PAPER

Delhi Metro – Introspection Delhi Metro is appreciated for its planning, promotion of discipline and cleanliness and for smooth

travel inside NCR (National Capital Region). Even if the first metro to come in India was in

Kolkata in 1984, Delhi Metro (second metro to come in India - became operational in 2002)

created its own identity in the world. In the process, Delhi Metro has become a model metro for

the country. Many other cities in India like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow,

Kanpur, Gurgaon and Bengaluru are following suit.

However, built at a cost of 35000 crores (Delhi Metro Phase 1 & 2 + Airport Express Link)

(Suprgya, 2015)1 which could have been used for other big purposes, has Delhi Metro fulfilled all

its promises?

Hence, to see how Delhi Metro fared, the paper will try to find some answers to some basic

questions given in the first draft. For this, the author put up questions in social media platform

Quora for which, some very good answers by some of the daily users of Delhi Metro, were

received. Their opinions and their aspirations have been expressed in the paper.

Quora Social Media Platform

1 My Question on Quora – How is the experience of travelling in Delhi Metro?

1) Has Delhi Metro proved its worth?

These are the two main questions which come on mind when we try to assess the worth of any

transport system.

i) Is the transport system providing the best end-to-end connectivity?

ii) Whether the transport system is time-consuming or not?

i) Whether Delhi Metro provides end-to-end connectivity?

Most of the daily-users said that Metro connectivity was brilliant (Suprgya, 2015).2 It connects

most populated parts of the city during the rush hour in Delhi, like in most other cities, which

coincides with morning and evening work trip timings – 9-11 AM and 6-8 PM. Also according to

them, the Metro's progress plans would further benefit the citizens and hopefully reduce the on-

road traffic. However, the commute to the metro station is an issue in some places as the daily-

users have experienced, but even that has been taken care of, to an extent, by frequent feeder buses,

autos etc. But obviously the service of feeder buses is not at all stations and not at all times of the

day and the night.

A Metro can't be planned in a way that it provides end-to-end connectivity, especially in Delhi

where there is a lack of space. Currently, the Delhi Metro is built in a radial way in which it

provides direct connectivity from some select residential areas to commercial centres.

2 My Question on Quora – How is the experience of travelling in Delhi Metro?

For example, along the blue line, Karol Bagh metro station is about 2 km away from the centre of

the market (Gadepalli, 2011).3

That makes the travel to market cities more time-consuming for the people. Also, along the

Purple line (there are different lines along which Delhi Metro travels) there are stations which

joins some of the very important commercial and institutional areas like Central Secretariat, Khan

Market, Lajpat Nagar and Nehru Place, but without any connectivity to major residential areas

like East of Kailash, Greater Kailash and Kalkaji (Gadepalli, 2011).4 Moreover, oddly enough, the

Purple line overlaps with the BRT corridor (which is now scrapped by the AAP Govt. recently on

21 July 2015) (Mohan, 2015)5 in some stretches of the city thereby increasing the public transport

capacity where it was already available through road transport (Gadepalli, 2011).6 Even the

stations along the yellow line are placed at locations not close to residential areas either within

Delhi or in Gurgaon, but are mostly at commercial locations (Gadepalli, 2011).7

So in simple words, there is no proper connectivity between major residential and commercial

areas through Delhi Metro. Even for the places it provides connectivity, sometimes its travel time

is much higher than by a car or two-wheeler. This makes the shift from cars and two-wheelers to

the metro not so much beneficial.

This seems to be one of the main reasons why the actual ridership is less than the one fourth of the

projected ridership by DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation), as shown by Table 1 (Tiwari, 2011)

(CDM report on Delhi Metro).8 9 And till now, the Delhi Metro hasn't reached the projected

numbers as from 2009, its still is 21,90,000 (Delhi Metro Annual Report 2013-14).10

3 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 10. 4 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 11. 5 Powerful Lobbies Want Delhi’s BRT Scrapped by Dinesh Mohan. Paragraph 1. 6 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 12. 7 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Loc.cit. 8 Metro systems in India: Case Study DMRC by G. Tiwari – 2011. Pg.11. 9 CDM report on Delhi Metro, UNFCC website 10 Delhi Metro Annual Report 2013-2014. Pg. 30.

