The metro construction in India’s metro capital has been one of the finest showcase of India’s engineering and rail link capabilities. It’s moving at a brisk pace with deadlines being met with months to spare.
I wonder somehow how much of an impact it will make to the landscape of the historic capital. Though some portions of the system are underground, it would have been a great idea to make the whole system deep below the foundations of the city. Mumbai was the first to get its own local metro rail system followed by Kolkata, which was an underground network.
I guess it will be some years before we look at cities like London and New York where the majority of the network is underground and has multiple tiers of tunnels catering to different routes.
Though the whole exercise will be fruitful in a couple of years, how much have we lost while in transition – numerous traffic jams, wasted petrol, honking vehicles, heightened angers all this in a city which is not very well known for its pleasant attitudes especially on the roads.
I have been a victim numerous times and curse myself each time for taking a road which I feel would otherwise be free flowing for traffic. It doesn’t matter if I leave for a meeting one hour early or two, I eventually end up making it just in time – its either a road freshly dug up, or a diversion due to construction or a trailer-truck offloading huge concrete moulds. It’s a necessary evil the people of Delhi have to put up with.
Just wonder if all this will ease the congestion on the roads once it’s done…I have my doubts!
