Monorail to ease congestion in Delhi

Date: 24/1/2013

An inauguration ceremony for the latest section of a new monorail system in Delhi, India, has been held at Nand Nagri.

The (DTTDC) Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation has undertaken the project to build an integrated (RUB) railway under bridge and (ROB) railway over bridge network in the city to help ease congestion on the roads.

A senior official for the DTTDC said: "The RUB has been made of low height and will cater to smaller vehicles like cars, two-wheelers and non-motorised traffic.

"While the ROB crosses over the railway tracks as well as a number of connecting roads, the RUB will connect to these smaller roads as well."

In the north-east of Delhi, where the newest section has opened, traffic congestion has been particularly bad on road number 68.

The RUB will make it easier for travel to both the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super-specialty Hospital.

Sheila Dikshit, Delhi Chief Minister, said: "The signal-free movement of traffic would benefit people of surrounding areas. The commissioning of RUB would completely eliminate the chances of accidents at [the] railway line."

This is because it is part of a scheme to get rid of all level crossings in Delhi, making the city safer for pedestrians and motorists.

The senior official added: "Nand Nagri is one of the most congested areas as the service road is too narrow and it was difficult to cross railway tracks and other small roads in the area.

"We are also planning to build bus bays on the ROB which will be done soon."

Each end of the RUB line has a u-turn facility so that the trains can turn around and the rails have a dual carriageway running along each side.

Ms Dikshit added: "In the past decade the better connectivity and improved infrastructure in the city has been done while maintaining Delhi's green cover, a unique feature that distinguishes this truly global metropolis from other cities where the tree line is subdued by the skyscrapers."

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News