indian railways—where the commuter is the king!

34 Japan Railway & Transport Review 25 • October 2000

Evolution of Urban Railways (part 2)

Feature

Copyright © 2000 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

Indian Railways—Where The Commuter is The King!

Ram Chandra Acharya

Over the past 100 years the population ofIndia registered a fourfold increase from238 million to 1 billion. However, theurban population grew almost 13 times—as a percentage of the total population, ittripled from 11% to about 34%. Insuburbs, railways are a preferred mode oftransport and although commutersaccount for only 20% of the totalpassenger-km carried by Indian Railways(IR), in terms of passenger numbers, the12 million commuters boarding 7500 IRpassenger trains for myriad destinationson 63,000 route-km of tracks comprise ahuge 60% of all passenger traffic.

150 Years of Sustained Growth

The first railway in the world was theStockton & Darlington Railway in the UK,

which was opened in 1825. Railwaysreached France in 1829, the USA in 1830,Germany in 1835, I ta ly and theNetherlands in 1839, and Spain in 1848.Railways came relatively late to Indiawhen the first line of 21 miles (33.6 km)was opened from Boribunder to Thane in1853. The grand occasion was markedby a 21-gun salute and even theGovernor’s band was in attendance when14 railway carriages carrying 400 guestsleft Boribunder at 15:30 and arrived atThane at 16:45.By the time of Indian Independence in1947, the British had built a railwaynetwork of more than 58,000 kmprimarily for developing the hinterlandsand transporting agriculture produce,minerals, and troops to suppress uprisings.Rather surprisingly, private enterpriseplayed the leading role in railway

construction during the early 19th century.Since the colonial government guaranteeda 5% return on investment, growth wasphenomenal in the ear ly s tages.Companies like the Bengal NagpurRailway achieved progress of almost 1mile a day even using pr imit iveconstruction methods depending heavilyon manual labour.The American Civil War also spurred thegrowth of railways in India. The Unionistblockade of Confederate ports in 1861soon began to starve Lancashire cottonmills of precious raw materials and theGreat Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR)found it profitable to push its tracks intothe Deccan southern plateau over themountain range hugging the western coastto transport Indian cotton to Bombay byrail and then by ship to Lancashire.The second railway track was built by the

Passengers disembarking at Mumbai’s Churchgate Station, the Western Railway terminus (Author)

35Japan Railway & Transport Review 25 • October 2000Copyright © 2000 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

East Indian Railway and opened on 15August 1854 from Howrah to Hooghly(38.4 km) in eastern India, where Calcuttawas to become the seat of government.Meanwhile the Bombay Baroda andCentral India Railway Company (BB&CI)was incorporated by an Act of the BritishParliament on 2 July 1855 and soon setabout concluding an agreement with theEast India Company to construct a linefrom Surat (where the latter had itsfactories) to Baroda and Ahmedabad tomove cotton from Gujarat by rail. Moretrack was built later from Utran near Suratto Bombay (Grant Road Station) to reachBombay Port, which was opened on 28November 1864.S i r Kesk ie Wi l son , Governor o fBombay, declared the first electric line(1500-Vdc overhead catenary) openwhen a train ran from Victoria Terminus(Boribunder) to Kurla on the HarbourBranch Line of GIPR. The WesternRailway soon adopted the same systemfor i ts suburban services and thecombined suburban networks of theCentral and Western railways havegrown to about 120 km carrying over5 million commuters in some 2500,12-car electrical multiple unit (EMU)trains each day.

Reorganization and Post-independence Development

By Independence in 1947, the railwaynetwork consisted of 10 government and32 private railways, including thosebelonging to former princely states. Tomeet the demands of industrial growth,the network was reorganized in 1950 intoseven zones (later expanded to 9) withheadqua r t e r s a t ex i s t i ng ma jo rgovernment/private railways.Although the last 50 years have seen adrop in the railway’s market share from80% to 20% for passengers and from90% to 40% for freight, thanks to theright of way and convenience ofcommuter railways, commuter traffichas registered an all round increase,with increasing clamour for bettermetro networks serving suburbs.Rail is also still the preferred mode forpassengers travelling 500 km or more.Fast intercity trains compete effectivelywith airlines and are very popular on someshort-haul routes such as Delhi–Agra,Delhi–Chandigarh, Mumbai (Bombay)–Ahmedabad, Calcut ta–Rourke la ,Chennai–Bangalore to name a few. Ofcourse, the millions of rural labourers haveno alternative to railways for their annual

trips from the densely populated east tothe labour-hungry agricultural belt ofPunjab, Haryana, etc.

