A Progressive Switch Thesis brochure

A Progressive Switch Initiating Intermodalities in Mumbai through a common infrastructure

- Siddharth Khakhar

Thesis Abstract

As Mumbai grows and aims to become one of the world supercities, its public transport infrastructure gets a much needed boost in the form of a new Metro Master Plan, with eight new metro lines being developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). This boost comes at a crucial time when the city's three main suburban train lines, owned and maintained by Indian Railways (IR), have reached a point of absolute saturation.

Therefore, the new metro master plan's intention is to be an integrated supplement to the suburban lines catering to new shifting centralities and urban growth.

However, ever present organisational resistance and tension between and within government bodies have long paved a way for spatially fragmented modes of transport throughout the city. This lack of intergration between multiple modes of transport (existing and/or proposed) has often landed the city in chaotic situations with it losing out on creating an integrated, intermodal public transport network.

Public transport infrastructure of a city can be understood as its spatial software. Much like any other operating system in the world, the public transport network of a city can also be upgraded, adapted or interefered with for a smooth functioning of the network.

With a much needed intereference and an opportunity to capitalise on the new, under-construction, metro master plan, this thesis sets out to hypothesise whether a common 3rd party-led infrastructure engineered and positioned at a strategic location between fragmented interactions of different modes of transport can help initiate intermodalities.

Based on a notion of 'progressive switch', the aim of this new customised model of intermodality is to be able to spatially integrate multiple modes of transport and generate new interconnectivities at a neighbourhood level, which in turn and by extension, at a regional level, can potentially create new flows of people, goods, activities and centralities.

Existing 3 suburban train lines

Proposed new Metro Master plan

Metro Line Line 1 (Anderi-Ghatkopar) Line 2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) Line 2B (DN Nagar- Mandale) Line 3 (Colaba-SEEPZ) LIne 4 (Wadala-Kasarwadi) Line 5 (Thane-Kalyan) Line 6 (Samarthnagar-Kanjurmarg) Line 7 (Andheri east- Dahisar east) Line 8 Sewri- Prabhadevi

Length (kms) 11.4 18 23 33.5 32 23.3 14.5 18 3.5

No. of Stations 12 17 22 27 32 17 13 14

Level Elevated Elevated Elevated Underground Elevated Elevated Elevated Elevated

Status Active Under-construction Construction bidding Under-construction Construction bidding Construction bidding Construction bidding Under-construction Alignment finalisation

Neighbourhood Level fragmentations

Abstraction of Jogeshwari station

Abstraction of Bandra station

Abstraction of Elphinstone road station

Abstraction of Mahalaxmi station

Regional Scale

Neighbourhood Scale

Hypothesis

A common piece of infrastructure connects 2 stations at a regional scale

Can a common piece of infrastructure at a local scale be engineered to initate intermodalities?

Potential Station area for implementation

Components of the Progressive Switch

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A progressive switch within the transportation network can have different components attached to it with each serving their own purpose in producing, harnessing and embracing flows of people that go through it.

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Spatial Join

Programmed Conduits

Spatial join becomes the most essential

At its core and through a spatial join,

component within the matrix of a progressive

Programmed Conduits still function as a

switch. It is essentially a spatial, physical

connection for flows of people to traverse

connection between two or more modes

through, but an addition of multimodal

of transport within the urban environment.

programme is built in within the flows.

Civic Containers

Productive Surfaces

Civic Containers are where an interchange

As the name suggests, are surfaces that are

facility gets its volume of space within the

productive in nature. productive surfaces can

urban environment. Civic Containers ,at a

also be better understood as being catalytic

neighbourhood level, appeals through on-

surfaces within this spatial arrangement.

the-go facilities, and a library or a clinic can

Due to its flexibility, productive surfaces

appeal to wider community.

are able to produce unimaginable catalytic effects around the interchange.

