DB RRTS CEO Kumar Keshav advocates for sustainable urban mass transit systems

Kanpur, India (Urban Transport News): Former UPMRCL Managing Director Kumar Keshav has delivered a special lecture focusing "Insights into Urban Transport Needs and Role of Modern Metros in Indian Cities" in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur on 31st March 2023. The programme was organised by Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. His presentation explored the relationship between urban transport needs and the role of modern metros in Indian cities.

"As India's cities continue to rapidly grow, metro systems are becoming an essential part of the transportation mix. Despite the high capital costs associated with metro rail projects, the government has opted for these projects to meet the transportation needs of the people within the city. During his lecture, Keshav emphasized the importance of designing rail transport systems which includes Metro and RRTS project with a futuristic approach that considers peak hour peak direction traffic," highlighted Kumar Keshav in his presentation.

He also highlighted the fact that the capital cost of any metro project is only 40 percent of its total life cycle cost, while 60 per cent of the life cycle cost comes from operations, maintenance, asset management, and other expenses. To ensure the profitability of a metro project, Keshav stressed the importance of planning the entire vision and philosophy of operations and maintenance at the design phase itself to avoid issues of financial sustainability.

"Urban mass transit systems should be planned not just as transport models but also as business models to ensure profitability. He emphasized the importance of optimizing operational and technological redundancies adoption to meet the transportation needs of the modern urban environment," he stated.

The lecture was attended by faculty members and students of the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kanpur. Keshav's insights and experience in the field of metro rail projects were highly appreciated by the attendees.

Kumar Keshav, who is currently working as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DB RRTS Operations India Private Limited, which is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn International Operations GmbH, Berlin, the National Railway Company of Germany. Engagement of DB as an operator had paved the path for the transfer of knowledge, best international practices, and managerial services available around the globe by DB to the Indian metro and rail O&M industries.