Metro Rail News Aug 2019: MetroLite Special

ADVISORY BOARD Editorial Advisory Board

WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

Vol. III Issue 32 | August 2019 Managing Editor Narendra Shah editor@metrorailnews.in

Prof. (Dr.) A. Ali Heggo Visitor Professor Egyptian & Arabic Universities Egypt (A.R.E.)

Sunil Srivastava Member Governing Council Institute of Metro & Rail Technology Hyderabad (India)

Ved Mani Tiwari President & COO Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd New Delhi (India)

Yogesh Dandekar Sr. Manager - Industrial Design TATA Elxsi Limited Pune (India)

Sunil Srivastava Member Governing Council Institute of Metro & Rail Technology Hyderabad (India)

Percy Bernard Brooks Project Management Specialist Faiveley Transport Rail Technologies Bengaluru (India)

Haru Imam Project Control Engineer Persons Corporation SaudiArbia (UAE)

Manas Ranjan Panda Sr. Rolling Stock Expert AYESA India Pvt Ltd. Lucknow (India)

Sanjay Kumar Agarwal Dy. General Manaer Metro One Operations Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai (India)

Sudhir D. Prabhu Railway Systems Consultant MSc BEng. MIET, AMIRSE UnitedKingdom

Dr. Ajeet Kumar Pandey Delivery Manager L&T Technology Services Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Editorial Support Staff Kanika Verma, Assistant Editor kanika.verma@metrorailnews.in Business Development Priyanka Sahu, Director priyanka.sahu@metrorailnews.in Sales & Circulation Himanshu Singh Business Development Executive himanshu.singh@metrorailnews.in sales@metrorailnews.in Editorial & Business Office Metro Rail News | Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd 32B, Patparganj, Mayur Vihar Phase-1 New Delhi - 110091, India Tel: +91 9990454505 E-mail: editor@metrorailnews.in

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Printed, Published & Edited by Narendra Shah at Friends Digital Color Solutions, G8-57, Manjusha Building, Nehru Place, New Delhi-1100019 on behalf of Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd., 32B,Patparganj, Mayur Vihar Phase-I, New Delhi-110091, INDIA

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Chinmoy Pattanyak Head of APAC Center of Delivery & SW Center India (TCMS) at BOMBARDIER

EDITOR NOTE

From the desk of MANAGING EDITOR Dear Readers, The Central Government of India is planning to introduce Light Urban Rail Transit System called "Metrolite for small cities and towns, having lower projection of ridership, with each train comprising of three coaches and capacity of carrying 300 passengers. It will run at a restricted speed of 25 kmph.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has issued standard specifications of the 'Metrolite' system, which states that it will be developed on surface and on elevated stretches.

'Metrolite' can be developed at a lower cost in comparison to the existing metro systems and also act as feeder system to high capacity Metro.

It will also work as a metro feeder system, and is significantly cheaper compared to the metro rail system. To implement the ‘Metrolite’ system in smaller cities, the Centre will provide financial assistance to the states.

Our monthly supplements are designed keeping in mind the curiosity of the people who are looking for information and updates on Urban Transport Mobility. Readers will come across a mixture of news, features and regular columns on a wide range of Metro Rail Projects topics.

Our August issue focuses on interesting topics such Depot Machinery & Plants and also provides cover story on Metrolite & Automatic Train Wash Systems. Further, Bengaluru’s Namma Metro and Hyderabad Metro are chosen as our project of the month. Exclusive interviews with Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railway and Commerce & Industry and Mr. N.V.S. Reddy, Managing Director, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) along with other regular columns such as new development in metro projects, pre/post event coverages, technology updates, news analysis, articles, opinions, appointments, live tenders, industry contracts, upcoming events and current job openings are covered in this edition of Metro Rail News I hope you will find this edition to be useful and informative. Please do let us know if there are any topics that you would us like to cover in the future editions.

I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to all our readers for your constant support, and our valuable authors, reviewers, for their contributions, service, and interest. I highly appreciate your support and hope to continue our collaboration in future. Please feel free to provide your valuable feedback and suggestions on this issue to my email address mentioned below.

Thank you.

