3.2 Routes
Below we comment on the method of determining the routes based on the "Project Development Plan" by UBTSL for Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit, Ltd., March 18, 197, "Performance Requirements BERTS" by UBTSL November 18, 1997, site survey results and interviews With UBTSL.
The Government of Karnataka (GoK) and Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit, Ltd. (BMRTL) adopted a plan to construct and open six Lines in four phases,
Through consultations with GoK and BMRTL, however, UB Transit Systems, Ltd. (UBTSL), the promoter of this project changed the plan to construct four lines in two phases in order to improve operation efficiency by increasing estimated transport demand for the originally planned lines.
3.2.1 Policy on Route selection
The basic policy on the LRT route plan is as follows.
(1) The routes shall cover the entire city zone through the highest-density transport corridors centering on Bangalore Urban Agglomeration (BUA) to compose an integrated network so that users can conveniently and quickly travel to their destinations.
(2) As Bangalore is one of the quickly developing cities in India in terms of urban area and population, the route plan shall foresee development of the city up to 2021.
(3) As the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) system has been adopted for financing and operating new LRT lines in order to utilize the capabilities of the private sector, the routes shall be reasonable from the viewpoint of management.
(4) The routes shall be selected through a cost/benefit analysis. In other words, importance shall be attached to the effects of investment to maximize the benefit of users or satisfaction of transport
demands and minimize the costs of construction and operation.
(5) As the guideway requires mainly T-type girders on piers constructed at the street center, routes shall be selected along selects of sufficient width.
(6) Under the urban development plan, grade separation of crossing roads are being planned. Coordination between LRT project and road grade separation plan is required.
(7) Bangalore is well-known as a garden city with a plenty of street and garden plantings. LRT construction should create new urban spectacles in harmony with existing neighborhood landscapes.
(8) LRT operation should induce people to shift from cars that cause traffic jams, noise, exhaust gases and other forms of pollution. The routes shall be selected, therefore, to maximize the effect of shifting from cars to LRT.
(9) To cut construction costs, routes shall be constructed along state-owned streets. Rolling stock bases and stations shall basically be constructed on public lands without using private assets.