Growth of Urban RailwaySystems

There have been two distinct patterns ofrailway growth in urban India. The firstpattern consists of suburban sprawl alongthe track and has occurred in metropolitancities near ports, such as Mumbai,Calcutta and Chennai. The second patternconsists of radiating growth filling inbetween tracks converging on the city(eight in Delhi). Growth in cities such asDelhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad hasmostly been of this second pattern andthese cities have increasingly assumed theshape of a giant pumpkin!Suburban fare hikes are very unpopularand politically sensitive. As a result,monthly commuter tickets often cost aslittle as seven single fares, so manysuburban services are loss making andrequire high government subsidies. Incities such as Mumbai, suburban servicesconsume a disproportionately high levelof resources to keep them running at peakefficiency. Even a breakdown of just afew minutes results in serious law and

Items Central Western Eastern SE Metro Northern SouthernRailway Railway Railway Railway Railway Railway Railway

Route-km 254.69 124.60 716.46 225.00 16.45 256.00 141.82

Passengers (millions) 113.51 106.84 41.51 6.63 68.28 0.25 23.99

Daily services 1063 953 957 153 122 78 513

EMU Trainsets 107 73 122 26 18 29 64

Maintenance depots 3 2 4 2 2 1 2

Income (Rs. crores) 397.62 305.05 158.43 23.02 18.53 ✳ 66.99

Expenses (Rs. crores) 361.02 262.15 431.52 118.95 55.30 ✳ 137.04

Profit(+)/loss(-) (Rs. crores) +36.60 +42.90 -273.09 -95.93 -36.77 ✳ -70.05

Note: No separate financial accounts are maintained for the Delhi suburban system.

1997–98 Statistics for Suburban Railways




order problems as commuters vent theiranger on everyone and anything in sight.Most suburban service are primarily loss-making social obligations, and only theWestern and Central railways made aprofit in the last two financial years.Eastern Railway has one of the highestlevels of fare evasion, which resulted in ah u g e l o s s o f R s 2 7 3 . 0 9 c r o r e s(US$1 million = Rs2.2 crores); SouthEastern came second with a loss ofRs95.93 crores in 1997–98.

Wide-Body Rolling Stock

Almost 50 years ago, IR realized thatalleviation of rush-hour crush resultingfrom the exploding commuter populationwould require rolling stock 1' 4" widerthan the existing size of 10' 8". However,a 12' wide carriage requires large-scalemodification of trackside structures ontrunk lines designed for 10' 8" cars. Tosolve this problem, about 10 years ago,the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) designeda special mainline EMU that is now beingbuilt by IR’s carriage works at Chennai.While the old suburban systems of bothWestern and Central railways in Mumbaistill operate on 1500 Vdc, the more recentsystems of Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai,Bangalore, Hyderabad , etc., use 25 kVac,which is also the standard for mainlineservices. However, in view of theburgeoning traffic, and the need for betterservice reliability coupled with energysaving, in 1996–97, both the Central andWestern railways planned to investRs574.57 crores and Rs273.67 crores,respectively, to convert their existing1500-Vdc systems to 25 kVac. TheCalcutta Metro is the only system in Indiausing a 750-Vdc third rail system.As part of upgrades to improve workefficiency and conserve power, theancient resistor step-control system wasreplaced in 1985 on a trial basis bychopper control on a few trainsets; disc

brakes were introduced on three setsin 1987.

Need for Separate MetroOrganizations

In the last 20 years, all the major metrooperators have realized that it is notsufficient to just carry commuters to andfrom the suburbs—commuters still haveto reach their ultimate workplace,requiring a far more widespread and

interconnected network especially in thepumpkin-shaped ci t ies of Delhi ,Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc.Furthermore, railways have their handsfull with the major business of movinglong-distance freight and passengers,creating an urgent need to establishseparate organizations for fuller and moreactive cooperation with local citygovernments. Ultimately, this wouldmake rail-based rapid mass-transit systemsboth cost effective and user friendly.

Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Projects

Kaman

Kharbad

Existing Lines

Lines Under Construction

Broad GaugeSingle Double

Bhiwandi

MumbraKalwaThane

Diva

Dombivli

Kalyan

Kasara

Surat

Neral

Matheran

Khandeshwar

Kharghar

Turbhe

Santacruz

Andheri

Goregaon

Borivli

Mankhurd

Trombay

Quadrupling

Double Track

Double Track

Double Track

5TH Line

5TH & 6TH Line

Vadala

Ravli Jn.Flyover

(Ballard Estate)Carnac Bundar

SanpadaJuinagar

Belapur

Uran

ChattrepatiShivaji Terminus

Panvel

Apta

Pune

Karjat

Vashi

Nerul

Kurla

Seawood

ChurchgateColaba

MumbaiCentral

Dadar

Bandra

Bhandup

Vasai Rd.

Virar

Greater Mumbai

New Mumbai

MumbaiThane Creek

Bassien Creek

Ulhas River


However, given the huge numbers ofpeople to be moved, the time-testedbroad-gauge system with 12' wide EMUcarriages is probably preferred over anylight rail system that would seldom meetthe transport needs of most million-plusIndian cities.

Mumbai Railway’s—The Commuter’s Lifeline

Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is a 440 km2

island on the west coast of India. Itbecame a British possession when givenas a dowry from King John I of Portugal atthe marriage of his daughter Catherine ofBraganza to King Charles II of England in1661. The British government tookpossession in 1665 and soon leased theisland to the East India Company at anannual rent of £10. King George V wasthe first British monarch to set foot onIndian soil in 1911 at the Gateway ofIndia, a marble arch built in his honour inBombay harbour. Although Delhi isIndia’s political capital, Mumbai is thecommercial and financial powerhouseand contributes more than 33% of thenation’s tax revenues.The Mumbai suburban rail network is thelargest in the world in terms of the numberof commuters carried daily, and theCentral and Western railways carry amind-boggling 5 million passengers everyday. Nearly half of all passengers usingpublic transport are ferried by railways,which carry 80% of the total commuterpassenger-km due to the longer averagejourney length (25 km compared to 5 kmby road).Despite expansion of New Mumbai tothe mainland, most work places and thebusiness centre are still at the southerntip of the island, so the vast majority ofcommuters still travel to this area, atleast for the present. Ef forts areunderway to reduce congestion byshifting many government offices toNew Mumbai, which now has Nhava-

Sheva as its new port.The Central Railway network is 255-kmlong with 89 stations compared toWestern Railway’s 125-km network with64 stations. Each operator runs about1100 and 1000 trains, respectively, witheach train carrying about 4500 passengersduring the rush hour. These networks arethe lifeline for all commercial andbusiness activity in Mumbai and it is nowonder that chaos breaks loose when thishuman conveyor belt breaks down foreven a few minutes.If these rail services fail, thousands ofMEST double-decker buses choke thehighways to a standstill, a scenario thatDelhi commuters face practically everyday without a whimper!In line with the policy to involve stategovernments in footing the mountingb i l l s f o r a d d i n g c a p a c i t y, t h eMaharashtra Rail Vikas Corporationwas recently formed, but it has yet tofirm up plans for a mix of undergroundand elevated tracks for the third andfourth corridors. A major investmentwould be optimization of both theCentral and Western railway networks,including int roduct ion of 12-car

trainsets on both through and local linesat an estimated cost of Rs84.60 crores.

Quantum Jumpin Track Capacity

After rioting in the early 90s by commutersangered by poor overcrowded services,the double-track section from Borivli toVirar is slated for quadrupling by 2006 ata cost of Rs401.66 crores. Thequadrupled track will separate slow andexpress traffic to improve the commutingconditions. A fifth 12-km line fromMumbai Central to Santacruz is expectedto be completed by 2002 with additionof a 16.8-km extension from Santacruz toBorivli by 2004. The survey work isnearing completion and engineeringworks should start within 12 months.To give a boost to New Mumbai, a slewof projects providing additional trackcapacity and connectivity with theexisting Central Railway system are on thecards, including Thane–Turbhe–Nerul/Vashi as part of the Second Corridor at acost of Rs403.39 crores, and doubletracking of the Belapur–Panvel section ata cost of Rs279.83 crores, with the City &

Passengers disembarking at Churchgate Station, the terminus of Western Railway’s suburban lines (Author)




Industrial Development Corporation(CIDCO) bearing 66% of the cost.Since both the BBCI and GIP alignmentsrun north–south, they divide the city intoeast and west corridors with distinctiveland use patterns. The western coastlineis the preferred residential area, while theeastern side is used for harbours, factoriesand general industrial development, withhousing for lower income groups.