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

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Index

Editor Note

6

News Highlights

10

Cover Story: Metrolite & Automatic Train Wash System

20

Project of the month: Namma Metro

26

Exclusive Interview with Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railway and Commerce & Industry

32

Featured Project: Hyderabad Metro

36

Exclusive Interview with Mr. NVS Reddy, MD, HMRL

40

Focus System: Depot Machinery & Plants

46

Pre Event Coverage: The 3rd ASEAN Rail Summit 2019

50

Budget 2019: Metro & Railway

52

Project Updates

54

Contract & Awards

55

Opinion

56

Appointment

59

Articles

60

Metro & Railway Jobs

68

20

32

52

60

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS

Bengaluru Metro to become sixcoaches train by Dec 2019

have to execute the plan. On the basis of a Detailed Project Report, which has been approved by the Central government, we have carried out a survey of the areas and lands to be acquired. In the coming days, we will start acquiring the land first from Dream City to Kadarshah naal and later in other areas. We will also organize weekly meetings with officials of the Metro Rail Corporation to review the work completed and decide what is left and how to do it”.

Hyderabad Metro found wanting in first and last-mile connectivity.

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation The Hyderabad Metro Rail project Limited (BMRCL) has once again still lacks an efficient first and lastpushed the deadline to convert all its mile connectivity and a common three-coach train sets into sixticket for different commutes, even coaches. The new deadline is now as it sees a steady rise in passengers December 2019. Earlier, BMRCL with the number inching towards had planned to convert all 50 of its three-lakh mark every day. three-coach trains operating in Once the Raidurg station on Corridor Phase One by September. The 3 becomes operational, trains with deadline has been pushed because better frequency would ensure that the testing of each coach is a timemore passengers get to travel and consuming process.

Korea EXIM bank backs off from ease crowd pressure during peak Vizag Metro Rail Project hours. However, conscious effort is The Korea EXIM Bank earlier came required to make the first and lastforward and offered to assist in mile connectivity towards metro establishment of Vizag Metro Rail by stations reliable and affordable. funding the infrastructure when the Shuttle services are being operated state government was facing a by some firms at Hi-Tec City and setback in their grand plans. The Durgam Cheruvu stations, while the Land acquisition for Surat Metro Korea EXIM Bank that had come L&T Metro Rail is operating from forward to offer financial assistance Rail to be initiated soon stations such as Secunderabad to establish Vizag Metro rail has now Principal Secretary Mukesh Puri, backed off due to unknown reasons. East, Tarnaka, Mettuguda, and others. Yet, these are either officials of the Gujarat Metro Rail C o r p o r a t i o n a n d S M C Highly placed sources in the insufficient or the frequency of 15-30 Commissioner Thennnarasan government said that Amaravati minutes is not good enough if discussed how to speed up the Metro Rail Corporation has now passengers’ reactions are anything project and prioritize the works at the decided to approach other global to go by. meeting. SMC Commissioner financial institutions like Asian Thennarasan said, “To execute the Infrastructure Investment Bank work, we have fixed priorities. We (AIIB) and New Development Bank, first have to open an office for the formerly BRICS bank, seeking funds Surat Metro Rail project and later we for the project.

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS HCC completes 3.82 km tunnel for train takes about 12 hours to reach Mumbai Metro III the destination.

The Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) on Friday said that as part of the upcoming Mumbai Metro III project, it had completed boring the first 3.82 km long tunnel MPMRCL to acquire Land for passing underneath some of the Bhopal Metro Rail most thickly populated areas of Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co south Mumbai.

Limited (MPMRCL) has begun Terming it "a challenging task", a issuing notifications to acquire land company spokesperson said HCC for the construction of the Bhopal has finished the south-bound tunnel metro rail project. Property owners between Chhatrapati Shivaji along the Metro Rail Phase-I route, Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and starting from Arera Hills to AIIMS, Mumbai Central stations, becoming Bhopal, could soon be adversely the first contractor among all others affected. to complete the entire length of a A businessman at Jehangirabad said tunnel for the Metro III project.

“Our shop is about 20sqft. Surveyors who undertook the measurement of the land have identified that about 20 to 25sqft land would be demarcated for the metro rail. It is a very typical situation. The area is just metres away from the metro depot site at Arera Hills”.

Railways mulling another Vande When contacted, the district Bharat Express between Delhiadministration declined to comment Katra on the matter. A local area officer said According to senior railway ministry that he was not aware of the situation officials related to the development, and MPMRCL has not intimated the Indian Railways is planning to run administration. another set of Vande Bharat Express, which was earlier known as Train 18, between New Delhi and Katra in Jammu and Kashmir.

The high-speed Vande Bharat Express will cover the distance within eight hours. The official pointed out that the route has been identified by the Railway Board in order to capitalize on the high traffic volume, which sees a lot of footfall due to Vaishno Devi temple shrine.

