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Delhi Metro – Introspection Delhi Metro is appreciated for its planning, promotion of discipline and cleanliness and for smooth
travel inside NCR (National Capital Region). Even if the first metro to come in India was in
Kolkata in 1984, Delhi Metro (second metro to come in India - became operational in 2002)
created its own identity in the world. In the process, Delhi Metro has become a model metro for
the country. Many other cities in India like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow,
Kanpur, Gurgaon and Bengaluru are following suit.
However, built at a cost of 35000 crores (Delhi Metro Phase 1 & 2 + Airport Express Link)
(Suprgya, 2015)1 which could have been used for other big purposes, has Delhi Metro fulfilled all
its promises?
Hence, to see how Delhi Metro fared, the paper will try to find some answers to some basic
questions given in the first draft. For this, the author put up questions in social media platform
Quora for which, some very good answers by some of the daily users of Delhi Metro, were
received. Their opinions and their aspirations have been expressed in the paper.
Quora Social Media Platform
1 My Question on Quora – How is the experience of travelling in Delhi Metro?
1) Has Delhi Metro proved its worth?
These are the two main questions which come on mind when we try to assess the worth of any
transport system.
i) Is the transport system providing the best end-to-end connectivity?
ii) Whether the transport system is time-consuming or not?
i) Whether Delhi Metro provides end-to-end connectivity?
Most of the daily-users said that Metro connectivity was brilliant (Suprgya, 2015).2 It connects
most populated parts of the city during the rush hour in Delhi, like in most other cities, which
coincides with morning and evening work trip timings – 9-11 AM and 6-8 PM. Also according to
them, the Metro's progress plans would further benefit the citizens and hopefully reduce the on-
road traffic. However, the commute to the metro station is an issue in some places as the daily-
users have experienced, but even that has been taken care of, to an extent, by frequent feeder buses,
autos etc. But obviously the service of feeder buses is not at all stations and not at all times of the
day and the night.
A Metro can't be planned in a way that it provides end-to-end connectivity, especially in Delhi
where there is a lack of space. Currently, the Delhi Metro is built in a radial way in which it
provides direct connectivity from some select residential areas to commercial centres.
2 My Question on Quora – How is the experience of travelling in Delhi Metro?
For example, along the blue line, Karol Bagh metro station is about 2 km away from the centre of
the market (Gadepalli, 2011).3
That makes the travel to market cities more time-consuming for the people. Also, along the
Purple line (there are different lines along which Delhi Metro travels) there are stations which
joins some of the very important commercial and institutional areas like Central Secretariat, Khan
Market, Lajpat Nagar and Nehru Place, but without any connectivity to major residential areas
like East of Kailash, Greater Kailash and Kalkaji (Gadepalli, 2011).4 Moreover, oddly enough, the
Purple line overlaps with the BRT corridor (which is now scrapped by the AAP Govt. recently on
21 July 2015) (Mohan, 2015)5 in some stretches of the city thereby increasing the public transport
capacity where it was already available through road transport (Gadepalli, 2011).6 Even the
stations along the yellow line are placed at locations not close to residential areas either within
Delhi or in Gurgaon, but are mostly at commercial locations (Gadepalli, 2011).7
So in simple words, there is no proper connectivity between major residential and commercial
areas through Delhi Metro. Even for the places it provides connectivity, sometimes its travel time
is much higher than by a car or two-wheeler. This makes the shift from cars and two-wheelers to
the metro not so much beneficial.
This seems to be one of the main reasons why the actual ridership is less than the one fourth of the
projected ridership by DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation), as shown by Table 1 (Tiwari, 2011)
(CDM report on Delhi Metro).8 9 And till now, the Delhi Metro hasn't reached the projected
numbers as from 2009, its still is 21,90,000 (Delhi Metro Annual Report 2013-14).10
3 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 10. 4 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 11. 5 Powerful Lobbies Want Delhi’s BRT Scrapped by Dinesh Mohan. Paragraph 1. 6 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 12. 7 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Loc.cit. 8 Metro systems in India: Case Study DMRC by G. Tiwari – 2011. Pg.11. 9 CDM report on Delhi Metro, UNFCC website 10 Delhi Metro Annual Report 2013-2014. Pg. 30.
