Sri City:
Will Light Rail transit systems be introduced in the
Tier-II cities of India.
It seems India is seriously contemplating on it as Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has submitted a report to the Union Urban
Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu.
Naidu told reporters that DMRC has conducted the study on
feasibility of Light Rail Transit or Light Metro as the demand for metro rail
is growing in Tier-II cities.
The economic viability of having a metro is huge and most
of the projects are dependent on Japan Investment Cooperation Agency (JICA)
loans which also has interest component.
“I have yet to go through the report DMRC has submitted n
LRT,” said Naidu, after flagging of the first roll out of Kochi Metro Rail at
Alstom unit in Sri City.
Interestingly, DMRC managing director Mangu Singh said
that the Light Rail transit would cut cost by 70 per cent. “It is a solution
for second category of cities,” he says.
LRT differs from the Metro rail in that the train length
is short, segregated right of way is not essential, may have road level
crossings, coaches can go round sharp bends and no signalling and train control
is essential.
Light rail transit systems also have higher capacity
systems with capacity extending up to about 40,000 passengers per hour per
direction (PPHPD). They can operate in mixed traffic conditions at grade,
capable of very low as well as very high (80 kmph max) speeds.
This characteristic enables them to run also run on
regular city streets sharing road space with other traffic as well as within
dense urban areas where pedestrian traffic can be high, in city plazas and malls.
They can of course also run in separated reserved rights
of way at grade, or on elevated viaducts and (rarely) in underground tunnels.
When operating at grade, the LRT will generally enjoy signal priority, so that
it can maintain its higher speed while all other road traffic waits.
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