Reclaiming Right-of-Way

Unfortunately, as often happens indevelopment of suburban railwaysystems, land for residential andcommercial use has priori ty and

municipal authorities are unwilling tomake land (let alone money) available forapproach roads or parking areas. As aresult, most suburban stations have littleor no room for ‘park and ride’ facilities.Moreover, hordes of poor peoplesearching for a job and a better life areattracted to Mumbai. Most end up livingin slums surrounding the metropolis.Many of these slums spring up illegallyon railway land adjoining tracks and thelocal police are often persuaded to lookthe other way by powerful slum landlords.Such slums often prevent adequate trackmaintenance, block drainage, andinterfere with train operations, resultingin reduced train speeds and increasedjourney times.

Since maintenance of law and order isoutside the responsibilities of IR, it washelpless in evicting slum residents fromits land. However, after nearly a year ofopinion-building among state bureaucratsand politicians (who are seldom happy tosupport what may be seen as anunpopular action), the administration ofCentral Railway formed a special taskforce to remove the encroachments whilepolice stood by to ensure law and order.The politicians gave their support to thedemolition of over 6,000 illegal structureswhen they realized that the railways area lifeline for millions of voting Mumbaicommuters and could be closed down byIR due to lack of maintenance.To ensure that the cleared land does not

Central Railway’s Harbour Branch Line in Mumbai illegally occupied by slums (top left). Houses were manually demolished due to difficult bulldozer access (top right). Generalview of demolition half way through (bottom left). Recovered railway land is leased to railway staff for food production (bottom right). (Photos: Author)


become encroached again , it has beenleased to IR track maintenance personnel.There are further major plans to demolishthe remaining structures and rehouse theoccupants at other sites made availableby the state government.

Delhi—Capital CommuterProblems

Delhi’s population of 10 million iscrowded into an area of some 1600 km2,stretching the public transport system tothe limit. As a result, Delhi is moreheavily dependent on commuting byroad than Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai

(Madras). Vehicles spew exhaust gasesas they crowd into Delhi from a 50-kmradius around the city, creating massivetraffic jams and contributing to amounting road death toll.The nation’s capital is spreading radiallylike a giant pumpkin into the countrysideof the surrounding three states ofHaryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.Existing Northern Railway tracks enter themetropolis from 8 directions but still donot serve many of the old and newresidential and business areas, so theburden on the roads is mounting.Moreover, the city planners have longrelied heavily on roads while relegating

the railways to a secondary role.However, the inner and outer ring roadsand flyovers have been swamped by thevirtual explosion in commuter traffic.While the Northern Railway tracksconverging from eight directions into fivemain corridors of Delhi, New Delhi,Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Sarai Rohillaoffer a unique transport advantagebefitting the nation’s capital, the largenumber o f long -d i s t ance t r a in sconverging on the city also impose aheavy burden on city transport systems.For example, 10 trains arrive daily fromGhaziabad and Palwal, six trains fromRohtak and Sonepat, and five trains from

Delhi Metro Railway Corporation's Project

Khera Kalan

OldSectt.

Vishwa

VidyalayaBarw

ala

Narela

Holambi Kalan

Iradat Nagar

Ambedkar Colony

Tughlakabad

Faridabad

Okhla

Sirasp

ur

Badli

Surajpur

Transp

ort Nagar

Udyog N

agar

Naya Aza

dpur

Shalimar B

agh

Kirti Nagar

Patel Nagar

Daya Basti

Azadpur

Sawan Park

R.P. Bagh

Shaktinagar

Civil

Lines

Subzimandi

Baghpat Rd.Meerut

B. Hut'A' Panel

'B' Panel

Chawrl Bazar

Delhi Main

Delhi

H. Nizamuddin

PragatiMaidan

DelhiS. Rohila

DelhiK.Ganj S. Bazar

New Delhi

Connaught Place

Patel Chowk

Central Sectt.

Roh

tak

Nan

gloi

Naj

afga

rhB

ahad

urga

rh

Sha

kur

Bas

ti

Del

hiS

hahd

ara

Ram

pura

Cab

in

New

Pat

el N

agar

Kav

ita N

agar

Jwal

apur

i

Man

golp

uri

Mul

tan

Nag

arS

urya

Enc

lave

Delhi Cantt

PalamBijwasanGurgaon

Srin

agar

Gar

den

Trin

agar

D. S

afda

rjang

Cha

naky

apur

i

S. Brid

ge

T. B

ridge

S.P.