Year Actual Projected % Ratio
2006 4,92,750 24,97,300 20
2007 6,21,830 27,59,517 23
2008 7,67,662 30,49,266 25
2009 8,89,094 33,69,439 26
Source - CDM report on Delhi Metro, UNFCC website
Table 1 –Actual and Projected Ridership
It is also given in the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) report , 2008 that “The
fact that transport modelling for ridership was not carried out accurately by RITES (Rail India
Technical and Economic Service Limited), was accepted by the company (DMRC) as well as the
MoUD (Ministry of Urban Development) before the Empowered Group of Secretaries in 2005”
(Tiwari, 2011) (CAG report on Delhi Metro, 2008) .11 12
ii) Is Delhi Metro more time – consuming?
Delhi Metro connects the centre of the city (Rajiv Chowk Metro Station at Connaught Place) to
almost all areas through multiple lines (Blue, Yellow, Violet...and others). The Delhi Metro
network map below shows the overall Delhi Metro route providing citywide connectivity for its
users.
11 Metro systems in India: Case Study DMRC by G. Tiwari – 2011. Pg 12 CAG report on Delhi Metro, 2008.
Fig-1
Delhi Metro Map
But, most of the metro network runs parallel to the major arterial roads along its route. For
example, the Yellow line, between HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) City Centre
and Jahangirpuri, Blue Line between Dwarka and Noida City Centre. In other words, people
travelling along these metro lines have the option of travelling on main roads which are designed
for 50 kmph (Gadepalli, 2011)13 (not taking account the traffic jams) whereas the Metro provides
an average commute speed of 30-32 kmph (Gadepalli, 2011)14 (not taking account the time-taken
to reach Metro stations).
And sometimes due to delays in metros and less frequency of metros coming at some of the major
interchange stations, the travelling becomes more time-consuming.
13 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 7. 14 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Loc.cit.
Moreover, the bigger reason for more time-consumption given by the daily users is the users
themselves or the crowd. As the new routes are being built, new crowd is also coming in with the
average waiting time for a Metro also getting increased. Average waiting time for a metro is 4
minutes which sometimes reaches upto 7-10 minutes due to the indisciplined crowd. People
become crazy and try to enter a filled up train... that leads to doors not closing which delays train
to reach the next station... so the crowd increases even further and so the travel-time.
3) Has Delhi Metro fulfilled all its promises?
At the time of the consideration of the Delhi Metro project (1990’s), buses or auto-rickshaws or
mainly, the road transport, were the only available transportation means in Delhi. At that
particular time, air pollution was seriously caused with the increase in the number of personal
vehicles, drastically worsened traffic congestion, and the vehicular emission. To solve these
problems, the public transportation had to be improved. Since the train system in Delhi was
designed for long distance passenger travel and cargo transportation, the mass transport system
for commuting was to be constructed in order to resolve traffic congestion and alleviate air
pollution and so the Delhi Metro was born.
However, was Delhi Metro really able to meet all the targets for which it was actually
implemented? Has Delhi Metro really decreased the air pollution in Delhi city? If it has really,
then why Arvind Kejriwal (Aam Aadmi Party) government in Delhi is imposing the odd-even car
rule (movement of odd and even numbered plated car on alternate days inside Delhi) from January
2016 onwards to reduce the alarming pollution levels ? (News, 2015)15
So henceforth, we will check all questions such as - is the Delhi Metro relevant or efficient or
environment-friendly or is it demographically divided and the different impacts the Delhi Metro
had.
