Delhi Govt is planning a monorail corridor connecting Kondli to Rohini Sector 21

Saturday, Jan 22, 2011




with Mumbai about to get W its first monorail, the focus is back on the pilot monorail line project connecting Kondli to Rohini Sector 21. The Delhi Government is considering carrying a detailed project report on the monorail corridor (Kondli to Rohini via Delhi Gate), identified by RITES in its latest study on problems related to Delhi traffic.

The biggest advantage of monorail is that it can be constructed on roads with Right of Way (ROW) as little as 18 metres and a turning radius of 50-70 metres, making it ideal for congested city roads. Hitachi Monorail System on Friday made a presentation before Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta and Secretary (Transport) Rajni Kant Verma and other experts including DMRC.

Sources in the transport department said that if the Government agrees, operating cost deficiency will be borne by the Government to reduce financial burden on the company. "It is also clear that such project would not be completed without the participation of the private players," the sources said.

The proposal was earlier put in cold storage after DMRC and promoters of the controversial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor opposed the mono rail project saying its carrying capacity is lesser than Metro and it's a costly affair as compared to BRT.

After the presentation, both DMRC and BRT promoter Geetam Tiwari opposed the project. Interestingly, one section of the Delhi Government favours the monorail project while the other section opposes it citing Metro and BRT as better options.

Talking to The Pioneer, Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said that Delhi Metro and Geetam Tiwari have opposed the proposal.

Mehta said that Hitachi had informed them that they are providing monorail corridors in Kita-Kyushu, Osaka, Tama and Okinawa. Beside this, they also discussed the funding pattern and assured that funding would not be a problem for the project.

The Delhi Government is planning a monorail corridor connecting Kondli to Rohini Sector 21 via Delhi Gate covering 40.3 km in the Capital. The project is based on the RITES report 2010 pertaining to Delhi traffic mess and its solution.

Earlier, Delhi was supposed to get three monorail lines which would have served as effective feeders to main transport modes like Metro and buses. The monorail links were planned for congested areas in Walled City, east and north Delhi with lines between Delhi University and Pul Bangash (via Shakti Nagar, Anand Parbat, Ajmeri Gate, Delhi Gate, Red Fort, SPM Marg), Daryaganj and Kondli (via Yamuna river crossing, Geeta Colony, Scope Tower, Vikas Marg, Patparganj, Kondli Road) and Budh Vihar to Shakti Nagar.

The networks will stretch over 41.5 km in total.

Transport department's Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit Limited) was entrusted with the task of carrying out a feasibility study of the proposed corridors.

Original news source http://epaper.dailypioneer.com/ThePioneer/Pioneer/2011/01/22/ArticleHtmls/22_01_2011_003_016.shtml