Mar

gV

ivek

anan

d P

uri

See

lam

purl

Tis

Haz

art

Sah

ibab

ad

Gha

ziab

ad

Anand Vihar

Mar

ipat

Car Depot

Pul

Ban

gash

Sha

strip

ark

Hap

ur

Gau

lam

purl

Yamuna River

Hiroon R

iver

Pra

lap

Ngr

.

Lajp

at N

agar

Sew

a N

agar

Lodh

i Col

ony

Brar Square

D. Inderpuri

Naraina Vihar

Sar

ojin

i Nag

ar

Noida

Rohini

1. Shahdara(0)-ISBT(8)-Nangloi(25)

2. Subzimadi(0)-Naya Azadpur(8) -Holambi Kalan(19.3)

3. Vishwa Vidyalaya(0)-ISBT(3) -Central Seclailat(11)

25

19.3

11

55.3

kmPhase-I

–

–

11

11

Underground

17.7

4.45

–

22.15

Elevated

7.3

14.85

–

22.15

Surface

Total:

Underground

Surface

Elevated

Under Construction

I.S.B.T

Saharanpur

Saharanpur

Moradabad

Khurja

Palwal

Rewari

Vasantkunj

S.J.Airport

SNP

Bha

tinda




Rewari. Once these train passengersreach the metropolis, they must rely onbuses, cars, and taxis to complete theirjourneys in a competition of survival ofthe fittest.

Delhi Metro RailwayCorporation

1986 was a watershed year for long-suffering Delhi commuters when theMinistry of Urban Development took overresponsibility for rail mass transit as partof overall development of the city’s metro.Undoubtedly, IR heaved a sigh of relief athaving shaken off its expensive socialobligations, which apart from losingmoney also had its own heavy backlog ofrequired investment.After almost 20 years of surveys, reportsand studies to find a viable solution, RailIndia Techno-Economic Services (RITES)proposed a scheme composed of surface,elevated, and underground tracks. As aresul t , the Delhi Metro Rai lwayCorporation (DMRC) was established inMay 1995 as a joint venture between theMinistry of Urban Affairs and theGovernment of the National CapitalTerritory of Delhi (GNCTD).The proposed system is standalone withno physical link to the Northern Railwayexcept for commuter interchanges at NewDelhi and Old Delhi. It will be limited to

providing north–south and east–westcorridors that are presently non-existent.There will be 35 stations on 44.3 km ofsurface and elevated track running parallelto the existing arterial roads from Shahdarain the east, Nangloi in the west andHolambi Kalan in the north to Tis Hazariat the heart of Delhi. Another 11km ofunderground track will connect DelhiUniversity to Central Secretariat passingthrough 10 stations in some of the mostcongested parts of Delhi. The estimatedcost is Rs4860 crores (April 1996 values)and it is expected to carry 3.2 millionpassengers each day at a 3-minuteheadway during peak hours. The openingis scheduled for 2005.In August 1998, DMRC awarded aconsultancy contract to a consortium offive companies composed of PacificConsultants International (PCI) of Japan aslead member, Parsons BrinkenhoffInternational of the USA, TonichiEngineering Consultants of Japan, theJapanese Railway Technical Services, andRITES, which prepared the first feasibilityand later detailed reports.The real challenge is in land acquisitionwithout litigation as well as in relocatingnearly 30 slums, and 4000 structures andsmall businesses. Last but not least, manytemples along the route must be relocated.The 8-km stretch from Shahdara to TisHazari is currently a priority because its

completion will take almost 1 millioncommuters off one of the most congestedroads into Delhi at cost Rs550 crores.The first contract to construct a 554-mprestressed concrete bridge to carry doubletrack on a well foundation sunk 36 m belowthe riverbed was awarded to M/S LarsenToubro. Works are already well ahead ofschedule and the completion will be amajor factor in decreasing road congestion,journey times, accidents and pollutionlevels in Delhi.

