Metro Rail News Feb 2020: Union Budget 2020 Special

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EDITOR NOTE

From the Desk of MANAGING EDITOR Dear Readers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the most difficult budget of the decade on February 1, 2020, and This was for the second time that Sitharaman presented the Railway Budget along with Union Budget. Which brings more opportunity in Metro, Railway, RRTS and High-Speed Rail sector.

1.7 Lakh crore rupees to be provided for transport infrastructure in the coming financial year and Indian Railways to set up a Kisan rail for the transport of perishable goods. Centre will fund 20% of the 148 km Bengaluru Suburban Railway Network project, costing 18,600 crores with metro-like fares, will help raise 60% of the project cost.

In the next five years, 13.69 lakh crore would be invested on infrastructure for Railway Projects and target to achieve 11000 electrifications of Railway tracks. Station Redevelopment Projects and operation of 150 trains to be done under the PPP model. 550 Wi-Fi facilities to be installed at railway stations. National Logistics Policy will soon be released, creating a single-window e-logistics market.

To achieve higher export credit, a new scheme to be launched which provides higher insurance cover reduced premium for small exporters and simplified procedure for claim settlements. More TEJAS-type trains will connect iconic tourist destinations.

Large solar power capacity to installed alongside rail tracks, on land owned by Railways. High-speed train between Mumbai to Ahmedabad would be actively.

Our February issue focuses on interesting topics such as an Standardisation for Metro Rail system and also provides a cover story on Rail Industry Innovation Ideas for 2020. Mumbai Metro is chosen as our project of the month and exclusive Interviews of Shri Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman, Railway Board, along with other regular columns such as new development in metro project, technology updates, Article, opinions, Awards, appointments, product watch, live tenders, Industry contract, upcoming events and current job openings.

I want to express my deepest appreciation to all our readers for your constant support, and our valuable authors, reviewers, for their contributions, service, and interest.

Happy Reading, Ta Narendra Shah Managing Editor Metro Rail News (A Symbroj Media Publication) E-mail: editor@metrorailnews.in

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CONTENT

C ONTENTS Index

8

Editor Note

6

News Highlights

10

Cover Story: Rail Industry Innovation ideas for 2020

18

Project of the Month: Mumbai Metro

20

Exclusive Interview of Mr. Vinod Kumar Yadav

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Featured Project: Navi Mumbai Metro

26

Focused System : Standardisation for Metro Rail System

27

Technology Updates

28

Budget 2020: Highlights

29

Budget 2020: Reaction

30

Product Watch

32

Institute Coverage

33

Article

35

Company Coverage

44

Case Study

45

Opinion

47

New Development

48

Appointments

52

Job Opening

53

Live Tender

54

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27

30

37

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS Metro Rail

Metro Rail

Safety clearance issued for Metro Rail JBS-MGBS route

metro project. Pune metro project will change the transport scenario of Pune city.

Hon CM requested to the EIB official for continual partnership and funding of Nashik metro project and other infrastructure and green project in Maharashtra.

The funds from EIB would be utilized to finance civil works including the Underground section and depot works.

The tenure of the loan is 20 years with 4year moratorium and 16 year repayment period. The interest rate is floating and linked to Euribor.

E

fforts for launch of commercial optimization on JBS-MGBS route has been expedited with Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) issuing Safety Certificate for the route on corridor-2.

The CMRS, JK Garg has inspected JBSMGBS Metro Corridor-2 along with HMRL MD, NVS Reddy and senior engineers and technical experts of L&T MRHL and also independent engineer, Louis Berger over the past three days and issued the mandatory Safety Certificate.

Maha-Metro signs Rs. 1600 cr loan agreement with EIB to fund Pune The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) signed a loan agreement of Rs 1,600 crore (Euro 200m) with European Investment Bank (EIB) on January 31, 2020, at Mumbai to fund Pune metro project.

A team of EIB officials, led by Andrew McDowell, vice-president, EIB, even conducted a site inspection of the metro work progress in the city on Thursday.

The project agreement for disbursement of the first tranche of Euro 200m (Rs.1600 crs) from EIB, has been signed between Dr Brijesh Dixit M.D. Maha Metro and Mr Andrew McDowell, Vice President of EIB in the august presence of Hon. Uddhav Thackery C.M. Maharashtra & Hon Eknath Shinde, Minister Urban Development, GOM and Mr Ugo Astuto, Ambassador, Europian Union in India. Maha metro officials Mr Ramnath, Mr Sivamathan, Mr Hemant Sonawane and EIB officials were present on the occasion.

On this occasion, Hon CM said this loan will be immensely helpful in speeding Pune

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Kolkata set to start India’s first Underwater Metro There is good news for Kolkata residents.

India’s first underwater metro train project started and will be accomplished by 2022.

This underwater metro will carry out almost 900,000 people regularly and cover a distance of 520 meters in less than a minute. The managing director of KMRC has told that authority is looking for the final instalment of the payment of Rs. 20 crores in the next couple of years. Japan International corporation agency (JICA ) contributed a soft loan of Rs. 41.6 billion.

The government expects, there will be no more cost escalation.

It will be a great relief for the city because it is going to reduce congestion and improve environmental pollution. The train will run under the city’s ideal Hooghly river with 520 meters of its distance. This is 13 meters below from the foothills of the river. The inner diameter of the tunnel is 5.55 meters, and the width of the wall is 275 millimetres.

The protection from the water of the Hooghly river tunnel is a shield with four layers of protection. However, the first tunnel work has started from Howrah Maidan on 21st April 2016, and another is on 12th July. But because of so many hurdles, it

Entire Mumbai Metro Network to Start By 2026: Modern Infra-

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Mumbaikar’s will be able to commute through Metro trains from one end to the other end of the city within 60 minutes as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to complete its entire Metro Rail network of 337 km by 2026. At present the MMRDA has undertaken 180km of Metro work on nine different corridors. Mr. R A Rajeev, Commissioner, MMRDA Said The daily ridership across 14 Metro corridors (225 stations) will touch 1.3 crore per day by 2026 when all routes are commissioned. You can reach anywhere in the Mumbai metropolitan region from any place within 60 minutes by Metro.

There are 1.9 crore commuters daily, of whom 43% travel by local trains. This could translate into the ‘super-dense crush load’ congestion of 12-18 persons per sq m on the local’s trains being reduced to the international norm of 6 persons per sq m.

He said that at present, railways (WR, CR) has a combined ridership of 80 lakh, BEST 34 lakh, and autos-taxi less than 10 lakh riders. The carrying capacity of the completed Metro network will be more than the existing load of Mumbai suburban trains.

Mr. Rajeev is being called ‘Modern InfraMan’ as he is overseeing some of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the country i.e. The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) from Sewri to Nhava-Sheva, The Multi-Modal Corridor, Integrated Ticketing System, and building of the Ambedkar Memorial.

New ride-sharing option for Hyderabad metro rail users

Hyderabad Metro Rail, L&T Metro Rail and redBus have joined hands to provide last and first mile connectivity with the launch of bike and car pool services.

CEO of redBus, Prakash Sangam told media persons on Monday that it allows office-goers to avail and offer rides on their respective bikes or cars while commuting between home and workplaces. Ride givers and takers are both connected through Pool on the redBus app and users can purchase points which can be redeemed at fuel stations, Paytm, Amazon and similar wallets. These can be purchased through credit/debit cards, wallets, etc.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS wallets. These can be purchased through credit/debit cards, wallets, etc.

For now, rPool is not taking any commission and has put the price between ₹0-5 for carpool per kilometre and ₹0-4 rupees for a bike ride with each ride giver entitled to four such trips a day as per international practice, he said. Users can create a ride with their source, destination, date and time to find matching riders, invite them, confirm and travel. Ride givers have to share vehicle details and route plan also.

Decks cleared for revise Metro Rail project in Vizag The decks have been cleared for the revised Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project ahead of the decision to shift Secretariat to Visakhapatnam.

The government is planning to extend the metro rail stretch from 42.55 km to 80 km.

The government is planning to bring in the tram system apart from the metro rail. Tram system will be utilised in areas where traffic is lesser compared to that in the metro corridors.

“A detailed study of traffic from Anakapalle to Bhogapuram had already been conducted by the Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC)” Said N.P. Ramakrishna Reddy Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) Managing Director.

Further, he said that We are proposing Metro Rail in the areas where traffic is high.

The remaining places, where there is lesser traffic, we are planning to come up with trams. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be completed in six months, and the groundwork is expected to begin in 10 to 12 months.

“Once executed, the 80-km Metro Rail project from steel plant to Bhogapuram airport will be the biggest of its kind in the world,” Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy claimed.

Earlier, the Hyderabad Metro Rail was touted to be the biggest with 72-km stretch.

The government is currently in the process of identifying a consultant to prepare the DPR.

Kolkata East-West Metro is all set to begin Operations on 13th February

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The East-West Metro is all set to begin its journey on February 13, 2020, after the inauguration the distance between Information Technolgy hub of Sector-V in Salt Lake City to the Yuva Bharati Krirangan Stadium will be reduced, a Kolkata Metro official said on 3rd feb.

The construction of the East-West Metro, scheduled to cover a stretch of 16.6 kilometres, has been delayed owing to an aquifer burst at Bowbazar in central Kolkata in August 2019 during tunnel boring work.

The inaugural service of East-West Metro will start from February 13,” a Metro spokesperson said. As stated in the report, the necessary safety trials have been done in various areas like railway tracks, power cables and railway stations along with others for this operation.

The shortened services of 5 km from Sector V to the stadium is likely to provide some relief to office goers and students of various educational institutes as well as different locations of the area.

T h e Ko l k a t a E a s t -We s t M e t ro , fo r connecting two cities of Kolkata and Howrah, expected to be completed by June 2021. However, its completion is likely to be delayed by up to one year due to an accident caused by an aquifer burst in Bowbazar area during drilling operations on August 31 last year.

MMRDA likely to begin work on Mumbai Metro line 10, 11 and 12 in 2020 T h e M u m b a i M e t ro p o l i t a n Re g i o n Development Authority (MMRDA) is likely to begin construction work on four additional Metro lines in the city. The infrastructure development authority said that the construction work on a total 87.6km-long route will begin in 2020.

According to the MMRDA Plan the construction on the 9.2-km-long Metro 10 (Gaimukh-Shivaji Nagar) line; 12.7-km-long Metro-11 (Wadala-General Post Office) corridor; 20.7-km-long Metro-12 (KalyanTaloja) route; and 45-km-long Metro-14 (Kanjurmarg-Badlapur) corridor, which will give a major boost to connectivity in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The target is to complete the construction of 337km of Metro lines in MMR by 2026.

We are also looking at making two lines,

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Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (DN Nagar to Mandale), operational by the e n d of t h i s ye a r,” s a i d R A R a j e ev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. “The amount of work that was completed in Delhi in 20 years is being done in Mumbai in a span of five to seven years. Last year itself, we had undertaken work on a total 146-kmlong Metro line.” Said Sonia Sethi, additional metropolitan commissioner.

MMRC Completes 100% excavation work for 13 Metro stations

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has completed 100 per cent excavation work on 13 out of 26 underground stations on the ColabaBandra-SEEPZ, Metro-3 corridor. The 13 stations are Cuffe Parade, Vidhan Bhavan, Churchgate, Hutatma Chowk, CSMT, Science Museum, Siddhi Vinayak, MIDC, Marol Naka, Sahar Road, CSMIA Domestic, CSMIA International airport and SEEPZ. SK Gupta, Project Director, MMRCL Said that Now further activities like construction of the station boxes, which is already underway, will take shape. “The excavation for the remaining 13 stations will be completed in the next three to four months.

Overall 87 per cent of the excavation has been completed.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Indian Railway

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupan flags off Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas

I

ndia’s second Ahmedabad-Mumbai Te j a s E x p r e s s f l a g g e d o f f f r o m Ahmedabad by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on 18th jan. AhmedabadMumbai Tejas Express will run between Ahmedabad to Mumbai route six days a week except for Thursday. The commercial run of the newly launched MumbaiAhmedabad Tejas Express will start from 19 January 2020.

“It is a matter of pride that this semi highspeed, second Tejas Express train has been flagged off between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This will benefit both states” Said Mr Rupani.

“The work on the bullet train is also going on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. Equipped with modern facilities, the train left from Ahmedabad at 10:43 am and reached Mumbai in about 6 hours 30 minutes, covering a distance of nearly 500 km. For the return journey, the train will leave Mumbai Central at 3:40 pm and reach Ahmedabad at 9:55 pm. The train will halt at Nadiad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Vapi and Borivali stations in both directions. The first Tejas Express between Delhi and Lucknow was flagged off last year.

Indian Railways to inaugurate Hydrogen-powered Train

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India Railways is working on the development of a Hydrogen-powered suburban train and has floated an Expression of Interest for industry participation, rail minister Piyush Goyal said.Hydrogen is planned to be sourced from industry in India. Hydrogen production is not planned by Indian Railways. The decision on deployment of hydrogen-propelled trains for longdistance routes will be based on the development of the technology,” Goyal said in a written reply in Parliament.

TATA Motors has developed seven hydrogen fuel cell buses which comply with International Safety Standards of Hydrogen Safety. Also, the International Standards Organisation, Society of Automotive Engineers and United Nations have published stringent safety standards for use of hydrogen in transport vehicles.

“Type test of these vehicles have shown that Hydrogen as a transport fuel is safe to handle and use. Similarly, safety aspects concern for passengers shall be an integral part of the technical specifications of the hydrogen-powered trains,” the minister said.

Bullet Train

5,600 crores allocated for the bullet train project in 2020-21 The Railway Board has provided a big boost of ₹5,000 crores to the MumbaiAhmedabad High-Speed bullet Rail Project through extra-budgetary resources, as per to its pink book released for the financial year 2020-21.

The project has been in the centre of a political storm ever since the Maha Vikas Aghadi came to power in Maharashtra. The revised outlay for the project for 2019-20 has been pegged at ₹1,000 crores, most of which, senior railway officials said, has gone towards land acquisition.

The overall length of the corridor is 508.17 km, with 155.76 km in Maharashtra and

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348.04 km in Gujarat. “In Gujarat, most of the land required for the project has been acquired, but in Maharashtra, its only 50% of the required land has been acquired, most of which is govt land,” a senior railway official associated with the rail project said.

In Maharashtra, the rail project has observed stiff resistance in Palghar, where 109.06 km of the corridor has been designed through several tribal villages.

RRTS

NCRTC gets 2,487 crore for rapid rail project In a major boost to regional connectivity in the National Capital Region (NCR), the government has allocated ₹2,487 crore to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is developing the country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project. The money has been allocated under the Union Budget presented in the Parliament on 1st feb In 2018-19, the NCRTC received an initial budget of ₹100 crore, while the Budget for 2019-20 provided ₹974 crore and the revised Budget provided ₹824 crore to the NCRTC. However, the 2020-21 Budget has provided ₹2,487 crore for the project—the highest in three years. The officials said that the allocation has increased as the different RRTS works are now getting expedited.

Two Metro lines, RRTS to meet in Sahibabad

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS Sahibabad is going to become a major transit hub in the near future as it will see an integration of two metro corridors — the Vaishali-Mohan Nagar and Electronic CitySahibababad lines — with the Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS).

M o h a n N a g a r, t o o, w i l l b e co m e a n important interchange as passengers on two proposed arms of the Blue Line can access the Red Line here.

