Urban Transport Infrastructure November 2018 Urban Transport Infra November 2018 | Page 55

Editorial
Is the Delhi Metro Really Public Transport?
All over the world, metros have generally tried to achieve two things – to be unobtrusive and to be invisible. The
Delhi Metro has gone about its business as if to prove that it will go against these practices as much as
possible.
I
t has been said that the Delhi
Metro has changed the face of
Delhi. It has also been said that
it has changed forever the way
Dilliwallahs travel.
Let us take a closer look at these
two claims – like all generalizations
these two statements are true in more
than one sense. In one sense these
changes are positive, but there are
dimensions that are normally ignored
in the dominantly self-congratulatory
atmosphere that is created around
every conversation about Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation.
We are not going to dwell on the
positives, enough has been said and is
being said daily. What we are going
to do is to take the statement about
the metro having changed the face of
Delhi. Is it really something to be
proud of?
All over the world, metros have
generally tried to achieve two things
– to be unobtrusive and to be
invisible. The adherence to these
objectives has been prompted by a
desire to ensure that the general look
and feel of the city is disturbed or
altered as little as possible, and
whenever and wherever it becomes
necessary the additions should try to
merge with the surroundings.
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The Delhi Metro has gone about
its business as if to prove that it will
go against these two practices as
much as possible. Except for the
areas where the government of India
has its offices and the very thickly
populated bits of Shahjahanabad and
its immediate surroundings, the
metro lines are all overhead.
The only argument that has been
advanced in defense of this strategy is
that tunneling is more time-
consuming and it is a tad more
expensive than taking the tracks
overhead. The destruction of the
skyline of the entire city through the
erection of these eyesores of gigantic
pylons that loom all over the city is
something that does not seem to
bother anyone.
The costs of the psychological
impact of disturbed sleep due to the
noise and rumble of trains trundling
by the houses of those who live cheek
by jowl of the tracks in parts of south
Delhi, in large parts of west Delhi,
northwest Delhi and elsewhere is
something that has not even been
factored in by those trying to meet
unrealistic deadlines.
The high levels of suspended
particulate
matter,
including
hygroscopic nuclei
(minuscule
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Sohail Hashmi
particles of dust and carbon around
which moisture collects leading to the
formation of smog), leads to
increasing instances of deposits on
copper traction wire joints. These
deposits lead to friction sparking and
electric faults in the overhead
sections. This is only going to increase
with more deposits due to increasing
pollution, bird droppings and kite
strings getting entangled in the
traction wires. The cumulative effect
of all this will be increasing instances
of ‘minor technical faults’. The
mounting costs of all this could have
been avoided had the entire metro
been underground.
Urban Transport Infrastructure | November 2018