1.00 m wide space (Column Size 0.8 m X 1.5 m) the space of a footpath or a divider and it rests on a single pillar of height 6.5 m without disturbing the existing traffic.
4. As compared to other systems Monorail produces less noise and is eco-friendly and hence easily acceptable in dense residential locale.
5. Monorail System is in use in Tokyo (Japan) from 1963, in Kuala-Lumpur (Malaysia) for last 5 years and in china for last 3 years.
6. Monorail System is Safe and reliable system.

c) Delhi Metro

The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida andGhaziabad in the National Capital Region of India. It has become the "life line" of Delhi as people are dependent on Delhi Metro for commuting to different places within the city. Delhi Metro Project has been recognized all over the world for its specialty in terms of a hi-tech rail and better equipped transport system. The project is under the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, DMRC.

Planning for the metro started in 1984, when the Delhi Development Authority and the Urban Arts Commission came up with a proposal for developing a multi-modal transport system for the city. The Government of India and the Government of Delhi jointly set up the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in 1995. Construction started in 1998, and the first section, on the Red Line, opened in 2002, followed by the Yellow Line in 2004, the Blue Line in 2005, its branch line in 2009, the Green and Violet Lines in 2010 and the Delhi Airport Metro Express in 2011.

Metro rail in the city has reduced the traffic to some extent and the pollution level has certainly declined. Because of this only Delhi Metro has been certified by the United Nations as the first metro rail-based system in the world to get carbon credits for contributing to the fight against climate change by help reducing pollution levels in the city by 6.3 lakh tons every year. It also has earned carbon credits of worth 47 crores annually for the next seven years.

A carbon credit is a term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide. Carbon credits and carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentration of greenhouse gases.

Thus, the DMRC has helped in reduction in emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere and the United Nations-body administering the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol has certified carbon credits to DMRC for reducing emissions.

d) Namma Metro

Namma Metro also known as Bengaluru Metro is a rapid transit rail system for the city of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The agency responsible for its implementation is the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL). The first stretch between Baiyyappanahalli and M.G. Road was inaugurated on October 20, 2011.

Salient features:

All the Metro trains are Wi-Fi enabled (the first metro in India to have this feature), so passengers can use laptops, tablets as well as mobile internet. Passengers also have emergency voice communication with train staff through a speaker system. Passengers are provided with a call button to communicate anything to the driver or control center during an emergency.

Metro stations will have Powerheart Automated external defibrillator (AED) to protect its commuters against death from sudden cardiac arrest. Powerheart AED is used for emergency treatment of victims exhibiting symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest. The installation of AEDs will be followed by a certified training for a group of staff members of BMRC. The devices are manufactured by Opto Circuits (India) Ltd.

e) Proposed Rapid Transit Systems

Urban Development Minister Mr. Kamal Nath has approved “in-principle” the proposal of implementing Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in three important corridors in the NCR viz. Delhi-Gurgaon-Alwar, Delhi-Sonepat-Panipat and Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut. The RRTS is a rail based mass transit system that would connect distant areas of National Capital Region (NCR) to the Capital.

The high speed connectivity between the regional centres of NCR and Delhi will make the physical distance shorter and allow these regional towns to capture the economic impulse and density generated by Delhi. This faster connectivity will reduce pressure on the National Capital’s infrastructure by opening up the region, including regional housing market.

The Minister stressed that in order to achieve the objective of creation of NCR in 1985, it would be necessary to focus on the sub-urbanization process and infrastructure development outside Delhi to enable other areas of NCR to absorb the load on the capital’s resources.