New Metro rail projects hope to transform an overcrowded,
under-serviced urban India.
The British built India’s railway network in the mid-19th
century. Now, more than a century and half later, the Metro rail is alternating
maps and lives in much the same way in some of India’s largest and most crowded
cities.
An ambitious project afoot hoping
to resolve issues of cheap and easy connectivity for citizens. The Kolkata
Metro was the first off the mark. The completely indigenous underground railway
commenced operations in 1984 and became the pride of the city. The metro is
going to evident the growth of the city, especially with property prices shooting
up in locales no one would have thought of inhabiting just a couple of decades
ago. Countless commuters are set to
benefit as the network gets denser.
The work, that appears to be
carrying endlessly – disrupting traffic and inconveniencing local residents –
is likely to be for greater good.
Building a Metro in an Indian city
is an arduous task, encumbered as it may get by the processes of land
acquisition, relocation of project affected
persons, realignment of public
utilities, co-ordination with other agencies and even large scale thefts
at sites.
Apart from the structural work,
the project involves installation of
signaling and communication equipment
and other technical work as well. Metro projects are capital-intensive and
usually not financially viable on a standalone
basis, due to the complexity of risks involved. To make these projects
viable, the government provides viability gap funding to assume some of the
risk.
With India’s growing numbers and
demand for transport, the future of the Metro seems secure.
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