The picture of Sahibabad and Mohan Nagar emerging as two important hubs became clear when the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) recently submitted a synopsis of the detailed project report (DPR) for the Electronic City-Sahibabad route. According to the synopsis, Sahibabad will serve as a common metro station for the VaishaliMohan Nagar route, the DPR of which was finalised and submitted recently.

Vaishali ramp and Duhai EPE. The fabrication of launching girder is near completion and is likely to be erected shortly”, said in the statement issued by NCRTC. “We are glad to share that KEC’s DelhiMeerut RRTS project for NCRTC is progressing at a swift pace. The first segment of the viaduct was cast at the Ghaziabad casting yard this week; Construction of pillars has also commenced”, said in KEC International statement.

The spans shall be erected by placing these casted segments on the pillars using launching girders. The transportation of the segments to the launching locations shall be done in a manner causing minimum inconvenience to the public.

The Civil Construction of Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut RRTS corridor is in full swing and piling and pier works are being done on the 17 km priority section between Sahibabad to Duhai including stations Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldahr and Duhai.

KEC-CCECC JV cast the first segment for Delhi-GhaziabadMeerut RRTS corridor The KEC-CCECC JV team has cast the first segment for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS viaduct at NCRTC’s casting yard at Vasundhara, Ghaziabad on 31st January 2020.The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) had awarded a civil contract worth Rs 579.76 crore to the consortium of KEC International and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (KEC-CCECC JV) on 8th August 2019.

The KEC-CCECC JV is responsible for the construction of elevated viaduct from start of elevated ramp near Sahibabad RRTS Station up to end of Ghaziabad RRTS Station, including all special spans and two nos. of elevated RRTS Stations viz., Sahibabad and Ghaziabad [excluding Architectural Finishing & Roof structure of Stations] of Delhi–Meerut RRTS Corridor.

Piling and pier construction on the site have already been underway and are visible on the 17-km long priority section between

Permission sought to axe 1,500 trees for RRTS in Gurugram

Around 1,500 fully grown trees in the district will be likely axed over the next six to nine months if the forest department gives a go-ahead to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), mandated for implementing the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project. Though the divisional forest officer assured that trees would be transplanted and compensatory plantation will be done, civil society members expressed their disappointment over the loss of trees cover.

The NCRTC wants to remove trees growing along the alignment of the RRTS and has sought permission for the same. A forest department team will inspect the route map for 164km rail corridor between Saria

Kale Khan-Delhi and Alwar-Rajasthan before making a decision. Roughly 21km of this route is in Gurugram—from Kapashera border to Panchgaon—and will likely pass through Old Delhi-Gurugram Road and Delhi Gurgaon Expressway.

Officials said that most of the 1,500 trees are on land which comes under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and permission for felling them has to be given by the forest department, as per rules.

High Speed train

Mysuru-Chennai high-speed rail: Design tenders invited

Reviving the fading dream of a bullet train on the Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru route, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRL) has called two separate tenders for identifying preliminary route and final alignment design for the project, along with five other corridors across the country with a total length of 8,218 km.

The development comes days after the union government allotted Rs 5,600 crore for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor sanctioned two years ago. The project is facing several hurdles, especially in land acquisition.

Introducing the project to the bidders, NHSRL said it would be ushering India into the club of about 15 countries in the world using high-speed rail (HSR) system.The six corridors identified are: Delhi-Varanasi (865 km), Delhi-Ahmedabad (886 km), DelhiAmritsar (459 km), Mumbai-Nashik-Nagpur (753 km), Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad 711 km and Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru (435 km).

The work on preliminary route alignment, likely to be awarded by June, has a deadline of six months. The work on designing final alignment, including LiDAR aerial survey a n d re l ate d wo r k s , w i l l h ave to b e completed in 470 days after awarding of the contract.

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Hyperloop

Railways identifies 6 more routes for high speed corridors The detailed project report on three sections to be be completed within a year.

The Railways has identified six sections for high speed and semi-high speed rail corridors, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said on 26th jan, stating the detailed project report on three sections will be completed within a year.

In a briefing ahead of the Union Budget, Yadav said the six corridors include the Delhi-Noida-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi and the Delhi-Jaipur-Udaipur-Ahmedabad sections.

Other corridors are: Mumbai-NashikN a g p u r, M u m b a i - P u n e - H yd e r a b a d , Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore, DelhiChandigarh-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Amritsar.

Will think about Hyperloop after successful trials abroad: Ajit Pawar Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on 1st jan that the state government will consider pursuing Hyperloop, a futuristic transport system, after it is shown to be practicable in other countries. He was speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting with officials. The earlier Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government had announced that a Hyperloop would be built between Pune and Mumbai which will reduce the travel time between the two cities drastically.When asked about the project,

Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, said that it has not been implemented anywhere in the world yet.

Let it happen somewhere else. Let it become successful for at least a 10 km distance somewhere abroad," Ajit Pawar said.Asked if the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the state was thinking of scrapping the project, Ajit Pawar said he did not say so.

We do not have the capacity to experiment with Hyperloop. We will concentrate on other modes of transport and in the meantime, if that technology develops more with successful trials abroad, we can think about it," Ajit Pawar said.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk mentioned the Hyperloop concept in 2012.

It contemplates a system of sealed tubes through which a pod may travel free of air resistance at great speeds. detailed project report (DPR) for the Electronic City-Sahibabad route. According to the synopsis, Sahibabad will serve as a common metro station for the VaishaliMohan Nagar route, the DPR of which was finalised and submitted recently.

ETCS – Eurobalise Transmission Module

ETCS – Juridical Recording Unit (JRU)

ETCS – Doppler radar for non friction dependent movement detection

ARTICLESTORY COVER

Rail Industry Innovation Ideas for 2020

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n Q1 of 2019, rail passenger journeys grew 2.4% compared to the same period in 2018. Passenger revenue and the average length of journey also increased too. Despite the rise in usage, passenger satisfaction was only at 83%. This is good - but it needs to be so much better.

Train Operating Companies (TOCs) need to improve and modernise the quality of their services if they’re to keep up with passenger demands. Here are six rail industry innovation ideas to look out for 2020 that can do just that.

1.Augmented Reality and Holographic Projection for Rail 2.3D Laser Scanners 3.Thermal and Visual Imaging Equipment 4.Interactive Windows 5.Digital Twin Models 6.The Internet of Trains 1. Augmented Reality and Holographic Projection for Rail Augmented reality (AR) was something that’s been in the pipeline for the rail industry for several years. It took some major steps forward a few years ago when Keolis Commuter Services launched smart glasses that allowed staff in the field to transmit images from the site to technicians at the maintenance headquarters.

The idea behind this was to enable office-based workers to offer advice without needing to travel to the site, which can help save both time and money for the company and reduce delays for passengers.

In the next few years, this will go even further. High Speed 1 is partnering with NRHS to introduce AR headsets that can holographically project digital assets into the real world. These Microsoft HoloLens headsets will turn any space into a training environment for maintenance workers so they no longer need to spend large amounts of time on tracks. This can help improve safety, quality of training and reduce service disruptions for passengers.

2. 3D Laser Scanners 3D laser scanners are quickly being adopted in multiple industries and rail is no exception for 2019. The German rail system is using 3D scanners to accurately measure tracks and effectively plan routes.

This technology has the ability to collect millions of measurable data points, from dimensions to spatial relationships of objects, accurately within seconds. This dramatically reduces the time that would have been spent otherwise, eliminates the chances of inaccurate data being collected and in particular, helps with complex projects.

3. Thermal and Visual Imaging Equipment Network Rail displayed their revamped survey helicopters at Rail Live 2019. Survey helicopters feature high-tech thermal and visual equipment which allows maintenance teams to quickly cover 4. Interactive Train Windows In 2016, it was announced that German railway provider Deutsche Bahn and American research company Hyperloop Transportation

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Technologies (HTT) were to create the “Innovation Train”. Although there has been some delays to the project, the trains are set to reach speeds of up to 760mph. This train’s most notable feature is the touch-screen interactive windows which would allow passengers to access information like the destination and high profile events, time and date, temperature, train speed and more.

5. Digital Twin Models London’s Crossrail, which will be known as the Elizabeth Line when it opens sometime in 2021, uses a digital twin model of the entire network. Digitally twinning all of the physical assets, from facilities and systems to environments, makes it much easier for engineers and data scientists to gain a deeper understanding of the complete network.

But it’s not just a digital representation. It also allows teams to see what the actual physical system is doing, so they can monitor activities in real-time and respond to changes before they happen. This can help engineers design future networks that are smarter, more efficient and effective.

6. The Internet of Trains The IoT (the Internet of Things, not just trains) refers to all the systems, software and devices that are connected to each other and have the ability to transfer data over the internet. This phenomenon has made many industries, including the rail sector, run more smoothly and efficiently. For instance, many trains are starting to offer WiFi included in their services. Fast train WiFi allows passengers to remain connected so they can still access all the information they may want to via their favourite apps and other resources even when they have left the station. For example, they can check emails, social media, online shop, watch movies and TV shows. By providing this passenger entertainment, TOCs can ensure that their passengers are occupied while they travel which helps to boost mood and improve their overall travelling experience. This, alongside other rail engagement tactics, will encourage passengers to travel with you again. Passenger WiFi can also provide TOCs with vital analytical data. It can enable TOCs to see passenger activity, such as the routes they take, the times they travel and how long they dwell on transport and in stations. With smarter analytics platforms, other data sources can be integrated into the WiFi platform, which can include ticket sales, parking information, weather feeds and more. This allows TOCs to build a complete passenger profile and begin to understand their passengers behaviour in great detail. Data like this can help TOCs adapt their offerings to the specific type of passenger, such as providing targeted promotional messages and concessions at the station to boost brand awareness, improve engagement and increase sales even more.

How You Can Improve Passenger Satisfaction Improving the passenger experience is something that TOCs should always keep in mind when pursuing rail industry innovation ideas. While highly advanced technologies like augmented reality and interactive windows may seem like the ultimate ideas that can impress your passengers, simply providing a continuously connected passenger journey can be the ideal first place to start.

Download our ultimate guide to the continuously connected passenger journey to find out more on what it is, how to implement it and its benefits to both your passengers and company.

Rebecca Duffin

Rebecca is a creative, design-lead marketer with endless enthusiasm. She has worked for WiFi SPARK since 2012 and has an in-depth understanding of all elements of the business. She is responsible for lead generation, brand engagement and ensuring the company is the 'Go-To Provider' for more than just WiFi. Her specialties include general marketing, promotion, Social Media management, Tender management & bid writing, copywriting, creative design, brand enforcement and exhibition management. Becky heads up the department for Rail and Healthcare - two of the companies three key sectors.

ARTICLE OF THE MONTH PROJECT Line 1 compares Versova in the Western Suburbs to Ghatkopar in the Central Suburbs, covering a distance of 11.4 kilometres. It is fully elevated and consists of 12 stations. A part of Phase I, work on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor began on 8 February 2008. A crucial bridge on the project completed at the end of 2012. The line opened for service on 8 June 2014 Line 2 This corridor is being performed in two phases, i.e. 2A and 2B. DMRC is executing the 18.589 km long 2A corridor on behalf of MMRDA. The corridor has 17 stations (Dahisar (West) to D.N. Nagar) and is expected to cost ₹64.1 billion (equivalent to ₹67 billion or US$942.27 million in 2018).

Its civil works, including viaduct and stations, are being executed by J.Kumar Infra-CRTG JV. The corridor is expected to be operational by 2020 The 2B corridor will be 23.643 km (14.691 mi) long and is estimated to cost ₹109.7 billion (equivalent to ₹120 billion or US$1.61 billion in 2018), including the land acquisition cost of ₹12.74 billion (equivalent to ₹13 billion or US$187.28 million in 2018). This section will have 22 stations (D.N. Nagar to Mandale), work on which began in mid-2018.

Its civil works, including viaduct and stations, is being executed by Simplex Infrastructure, RCC-MBZ JV and NeerajGuam JV. Line 2 is being partially funded through multilateral debt to the tune of ₹74.98 billion (equivalent to ₹79 billion or US$1.10 billion in 2018) from ADB. 2A Expected Cost- 6,410crore Expected Daily Ridership- 9 Lakh 2B

Mumbai Metro

T

he Mumbai Metro is a mass rapid transit system (MRTS) serving the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra,

and the extended metropolitan region. It is

designed to reduce traffic congestion in the city, and supplement the overcrowded Mumbai local trains network. It is being constructed in three phases over 15 years and expected to complete in 2025.

Mumbai Metro will comprise eight high-capacity metro railway lines, connecting a total of 235 km (24% underground, the rest elevated, with a small portion built at-grade), and serviced by 200 stations.

Current Status These route(s) are currently operational now Line

First Operation

Terminals

Line 08/06/2014 Versova 1

20

Length Rolling Stock (KM)

Ghatkopar 11.40

Track Average Gauge Power Frequency (mm) (minutes)

CRRC 16 Nanjing 1,435 trains Puzhen

25 kV, 50 Hz OHE

4 at peak times and 8 at other times

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Expected Cost- 10,986 crore Expected Daily Ridership- 10.5 Lakh Rolling Stock-BEML Line 3 This corridor is almost entirely built underground, and is 33.50 km (20.82 mi) long, with 27 stations. The metro line will connect the Cuffe Parade business district in the south of Mumbai with SEEPZ and Aarey in the north. It will also pass through the Domestic and International airports of Mumbai, for which the airport operator

ARTICLE OF THE MONTH PROJECT (GVK) has promised an equity infusion of ₹7.77 billion (equivalent to ₹8.8 billion or US$122.88 million in 2018).

The cost of this corridor is estimated at ₹231.36 billion (equivalent to ₹240 billion or US$3.40 billion in 2018). The original deadline for the project was 2016, but it is currently expected to be completed only by Dec 2021.

Expected Daily Ridership- 13.4 Lakh Line 5 The 24.9 km-long Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan Metro-V corridor will have 17 stations and will cost Rs. 8,416 crore. It will be an elevated corridor. It will connect Thane to Bhiwandi and Kalyan in the eastern suburbs.

The stations include Kapurbawdi in Thane (West), Balkum Naka, Kasheli, Kalher, Purna, Anjur Phata, Dhamankar Naka, Bhiwandi, Gopal Nagar, Temghar, Rajnouli Village, Goregaon MIDC, Metro trains arriving at different stations

Kongaon, Durgadi Fort, Sahajanand Chowk, Kalyan railway station and Kalyan APMC. The line was approved by Chief Minister Fadnavis on 19 October

Upon completion, it will have interchanges with the planned Line 6 at SEEPZ, Line 1 at Marol Naka, Line 2 at BKC,

2016. The MMRDA plans to begin construction of the line by

Central Line at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai Monorail at

December 2017. The line is getting delayed due to finalisation of

Mahalaxmi (Jacob Circle), and Western Line at Mahalaxmi,

alignment, which is facing the resistance of locals. It will be ready

Mumbai Central and Churchgate.

57% of the funds needed for this project are being sourced as multilateral debt from JICA. Expected Cost- 23,136 crore Expected Daily Ridership-17 Lakh Rolling Stock-Alstom Line 4 The line 4 of Mumbai Metro is envisaged to be a 32.32 km (20.08 mi) long elevated corridor, covering 32 stations from Kasarvadavali (near Thane) in the north to Wadala in the south. It is estimated to cost ₹145.49 billion (equivalent to ₹150 billion or

by 2023-24. Afcons are constructing the corridor in one package from Kalyani to Bhiwandi including seven stations.

