Local trains better known as passenger trains or EMU’s (Electric Multiple Unit) are those which primarily ply either within the city at various stations ideally connecting the entire city and acting as a cost effective medium of public transport or it extends to the nearby towns of the originating city at max, since most of these trains are supposed to do a couple ups and downs in a day.
In today’s date however, people generally don’t prefer travelling through these trains since they are supposed to halt at every other station and take its own sweet time. It was obviously not meant to be like this in saddi Dilli, the Delhi Suburban Railway is operated by the Northern Railway for Delhi and NCR. This railway service covers Delhi, along with the adjoining districts of Faridabad, Ghaziabad and other adjoining places in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. This also includes passenger trains and DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) services up to Rewari in Haryana, which is also considered part of the National Capital Region.
Interestingly local train services in Delhi were started as the Delhi Ring Railway services. This Ring Railway is a circular rail network in Delhi, which runs parallel to the Ring Road and was conceived during the 1982 Asian Games. Started in 1975 to service goods, it later upgraded for the Games, when 24 additional services were started. Its circular route is 35km long, which the train takes 90-120 minutes to complete, both clockwise and anti-clockwise, via Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, from 8am-7pm. With a return ticket for the entire journey costing 12, compared to with Delhi Metro, which is around 60. It was conceived to be preferred by the poor and the middle-class families. It runs seven clockwise and six anti-clockwise trains at a peak frequency of 60-90 min., during the morning and evening rush hours.
In the coming years however Delhi spread far beyond Ring Road, making the ring railway largely redundant and in today’s time the system is not popular among people and a total failure as far as public transport is considered. Delhi Ring Railway is considered as an example of failed mass transit system. The major reasons for failure of the system are lack of proper connectivity, less population density in areas of reach. The station exits usually open into narrow, dirty alleyways – often more than a kilometer away from the main road.
The network is now used as a freight corridor and limited passenger EMU train services are available during peak hours. When New Delhi, Old Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations get overloaded and so many of these trains are diverted and made to wait on Delhi’s ring rail network. The future of the ring railway is undecided; however one thing is pretty clear that with the emergence and superiority of the Delhi Metro, more and more users would rather prefer to commute efficiently and quickly through the Delhi Metro and more so it not only offers better air conditioned services, it also offers complete safety during the odd hours and a separate compartment for women.
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