For every day that the opening of Chennai metro rail is de layed, the city is paying a price - a huge price in terms of public health. While the original deadline to open the initial 10km stretch between Koyambedu and Alandur was December 2013, a year and half have passed and opening date has still not been confirmed politics and slow bureaucracy being the reasons.
For each day metro rail is getting delayed, more than 24,000kg of additional carbon dioxide is being released into the air, adding to the rising pollution levels of the city. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials are expecting at least 43,000 people to travel every day on the Koyambedu-Alandur line for an average trip length of 6km. Assuming most or all of them would be riding two-wheelers, the vehicular exhaust that could be prevented from being emitted would add up to 24,000kg of CO2 per day.
"When we start operations between Koyambedu and Alandur, the frequency will be around a train for every 15 minutes between 5am and 11pm. So each day, there will be 72 trips and each trip will have at least 600 people. These are our estimates for now," said an official involved in planning.
Going by these numbers and assuming that in the absence of the metro, all these potential metro commuters are still using bikes, if not cars and autos, more than 1.21 crore kg of carbon dioxide has been released into the air so far since the original deadline of December 2013 ended.
Those working in the area of air pollution studies say metro rail plays a huge role in improving the quality of air in cities. "City agencies should come together to ensure that all modes of public transport and walking and cycling are integrated to make commuting convenient and affordable," said executive director of Centre for Science and Environment Anumita Roychowdhury.
Not having access to public transport and mass rapid transit (MRT) systems contributes to air pollution in more ways than one. According to a recent study by IIT-Madras, 40% of suspended particulate matter in Chennai is attributed to resuspended dust on the roads alone. "It is not just exhaust from vehicles, but even dust generated by mere plying of vehicles on our roads leads to air pollution," said a government official.
Given the deterioration in the quality of air, those advocating public transport say the rate of implementing MRT systems has to be faster.
"Chennai would need at least 480km of MRT by 2030. When the entire network of 45km of metro rail is open by the end of 2016, it would have taken 10 years to complete," said regional director of Institute of Transportation and Development Police Shreya Gadepalli.
But there is hope that the metro could open by the end of this month after safety audits for the stations are completed.
