National Capital Region (India): Transport
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The source of this article
Draft Revised Regional Plan 2021: National Capital Region
July, 2013
National Capital Region Planning Board, Ministry of Urban Development, Govt. of India, Core-4B, First Floor, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
National Capital Region Planning Board
National Capital Region (India): Transport
EXISTING NCR TRANSPORT SYSTEM
The transport system of NCR consists of a good road network and rail corridors catering to intra-city, inter-city commuters and long-distance traffic. The freight traffic is also substantial in the region which is mainly carried by road. NCR has a road network of about 36,305 km; a large bus fleet of 58,300 buses (registered in NCR), a rail network of more than 1000 km; and an International Airport at Delhi.
6.3.1 Road Network
The existing road transport network is ‘radial’ in nature. It comprises Expressways, National Highways, State Highways, Major District Roads and Other District Roads. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways vide notification no. S.O.542(E) dated 05.03.2010 rationalized the numbering system of National Highways in India. The revised numbers as well as old number are given in following table. The old numbers of National Highways are popular and people can easily recognize. Therefore, old numbers are used in this Chapter for further reference. The list of Expressways and National Highways in NCR is given in Table 6.1.
Five National Highways converge to Delhi which also serve the daily inter-city commuters. The existing
road network of NCR is shown in Map 6.1. Apart from these National Highways, a number of State
Highways also strengthen the regional road network. In addition, Major District Road (MDR) and Other
District Roads (ODR) act as important linkages to these highways.
6.3.1.1 Road Density
The Sub-region wise road density in the NCR is presented in Table 6.2. Delhi has the highest road density of 2,103 km/100 sq.km followed by Haryana (59.30 km/100 sq.km). Rajasthan and UP Subregions have almost same road density of 51 km/100 sq.km.
Table 6.3 represents comparison of road density in NCR (excluding Delhi) with all India. It would be seen that density of National Highways (2.76) and State Highways (10.17) in NCR are much higher than the all India density of National Highways (1.99) and State Highways (4.19). But density of Major District Roads (MDR) in NCR (4.14) is much lower as compared to the all India density (14.23).
6.3.1.2 Transport Scenario in Delhi
The vehicles in Delhi have grown at the rate of 7.41% per annum between 2003-04 and 2010-11 (Table 6.4). Number of private vehicles has increased substantially from 3.98 million to 6.52 million during that period. However, the growth rate of commercial vehicles (9.42%) is higher than the growth rate of private vehicles (7.29%).
The numbers of private vehicles (cars and two-wheelers)
have grown exponentially between 2003 and 2010 (Figure
6.1).
Figure 6.2 represents the increase in road network in Delhi.
Delhi had 1922 km of roads per 100 sq.km. area in 2001.
The road network has increased from 28,508 km in 2000 to
29,030 km in 2008, while the number of vehicles has
doubled from 33.7 lakh in 2000 to 63.0 lakh in 2008. This
has resulted both in heavy traffic congestion and reduction
in vehicular speed.
6.3.1.3 Volume to Capacity Ratio
Volume to Capacity Ratio (V/C) is a measure to evaluate the extent of utilization of road capacity. Ideally, it should be always less than 1. The V/C for design service volume for rural roads is 0.5 and for urban roads it is 0.7 as per IRC norms. Corrective measures are required when it exceeds the norms.
The V/C Ratio assessed in NCR (excluding Delhi) for 2950 km of road network are presented in Table 6.5. It is observed that 31% of primary road network have V/C ratio more than 0.6, which is above the norms of V/C ratio of 0.5 for rural roads.
As per the survey conducted by RITES for Government of NCT-Delhi in 2007, V/C ratio varied between 1.01 to 2.83 on major roads in Delhi, which is higher than 0.7 for urban roads. A table showing V/C ratio on some of the important roads in Delhi is given in Annexure 6/I.
