Indian Smart City Metro

India has an excellent rail system. Eighty percent of its wide gauge lines are electrified. However, the system is used mainly for long distance trains which run at infrequent intervals. This leaves spare capacity for more frequent local services utilising the latest signal and rolling stock technology.

Growth in India is running at 7.2% and rising. Road congestion costs lives and money - Rs 1.47 lakh crore annually in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata alone. Delhi has the 4th highest air pollution in the world. Indian 'Tier 1' megacities are challenged in accommodating demand in a sustainable manner. 

Smart City Metros

However, the smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 Indian Smart Cities can use their current rail lines to run Smart City Metros which will provide travel equity for all in a clean and low congestion manner. Metros will enable development in line with the UN Sustainability Goals using the ConnectedCity methodology which focuses growth in the walkable 15 minute neighbourhoods around rail stations with a good level of service. 

The latest technology allows trains to safely run much closer together. In Europe ETCS (European Train Control System) is being rolled out to enable the introduction of ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System). Importantly, the standards for these systems are defined by a EU wide group of rail operators, so that different manufacturers have to produce equipment which is compatible, similar to the way that computer hardware manufacturers compete to make products on which Microsoft software runs.

Indian Signalling

Indian Railways has studied the global signalling market to develop KAVACH Automatic Train Protection system built upon standardised piece parts combined into a cost-effective product. KAVACH is being installed on 3,500+km of route and over 700 locomotives.

Track

• Single 

• Full gauge

• Fully electrified

Stations

• Tirunelveli Junction - the main city junction station

• Tirunelveli Town - in the old town

• Pettai  - in the suburbs

• Cheranmahadevi - an outlying town with al arge college campus

Service

• Journeys 4 per day

• quickest 12 mins

Due to the large scale emissions that would be avoided from new rail projects in Low Income Countires (LICs) and Low to Medium Income Countries (LMICs), governments should consider rail as climate mitigation projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, generating carbon credits that would in turn be allowed to be sold to richer countries. Governments should also support the development of carbon finance market regulations specifically for land transport, that would standardize the calculations of avoided emissions from a modal shift to rail, which would expand climate funding sources for rail.

With long lifetimes of 30-35 years for rolling stock and up to 100 years for infrastructure, rail projects are discriminated against with standard methods of cost-benefit analysis used by IFIs. Such approaches must be updated, allowing rail projects to use lower depreciation rates so that their substantial future benefits can be better captured by financial models. Additionally, the wider socio-economic benefits of rail, though difficult to monetise, must be incorporated in appraisal processes. IFIs should also prioritise low carbon, efficient and resilient modes in future expansion of their lending pools, increasing funds allocated to rail projects, as well as support LICs and LMICs in making their railways more creditworthy.

De-risking cost-effective technologies can help reduce required project investments and improve project bankability. The railway sector should continue to progress in developing new solutions that lower operation and maintenance costs, which are particular challenges of the mode. Newe forms of traction, or digital train-based control systems, can also reduce the need for line-side infrastructure and with that lower overall infrastructure costs and make projects more attractive for financing.