The number of people using the New Delhi metro is constantly increasing; in 2022, there will be over 2.5 million daily users waiting for disaster. A poll predicts that by 2028, New Delhi will have a staggering population of 37.2 million, making it the largest agglomeration in the world. Indians in the nation’s capital are favouring the metro, the most widely used form of public transportation.
The number of people using the New Delhi metro is constantly increasing; in 2022, there will be over 2.5 million daily users. Commuters frequently lament the progressively decreasing amount of room in trains during rush hours. A irate rider pushed his way out of a Yellow Line coach of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), complaining, “We do not deserve to feel like we’re travelling like cattle in packed metros day in and day out.”
The Shahdara-Tis Hazari Red Line was where the New Delhi Metro’s first services were offered in December 2002. Between 2002 and 2021, the metro’s network extended from 8 km to 380 km across New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Metro etiquette in New Delhi
The New Delhi metro authorities recently started a campaign against passengers who choose to sit on the floor while commuting in their trains. However, setting up patrols, making repeated appeals, and even threatening penalty don’t seem to be enough to persuade passengers to follow the DMRC’s rules. As a result, New Delhi needs to start considering options that rethink how space is used in metros by implementing folding seats, double-decker metros, and broader standing areas.
Noida passengers complained that “when people sit on the floor, they hinder other passengers’ ability to move to other coaches or even obstruct those trying to enter the metros” They complained about the breach of basic commuter protocol. “It’s dangerous because people could trip over these seated passengers’ legs. Additionally, a floor seat takes up the space that two to three people may occupy.
Modernising the metro
Some options where private sector investment can be particularly beneficial include modernising trains built to suit smaller passenger rates, expanding and enhancing existing networks, as well as modernising signalling systems and rolling equipment.
For instance, Israeli Railways has started using standing cars in an effort to make their local trains less crowded. The new approach, which is part of the “suburban travel” trial project, will use foldable handles and seats while removing normal seats and tables from the floor.
Another illustration is the world’s quickest tube system, the Tokyo metro. For fast, hassle-free services for the everyday commute in its capital city, Japan has established the gold standard with its train networks. The Tozai Line, which connects the city’s commercial district with the suburb of Chiba, is the busiest. According to a government report, the Tozai metro line has a 199% congestion rate (a 100% congestion rate indicates that there are no open seats, while a 199% congestion rate is almost double that capacity).
Off-peak tube incentive programmes
Tokyo Metro recently made international news when it began offering passengers free food tickets for traditional Japanese delicacies like soba noodles and tempura in nearby restaurants to those who utilise pre-peak hour trains for 10 continuous days in an effort to reduce such overcrowding. To alleviate the intolerable congestion in morning peak-hour trains, New Delhi may try to implement similar incentive programmes.
To alleviate the intolerable congestion in morning peak-hour trains, New Delhi may try to implement similar incentive programmes. It is inevitable that passenger and freight activity will quadruple by 2050 in a developing economy like New Delhi. While this growth is a sign of social and economic advancement on the one hand, it also results in higher energy demand and carbon emissions. The primary source of air pollution is vehicle exhaust. Automobile manufacturers in India are being compelled to completely decarbonize the transportation sector by converting to electric vehicles and public transportation.
Source-theprint
Link- https://theprint.in/india/new-delhi-metro-must-keep-up-as-capital-becomes-worlds-largest-city-by-2028/1681173/
