The National Capital Region (NCR) should move towards being a “smart connected region” where goods can move smoothly with Delhi, at the centre, being accessible within 30 minutes through superfast trains, the draft Regional Plan-2041 for the National Capital Region States.
In addition to zero fatality road corridors, differential parking rates based on time of day and duration, heavy penalties for parking violations and, given the future requirements in this regard, air policing, aerial e-commerce and surveys, parking areas for aerial vehicles like drones at administration offices under governments are also among the recommendations of the draft report.
Minimise journey time
It is necessary, the report stated, to minimise journey time across NCR and make travel times across the NCR’s limits below 30 minutes by superfast trains and heli-taxies, within 60 minutes by other trains and two to three hours by car. Delhi should, it stated, have 30-minute connectivity through superfast trains with major cities in the NCR.
UAVs or drones, helipads and UAV launch and parking areas should be established at all district headquarters by 2026 to meet requirements of future air policing, e-commerce, aerial surveys, it said.
In addition to advocating a need to review taxes imposed on commercial passenger vehicles in NCR States by transport, municipal authorities and local bodies in order to encourage a modal shift from private to public mobility, the plan advocated a sub-urban passenger transport being developed as an integrated system with other transit networks to create a seamlessly connected network of networks.
Mobility Options App
An integrated Mobility Options App should be created for the entire NCR so as to provide all available options across various modes for a given origin and destination. All routes of metros, buses etc. should be digitised and software should support a wide variety of services, the report stated.
Delhi, according to the draft report, needed “more streamlined” road management by the creation of a local overarching body for its roads which could have different sub-agencies if needed.
While all high-rise buildings could explore the creation of helipads, all multispecialty hospitals, trauma centres and multilevel parking facilities across the NCR, the report stated, should be equipped with on-site helipads for 24 hours air ambulance medical emergency services and from the point of view of disaster management.
All railway lines in the NCR, the report stated, should have four tracks by 2030 and six tracks by 2040, 100% electrified, broad gauge and of high speed with the latest safety systems.
It also suggested exploring possibilities of increasing the speed of metro rail systems in the NCR from existing average speed of 32 to 35 km per hour to about 50 km per hour by 2022 and further up to 70 km per hour by 2025.
The possibility of providing passengers the options of skipping stations at a certain period of day and limited stoppages at some stations should also be explored.
