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

capacity. The component also supports studies and technical assistance, among other things, to
improve Indian Railways capabilities for track and rolling stock maintenance, financial
management and control systems, railway safety and quality assurance.
99. Since its start the project has made significant progress towards achieving its
development objectives. As a result of the resettlement of squatters along rail tracks and the
completion of track doubling on the Western Railway corridor, the efficiency of suburban train
operations has increased, with a rise in its peak-time capacity by 7-10 percent and a reduction in
commuting time by four to nine minutes for about six million daily passengers. An improvement
in transport services in terms of quality and comfort is noticed as a result of the addition of a few
new trains and the replacement of 644 buses by new ones. However, improvements in traffic
management technical capacity within the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai need to be
further strengthened and sustained.
100. Up to March 2010, 84 twelve-car rakes of new EMU trains (equivalent to 108
nine-car rakes) were put into service. Of these 84 rakes, 51 were financed by the Bank and
procured by MRVC, while the other 33 rakes were funded and procured by Indian Railways on
their own. Together, they have reduced crowding in the system from 500 people per coach ppdpk
to 450, despite a net increase in passengers. It is expected that once all additional 72 Bankfinanced
twelve-car trains (equivalent to 96 nine-car trains) are in service, crowding will be
reduced to 350 ppdpk, i.e. 30 percent less than the original density --but still twice the rated
carrying capacity.
101. Through the preparation of MUTP-1 a partnership was created between the GOM
and IR for developing Mumbai’s suburban rail system, and it was institutionalized by the
creation of MRVC. MRVC as an implementing agency has proven to be an efficient tool, and
attests to the success of this partnership. Prior to MUTP-1 the Mumbai suburban system suffered
due to lack of investment in renewal of aging assets as well as expansion to meet the everincreasing
demand, as IR had much greater interest in main line services on a national scale. The
partnership between GOM and IR has been considered positive enough to continue for the
preparation and implementation of MUTP-2A. And MRVC has gained professionalism in project
implementation, coordinating effectively with both the GOM and the various departments of IR.
Its increased efficiency has resulted in MRVC being commissioned for other studies to develop
suburban rail services in Mumbai.
102. Through MUTP-1 MMRDA has gained experience and capacity in handling
resettlement of large numbers of people. This project has been a first for Mumbai and a first for
the Bank to handle resettlement of so many people in an urban setting. During implementation,
difficulties occurred in handling the resettlement. A World Bank Inspection Panel investigated
the project’s resettlement process and raised concerns about implementation issues, including the
way medium and large shopkeepers were resettled, the quality of the baseline survey of projectaffected
people, management of post-resettlement activities, grievance redressal processes, and
project supervision. The implementation by GOM of a remedial action plan, with the active
support of the Bank, resulted in a much improved quality of the resettlement and rehabilitation
process. MMRDA evolved towards a problem-solving approach for resettlement, exploring
negotiated solutions as often as possible. The experience gained by MMRDA thereby is now
used by the Bank as an example for other large cities with similar challenges.
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