India's Metro Rail Network
 |
| India Metro Rail |
The second oldest after Kolkata Metro is Delhi Metro, which
makes the largest and busiest network of all. Following the success of Delhi
Metro, other cities in India also started exploring the option to implement
metro projects. With this idea, more than Rs. 5 Billion was invested in metro
projects in the year 2018-19.
Here is the list of Indian cities that currently have metro connectivity:
Delhi – Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)
Mumbai – Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRC)
Bengaluru – Namma Metro
Hyderabad – Hyderabad Metro Rail
Chennai – Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL)
Kochi – Kochi Metro Rail Limited
Jaipur – Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (JMRC)
Kolkata – Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRC)
Lucknow – Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC)
Noida – Noida Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (NMRC)
Gurgaon – Rapid Metro Gurgaon
Nagpur – Nagpur Metro Rail
Besides, as many as 15 other cities in India have over 500 km of metro lines under different stages of implementation. These include
Ahmedabad – Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited
Pune – Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority
Indore – Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation
Bhopal – Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation
Varanasi – Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation
Kozhikode – Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Ltd
Vijayawada – Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC)
Meerut – Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation
Visakhapatnam – Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC)
Kanpur – Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation
Agra – Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation
Coimbatore – Chennai Metro Rail Limited
Patna – Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
Navi Mumbai – City and Industrial Development Corporation
(CIDCO)
Guwahati – Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority
METRO RAIL IN INDIA (DETAILED)
INTRODUCTION METRO RAIL
Since human evolution, human mobility has been advancing
alongside population growth. High fertility rates and the globalization of
migration are major factors that account for why some regions of the world are
more densely populated and mobile than others. Consistently ranked the second-most
populous country (after China) in the world, India presents a model nation with
a huge public mass transportation management situation and an increasing need
for innovation in mass transportation options. Meanwhile, owing to some factors
such as government funding, public affordability, security, safety, traffic
flow optimization, speed and timeliness, and environmental sustainability, human
mobility on land is compelling many innovation-driven alternatives in road and
rail systems globally. Now from a vast array of transportation alternatives, herein
is a description of the situation of metro rail transportation in India.
AN OVERVIEW OF METRO RAIL NETWORKS IN INDIA
The Metro Rail is a system of mass
transportation within cities by trains that, unlike on a monorail, move on a
double-line track. The system is relatively affordable (as to transportation
fare), energy-saving, ozone-friendly (mostly operates electrically), and rarely
unsafe. It, thus, fosters economic growth and sustainable development while
easing mass mobility. However, as
regards construction, the metro rail is a colossal project that comes at a high
financial cost to public and private authorities. For example, according to a
report
While it is famous that the top ten busiest metro networks in
the world are in Asia, India’s Delhi Metro was ranked the seventh according to
the World Metro Figures report in
2018. Although it attained such high rankings, it should not be mistaken for
the first metro network in India. Hence, the following is an account of the
operational metro rail networks in India, outlining some under-construction and
newly approved, and for conciseness’ sake, excluding those under consideration.
Operational Metro Rail Networks
in India
India’s first metro was an underground railway construction in
the city of Kolkata, which began in 1972 and became operational on 24th October,
1984. It is known as Kolkata Metro – a present
network of 30 functional metro stations. As regards regulation and management, unlike
all other metro networks that are being regulated by independent local authorities,
only Kolkata Metro is regulated by Indian Railways of the Ministry of Railways
in India. Historically, the expansion of
metro networks beyond Kolkata was unsuccessful until 2002 when some major private
and public-private partnerships began to fund and manage the construction of
additional metro networks.
The second metro project in India was the Delhi Metro. It is presently the country’s busiest
and largest metro network. It was established in 2002 in Delhi as the first
contemporary metro network and set the standard as the first metro managed
through public-private partnership (Verma, 2018). It
carries a striking average of 700 million passengers annually.
After the Delhi Metro, there was a speedy increase in metro
rail projects. So, today, India boasts of over 10 metro rail networks across
the country. The additional metro networks in operation include Namma or Bangalore, Rapid, Mumbai, Chennai,
Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, and Noida.