Expected Cost- 8,417 crore Expected Daily Ridership- 3 Lakh Line 6 The 14.47 km long Lokhandwala-Jogeshwari-Vikhroli-Kanjurmarg Metro-VI corridor will have 13 stations and cost Rs. 6,672 crore. It will be an elevated corridor. It will connect Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri in the western suburbs to Vikhroli and Kanjurmarg in the eastern suburbs.

The stations include Lokhandwala Complex, Adarsh Nagar,

US$2.14 billion in 2018). This project will help connect the city of

Momin Nagar, JVLR, Shyam Nagar, Mahakali Caves, SEEPZ Village,

Thane with Mumbai with an alternate mode of public transport.

The Maharashtra government approved the line on 27 September 2016 and construction work on this line began in mid

Saki Vihar Road, Ram Baug, Powai Lake, IIT Powai, Kanjurmarg (W), Vikhroli-Eastern Express Highway.

Metro 6 will provide interchange with Metro 2 at Infinity Mall in

2018.

The construction of viaducts and stations is being executed by consortium of Reliance-Astaldi JV and Tata Projects-CHEC JV. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has extended a

7 at JVLR Chief Minister Fadnavis approved the line on 19 October 2016 The

multilateral loan of ₹39.16 billion (equivalent to ₹41 billion or US$575.65 million in 2018) for

survey of the alignment in April 2017. Authorities will also be able to

thisproject, and is expected to be completed

Andheri, with Metro 3 at SEEPZ, with Metro 4 and the Mumbai Suburban Railway at Jogeshwari and Kanjurmarg, and with Metro

MMRDA issued a tender to conduct a detailed aerial mapping determine the location of trees along the alignment accuracy of up to 10 cm utilizing a differential GPS (DGPS), while a digital aerial METRO RAIL NEWS | FEB 2020 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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ARTICLE OF THE MONTH PROJECT triangulation system will help determine the types of trees, their

stations.

In another boost to connectivity, the Mumbai Metropolitan

heights and diameters.

The MMRDA plans to begin construction of the line by late 2018. It

Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to connect

will be ready by 2022-23.

J Kumar Infraprojects and MBZ-EIIL JV are executing the

Mumbai and Virar with a Metro line.

Power supply Unlike 97% of metro corridors worldwide which run on direct

construction of viaduct and station work.

Expected Cost- 6,672 crore Expected Daily Ridership- 7.2 Lakh Line 7 This corridor is 16.475 km (10.237 mi) long, and runs from Dahisar (East) in the north to Andheri (East) in the south, with a further extension till Bhayander in the north, and Mumbai International Airport Terminal 2 in the south. The line is partially elevated (under construction, with completion slated for 2019), and partially underground (approved, with construction planned to begin in 2018).

The elevated section is expected to cost ₹62.08 billion (equivalent

current (DC), the Mumbai Metro runs on alternating current (AC) which is more labour and cost-intensive. MMRDA joint project director Dilip Kawathkar stated that AC power was chosen "after a proper study by a team of experts" which found that the AC model was "a better option". Bidders for Line 3 were reportedly in favour of the DC model. Experts believe that the decision to use AC will escalate the project cost of underground lines by 15% since more digging is required for the rail to work on AC. Signalling and communications The Mumbai Metro will feature an advanced signalling system,

to ₹67 billion or US$935.30 million in 2018), while the outlay for the

including an automatic train protection system (ATPS) and

recently approved underground section is ₹6 billion (equivalent to

automated signalling to control train movements on the 11-

₹6.3 billion or US$88.20 million in 2018). Civil works, including viaduct and station work, is being executed by NCC, Simplex Infrastructure and J.Kumar Infraprojects.

The corridor is being funded through multilateral debt to the tune of ₹22.46 billion (equivalent to ₹24 billion or US$330.16 million in 2018) by Asian Development Bank. The cost of the 13.5 km extension till Bhayander in the north is expected to be around ₹36 billion (equivalent to ₹38 billion or US$529.20 million in 2018).

Expected Cost- 6,208 crore Expected Daily Ridership- 6.7 Lakh Rolling stock-BEML Line 8 This is a proposed metro line between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport till Navi Mumbai International Airport • It will connect Mumbai airport to upcoming Navi Mumbai airport • and it's length would be approx 32 km Expected Cost- 15000 crore approx Expected Daily Ridership- 3 Lakh Line 9 Metro line 9 will ply between Dahisar-Mira Bhayander route. It will have 10 stations all elevated. The proposed Metro of Dahisar to Mira-Bhayandar will cut down approximately 30 km of travel distance between the Mira-Bhayandar and Mumbai suburbs.

Expected Daily Ridership – 4.4 Lakh Line 10 In February 2017, the MMRDA announced that the DMRC was preparing a detailed project report (DPR) on Metro 10, a proposed 9 km elevated extension of Metro 4 from Gaimukh to Chatrapati Shivaji.

The project is estimated to cost ₹3,908 crore (US$550 million) with an estimated ridership of– 2.5 Lakh.

Line 11 In November 2018, the MMRDA cleared the Metro 11, which connects Wadala with CSMT. This would be considered to be an extension to Metro 4. The length of the line is 11.4 km, and it proposed to cost Rs. 8,739 crore (US$1.207 billion). The line will be partially underground, with 8 underground and 2 elevated

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kilometre (6.8 mi) Line 1. A four-minute service interval is anticipated on the route.

Siemens will supply the signalling systems required for the p ro j e c t , w h i l e T h a l e s G ro u p w i l l s u p p l y t h e M e t ro's communication systems. The network's signalling and train control systems will be based on LZB 700M technology.

Ridership In May 2018, just short of Line 1's fourth anniversary, MMOPL said that the line had carried 400 million (40 crores) passengers, with an average daily ridership of around 335,000 (3.35 lakh) passengers.

ARTICLE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav Chairman, Railway Board

T

We are going to change the recruitment process from the next Exclusive Interview of season (2021). All IRMS recruits will come from the Union Public

he Railway Board is the apex body of the Indian Railways. It reports to the Parliament of India by the Ministry of Railways headed by the Railway Minister of India.

Railway Board Chairman Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav is brought the Indian Railways at a time when it is undergoing the most significant transformation. He speaks about where rail transportation headed. here are the edited Excerpts:

Service Commission's (UPSC) civil services examination, and not from engineering services. We will ask the UPSC to give us officers with specialisations. If we need 100 officers, we will ask the UPSC to provide us with a particular number of officers with electrical, mechanical, civil and electronics background, and a few nonengineers too.

Tilak Raj Seth

What is the motive behind the restructuring of Railway Board and merging of all eight services into one?

Currently, The Railways is vertically divided into eight parts Rolling Stock, Traffic, Engineering, Traction, Staff and S&T etc.

There is one board member for each vertical. The critical problem that we have faced is that each board member is interested in the well-being of her department and the promotional prospects of her service. Each member is more concerned about the growth of workforce, posts and assets of her department so that no one is focusing on the corporate growth of the Railways.

Some railway services are getting promotion four years before others. For example, the DRM (divisional railway manager) of one service is of 1992 batch, and another is of 1988 batch. Now, all the eight services become one - the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). Each officer belonging to any of the preceding eight services will get an equal chance. There will be parity. It's goodbye to the inter-services competition. Now Everyone will work for the well-being of Indian Railways, following the guidelines of Prakash Tandon committee 1994. We had considered the recommendations of the Bibek Debroy committee also.

It had suggested two services instead of eight (one for engineering services and another for non-engineering ones). But we were worried that even if there are two services, there would be infighting. There can be a balance if eight services fight, but not when two fight. So, we decided to go to one service.

When will the changes be seen on the ground?

A group of ministers (GoM) will finalise in the next three months a modality for unifying all eight services into one. Also, the GoM will take the final call on how to recruit new IRMS officers.

The chairman of the Railway Board is already the head of the organisation. Why is the post being redesignated as CEO? At present, the Railway Board chairman is one among the equals on the board. All members are equivalent to a secretary of the Government of India. A member's viewpoint, in the present setup, is considered final as far as her department is concerned. The chairman only coordinates interdepartmental issues and takes some policy decisions. At times, such a division of power at the board level is detrimental to the Railways' growth.

Could you elaborate on the Indian Railways Private train business?

Most of the private operators would come in the premium segment. If they can take care of the premium segment, Indian Railways will be in a position to provide more services to the common man because we have our limitations. At present, we are running around 13,000 passenger trains, and in the next five years, we would require an additional 3,000 to 4,000 trains to meet the demand. We need private train operators to take some burden.

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ARTICLE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Regarding private trains, I would like to clarify that trains classified into Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Mail, Express and suburban categories and there are clear guidelines which train has to get precedence. So, the private operator won't have any first right of way and precedence for the trains – be it private or governmentrun – would be according to railway guidelines only. And 150 trains from a network of 13,000 is virtually nothing.

I would also like to point out that private trains would be run by loco-pilots (engine drivers) and guards from Indian Railways only.

I want to point out that IRCTC business of private trains is drawing an excellent response and occupancy is likely to increase more as passengers get accustomed to new train timings.

Partnership or by funding from agencies like World Bank, ADB and JICA. Our consultancy firm RITES is working on a plan for the corporatisation of Railways and report is expected to be submitted in 3 months. We are focusing on non-fare revenue options which include content on-demand that alone will give us Rs 68 crore a year, railway display network for advertisement on stations, etc. to name a few. We are also planning big in solar power generation for railways to make it zero carbon emission by 2030 and creating solar power of around 20 gigawatts. We are on the right track, and the difference would be visible in the coming years.

(Article first Appeared on ET & Outlook)

Could you share some names of the players interested in running private trains?

We already have had two meetings for consultations. Some participants in these meetings were from Bombardier, Talgo, Hyundai, Hitachi, Adani, Siemens, I-Squared Capital, Equitas, Tata and Macquarie, to name a few.

Railway restructuring is one of the most significant reforms.

Where are you on it?

We are in the process of transition. It has three components. One is the reduction of railway board members from 8 to 4. Since two board member seats are vacant and another existing board member was retired on January 31, 2020, this is taken care of, and we need to re-allocate work. Second is recruitment to Indian Railways Management Services (IRMS) and recruitment for 2021 stopped, and modalities on how to recruit IRMS are already being finalised with DoPT and UPSC. Coming to the third, which is facing opposition, is cadre merging.

Everybody is scared of uncertainty, and it is right. There is no clarity on how it will happen although the government has given us one year to work out modalities. I agree some will gain, and some will lose, but everybody knows it is inevitable and is much-needed transformation.

The idea of two-cadre– technical and non-technical – being suggested by most railway experts was discussed, but the objection raised against it was that if eight cadres are creating the problem, two cadres will create more problem. So Union Cabinet decided to have one service comprising both – technical and nontechnical personnel. Group B employees are supporting us entirely, and we have that in writing too.

Have the Railways finances improved?

The operating ratio (OR is money spent by Railways to earn Rs 100) is currently under severe stress, and we are hopeful of improving it until the end of this fiscal. Our most significant expenditure of Rs 50,000 crore is for railway employee pensions. If that removed, the OR would be around 72-75% which is quite good. We have requested the finance ministry to start sharing the pension burden and are hopeful that something might come up soon.

Also, we are experimenting with AC-III tier, which is the most profitable segment for us. In some trains, we are trying to accommodate waiting list AC-III tier passengers by replacing the AC coach with sleeper if the latter has less occupancy.

What is your vision for Indian Railways?

An increasing the number of passenger trains by 3000-4000 with support of private participation and introducing higher-speed trains. More infrastructure investment, including dedicated freight corridors, are being planned and being worked upon.

Good news is that this is the first year when we will be commissioning 1000 km and dedicated freight corridor will be functional by December 2021. We have shortlisted around 3000 km of high-speed and dedicated freight corridors, and DPRs are underway that would be undertaken through Public-Private

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FEATURED PROJECT ARTICLE Navi Mumbai Metro The Navi Mumbai Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) under which is constructed in the Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. The preparation and structure of the Navi Mumbai Metro are being verified by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). The system is planned to comprise of three rail lines covering a total distance of 106.4 kilometres (66.1 mi).

The foundation stone for the project was placed on 1 May 2011 by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan; following construction delays, the metro's first line is expected to open in 2020. The metro's technological infrastructure and undulating stock are being provided by Ansaldo STS, Tata Projects and CSR Zhuzhou Network.

Route Map

The Navi Mumbai Metro prepared to consist of five lines, adding 106.4 kilometres (66.1 mi) in length. Line 1 of the metro is under construction, with operation projected to commence in April 2020.

Line 1 of the Navi Mumbai Metro is a section of the rapid transit rail Navi Mumbai, India. The 23.40 km line consists of 20 metro stations from Belapur to Khandeshwar. It supposed to cost 4,163 crores (US$580 million).

All the phases of Line 1 will be built and funded by CIDCO. Lines 2 and 3 will be financed by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) respectively.

The total expense of Line 1 is estimated to be 4,068 crores (US$570 million).

Construction Line 1 is planned to be developed in 3 phases:

The metro's foundation stone was placed on 1 May 2011 by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, and general foundation work on the system's first phase commenced in October 2011. Line 1's first girder was placed on 13 December 2012.

The 23.40-kilometre (14.54 mi) Line 1 consists of 20 stations. The proposed route will link Belapur, Kharghar, Taloje, MIDC,

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Kalamboli and the Khandeshwar railway station, terminating at the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport.

In mid-2012, CIDCO conferred the ₹321 crores (US$45 million) contract for the construction of the 11.1 km section from Belapur to Pendhar to a consortium of Sanjose (Spain), Mahavira Road and Infrastructure (Navi Mumbai), and Supreme Infrastructure (Mumbai). The original deadline to complete the project was in 2016, which was later extended to mid-2017, and then mid-2018.

By January 2017, only 60% of the work on the stations completed.

Finding the progress of work to be unsatisfactory, CIDCO sent a notice terminating the contract to the consortium on 11 January 2017. On 1 March 2017, CIDCO floated new tenders to construct 11 stations along the Belapur-Pendhar section. The previous contractors had completed 60% of the work on the stations — the new contract with worth ₹141 crores (US$20 million).

Infrastructure A global consortium of companies including Ansaldo STS, Tata Projects and CSR Zhuzhou will give the electrical and mechanical systems for the first phase of Line 1.

Ansaldo will conduct systems integration and supply train control systems, telecoms, fare collection systems and equipment storage. The metro's standard gauge network would be electrified at 25 kV AC, with power provided via an overhead catenary.

Rolling stock In 2014, the Chinese company CSR Zhuzhou signed a contract with CIDCO to supply rolling stock for the first phase of the metro's Line 1. The three-car trainsets would be 64.6 metres (212 ft) long and 3.1 metres (10 ft) wide, with a passenger limit of around 1,100 and a maximum speed of about 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph).

The trains would feature stainless steel bodies, air-conditioning and LED lighting.

The following dates represent the dates the section opened to the public, not the private inauguration.

Status Updates Ÿ · Dec 2018: Work of elevated corridor almost complete, 50% work on signalling is done and 68% station related work in done. Ÿ · 11 March 2019: Two sets of much-awaited 3 coaches train arrived at Mumbai Port from China Ÿ · 31 August 2019: Metro trial run between Panchanand to Pendhar of Line-1 to start from 05-Sep-2019. Line-1 to be fully operational by mid-2020. Ÿ · 7 September 2019: Between Panchanand and Pendhar metro line of 11 km: 83% work done on the station; some track laying is done. Ÿ ·Trial run started on 3 km of the track which is ready. Stations were prepared in December 2019. Ÿ · Full trial run on 11 km of the road begin in Jan-2020 Ÿ · Metro to start in Aug-2020.

