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Metro /Mono Routes - Suggestions
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Written By Naveen - 7 August, 2009
Bangalore Route Namma Metro suggestion BMRC Transportation public transport Mobilicity metro Metro Rail
Soil tests are being conducted in various parts of the city for Ph-2 of the Metro. Routes may be finalized based on results of soil tests, but the locations give a fair idea of how the routes are being planned.
There were a few concerns which I had & these are summarized in a letter & map with suggestions that has been forwarded to BMRC (via email).
( Download Higher Resolution Map )
August 6, 2009
To,
The Managing Director,
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.,
Bangalore
Dear Sir,
Re: Suggestions for Improvement in Plans for Mass–Transit Routes
I have been closely following the developments toward resolving traffic congestion problems in the city with Mass Transit systems. As per indications from soil-testing that has been taking place & assuming that I am generally keeping in line with BMRC’s Metro development plans as also Scomi-Geodesic’s Monorail proposals, I have the following suggestions :
Metro Phase-2, Second N-S line
1) It would be ideal to run this service along Hosur road, but if my understanding is correct, this may not be possible due to agreements in place between the government & BETL.
2) If the condition above were indeed true, then the alignment would have to follow Bannerghatta road. In this case, as needs are not the same over different sections along this very long route, this line could be split into three sections. A very frequent service would be necessary within ORR, whereas services can be less frequent for areas north & south of ORR. The southern route from RV road terminal along Bannerghatta road to EC can be aligned along NICE peripheral road, assuming that agreements with NICE permit this. The northern route to Yelahanka from Cubbon road can be operated even less frequently.
3) Alternately, the services could be run by terminating every second train at ORR, whilst allowing the others to go the whole distance, so as to avoid wastage & result in reduced frequency past ORR.
4) On the southern route, tracks could be doubled between IIM & EC to allow for express /skip-stop services to EC (past IIM) during peak hours with simultaneous operation of ordinary, less frequent services that stop at all stations. This could help in making this route more viable without investing excessively high since Metro will have to compete with the tolled, overhead expressway along Hosur road.
Metro Phase-2, Second E-W line
5) If my intuition is correct, this line is being planned between Whitefield & Mysore road terminal without any interface with the 1st E-W line. This can cause inconveniences for many passengers – say for those bound from old airport road to Rajajinagar or from Kathriguppe to Indiranagar. Such commuters will have to make two transfers & besides, it will increase their travel time since they will have to hop on one of the N-S routes also for a short distance in-between. This can easily be weeded out by a small change in the alignment by planning it to go past trinity circle & providing an interface there with the 1st E-W line.
Monorail Route proposals
6) The red route (Route-1) proposed by Scomi-Geodesic had overlaps with Metro phase-2 lines on the east & southwest. Also, the route could be extended to some more highly developed, but poorly served areas in the south. Hence, it is suggested that this route be changed & merged with the proposed blue line Mono route.
7) The green line (Route-2) proposal between Agara lake & Rajajinagar Link road–Sujatha Talkies intersects all four Metro lines & also does not overlap or duplicate with other lines anywhere. It also provides connectivity to many central activity areas. It is thus suggested that this line be left unchanged, except for minor revisions to take the route past Shantinagar bus terminus & along H.Siddiah road (which is being widened) & also to cover parts of JC road.
A few other suggestions for new Monorail lines in the future are as follows :
1) A new line from Koramangala 1st block TTMC along 80-feet peripheral road, IRR, Domlur, Indiranagar 12th–13th Main roads, 80-feet road, Jeevanbhima nagar main road, Suranjandas road, Bagmane Tech park, LRDE, CV Raman nagar, DRDO township, Nagvarpalya main rd to OMR /Byappanahalli is feasible & may also become necessary soon. This route will connect the shopping /commercial areas & schools /offices in Indiranagar & Koramangala as also Bagmane Tech park & the IT facilities on IRR with the two E-W Metro lines & other Monorail routes.
2) Another viable route in the future may be along Tannery road via Bangalore east station & along Banaswadi road past ORR to Ramamurthy nagar & thence on to OMR, but this will involve some land acquisition in way of the railway overpass near Lingarajapuram.
3) A new line from Mysore road (near Sirsi circle) along Magadi road, going past tollgate Metro station may also become necessary later in the future, as recommended in the CTTP report.
4) It also seems obvious that extension of the route along ORR-Southeast (Sarjapur road) will become necessary in later years.
