On Wednesday, 12th August, I was stuck in the Metro for over 2 and half hours. I boarded the train at around 5:45pm from Vishwavidyalaya but did not reach home until 8:30. A route that should have taken less than 1 and half hours, took over 2 and a half. Reason, around 4 o'clock a train got derailed at the Dwarka station. The driver of the train switched to manual and the train overshot the tracks which were still locked. Thankfully there were no casualty and the train was travelling at a low speed, otherwise it would have jumped over the elevated ramp onto the road. In the whole network, apart from the stations from where the train goes to the depots, there are only two sets of tracks, one coming and the other going. No extra track has been made for emergency. Due to this, the whole train schedule was running late, and there were very few trains running. The number of people queued up to board trains which didn't show up, and when they did, they were already full to the brim. At Rajiv Chowk, I stood and waited for two trains which were so packed that I refused to step into them. I chose instead to go back a few stations from where it wouldn't be so full. That was my mistake. I was unaware of the derailing and thought it was just some minor delay. The authorities hardly made any announcement, and when they did, they said the delay was due to some technical error. There was no procedure to stop passengers from entering the stations, commuters piled up with nowhere to go. It was stuffed but shockingly many people still stayed in line! When I was in the train, I had a seat but those standing were squished. With swine flu on the rise, who knows how many viruses were transmitted.. In the heat and humidity, the A/Cs hardly had any cooling and once the power went out; it was excruciating. Our train was halted for 20 minutes at a station with the doors closed. No announcement was made to inform us why it was stopped, even to regret the inconvenience caused. People fought off those trying to board the train when it did move to the next station. One guy in my train started shouting press the emergency button, lets talk to the driver and ask him whats wrong. and they did, which halted the train for another few minutes until some officials came to see to the problem. It could have been a medical situation.
In another 5 years or so, Delhi Metro will become obsolete. In its construction, there has been a unfortunate lack of foresight. Many things have not been thoroughly thought out before execution. If there had been extra tracks, this chaos could have been avoided. Not only that, but they could then have run rapid and fast trains which stop at only major stations, just like the Japanese system. In the present system, the train stops at all stations of the route taking an unneccessarily longer time! Also, they made Rajiv Chowk big, but not big enough to handle the load that will soon be added when the trains to Noida start. They need to add two more bogeys, but they still don't have them ready. Who knows how much time they will take for that. and even when they add them, the no. of people coomuting will also have increased. which means that trains will still be stuffed. I wonder what can be the solution?
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1 comment:
no no no..not lack of foresight :-)
Let me explain:
see, in india, in almost every aspect from roadworks, power lines, telephone lines, drainages to the metro aspect, it is by design that they like things to get obsolte soon. Otherwise how would these guys get new contracts. If everything is planned well, which could be, the re-contracts would stop and so would circulation of money for them. So all this chaos is by design to ensure they are in business for posterity.
The plan is: Build today for yesterday for who has seen tomorrow :-)
and don't you feel, esp in delhi, people only live for today....drive/cheat/sell/build/live as if the world will end today and there will be no tomorrow!
what say?
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