ARTICLE SYSTEM FOCUSED

Standardisation for Metro Rail System

T

he success of Metro rail systems lies in their ability to provide efficient, fast, safe and comfortable journeys in the urban conglomeration not only to the regular commuters but also to the occasional traveller or tourist alike. Electrical systems play a major role in any MRT system in achieving the desired objectives.

While providing the backbone of ‘Traction system’ on which whole train operation works, Electrical systems ensure passengers facilities like Lighting & Airconditioning in the station and provide Life Safety systems like Firefighting systems & Tunnel Ventilation system in the UG Metro for the safety of passengers.

Electrical System also provides facility like Lifts & Escalators for smooth movement of elderly as well as handicapped passengers in the stations at all times besides adding value to other systems by the real-time interface.

Electrical systems consist of mainly following four different streams: Power Supply & Traction (PST) system (25 kV AC & 750 V DC)

Ÿ Electrical & Mechanical (E&M) system (Underground/Elevated) Ÿ Lifts Ÿ Escalators Ÿ Tunnel ventilation & Environmental control system (TVS & ECS)

have smaller sized metro systems, it is important to have uniform requirements/specifications of equipment followed across.

Uniformity in general specifications at procurement stage leads to competitive prices, ease in O & M, shorter design finalisation, quicker deliveries of material and last but not the least, the standardisation will lead to more indigenisation as OEMs will be assured of markets for their products developed and manufactured in India.

All the equipment selections shall also be guided by the following broad considerations:

Ÿ High reliability Ÿ High Efficiency Ÿ Maintenance-friendly (less maintenance/ease of maintenance) Ÿ Space optimization Ÿ Make-in-India Lifts: The Lifts are to be provided at Metro stations as fireman lift and to facilitate Elderly, “differently-abled” persons, etc in negotiating different levels (ground, concourse, platform, etc). This helps in providing “barrier-free” environment at public places in line with “Accessible India Campaign” or “Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan” of Govt. of India.

Need for standardisation comes in as the world over; variant technologies are being used for the MRTS/LRT/High-speed rails all of whom are equally reliable and meet required safety standards. With Indian cities having a population of over 20 lakhs being planned to have metro systems and tier-II cities aiming to METRO RAIL NEWS | FEB 2020 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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TECHNOLOGY UPDATES ARTICLE

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RANSDAQ Monitoring & Control System that can help you to do deep-dive integration into the urban transport systems and subsystems from a centralised console.

TRANSDAQ is a Manager of Managers (MOM), i.e. a system which can integrate the Transport & Metro Rail systems, and save the

to integrate its complete infrastructure to perform tangible business outcomes. This system facilitates effective communication between the disparate subsystems and devices for proactively alerting the operations staff on any performance

cost of all EMSs and NMSs for all the subsystems for any Rail

degradations or changes in operational status.

This helps instantly making aware of the cause of the

project t also helps in building unified, and security envelops over all the

deterioration so that the equipment or systems could be

physically accessible locations in a rail project.

TRANSDAQ maximises the eff iciency in operations & maintenance, to optimise costs and to deliver high uptime for metro systems and customer service.

The system is extremely robust and scalable with the ability to work in a distributed environment where a cluster of Athenta Appliances will operate in a multilayered architecture, ensuring Availability, Reliability, Sustainability & Efficiency for Metro Rail Infrastructure Management.

Athenta's Management Appliances enables metro administration

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changed or repaired or put in maintenance.

Athenta TRANSDAQ solution created to fit the changing demands of the Metro Rails, and enabling the collection, processing, analysis, and reporting of critical data in an actionable format with life-cycle information on assets and resources," said, Gopal Joshi, Director Sales, Athenta Technologies TRANSDAQ is an application-based product that delivers the Infrastructure Management for the Metro Rail, and it has now become the preferred telecom-SCADA Platform for Metro Rails in India."

UNION ARTICLE BUDGET 2020

Union Budget 2020 Key Highlights of the budget for Rail & Transport infrastructure

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he country’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the Union Budget 2020-21 for the financial year 2020-21. In this budget, the Finance Minister has made many big announcements for the Indian Railways, Starting from the merger of the railway budget with the general budget in 2017.

The Finance Minister said that the railway’s revenue is very low, so the land of the railway will be used to prepare solar energy. Also, 150 trains like Tejas will be run in the country.

Tejas trains will be connected to major tourist destinations of the country. According to the Finance Minister, by the year 2024, Indian Railways will be run completely by electricity. The Finance Minister did not say anything about the confirmed ticket. What did Railways get in this budget Let us know that former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had said that everyone should get confirmed ticket by 2020 during his tenure. At the same time, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said in her budget speech that PM Modi’s dream is to put more emphasis on making Indian Railways an economy’s growth engine.

The Finance Minister has said that Wi-Fi facilities have been made available at 550 railway stations in the country. Unmanned railway crossings have been completely eliminated. Also, 27 thousand kilometers of track will be electrified.

Let us know that while presenting the railway budget last year, Sitharaman gave the mantra of clean, safe and punctual rail travel. He said that now the Model Rental Law will be enacted and Public-Private Partnership

(PPP) will be used in Railways. The Finance Minister has said that crores of rupees will be required for the railway infrastructure.

Therefore, participation in PPP mode will be increased in Railways.

Participation on PPP mode in Railways will be increased In the General Budget 2020, the Modi government has suggested several measures to improve the infrastructure of Indian Railways. The Modi government has proposed the following 10 measures, listing the achievements of the railways within 100 days.

1.Installing a large solar power capacity along rail tracks on land owned by railways.

2. Four stations and 150 passenger trains will be operated through PPP mode 3. More trains like Tejas will be connected to the prestigious tourist destinations of the country.

4. The high-speed train will be actively run between Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

5. 18, 600 crores, a 148 km long Bangalore suburban transport project will be started, whose fare will be like the metro model.

6. The central government will give 20 per cent fund and 60 per cent money will be raised from outside.

7. National Infrastructure Fund of 6-100 lakh crore to be created 8. A national gas grid will be launched 9. 27 thousand kilometres of the track will be electrified 10.Provision of 22 thousand crores for power energy 11. Delhi-Mumbai and Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway will be completed soon.

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BUDGET 2020: REACTION ARTICLE

Union Budget 2020 Reactions of Industry Leaders from Metro & Railway

U

nion Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2020-21 in the Parliament To d a y. I n h e r b u d g e t s p e e c h , s h e highlighted the allocation of funds for various sectors to boost the struggling economy of the country.

There was a lot of expectation from the Metro & Rail industry that the Union Government will announce measures to revive the industry. Here is how Industry leaders from Metro & Railway sectors responded to it and shared their opinions.

Fo r m e r K a r n a t a k a C M u p b e a t ove r Bengaluru railways development, Said: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader Sadananda Gowda thanked PM Modi and FM Nirmala Sitharaman for allocating Rs 18,600 crore in the Union Budget for the development of 140 km Bengaluru Suburban Railway Network Karnataka BJP MP Tejaswi Surya lauds government, Said: Karnataka BJP MP Tejaswi Surya lauded the government for announcing high-speed connectivity between Bengaluru and Chennai. He called it a great step in further enhancing the South Indian region’s prosperity.

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“Mark my words: With Suburban, Metro and Road infra, Bengaluru will become the undisputed leader in industry & innovation,” added Surya in his tweet.

Mr. Himanshu Chaturvedi, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata Projects Limited, said: Accelerating India’s Progress’ is the common intent of the Government and Tata Projects Ltd. The Union Budget 2020 is positive since it has taken serious and concerted efforts towards creating an enabling environment that brings together public and private players thereby creating mutual synergies geared towards a c h i ev i n g n a t i o n a l d eve l o p m e n t a l objectives. More such initiatives towards ensuring better-tendering processes, quicker payment mechanism and lowercost funds are needed to spur the infrastructure and construction sector but this is a good beginning. We are certain that the government will chalk-out more such positive initiatives in near future after consultation with all industry stakeholders.

Mr. Alain Spohr, Managing Director of Alstom India and South Asia, said:

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“First budget of the decade had tremendous expectations and the finance minister has presented a well-laid roadmap to meet them. The focus on leveraging technology and boosting transport infrastructure coupled with worthy goals of reducing emissions are laudable. However, the government could have done more to promote localisation and Make in India. “ C re a t i o n o f f i ve s m a r t c i t i e s a n d modernizing transport infrastructure with a Rs 1.7 lakh crore allocation are commendable. Plus, the progressive initiatives by the Railways of promoting solar energy, upgradation of railway stations, electrification of tracks and operating 150 Tejas-like trains through the PPP model are welcome steps. The Bengaluru suburban transport project and the high-speed train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will improve connectivity between important commercial hubs. All these initiatives taken together will improve opportunities for all”, he added.

Spohr said that domestic manufacturers can contribute massively to all these bigticket projects envisaged by the government. But companies which have invested heavily to align with Make in India need a level playing field to counter import-

BUDGET 2020: REACTION ARTICLE oriented competition to contribute to nation-building.

“The government’s intent to reward innovation, investments, and entrepreneurship is in the right direction.

But the key is speedy execution of projects where localisation and domestic manufacturing are given more encouragement”, he further added.

Mr. Amit Kapur, Joint Managing Partner, J. Sagar Associates, said: The past month has seen a significant alignment in 3 critical policy documents of the Union Government focussed on Infrastructure development. The Budget seems to cement what the National Infra Pipeline (31st Dec 2019) announced – an investment target of Rs.103,00,000 crores (US$ 1.4 trillion) over 5 years with 78% projected to come from Union and State Governments. Around 58% of this is focussed on Energy and Transport and Logistics (roads, rail, ports and airports).

Structural reforms (legislative, policy and contractual) are stated to be underway at the ministry levels. There is a stated focus on privatization and asset monetization of public sector assets, as also financial sector reform aimed at unclogging credit flows. If implemented well we can hope to see a shift from low productivity public assets to productivity-enhancing infrastructure, employment growth, boost to demand, easier business environment and higher competitiveness of Indian products.

“We will need to finance the growth in quick time and bring fundamental structural reforms to remove barriers to growth. How we realize the fruits of this ambitious infra push will depend on how effectively and efficiently India implements these announcements without allowing patchy state capacity and political economy overtake us. There is a need to build a quick bi-partisan national consensus around the economy cutting across the din unleashed

by CAA and NRC related issues. I remain cautiously optimistic about the outcome”, he added Manish Rathi, CEO and Co-founder, IntrCity by RailYatri “We welcome the focus and thrust on road

transport with 1.7 trillion INR allocated towards the transport sector.

The accelerated development of highways and Delhi – Mumbai expressway completion by 2023 will enable the growth of intercity bus travel.

We see a wider industry focus and excitement in intercity transport due to the steps taken in Budget 2020. As a startup, it is encouraging to see the government take s te p s to e n co u ra g e g row t h i n t h e ecosystem. The removal of Direct Dividend Tax will attract more investors and in turn strengthen the ecosystem.

The introduction of the Investment clearance cell at center and state level will encourage people in the remotest parts of the country to become entrepreneurs.”

Rajeev Joisar, Country Leader – India, Bombardier Transportation, Said “Rail Budget has a strong focus on Safety and Passenger Experience“ Ÿ We, a t B o m b a rd i e r, fe e l t h a t re i n fo rc e m e n t o n p u b l i c p r i va t e partnerships (PPP) will gain momentum in the coming years in India resulting in faster development of railway infrastructure, including rolling stock.

Setting up of Kisan rail through public private partnership will aid in ensuring efficient and safe railways in India.

Bombardier has been supplying our rail equipment for Mumbai and Kolkata suburban rail system and would be keen to supply our rolling stock, rail equipment and services to decongest the much-needed traffic in Bengaluru. Ÿ Bombardier has a strong focus on

maintenance and services and we are pleased that the Indian Railways is stressing on digitalization, proven global technologies and move from manual inspection to machine assisted automatic identification which will help in providing safe, efficient and economical passenger and freight services. Ÿ Deployment of more passenger trains like

Tejas on the Indian Railways highlights the commitment of Indian Railways and their focus on passenger comfort, safety, faster travel time and better connectivity to tourist destinations. Ÿ As Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is

looking to realise $5 trillion economy for India, Railways will play a crucial role in the growth of the economy and Bombardier is very keen to supply our rolling stock, signalling solutions, rail equipment and services to Indian Railways supporting his vision. Ÿ As our recent investments demonstrate,

Ÿ We really appreciate the efforts of Indian Railways to explore the possibility of private train operation on their network.

Bombardier is following the train operations project very closely and has already discussed the project with senior Indian Railway officials. It is too early at this stage to comment on our future course of action as we shall evaluate the project once tender specifications are finalised. We share Indian government’s vision to decongest India by rail investments with higher involvement of private sector in train operations as an initial project and outlining a safer railway system in India. Ÿ We are pleased with the allocation of funds from the Central government for the Bengaluru suburban rail system.

Bombardier is committed to the development of rail transportation in India, where we have built capabilities for around 60 years covering complete range of railway vehicle manufacturing, local engineering, strategic supplier base with around 2000 skilled employees delivering rail projects for domestic and foreign markets.

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ARTICLE COVERAGE INSTITUTE

Taking India to the fast track of development

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ntrusted with the task of building India’s first High-Speed Rail between Mumbai-Ahmedabad (MAHSR), National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) is ushering India into an era of economic, social and technological progress. Making use of state-of-the-art, cutting-edge technology, NHSRCL is not o n l y l i ke l y to u s h e r n ew e ra i n ra i l construction but is also in providing safe, speedier, & convenient solution for fast travel.

First-of-its-kind training institute With the introduction of HSR in India, safe, timely & reliable operation is expected to become the key to its success. Therefore, in order to establish smooth operations of MAHSR and to generate a work force that is effective& equipped with high level of knowledge, NHSRCL is developing a worldclass HSR Training Institute in Vadodara, Gujarat. At its completion, the institute is expected to become the hub of knowledge, technology for skilled engineers and operators who will be at the core of delivering excellent service quality.

Conceived with the aim of imparting most advanced level knowledge & skills, the

institute is poised as a pioneer of highspeed rail technology education in the country. The HSR Training Institute will be imparting training through customized training programs for fields as diverse as Construction, Project Implementation & Management, Operations, Maintenance, and Customer Care among others. The key objectives for establishing the institute are: Ÿ To provide unique learning experiences & develop the future generation of curious, passionate, creative & solution-driven workforce for the HSR organizations Ÿ To impart training using state of the art training aids to develop high-level technical & functional expertise among the trainees Ÿ To impart knowledge in Operation & Maintenance, Safety & Security, Service & Marketing and Energy & Environment and instilling the right values. Ÿ To provide a world-class training environment which would enable trainees to enhance their communication skills, encourage them to build & expand their network and foster the culture of mutual respec The Campus

The High Speed Rail Training Institute (HSRTI) campus located in Lalbagh, Vadodara, Gujarat has been designed keeping in mind the need for providing a conducive ambience for knowledge sharing and promotion of culture of inclusiveness. With lush green nature surrounding the area, the HSRTI campus is being built to meet the best standards in technology, comfort, modernisation and professionalism.

