NEW DELHI, INDIA: The much-awaited high capacity bus system (HCBS), has run into rough weather.

The government departments and traffic police have raised objections pertaining to the feasibility and necessity of the project in light of the Metro and other projects which are already underway.

The Rs 67-crore project has hit a roadblock. The problem now is the separate signalling system that the corridor would have.

The Delhi Traffic Police has pointed out that given the congested traffic situation, it would be impossible to handle separate signalling systems of HCBS and other corridors.

The expenditure finance committee (EFC) on Tuesday gave a nod to an 8-km stretch from Moolchand to Delhi Gate only.

However, the extension till ISBT has been put on hold. The reason is the congested areas the corridor was earlier planned to cross.

According to sources, in the previous expenditure finance committee, the public works department (PWD) had pointed out that a 45-metre right of way (ROW) is necessary for the corridor.

However, the congested roads beyond Delhi Gate do not allow this kind of space. Now the proposal has been put on hold for the time being.

Another problem pointed out by PWD and finance department is the coverage of Metro project.

Of the seven corridors, Metro is already touching most of the route on four corridors, viz Nangloi-Shivaji Terminus,

Azadpur- Nehru Place, Jahangirpuri-Old Delhi Railway station and AnandVihar-Shivaji Terminus.

The government is planning the electric trolley bus system on Hari Nagar-Central Secretariat route.

The sixth corridor from Badarpur to Pragati Maidan already has a number of PWD underpasses and flyovers planned on it.

A senior official, said: "This leaves us with only Ambedkar Nagar to ISBT corridor. Due to space constraints, we can just take the buses till Delhi Gate."

Six buses will be acquired this month. However, transport minister Haroon Yusuf said: "Our high capacity buses will run on the roads on all corridors. This project is viable and will get all clearances."

HCBS was envisaged as a system that was supposed to ply on exclusive corridors, that is, a portion of the road would be demarcated for the bus where no other vehicle would ply.

Since only high capacity buses would be allowed in the corridor, the bus could go at a high speed.

It would also mean maximum utilisation of road space. One high capacity bus for instance can carry 10 times more passengers than a car and 15 times the capacity of two-wheelers.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1025578.cms