The Hindu : Kolkata's pride

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 28, 2003

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Kolkata's pride

Kolkata's underground metro has been a model for 19 years, says Malabika Bhattacharya.

IN ITS 19th year, Kolkata's underground railway is its pride and neighbours' envy. The Metro makes a critical contribution to the city's mass transit system ferrying at least three lakh passengers a day on its 16.45-km-stretch running between Tollygunj in the south and Dum Dum in the north. It has 17 stations about one km apart.

"It is the most precious gift to the city. Surface travel between Tollygunj and Dum Dum takes close to two hours that too if the road is not clogged with traffic and rallies, which are a regular affair. On the Metro, it takes just 33 minutes. Most important, it is almost a joy ride, totally hassle-free," says Ashok Mukherjee, a company executive. Mr. Mukherjee is not the only one who sings paeans to the Metro. There are many in the city today who own vehicles but prefer to commute between their residences and work places and elsewhere by the Metro. A fleet of 186 trains operates daily. Each rake consists of eight coaches. A single train carries 2500 passengers, running at intervals of eight minutes in the peak hours, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then again between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., accounting for 80 per cent of the total number of passengers in a given day. The operation time is between 7 a.m. and 9-45 p.m.

The country's first underground transport network, it was conceived in 1949 when the city planners realised that unless they created an alternative mass transit system, the city would soon choke to death. French experts conducted a survey at the behest of the then chief minister of Bengal, B.C. Roy, who was eager to ease the average Kolkatan's nightmarish commuting problem. But, nothing concrete came out of this exercise. A sort of patch-up job was done by augmenting the existing fleet of public transport vehicles. It had barely touched the fringe of the gigantic problem as the total surface area available in the city accounted for only 4.2 per cent. While in Delhi, it was 25 per cent and 30 per cent elsewhere.

The Metropolitan Transport Project, set up in 1969, concluded that construction of a mass rapid transit system was a must. The MTP drew up a masterplan in 1971, which envisaged construction of five rail transit lines for Kolkata, totalling a route length of 97.5 km. Of them, priority was given to the busy north-south corridors, running between Dum Dum and Tollygunj. The foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1972 and the construction began in 1973-74.

The Metro became a reality in 1984 with partial commencement of commercial service covering a distance of 3.40 km with five stations between Esplanade and Bhowanipur. Services on the entire 16.45 km were introduced in 1995.

In another four years, the Metro will cover another 8.70 km, the stretch between Tollygunj and Garia. This section would mostly be on an elevated structure, bringing the South 24-Parganas closer to Kolkata's business district. This would reduce the pressure on Sealdah South Suburban Section substantially.

But, the heavily subsidised Kolkata metro is showing signs of premature ageing. There is always a yawning gap between the funds required to maintain the operation and the actual availability. At one point, the authorities had thought of hiking the price of the ticket but backtracked as the passengers were price-sensitive. Currently, a passenger is required to pay Rs.4 for five km and Rs.8 for 10 km.

The metro now faces criticism from its once devoted passengers. For instance, the automatic closure of the doors of the coaches is erratic at times holding up trains and throwing schedules haywire. It is the most favourite suicide spot in the city. Since commencement of services in 1984, 105 suicides have taken place. But all things considered, it remains the best transport system available to the common man.

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