Training for holistic development HSR Training Institute of NHSRCL will be an ideal place for learning & development for its staff which shall focus on enhancing knowledge, skill and attitude.

HSRTI is committed to developing, delivering & imparting the best-in-theclass training to its trainees that would empower them to tide over challenges and

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ARTICLE COVERAGE INSTITUTE come up with creative solutions for excellent HSR operations.

The state of the art training equipment viz simulators, model rooms, slab track etc. is being introduced based on the Japanese HSR training institute at Shin-Shirakawa is being developed to ensure the similar skill levels in Indian HSR employees.

Simulation assisted training Quality of life HSRTI is designed to provide a safe & comfortable stay to the trainees and shall be providing elegantly designed residences, sports & recreational facilities, internet connectivity etc.

The Training Track To widen the practical knowledge horizon of the trainees, the HSRTI has developed an incampus Ballast-less Slab Track training-line built for on-the-job training purpose

SLAB TRACK LAYING AND ALIGNMENT Next-gen smart classes Class rooms will be equipped with internet enabled KYAN interactive Projectors, Smart Boards, LED Panels, AV Speaker Systems and trainee laptops.

Recorded lectures will be available for reference on Campus LAN with repository of all training and reference material. The Training Institute is being developed with next gen Smart Classrooms, Modern Audio Video Learning Labs and VR Simulators supplemented with On-the-Job (OJT) t r a i n i n g p ro g r a m m e s fo r m a x i m u m retention of the trainee on real HSR projects

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Conclusion NHSRCL has the distinction of being the pioneers responsible for ushering in of High S p e e d Te c h n o l o g y i n t h e co u n t r y.

Therefore, HSRTI aims to become the fount of Skilled manpower to be provided to Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed railway in the beginning, and provide the skilled manpower responsible for spreading the footprints of high speed network in the country.

Keeping this in mind, the High-Speed Rail Training Institute by NHSRCL has been established with the aim of adopting modern approaches and technologies in learning to broaden individual’s skillsets & capabilities in order to keep up with the current as well as future demands of the industry. Through this institute, NHSRCL endeavours to offer unique immersive learning experiences, bridge the skill gap and build a future ready workforce of forward thinkers, solution providers and doers who are ready to re-think & strategize for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

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ARTICLE

Indian railways: balancing socialist economy & revenue generation

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ast week, I planned a weekend trip to Agra along with my family . Since we had relocated to Gurugram, we had not been able to go out even once to explore the city or area around it. So, a trip to Agra, being just a couple of hours away from Gurugram, seemed like a very good proposition. Immediately, I opened my laptop to book railway tickets for Agra. But alas!! All the trains were full. The waiting list in every other train was well above the 200 figure mark. I had no choice but to wait till the day before my journey day to try the ‘Tatkal’ route. But , there was greater disappointment for me in store on that day.

The Railways’ site for online ticket booking itself didn’t open on time and by the time it did, the ‘Tatkal’ quota had also been booked. Grudgingly, I was left with no option but to cancel the trip.

This incident made me curse the Indian Railways no end. Why do they allow booking of tickets four months in advance? So that they can get ‘free’ float funds in hundreds of crores? They themselves must be earning a handsome amount of interest on these funds without having to pay any interest to the passengers. Even though the capacity of an unreserved coach is 90 passengers, tickets are often issued to double that number of passengers. That is why the unreserved coaches are always jam-packed

with passengers. I thought that the Indian Railways must be earning a handsome profit by adopting such tactics and out of curiosity, I googled the income statistics of Indian Railways.

Now, grudge made way for a surprise. And surprised indeed I was, because I came to know that the passenger segment of the Indian Railways is highly subsidized and loss making, contrary to what I was thinking.

The first passenger train in our country, carrying 400 passengers in 14 coaches, ran for 34 km between Bori Bunder (Mumbai) and Thane on April 16, 1853. Initially, the coaches didn’t have even toilets which were introduced only after the national carrier completed 50 years! Lighting in passenger coaches was introduced in 1897.

Later on, other facilities like fans and sleeping accommodation were also introduced. In 1956, the first fully airconditioned train was introduced between Delhi and Howrah. In 1986, computerized ticketing and reservation were introduced in New Delhi. The first Shatabdi Express was introduced between New Delhi and Jhansi in 1988.

Today, the Indian Railways (IR) is the largest rail network in Asia and the second largest in the world. It transports about 2.5 crore passengers (almost equal to the population of Australia) daily. Even with such a volume of passenger traffic, the Railways makes losses from the passenger segment. The Indian Railways is the national carrier for the country’s masses. It is the preferred mode of transport for the poorest of the poor. As such, it has obligations towards the society as well apart from earning revenue. Traditionally, the fares have not been increased much due to this and other political reasons. The fares were last revised in 2014.

The losses from the passenger segment of Railways are compensated by profits from the freight segment and almost 95% of the profit from the freight segment goes t o wa r d s c ro s s - s u b s i d i a t i o n o f t h e passenger segment. This results in deterioration of the financial performance as a whole of the national carrier. As per the data released by the Railway Ministry, the

operating ratio for the freight segment in FY 2017-18 was 58.83% which means on every Rs 100 of revenue, the freight segment was making a handsome profit of Rs 41.17. But surprisingly, the overall operating ratio for the Railways as a whole was at a level of 98.44%-the worst in last 10 years. This was because the operating ratio for the passenger segment was at a dismal level of 181.20% which means that to generate every Rs 100 of revenue from the passenger segment, the carrier was spending Rs 181.20!

Although no drastic measures have been ever taken by the Govt. regarding increase in fares due to the reasons enumerated above, yet, the Govt. has taken a slew of measures from time to time towards improving the financial health of the national carrier. Some of these measures are: 1.‘Give up’ Scheme : It was started in 2017 to encourage senior citizens to give up their train fare concessions in a bid to increase revenue. As per CAG audit report, during the FY 2017-18, Rs 1411.23 crores worth of concession in fare was given to 5.92 crore senior citizens. The CAG report also stated that while the national carrier earned Rs 88064 crores as revenue from 2015-16 to 2017-18 from sale of reserved tickets, it also allowed concession of Rs 7418 crores on these reserved tickets during the same period. Also, 89.7% of the revenue foregone towards concessions is on account of concession to senior citizens and privilege pass/PTO holders.

2.Dynamic Fare Pricing/Flexi fares: The Railways had introduced dynamic pricing of tickets in September 2016 for 142 of its premium trains-44 Rajdhani, 46 Shatabdi and 52 Duronto trains. Under this rule, price of ticket goes up as bookings grow. The fare would go up by 10% for every lot of 10% tickets booked. However, the scheme has been scrapped in most of the trains as it led to loss of traffic volume for the national carrier.

3.Modernisation: One of the main reasons for the failure of flexi fare scheme was the competition to the Railways from low cost airlines. Flexi-fare scheme reduced the gap between rail and airline tickets . Also, the

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ARTICLE quality of services and journey-time factor favoured the airlines. Now, the railways has also started modernizing its fleet by taking various measures some of which are as follows: (a)Introduction of LHB (Linke-HofmannBusch,Germany) Coaches: Traditionally, the Railways has been using ICF (Integral Coach Factory, Chennai) coaches. These coaches are considered having inadequate safety measures and are being slowly phased out.

These are being replaced with LHB coaches which were introduced in mid-90s. These coaches are lighter, safer and capable of speeds upto 160 kmph. (b)Route Electrification: The national carrier has electrified about 46% of its running track as on March 31, 2019. As per the Railway Ministry, the entire track length in the country would be electrified by 2022. (c)Track modernization: Various initiatives have been undertaken by the Indian Railways for modernization of tracks as well.

Nowadays, Pre-Stressed Concrete (PSC) sleepers are being increasingly used in place of wooden sleepers as these are economically and functionally best suited for high-speed and heavy density traffic.

Long rail panels or welded rails are being used in place of rails with fish plated joints.

Rails now being used are having high tensile strength. Bridges are being strengthened/rebuilt.

Signalling system for the trains is also u n d e rg o i n g co n t i n u o u s reva m p i n g .

Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system based on proven European Train Control System (ETCS) is being implemented on the tracks. The system will help in seamless transmission of information between tracks and the engine cabin electronically. It will h e l p i n ke e p i n g t r a i n s p e e d w i t h i n permissible limit. (d)Upgradation of Railway Platforms: The facilities and services at railway platforms are being upgraded to offer a convenient, h a s s l e -f re e a n d p l e a s a n t t r ave l l i n g experience to the passengers. Escalators have been installed at select stations like New Delhi to begin with. Free Wi-Fi facility is being offered to passengers. Use of false ceiling is being done to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the platforms.

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(e)Introduction of High-tech trains: To compete with the travel experience provided by the low cost airlines, the national carrier has introduced some modern, high-tech trains like: (i)Vande Bharat Express: It is also known as Train 18. It is a semi high-speed, airconditioned day time journey train with modern facilities like Wi-Fi, snacks tables, CCTV cameras, hydraulic pressure doors as well as fire and smoke detection and extinguishing system. The train can run at a top speed of 200 kmph. (ii)Tejas Express: It is a semi high-speed, air-conditioned train which was introduced in 2017. The coaches in this train have LED TV on each passenger seat with a phone jack, local cuisine, Wi-Fi, tea and coffee vending machines, CCTV cameras, smoke and fire detection and extinguishing system, bio-vacuum toilets, tap sensors, hand dryers and integrated Braille displays.

It can also run at a top speed of 200 kmph. (iii) Gatimaan Express: It is a semi highspeed, air-conditioned train running between Delhi and Jhansi at a top speed of 160 kmph. i v) H u m s a f a r E x p re s s : I t i s a n a i rconditioned train with 3-tier coaches and had its inaugural run between Gorakhpur and Anand Vihar terminal. It is equipped with LED screens displaying information about stations and train speed, a PA system, tea and coffee vending machines, charging ports for electronic devices, biotoilets, CCTV cameras, smoke alarms and heating and refrigeration facilities for food. (v)Bullet Train: The first high-speed rail link in the country has been proposed between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The work on the project is expected to begin in April 2020 and completed by Dec 2023. The trains on this line will run at speeds ranging from 320 to 350 kmph.

4.Dedicated Freight Corridor: The Railways has one of the lowest passenger fares and highest freight fares in the world. The freight segment faces stiff competition from the road transport segment. The passenger and freight trains run on the same network of rail tracks. Many a times, freight trains have to be stopped midway to allow smooth passage of passenger traffic.

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There is thus an urgent need to provide dedicated freight corridor for freight trains so that their service can be made world class. It will help the national carrier to compete better against the road transport sector.

5.Revision of Child fare rule: The Railways has also revised its child fare rule since 2016.

Now, children of age 5 years and under 12 years of age are charged full ticket in reserved coaches instead of half ticket if a berth is sought for them. However, if berth is not sought for the child, then half of the full adult fare will continue to be charged as hitherto.

In view of the above, it can be said that the Indian Railways has chalked out an ambitious plan to bring the finances of the national carrier in the pink of health. Much will now depend on how the various measures are put to execution within the timelines envisaged.

After going through all the above facts, the surprise, that I felt on discovering that the passenger segment of the railways is a lossmaking segment, now gave way to concern and I could only say ‘All the Best’ to the national carrier.

Note: The views expressed in the article are personal and not of the bank.

References:1) Wikipedia 2) Google 3)Indian Railways Year Book

Authored by

Arun Kumar Bhardwaj Research officer State bank institute of credit and risk management,gurugram

ARTICLE

Indian Railways: Addressing the gap between the rich and the poor

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evenue generation for Indian Railways is very important, as it cannot survive without increased revenues. The public in general is in the habit of criticizing every price increase by railways without considering that the price increase is a compulsion and ultimately, is in the interest of the public itself, however indirectly.

Railways is the backbone of the nation and economy and it cannot go on without increasing the prices with growing inflation.

Existence of Railways is important on account of many factors. One of these is that Railways is the biggest employer also.

Considering the indirect employment, the railway provides through the creation and maintenance of infrastructure, perhaps no other organization can match Indian Railways, as far as employment generation is concerned.

Thus, nation’s employment ratio is heavily dependent on Railways.

Till now, Indian Railways has struck a laudable balance between price increase and burden on the poor and it does deserve kudos for the same. Few people know that Indian Railways recovers only 57% of cost of travel on an average. No organization can run on losses for a very long time and time is ripe that Indian Railways also find ways to increase its revenues and offset the losses.

The Indian railways charges fees on cancellation of tickets, which is a justified

practice and is established in any service sector. If one books a hotel or flight or restaurant, similar cancellation policies are the norm everywhere. Indian Railways hiked the cancellation charges nearly to double since November 2015. There were various justifications behind this. Some of the justifications inter alia are checking touts and increasing public convenience.

As Indian Railways have been suffering from losses traditionally, it is imperative for them to find new sources of revenues.

While deciding on this, they have always taken care of their poor customers and in this way, have done their duty towards the Nation. This time (while increasing the cancellation charges), their balance between the rich and the poor does not s e e m u p t o t h e m a r k . T h e reve n u e generation ideas should be such, as should be heavy on rich passengers and should have least impact on the poor ones. There is no harm in subsidizing the poor out of the revenue generated from the rich.

Indian railways have been successful in increasing its revenues on this count (increased cancellation charges), which is a good news and is crucial for keeping Indian Railways going. It is also crucial for strengthening the rail infrastructure and increasing the amenities for public.

As per the New Indian Express, “From cancellation charges, Indian railways

Sanjay Gupta, Chief Manager (Research), State Bank Institute of Credit & Risk Management, Gurugram

earned in 2017-18 Rs 1,205.96 crs., which increased to Rs 1,852.50 crs. in 2018-19. In the same manner, Southern Railway earned Rs 176.76 crore in 2017-18, which jumped to Rs 182.56 crore in 2018-19.

Shockingly, ticket cancellation revenue of the neighboring South Central Railway whose jurisdiction currently spreads over Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh has jumped from Rs 127.22 crore to Rs 690.80 crore — 500 per cent increase”.

Source:www.newindianexpress.com/natio n/2019/may/21/go-figure-railways-maders-5366-crore-through-your-cancelledtickets-1979566.html Some of the cancellation rules are: If a confirmed ticket is cancelled more than 48 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, flat cancellation charges shall be deducted at the rate of Rs 240/- for First AC Class/ Executive Class, Rs.200/- for 2 tier AC, Rs 180 for III AC / AC Chair car / 3 AC Economy and Rs120/- for Sleeper Class. For Second Class, Charges are Rs 60/-.

Cancellation charges are per passenger.

As is evident from the above, charges for AC classes are not much higher in comparison to sleeper class. While we know that the status and income of an AC class passenger is many times more than that of a sleeper class passenger, it would have been worthwhile to address that gap in cancellation charges also. A typical formula could be that AC 3 class passengers should

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ARTICLE bear double of sleeper class, AC 2 Class passenger should bear one and half times of AC 3 class and AC First class passengers should bear double of AC 2 class. In a tabular form, it can be represented as under.

C la s s

C a n c e lla tio n c h a rg e s

S econd

Rs x

c la s s S le e p e r

Rs 2x

AC 3

Rs 4x

A C2

Rs 6x

AC 1

Rs 12x

Though increasing cancellation charges is not a bad idea, the gap between the rich a n d t h e p o o r n e e d t o b e p ro p e r l y addressed.

Further, there is need to see the two justifications discussed above with some other angles also. We can discuss them as below.