Existing Site Conditions

Bandra Terminus Station

Historic Bandra Western station

Urban village

Bandra talao

Existing bus depot

Vacant railway p

Tentative elevated metro line 2b alignment assumed by the author

Selected plot for intervention Tentative metro line 2b Bandra station alignment assumed by the author Floating population Reclaimation

School

Government colony

Maker Maxity

plot

W

e es t

rn

ex p

s res

hig

hw

ay mithi river

Assumed modified skywalk after metro line 2b implementation

Mangroves protected area

0 10

Metro line 3

0m

Proposed Site Axo

Existing Bandra Western Station

Surrounding development opportunities with 3 to 3.5 FAR and 60% plot coverage

Intermediate transport stop

Elevated Metro line 2B

Rooftop garden above civic containers

Bandra Metro Station

Bandra Metro interchange arrival hall

N

0

100m

Spatial join maintaining a direct connection between metro and suburban stations

Existing Bandra skywalk modified

Bandra East Interchange arrival hall

Maintaining direct elevated connection between 2 stations

Vertical development on top of civic containers

Extruding skyplaza providing an opportunity for developers

Outdoor productive surfaces

Circulation

New vertical development Vertical ciruclation Roof top gardens

Modified existing skywalk

Metro Line 2B

Proposed diagonal elevated connection

Bandra Metro Station Skyplaza

Bandra western station Bandra east interchange arrival hall

Civic Containers Outdoor productive landscape

Bandra metro arrival hall Intercity+local bus depot+other intermediate transport

Vertical Circulation

Introducing vertical circulation opens up new opportunities. The four civic containers have been designed in a way that they offer a 'platform' for future vertical development. Learnings from endless examples across the globe, vertical circulation starts to blur the edges between different floor levels, offering users to almost 'skip' past floors.

In essence, being above the actual landing point in the interchange, this new circulation lets a commuter reach the top of any tower without stepping on the street/ground level.

Above ground Circulation Owing to the elevated nature of existing and proposed infrastructures, a direct, continuous, unobstructed linkage between the two stations is suggested for.

At an elevated level is where commuters first land within the interchange, from where they can further make their travelling decisions.

At this level, given the directness of the connection, is where transfer facilities such as common ticketing, information and signage, access to 'on-the-go' civic facilities, and diverted route towards the skyplaza are proposed.

At-grade Circulation A diagonal connection between the two stations remain the fastest and most direct route for ease of commuting. An at-grade street level connection, not only offers a direct route, but also links to the bus depot, rickshaw and taxi stops, civic facilities within the interchange and provides for a visual plaza experience along the transfers.

This is where commuters can congregate for social interactions along their transfers to different modes and further commute.

Spatial Join

Extension of the skywalk connecting south bound station platform with the metro interchange arrival hall.

Elevated Covered Skywalk

Widened skywalk extension with posssible seating facilities, lower level connection, information, signage and ticket counter provisions

Programmed Conduits Above ground landscaped gardens

Auto-rickshaw, taxi stands. Bike parking and bike sharing facilities

At-grade street level connection providing for a space to congregate

Intercity+local bus depot serving for vareity of commuters

Civic Containers Second level volume of space is designed in a way that it sets up as a 'platform' for future vertical development on top.

Bandra east interchange arrival hall can receive and disperse commuters travelling from around the neighbourhood.

Civic Containers offering and appealing to different audiences from neighbourhood commuters to wider city level population.

Second level interchange arrival hall becomes the landing point for commuters travelling via metro line 2b

Productive Surfaces As extensions of the interchange, it provides external spaces for people to gather around, in turn creating development opportunities around them

As surfaces, these spaces provide for a flexibililty in use for varying different purposes Skyplaza, as a surface on an elevated level, can provide for developers to fit a development strategically so as to initate a thorough circulation between infrastructures

Visualing the components

2017

City Level Implications

2030

Switch Metro lines New flows created through Metros Density of flows of people Western Line Popularity of Destinations New destinations