Table 1
below summarizes the operational metro networks and their operational lines and
functioning stations in India as at 2020, using data from multiple sources:
Table
1: Operational Metro Rail Networks in India in 2020
Year of Opening
|
Name of Metro Network
|
City of Metro Network
|
Number of Lines
|
Aggregate Stations
|
Routes Length
|
1984
|
Kolkata Metro
|
Kolkata
|
2
|
30
|
33.02 km
|
2002
|
Delhi
|
10
|
252
|
347.6 km
|
|
2011
|
Namma or
Bangalore Metro
|
Bengaluru
|
2
|
41
|
42.3 km
|
2013
|
Rapid Metro
|
Gurgaon
|
1
|
12
|
11.7 km
|
2014
|
Mumbai Metro
|
Mumbai
|
1
|
12
|
11.4 km
|
2015
|
Chennai Metro
|
Chennai
|
2
|
32
|
45 km
|
2015
|
Jaipur Metro
|
Jaipur
|
1
|
9
|
9.6 km
|
2017
|
Hyderabad Metro
|
Hyderabad
|
3
|
56
|
69.2 km
|
2017
|
Kochi Metro
|
Kochi
|
1
|
21
|
23.8 km
|
2017
|
Lucknow Metro
|
Lucknow
|
1
|
22
|
22.9 km
|
2019
|
Ahmedabad Metro
|
Ahmedabad
|
1
|
6
|
6.5 km
|
2019
|
Nagpur Metro
|
Nagpur
|
2
|
17
|
24.5 km
|
2019
|
Noida Metro
|
Noida
|
1
|
22
|
29.7 km
|
Grand
Total
|
28
|
532
|
677.22 km
|
||
Therefore, in India, there are presently a total of 13
functioning metro networks, 28 metro rail lines with 532 stations on routes of
approximately 677 kilometers.
Features of Metro Rail Networks
in India
In respect of design and infrastructure (rolling
stock), broad gauge (or “Indian gauge”) and standard gauge compose the rail
lines in India. Nonetheless, standard gauge characterizes most of the new metro
constructions – this has been because, based on logistics, rolling stock for
the standard gauge is easier to acquire than the Indian gauge. The Kolkata
Metro was the first to use metro coaches which were fully manufactured in India
by BEML Integrated Coach Factory, and the first metro to have been routed
underwater (run through the Hooghly River, in West Bengal) in India. Delhi
Metro, which has a design that integrates it with other public transport, was
the first to introduce driverless metro, first to implement services that are
ecosystem-friendly, comfortable and with full air-conditioning. However, the
Hyderabad Metro is acknowledged for being the first to introduce a driverless
metro system which works using a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) and
Integrated Communications and Supervision Systems. Also, the installation of sliding doors in
underground stations was first actualized in the Chennai Metro. Concerning
significant contribution to clean air in a city, the eco-friendly design of the
Namma Metro in Bangalore stands out. Jaipur Metro was the first to introduce
elevated double-story road and metro tracks.
Now in terms of special features, beyond several
lifts and escalators at these stations, most of the newly operational metro
rail in India have topnotch automated driverless trains, Automatic Fare
Collection systems, Radio Frequency Identification-based Flap Gates for
Passenger Control, Automatic Signaling System, Integrated Security System,
in-built noise reduction, and air-conditioning. Notable examples with these
features include Delhi Metro, Mumbai Metro, Noida Metro to mention but a few. The
Mumbai Metro was the first to introduce locally-made driverless metro cars that
have facilities for parking bicycles, and it is the only Metro in India where
there are different owners for its operating and planned lines. Generally, these
Metro networks have lines connecting the people at different stations closest
to their residential, commercial and industrial areas nationwide.
Concerning carriage capacity and speed, they
are equipped with trains that have different passenger-carrying capacities and run
at different schedule and maximum speeds. For example, Noida metro has seating
and standing capacities of 186 and 848 passengers, respectively, and operates scheduled and maximum speeds of 35 and 95
kilometers per hour, respectively; while Rapid Metro – the first fully
privately owned and managed metro – operates 35 and 80 kilometers per hour as
scheduled and maximum speed limits, respectively.