(i) Is Delhi Metro relevant for the metropolitan city – Delhi?
The paper will check the relevancy of the Delhi Metro from the time of its inception to the present
day by looking at each socio-political factor.
The population of India was 1.027 billion in accordance with census in 2001, and the United
Nation forecasted that India will surpass China and become the most populous country. The
population of Delhi has increased as the industrial structure has become more advanced. Delhi’s
population was 9.42 million (Census 1991), 13.85 million (Census 2001), and 16.78 million (Census
15 Indian Express Article - Odd-even policy from 8 am to 8 pm daily, Sundays exempt - Express News Service – 9 Dec 2015, Paragraph 1.
2011) (Delhi Population 2011).16
Bus was being used by the citizens of Delhi in 1991 by like some 60% of the population, personal
vehicles accounted for 39.5%, and railway only did for 0.5%, and the use of railway was much less
common than other cities such as, in Mumbai, the railway was the most common means of
transportation as it accounted for 48% whereas bus did for 40%, personal vehicle did for 12%
(Keiichi Takaki, 2010).17 The railway network in Delhi was not usually being used for short
distance commuting.
Increasing population and high dependency on buses caused heavy traffic congestion and
population, and upgrading public transportation system became an urgent issue.
Hence, the Government of India’s 8th five-year plan (April 1992 – March 1997) had poverty
elimination as its main focus for which the Government prioritized industrialization by
emphasizing on upgrading infrastructure projects that include energy, transportation system,
communication, irrigation facilities, and others. Subsequent plans from 9th five year plan to 11th
five year plan (April 2007 – March 2012) have consistently put high priority on upgrading
transportation sector for economic growth (Rao, 2013).18
However, it was not possible to reduce the number of vehicles, and there was a need to alter the
environmental policy measures urgently. Because of these situations, a mass transportation system
was needed that was punctual, and efficient, and that can alleviate traffic congestion and solve
environmental problems. After the completion of Phase I, economic growth of India and the
population of Delhi continued to increase, the needs for the means to alleviate traffic congestion
and solve environmental problems were still high.
So from the above, the Delhi Metro project is consistent with the development policies of the
Government of India that has priority in the transportations, development needs of alleviating
traffic congestion and air pollution in Delhi. Therefore the Delhi Metro’s relevance is very high in
the NCR (National Capital Region – New Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and
others).
16 Delhi Population Census data 2011 by Census 2011 – Paragraph 1. 17 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 5, Paragraph 1. 18 Planning Commission of India Article – S. G. Rama Rao, Pg. No. 18, Paragraph 1.
(ii) Is Delhi Metro efficient in its implementation?
The paper will now, look at the efficiency of the project by evaluating the projected and actual
numbers released by the Delhi Metro.
Table 2 indicates the total budget and the actual expenditure (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).19 For Delhi
Metro project to be implemented, loan was taken through the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation (JBIC), now called the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (Service,
2012).20 In terms of yen (Japanese official currency) loan, 162,751 million yen was budgeted, and
159,513 million yen was actually disbursed, which makes plan ratio 98%. In terms of Indian
government budget, 48,000 million rupee was planned, and 34,320 million rupee was actually
spent, because of shortened construction period and other factors, which makes plan ratio 71.5%
(Keiichi Takaki, 2010).21
Table 2
Planned and Actual Expenditure by the Delhi Metro
Total Project Cost Plan Actual
Yen Loan (million yen) 162,751 159,513 (plan ratio 98%)
Indian Government Budget
(Million Rupee)
48,000 34,320 (plan ratio 71.5%)
Source: Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System (I)-(VI) Evaluation Paper, Page No. 4, Paragraph 2
Exchange rate: 1Rs=2.40 yen
Table 3 concerns the plan and the actual of the project period (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).22 Line I was
completed as planned. Line II was completed earlier than the plan by three months. The
completion of Line III was delayed in some part because the government approval was delayed.