Calcutta—India’s First Subway

Calcutta is only some 300 years old,having been created by the British whenthe East India Company moved its tradingpost in 1686 from Hooghly to a settlementof three villages at Sutanali, Govindpurand Kalikata—the anglicised corruptionof Kalikata gave Calcutta its present name.However by 1911, after Queen Victoria’sproclamation taking over the governmentof the sub-continent from the East IndiaCompany, the seat of government movedto Delhi. With a population of just over12 million, Calcutta has huge demand forurban transport and most needs are metby railways and thousands of public andprivate buses and taxis.The 16.45-km line with 17 stations fromDumdum to Tollygunge is India’s first


Calcutta Subway under construction by cut-and-cover method (top). Completed subway station and domestically built trainset (opposite page left). Busy platforms (oppositepage right and bottom left) and crowded train (bottom right) of Calcutta Subway. (Photos: Author)




subway. It was opened fully to traffic as astandalone system in September 1995 anda 8.5-km extension from Tollygunge toGaria is expected to be completed by2005 at a cost of Rs696 crores. Howeverdelays in starting work have caused costoverruns of about Rs2,400 crores, but33% will be borne by the government ofWest Bengal. Although 122 daily trainscarried 68.28 million passengers in 1997–98, the line lost Rs34.77 crores.

Calcutta Subway and Circular Railway

Ramrajatala

Belanagar

Bally Halt

Barddhaman BWN Ranaghat

Bally

Ballyghat

VivekanandaSetu

RabindraSetu

VidyasagarSetu

Howrah

Dakshineswar

Bara Nagar

Barrackpore

Titagarh

Noapara Car Depot

Dum Dum Cantt.

Bongaon

NSC AirportDum Dum

BelgachiaPatipukur

UltadangaShyam Bazar

Bidhannagar

Sealdah

Chandni Ch.

Esplanade

Park Street

Maidan

Rabindra Sadan

Netaji Bhavan

Jatindas Park

Kalighat

KalighatLake Garden

Rabindra Sarobar

Ballygunge

Dinakuria

Park Circus

JadabpurTollygunge

Thakurpukur

Brace Bridge

Budge Budge

Tollyganj

Chanditala

Kudghat

Bansdroni

Naktala

Garia Bazar Pranab Nagar

Garia

Sonarpur

New GariaSubsidiaryDepot

Baghajatin

Central

M.G. Road

Girish Park

BDB Bag

ChandpolGhat

Eden Garden

Princep Ghat

Hastings

Shalimar

Khidirpur

Remount Rd.

Majerhat

Sova Bazar

BurraBazar

TalaBagBazar

SovaBazar

Santragachi

Belur

Liluah

Kharagpur

Padmapukur

Salt Lake City

Hooghly R

iver

Existing LinesMetro RailwayMetro Railway ExtensionCircular RailwayCircular Railway ExtensionProposed Outer LineSurveyed Line

Broad GaugeSingle Double

S. E. Rly

S.E.

Rly

S. E. Rly

An unfortunate feature of the suburbansystems of the Eastern and SouthEastern railways serving Calcutta is therampant fare evasion, despite the factthat a monthly season ticket costs theequivalent of just seven singles! As aresult, in 1997–98, while the suburbansystems of the Central and Westernrailways posted profits of Rs36.60c r o r e s a n d R s 4 2 . 9 0 c r o r e s ,respectively, the Eastern and South

Eastern systems lost Rs273.09 coresand Rs95.93 crores, respectively.

Eastern Railway System

The Eastern Railway system consists oftwo distinct alignments running north–south on the east and west banks of theRiver Hooghly. In 1997–98 , 957 EMUtrains composed of 618 from SealdahStation on the east bank and 342 fromHowrah on the west bank ran daily tocarry 41.51 million passengers for the yearat a huge loss of Rs273.09 crores. SouthEastern Railway, which uses EasternRailway’s Howrah terminus, ran 153services daily to carry just 6.63 millionpassengers at a loss of Rs95.93 crores.Disused tracks serving Calcutta port wereconverted into the 13.5-km CircularRailway from Dum Dum to Princep Ghatthat was opened to traffic in stages from1990. Extension of the railway fromPrincep Ghat to Majerhat and from DumD u m t o C a l c u t t a A i r p o r t w i t helectrification of the entire line is expectedto be completed by March 2004 at a costof Rs192.90 crores.Some existing diesel-loco hauledcommuter sections, which are short spursending at the Bangladesh border, areslated to be electrified in the near future.This would reduce operating costs byeliminating the diesel locomotivemaintenance depot at Ranaghat.


