Posted by Vince Wadhwani on Jun 13, 2006

The Wall Street Journal is running an article today on how Beijing is getting overwhelmed by cars which in turn is increasing traffic, making pollution worse, but lining the coffers of those in government and industry who benefit from the taxes and sales. (The city owns Beijing Automotive Industry Corp, a JV with a foreign car maker.)

In Mumbai, traffic is terrible. More people commute in a single day in Mumbai than exist in all of Israel. Think about that for a minute. The only reason that things have not ground to a complete halt in the city is because of the immense train system in place. Trains arrive about every two minutes and passengers jump on and off and then clear the station at amazing speeds thus allowing empty platforms for the next train. It truly is a wonder to behold. But it is not enough.

The cars are choking the city but the trains are already jammed full. The trains only go along certain routes and, while they may be faster compared to sitting in traffic, you almost certainly will need to take a taxi on the other end. It should not be surprising then to hear that Mumbai is considering a subway. However, it might be surprising to hear that Mumbai is actually moving forward with a subway.

After successes in Delhi and Kokkata, Mumbai is next on the list of places that will get a different type of train. Not one designed to bring people out from neighboring towns into the city, but rather one to help commuters within the city get from place to place. The plan is not ambitious and the execution will likely be horrible, but the timing could not be better: NOW.

The first line is expected to start in about 3 years time. In the meantime they are widening the roads for the cars to make more room for traffic. Then we'll see the war between government and industry which will determine how commuters get to work.

I, for one, am rooting for the train.