Local Transportation

The Gurgaon Police is planning to conduct a trial run on the entire route beginning the Delhi-Gurgaon toll plaza to the CRPF Kadarpur shooting range via Signature Tower, Z-chowk and Sector road 55-56 to check the pressure points for traffic and security.

The police have decided to dedicate the extreme left lane on the expressway for Games traffic and even a toll gate. The escort vehicles will move alongside on the right side of the Games vehicles. "We have decided to block the entry and exit at Ambiance Mall, Shankar Chowk, IFFCO Chowk and Signature Tower since they are en route to CWG venue briefly during the drills so that we can understand and divert traffic accordingly as per requirement. The trial run will be a real time operation which means we will close or divert traffic exactly the way (time of day and duration) it will be done during the Games," said S S Deswal, Gurgaon Police Commissioner.

The police will also issue traffic advisory for citizens to minimize the discomfort, he added.

The police are also conducting regular combing operations and have launched a drive to identify the floating population living in the city. "It is compulsory for landlords to get their tenants verified and for house owners to get their domestic helps identified," said Deswal.

Though there is no specific threat, the police chief said they are not leaving any stone unturned. "As far as security is concerned, we have deployed police within a radius of five kilometers of the CRPF campus. We are also setting up towers around the venue on the Aravalli hills. Non-CRPF staff entering the campus is being verified and issued ID cards, among others."

"We have also written to the state requesting for air surveillance during the Games," he added.

The other sections of Line 2 Jehangirpuri to Central Secretariat and Qutub Minar to Huda City Centre were already operational. ''The Central Secretariat to Qutub section will be inaugurated by Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy and Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit at 1pm and commuters will be able to take the trains from 3pm on Friday,'' said a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson.

The stand-alone Gurgaon line, which was barely being used by commuters till now, will also be linked to the heart of the city with the opening of this section. Commuters boarding the Metro from Huda City Centre will be able to reach Rajeev Chowk for a fare of just Rs 25, or get to Karol Bagh or New Delhi railway station in Rs 22-25. A trip to Kashmere Gate will cost Rs 28 while travelling the length of the city to get to Noida City Centre will cost just Rs 29.

The 45-km line 2 from Jehangirpuri to Huda City Centre comprises 34 stations, of which 20 are underground. The line is expected to ferry over 6 lakh passengers daily for which DMRC plans to run 36-40 trains during peak and off-peak hours to cater to the passenger load.

Source: Times Of India By Megha Suri Singh S Delhi's wait for Metro ends

The initiative was taken by the Cybercity Welfare Society (CWC) comprising IT and BPO companies and the logistics company TEZ. Egged on by NASSCOM Gurgaon Council, many MNCs have come together to address infrastructure issues.

According to Subinder Khurana, the co-chairman of NASSCOM Gurgaon Council, DLF Cybercity has about 65,000 employees who use cars, cabs or two-wheelers and majority of them (40,000) come from Delhi.

Starting October, when Gurgaon would get connected to Central Secretariat, thanks to Delhi Metro, these companies would encourage their employees from Delhi to use shuttle service to reach their offices.

The experiment in Gurgaon could be replicated by Noida MNCs. Regional transport officials said corporate houses would be given 50 per cent rebate on passenger tax if the companies introduce their own transport system.

The Haryana government has decided to construct new state-of the-art-modern bus stands, create state register and issue smart card-based driving licences and registration of certificates across the state.

These new bus stands will meet the changing needs of public transportation and have a high-grade infrastructure and support services to provide comfortable and efficient services to passengers.

"Initially, tenders will be floated shortly for 20 locations for the development of modern bus stations. Four consultancy firms have also been appointed for advising and determining the yardsticks for establishment of state-of-the-art-modern infrastructure," said a senior officer of the Transport Department.

The locations that have been selected include Karnal, Panchkula, Manesar, Bahadurgarh, Faridabad (NIT), Faridabad (Ballabhgarh), Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Gurgaon (near Rajiv Chowk), Gurgaon ( existing bus stand), Gurgaon (Sector 29), Faridabad (Sector 12), Palwal, Bawal, Sonipat, Kundli, Panipat, Ambala City, Hisar and Pipli.