(The delayed construction period for Line III was offset by the shortened construction period for
Line, making plan ratio 100% in total)
19 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 4, Paragraph 2. 20 Japanese loan for Delhi Metro – The Hindu News Service on 30 March, 2012, Paragraph 1. 21 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 6, Paragraph 2. 22 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 7, Paragraph 1.
Table 3 Plan and Actual of Project Period
Commissioning Date of Plan Actual Delay/No delay
each line
Line I: Shahdara 1996― 1996― No delay
station-Rithala station) March 31, 2004 March 31, 2004
Line II: 1996― 1996― No delay
Vishwa Vidyalaya station - September 30, 2005 July 3, 2005
Central Secretariat Station
Line III: July 2002― July 2002― No delay
Barakhamba Road station- December 31, 2005 December 31, 2005
Dwarka station
Line III: January 2004― October 2004― Delay due to
Barakhamba Road station- March 31, 2006 November 11, 2006 delayed approval by
Indraprastha station
the Indian
Government
Source: Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System (I)-(VI) Evaluation Paper, Page No. 4, Paragraph 2
Table 2 indicates that Indian government was well within the budget. As Table 3 indicates, the
project period was mostly within the plan although there was delay in some part of Line III, it was
offset by shortened period of Line II. In summary, both project cost and project input were mostly
as planned, therefore efficiency of the project is high.
(iii) Why Delhi Metro is so comparable highly efficient?
It is usually very much difficult in India to complete public works projects within schedule.
However, Delhi Metro project was mostly completed within the schedule only due to the
organised functioning of DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation).
To meet the deadline, DMRC daily workers are really crucial. Normally, public works project gets
implemented by the private contractors who win bids. After the contracts are signed, the
completion of the work is usually left to the contractors. For example, railway construction
project may require relocation of water and sewage facilities for the construction of tracks, for
which permission needs to be issued by the water authority which may become available late, and
this may delay the construction. Also sometimes the officials in charge of the project often leave
the work completion to the contractors and do not help them. Also, when the construction for a
project requires relocation of existing infrastructure such as electric poles and water supply pipes,
other agencies in charge of the project may request the appropriate authority to do the relocation.
This in turn may delay the project completion.
However at DMRC, the nature of the work is of such type where success of contractor is of
DMRC’s, and failure of contractors is also DMRC’s responsibility. DMRC officials do not leave
the work solely to contractors, and make frequent contacts and cooperate with them as necessary
in order to complete the project within the schedule. Within DMRC, officials are not left alone,
provided with the effective working environment where their supervisors always monitor them,
and provide advice as necessary. In order to avoid delay type situations, DMRC takes direct
responsibility of relocation of existing infrastructure by keeping close contacts with the particular
authority and contracting out the work to the private contractors. In this way, relocated
infrastructure by DMRC is usually in the same or better conditions than before (Keiichi Takaki,
2010).23
Also, the work culture at DMRC is unique in India. Leadership was one crucial factor. Another is
DMRC was a new organization founded specifically for this project, thus all the personnel were
new to the organization at its beginning. At the time of their recruitment of personnel,
qualification plus the motivation required to do the work was looked (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).24
(iv) Did Delhi Metro brought a change in the way Delhi travels now?
Transportation by cars and motorbikes increased by 7% and 5.45% on annual average respectively
parallel to population growth, while buses’ passenger trips are rather constant in the last ten years.
Most of the Metro and car users are upper middle classes increasing in the past recent years.
Their changing life styles are mirrored to the mode of transport transition too. One of indicators,
for example, shows 87% of the Metro passengers are in the transition of social strata from low
income to middle income class, and their income is higher than Rs.25,000 (CRRI – Central Road
Research Institute Annual Report, 2009-10)25.
