Demerits of Elevated Metro Rail (C-B-M Route) :

1. Three main Arterial Roads i.e. Linking Road, S.V. Road and Link Road are strangulated forever.

2. MMRDA itself has planned 7 flyovers in Western Suburbs and 2 flyovers in Eastern Suburbs. All 9 Flyovers are scrapped to accommodate Elevated Metro Rail.

3. About One lac sft. of Footpaths are acquired to accommodate Elevated Stations.

4. There is no clue whatsoever about existing bus routes and Bus stops.

5. Vile Parle Station on S.V. Road adjoining high security runway of Juhu Airport is impossible at because the Metro Rail obstructs the flying path of Aircrafts.

6. 54% of the length of alignment is on Curves. Thus the speed planned at 80 kmph shall be restricted immensely.

7. One of the worst impacts is uprooting of 948 trees out of existing 1950 trees of several generations.

8. All options for optimizing and interconnection various modes of transport are clipped forever.

9. Elevated metro will be a huge liability to expand Metro rail itself in all future routes.

Merits of Underground Metro Rail (C-B-M Route) :

1. Existing Urban Fabric not disturbed.

2. It will not Choke the only two Arterial Roads – S. V. Road and Linking Road in the Western Suburbs. These roads have less width (80’-0”) than the Metro station width (86’-0”)

3. Marginally Civil cost increase (approx 50% of overall cost) due to Tunnel Technology which is LESS than :
|Land Costs |Opportunity Costs. |
|Fuel Costs |Environmental Costs. |
|Mental Trauma Costs | |

4. No necessity for Violation of Basic Civic Laws :
|Minimum Open Space for Fire Brigade |CRZ Regulations. |
|Civil Aviation |Environmental and Noise Impact |

5. It will have integrated planning with existing mode of Transportation, such as Bus routes, Railways, Taxis/ Autos, Pedestrian Zones etc.

6. Underground metro stations will connect underutilized vital public spaces.

7. Citizens are not affected in case of non co-ordination of various local Authorities.

8. No need of Land acquisition, rehabilitation and Compensation.

9. All Future options of Vibrant City planning available for future generations over the next hundred years atleast.

I spend 90 minutes on a bus or 60 minutes on motorcycle making the 18.5-kilometer commute to work in traffic-snarled Bangalore, India's technology hub everyday. Traffic now crawls along at an average speed of 10 kilometers an hour during the morning and evening rush hours.

Now I believe relief is on the way, a $1.5 billion rail system “namma metro” being built in the city will change my life. The Metro will be a boon for people like us. The state-owned Bangalore Metro Rail says that it may be overwhelmed by the time the first train leaves the station in 2011. The amount of time you spend on the roads is stressful. It has done wonders in Delhi and Calcutta. It will definitely be of a great help to Bangalore, a growing metro. I may not be wrong if I say it will help to reduce traffic and travel time in the already crowed city. Secondly, the reduction in traffic will cut down vehicular pollution thereby silently contributing to the reduction of global warming. Since the Metro runs on electricity, it will hardly emit any of the greenhouse gases directly. So, we will also be helping the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) earn a fortune by trading carbon credits.

However, sometimes I feel that I may be disappointed. The statistics show the metro rail in Delhi has eased only 30-35% of the traffic problems. Metro rail might help in easing the traffic problems only if proper planning is done. It needs to evaluate what is the traffic rate between various places. What is the profile of people traveling e.g. will a CEO of a company travel by metro? Is there enough space for a station or will it just add to the congestion and unnecessary slaughter of the greenery? In Delhi, it did not prove to be a success because of the status attached to it and in the same context; it might not work in Bangalore either.

Once the Metro is up and running in Bangalore it must carry all necessary features of regular escalators and ramps to facilitate more and more people and not only the young but also the aged and physically challenged. It can be successful because of its exceptional reach, speed and convenience to anyone who takes it as a pleasure ride rather than it being a peak hour alternate transit system.

Sometimes it is quite a hassle to bring your own car when going to work or wherever you need to go. Driving into traffic is quite aggravating. You are in a hurry and getting to your appointment on time is pointless because of that. That’s why some people opt and choose to ride the subway when going to work and to their destination because they want a hassle-free experience and just want to arrive with a smile on their faces instead of a frown and a headache. Either they ride the bus, metro, taxi and other public modes of transportation which is easier.
A few advantages of riding the metro railway, above the ground and below ground are:
• Cheap. – Money saving because the cost of ticket for riding the metro is definitely lower compared to gas, car maintenance and amortization/ insurance of your car.
• Environment-Friendly. – Less traffic on the streets and your share in saving the earth from pollution emitted from your car.
• Convenience – You can reach your destination on time and without any problems with traffic which makes riding the metro a good thing to do.
Some disadvantages of riding the metro alone are:
• Noise – Noise coming from the train itself and from the crowd.
• Overcrowding – There are lots of people who ride the subway, and if you are claustrophobic, riding the metro is not definitely for you.
• Rise in crime – Sometimes mugging and physical assaults when riding the metro above and below ground is rampant in a lot of areas which makes it scary.

Metro Rail System in India : Boon or Bane

Metro rail systems: Boon or bane for urban India?
Indian cities will begin operating metro rail transport systems in seven cities, which taking the total number of cities with such systems to 11. But some fear that the sleek trains will be unaffordable for the vast majority of city dwellers, where 77 per cent of the population lives on less than 20 rupees (S$ 0.45) a day.
Mumbai - based civil engineer Sudhir Badami, said that the metro transport system might be viable to some extent in big cities, but certainly not in smaller cities. They are already struggling to find money to provide their basic facilities such as piped drinking water, sanitation, education and health care.
Others also think that building a metro network takes too long and is too disruptive. In contrast a bus system can be put in place within a year with minimal disturbance. They also believed a well – planned bus system can carry 30,000 commuters an hour. It is the same number as a metro rail system.
In contrast, the director of urban development ministry in New Delhi, Prakash Singh said that buses are not feasible in some cities. He thought that cities needs additional land to widen existing roads and create a dedicated bus corridor. But, a separate, dedicated corridor was carved out from the existing road and ended up creating chaos on the road as other vehicle had to make do with much narrower road.
In my opinion, the government in India should still create the metro rail transport system but with subsidiary from government. Subsidiary from the government will allow city dwellers to use the metro. Government could collect the money of the subsidiary from increasing the taxes (middle to upper stuff) or make loan to other country. Although it may effects the country, this investment will make a huge advantage of India itself.
By create the metro, people in India could use a faster transportation, so they won’t waste their time (bear in mind time is also costly). It will also reduce the...