Besides, the Transport Department has decided to create a state register and issue smart card-based driving licences and registration certificates through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

Source: igovernment.in By By Hemant Singh Haryana plans overhauling of Transport Deptt

केंद्र की पहल पर दिल्ली में आवागमन को आसान बनाने के लिए पिछले साल एनसीआर परमिट की योजना को लाया गया था। इसके तहत हरियाणा के करीब 4 हजार ऑटो को दिल्ली समेत यूपी के कुछ क्षेत्रों में जाने की परमीशन मिलनी थी। योजना का नोटिफिकेशन जारी होने के बाद हरियाणा से कुछ ऑटो ने इन परमिट को हासिल किया। फिलहाल एनसीआर परमिट फरीदाबाद के 7 ऑटो चालकों के पास हैं। इसके अलावा गुड़गांव में कई ऑटो चालकों ने इसके लिए अप्लाई किया लेकिन उनकी ऐप्लिकेशन को विभाग ने मंजूर नहीं किया। इसके बाद से ही गुड़गांव के ऑटो चालक परमिट हासिल करने के लिए परेशान थे।

उधर, जिन ऑटो चालकों को यह परमिट मिल चुके थे उन्हें दिल्ली और उत्तर प्रदेश काउंटर साइन नहीं दे रहा था। इसकी वजह से हरियाणा को क्रॉस करते ही संबंधित अथॉरिटी उनका चालान कर देती थी। इसकी वजह से ऑटो चालक परेशान हो चुके थे। इसके बाद ही इन्होंने अपनी आवाज को प्रभावी तरीके से उठाया। इनके आवाज उठाने के बाद इस संबंध में हरियाणा के ट्रांसपोर्ट अधिकारियों ने जब दिल्ली में बात की तो पता चला कि दिल्ली पुलिस ने यह मामला सुप्र्रीम कोर्ट में डाल रखा है। तर्क है कि इससे दिल्ली में ऑटो की संख्या बढ़ जाएगी, इसलिए फिलहाल काउंटर साइन नहीं किए जा रहे हैं।

कहां- कहां चल सकते थे यह ऑटो
यूपी में बागपत, मेरठ, गाजियाबाद, गौतमबुद्धनगर और बुलंदशहर, हरियाणा के गुड़गांव, फरीदाबाद, सोनीपत, रेवाड़ी, झज्जर, पानीपत, और रोहतक, रेवाड़ी के अलवर और समस्त दिल्ली में एनसीआर परमिट के तहत ऑटो चलेंगे। अब इस स्कीम को झटका लग गया है। हरियाणा को ऐसे 4000 ऑटो को एनसीआर परमिट देने की अनुमति मिली थी।

क्या कहते हैं अधिकारी
आरटीए धमेंद्र सिंह का कहना है कि फरीदाबाद के ऑटो चालकों की परेशानी को देखने के बाद अब निर्णय लिया गया है कि सीएनजी ऑटो को फिलहाल एनसीआर परमिट नहीं दिए जाएंगे। अगले आदेश तक यह निर्णय जारी रहेगा। जिन ऑटो को अब तक यह परमिट मिले हैं उनके भी परमिट कैंसल कर दिए जाएंगे। एक उच्च स्तरीय बैठक में पिछले दिनों यह निर्णय लिया गया था।

ट्रांसपोर्ट विभाग के सूत्रों का कहना है कि जिस तरह से मेट्रो का विस्तार हो रहा है, उससे इंटरचेंज पॉइंट तेजी से बढ़ रहे हैं। लाइनों का विस्तार इस तरह से होना चाहिए कि पैसेंजरों को एक से ज्यादा इंटरचेंज पॉइंट का इस्तेमाल न करना पड़े। तीसरे फेज में दिल्ली मेट्रो 70 किमी के प्लान में मेट्रो का पूरा रिंग नहीं बनता। ट्रांसपोर्ट विभाग ने जो स्टडी कराई है, अगर उसे लागू किया जाता है तो मेट्रो को अपने तीसरे फेज की लाइनों में लगभग 25 फीसदी बदलाव करना पड़ेगा। लेकिन ऐसा हो जाता है तो पैसेंजरों को एक जगह से दूसरी जगह जाने के लिए बार-बार मेट्रो लाइनों को बदलने की जरूरत नहीं पड़ेगी। इसी तरह अगर रिंग रोड पर भी मेट्रो लाइन बनाई जाए तो उसका भी फायदा पूरी दिल्ली को हो सकता है।

दिल्ली के परिवहन मंत्री अरविंदर सिंह लवली के मुताबिक, यह सही है कि तीसरे फेज के लिए मेट्रो की लाइनों को लेकर स्टडी कराई गई है, लेकिन अभी इस बारे में कोई फैसला नहीं हुआ है। जल्द ही मीटिंग करके लाइनों के बारे में फैसला किया जाएगा। इसके बाद ही दिल्ली मेट्रो से बात की जाएगी।