According to data available on the DMRC website, it is indicated that some 26,000 passengers per
day on average of weekdays and 33,000 on weekends in FY 2002 used Delhi Metro when the first
line (Line I) was opened. The excess of passengers on weekends means that the Metro rides were
more for special occasions and leisure purposes. The gap between ridership of weekdays and
weekends between 2002 and 2006 was few, and it has been growing since Line III was opened.
The increased weekday ridership points out more people began to use the Metro for regular
activities such as commuting to schools, work and businesses purposes. Seemingly the Metro has
been gradually permeating into the Delhi citizens’ daily lives.
Also, Figure 2 shows the Delhi Metro line map, both of Phase I and Phase II of the plan. The
23 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 8, Paragraph 2. 24 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 8, Paragraph 3. 25 CRRI – Central Road Research Institute Annual Report 2009-2010.
ridership in 2010 on Line III and Line II shows considerable positive change in ridership which is
mainly due to the addition of further more route of Delhi Metro on Line III, from Yamuna Bank
to Anand Vihar connected to Line IV which was opened in January 2010 and a part of Line V,
from Central Secretariat to Sarita Vihar on the violet line on the map, towards the south which
was opened in October 2010.
Figure 2. Metro Line Map (Phase I and Phase II)
(Source: DMRC Report, Mar, 2011)
(v) Is Delhi Metro demographically equally divided?
We now look at the relation of the Metro lines and demography by taking an overview of
population distribution and socio-economic characteristics of the Delhi city.
The Delhi city comprises of 9 districts, which is further divided into 27 sub-districts, 59 tehsils
and 169 villages as depicted in Figure 3. The population is denser in the east side of the Yamuna
river and disperses towards the north and the south. Commercial facilities and activities are
centred to the Central and the New Delhi districts. Those areas have recently gradually spread to
the North and the North West districts. Development in the southwest area from the Central
district to Gurgaon has also widely proceeded. Commercial buildings related to IT (Information
Technology) and engineering, public facilities, shops and mid to high-rise apartments for
households transitioning to middle class from low income class have been built in 10 kilometre
radial zone from the Central district towards the northwest. Rather young households apparently
prefer moving into this area. In the southwest area between Line II and Line III and further south,
there are embassies/high commissions close to the Central district, and serene neatly organized
residential quarters and modern shopping malls towards the south spread. In the North East and
the East districts where Line I and Line III lie, there low income households live densely and the
Muslim rather remarkably reside (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).26
After having an overview of the demographic distribution and usage of Delhi city, it is assumed at
the Metro riders are majorly from the northwest, southwest and south districts where Line II and
Line III run than low income living areas through which Line I passes.
Overall, the relationship of demography and the metro ridership underpins the Delhi Metro is
more attractive to the middle classes in terms of social class and the north western, south western
and southern regions of Delhi in terms of location.
Figure 3. Districts of Delhi City
Figure 4. Population Density of Delhi
City
(Source: Government of Delhi, 2001) (Source: Government of Delhi, 2001)
26 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 13, Paragraph 1.
(vi) Finally, did Delhi Metro complete all its targets? (a) Air-pollution
In terms of air pollutant, pollution level has been deteriorated gradually as the population grows
and automobiles increases in the last ten years. However, the growing number of other
transportation means used could have increased the air pollution way much more without Delhi
Metro in the city.
Regenerative brakes were introduced to part of the Metro trains. A regenerative brake is an
energy recovery mechanism; when it works, it converts kinetic energy into electricity which can
be either used immediately or stored until needed. It is said a regenerative brake is able to save
energy up to 33% comparing to a conventional system. Rolling stocks with regenerative brake
installed were registered in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in 2007 and have been
thoroughly monitored since 2008 (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).27 The monitoring report shows the Delhi
Metro project reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) as shown in Table 5 (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).28
Table 4. CO2 Emission Reduction
Term CO2 Reduction(t)
9 December, 2007 - 31 January, 2008 5,081
1 February, 2008 - 31 December, 2008 35,295
1 January, 2009 - 31 December, 2009 43,751
Source: DMRC Report, 2008 and DMRC 2010a Report
(b) Resettlement for the displaced people Table 5 shows that all the required land for this project was acquired (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).29
Table 6 indicates the required resettlement of residential and non-residential structures and the
actual (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).30 As mentioned in the remarks, some businesses and slum residents
were not relocated to the land or facilities provided by the project although they left the land
acquired by the project.