Regarding fare, ticketing, and operational hours,
there is no uniformity in the metro rail system in India. However, Kolkata
Metro has the cheapest fare charges: around 5 to 25 Indian Rupees for short to
long-distance. Also, there is a mix of the use of tokens and Quick Response
(QR) codes for ticketing. The Kochi Metro was the first to introduce the use of
QR codes and open-loop transit cards. In Bangalore Metro, 15% discount is
available to passengers who use smart cards on the normal token. Information
about train schedule and route is provided by Delhi Metro to customers whose
mobile devices have Google Maps installed on them. Although they are liable to
change by circumstances, Table 2
below summarizes the normal operational hour and fares for Indian metro rail,
according to data from some sources:
Table 2: Distribution of Normal Operational Time and Fare in Indian Metro Rail Networks
Name of Metro Network
|
Hours on Mondays to Saturdays
|
Hours
on Sundays
|
Fare
(in Indian Rupee)
|
Kolkata
Metro
|
6:45 am – 9:55 pm
|
9:50 am – 9:55 pm
|
5 – 25
|
Delhi Metro
|
5:30 am – 11:30 pm
|
6:00 am – 11:30 pm
|
10 – 60
|
Bangalore
Metro
|
5:00 am – 11:25 pm
|
7:00 am – 11:25 pm
|
10 – 45
|
Rapid Metro
|
6:00 am – 10:00 pm
|
6:00 am – 10:00 pm
|
20 – 35
|
Mumbai
Metro
|
5:30 am – 11:45 pm
|
5:30 am – 11:45 pm
|
10 – 40
|
Chennai Metro
|
4:22 am – 11:07 pm
|
7:59 am – 10:03 pm
|
10 – 60
|
Jaipur
Metro
|
6:30 am – 9:45 pm
|
7:00 am – 9:45 pm
|
6 – 18
|
Hyderabad Metro
|
6:30 am – 10:30 pm
|
7:00 am – 10:30 pm
|
10 – 60
|
Kochi
Metro
|
6:00 am – 11:00 pm
|
8:00 am – 11:00 pm
|
10 – 60
|
Lucknow Metro
|
6:00 am – 10:00 pm
|
6:00 am – 10:00 pm
|
10 – 60
|
Ahmedabad
Metro
|
11:00 am – 5:10 pm
|
11:00 am – 5:10 pm
|
15
– 51
|
Nagpur Metro
|
5:00 am – 12:00 am
|
5:00 am – 12:00 am
|
15 – 39
|
Noida
Metro
|
6:00 am – 10 pm
|
6:00 am – 10 pm
|
10 – 50
|
Now in connection with arrival time and safety, trains
arrival vary from between every 3 to 15 minutes at different metro stations
depending on peak and non-peak periods and emergencies. As to security
and safety, aside from security personnel, CCTV surveillance and other general
safety facilities are available for passengers. In Mumbai metro, accident
investigation is made easier using a black box installed in all trains.
Now in regards to disease control, certain national adjustments
(like a total rail transport system shutdown) were made to all metro rail
schedules and operations to control the spread of COVID-19.
Finally,
there have been some prominent developments in metro rail
transportation in India. One of such is the National
Mass Transit Training and Research
Institute (NaMTTRI), an establishment by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region
Development Authority (MMRDA). NaMTTRI was established in 2008 in Mumbai to
conduct continuous training and research in areas such as mass transportation,
transportation safety, and environmental sustainability (MMRDA, 2013).
A more recent
operational development is the case of Rapid Metro’s take-over. Due to
poor management of Rapid Metro, Delhi Metro successfully took over operations
of the former in October 2019. It is hoped that this take-over will help to
revive Rapid Metro soon.
Uncompleted Metro Rail Network
Projects in India
According
to Urban Transport News (2020), more
than 15 metro rail construction projects are ongoing while there are already approvals
for the operational metro expansions and new metro projects nationwide. While Navi, Agra, and Patna with
respective deadlines of 2020, 2021 and 2021 are some of the uncompleted metro projects,
Dholera, Meerut, and Surat with
deadlines of 2024 each are some of the newly approved metro construction
projects in India.
CONCLUSION
Since Delhi Metro introduced modern metro rail transportation
in India in 2002, the sector has undergone some remarkable growth and
development with global recognition in the aspects of state-of-the-art design
of stations, infrastructure, operations and commitment to research and
development. The situation greatly improved after Bangalore Metro in 2011.
Despite presently having 13 operational networks, the Indian populace hope to
use over 20 additional metro rail networks by 2024. Indeed, the metro rail has
come to stay in India with a growth rate at breakneck speed!
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