यह दूसरा मौका है, जब ट्रांसपोर्ट डिपार्टमेंट ने मेट्रो की लाइनों के लिए खुद स्टडी कराने का फैसला किया है। दूसरे फेज की लाइनों के मामले में तत्कालीन ट्रांसपोर्ट कमिश्नर की राय दिल्ली मेट्रो से अलग थी। उस वक्त ट्रांसपोर्ट विभाग चाहता था कि गुड़गांव के लिए मेट्रो लाइन द्वारका के रास्ते ही तैयार की जाए, लेकिन दिल्ली मेट्रो की चाहत केंद्रीय सचिवालय से गुड़गांव को जोड़ने की थी। ट्रांसपोर्ट विभाग के तत्कालीन अफसरों ने जो स्टडी कराई थी, उसमें कहा गया था कि गुड़गांव से आने वाले पैसेंजरों में से ज्यादातर के धौला कुआं पहुंचने के बाद उन्हें पश्चिमी दिल्ली की ओर ही जाना होता है। इसके बावजूद गुड़गांव लाइन को केंद्रीय सचिवालय से ही जोड़ने का फैसला किया गया था।

गौरतलब है कि तीसरे फेज की मेट्रो लाइनों के लिए वित्तीय मॉडल को लेकर पसोपेश की स्थिति बनी हुई है। यही वजह है कि अब तक न तो दिल्ली सरकार ने तीसरे फेज के लिए अपनी मंजूरी दी है और न ही केंद्र सरकार ने। दिल्ली सरकार की मांग है कि तीसरे फेज के लिए डीडीए ही पैसे का भुगतान करे लेकिन डीडीए ने अब तक इस पर अपनी हामी नहीं भरी।

रेलवे के प्रवक्ता ए. एस. नेगी का कहना है कि दिल्ली-रेवाड़ी और दिल्ली-आगरा के बीच ट्रेन चलना तय हो चुका है। दिल्ली-रेवाड़ी रूट पर चलने वाली स्पेशल हेरिटेज ट्रेन बिलकुल फेयरी क्वीन जैसी होगी। इनमें सिर्फ एक या दो कोच होंगे। दिल्ली-आगरा के बीच चलने वाली स्पेशल ट्रेन शताब्दी की तरह होगी और यह शायद तीन अक्टूबर को पहला चक्कर लगाएगी। इस ट्रेन में टूरिस्टों के अलावा एथलीट भी आगरा की सैर कर सकेंगे।

सबसे अहम यह है कि रेलवे इस ट्रेन को 140 किलोमीटर प्रति घंटे की रफ्तार से दौड़ाने का दावा कर रही है। यानी दिल्ली से आगरा की दूरी यह सिर्फ 75 मिनट में पूरा कर लेगी। इस ट्रेन में 600 लोग बैठ सकेंगे। इन ट्रेनों के लिए स्पेशल मेन्यू तैयार किया जा रहा है। इसके लिए इंटरनैशनल कुक्स की मदद ली जा रही है। यह माना जा रहा है कि गेम्स के दौरान दिल्ली आने वाला हर मेहमान ताजमहल देखने आगरा जरूर जाना चाहेगा। रेलवे प्रवक्ता के अनुसार विदेशी पर्यटक सबसे अधिक आगरा और जयपुर के लिए ही जाएंगे। ऐसे में रोड ट्रांसपोर्ट से टक्कर लेने के लिए रेलवे तैयार हो रही है।

The NCR constitutes the whole of Delhi; Faridabad, Gurgaon, Rohtak, Sonepat, Rewari, Jhajjar, Mewat, Palwal and Panipat in Haryana; Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Bulandshahar and Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh; and Alwar in Rajasthan.

According to the NCR Planning Board, unrestricted movement of contract carriage like taxis and auto-rickshaws within the NCR was one of the policy proposals of the NCR Regional Plan-2021. It was also part of an agreement signed by the Delhi, UP, Haryana and Rajasthan governments in 2008.

The provision is expected to facilitate public commuting between Delhi and the rest of NCR and passengers who board/alight at the airport, railway stations and bus stations in Delhi and have to hire a taxi/auto-rickshaw to reach their place of residence/work outside Delhi but within the NCR. In case of non-compliance, a complaint can be lodged with the department concerned.

The Metro station has been granted the necessary clearances for commencement of commuter operations. "The Chattarpur Metro station is going to be operational from Thursday,'' the spokesperson added. It couldn't be opened with the Qutub-Huda City Centre section in June this year due to land acquisition problems. The construction of the station started on October last year and was completed in a record time of just nine months.

"The station was constructed using a unique method using special pre-fabricated/structural steel. The conventional construction technique of making stations by concrete would have taken at least two years, which would have delayed the Metro line substantially,'' the spokesperson added. The above procedure, however, cost an additional 30 to 50% expense to the DMRC.

