An Overview in Pictures on advisable Rolling Stocks for Light Rail and Regional Rapid Transit – the Future of Mobility in India with Urban Rail
By Dr. F.A. Wingler, April 2020
“Urban Rail” is a technical collective term encompassing Metro Rail, Commuter Rail, Light Metro and Light Rail Transit (“Metro-Lite”).
The paper gives an overview in pictures on advisable Rolling Stocks for Light Rail and Regional Rapid Transit for the Future of Mobility in India.
With a massive drive, India is on the way to provide MOBILITY as a SERVICE, MaaS, and to mitigate its often chaotic Urban Transport Environments. Investing in METRO-RAIL alone – although deployed in India in a large scale – does not solve the transport and traffic problems in congested areas.
India is proceeding to integrate Metro-Rail, Commuter Rail and Governmental Indian Railways within multimodal urban, suburban, interurban and regional public transport schemes by Hubs with LIGHT-METRO, LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT, METRO-LITE and REGIONAL RAPID (Semi-High Speed) TRANSITS, RRTS.
Other affiliated transport modes to be connected and integrated are Rubber Tyred Bus Rapid Transit, BRT or METRO-NEO, WATER-METRO and Aerial METRO ROPEWAY.
The cost effective METRO-LITE can be regarded as the “YOUNGER SISTER OF METRO-RAIL”, and REGIONAL RAPID TRANSIT as the “FASTER BROTHER OF METRO RAIL”.
With Light Rail Transit/Metro-Lite there is in India the aspect of INTEROPERABILITY of Light Rail Transit/Metro-Lite with Metro Rail sharing track, lines and infrastructure as TRAM-METRO-TRAIN within a comprehensive Urban Rail Concept.
Light Rail Transit/Metro-Lite, Metro-on-Tyre/Metro-Neo are not only more cost efficient than Metro Rail, those urban, suburban, interurban and regional public transport technologies cover wider areas and are easier to be interlinked with on-demand PARA TRANSIT MODES.
Rolling stocks for Regional Rapid Transits differentiate in principle from conventional High Speed Train rolling stocks in designs of doors for rapid embarkation and disembarkation and in designs of interior.
There will be a POST CORONA AERA/PERIODE OF TIME – “POST COVIC-19 LIFE” – with a paradigm shift to other more cost efficient transport modes serving wider urban and suburban areas, other than capital investment intensive Metro Rail, latter serving only certain corridors.
To read more download: IMPROVING PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN INDIA_ PART II red