The official said that the new set of Train 18 is likely to commence operations between Delhi and Katra from next month onwards. He said that currently it has been proposed to run the train for three days a week — Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

The official said the new Vande Bharat Express will leave from Delhi at 6:00 a.m. and reach Katra at 2:00 p.m. And on its return journey on the same day, the train will depart from Katra at 3:00 p.m. and reach the national capital at 11 p.m.

He said it has been decided to run the train at a maximum speed of 130 km on the Delhi-Katra route and will have three stops en route. The train will stop at Ambala, Ludhiana, and Jammu Tawi before reaching its destination of Katra.

An official said that the train, which is capable of attaining a speed of 200 km, will cut down the traveling time Kochi Metro Rail holds trial run between the two stations by over five from Maharaja’s ground to hours. He said currently a superfast Thykoodam METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) on Wednesday conducted trial runs between Maharaja’s Metro station and the Thykoodam station, a 5.75km stretch. The trial run began from the Maharaja’s Metro station at 6.50 am and reached the Thykoodam station at 8.20 am. The train returned from Thykoodam at 8.45 am and reached Elamkulam at 9.25 am.

KMRL also conducted one more trial run during the day. The second train started from Elamkulam at 11.46 am and reached Thykoodam by 12.40 pm. The same train reached Maharaja’s station at 1.30 pm.

on phone, hindering your Delhi Metro journey? Soon, you will be able to enjoy hassle-free and uninterrupted network while travelling on the Delhi Metro. According to the new plan drawn up by DMRC, Delhi Metro trains and stations will have the facility of free WiFi. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the metro operator, will begin free WiFi services by the end of this year, a spokesperson told Financial Express Online. The WiFi service in Delhi Metro will be provided for free and without any limitations on the download speed or traffic volume.

“The trial runs were successful,” said a KMRL officer. The average speed of the train was 5 kmph, he said. The speed of the train from Aluva to Maharaja’s station during commercial operation is 40 kmph.

The maximum speed achievable is 90 kmph. He said the speed during the trial run varies from 5 kmph to 20 kmph.

The mechanism to run the WiFi service across Delhi Metro will be through a two-level network, which is as follows:

There are five new stations Ernakulam South, Kadavanthra, Elamkulam, Vyttila and Thykoodam on the new stretch.

Delhi Metro trains and stations to soon have free WiFi service for commuters!

Interrupted network and lost signals 12

between Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden, and the Delhi Metro Pink Line, which runs between Majlis Park and Shiv Vihar, will have the WiFi service.

Maharashtra CM clears ?3,500crore multimodal system to connect all Metro stations

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis cleared big-ticket projects for the financial capital, including an integrated multimodal system to connect the proposed Metro ? The first level will have a train-tostations. tunnel (T2T) radio network which passes signal from the base The 148th meeting of the Mumbai stations inside a tunnel to the Metropolitan Region Development portable base stations inside the Authority (MMRDA) board also head cars. cleared the appointment of the Indian Port Rail and Ropeway ? The second level will have an Corporation Ltd to prepare a detailed inner-train network which report for the ropeway projects transmits signal from the Wireless between Malad and Marve and from Access Points (WAP) in each car Gorai to Borivali, each 4.5 km long. to the users’ devices.

The ropeway is vital to establish the The target speed of the WiFi service East-West connectivity for the Metro will reach up to 300 Mbit per second and jetty works along the coast. This per train. However, the download can also establish connectivity to speed for a particular user depends Malad Metro station on Metro-2A on the network load at that moment. corridor, Borivali station on the DMRC is planning to deploy the free Western Railway, Metro-2A, and WiFi service across all its lines, Gorai jetty. including the Delhi Metro Airport Express line. To begin with, Delhi “The ropeway is successful in New Metro Magenta Line, which runs York, Colombia, and Turkey,” R.A.

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS Rajeev, Metropolitan Commissioner, of Kavdas dam, which is part of the MMRDA, said.

Surya dam project. The MMRDA will soon sign an MoU with the KIDC. “In cities like Mumbai where people are facing traffic problems, such Mr. Rajeev said, “This will form part initiatives can be useful. If these pilot of the Surya dam project, which is projects are successful, we may being executed by the MMRDA. undertake a few more projects,” he While we finance, it will be the said. responsibility of KIDC to secure permissions, acquire land, Mr. Fadnavis said the ?3,500 crore rehabilitate PAPs, and prepare an multimodal integration (MMI) project environment impact assessment for all the proposed Metro stations report.” will provide commuters a smooth transit experience and also achieve The logo of the Maha Mumbai Metro the State’s objective of providing (M3) Operation Corporation was last-mile connectivity. The MMI aims also unveiled at the meeting, which to facilitate works such as widened suggests an infinite loop formed with footpaths, bicycle tracks, parking three Ms. It describes how M3 offers zones, traffic signal improvement, a seamless and continuous service street lighting, installing CCTV in the operation and maintenance of cameras, path-finding maps, feeder the 12 Metro lines as they connect various parts of the metropolitan services, and street furniture. region. While the green in the identity Officials present in the meeting said s t a n d s f o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l the CM directed the MMRDA to work consciousness, the blue stands for out a way of reducing the cost. solidity and trust.