Year Actual Projected % Ratio

2006 4,92,750 24,97,300 20

2007 6,21,830 27,59,517 23

2008 7,67,662 30,49,266 25

2009 8,89,094 33,69,439 26

Source - CDM report on Delhi Metro, UNFCC website

Table 1 –Actual and Projected Ridership

It is also given in the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) report , 2008 that “The

fact that transport modelling for ridership was not carried out accurately by RITES (Rail India

Technical and Economic Service Limited), was accepted by the company (DMRC) as well as the

MoUD (Ministry of Urban Development) before the Empowered Group of Secretaries in 2005”

(Tiwari, 2011) (CAG report on Delhi Metro, 2008) .11 12

ii) Is Delhi Metro more time – consuming?

Delhi Metro connects the centre of the city (Rajiv Chowk Metro Station at Connaught Place) to

almost all areas through multiple lines (Blue, Yellow, Violet...and others). The Delhi Metro

network map below shows the overall Delhi Metro route providing citywide connectivity for its

users.

11 Metro systems in India: Case Study DMRC by G. Tiwari – 2011. Pg 12 CAG report on Delhi Metro, 2008.

Fig-1

Delhi Metro Map

But, most of the metro network runs parallel to the major arterial roads along its route. For

example, the Yellow line, between HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) City Centre

and Jahangirpuri, Blue Line between Dwarka and Noida City Centre. In other words, people

travelling along these metro lines have the option of travelling on main roads which are designed

for 50 kmph (Gadepalli, 2011)13 (not taking account the traffic jams) whereas the Metro provides

an average commute speed of 30-32 kmph (Gadepalli, 2011)14 (not taking account the time-taken

to reach Metro stations).

And sometimes due to delays in metros and less frequency of metros coming at some of the major

interchange stations, the travelling becomes more time-consuming.

13 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Paragraph 7. 14 Delhi Metro – A Transport Planner’s Perspective by Ravi Gadepalli. Loc.cit.

Moreover, the bigger reason for more time-consumption given by the daily users is the users

themselves or the crowd. As the new routes are being built, new crowd is also coming in with the

average waiting time for a Metro also getting increased. Average waiting time for a metro is 4

minutes which sometimes reaches upto 7-10 minutes due to the indisciplined crowd. People

become crazy and try to enter a filled up train... that leads to doors not closing which delays train

to reach the next station... so the crowd increases even further and so the travel-time.

3) Has Delhi Metro fulfilled all its promises?

At the time of the consideration of the Delhi Metro project (1990’s), buses or auto-rickshaws or

mainly, the road transport, were the only available transportation means in Delhi. At that

particular time, air pollution was seriously caused with the increase in the number of personal

vehicles, drastically worsened traffic congestion, and the vehicular emission. To solve these

problems, the public transportation had to be improved. Since the train system in Delhi was

designed for long distance passenger travel and cargo transportation, the mass transport system

for commuting was to be constructed in order to resolve traffic congestion and alleviate air

pollution and so the Delhi Metro was born.

However, was Delhi Metro really able to meet all the targets for which it was actually

implemented? Has Delhi Metro really decreased the air pollution in Delhi city? If it has really,

then why Arvind Kejriwal (Aam Aadmi Party) government in Delhi is imposing the odd-even car

rule (movement of odd and even numbered plated car on alternate days inside Delhi) from January

2016 onwards to reduce the alarming pollution levels ? (News, 2015)15

So henceforth, we will check all questions such as - is the Delhi Metro relevant or efficient or

environment-friendly or is it demographically divided and the different impacts the Delhi Metro

had.

