PLANNING AND FUNDING UNDERPIN URBAN RAIL DEVELOPMENT

Many cities in the developing world face a serious mobility crisis from a rapidly expanding population, but high capacity rail networks can only alleviate the problems if they are carefully planned and properly financed. Most transport planners probably agree that some form of fixed-track public transport has a key role to play in the successful management of urban transport problems faced by the major cities in the developing world. The article discusses the different problems facing the industrialized and developing country transport planners. The underlying difference is the almost total lack of transport infrastructure in the developing countries, where the one dominant large city acts as a magnet for population from urban areas and the growth rate far exceeds that ever experienced in the industrialized world. Careful choice of the package is vital, and the key issues to be considered are: what sort of system is required; where it should be built; where the funding will come from; how the system is to be built; and who will be responsible for operating and maintaining it.