World Bank Document - Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd ...

elow “critical”. Although sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels are still within
reasonable limits 21 , current motorization trends are not environmentally sustainable. 22
84. “In Mumbai the main contributor of air pollution is the transport sector, followed by
power plants, industrial units and the burning of garbage.” 23 Irrespective of improvements in
engines and fuel type, ambient air quality is bound to further deteriorate because of the
motorization rate if no compensatory action is taken. Understanding the need for a sustainable
urban development strategy, in 2004 MMRDA retained the National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute to prepare strategies and an action plan for particulate matter reduction in
MMR. The study included assessment of ambient air quality status (especially for particulate
matter PM10), the development of reduction and mitigation strategies, and a reduction action
plan.
85. Developing suburban rail use would contribute to the efforts being made in India as well
as in other countries to reduce GHG emissions. MUTP-2A aims at expanding an energy-efficient
public transport system and minimizing motor vehicle use, the main source of pollution. Indeed,
as presented in Annex 9, expanding the rail network capacity will likely lead to a diversion of
passengers from bus services. This reduction in bus operations will in turn contribute to reducing
pollution, because EMU trains emit very limited pollutant quantities, whereas buses emit NO 2
and SO 2 at a rate of 0.25 kg per bus per hour.
86. Finally, the conversion from DC to AC will allow the use of more energy-efficient trains,
thus further decreasing CO 2 emissions and allowing MRVC to claim carbon credits. The energy
saving per year due to the trains already introduced at this point is estimated at 6.2 million kWh,
and this allows for a generation of carbon credits equivalent to 62.6 thousand tCO 2 e 24 per year. 25
Long-term Transportation Strategy for MMR
87. Within the next 25 years, Mumbai is projected to overtake Tokyo and become the largest
urban region in the world, in a country having one of the fastest expanding global economies. In
2004, a task force appointed by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra conducted a comprehensive
transportation study for the metropolitan region known widely by the acronym TranSforM (for
21 The concentrations in SO 2 and NO 2 are 9 μg/m 3 and 42 μg/m 3 in 2008 respectively. Both levels are currently
labeled as “low” (between 0 and 40 μg/m 3 ).
22 “According to a study carried out by EMBARQ in cooperation with the World Bank in 2007, continuation of the
rapid motorization trends without adequate policy and technological interventions (the “business-as-usual” scenario)
would increase the annual national CO 2 emissions from urban transport sector (in all major cities) to 254 million
tons of CO 2 in 2030, which is more than nine times the emissions level in 2005.” (Project Appraisal Document,
Sustainable Urban Transport Project, World Bank 2009).
23 Larssen et al., URBAIR Urban Air Quality Management Strategy in Asia: Greater Mumbai Report, World Bank
1997.
24 tCO2e: Tons of CO 2 equivalent is a measure for describing how much global warming a given type and amount of
greenhouse gas may cause, using the functionally equivalent amount of carbon dioxide as reference.
25 MRVC Letter to World Bank dated May 16, 2008 regarding Generation of Carbon Credits on account of energy
saving due to DC/AC conversion on Mumbai Suburban section of CR WR under MUTP 1 and 2.
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