Chachu's column #16: A Tale of Two Metros

Not some time back, when long queues were observed in front of CNG stations of Delhi, the state and central government locked horns, trying their best to blame the other for the pain and the suffering of the masses. This was hardly surprising as the BJP-led NDA government in the Center could not tolerate the Congress government of the Delhi Assembly. While BJP strongman Madal Lal khurana  hobnobbed with the diesel lobby and promised that CNG was just a pipe dream, the Delhi Government found itself sandwiched between the rulings of the Supreme Court and the wishes of the Petroleum ministry. While the petty battle of the politicians continued, today, Indraprastha Gas Limited announced opening of its hundredth CNG station in the capital. While much has been said about CNG, a lot still remains to be said, and more to be done. Like, for example, excise duties and tax based on pollution; tax incentives to non-polluting cars; and promotion of use of eco-friendly transportation mechanisms.

Talking of eco-friendly transportation mechanisms, one such mechanism that is evoking considerable interest among Delhites is the Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS). Started in 1998, the first phase of the project is expected to be complete by this year end, connecting 8 km stretch between Shahdara and Tis Hazari. Surprisingly, most of the news items detailing the MRTS development have been good news.

This, despite the fact that government enterprises are notorious for their inefficiency, corruption, and red-tapism. The success of MRTS has been so remarkable (despite the fact that the first passenger-carrying train has still not run) that the BJP and Congress are now fighting over the kudos and acclaims. Both claim to be the architect of the successful completion of the project and both want credit for that.

Keeping the politicians aside and coming back to the main story, the MRTS project started just four years ago is scheduled to lay a MRTS network of 62.5km. Out of this, 12.5km is underground and rest is elevated or ground level. The network will connect Shahdara in the East-delhi, to Rohini/Barwala in North-West delhi, and Dwarka in West Delhi. A norht-south corridor will also connect Vishwa Vidyalaya to Central Secretariat via ISBT and Connaught place. Wtih a capital outlay of a staggering 10,000 crores, the first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by September, 2005. If everything goes well, the second phase of the project will also be undertaken which will then connect Noida in East Delhi and Vasant Kunj in South Delhi.

The advantages of a state-of-the-art MRTS is not hard to fathom. Since the metro will be signal free, it will result in reduced commuting time. In addition, the journeys will be safer and more reliable. Since the trains will be run on electricity, they will reduce atmospheric pollution; (nearly 70% of the Delhi's pollution is caused by vehicular traffic especially two-wheelers). If people start migrating  to the metros, there will be fewer cars on the roads resulting in huge savings of fossil fuel as well as increase in the lives of the vehicles as well as that of the roads. Overall, there are number of  benefits associated with the MRTS. Apart from these benefits, certain features of Delhi MRTS make it truly world class. There are specific provisions for physically and visually handicapped people, a class that is almost perennially neglected by the city planners and civic authorities. Then there are automatic sensors that read tickets kept in the passenger's pocket or handbag. There are adequate parking spaces so that office goers can park their vehicles and board the Metro to their work places. The Metro is also supplemented by other forms of transport like buses, three-wheelers and even rickshaws. If everything goes well, the Delhi MRTS will  change the landscape of how people live and move. There are already talks of property prices zooming  around areas where metro passes. And when MRTS starts operation, the trend will only pickup.

The Delhi MRTS is not the first to be commissioned in India. The credit for this goes to the City of joy Kolkata. However, comparisons between the two metros may not be fair. For one, the Kolkata metro for most part of it is underground which is not the case for Delhi. Then, the Delhi metro plans a peak time frequency of a train every three minutes. In contrast, Kolkata even after so many years of operation provides a train every 8-10 minutes. Moreover, while the Delhi MRTS shows us the way how things should be built, the 16.5km stretch of Kolkata took nearly twenty-five years to be built.
Since first fifteen years of my life were spent in Kolkata, I have some interesting memories of the city. The route to my grand-mother's house was almost the same as that on which the Metro was built. And for years I used to see dug roads which used to get full of water after a spell of Monsoons. When I queried my father as to when the Metro would be operational, he let out a wry smile, suggesting that the question did not have an answer. However, one fine day the Metro did got complete providing me an overwhelmingly simpler option of reaching my Grandma's house. The Metro was quite in contrast to the dilapidated state of public transport. Air-conditioned and having televisions (which later on mysteriously disappeared), the Kolkata Metro was like a breath of fresh air. In fact, whenever I used to get down the flight of stairs that led to the underground railway, there was a strong soothing breeze blowing across. The trains always ran on time, and there was hardly a trace of babudom which the city has become synonymous with. The stations were generally neat and clean. And there were hardly any betel stains. However, when the Metro was completely ready for me to take benefit of, my father moved out of Kolkata, leaving the prized metro in the hands of possessive Bengalis.