The station will also have the largest parking area at any Metro station in the city. The parking lot has been built over an area of about 12,000sqm. From Thursday, about 4,000sqm of parking area will be available with the capacity of 800 two wheelers and 200 cars. The rest of the parking area will be opened in a phased manner.

Source: Times Of India Chattarpur station to open today

The Chattarpur station is also likely to be operational by then as the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety is scheduled to inspect it on Wednesday.

The construction of the Gurgaon Metro line is fully complete and train trials have successfully been running on the 45-km stretch since the last few months. Last minute finishing work at the stations is also nearing completion now.

The line is awaiting the mandatory nod of the CMRS before it can be thrown open for public use. According to sources, DMRC has written to CMRS requesting for a date for inspection.

The latter had some queries for which supplementary documentation has been submitted. The CMRS, R K Kardam, is inspecting the Chattarpur Metro station on Wednesday and this is expected to be opened in the next 2-3 days.

The construction of the station was delayed due to land acquisition problems and trains on the Qutub-Huda City Center section had been skipping the stop.

When the missing link in Line 2 Central Secretariat to Qutub opens, the line will be the longest straight Metro section in the city.

megha.suri@timesgroup.com

Source: Times Of India North Delhi to Gurgaon by Metro next wk

Presently, the permit seekers have to go to the respective office of the respective regional transport authorities (RTOs) to get the national permit after paying an annual fee of Rs 15,000 that allows transporters to run their vehicles throughout the country.

The national portal will enable the applicants to get the national permit at a click of the mouse, said Gautam Ghosh, senior technical director, NIC, Delhi.

The NIC official, who is among the key person developing the portal, said once operational, applicants would be able to apply for national permits sitting at home instead of making rounds of the office of the RTO. It was only in May this year that the Ministry had fixed the national permit fee of Rs 15,000 a year for a truck.

Earlier, the truck operators were required to pay separate fee for each state annually. So the truck operators plying on long routes had to pay permit fee of several thousands, the harassment apart. "Since a part of the revenue earned from the permit fee used to go back to the respective state to improve road infrastructure, some of the states earning nothing from the permits were not getting the infrastructure funds.

Now, the fee from national permit was equally distributed," said an official of the ministry.

"The 600 low floor buses will be introduced in two phases. In the first phase 350 buses will be introduced and in the second phase the remaining 250 buses will be launched. These will have a mix of air-conditioned as well as non-air- conditioned buses. We have identified 32 routes to run these buses," said a senior transport official.

He further said that these low floor buses would provide direct connectivity to Faridabad, Manesar, and New Delhi from Gurgaon. Also the routes of these buses will be so devised that the metro users in the city would be benefited in the absence of a proper metro link service.

The planning for a city bus service in Gurgaon has been going on for a long time. Though, Delhi Metro has extended its reach to Gurgaon, people are yet to make its optimum use as there are no feeder buses or a transportation system to connect the metro stations with the rest of the city.

Source: The Pioneer By Sunil Thapliyal Low-Floors In Gurgaon Soon on 32 Routes Across The City

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had announced on January 29 that the state government would arrange 750 buses, of which 400 would hit the Gurgaon roads by October.

But Haryana's finance commissioner (transport and aviation) Samir Mathur  said, "This is the first of its kind PPP (public-private partnership) project and we are very careful in formulating the guidelines and terms and conditions for the Expression of Interest (EOI) that we have to float for inviting bids from the private sector companies."

Mathur said since the process was lengthy and might take time, he would not like to confirm whether the project start before the Games or not.

Source: Hindustan Times By Sanjeev K Ahuja Gurgaon Transport Project Goes Off Track

"Anyone found driving under the influence of liquor for the first time, would be challaned (fined) and if caught for a second time, his or her driving licence will be cancelled," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Bharti Arora told reporters.

"This is a warning for vehicle drivers not to violate traffic rules. If anyone is found violating (other) rules for the third time, his or her driving licence will get cancelled," he added.

The department is now offering a monthly bus pass to girl students, 33 per cent less than the fare charged from their male counterparts.

Girl students can avail of this facility up to a distance of 60 km for a period of six months at one time. Class III and IV employees of the Haryana Police have already been given free travel facility against a monthly fee of Rs 80 which is deducted from their salary each month.

While elected representatives and former legislators have the privilege to travel free in all buses, the physically challenged and eldery women have also been given concessions.

Women aged above 60 will have to pay half of the fare on any route.

Source: The Tribune By Bijendra Ahlawat Shortage Of Buses, But Passes Galore, Now, Roadways Concession For Girl Students Too

From Sunday, August 1, DTC's IGI bus service will not be allowed to go up to Terminal 3 (T3).