27 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 19, Paragraph 6. 28 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Loc.cit. 29 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 23, Paragraph 1. 30 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 23, Paragraph 2.
TABLE 5. PLANNED AND ACTUAL LAND ACQUISITION
Required land Acquired land Balance
(hectare) (hectare) (hectare)
Line I 121 122 0
Line II 55 55 0
Line III 90 90 0
Total 265 265 0
Source – DMRC Report 2011
Table 6. Resettlement of Residential and Non-residential structures
Required Structure for Actual (not resettled)
resettlement
Residential and Slum
Residential & Slum
Non-residential Non-
residential
Line I 888 798 0 0
Line II 441 1,720 0 0
Line III 753 142 9 18
Total 2,082 2,660 9 18 Source – DMRC Report 2011
Table 7 indicates the ratings of living conditions of the three resettlement locations (Holambi
Kalan, Holambi Khurd, Nurela) for slum resident as rated by DMRC officials in four scales
(4=very good, 3=good, 2=poor, 1=very poor) on road conditions, sewage facilities, water supply,
employment opportunities for men and for women, educational opportunities for children, and all
the ratings are either “good” (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).31
31 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 24, Paragraph 2.
Table 7. Living Conditions of resettlement area for slum residents
Location Items Rating
4 3 2 1
Holambi Road conditions ○
Kalan
Sewage ○
Water supply ○
Employment opportunities for men ○
Employment opportunities for women ○
Educational opportunities for children ○
Holambi Road conditions ○
Khurd
Sewage ○
Water supply
○
Employment opportunities for men ○
Employment opportunities for women ○
Educational opportunities for children ○
Narela Road conditions ○
Sewage ○
Water supply ○
Employment opportunities for men ○
Employment opportunities for women ○
Educational opportunities for children ○
Source – DMRC Report 2011
Since this project was to construct large facilities, environmental problems during the
construction, land acquisition and resettlement was a challenge. Environment situations that
include air pollution during the construction were appropriately monitored. When trees had to be
cut, more trees were planted. For the resettlement, adequate land was provided and the residents
find resettlement locations better than previous ones. The project dealt with these challenges
mostly adequately.
c) Operating Rate and Track Length of Delhi Metro
Regarding the operating rate, the achievement was 89% in 2006 and 93% in 2008 comparing to
the objectives. Thus, the DMRC has increased the number of rolling stocks owned according to
demands from the opened extension and new lines since 2006. The operating rate at 2009 had
reached 94% with 280 rolling stocks, which was 102% achievement comparing to the objective
(Keiichi Takaki, 2010).32 This is given in Table 8.
Likewise, car kilometre reached the target. Since 2008 onwards, only Line III’s care kilometre
increased. This is more likely because a train service became from 4 cars to 6 cars on Line III in
2010. Although the targeted operation number was not met in 2006 and 2008, it got exceeded in
2010 with enhancement of operational intervals and the increased number of rolling stocks. The
transported passengers and the annual fare revenue performances were far from the targets.