(i) Is Delhi Metro relevant for the metropolitan city – Delhi?

The paper will check the relevancy of the Delhi Metro from the time of its inception to the present

day by looking at each socio-political factor.

The population of India was 1.027 billion in accordance with census in 2001, and the United

Nation forecasted that India will surpass China and become the most populous country. The

population of Delhi has increased as the industrial structure has become more advanced. Delhi’s

population was 9.42 million (Census 1991), 13.85 million (Census 2001), and 16.78 million (Census

15 Indian Express Article - Odd-even policy from 8 am to 8 pm daily, Sundays exempt - Express News Service – 9 Dec 2015, Paragraph 1.

2011) (Delhi Population 2011).16

Bus was being used by the citizens of Delhi in 1991 by like some 60% of the population, personal

vehicles accounted for 39.5%, and railway only did for 0.5%, and the use of railway was much less

common than other cities such as, in Mumbai, the railway was the most common means of

transportation as it accounted for 48% whereas bus did for 40%, personal vehicle did for 12%

(Keiichi Takaki, 2010).17 The railway network in Delhi was not usually being used for short

distance commuting.

Increasing population and high dependency on buses caused heavy traffic congestion and

population, and upgrading public transportation system became an urgent issue.

Hence, the Government of India’s 8th five-year plan (April 1992 – March 1997) had poverty

elimination as its main focus for which the Government prioritized industrialization by

emphasizing on upgrading infrastructure projects that include energy, transportation system,

communication, irrigation facilities, and others. Subsequent plans from 9th five year plan to 11th

five year plan (April 2007 – March 2012) have consistently put high priority on upgrading

transportation sector for economic growth (Rao, 2013).18

However, it was not possible to reduce the number of vehicles, and there was a need to alter the

environmental policy measures urgently. Because of these situations, a mass transportation system

was needed that was punctual, and efficient, and that can alleviate traffic congestion and solve

environmental problems. After the completion of Phase I, economic growth of India and the

population of Delhi continued to increase, the needs for the means to alleviate traffic congestion

and solve environmental problems were still high.

So from the above, the Delhi Metro project is consistent with the development policies of the

Government of India that has priority in the transportations, development needs of alleviating

traffic congestion and air pollution in Delhi. Therefore the Delhi Metro’s relevance is very high in

the NCR (National Capital Region – New Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and

others).

16 Delhi Population Census data 2011 by Census 2011 – Paragraph 1. 17 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 5, Paragraph 1. 18 Planning Commission of India Article – S. G. Rama Rao, Pg. No. 18, Paragraph 1.

(ii) Is Delhi Metro efficient in its implementation?

The paper will now, look at the efficiency of the project by evaluating the projected and actual

numbers released by the Delhi Metro.

Table 2 indicates the total budget and the actual expenditure (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).19 For Delhi

Metro project to be implemented, loan was taken through the Japan Bank for International

Cooperation (JBIC), now called the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (Service,

2012).20 In terms of yen (Japanese official currency) loan, 162,751 million yen was budgeted, and

159,513 million yen was actually disbursed, which makes plan ratio 98%. In terms of Indian

government budget, 48,000 million rupee was planned, and 34,320 million rupee was actually

spent, because of shortened construction period and other factors, which makes plan ratio 71.5%

(Keiichi Takaki, 2010).21

Table 2

Planned and Actual Expenditure by the Delhi Metro

Total Project Cost Plan Actual

Yen Loan (million yen) 162,751 159,513 (plan ratio 98%)

Indian Government Budget

(Million Rupee)

48,000 34,320 (plan ratio 71.5%)

Source: Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System (I)-(VI) Evaluation Paper, Page No. 4, Paragraph 2

Exchange rate: 1Rs=2.40 yen

Table 3 concerns the plan and the actual of the project period (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).22 Line I was

completed as planned. Line II was completed earlier than the plan by three months. The

completion of Line III was delayed in some part because the government approval was delayed.

