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Speeding India Into The 21st Century

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 IRs. 6.00 for the shortest distance to IRs. 22.00 for the longest. What’s more, Smart Cards are available for a deposit of only IRs. 50 and one can buy such cards for any amount from IRs. 100 to IRs. 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 colours of the trains. The materials used give the impression of gleaming chrome while the colours used (predominantly silver) are soothing and restful to the senses. Also, better than any music to the ears, 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 3.2m-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 honour 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 IRs. 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
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 IRs. 55 Lakhs per day in addition to IRs. 36 Lakhs 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 IRs. 19,136 Crore (revised estimate from the original IRs. 9000 Crores) 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 Kms and is planned to be completed in four phases.

Master Plan
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 Bazzar, 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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