Usually what we see is that,
after a tough day at work, by the time one returns home, one is dead tired.
That was then. At least in those parts of Delhi
before the arrival of the Metro. Which, take it from me, will be all of Delhi – old and new –
within the next few years. At the moment, however, there is only partial
coverage of the throbbing Indian Capital by that most perfect of all Mass Rapid
Transit Systems – the Delhi Metro.
Just imagine going home at super
fast speed in the air conditioned confines of an always new looking, clean-as-a-whistle
Metro that is, by God, perfect in all ways. In truth, the Delhi Metro is one
such thing that one can say is perfect in all its details. One must conclude
that those who designed it, have put in place a Mass Rapid Transit System that
has obviously been well-tried and time-tested. Thus, the perfection.
Starting from the stations
themselves, all are air-conditioned and are so spacious as to warrant the superlative
description, luxurious. No spare change has been spared, it is obvious, to
ensure that the Delhi Metro does not lack on any account as far as comfort,
ease and convenience are concerned. And pause awhile here to reflect – it is
the ease, comfort and convenience of hundreds of thousands we are talking
about. Pause also awhile to reflect on the fact that at no time, even during
the most busy of hours, do any of the stations look particularly crowded or
even, the least bit inadequate. It is
surely a case of proving the theory true that yes, luxury is not only for the
classes – luxury can also be within reach of the masses. The Delhi Metro proves
that beyond doubt.
A trip starting from the Vishwa
Vidalaya Station (North Delhi) to the Central Secretariat (South Delhi) via
Rajeev Chowk in Connaught Place
(Central Delhi ) takes at the most, 20 minutes.
Rajeev Chowk, and thus the heart of Delhi
- Connaught Place
- is a fifteen minute journey. This route, the Yellow Line, with only eight
stops in between is the shortest of the three lines, the other two being, the
Red Line and the Blue Line.
The Red Line goes from Rithala to
Shahdara via Kashmere Gate with sixteen stops in between while the Blue Line
goes from Indraprastha to Dwarka Sector 9 via Rajiv Chowk with 29 stops in
between. These three lines constitute Phase I of the Metro network in the
Indian Capital. Kashmere Gate and Rajiv Chowk are the interchange stations from
where a commuter can change trains from one route to another. Most of the
trains run from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM and the Delhi Metro takes pride in the fact
that punctuality in timings has been a hallmark till now. Normally, there is
hardly a gap of 3 to 4 minutes between consecutive trains so that commuters
have the great benefit of not worrying about missing any particular train. Convenience
is the key word here.
The fares are surprisingly cheap
– between only Rs.6.00 for the shortest distance to Rs.22.00 for the longest.
What’s more, Smart Cards are available for a deposit of only Rs.50 and one can
buy such cards for any amount from Rs.100 to Rs.800. It is akin to a debit
card and the total amount in one’s credit is automatically adjusted according
to number of trips. Smart Cards do away with the need to stand in queues to buy
tokens and one can travel freely within the network. This, of course, saves
much precious time. What’s more, Smart Card holders, and there’s plenty, let me
assure you, are entitled to a 10% discount on all fares. Seems like the Delhi
Metro is hell bent on providing as many facilities as is possible to commuters.
Economy and ease of travel are thus the key words here. It should also be
mentioned here that the Delhi Metro is almost completely automated, including
the many entry and exit gates.
As for comfort, what more can one
ask for than the air-conditioned luxury of the stations and the trains which
have been designed for easy maintenance and thus, are always clean as whistles
and spacious enough to accommodate thousands at a go without in any way compromising
on comfort? Air conditioning - certainly a boon in the hot climes of a city as Delhi and no wonder, any
trip on the Metro leaves one freshly refreshed. Surely, the Delhi Metro will go
far in contributing to more productive hours from the city’s workforce. Certainly, the Delhi Metro will
contribute towards more happy families. And the designers certainly have also
given good thought to the use of things like materials and colors of the
trains. The materials used give the impression of gleaming chrome while the
colors used (predominantly silver) are soothing and restful to the senses. Also,
better than any music to the years, is the constant and timely announcements
over strategically placed speakers, informing about upcoming halts. This is in addition
to the route maps over doors and other easy-to-view places that makes the
journey even more easy even to the newest of travelers.