(The delayed construction period for Line III was offset by the shortened construction period for

Line, making plan ratio 100% in total)

19 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 4, Paragraph 2. 20 Japanese loan for Delhi Metro – The Hindu News Service on 30 March, 2012, Paragraph 1. 21 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 6, Paragraph 2. 22 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 7, Paragraph 1.

Table 3 Plan and Actual of Project Period

Commissioning Date of Plan Actual Delay/No delay

each line

Line I: Shahdara 1996― 1996― No delay

station-Rithala station) March 31, 2004 March 31, 2004

Line II: 1996― 1996― No delay

Vishwa Vidyalaya station - September 30, 2005 July 3, 2005

Central Secretariat Station

Line III: July 2002― July 2002― No delay

Barakhamba Road station－ December 31, 2005 December 31, 2005

Dwarka station

Line III: January 2004― October 2004― Delay due to

Barakhamba Road station－ March 31, 2006 November 11, 2006 delayed approval by

Indraprastha station

the Indian

Government

Source: Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System (I)-(VI) Evaluation Paper, Page No. 4, Paragraph 2

Table 2 indicates that Indian government was well within the budget. As Table 3 indicates, the

project period was mostly within the plan although there was delay in some part of Line III, it was

offset by shortened period of Line II. In summary, both project cost and project input were mostly

as planned, therefore efficiency of the project is high.

(iii) Why Delhi Metro is so comparable highly efficient?

It is usually very much difficult in India to complete public works projects within schedule.

However, Delhi Metro project was mostly completed within the schedule only due to the

organised functioning of DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation).

To meet the deadline, DMRC daily workers are really crucial. Normally, public works project gets

implemented by the private contractors who win bids. After the contracts are signed, the

completion of the work is usually left to the contractors. For example, railway construction

project may require relocation of water and sewage facilities for the construction of tracks, for

which permission needs to be issued by the water authority which may become available late, and

this may delay the construction. Also sometimes the officials in charge of the project often leave

the work completion to the contractors and do not help them. Also, when the construction for a

project requires relocation of existing infrastructure such as electric poles and water supply pipes,

other agencies in charge of the project may request the appropriate authority to do the relocation.

This in turn may delay the project completion.

However at DMRC, the nature of the work is of such type where success of contractor is of

DMRC’s, and failure of contractors is also DMRC’s responsibility. DMRC officials do not leave

the work solely to contractors, and make frequent contacts and cooperate with them as necessary

in order to complete the project within the schedule. Within DMRC, officials are not left alone,

provided with the effective working environment where their supervisors always monitor them,

and provide advice as necessary. In order to avoid delay type situations, DMRC takes direct

responsibility of relocation of existing infrastructure by keeping close contacts with the particular

authority and contracting out the work to the private contractors. In this way, relocated

infrastructure by DMRC is usually in the same or better conditions than before (Keiichi Takaki,

2010).23

Also, the work culture at DMRC is unique in India. Leadership was one crucial factor. Another is

DMRC was a new organization founded specifically for this project, thus all the personnel were

new to the organization at its beginning. At the time of their recruitment of personnel,

qualification plus the motivation required to do the work was looked (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).24

(iv) Did Delhi Metro brought a change in the way Delhi travels now?

Transportation by cars and motorbikes increased by 7% and 5.45% on annual average respectively

parallel to population growth, while buses’ passenger trips are rather constant in the last ten years.

Most of the Metro and car users are upper middle classes increasing in the past recent years.

Their changing life styles are mirrored to the mode of transport transition too. One of indicators,

for example, shows 87% of the Metro passengers are in the transition of social strata from low

income to middle income class, and their income is higher than Rs.25,000 (CRRI – Central Road

Research Institute Annual Report, 2009-10)25.