Chennai ChoosesElevated Track

In their efforts to colonize India, theBritish decided to display their militarymight at the village of Madraspatnam,which was shortened to Madras (andrenamed Chennai a few years ago). TheEast India Company built the massiveFort St. George along Marina Beach in1653 and it is presently the seat of theTamil Nadu government. Bri t ishs u p r e m a c y i n t h e r e g i o n w a sestablished by the annexation ofDeccan, the soft underbelly of India in1819, and the East India Companystarted looking for ways to link Madras(Chennai) with Bombay (Mumbai)along the Konkan coast.The first train covered the 63.22 miles(101 km) from Veyasarpadi (nearChennai) to Waljah Road on the wayto Katpadi in 1856, just 3 years afterthe first train ran in India. The MadrasGuaranteed Railway which started theservice was soon taken over by thegovernment and became the Madrasand Southern Mahratta Railway in1908. In 1953, it was reorganized withother railways in the south to form thebasis of the present Southern Railway.The population of Madras in 1900 wasjus t 0 .8 mi l l ion, grew to near ly6 million by 1991 and is still growing.As in Mumbai and Calcut ta , thesuburban railways are very much thepre fe r red mode o f t ranspor t fo rChennai’s commuters. The 144-kmsuburban system make extensive use ofthe Southern Railways’ mainline tracksto provide commuter t rains f romGummidipundi 48 km to the North,Arakkonam 69 km to the West, andChengalpattu 59 km to the south.T h e M a d r a s B e a c h – Ta m b a r a m –Chengalpattu section is still metergauge but is slated for conversion tobroad gauge at a cost of Rs455.24crores. The Tamil Nadu government

Calcutta Eastern and SE Railways

Shantipur

Nabadwipghat

Ahmedpur

Sainthia

Asansol

Adra

Tatanagar

Rupsa

Lalgola

Bhagwangola

Sargachhi

Sirajnagar

Bethuadahari

KrishnanagarCity

Bagula

Gede

Shantipur

Nabadwipghat

Ranaghat

Majhergram

Katwa

Khana

Barddhaman

Saktigarh

Masagram

Gurap

Kalyani

Naihati

Barrackpore

BamangachhiBarasat

Machhalandapur

Thakurnagar

PetrapoleBangaon

Hasnabad

Dum Dum Cantt.Dum Dum Airport

Dum DumSealdah

Ballygunge

GariaSonarpur

Canning

Baruipur

ThakurpukurTollygunge

DiamondHarbour

Lakshmikantapur

Amta

Bargachia

Champadanga

Tarakeshwar

Kamarkundu

Bandel

Seoraphuli

Dankuni

HowahSantragachi

S.E.R.

N.G.

N.G

.

N.G.

N.G.

BudgeBudge

Majerhat

Tamluk

KolaghatMecheda

Panskura

Midnapur

Kharagpur

Nimpura

Durgachak

Haldia

Suburban SystemMetro Railway

Existing Lines: Single Double Electrified

Metro Railway ExtensionCircular RailwayCircular Railway ExtensionElectrification in progress

SouthEastern Eastern

Hooghly River

A typical local EMU at supercrush levels heading for Eastern Railway’s Sealdah Station at Calcutta (Author)




has agreed to bear half the cost becausethis section can be integrated into thebroad-gauge suburban ne twork ,r e s u l t i n g i n a m a j o r e a s i n g o fcongestion on roads into Chennai.The 8.55-km Mass Rapid Transit System(MRTS) from Madras Beach to Luz hasan elevated section of about 6 km from

Metropolitan Transport Projects for Chennai

Chennai City

Bay of Bengal

MadrasFertilizer

Ennore

Tiruvottiyur

Tondiarpet

Korukkupet

WashermenpetRoyapuram

BasinBridge

MadrasBeach

Fort

ParkTown

MadrasCentral

Madras Egmore

Palvalanthangal

New ColonyVelachery

Taramani

Velachery Rd.

Pallikkaranai

SelaiyurTambaram

Chengalpattu

Medabakkam

Guindy

Saidapet

Kasturbanagar

Indranagar

Tiruvanmiyur

Mambalam

Kadambakkam

Numgambakkam

Chetpet M.G.

Perambur

Veysarpadi

PCWPEWVillivakkam

New Washermenpet

Padi

KOTR

West Anna Nagar

Merkundram Chepauk

Triplicane

Lloyds Rd.

Tirumailai

Mandavali

Greenways Rd.

