HOT TOPICS
SPOTLIGHT AGENCIES
How is Metro Ph II best done?
Written By srinidhi - 15 August, 2013
Bangalore Route Analysis BMRCL Metro Rail metro ph II optimal
Metro ph II is ready to kick off soon with the approvals coming in from Delhi. There is still lot of discussions pending on the utility and the routes. With the change in ledership there is a possible opportunity to start discussions to optimize routes. The current PH II route with stations is in the below link:
http://bmrc.co.in/pdf/phase2/phase2forweb.pdf
Broadly it has:
1. Extension of Phase I reaches
- Kengeri
- Whitefield
- Thalghattapura/NICE road jn
- Nice road jn on Tumkur road
2. RV road - Bommasandra line
3. Gotigere - Nagavara line
Coming to the financing..the majority would come from soft loans from Japan. As the kannada saying goes "ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಇದ್ದಷ್ಟು ಕಾಲು ಚಾಚು " we are still a poor country with limited resources. Hence its prudent to plan our expenditures for maximum benefit.
From the above list I feel that the Kengeri, Thalghattapura and Tumkur road extensions are not of much significance and would not ideally contribute to better passenger traffic. Hence going little slow on them or even moving them out of PH II plan maybe something worth exploring..
Please share your thoughts on phase II plan.
COMMENTS
Naveen - 16 August, 2013 - 15:21
ITPL/whitefield one is the most crucial one..all other 3 extensions are very well connected by highways now..its the ITPL link which has poor contectivity by road and has most metro traffic already exisitng and not just estimates!
ITPL extn & RV-Bommasandra lines are on priority for BMRC, but they will still take time to build, even if they start parallel construction along with ph-1 when GoI approval is received.
Other extensions will take even longer & will become necessary as per projections - they are not estimates by an individual, but based on studies. CTTP had also recommended the same. The existense of highways with fewer cars may have misled you into believing lesser daily trips. Actually, traffic is even higher in all other directions, only difference being that more people travel on buses in the other three directions throughout the day whilst on ITPL road, the number of travelers by cars is higher during peak hours leading to excessive crowding on the road - this may have distorted your perceptions.
srinidhi - 16 August, 2013 - 01:19
There was a plan earlier to connect Koramangala with the IIMB-Nagawara line which was going UG from Dairy circle.
idontspam - 16 August, 2013 - 01:44
Any connection to koramangala should touch NGV, BMTC depot, sony world & then thru 6th & 7th block back to marigowda rd for maximum impact. Stations at viveknagar, NGV/BMTC, SOnyworld, somewhere in 5th block, Madivala/Forum jn then dairy circle.
But if you really want to be prudent dont do phase 2 at all. Put money where it can serve a more inclusive section of the population first. Knowing koramangala you wont get land to even put an exit to an underground station unless you pay thru the nose. You cant do cut & cover stations.
Naveen - 16 August, 2013 - 05:27
I feel that the Kengeri, Thalghattapura and Tumkur road extensions are not of much significance and would not ideally contribute to better passenger traffic.
Sorry, again what you 'feel' is not backed by any evidence. See forecast from the same link you provided:
When the anticipated section loading is abt 25,000 & traffic is abt 7 lakhs on each line by 2021 (& showing increasing trends), there is a very strong case for metro.
There was a plan earlier to connect Koramangala with the IIMB-Nagawara line which was going UG from Dairy circle.
The "plan" was your own wishlist, never from BMRC or any authentic city official. On the one hand, you say metro is "darshan", whilst on the other you are recommending the route to go back & forth whilst poorly connecting a corner of koramangala. This needless increase in commute distance (& time) for all other passengers on the route is undesirable as was the need to connect Hoodi by increasing route distance - it could easily have been connected with feeder buses. Besides, it may not be technically feasible due to sharp turn & land constraints, as already discussed & admitted by you.
Why is it that only metro cannot go past cemetries & burial places? What about buses? Shouldn't they also avoid cemetries & burial places too? Going by your logic, buses plying on hosur rd (near wilson garden electric crematorium) must all be re-routed or stopped, shantinagar TTMC has to be shifted elsewhere, buses on kuvempu rd & a whole lot of routes with cemetries and burial places must also be re-routed!!
Any connection to koramangala should touch NGV, BMTC depot, sony world & then thru 6th & 7th block back to marigowda rd for maximum impact.
This is sensible - routing should cut through the interiors & not just skim a corner. Koramangala may have been left out in ph-1 & 2, but it will surely be covered in future phases, probably ph-3. It is not possible to cover every locality by metro in one or two phases - we will probably see phase after phase to connect various areas (like delhi is doing).
But if you really want to be prudent dont do phase 2 at all. Put money where it can serve a more inclusive section of the population first.
Your reference to suburban rail is just as valid as it is for metro - & both will serve all sections equally well, though suburban rail fares are being kept artificially low - I'm sure this is going to change in the years ahead as IR is incurring huge losses year after year.
On the one hand, everyone is cursing authorities about poor commuting options & bangalore traffic & on the other, we have this demand for rollback of metro ph-2. Its clearly obvious that they should pursue all modes of mass transit & not sit back or delay any of them, irrespective of how much they actually intend investing in each - this also includes BRT, for which they have not made any efforts other than some token announcements that also seem to have become muted, of late.
srinidhi - 16 August, 2013 - 13:56
Of the extensions, the ITPL/whitefield one is the most crucial one..all other 3 extensions are very well connected by highways now..its the ITPL link which has poor contectivity by road and has most metro traffic already exisitng and not just estimates!
Hope that line work is taken on a war footing and gets done the first!
Also for stations, the below space saving design by L&T should be mandated:
This design is also used by L&T for our metro stations and can be seen at KR road..its awesome..only wish this desig n was used in other metro stations especially the reach 1 stations like trinity which has ugly monolithic pillars everywhere!
PRAJA.IN COMMENT GUIDELINES
Posting Guidelines apply for comments as well. No foul language, hate mongering or personal attacks. If criticizing third person or an authority, you must be fact based, as constructive as possible, and use gentle words. Avoid going off-topic no matter how nice your comment is. Moderators reserve the right to either edit or simply delete comments that don't meet these guidelines. If you are nice enough to realize you violated the guidelines, please save Moderators some time by editing and fixing yourself. Thanks!