After a study by the Institute of Urban Transport revealed that the Kolkata tram is a cheaper, environment-friendly mode of transport, the Ministry of Urban Development has asked metropolitan cities to consider re-introducing trams. The ministry suggested that trams could be introduced along Bus Rapid Transit corridors.

India has sought Japan's assistance in setting up more urban transport systems like monorail projects, intelligent transport networks and the Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS). Japan has already been extending financial assistance for the construction of Delhi Metro.

Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, now in Tokyo participating in the India-Japan Business Summit, has acknowledged Japan's assistance in the development of India's urban transportation, elicited more assistance and invited investors to the Indian markets.

New Delhi Highlighting its inability to support increasing number of metro projects, the Centre has asked state governments to follow the models of Karnataka and Delhi for financing capital-intensive Metro rail projects by levying cess on residential and commercial developments, and increasing house tax. It has also urged them to set up state-level urban transport funds with such levies to finance the projects.

The Centre says its unable to support the increasing number of metro systems through the Budget and therefore wants the states to develop their own funding sources to part-finance such capital-intensive systems.

Apparently giving preference to political considerations over eligibility norms, the Centre is all set to clear the Kochi Metro Rail project, which will have three coaches in the first phase and will thus be the smallest metro in the country. The matter is likely to come up in the Union Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Sources in the Union Urban Development Ministry said that last month, the Ministry forwarded the Rs 5,200-crore project connecting Alwaye to Pettah in the district to the Union Cabinet for final approval.

From Wednesday traffic snarls will be back to trouble lakhs of commuters on the BRT corridor with Delhi Government deciding to revert back to the dedicated lane system. The decision was taken in a meeting held by the transport department of Delhi Government, headed by Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, on Tuesday and the same will be effective from Tuesday midnight.

The Transport Ministry in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has commenced a technical cooperation project to conduct a comprehensive study and formulate an urban transport master plan for the Colombo metropolitan region.

MUMBAI: The first phase of the monorail from Chembur to Wadala is slated to be ready for the public in December but only if it gets the green signal on safety issues from its safety consultants from Singapore. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner, Rahul Asthana, admitted that the project could take some more time if the safety consultant, SMRT of Singapore, wanted some changes before certifying that it has passed all stringent tests.

The real grit of the Delhi Traffic Police and other agencies monitoring the experimental run for mixed vehicular usage on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor will be put to test on Monday, the first working day post the commencement of the pilot study. Overwhelmed with the postive response received from the first day of the trial run (from Khanpur T point to Siri Fort), the expert body, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) conducting the survey feels that there would be no major hassles in traffic flow on Monday, which normally sees an increase of 30 per cent in traffic volume.

The four major commercial hubs of South Delhi will be connected via the Metro, once the Phase III of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is complete (DMRC) in 2016. Officials in the Delhi Metro said Sarojini Nagar and South Extension will have dedicated stations, while the the existing stations at INA Market and Lajpat Nagar will be converted into interchange stations. The upcoming 59-km-long Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar-Shiv Vihar corridor has been specially aligned from Bhikaji Cama Place towards Sarojini Nagar to provide direct connectivity.