6.3.1.4 Traffic and Travel Pattern
In 2007, detailed traffic and transport surveys were conducted to prepare the Functional Plan on Transport for NCR-2032. Based on these surveys, it was observed that NCR is a high movement area with high intensity traffic of all types. It shows that 2,21,575 vehicles (3,50,694 PCUs) enter and exit NCR (Outer Cordon) on an average per day (2007). In NCR, National Highways account for 75% (vehicles) of the total traffic volume. The traffic volume increased to 2,72,891 vehicles (3,87,565 PCUs) at the Middle Cordon (CNCR boundary); and reached a high of 12,10,896 vehicles (12,27,873 PCUs) at Inner Cordon (NCT-Delhi boundary). At the Outer Cordon (NCR boundary), out of 94,659 passenger modes nearly 97% of passenger modes movement was Internal-External and External-Internal and only 3% was External-External. The interspatial movement pattern of passenger modes showed a high share between ‘Rest of NCR’ and ‘Outside NCR’ areas. Out of 63,352 goods modes at Outer Cordon, 9% were non-destined. At the Middle Cordon (CNCR boundary), out of 1,56,838 passenger modes, Internal-External and External-Internal passenger mode movement accounted for 69%. The share of through movement was 4%. A high intensity of interaction between CNCR and outside areas was observed. Internal-Internal passenger movement was 27% within CNCR. Out of 67,859 goods modes, 7% were non-destined. At the Inner Cordon (NCT-Delhi boundary), out of 11,07,043 passenger modes, the non-destined traffic was as high as 23%. About 37% passenger modes exit Delhi and 38.4% passenger modes enter in to Delhi in a day. Out of 1,03,853 goods modes crossing at Inner Cordon, 30% were non-destined, which is very high. This shows the need of bypass to Delhi.
Rail System
6.3.2.1 Indian Railways
The NCR rail network falls under three zonal railways (Northern, North-Western and North-Central) and five divisions. Six rail corridors converge to Delhi and three rail corridors converge to Ghaziabad. The zone-wise rail corridors are as under:
The rail network in NCR is shown in Map 6.2.
A total of 625 trains including 253 long distance passenger trains and 176 EMU trains (suburban trains)
operate at the three major railway stations of Delhi viz. Old Delhi, New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin. Apart from this, a large number of goods trains move into and out of NCR. The commuter traffic in NCR is about 0.61 million per day (2007).
The mixed running of goods trains, slow passenger trains, short distance commuter trains and long distance trains such as mail express trains, high speed Rajdhani, Shatabdi express, etc., have reduced the speed of trains in Delhi area as well as on radial routes.
Metro Rail in NCR
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has completed the construction of about 190 km of metro corridor in Phase I & II, which is fully operational. The Phase III network of 136 km has been sanctioned and under execution which is expected to be completed by December 2016. Average daily ridership of Delhi Metro was 19.65 lakh in March, 2013. Regional Plan-2021 for NCR proposed for the extension of Delhi Metro Rail System to CNCR towns. Accordingly, it has now been extended to Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad and is proposed to be extended to Faridabad and Bahadurgarh. The existing and proposed Metro corridors in NCR are given in Annexure 6/II.
Bus System
NCR is served by an extensive bus service operated by STUs of GNCT-Delhi (DTC), Haryana (HSRTC), Uttar Pradesh (UPSRTC), Rajasthan (RSRTC), Uttarakhand (UTC), Punjab (PRTC), Himachal Pradesh (HRTC) and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K SRTC); and a host of private operators. Density of buses and other vehicles per lakh population in the sub-regions of NCR and at the national level are given in the Table 6.6.
Against average ratio of 71 buses per lakh population at national level, the NCR’s average is 132. The NCR Sub-regions of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have much lower ratio of 46 and 43 buses respectively while Haryana Sub-region has a ratio of 64 buses. Delhi has significantly higher bus ratio of 267, as it serves intra-city travel demand. On the other hand, vehicle/population ratio of all type of vehicles in the NCR sub regions is much higher (17718) than the national average of 6,739. Out of a total of 58,346 buses registered in the NCR, 6216 (29%) are stage carriage buses. Only 11% of all the registered buses and 37% of the stage carriage buses are owned by the STUs and the remaining 89% registered bus and 63% stage carriage are owned by private operators. Ministry of Urban Development under JNNURM scheme sanctioned 1900 buses in NCR cities, as per details given in Box 6.1.