Justification of Discouraging touts: It is assumed that high cancellation fee will be a discouragement to touts, as in case they fail to sell it, they will have to bear a hefty cancellation fees.

This is an example of “when buffaloes fight, the crops suffer”. Here, crops represent poor public. Instead of finding a better way to check touts, doubling of cancellation fees is like awarding punishment to crops for the crime done by the buffaloes.

Increasing the ARP (Advance reservation period) to 120 days has given more opportunity to the touts who know the rush period and get advance booking of tickets in bogus names and then sell them to the needy at premium. Members of public in general usually do not know their exact travel dates in so much advance. When they are ready with their dates (after getting the leaves sanctioned or confirming the exam dates of the children etc.), they often find only waiting lists, as usually for peak season, touts have already taken hold of the tickets, taking advantage of 120 days of ARP. To discourage touts, Government has taken some steps, yet scope remains to do something more. They can take following more steps viz. a. Touts generate ticket in advance in bogus

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names and then they sell it to customers who travel with fake identity. Getting a Fake identity is nowadays an easy task, which can be vouched from the websites. One of s u c h we b s i t e i s ht t p s : //w w w.f a ke id.com/en, which claims to create fake IDs. b. Aadhaar quoting in e-tickets be made compulsory and it should be the only eligible method for identification. But before implementing this, Government have to ensure that every citizen does have Aadhaar. Justification of Increasing public convenience: Earlier, when cancellation charges were less, people used to buy additional tickets if they were not sure about their travel dates. In such cases, for the same journey, they used to buy tickets on more than one date and would cancel unutilized tickets. This reduced the probability of getting a confirmed ticket for other genuine buyers who were sure to travel. Now, if the cancellation charges are high, they will be discouraged to buy multiple tickets. Prima facie this seems to be a genuine justification. However, this is not a very strong justification due to following two reasons. a. This methodology is not expected to increase revenue for Indian Railways, as number of cancellations per person will be lesser. For example, Mr. X earlier used to buy two tickets and paid cancellation fees on one of them. This time, he will be purchasing only one ticket (after getting his plans duly finalized) which he will be utilizing and thus, avoiding any cancellation charge, unless some exigency is there. b. This is also not expected to increase co nve n i e n ce to t h e p a s s e n g e rs a s expected. Even if a passenger used to purchase more tickets than actual requirement, ultimately, he used to cancel extra tickets, which were allotted to other passengers in waiting list.

Thus, ultimately the berths were utilized.

But, now, due to heavy cancellation charges, especially in sleeper class, some people may not brother to get the tickets cancelled when the refund amount is paltry. For example, if a ticket of sleeper class costs Rs 150 and cancellation charges are Rs 120, the passenger may not bother to

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get the ticket cancelled for a paltry amount of Rs 30. Thus, the chances of such berths remaining vacant due to “no-show” (noshow is a term used by airlines for the passengers whose confirmed seat remains vacant due to non-arrival of him/her), are high, but in the reservation chart, these will not appear vacant. Now, this berth will be given unethically by the TTE to some other person for a bribe and railways will not know that there was “no-show” because as per chart, original passenger is travelling.

While if the passenger had got it cancelled against cancellation fee, Railways would have got some additional revenue (in form of cancellation fee) and it would have been more convenient for public also, as another member of public would have got reservation against that cancellation at a genuine price instead of giving bribe to the TTE. Thus, it would have been a win-win situation for both public and Railways. But, for this to happen, it is important that the passenger (who wishes to cancel his ticket), must get some considerable refund, which is possible only if cancellation charges for lower classes are reasonable. One way to ensure this could be to reduce cancellation charges to 50% (minimum Rs 60) of ticket price, in cases where ticket price was less than Rs 180.

Conclusion: Increase in cancellation charges is justified in terms of making Railway profitable, viable and capable of providing more facilities to public. It is also necessary to cope up with inflation. But Railways should keep three things in mind. a. There should be revenue generation, which is important for existence. b. The burden on the poor should be minimum. The poor should be subsidized by the revenues generated from the rich. c. The policies should be such, as discourage touts and also bribery by railway staff.

Finally, it is vital that public welcome the moves of Indian railways for revenue generation and railways continue to differentiate between the rich and the poor, as far as fares and charges are concerned. (The views and opinions expressed in the article are author’s personal opinion and not of his employer company.) References:

ARTICLE

Wireless communication: 5G and its future role in Transportation.

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adio communication is important part of signalling and 5G is emerging technologies in field of wireless communication. Transportation is having broad scope to adapt new tech of wireless communication for transmitting data in milliseconds with zero latency & higher throughput.

Some of companies are developing and researching the way for efficient communication without any single drop of packets.

In wireless communication, 5G is very popular and discussed between researchers, wireless professionals and techies .5th Generation mobile communication is very vast and still required to know, how to execute and reliable for society. Several new domains of 5G are augmented & Virtual reality, IOT, IOV, D2D, M2M and Financial Technology.

Challenges for Existing Cellular Networks.

Data Rate: Peak down-link data rate in LTE is 150 Mbps and it can support 37 users at HD rate (4 Mbps) Connectivity: LTE networks can support only 600 users per cell approx. which is very less for new techs for enabling M2M and IOT in which we need ten of thousands of connected devices/ sensors in a cell.

Latency: In 4G network latency is approx. 30-50 milliseconds but for autonomous vehicle & drone communication, need ultrareliable low latency communication which is less than 1 millisecond.

5 G Key specification: 5G aims are increase order of magnitude in wireless data rates, spectral bandwidth, Device connectivity and coverage area. feature of 5G is given below.

• Approximately 10 Gbps target data rates in cellular networks which is 10x-100x increase over LTE data rates of 150 Mbps • 5G network may connect with 1M devices per square KM to support dense connectivity for M2M &IOT. • Higher reliability and 99.999% availability with 100% coverage for

connectivity.

• Reduction in power consumption and improvements in efficiency.

5G Physical layer technologies: • Massive MIMO: Massive MIMO BS has a substantial large number of antennas with the concept of multiple trans and receive with huge spatial multiplexing gains. Further adding more antennas result will be reduced radiated power and greater simplicity in signal processing. wireless communication will be defined as AWGN channel Y=x+n where Y is received symbol X is transmitted symbol and n is noise so output SNR is S/N or P/ sigma square.

Digital adaptive arrays capable of operating in two modes: Spatial Multiplexing and Diversity. A rich set of multipath scattering between the transmitter and the receiver transforms a K element MIMO link into K independent links.

In multiplexing mode, this can result in K fold increase in the data rate of the MIMO link

In diversity mode, this can result in a reduction in the variance of the received SNR. At high SNR, Result of BER will be as

Beamforming MIMO Standards-compatible techniques to improve the range of existing data rates using transmit and receive beam forming and also reduces transmit interference and improves receive interference tolerance.

Spatial-multiplexing MIMO Allows even higher data rates by transmitting parallel data streams in the same frequency spectrum. Fundamentally changes the on-air format of signals 1- Requires new standard (11n) for standards-based operation METRO RAIL NEWS | FEB 2020 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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ARTICLE

2- Proprietary modes possible but cannot help legacy devices • mm Wave wireless communication : Current wireless system use spectrum in 300 MHz to 6 GHz band and this is called as sub 6 GHz which is highly inadequate to meet the increase in data rates and connectivity in 5G. Propagation loss and weak scattering is issue with the technology so researchers are finding the way to develop this technology.

•Non orthogonal multiple access: NOMA enables the simultaneous transmission of multiple users at same time with same frequency resources and it demote conventional OMA. NOMA exploits superposition coding at the transmitter and successive interference cancellation (SIC) at the receiver, thus multiplexing users in the power domain.

• Filter Bank Multi Carrier: FBMC is filter carrier in time frequency and mitigate the problem of inter carrier interference of OFDM which leads to significantly lower OOB radiation and sync error is much lower.

• IOT: Internet of thing is very emerging technology as multimedia development where we can monitor all of equipment related their technical specification with all triggering alarm. IOT is operated in narrow band radio frequency. Today all of appliances are fully equipped with radio-based sensor and embedded software in which we can monitor all kind of real timebased alarms. There is also security issue to deploying IOT in safety based critical equipment.

Challenges to deployed 5G networks in India: In India there are several reasons which impact to deliver 5 G network infrastructure although some of companies and researcher are working to develop 5G over LTE/ JIO. 1- Spectrum distribution is one reason to deliver 5G infrastructure.

2- Commercial issues as Investors and banks are not supporting telecommunication business now a days in India.

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3- It is very difficult to replace LTE infra for deploying 5G network as Companies are invested lot.

4- Architectural and platform innovation 5- Operational complexity.

6- Device innovation and Technology breakthrough is required although Qualcomm and snapdragon are developed 5G enabled devices.

Futuristic benefit in field of Transportation: 5G network might provide visibility and control over transportation. Low latency and high capacity will increase new way of transportation and will make people life very easier in term of transportation. Vehicle to vehicle and Vehicle to Infra devices on 5G may help on autonomous self-driving algorithm which can be very reliable and safer. 5G can provide real-time, end-to-end visibility into our transportation systems.

1- Data transfer rate will be higher, and efficiency will increase for automated vehicles.

2- Artificial Intelligence installation will be easy in automated vehicle like trains and cars.

3- Self-recovery through self-test is possible means vehicle will react like robotics and no need any kind of human interventions.

4- Communication loss issue will be resolved through ultrarecovery low latency.

5- Rail and road transport will be full of NB sensors and will operate through NB IOT. Note: All pictures are only for easy understanding to readers only.

ARTICLE

Innovative Method For Construction of Cast in-Situdown Stand For Installation of Elastomeric Neoprene Bearing in Segmental Construction for Metro Viaducts.

I

nvariably Bearings are to be provided to transfer the load from super structure to sub structure of all kinds of bridges. Bearing is a vital element of the bridge. The bearings are to be kept at true line and level, especially elastomeric bearing below the bridge are to be kept at true horizontal plain. It is very difficult to bring the pre cast down stand (constructed together) of pier segment parallel to elastomeric bearing and most of the time bottom of pre cast down stand and top of Elastomeric bearing will not be in parallel resulting un equal load distribution over the bearings and sometime gaps were also notice. In order to overcome above practical problem, construction of cast in-situ down stand is must.

Introduction. (a) Metro Rail network in India is rapidly expanding in major Indian cities more than 30 lakhs population. Around 15 cities have already been covered metro network at present. Metro rail systems are only the mode for mass rapid public transport on high demand corridors in big and medium cities and lead to making growing cities more livable and sustainable. (b) Metro alignments generally run through the one end of city to other end and along the outer/peripheral ring roads. Majority of the metro alignment will be elevated structure (Viaduct) and only in central business, area will be underground Tunnel. (c) Elevated structure (Viaduct) constructed with segmental type of pre cast, post stressed box girder and most (d) of places bearing used in viaduct are Elastomeric Bearings, only in sharper curves and span more than 31 m, a pot PTFE type bearings are used. (e) Elastomeric bearing are to be placed in true horizontal plane to avoid tangential forces. The horizontal plane at bearing location

can be formed by constructing the down stand with predesigned gradient. (f) At present pre cast down stands are being constructing to achieve the horizontal plane in the pre cast segment itself. (g) After launching and matching, the pre cast segments stressed with standard practice. After stressing and aligning, the plan of the soffit of the precast down stand will not be in true horizontal plane, resulting the unequal distribution of loads over the elastomeric bearing and sometime gaps observed between girder and the bearings. In order to avoid this practical difficulty, in staid off pre cast down stand, a cast in situ down stand can be formed by the innovative method.

Proposed superstructure system for Viaduct The choice of superstructure has to be made keeping in view the ease of constructability and the maximum standardization of the formwork for a wide span ranges.

Types of Superstructures for Viaduct Pre-cast post-tensioned segmental box girder Pre-cast posttensioned segmental U-girder Pre-cast pre stressed I-girder Precast pre tensioned Double U-girder.

Pre-cast post tensioned Segmental Box Girder This essentially consists of precast segmental construction and requires gluing and temporary prestressing of segments. The match cast joints at the interface of two segments are provided with shear keys as in traditional segmental construction. The main advantages for this type of superstructure are: 1. Flexibility of choosing a span configuration ranging from 16m to 37m.

2. Good Aesthetics. 3.

Can be used at locations having sharp curves (of the order of 200m).

4. Ease of Transportation 5. It can be extensively used for viaduct stretches having problems of utility, road crossings etc. A typical section of viaduct with box METRO RAIL NEWS | FEB 2020 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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ARTICLE girder super structure having integrated parapet is shown at figure(a). The min. overall width of viaduct may be kept as 8500mm* for a Standard Gauge viaduct with 3.2m wide coaches.

Figure (a) Precast Pre tensioned Twin U-girder Girders of various spans (19m, 22m, 25m and 28m) cast in casting yard and pre-tensioned. These girders were transported to site in trailers and launched in position by using double cranes of suitable capacity.

The main advantages for this type of structural configuration of superstructure are: Ø Built in sound barrier. Ø Built in cable support and system function. Ø Possibility to lower the longitudinal profile by approximately 1m compared to conventional design of box girders.

1) One span can be erected in a single night hence leading to faster pace of construction. A typical section of viaduct with twin U-Girder super structure is shown at figure(b).The minimum overall width of viaduct may be kept as 10150mm* for a Standard Gauge viaduct with 3.2m wide coaches.

a) Top level of bearing pedestals over pier cap/Portal Beam were casting by keeping 25 to 30 mm lower than the required level to make the room for filling the cementitious grout. (b) After matching all segments in the span and stressing operations were completed. Stressed girder placed on temporary bearing and continuing the same procedure for next span. © At the time of aligning and placing the girder in the final location, girder moved with the help of jacks to bring final line and level (at this operation, it will difficult to bring the pre cast down stand/up stand to exact true horizontal plane). (d) Elastomeric bearing pads were placed attaching to the down stand/up stand provided at the soffit of the pier segment, irrespective of its plane (horizontal or inclined) resulting variable gap between elastomeric bearing and top of bearing pedestal constructed on top of pier cap. (e) In order to rest the elastomeric bearing, sim plates were placed in the gap formed between elastomeric bearing pad and concrete pedestal. (f) The gap between elastomeric bearing pad and pier pedestal grout is filled with free flow from top of viaduct. (g) Proper shattering arrangement was mode to hold the grout by steel angles. (h) Finally, thickness of grout varied from 25 to 110mm in depth and grout stick to the elastomeric bearing pad.

Second method: Placing of grout above the bearing (a) Pedestals are casting to the required line and level and placing the elastomeric bearing pad on the top of pedestals (b) A grout is filled through pipe (vertical duct) provided in the pre cast pier segment directly over the bearing with suitable shuttering arrangements.

Figure (b) Method adopted for installation of Elastomeric bearing in practice at present; Different Metro Organizations are adopted different type construction methodology for installation of elastomeric bearings for Pre cast post tension segmental box girder. However, method of forming the down stand is same in all metro constructions, but filling up of gap so formed is different in different metro.

The some of the methods for installation of Elastomeric bearing adopted in segmental construction in metro are listed below; First method: Placing the grout below the bearing .

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Third method: By fixing steel plate 8 to 25 mm thick over 3 to 10 mm thick epoxy grout

ARTICLE Fourth method: Grinding the surfaces of the concrete at top and bottom of elastomeric bearing and filling grout if required

Conclusion on Method adopted for installation of Elastomeric bearings at present.