Kotturpuram

Chintadripet

Minakshinagar

M.G.R. Nagar

Industrial Estate

St. Thomas MtSt. Thomas Mt

Koyambedu

WimcoNagar

Mathur

Milk Colony

Madhavaram

Lakshmipuram

Poompughar

Existing LinesElectrified LinesSuburban System

MRTS Phase-I OpenedMRTS Phase-II in ProgressGauge ConversionChennai City limits

Broad GaugeMeter GaugeSingle DoubleDouble

Villupuram

Avadi

Gudur

Arakkonam

Park Town to Luz. The sur facealignment was opened in 1991, but theelevated section took another 6 yearsto complete. Built at cost of Rs268.87crores, i t has not proved popularbecause the approach roads, parking,and connections to other transportmodes are minimal, rather like Delhi’s

Circular Railway.To make the system more user friendly,station approaches, circulating areas,parking, etc., are being upgraded. Toreach a larger commuter base, the trackis being extended by 10.8 km (7.58 kmelevated) beyond Luz to Vellachery ata cost of Rs605.70 crores. Work is inprogress and should be completed byMarch 2002. Realizing the vital role itcould play in reducing road congestion,the Tamil Nadu government has goneone step further by agreeing to bear66% of the costs.The MRTS is planned to run another 40km beyond Velachery to Tiruvanmiyur/Ennore passing through some majorindustrial areas and providing a faster,safer, economical and pollution-freemode of transport within the city andits suburbs.

Bangalore—Attempts to Keepthe Garden City ‘Green’

Situated on the southern tip of theDeccan plateau at an elevation of 1000m, Bangalore enjoys a balmy climateyear round. Despite rapid urbandevelopment and industrialization, ithas retained its image as a Garden City.The broad-gauge tracks from Chennaiin the east, Mysore in the west, Mirajin the north-west and Hindupur in thenorth-east have lead to Delhi-likesprawl along these alignments.A recent commuter inter-modal surveyby RITES found that Bangalore ’spopulation of 4.3 million in 1991 islikely to reach 7.2 million by 2011. Thenumber of vehicle registrations has alsogrown tenfold in the last 20 years. In1997, there were 1 million registeredv e h i c l e s o f w h i c h 7 2 % w e r emotorbikes, which are increasing at anannual rate of 13%.Based on an earlier 1983 RITES studyon the Mass Transit Project Railway anda study by the Indian Insti tute of


Ram Chandra Acharya

Mr R. C. Acharya is a railway consultant and writer. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the

Institute of Mechanical Engineers (London) and began his career in the Indian Railway Service of

Mechanical Engineers in 1956. He was a senior management member of a 400-strong RITES (Rail

India Techno-Economic Services) team that managed the Nigerian Railway Corporation from 1979 to

1982. During the last 10 years of his career, he held various positions including Chief Mechanical

Engineer (CME), Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, and CME at the Centre for Modernisation of

Workshops (COFMOW), New Delhi. He was Chief Administrative Officer, Diesel Component Works,

Patiala, before taking over as General Manager Eastern Railway, Calcutta. At retirement in October

1992, he was Member (Mechanical) of the Railway Board.

Phase II of Bangalore MTP

New Stations(Proposed New Stations) 1 R.P.C Layout 2 Hosahalli 4 Jeevanahalli 5 Hoodi 6 Mathekara 7 Nagwara 8 Indira Nagar

Quadrupling & ElectrificationDoubling & ElectrificationEMU Depot

Bangalore City limitsHebbal

Prop. Rob

Vimanapura

BLR

Baiappanhalli

Banashankari

Jayanagar

Vijaya Nu.

1

2

4

8

7

6

7

To Mysore

To KanakapuraTo Anekal

To Hosur

To Salem

To Varthur

To Sarjapur

To White Field

To Mauras

To Madras

To Banaswadi

To Hennur

To BellaTo Noupur

To Miraj

To Tumkur

EMU Shed

To Magadi

Santacruz

Yeshwantpur

Iottogollan allr

Kengeri

M a n a g e m e n t ( I I M ) , R I T E Srecommended forming a circularr a i lway by connec t ing ex i s t i ngalignments and adding a few elevatedsections along some congested roads atan estimated cost of Rs840 crores.Hopefully, the proposed metro willcheck the exponential growth of roadtraffic and related air pollution tomaintain Bangalore ’s image as aGarden City. �

indian railways—where the commuter is the king!

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