The air-conditioned trains
consist of 3.2 m-wide, stainless steel, lightweight coaches with gangways,
running in four-coach formations, with vestibules permitting
movement throughout their length. The system is extensible up to 8 coaches.
The facilities on the metro system have been designed to be easily accessible
by the physically challenged. In addition to escalators, also are provided,
elevators at all stations. The entry path is lined with tactile tiles to guide
the visually impaired. A word again on the stations. For the moment, Rajeev
Chowk is the largest and is often referred to as the Grand Central of the Metro.
To say that it is capacious is to make an understatement, and there are
numerous exits and entries leading to and from various points of Connaught
Circus. Numerous fast moving escalators and very wide stairs ensure rapid mass
exits from the station, thus keeping the station minimally crowded at all
times. Actually, all the different stations are as well provided and here,
efficiency is the key word. Token counters are located very conveniently and
security checks, even if quite thorough, do not give the impression of unnecessary
hassles one usually expects of such things.
This should be of special
interest to planners in Kathmandu – although the stations are naturally prime
locations for commercialization opportunities – one will notice very few
advertisement billboards and the few that are there, are so aesthetically put
up that one must admit that the concerned authorities have not at all given in
to the temptation of earning extra capital through way of destroying the sublime
aesthetics of the places. In fact, here, one must also mention that the Indian capital as a whole seems to have avoided this rat trap of crass
commercialization of public places. Something that our dim sighted planners and
authorities in Kathmandu seem to have
completely fallen prey to. Hoardings on via ducts, bridges, road crossings and
so on appear now to be a complete no-no to Delhi planners. No wonder the Indian capital,
also bestowed with the singular honor of being one of the greenest capitals in
the world, looks so clean and seemly. Oh Kathmandu !
Woe to Kathmandu ! When will we ever learn?
But now, back to the Delhi Metro. After more than
40 years of studies into a rail-based mass transit system, the Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC) began construction on 1 October 1998. Just over four years
later, on 25 December 2002, the first section of Line 1 from Shahdara to
Tis-Hazari was opened. Principal funding was through a loan from the Japan Bank
of International Cooperation and Indian public funds (as equity). The total
cost of Phase I ultimately came to Rs. 10, 571 crores. By November 2006, all
three lines in Phase 1, totaling 65. 10 km were operational, three years ahead
of schedule.
The Delhi Metro has been a challenging endeavour
to Indian engineers. A combination of elevated, at-grade and underground lines,
the project has necessitated the building of tall viaducts and deep tunnels,
these, without disturbing existing structures. One can well imagine the vexing
problems that needed to be sorted out when digging under sites like Old Delhi,
where many of the houses lacked adequate foundations and where, the landscape
is literally strewn with historic landmarks. No doubt, the huge Automatic
Tunnel Boring Machines (a beautiful model of which, one can view at the Central
Secretariat Station) will have surely been the greatest of boons to the
engineers. Digging has been a really deep affair – one example is sufficient
evidence of this - one has to climb two escalators to reach the top at the
Viswavidalaya Station.
Network –
Phase I
Length (km)
Corridor At
Grade Elevated Underground Total
Line 1 (Red)
Shahdara – Rithala 4.50 17.50 00.00 22.00
Line 2 (Yellow)
Viswavidalaya – Central
Secretariat 0.00 0.00 11.00 11.00
Line 3 (Blue)
Indraprastha – Dwarka Sub-City
Total 4.50 47.43 13.17 65.10
Some Delhi-ites believe that the Delhi Metro is
something that is rapidly bridging the great social divide. The Metro is not only
used by the common man - not at all - and one will find as many students as
families as executives taking regular trips on the Delhi Metro. According to
latest statistics, the Delhi Metro is at the moment carrying about five hundred
thousand commuters every day. This is no doubt a far cry from the initial 4
million, later revised to 2.5 million, travelers that the Metro had estimated
would be using the facility. And this has led to the question of whether the
Delhi Metro can sustain itself in the long run. But thankfully, Delhi-ites can
breathe a sigh of relief – the Delhi Metro reportedly started to make operating
profits from the word go. Which means that for the last four years, since its
initiation in December 2002, the Metro had already begun to make a life for
itself. Average revenue is estimated to be Rs. 55 lakh per day in addition to
Rs. 36 lakh per day as non-operating income.
