Water metro would be an ‘out of the box thinking’, says Modi
More than 25 Indian cities will have metro rails by 2025 running on more than 1,700 km, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the launch of the first-ever driverless train operations on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line on 28 Dec 2020 through a video conference.
For now, metro rails are operating in 18 cities while only five cities had 248 km of metro lines in 2014.
He underlined the government’s metro policy for and an all-round strategy that worked according to local demand, promoting local standards, ‘Make in India’ expansion and use of modern technology in these technology-driven metro rail networks.
The modern modes of transport should be used according to the needs of the people of the city and the professional lifestyle there, Modi pointed out. This is the reason why work is being done on different types of metro rail in different cities, he added.
The Prime Minister listed different types of metro rails on which work is being carried out. For example, the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi and Meerut, will reduce the distance to less than an hour.
Work is being done on the MetroLite version in cities with low traffic as this would be constructed at 40% cost of the normal metro while Metro Neo, costing 25% of the normal metro, is for cities with low ridership.
Similarly, water metro would be an out of the box thinking. The water metro is now being worked in cities with large water bodies. This mode of modern transportation will provide last mile connectivity to the people near the islands, he said.
Metro, he said, is no longer just a medium of public transport but a great way to reduce pollution. Thousands of vehicles, being the cost of pollution and jam, have been reduced from traffic with the introduction of metro rails.
He also underlined the importance of ‘Make in India’ for the expansion of metro services as it helps reduce costs, saves foreign exchange, and gives more employment to the people.
The standardization of rolling stock has reduced the cost of every coach from Rs.12 crores to Rs.8 crores now. Today, four big companies are manufacturing metro coaches in the country and dozens of companies are engaged in the manufacture of metro components. “This is helping Make in India as well as the campaign for self-reliant India,” said Modi.
“With the achievement of Metro Rail without a driver, our country has joined the select countries of the world where such facilities are available.”
Technology-wise, a braking system in which 50% of the energy goes back into the grid when the brakes are applied, he explained. Today 130 MW of solar power is being used in metro rail, which will be increased to 600 MW in the coming years. #technology #transportation #projects #infrastrucure /fiinews.com