Table 8. Operational Objectives and Performance
Indicators Objective Performance
2006 2008 2006 2008 2010
Operating rate
(%/year) 92 92 82
86 ----
(93% achieved)
Car Kilometre
(km/day) 94.1 96.3 83.0
95.84 109.56
(99% achieved)
Line I 36.0 37.0 32.4 34.11 35.9
Line II 17.5 17.5 15.9 17.39 18.7
Line III 40.6 41.8 34.7 44.20 55.00
Operation numbers
(trains/day, one 636 648 542
624 774
direction) (Peak (96% achieved)
hour×minute head)
Line I 204(X=4)* 210(X=4) 184(X=4) 206(X=4) 229(X=4)
Line II 228(X=3)* 228(X=3) 194(X=4) 225(X=4) 310(X=4)
Line III 204(X=4)* 210(X=4) 164(X=4) 193(X4) 235(X=4)
Transported
passengers 7.16
(Million
16.3 22.6 5.4 11.46
(32% achieved)
passengers-km/day)
Line I 7.1 11.1 1.9 2.30 3.03
Line II 2.6 2.7 1.6 1.96 3.32
Line III --- --- --- 2.81 5.10
Annual fare revenue 16.3 22.6 5.43
6.79 13.17
(Million Rs/Year) (30% achieved)
Source: DMRC, Nov, 2011
32 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 8, Paragraph 4.
3) Conclusion
Although, with the new route just being extended and the old route getting rectified on a regular
basis, and with some issues of ridership and revenue that have not reached the original target, the
number of train services, operational ratio, train kilo have been improved by 2010 as the new lines
became operational, the number of operational cars increased, and the service interval became
shorter.
Sustainability of the Delhi Metro is very much high since the management and the operation of
stations and train services is being done appropriately by DMRC through regular meetings, daily
reports, and oral communication.
Relevance and efficiency of this project are also evaluated as high. Passengers of Delhi Metro
highly appreciate its comfort, cleanness, punctuality and frequency of operation except
crowdedness at the peak hours.
It also faced the challenges which come usually for this much scale of project adequately. In light
of the above, this project is evaluated to be highly satisfactory.
So for now, a big question remains – should we adopt Metro in other cities as well on the model of
Delhi Metro? Or should we go for another means of transportation such as BRT (Bus Rapid
Transit) Corridor which can reduce the traffic congestion and pollution prevailing in current cities
of India in a much cheaper and flexible way. Well, the adoption of any of the two, depends on the
city and the government. For Delhi, it was Metro whereas for Ahmedabad, it was BRT. However,
if we do not adopt either of them, then it will be impossible for the city to accommodate billions of
vehicle kilometer travel increase. The only option which will remain in this case is to widen the
road. This necessary increase in infrastructure is a cost of not implementing BRT or metro projects,
which needs to be looked at.
Avoided infrastructure due to construction of BRT and metro can range from 100 to 1,000 lane
kilometers for different projects, based on the intensity of avoided travel. The average avoided
road space for a BRT and metro are two and three square meters per ridership, respectively. This
is a conservative calculation modeled on Singapore’s experience, which doesn’t consider the
impacts of road widening, such as parking space, increased traffic, and more. In terms of costs,
BRT and metro projects costs five to twelve times less than costs due to road expansion (Gota,
2013).33 With the addition of BRT or metro to the city, cost effective projects would become
economically viable.
33 Less is more: BRT and metro avoid expansion of road infrastructure article – Sudhir Gota – 11 November, 2013,
Works Cited CAG report on Delhi Metro, 2008. (n.d.). Retrieved from Business Standard:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/cag-pulls-up-delhi-metro-
09071800077_1.html/
CDM report on Delhi Metro. (n.d.). Retrieved from UNFCC .(2009-10).
CRRI – Central Road Research Institute Annual Report. CRRI, ’Quantification of Benefits for
Delhi Metro Phase I (2009 Review)’, DMRC, 2009.
Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), '1st Monitoring Report Version: 01', DMRC, 2008.
Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), '2nd Monitoring Report Version: 03', DMRC, 2010a.
Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), ‘Annual Reports 2009-2010’, DMRC, 2010b.
Delhi Metro Annual Report 2013-14. (n.d.). Retrieved from Delhi Metro Rail:
http://www.delhimetrorail.com/OtherDocuments/EnglishAR201314Low.pdf/
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