Overbridges will not ease traffic jams: Sreedharan

Guwahati, July 4: Metro rail services are the best way to improve the public transport system and construction of overbridges is not the solution to the problem of traffic congestion in the cities. This is the view expressed by Padma Vibhusan award winner E Sreedharan, who is known as the “Metro Man” of India.

The Assam Tribune contacted Sreedharan, who is credited with changing the face of public transport in India and he opined that metro rail is the best mode of the public transport system and that is why, all the major cities in the world have metro services.

Giving details of the benefits of metro services, Sreedharan said that a metro train can transport a large number of people at a time and at a faster pace. The metro rails are safe and can maintain punctuality and are much more environmentally friendly than other modes of transport. “The metro services are commuting millions of people in different cities of India every day. How many accidents you have heard of? If someone jumps in front of a train to commit suicide no one can save the person. But otherwise, metros are safe modes of transportation,” he added.

Replying to a question on whether the construction of flyovers can deal with the problem of traffic congestion in a city like Guwahati, Sreedharan said that the flyovers can only ease traffic congestion from one point to another. “If you want to build up a metro project, it will take four to five years. The Government should plan for 50 years. If several flyovers are constructed now, it will be difficult to go for metro later as the flyovers will come on the way of metro lines,” he added.

On whether ropeway projects can become a substitute for the metro, Sreedharan said that it would be impossible. He pointed out that ropeways are not safe and those would be able to carry only a handful of passengers while the metros can carry a large number of people.

Replying to another question about whether underground metros would be possible in a state like Assam which receives heavy rains in the rainy season, Sreedharan said that it would be very much possible as now it is possible to construct waterproof tunnels.

Sreedharan admitted that the cost of a metro project is high. “But if you look at the social economics, it is worth constructing a metro project. The Government will have to plan 50 years ahead and that is why metro services are the preferred mode of public transport in all the major cities of the world,” he added.

Sreedharan headed the construction of the Delhi Metro and Konkan railway projects and was the managing director of the Delhi Metro Corporation for a long time.