The above construction methods are not in accordance with the standard code of practice. The installation procedure explained in the IRCEEN Publication book at para 9.3, bearings must be placed between true horizontal surfaces (Maximum tolerance 0.2 per cent perpendicular to load) and at true plan position of their control lines marked on receiving surfaces (Maximum tolerance +/- 3mm). Concrete surface shall be free from local irregularities (Maximum tolerance +/- 1mm in depth).At par 9.7 of IRCEN publication book, for precast concrete or steel super structure elements, fixing of bearing to them may be done by application of epoxy resin adhesive to interface, after specified surface preparation.

Elastomeric bearings are supposed to be kept in true horizontal plane on bearing pedestal, without any foreign material. As such methodology adopted in construction of pre cast post tensioned segmental box girder is not in accordance with the procedure explained in IS code /IRCEEN publications.

1. A recess shall be formed at the location of bearing in the pier segment.

2. While casting of pier segment, dowels are to be kept in order to take care of shear force, if any & hold steel mesh.

3. A duct is to be created by placing the PVC pipe in pier segment itself. This will facilitate for pouring of non-shrink grout from top exactly over top of bearing.

4. After stressing the segments and aligning the girder to the required line and level, steel mesh is to be placed inside the recess of pier segment.

5. A dummy bearing of same size is to be placed on pier pedestals and proper shuttering arrangement shall be made to hold the insitu grouting/concreting.

6. After checking line, level and plane of bearing, a non-shrink grout is to be poured from top of the viaduct over the dummy bearing. 7.

Shuttering arrangements are to be removed after attaining the required grout strength.

8. Replace the dummy bearing with real bearing after detail inspection of cast in-situ down stand.

With this methodology, both (Top & Bottom) surface of the bearing will be in true horizontal plane and rest of the procedure will be as per IS code/ IRCEN Publication book.

Authored by Nagappa Hebbi, Be (Civil),Fie, Additional General Manager (const.) Metro Link Express F o r G a n d h i n a g a r A h m e d a b a d ( M e g a) Company Limited, Limited, Gandhinagar ,Gujarat.

Innovated Method for installation of Elastomeric bearing In view of the above, it is proposed to construct the cast in-situ down stand in staid off pre cast down stand, so that Elastomeric bearing can be placed in true horizontal plane. This cast in-situ concrete or high strength cementitious grout will be placed in the recess provided in the precast segment along with shear reinforcements.

The following methodology explains the procedure of construction of cast in-situ down stand.

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COMPANY COVERAGE ARTICLE

Creating Value through our resistance welding products and automation solutions.

Established in 1977, Arm Welders has 3 state of art manufacturing units with about 70,000 Sq.ft. of production space and 10,000 Sq.ft. of office in Pune and branch offices all over India Arm Welders has 3 main divisions : 1. Product 2. Automation 3. Services Ÿ Under our Product division, Arm Welders has developed its own brand of all type of resistance welding equipment and are leading suppliers to all major automotive companies like Volkswagen, Tata Motors, Volvo, Daimler, Bajaj and their supplier base. Our major exports include to South Africa, Japan, Brazil and other countries. All our products are designed and developed at our own R&D center in Pune.

Ÿ Under our Automation division, Arm Welders provides complete turn key robotic welding solutions from Concept to Commissioning. Our solutions cater to all type of Industry sectors like Mainline Railway, Metro Rail, Furniture, General fabrication and Automotive. Our team of designers have the expertise to customize solutions all your welding applications. Ÿ Under our Service Division, we cater to complete AMC services through our branch offices. We ensure 24 x 7 service backup for all our equipment and help you to manage your maintenance schedule ensuring a high uptime for the systems.

Our major offering for the Railway sector includes : • Robotic Spot welding Solution for Side wall and Roof - These systems have flexible fixtures to accommodate different variants, dual robotic spot welding guns, lower cycle time, auto sensing and IOT enabled for data acquisition as per Industry 4.0 standards. Using our systems, the customers have had a 3 fold improvement in productivity and quality.

• Robotic Welding for Underframe - These systems are developed with a special software to overcome any manual errors

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class quality and high productivity. The manipulator provided with this system can rotate the complete job by 180° • Automatic Seam Welding for Metro Roof - With this system, the customers are able to ensure leak proof seam welding of the corrugated roofs with each other in Auto mode, eliminating human errors.

• Gantry Spot welding systems - These systems eliminate the need for Tack welding of Reinforcements for the side wall. The customers are able to weld the complete sidewall in a single setup and hence reducing the overall production space and material handling.

Author : Mr Brijesh Khanderia, CEO, Arm Welders Pvt. Ltd

ARTICLE CASE STUDY

Kerala Semi High-Speed Rail Corridor To Benefit State at Large The proposed Semi High-Speed Rail (SHSR) corridor from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod will provide a faster and cleaner travel option to vast majority of people across the state as they will get connected to it from the existing stations and airports in major cities, K-Rail Managing Director V. Ajith Kumar pointed out during a special presentation on the Silver Line before the State legislators.

Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran, Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan, Ministers and MLAs were also present. The project, which is set to bring about a qualitative change in infrastructure profile of the state, is being implemented by the KRail, a joint venture company of Government of Kerala and Ministry of Railways.

The special railway corridor has 532-km length, and it will take four hours to reach Kasaragod from the capital city passing through 11 districts. The Silver Line stations will be connected to the major cities in the State. Since it will also be linked to the international airports in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, a travel time of below two hours will be enough to reach any of these airports from Silver Line stations. The expatriates coming home will especially benefit from this.

Silver Line will also touch major employment hubs across the state like Technopark and Infopark proving to be socially and economically beneficial for tens of thousands of professionals working in these facilities.

The aerial survey of the project has already been completed. The detailed project report (DPR) and alignment will be ready by March. The SHSR line, Which will be completed in five years, is expected to reduce both congestion and pollution by taking off about 7,500 vehicles from roads. Around 46,100 daily road users and 11,500 train commuters are

expected to shift to Silver Line. This will result in saving of fuel cost by an estimated Rs 530 crore in the current prices.

As many as 500 trucks will stay away from roads with the freight movement starting through Silver Line, in the form of ‘RORO’ service. Silver Line will also be a boon for domestic and foreign tourists, who now rely on a rail journey. In future, special tourist services can be operated through this line.K-Rail will have to acquire about 1,226 hectares of land for the project, which is about half the land required for four-lane highways. Land acquisition is required on an average in 25-metre width. Huge employment opportunities will emerge throughout the project.

Around 50 lakh job opportunities will be offered during the construction period. Between Thiruvananthapuram and Tirur (310 km), the line will pass by a stretch that is different from the existing railway line, since it has a large number of curves that limit the speed. From Tirur upward (222 km), the line will run parallel to the existing track up till Kasaragod.

Keeping in mind the maintenance aspect, the rail corridor will also have roads parallel to it. This will open up the land along the new rail corridor in terms of access. The SHSR line is perceived as a green project. For this, K-Rail will be tying up with IIMAhmedabad. It plans to depend heavily on renewable energy and re-used concrete and steel. The corporation is set to adopt last mile connectivity, with the system-driven e-vehicle public transport system, multi-modal integration, charging and parking stations, which would take Kerala to the next generation of urban mobility.The feasibility study was conducted by Paris-based engineering and consulting group Systra for K-Rail. The project has an estimated cost of Rs 66,079 crore. The lion’s share of the fund will be raised through loans from international financial aid institutions.

(The Article first appeared on b-live.in)

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ARTICLE CASE STUDY

Privatisation Of Indian Railways: Why It Will Deepen The Class Divide

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sense of satisfaction crept over Ankit Mishra after his journey from Lucknow to New Delhi on Tejas Express. He spent around Rs 1,800 for a distance covering 480 km—twice the regular fare; equal to an air ticket. Meals were provided on board; 25 minutes were shaved off the usual travel time of 6.40 hours. “The journey was fine…it seems railways is trying to compete with airways,” says Ankit owes his experience to the Indian Railways’ experiment to outsource the running of passenger trains to private entities. To start its pilot, it picked its catering arm, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), to run Tejas Express six days a week between Lucknow and New Delhi. It was India’s first “private semi high-speed passenger train”.

Not just plush interiors and good food, passengers coughing up a higher fare would get another commodity unheard of in these parts: accountability and compensation. A delay of over an hour would enjoin IRCTC to pay a compensation of Rs 100 to each passenger; if it’s late by over two hours, one is to get Rs 250. The company spends Rs 14 lakh daily on the Lucknow Delhi run (and back); it earns Rs 17.50 lakh daily from fares.

IRCTC CEO Mahendra Pratap says two private trains are being run—the Lucknow-Delhi Tejas (at 65 per cent occupancy), and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas (at 85 per cent occupancy). On compensation, he says, “When you enter a new market, you have to offer something, thus compensation with premium services.”

Railways and IRCTC term the experiment as a ‘success’ and the national carrier is readying for an enlarged plan for private players.

To start with, government thinktank NITI Aayog has presented a discussion paper suggesting private players operating 150 passenger trains on 100 routes. As per the plan, such operators are expected to run 16-coach trains as per schedule given by the railways for a tenure of 35 years, charging market-linked fares. It requires an investment of Rs 22,500 crore. With dedicated freight corridors expected to be functional by December 2021, the railways is confident of apportioning enough time and schedule to run private trains.

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“Indian Railways has generally not been successful in publicprivate partnership. This time they are doing the right things. The risk seems to be rightly divided between private party and government.” A European train operator tells Outlook, “The political climate in India is not investor-friendly. The opportunity is big and we agree to invest, but it’s difficult to commit before government policy.” Names of private players doing the rounds include Bombardier, Hyundai Rotem Company, Alstom, Siemens, along with Tata Realty and NIF, some of which have entered the sector through running metro trains. The private dream peddled to consumers includes swish interiors, meals and drinks on board and entertainment. However, the major roadblock to this dream while chasing this dream of private players the biggest roadblock would be the fact that introducing high-end services to the common man’s carrier—that carries over 23 million, mostly poor, passengers and about 13,000 trains daily—would widen the classdivide. Naturally, the move faces cogent queries. Will private trains be given preference over railways-run trains? Doesn’t the poor value punctuality? Should citizens pay the price for the political necessity behind the freeze on fare hikes for decades? A senior railway official says, “Private players won’t run trains for public good. It will be a premium product but might have some space for the common man with price hike. The blueprint will be cleared by mid-February.” Former Railway Board member Sanjoy Mookerjee says the railways should have a vision before it embarks on this. “It should experiment with green field projects like high-speed trains and RRTS. Such projects will give a better understanding, rather than just auctioning brownfield projects, since the railways has no experience in running private trains along with their own on the same tracks,” he says.

Private trains have been on the Modi government’s agenda. In 2014-15, then railway minister Suresh Prabhu wanted to include it in his first railway budget. Four years later, it’s being implemented.

Authored by Jyotika Sood

ARTICLE OPINION

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Across the globe, most of the bullet train and highspeed train projects are shelved as they lead to long-term liability for the state governments by setting aside a considerable subsidy bill to sustain the capital invested

“

Is the bullet train a priority?

T

he bullet trains and the high-speed trains are in the news for the last few weeks. After taking charge as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray announced that the bullet train project worth Rs 1 lakh-crore investment, connecting Ahmedabad and Mumbai, needs a review on the viability of the project and has no plan to shelve it.

The Kerala Budget 2020 proposes to build a Rs 66,079 crore rail line that will enable semi-high speed trains to ply between upstate Kasaragod and the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram.

On February 11, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed for high-speed rail project linking the middle and north of England connecting cities like London, Leeds and Birmingham with a projected investment of Rs 7.8 lakh-crore much to the opposition of his Conservative Party colleagues.

All the projects mentioned have raked up debates mainly on the viability and sustainability of such big-ticket investments and the liability of the State in the long run.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is on a slow track as there has been a ground protest against the acquisition of agricultural land, mostly on the Maharashtra side of the project, and the Supreme Court currently hearing the petitions filed by the farmers. The land acquisition is more or less a challenge in Kerala as well as in England bringing debates around loss of livelihoods and the rates at which the land is acquired for the project.

Mostly, these projects are driven by debt financing. The MumbaiAhmedabad bullet train project is financed by Japan with a soft loan of Rs 79,000 crore at an interest rate of 0.1 percent, with a tenure stretching over 50 years and a moratorium period of 15 years. Though this loan arrangement may look very attractive, the structure of the loan and the tenure calculation would show that the loan is not soft as the total repayment with interest would come around a significant amount of Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the given period.The government of Kerala is also looking for international financial assistance to operationalise its semi-high speed railway corridor which would be almost a new line, a few kilometres east of the Indian Railway corridor which is in operation now.

The viability of these projects is discussed in the context of the alternative provisions proposed by experts. The fare is always

calculated on the basis of the daily expected number of passengers on board. A back-of-the-envelope estimation of the ticket fare ranges between Rs 3,000-5,000 for 100,000 commuters daily for the bullet train. The case for Kerala’s semispeed train projects also banks upon the commuters’ volume of around 70,000 per day to keep the fare at a lower rate. Here lies the biggest challenge of estimating future ridership. In India, there is a poor track record of forecasting the volume of commuters and vehicles while developing the airports, national highways and flyovers. As a result, it is found that the developed properties are choked and often congested as they reach optimal usage within a few years of inauguration, unlike what was predicted at the time of the project development. In cases such as the Metro, the commuting population has never reached the projected numbers in the majority of the cases, leading to the bleeding of the government exchequer to sustain operations. Many factors influence the decisions of a consumer, especially from a utilitarian theoretical framework. Accessibility, availability, affordability and competition in the segment are some key points that should be taken into account in an emerging market when any public good project is proposed. In most of the pre-feasibility study surveys, opinions of uninformed laymen having no exposure to proposed projects are sought. Thus, a populist and welfarist State always drives the respondents to answer affirmatively in a competitive political .economy. Across the globe, most of these bullet train and high-speed train projects are shelved as they lead to long-term liability for the state governments by setting aside a considerable subsidy bill to sustain the capital invested.

As the average speed of Indian Railways is still clocking less than 100 km/hr, the priority should be to improve the infrastructure to augment average speed. Instead of focusing on the segments of 500 km of reach, the Indian Railways should focus on the majority of the high dense corridors of its 67,000 km-network to improve the speed by another 50 km/hr, and not fall into the trap of bullet train debates.

Authored by D Dhanuraj D Dhanuraj is chairman, Centre for Public Policy Research, Kochi. Views are personal.

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NEW DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE

Maha Metro opens first section of Nagpur Metro Aqua Line

T

he Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) commenced commercial operations on the first section of Nagpur Metro Aqua Line between Lokmannya Nagar Metro Station and Sitabuldi Interchange today.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Minister of States for Housing & Urban Affairs, Civil Aviation, Commerce & Industry Shri Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off the first train on the 11-km section between Lokmannya Nagar-Sitabuldi Interchange through a video link at 11.00 am on January 28, 2020.

While Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari flagged off the service on the section, in the presence of state ministers Eknath Shinde, Anil Deshmukh, Nitin Raut, Sunil Kedar, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, Nagpur Mayor Sandip Joshi, MPs Vikas

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Mahatme and Krupal Tumane, Secretary of Ministry of Urban Development D.S. Mishra along with top officials of MAHAMETRO and government presence at Subhash Nagar Metro Station in Nagpur today.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the Phase-I of Nagpur Metro is completed in record time. He appealed the citizens of Nagpur and state to take responsibility to maintain the cleanliness in Metro so that it can attract the tourists and passengers not only from India but from worldwide.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the proposed Broad-Gauge Metro network will connect the satellite towns like Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur near Nagpur city. The BroadGauge Metro Rail which will be consisting of metro coaches with a

NEW DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE speeding capacity of 120 kilometres per hour will be spread across Indian Railways. He also hoped to manufacture the rolling stock of this Broad-Gauge Metro at Sindi Dry port in Wardha district in order to reduce the manufacturing cost of rolling stock.