According to data available on the DMRC website, it is indicated that some 26,000 passengers per

day on average of weekdays and 33,000 on weekends in FY 2002 used Delhi Metro when the first

line (Line I) was opened. The excess of passengers on weekends means that the Metro rides were

more for special occasions and leisure purposes. The gap between ridership of weekdays and

weekends between 2002 and 2006 was few, and it has been growing since Line III was opened.

The increased weekday ridership points out more people began to use the Metro for regular

activities such as commuting to schools, work and businesses purposes. Seemingly the Metro has

been gradually permeating into the Delhi citizens’ daily lives.

Also, Figure 2 shows the Delhi Metro line map, both of Phase I and Phase II of the plan. The

23 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 8, Paragraph 2. 24 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 8, Paragraph 3. 25 CRRI – Central Road Research Institute Annual Report 2009-2010.

ridership in 2010 on Line III and Line II shows considerable positive change in ridership which is

mainly due to the addition of further more route of Delhi Metro on Line III, from Yamuna Bank

to Anand Vihar connected to Line IV which was opened in January 2010 and a part of Line V,

from Central Secretariat to Sarita Vihar on the violet line on the map, towards the south which

was opened in October 2010.

Figure 2. Metro Line Map (Phase I and Phase II)

(Source: DMRC Report, Mar, 2011)

(v) Is Delhi Metro demographically equally divided?

We now look at the relation of the Metro lines and demography by taking an overview of

population distribution and socio-economic characteristics of the Delhi city.

The Delhi city comprises of 9 districts, which is further divided into 27 sub-districts, 59 tehsils

and 169 villages as depicted in Figure 3. The population is denser in the east side of the Yamuna

river and disperses towards the north and the south. Commercial facilities and activities are

centred to the Central and the New Delhi districts. Those areas have recently gradually spread to

the North and the North West districts. Development in the southwest area from the Central

district to Gurgaon has also widely proceeded. Commercial buildings related to IT (Information

Technology) and engineering, public facilities, shops and mid to high-rise apartments for

households transitioning to middle class from low income class have been built in 10 kilometre

radial zone from the Central district towards the northwest. Rather young households apparently

prefer moving into this area. In the southwest area between Line II and Line III and further south,

there are embassies/high commissions close to the Central district, and serene neatly organized

residential quarters and modern shopping malls towards the south spread. In the North East and

the East districts where Line I and Line III lie, there low income households live densely and the

Muslim rather remarkably reside (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).26

After having an overview of the demographic distribution and usage of Delhi city, it is assumed at

the Metro riders are majorly from the northwest, southwest and south districts where Line II and

Line III run than low income living areas through which Line I passes.

Overall, the relationship of demography and the metro ridership underpins the Delhi Metro is

more attractive to the middle classes in terms of social class and the north western, south western

and southern regions of Delhi in terms of location.

Figure 3. Districts of Delhi City

Figure 4. Population Density of Delhi

City

(Source: Government of Delhi, 2001) (Source: Government of Delhi, 2001)

26 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 13, Paragraph 1.

(vi) Finally, did Delhi Metro complete all its targets? (a) Air-pollution

In terms of air pollutant, pollution level has been deteriorated gradually as the population grows

and automobiles increases in the last ten years. However, the growing number of other

transportation means used could have increased the air pollution way much more without Delhi

Metro in the city.

Regenerative brakes were introduced to part of the Metro trains. A regenerative brake is an

energy recovery mechanism; when it works, it converts kinetic energy into electricity which can

be either used immediately or stored until needed. It is said a regenerative brake is able to save

energy up to 33% comparing to a conventional system. Rolling stocks with regenerative brake

installed were registered in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in 2007 and have been

thoroughly monitored since 2008 (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).27 The monitoring report shows the Delhi

Metro project reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) as shown in Table 5 (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).28

Table 4. CO2 Emission Reduction

Term CO2 Reduction（t）

9 December, 2007 - 31 January, 2008 5,081

1 February, 2008 - 31 December, 2008 35,295

1 January, 2009 - 31 December, 2009 43,751

Source: DMRC Report, 2008 and DMRC 2010a Report

(b) Resettlement for the displaced people Table 5 shows that all the required land for this project was acquired (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).29

Table 6 indicates the required resettlement of residential and non-residential structures and the

actual (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).30 As mentioned in the remarks, some businesses and slum residents

were not relocated to the land or facilities provided by the project although they left the land

acquired by the project.