Senior DTC officials said, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the agency rebuilding and operating the airport, has refused entry to DTC's airport special buses up to T3, citing security reasons.

"While private taxis are allowed to go up to the terminal, DTC buses will not be allowed to go up to T3," a senior DTC official said.

"We are allowed to go up to terminal 2 but there are no passengers for T2 now, as most of the international flights have shifted to T3. And we are not being given access to T3," the official added.

DTC runs AC buses on IGI special service from 15 different parts of the Capital. DTC officials said these buses make 52 trips to the international airport and ferry more than 15,000 passengers every day for a flat fare of R 50.

Source: Hindustan Times By Atul Mathur DTC's airport bus service to be scrapped

The 20.16-km-long line will branch out from a new Metro station coming up adjacent to the existing one at Central Secretariat. From here, the Metro will traverse underground through Khan Market, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Jangpura, before running elevated through Lajpat Nagar, Moolchand, Kailash Colony, Nehru Place, Kalkaji Mandir, Govindpuri, Okhla, Jasola, Sarita Vihar, Mohan Estate, Tughlaqabad to reach Badarpur.

The construction of the line has been completed till Lajpat Nagar station where trial runs have started to test all the systems and installations. ``The construction has been paced up and rest of the line will be completed by August. There are currently four launchers working between Sarita Vihar and Badarpur, while the problem stretch at Zamrudpur has been completed,'' said Kumar Keshav, Director (Projects), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

The remaining installations like signalling, traction and tracks are also being taken up simultaneously.

Source: Times Of India By Megha Suri Singh C Sec-Lajpat Nagar trial begins

With this, holding forged or multiple driving licences of different states, which had earlier helped drivers booked for violating traffic norms sometimes, even involved in fatal accidents to evade prosecution and resume work in another state a thing of the past. Sources in the ministry said that the process of establishing the online national register and migration of the states' database to the central pool would be completed in the next six months. An official document claims that already 100% computerization of the data and connectivity has been achieved in 23 states. Out of the 990 RTOs, 919 have already been completely computerised.

"Though the facilities are already there in place in case of individual states, but the question is whether these are accessible to others. Once the national registry becomes operational, it will put an end to several deficiencies in the system," said a ministry official.

He added that with the information available online, the RTOs can verify the facts about persons applying for driving licences. "It has been observed that that many people having commercial driving licences have more than one driving licence. So, when they are caught for offences or are booked they simply shift their base and start driving vehicles with the other licences they already have, in another state. The national registry will put an end to this. This will also help an employer hire new drivers after verifying their credentials," said S P Singh, a senior fellow with the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).

Source: Times Of India By Dipak Kumar Dash National registry of licences in 6 months

Traffic updates are now just an SMS away. And it will be round-the-clock.

After gaining success through Facebook and Twitter, Delhi Traffic Police have now started a unique service on traffic update through text messages.A dedicated team from the unit has been involved for this job, said Ajay Chadha, special CP (traffic).

The method is simple. One has to just send an SMS `join dtp' to 09219592195 from one's mobile to register with the mobile helpline service.

After that, as and when there is any traffic jam due to any reason -road accident, rainfall or road construction -he will be intimated through SMS.

"This is a free service by Delhi Traffic Police. This will also alert commuters in general and motorists in particular about any traffic diversions or advisory in the city," said Chadha.

"The SMS service is more instant than updates on Facebook or Twitter. Motorists while driving generally cannot access Facebook or Twitter to get traffic update," said a senior officer.

He added that initially 40,000 people are expected to register themselves.

subhendu.ray@hindustantimes.com

According to Haryana Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sharda Rathore the feasibility survey has been completed by Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMTS) for linking the historic Panipat city with Delhi via Sonepat.

The high speed train is to be run on a dedicated corridor. While Haryana government would fund construction of the dedicated corridor, the Indian Railways are expected to operate the service.
Rathore said that the high speed train would usher a new era of development and progress in the state.

Delhi is surrounded from three sides by Haryana. Experts believe that Haryana has thus far failed to exploit its close proximity with land-starved Delhi to its full potential which could have resulted in huge revenue generation.

Thus far only Gurgaon and to some extent Faridabad have benefited due to their status as Delhi's satellite towns. However, problem of connectivity has been a major concern in their further growth.

The high speed train, when it becomes operational, is expected to address the connectivity issue.
While Gurgaon has already got connected with Delhi by the metro rail service, metro will reach Faridabad sometime next year.

The historic town of Panipat is situated about 129 km north of Delhi. It takes about three hours to travel the distance at present by road.