Metrorail vs monorail, debate continues

Metrorail vs monorail, debate continues
Deccan Herald

The debate over which transport is ‘best’ for Bangaloreans has been reduced to two parties - Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Ltd, undertakers of Bangalore Metro and Metrail India Private Ltd, promoters of monorail.

Giving a presentation on ‘Monorail System’ at the Rotary House of Friendship on Monday, Rehan Khan, director of Metrail India offered everything that BMRTL Managing Director K N Srivatsava had recently tut-tutted as ‘fancy claims’.

A short building time of 18 months; project financed completely by consortium with no government money; lowest project costs; lowest turning radius of 20 metres which is even less than that of a car; no grid power requirement; no land acquisition and monorail ready to move by December 2006 - were promised as salient features of monorail by Mr Khan. “Monorail are not amusement toys, but the perfect solution for Bangalore’s traffic problems,” he stressed.

Feeder system

Dismissing an earlier BMRTL’s suggestion that monorails can act as feeder systems, Rehan acknowledged feeder system as an “empty terminology, as there is no real demarcation between main and feeder system”. “ We are private parties, and not a government-funded body. The reason we are willing to put in our money in this is because we believe it will work,” he said.

Rehan also revealed that the Techno-Economic Feasibility Report has been submitted to the Government, “and we have been promised of a positive response shortly”.