27 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 19, Paragraph 6. 28 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Loc.cit. 29 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 23, Paragraph 1. 30 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 23, Paragraph 2.

TABLE 5. PLANNED AND ACTUAL LAND ACQUISITION

Required land Acquired land Balance

(hectare) (hectare) (hectare)

Line I 121 122 0

Line II 55 55 0

Line III 90 90 0

Total 265 265 0

Source – DMRC Report 2011

Table 6. Resettlement of Residential and Non-residential structures

Required Structure for Actual (not resettled)

resettlement

Residential and Slum

Residential & Slum

Non-residential Non-

residential

Line I 888 798 0 0

Line II 441 1,720 0 0

Line III 753 142 9 18

Total 2,082 2,660 9 18 Source – DMRC Report 2011

Table 7 indicates the ratings of living conditions of the three resettlement locations (Holambi

Kalan, Holambi Khurd, Nurela) for slum resident as rated by DMRC officials in four scales

(4=very good, 3=good, 2=poor, 1=very poor) on road conditions, sewage facilities, water supply,

employment opportunities for men and for women, educational opportunities for children, and all

the ratings are either “good” (Keiichi Takaki, 2010).31

31 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 24, Paragraph 2.

Table 7. Living Conditions of resettlement area for slum residents

Location Items Rating

4 3 2 1

Holambi Road conditions ○

Kalan

Sewage ○

Water supply ○

Employment opportunities for men ○

Employment opportunities for women ○

Educational opportunities for children ○

Holambi Road conditions ○

Khurd

Sewage ○

Water supply

○

Employment opportunities for men ○

Employment opportunities for women ○

Educational opportunities for children ○

Narela Road conditions ○

Sewage ○

Water supply ○

Employment opportunities for men ○

Employment opportunities for women ○

Educational opportunities for children ○

Source – DMRC Report 2011

Since this project was to construct large facilities, environmental problems during the

construction, land acquisition and resettlement was a challenge. Environment situations that

include air pollution during the construction were appropriately monitored. When trees had to be

cut, more trees were planted. For the resettlement, adequate land was provided and the residents

find resettlement locations better than previous ones. The project dealt with these challenges

mostly adequately.

c) Operating Rate and Track Length of Delhi Metro

Regarding the operating rate, the achievement was 89% in 2006 and 93% in 2008 comparing to

the objectives. Thus, the DMRC has increased the number of rolling stocks owned according to

demands from the opened extension and new lines since 2006. The operating rate at 2009 had

reached 94% with 280 rolling stocks, which was 102% achievement comparing to the objective

(Keiichi Takaki, 2010).32 This is given in Table 8.

Likewise, car kilometre reached the target. Since 2008 onwards, only Line III’s care kilometre

increased. This is more likely because a train service became from 4 cars to 6 cars on Line III in

2010. Although the targeted operation number was not met in 2006 and 2008, it got exceeded in

2010 with enhancement of operational intervals and the increased number of rolling stocks. The

transported passengers and the annual fare revenue performances were far from the targets.

