A Summary Of Urban Rail Transit And Its Advantages To Cities, Commuters And Pass

Posted by Neal on December 24th, 2020

Reliable urban transport is a contemporary essential; keep on reading to find out about different solutions to this problem.

A revived focus on ‘smart’ cities and infrastructure, especially in cities that have rapidly growing populations, has pushed city planners to look at new types of public transport, and think about how they can be put in place in the most effective possible way. A good example of this is in Doha, where a new urban railway system, the Doha Metro, was opened in 2019, having been backed by Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who recognised the need for an efficient transit system in the city. The new Metro, which is completely driverless, covers a significant part of the city, and is one the fastest driverless trains around the world. Contemporary cities can benefit massively from new transportation links, which can open up a city to broader tourism rewards. As modern cities grow horizontally, a fast, easy to use system of getting around is vital in order to be able to benefit from everything that a city can offer while likewise taking vehicle traffic off roads.

As long as cities have been getting bigger and larger, the importance of public transport has for ages been clear. One of the crucial requirements is a system that gives unique right of way to the transport vehicle to prevent any unnecessary delays to the journey. This often exhibits itself as a rail network where pedestrians are separated physically: either by raising the train or by having it underground. A sparkling instance of public transportation is the transit system in Santiago. A development of the system was recommended by Ricardo Lagos in the early years of the century, and it is now one of the finest globally, providing quick and easy travel for millions of travellers every day. The system is always expanding, even to this day, as new lines and stations are included and redeveloped to help guarantee that locals and visitors alike can get around Santiago with ease.

One of the benefits of making an investment in an efficient mass transit system is the environmental benefits of public transport which can considerably contribute to lower levels of air pollution. Roads that are congested with cars released far more pollution per person than trains, or other types of urban transportation system that allow numerous men and women to use at once. Not only are passengers able to benefit from unobstructed routes and quicker journey speeds, but their carbon footprint is massively reduced when using mass transit systems. The effects of using these systems, in the place of cars, includes superior air quality but also the ability to return physical environments to people that was once controlled by cars. Kostas Bakoyannis is a strong proponent of returning public areas to people in this way: whether that be through pedestrian zones or better bike lanes, the emphasis is on making cities work for people instead of machines.