Now, completion of the ten-station Phase II lines
is well under way. The year 2010 is an important year for Delhi as it will be hosting the Commonwealth
Games and so, the Rs.19,136 crore (revised estimate from the original Rs.9000 crore) Phase II is planned to be completed much before then. Six corridors
have already been completed and work is going on helter skelter on the
remaining six corridors. The Managing Director of DMRC, Engineer Elattuvalapil Sreedharan,
is quietly confident of finishing on schedule and his mantra is simple –
different project teams are expected to complete the different sections under
their responsibility in time, and, therefore, there is no question of not completing
the project as planned. Phase II will be a 122.12 km affair and will include
the important 18.80 km Airport Express Link.
Improvising on Phase I
designs, better crowd management plans, slick stainless steel counters and LED
screens displaying train information will be incorporated in the new stations.
At present, a typical Metro station has four entry and exit points, and each
can be used to either get in or leave the station. To do away with passenger
confusion arising from this arrangement, the new stations will have entry and
exits points that are set apart from each other. Chief Spokesperson of DMRC,
Anuj Dayal, has been reported to have stated that the new stations would have
wide passageways to connect entry to exit points and that, "The new stations
will have a more streamlined flow for passengers.” At present, the automatic
fare collection gates, where tickets are flashed, are also placed alongside,
often leading to "circulation of crowd" in the concourse area.
According to Dayal, to prevent commuters piling up at any one point, gates in
the new stations would be connected with a pathway. The emphasis is obviously
on making the Metro still more user-friendly.
As with Phase I, Delhi Metro is bringing in
expertise from Hong Kong , Singapore and Japan . The rolling stock of Delhi Metro was originally
manufactured by a consortium of foreign companies including Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
(MELCO) and ROTEM.
Now, Bharat Earth
Movers Limited (BEML) has been given the responsibility of
manufacturing the train sets.
The Master Plan of DMRC envisages total coverage
of 376. 82 km and is planned to be completed in four phases.
Master
Plan
Length (km)
Phase Underground Elevated At Grade Total
Phase I 13.17 47.43 4.50 65.10
Phase II 32.91 82.41 6.80 122.12
Phase III 15.20 77.40 00.00 92.60
Phase IV 00.00 97.00 00.00 97.00
Total 61.28 304.24 11.30 376.82
The stupendous success of Phase I
has been, to say the least, a most satisfying experience for Engineer E. Sreedharan
and his team. This success has resulted in a host of other cities, including Bangalore , Mumbai,
Chennai and Ahmedabad, to plan for similar Mass Rapid Transit Systems in the
form of their own Metros soon. In fact, work has already started on the Mumbai
Metro. Urban Planners have been quick to see how the Delhi Metro is literally
changing lives, improving social harmony and contributing substantially towards
improvement of the environment. It is also worth mentioning that the Delhi
Metro has been instrumental in developing a feeling of great liberation to the
people of Delhi by endowing on them liberal and economical mobility. Now,
working many miles away from home is
less of a bane, and so, opportunities have obviously increased. Additionally,
the Delhi Metro certainly is cause for great effect on the city’s economy – for
instance, Chandni Chowk, that great Indian Bazaar, which many people had stopped
visiting because of the difficulties in reaching there (constant and horrific
traffic congestion) is now experiencing a renewed exodus of customers. Delhi ’s roads, once
notorious for traffic jams, have now become significantly less clogged.
Congestion on the wide streets of India ’s
Capital are well on their way to becoming a thing of the past leading to the
making of a more beautiful Delhi .
No wonder, an international consultancy has very recently elected Delhi to be the most beautiful city of India .
Without doubt, one can conclude
that the Delhi Metro has been instrumental in making it so. Oh yes, the Delhi
Metro is not only Delhi ’s
shaan – it is well on its way to
becoming the Capital’s jaan.
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