DTC buses- Delhi
Fewer DTC buses but more accidents
December 17, 2014
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i) number of buses, 2010-17;
ii) loss and revenues, 2010-15;
iii) costs and revenues, 2014-15; iv) rate of breakdowns, 2014-15; The Times of India, August 7, 2017
The number of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses has been dwindling progressively. From 5,438 buses in 2012 to 5,216 in 2013-14, the state bus authority has been losing old buses without adding any new one to its fleet. Strangely though, the smaller fleet hasn't resulted in fewer accidents or breakdowns. In fact, in 2013-14, the rate of accidents went up by almost 25 per cent. From 184 in 2011-12, the number shot up to 225 in 2013-14. “The rise in number of accidents is a worrying trend,” said a senior government official. “DTC has introduced new measures like refresher courses as well as mandatory skill tests for drivers. “ Though it floated a tender a year ago, DTC has found it difficult to procure new buses. Meanwhile, its fleet is getting depleted as the older fleet of standard buses is being scrapped since most are beyond their working years.
The DTC's on-road service has also been affected. In 2011-12, the number of buses on the road was 5,602, with the standard floor buses accounting for 1,821. In 2013-14, this number came down to 4,567. There are only 2,270 non-AC, 1,123 AC and 1,174 standard floor ones operating in the city.
The numbers in the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2014 are stark: the number of accidents in 2013-14 involving DTC buses was 225, with the non-AC buses having the highest number of 123.The AC buses were also in volved in 45 accidents and the standard ones in 57. Of the 225 accidents, 147 were minor and 15 major ones. Compare this with the data released in Delhi Statistical Handbook 2013.DTC buses had been involved in 184 accidents in 2011-12, of which the non-AC buses again took the lead, accounting for 111 accidents.
The breakdown figure is no better this year. There were 66 breakdowns reported per 10,000 buses. The maximum breakdowns were in the AC buses, which had 113 breakdowns per 10,000 bus followed by the Non-AC buses. In 201112, the number of breakdowns was only 33 for airconditioned buses while it was 111 for Non-AC buses.
Taxis: Delhi
Rapid increase in app-based cabs: Delhi
December 17, 2014
The city has 78,686 registered taxis (2013-14), according to the latest Delhi Statistical Handbook.Where are all these cabs operating? The transport department's data accounts for only 48,912 taxis registered under a taxi scheme with the state transport authority (STA).There are 5,071 radio taxis, 3,435 economy radio taxis and 22,138 tourist taxis or those with the all India tourist permit. Another 12,000-odd are registered under the rent-acab scheme as local kaali-peeli taxis and 1,864 as 10-seater taxis. Officials say the ones that have signed up for the app-based taxi services may account for the huge gap. The transport department has no taxi scheme till date for webbased taxi services. Interestingly, the number of taxis in the city has been consistently going up in the past few years as demand for such services increases. The number of taxis in 2010 was 57,958, which went up to 69,780 in 2011. It was 70,335 in 2012-13.
The number of vehicles in the city has also followed a similar trend. The total number of vehicles registered in Delhi went up to 82,93,167 in 2013-14, from 69,32,706 in 2010.The total number of registered vehicles in Delhi was 77,74,403 in 2012-13.
The addition of 5.19 lakh vehicles to the city is symptomatic of the weak public transport system, admit government officials. For instance, while the number of cars and jeeps in 2013-14 in Delhi is 26.29 lakh and motorcycles and scooters 52.98 lakh, DTC's reach has been curtailed. DTC services were availed by around 43.47 lakh daily average passengers during 2013-14, which is less than the figure of 46.77 lakh in 2011-12. In fact, the total number of DTC passengers was 15,867.61 lakh in 2013-14 while it was 17,071.75 in 2011-12.The number of passengers taking DTC buses has been coming down steadily , admitted officials.