The route suggestions are shown on a map attached. I would be much obliged if you could advise if suggestions such as this are useful since a lot of effort goes into developing them.
Thanking you for your kind attention,
Capt.Naveen Chandra
Praja Bangalore ( http: www.bangalore.praja.in )
Mob: 99455-62470
Attached :
a) Map with Route plans proposed.
b) Scomi-Geodesic’s Monorail proposal.
COMMENTS
Mass Transit Routes - Clarifications
Naveen - 8 August, 2009 - 12:51
Orange_4444,
a) Yes, the plan is comprehensive. You would agree that without a long-term vision, routes may come up haphazardly. Further, as you mentioned, costs are very high & there will be no undoing any routes, once built.
An example is the N-S route presently being built. This route would have served much better if it had diagonally connected Tumkur rd with Hosur rd (& EC), but they opted to take it to Jayanagar & Kanakapura rd based on older needs & surveys that had pointed in that direction then.
Thus, the N-S route is entirely on the western side alone & has overlooked the new realities. Also, they have gone ahead with BETL hastily & now realize that a route cannot be put up along Hosur road.
I presume they are now preventing such errors by evaluating all needs & then chalking out a complete road map for Metro & Mono routes before finalizing or taking any decisions.
b) Airport road is the best option to connect Domlur, Marathalli, Whitefield & other areas inbetween (Austin town, Vimanapura, HAL, etc) to the city. There is an army pocket, but this is confined to less than 2km along the route.
c) The image posted by blrsri was the Mono proposal that included the CTTP recommended routes for Metro (in red), but I understand CTTP routes for metro are not strictly being followed (It is being used only as a reference source).
d) I could not access the link you provided - but I remember I had posted a similar suggestion earlier (ie. via Cant rly stn, Shivaji Nagar, Comml st, Residency rd, Shanti Nagar, Dairy circle / Hosur road). That image (& related post) is missing now on praja - probably got deleted during upgrade/s.
e) The whole area upto Whitefield is now developed & pressures are increasing all along the OMR approach as well as along the old airport rd approach. Thus, I doubt if a "Whitefield circuit" such as the LRT circuits in remote areas in Singapore will work as loads will increase considerably since there will be commuters to the city in very large numbers in the years to come.
f) Re. bus lanes - I agree & have been repeatedly suggesting this, but with many obstacles such as narrow road widths, BETL, etc., I think the idea has been scuttled. To make a BRT system work in India is also very challenging since intrusion /pilferage is rampant & enforcement is also very poor.
g) Monorail (with private investments) may be the only answer to areas which have narrow street widths & where quick PT connections are necessary. Many Indian cities are beginning to realize this & construction of the first mono system has already begun in Mumbai.
orange_4444 - 7 August, 2009 - 10:55
Thank you for this post. Is it possible for you to post a larger version of the above image, or to provide a link to the same?
n - 7 August, 2009 - 18:29
Thanks for sharing. Had a hard time figuring out Monorail Route 1 (blame the eyes ;-) or the map size?); agree with 1, 2, 3, 5. Agree with orange_4444 that the bigger picture (pun intended) will help in pixel peeping. Some questions (if your mail is answered or called for discussion by the authorities):
1) Is it feasible to have both the metro and BETL parallel or better to use a BMTC frequent feeder along BETL (maybe by having a dedicated bus lane)?
2) More important, do the mono (or maybe metro) routes compete with existing high-frequency BMTC bus routes and TTMCs? The metro/mono authorities need to be pressed to coordinate with using and maybe augmenting BMTC facilities unlike the first phase.
This is the important stage for prajagalu to participate - discuss it to death (with authorities and experts) for maybe a month, have another month for pre-resolving property/right-of-way/environment issues, set it in stone and finish the project on-time.
As an aside: Alignment should not be based on soil conditions alone (unless soils are poor for long stretches). It should primarily be based on traffic patterns and potential growth; of course needs to avoid politicians' lands and temples ;-)
Naveen - 28 August, 2009 - 18:00
BMRC had responded & advised to forward the suggestions to UDD /Infrastructure dept.. Accordingly, it has been posted to them, but no response so far.
I think BARL may just be a temporary arrangement to look into Monorail since BMRC is busy with construction, etc.
I am unable to open the link for Prof.Raju's contact/s. Could you please post it here - I can forward a copy to him too.
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