Table 8. Operational Objectives and Performance

Indicators Objective Performance

2006 2008 2006 2008 2010

Operating rate

(%/year) 92 92 82

86 ----

(93% achieved)

Car Kilometre

(km/day) 94.1 96.3 83.0

95.84 109.56

(99％ achieved)

Line I 36.0 37.0 32.4 34.11 35.9

Line II 17.5 17.5 15.9 17.39 18.7

Line III 40.6 41.8 34.7 44.20 55.00

Operation numbers

(trains/day, one 636 648 542

624 774

direction) (Peak (96% achieved)

hour×minute head)

Line I 204(X=4)* 210(X=4) 184(X=4) 206(X=4) 229(X=4)

Line II 228(X=3)* 228(X=3) 194(X=4) 225(X=4) 310(X=4)

Line III 204(X=4)* 210(X=4) 164(X=4) 193(X4) 235(X=4)

Transported

passengers 7.16

(Million

16.3 22.6 5.4 11.46

(32% achieved)

passengers-km/day)

Line I 7.1 11.1 1.9 2.30 3.03

Line II 2.6 2.7 1.6 1.96 3.32

Line III --- --- --- 2.81 5.10

Annual fare revenue 16.3 22.6 5.43

6.79 13.17

(Million Rs/Year) (30% achieved)

Source: DMRC, Nov, 2011

32 Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System - Keiichi Takaki, Yoshimi Hayashi, Pg. No. 8, Paragraph 4.

3) Conclusion

Although, with the new route just being extended and the old route getting rectified on a regular

basis, and with some issues of ridership and revenue that have not reached the original target, the

number of train services, operational ratio, train kilo have been improved by 2010 as the new lines

became operational, the number of operational cars increased, and the service interval became

shorter.

Sustainability of the Delhi Metro is very much high since the management and the operation of

stations and train services is being done appropriately by DMRC through regular meetings, daily

reports, and oral communication.

Relevance and efficiency of this project are also evaluated as high. Passengers of Delhi Metro

highly appreciate its comfort, cleanness, punctuality and frequency of operation except

crowdedness at the peak hours.

It also faced the challenges which come usually for this much scale of project adequately. In light

of the above, this project is evaluated to be highly satisfactory.

So for now, a big question remains – should we adopt Metro in other cities as well on the model of

Delhi Metro? Or should we go for another means of transportation such as BRT (Bus Rapid

Transit) Corridor which can reduce the traffic congestion and pollution prevailing in current cities

of India in a much cheaper and flexible way. Well, the adoption of any of the two, depends on the

city and the government. For Delhi, it was Metro whereas for Ahmedabad, it was BRT. However,

if we do not adopt either of them, then it will be impossible for the city to accommodate billions of

vehicle kilometer travel increase. The only option which will remain in this case is to widen the

road. This necessary increase in infrastructure is a cost of not implementing BRT or metro projects,

which needs to be looked at.

Avoided infrastructure due to construction of BRT and metro can range from 100 to 1,000 lane

kilometers for different projects, based on the intensity of avoided travel. The average avoided

road space for a BRT and metro are two and three square meters per ridership, respectively. This

is a conservative calculation modeled on Singapore’s experience, which doesn’t consider the

impacts of road widening, such as parking space, increased traffic, and more. In terms of costs,

BRT and metro projects costs five to twelve times less than costs due to road expansion (Gota,

2013).33 With the addition of BRT or metro to the city, cost effective projects would become

economically viable.

33 Less is more: BRT and metro avoid expansion of road infrastructure article – Sudhir Gota – 11 November, 2013,

Works Cited CAG report on Delhi Metro, 2008. (n.d.). Retrieved from Business Standard:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/cag-pulls-up-delhi-metro-

09071800077_1.html/

CDM report on Delhi Metro. (n.d.). Retrieved from UNFCC .(2009-10).

CRRI – Central Road Research Institute Annual Report. CRRI, ’Quantification of Benefits for

Delhi Metro Phase I (2009 Review)’, DMRC, 2009.

Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), '1st Monitoring Report Version: 01', DMRC, 2008.

Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), '2nd Monitoring Report Version: 03', DMRC, 2010a.

Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), ‘Annual Reports 2009-2010’, DMRC, 2010b.

Delhi Metro Annual Report 2013-14. (n.d.). Retrieved from Delhi Metro Rail:

http://www.delhimetrorail.com/OtherDocuments/EnglishAR201314Low.pdf/

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