Nagpur is among the five fastest-growing cities in the country and he also assured that entire 38-kilometre stretch of Nagpur Metro Network will be completed till December this year� Said Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

The newly inaugurated Nagpur Metro Aqua line passing over the Ambazari lake in the city will connect the east and west parts of the city. This Metro line will facilitate the commuters coming from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s Hingana area and adjoining areas of the outskirts of the city.

Known as the Aqua Line, a total of 24.50 kms of the metro with six stations has become operational in Nagpur and it is deriving 65 per cent of its power consumption from Solar Energy. Nagpur Metro network is now operational up to 24.5 kilometres. , while another five stations are likely to be operational by April, said an official.

The stations on the Aqua Line are Lokmanya Nagar, Bansi Nagar, Vasudev Nagar, Rachana Ring Road, Subhash Nagar, Ambazari Lake View, LAD Square, Shankar Nagar, Institute of Engineers and Jhansi Rani Square with service every 20-30 minutes for 12 hours daily from 8 a.m.

The 24.50 kms are about two-thirds of the total network of Phase I of Nagpur Metro Rail Project, and the remainder of the project is slated for completion by end-2020.

Last year in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 13.50 kms section known as Orange Line, running north-south in the city, being implemented by the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MAHA-METRO).

About Aqua Line (Nagpur Metro) The Aqua Line (East-West) of the Nagpur Metro is an under construction metro route of mass rapid transit system in Nagpur, India. It consists of 21 metro stations from Prajapati Nagar to Hingna Mount View with a total distance of 19.407 km. Full line is elevated.

This corridor originates from Prajapati Nagar and runs westwards, through Vaishnodevi Square, Ambedkar Square, Telephone Exchange, Chittar Oli Square, Agarsen Square, Doser Vaisya Square, Nagpur Railway Station, Sitaburdi, Jhansi Rani Square, Institute of Engineers, Shankar Nagar Square, Lad Square, Dharmpeth College, Subhash Nagar, Rachna (Ring road Junction), Vasudev Nagar, Bansi Nagar to Lomanya Nagar. The entire corridor is elevated.

The total length of the corridor is 19.407 km. There are 21 stations on this corridor. All stations are elevated stations and Sitaburdi station is an Interchange Station. Average inter-station distance is 1.00 km approximately varying from 0.65 km to 1.29 km depending upon the site, operational and traffic requirements.

The DMRC in its Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted to Nagpur Improvement Trust has suggested to start the construction work on both the routes simultaneously contradicting the prior suggestion of phase wise development.

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NEW DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE

TelangnaCM KCR Flags off JBS-MGBS metro stretch of Hyderabad Metro

C

hief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao inaugurates the muchawaited Hyderabad Metro’s Green Corridor, (JBS-MGBS) on February 7, 2020, at 4 pm, extending yet further public transportation convenience for passengers shuttling between the north-south ends of the city.

Hon’ble CM felt very happy with the way metro stations were built, the latest technologies we adopted, etc. He said JBS & MGBS stations are like modern airports & they would soon be buzzing with people & activity” said MD HMRL Hon’ble CM Mr KCR stated that Hyderabadis have started enjoying the sweet fruits of metro & that we need to prepare a master plan to extend the metro to all parts of the city to reduce pollution & make Hyderabad a global city He was in a very jovial mood & when I took him to driver’s cabin, he kept on mentioning the names of different galleries, theatre & road names etc., near different stations of the JBS-MGBS corridor.

“Hyderabad metro is superior to Delhi metro in terms of technology & vision & he asked me to maintain that edge in future as well. He allowed the engineers & officers of HMRL & L&TMRHL to be photographed with him in different groups” MD HMRL Added further.

Hyderabad Metro already extends east-west connectivity in the city with services on the LB Nagar-Miyapur and Nagole-Raidurg corridors. With the commence of commercial operations on the JBS-MGBS route, another 11 km of Metro network added to the existing 58 km. The 69-km network signals the end of Phase I of the Metro project in the city.

Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) had published the necessary safety certificate for the route last month. JBS-MGBS section is one of the parts of JBS-Falaknuma corridor. It has nine stations — JBS-Parade Grounds, RTC Crossroads, Secunderabad

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West, Gandhi Hospital, Musheerabad, Narayanguda, Chikkadpally, Sultan Bazaar and MGBS. Presently, around four lakh passengers are travelling every day on the other two corridors. Every day, about 780 trips are being served, covering 18,000 km, with the punctuality of 99.8 per cent.

The metro services between Jubilee Bus Station(JBS) to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station(MGBS) will be operational to our passengers tomorrow on February 8 from 6:30 am.

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao (KTR), DGP Mahender Reddy, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) managing director NVS Reddy were present at the inaugural ceremony.

Getting to the JBS parade grounds metro station that is placed closer to the JBS bus station was constructed at 66 ft with five levels — street, lower concourse, upper concourse, lower platform, and upper platform.

The MGBS interchange metro rail station is termed as one of the biggest metro rail stations in Asia which connects MiyapurLB Nagar stretch of Corridor I and JBS-Falaknuma of Corridor II. Hyderabad Metro Rail becomes second-largest metro network in India By the launch of another 11-km stretch on Friday, Hyderabad Metro Rail has become the second-largest metro rail network in the nation after Delhi. Hyderabad Metro Rail, the world’s largest public-private partnership project, is now the secondlargest operational metro network in the country covering 69.2 km, the officials said.

After introducing the stretch, the Chief Minister, along with some of his cabinet colleagues and senior officials, travelled from JBS to Chikkadpally

ARTICLE APPOINTMENTS

Shri Manoj Joshi Takes Over As New General Manager Of Metro Railway

Ranjit Singh Deol takes charge of Managing Director of MMRC

R

anjit Singh Deol, an IAS officer of 1998 batch has taken charge of Managing Director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) on Jan 23, 2020. Ashwini Bhide has handed over her charge to him on today. The Maharashtra Government has issued the transfer order of Ranjit Singh Deol on January 21.

Bhide, who belongs to the 1995-batch, was recently promoted to the rank of principal secretary. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is yet to decide on her new assignment. Bhide had earlier faced criticism from the Shiv Sena over the overnight felling of trees in Aarey Colony for a car shed for the Metro project. She had completed her five-year tenure as MD with MMRC in December 2019.

Handed over my charge as MD #MMRC to my dear collegue in the #IAS Ranjitsingh Deol. It was a fascinating journey of 5 exciting years which I would cherish forever. Best wishes 2 new MD & extremely competent team MMRC. Grateful to all of you for overwhelming support & affection.

Before posting as Managing Director Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), Ranjit Singh Deol was ViceChairman & Managing Director of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). He has served in various departments under the Government of Maharashtra. He was Commissioner for Social Welfare, Maharashtra State, Pune; Director of Census Operation, Mumbai; Commissioner, Solapur Municipal Corporation; District Collector, Jalna; Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Hingoli; Sub Divisional Officer, Yeotmal and Assistant Collector at Yeotmal.

In a fresh round of bureaucratic rejig on Wednesday, CM Uddhav assigned fresh postings to 20 senior and middle-level bureaucrats. Deol’s appointment to MMRC was one of them. The CM had transferred 22 bureaucrats last week.

Ranjit Singh Deol will now lead the ongoing construction work of Mumbai Metro Line-3 (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ), a fully underground line of Mumbai Metro Rail network.

According to the latest updates from Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, about 100% excavation work of 13, out of 26 metro stations of Mumbai Metro Line-3 completed. In total, about 75% of tunnelling work completed so far.

Recently, MMRC has awarded the contract to L&T Construction for track laying work of the northern portion of the 33.5 km Line-3 connecting Cuffe Parade with SEEPZ.

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hri Manoj Joshi has taken over the charge of General Manager of Metro Railway on 14.01.2020. He is a senior officer of Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineers of 1983 batch.

Shri Joshi is a B.E.(Mechanical) from IIT Roorkee and has done his Executive MBA from MDI Gurgaon. He has also attended training programmes in Advance Strategic Management in Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA. Prior to this appointment, he was Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer of Central Railway. During his 34 years of illustrious career in Indian Railways, he has worked as Chief Administrative Officer, Central Organization for Modernization of Workshop (COFMOW), General Manager, Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), Director, Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO), Chief Workshop Engineer and Chief Rolling Stock Engineer, South Western Railway, Divisional Railway Manager, Guntakal Division, South Central Railway.

Shri Joshi has also made several contributions in various system improvements at the workplace.

JOB OPENING

Metro & Railway job openings

S. No. 1.

Organisation

Description

Delhi M etro Rail Corporation(DM RC) Lim ited

Last Date 24/02/2020 20/02/2020 20/02/2020 18/02/2020 18/02/2020

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Deputy General Manager – 01 Post General M anager – 02 Post Deputy Head of Department – 01 Post Deputy Head of Department -01 Post GM /DGM-02 Posts Deputy General Manager -01 Post General M anager – 01 Post

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Kochi M etro Rail Lim ited (KM RL)

19/02/2020

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Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)

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Consultant-01 Post

26/02/2020

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Indian Railway Finance Corporation(IRFC)

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M anager Deputy General Manager Joint General M anager

13/02/2020

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Noida Metro Rail Corporation(NM RC)

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Project Head 01 JGM /DGM 02 Assistant M anager / M anager04 Junior Engineer06 Accountant 01 General M anager 02 M anager 05 JGM 01 General M anager 04 Assistant M anager 01 AM 02 Depot M anager 01 Auto CADOperator 01

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ARTICLE EVENT

Metro and Railway Industry Events Calender

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LIVE TENDER

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TENDER DETAILS Design, Manufacture, Supply, Testing And Commissioning Of 234 Nos. Standard Gauge Construction Of Cars I) 8.124 Including Km Elevated TrainingViaducts Of LineAnd 4 And 8 Stations Extension From Corridor Ch. 17343.443m To 25467.443m, Ii) 5.420 Km Elevated Viaducts And 3 Stations From Gnlu To Gift City And Iii) 0.815 Km Elevated Viaducts And Additional Platform At Koteswar Road Station For Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project PhaseIi From Motera Construction OfStadium 6.478kmToElevated Mahatma Viaducts MandirAnd And5Gnlu Stations To Gift From City Ch.(Excl. E&M, 25467.443m To 31945.443m And 0.679 Km Elevated Viaducts And Ramp For Depot Entry In Connection With Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase – Ii From Motera:Satdium Corrigendum GeneralTo Consultancy Mahatma Cum Mandir Project (Excl.Management E&M, Architectural Consultancy Finishing Works For Construction Of Elevated And Underground Metro RailWay Works From Majerhat (Ex.) To Esplanade, Approx. 6 Km In Connection With Joka-Bbd Bag Metro Corridor Corrigendum : Construction In The State Of Ballast Of West LessBengal Track (Blt) On Elevated Viaduct, Underground Tunnel, Station & Yard And Other Miscellaneous Works From Chainage (-) 90m To 7195m I.E. Noapara To Bimanbandar Yard In Connection With Extension Corrigendum : Conversion Of Metro RailWay Of Existing From 220Noapara Kv Oh Lines To Barasat To Ug Cable Via Infringing The Metro Rail Alignment Of Pmr 3 Project Which Includes Engg, Supply, Erection, Testing, Commissioning Of The Works And, Dismantling Of Unutilised Towers And Handing Over Of The Works Operations And Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract (Camc) Of Environmental Control System(Ecs) And Tunnel Ventilation System (Tvs) Of 07 Through Fittings Renewal On Up And Dn Line In Between Dum Dum And Kavi Detailed Design Consultancy Services For Power Supply & Distribution System, 750 V Dc Third Rail Traction Electrification And Scada System Of Surat Mrts PhDetailed Design Consultancy Services For Power Supply & Distribution System, 750 V Dc Third Rail Traction Electrification And Scada System Of Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase – 2 For Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (Gmrc) Limited Execution Of Preliminary Works For Survey, Geo Technical Investigation, Preparation Of Conceptual Design, Tender Drawings, Architectural Drawings, Preparation Of Dbr, Tender Documents For Epc Including Specifications And Schedule Of Bill Of Quantity (Boq) With Rates And Rate Analysis Etc., Detail Design & Drawing Of Subway & Dispersal And Proof Checking Of Detail Design & Drawing For Underground Construction Of Double Line, Multiple Line And Modification Height Raising Of 220 Kv Dc Panki-Rph, Panki-Bithoor Transmission Line For Metro Rail At Kanpur, Under Etd-I, Kanpur Ddc For Design Of 25 Kv Ohe System For Elevated Line And Power Supply And Scada For Both Underground And Elevated Lines Including Checking Of Design Supply Of Ac & Non-Ac Vehicles (Motor Car)On Hire For Official Use Of The Metro Railway Officials Of Engineering, Gm's Secretariat, Accounts, Detailed Geotechnical Investigation Study For The Underground Stations And Tunnels Including Depots For Bhopal And Indore Metro Rail Project.

Cash Pick Up Arrangement From 24 Stations(Noapara - Kavi Subhash) Of North - South Corridor And 06 Stations(Salt Lake Stadium - Salt Lake Sector V) Of Non-Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Of Notifier Make Fire Alarm System Installed At Underground Metro Stations And Depots Of Line-7 And 8

LOCATION

VALUE

DEADLINE

Maharashtra, India

1865 CR.

25-02-2020

Gujarat, India

1017.63 CR.

24-03-2020

Gujarat, India

470.06 CR.

26-03-2020

West Bengal, India

139.99 CR.

26-03-2020

West Bengal, India

80.5 CR.

6-3-2020

Maharashtra, India

59 CR.

4-3-2020

Karnataka, India West Bengal, India

22.5 CR. 9.31 CR.

3-3-2020

Gujarat, India

5.66 CR.

Gujarat, India

5.66 CR.

13-03-2020

West Bengal, India

5.09 CR.

18-02-2020

Uttar Pradesh, India

4.65 CR.

3-3-2020

Bihar, India

4.36 CR.

17-02-2020

West Bengal, India

3.87 CR.

2-3-2020

3.55 CR.

17-02-2020

West Bengal, India

2.57 CR.

6-3-2020

Delhi, India

1.27 CR.

2-3-2020

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LIVE TENDER

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TENDER DETAILS

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Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway

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Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway

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Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway METRO RAIL NEWS | FEB 2020 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

LOCATION

VALUE

DEADLINE

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2021

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2022

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2023

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2024

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2025

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2026

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2027

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2028

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2029

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2030

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2031

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2032

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2033

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2034

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2035

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2036

13-02-2020

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Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway Carrying Out The Work Of "Round The Clock Social Media Management As Well As Tv Monitoring And Preparing News Clippings Pad And Synopsis" On Daily Basis For A Period Of 12 Months I.E. 1 Year For Metro Railway

LOCATION

VALUE

DEADLINE

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2037

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2038

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2039

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2040

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2041

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2042

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2043

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2044

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2045

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2046

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2047

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2048

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2049

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2050

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2051

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2052

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2053

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2054

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2055

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2056

West Bengal, India

19.12 Lacs

13-02-2057

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