Intermediate Public Transport System (IPTS)
A large number of auto-rickshaws and taxis operate in cities and towns within NCR. On an average, an auto rickshaw carries 96 passengers per day and other vehicles like RTVs carry 114 passengers per day in NCR. The Intermediate Public Transport System (IPTS) suffers from many constraints like lack of terminal facilities, technological obsolescence, uneconomical fares, parking etc. There is an urgent need to facilitate growth and operation of IPTS within the NCR for providing last mile connectivity with MRTS, RRTS and Bus System.
Air Transport
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is the major airport in NCR. In terms of traffic volumes, it is second to Mumbai, and handles annually about 35.88 million passengers and 0.56 million tonnes of cargo traffic (2011-12). Presently it has three operational runways with a peak hour handling capacity of 75 aircrafts movement. There are three separate terminal areas for domestic passengers, international passengers and cargo. The international passenger traffic at Delhi airport is 30% of the total passenger traffic. However, the international cargo traffic is 65% of the total cargo traffic. The Airport connects 60 destinations all over the globe through 51 international airlines. Of the passenger traffic, about 76% was generated within NCTD, 19% in NCR (excluding NCTD) and 5% beyond NCR (2007). Besides, it is expected to handle a large quantity of cargo on commissioning of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
STATUS OF REGIONAL PLAN-2021 TRANSPORT PROPOSALS
Various projects related to transport are proposed in Regional Plan-2021. The present status of these projects is given in Table 6.7.
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‘Reciprocal Common Transport Agreements’ for unrestricted movement of buses, taxis and autorickshaws
for ‘Contract Carriage’ and ‘Stage Carriage’ have been signed by all the participating States of
NCR on 14.10.08 and 22.04.10 respectively. Its implementation is underway. Presently, 12000 NCR taxis
and 7500 NCR buses are plying in NCR.
Environmental Concerns
Spatial distribution of Air pollution, (SPM, CO, NOx, RSPM) and Noise Pollution, [Leq (Day) and Leq (Night) levels] measured at 82 identified locations (2007) indicate that the norm of these parameters was also exceeding at various locations varying between moderate to critical level of pollution. Further, the NCR Transport Modal predicted intensity of traffic, by modes and their speed in the horizon year. Volume of exhaust gases due to anticipated traffic was estimated using the modals and location-wise Air Pollution Indices (API) was calculated which varies from 0.66 to 1.67. It was estimated that a total of 15.52 Gg (15520 M Tons) of CO2 /day would be emitted at the 82 stations in NCR. It indicates that Transport Plan for NCR is required to be implemented in phased manner as proposed and if the rail based public transport system i.e. RRTS and Bus-based public transport system are not implemented in timebound manner, it will have serious impact on Climate Change apart from affecting the health of the people in the Region. Hence, there is a dire need to construct/develop Integrated Multi-Modal Transport System in NCR with major emphasis on RRTS, Regional Orbital Rail Corridor, Inner Regional Orbital Rail Corridor and efficient & reliable bus services as public transport system.
Delhi-Gurgaon traffic
2014-16: no toll
JAM SESSION - 3.25 lakh vehicles cross Delhi-Ggn border daily Dec 29 2016 : The Times of India
Delhi-Gurgaon border: [As of Dec 2016] 3.25 lakh vehicles cross the border every day . As per the contract, NHAI is entitled to 50% of the toll revenue from “extra“ vehicles once their number surpasses 1.30 lakh per day at any of the toll plazas.
The Delhi high court scrapped the Sirhaul toll plaza in February 2014.
In 2016, NHAI got nothing since Kherki Daula sees only 70,000-80,000 vehicles per day.
The 32-lane toll plaza was scrapped after the NHAI, then concessionaire DGSCL and lead banker IDFC consented to remove it. Sources said IDFC had agreed as termination of the contract, which would have been the only other option for NHAI, would have caused it a huge loss. NHAI had charged the lenders with giving extra loan to DGSCL without the highways authority's approval, in contravention of the contract.
