City planners want parallel rail network

City planners feel that there is a need for integration of rail and road transport to save the city from ever increasing traffic woes.

“Why are we investing crores on construction of flyovers, which may only result in an increase in the number of vehicles on the roads?” asked PC Sehgal, managing director of Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation.

“The eight-lane Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) that will connect south Mumbai to the western suburbs, could be best utilised if two or even four of its lanes could be used for the rail network,” said Sehgal, who would soon submit the proposal to the state.

“An efficient system with smaller trains could be viable. The government could then introduce air-conditioned small rakes, which would even get the car owners to board the train,” said Sehgal.

Unlike London which has the Central Business District (CBD), Mumbai has a tendency to grow in all directions.

“An underground rail system is not feasible, but emphasis must be on improving public transportation,” said John Ross, economic adviser to Mayor of London. John Long of Lea Associates pointed out that while 78 per cent of people use the public transport in Mumbai, only 24 per cent use it in London.

According to statistics provided by Peter Hendy, transport commissioner of London, nearly 6.1 million people use the rail network spread over 300 km in Mumbai, whereas 5.5 million people travel on 800 km of rail network in London.

There are 3,380 buses plying on 335 routes in Mumbai, London has 6,800 buses on its 700 routes.