Delays have cost Bengaluru a metro project that would have aided in the reduction of traffic congestion within the city, E. Sreedharan, principal adviser to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd., who is popularly known as the ‘metro man’, has said.
While the metro was conceptualised a decade ago when Bengaluru’s population was barely 60 lakh, the four-year delay will see the network criss-crossing a city with more than 1.1 crore inhabitants. “There should have been a larger network by now. The only way to tackle the traffic is to aggressively expand the metro network,” he told reporters on Saturday.
Mr. Sreedharan believes bus rapid transport system (BRTS) cannot be managed on the narrow roads of the city.
He was in the city to launch the State chapter of the not-for-profit organisation, Foundation for Restoration of National Values. Among the various objectives of the organisation, including police and administration reforms, is to “highlight” the delays in the implementation of the Phase I metro network by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL). “The terrain or the geology of the city cannot be the excuse for cost escalation. There are rocks and difficult tunnelling conditions in most cities. Metros have more-or-less followed the scheduled inauguration elsewhere. There needs to be somebody to question things,” Mr. Sreedharan said.
Airport link With the Kempegowda International Airport being nearly 45 km from the city, Mr. Sreedharan said a high-speed rail link, which has been virtually scrapped by the government, was the more feasible option rather than extending the metro network. “Imagine the kind of land required for the metro project and the amount of time it would take to complete it. The best option would be high-speed rail, with check-in facility at the centre of the city itself,” he said.
