Is Urban Rail MRTS the only option for Indian Cities
For the cover story 'Metronomics', in the July edition of Infrastructure Today (an Indian Trade Magazine), the author asked me a few questions about my perspective as an urban planning consultant, about the plans for developing a rail based MRTS for over 20 Indian cities. The article extensively quotes my opinion, and can be access here . The following is my response to the questions posed by the author - 1. In a society that is urbanizing at a very rapid clip, what is the scope for MRTS across India? There is tremendous scope of developing and growing Mass Rapid Transit Systems in Cities that come under the Tier I and II (more than a million population), primarily to maiximise the locational efficiencies of economic engines/employment centers. Commute times are a drag on economic output, therefore reducing travel times should be a primary goal for all sectors of city/regional governance. MRTS is one such tool that can help in that. Secondly, India in general, a