“Constructing Metro corridors does not mean only providing transport facility from one end to another,” Mr. Fadnavis said.

(CMRL).

The CMRL had introduced a provision of payment of parking fares through the stored value available in CMRL travel cards, which introduced at all metro stations on a trial basis this month.

From August 1, payment for parking charges at Chennai Metro stations shall be accepted only through CMRL travel Card.

Passengers or public who are using the CMRL parking spaces, who do not possess a CMRL travel card can buy and top up through customer care /ticketing counters available at CMRL metro Stations for usage of the parking payments at all Metro Stations, says a release from CMRL.

DMRC begins trial run on DwarkaNajafgarh Metro corridor

“It must be a total experience for the commuters, meaning the provision of last-mile connectivity along with the facilities that will encourage one to travel — and travel in comfort,” he said. The meeting was attended by Cabinet Ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Yogesh Sagar, and mayors of various cities.

On July 15, 2019, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) began trial runs for the 4.29-km DwarkaChennai Metro Rail travel cards Najafgarh Metro corridor. Senior can be used for parking fee Metro officials said that by September the corridor, known as payment the Grey Line, is likely to be open to Chennai Metro Rail travel cards can the public. now be used to pay parking fee at Chennai Metro stations from August During the trial run, the interaction of The CM also granted approval to the 1. This will facilitate seamless the Metro train with the civil structure finance from the MMRDA to the transportation of metro passengers, will be checked to ensure that there Konkan Irrigation Development said the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd is no physical blockage during the Corporation (KIDC) for construction METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS movement of the train on the tracks, said by DMRC in a statement. The statement added the signaling trials are expected to begin in the days to come.

The Grey Line will comprise three stations — Dwarka, Nangli and Najafgarh. While Dwarka and Nangli stations are elevated stations, the Najafgarh station is underground.

The Delhi Metro will also add a 1.18km extension to this section, taking the line till the Dhansa Bus Stand.

The work for this extension is underway and is likely to be completed by December next year.

This will be the first time that Delhi Metro will enter rural sections of Najafgarh. The Grey Line will be connected with the Blue Line, which connects Dwarka Sector-21 to Noida Electronic City and Ghaziabad’s Vaishali in Uttar Pradesh.

begin soon.

system, the first in India, will have low footprint, low noise, greater comfort, The estimated cost of the first phase aesthetic appeal and will blend with of the metro for two cities has been the surrounding landscape. approved at Rs 8500 crore, to be funded through debt, state’s equity S u p r e m e C o u r t o r d e r s and central assistance. commencement of work for Phase-IV of Delhi Metro The Governor’s administration has approved the elevated corridor option for two light rail transit systems. M/s RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Services) is finalizing the DPRs for the project, Rohit Kansal, principal secretary planning department of Jammu and Kashmir said at a press conference. The Supreme Court on July 12, Kansal, who is also the state 2019, ordered commencement of government’s spokesperson, said construction work on the Delhi that HMT, Indra Nagar and metro's fourth phase, which is over Osmanabad in Bemina to Hazuri 100 km long and is estimated to add Bagh will be connected with the around 18.6 lakh riders per day, after metro rail in the first phase. This will the Delhi government said it has cover the distance of 25 kms with 24 agreed to give the go-ahead to the stations, he added. project.

Similar metro trains in Phase II, will be connected with corridors of Indra Nagar to Pampore Bus stand and HazuriBagh to Srinagar airport, covering a distance of 17.5 Kms having 14 stations.

The Phase-IV of Delhi metro will consist of six corridors -- Aerocity to Tughlakabad, Inderlok to Indraprastha, Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block, Mukundpur to Maujpur, Janakpuri West to R K Ashram and In Jammu city, the metro in the first Rithala to Bawana and Narela.

Jammu and Srinagar to get first phase will operate from Bantalab to Of the 103.94 km to be constructed, Metro Rail Greater Kailash and Udheywala to 37.01 km will be underground while In a first, Srinagar and Jammu, the exhibition ground covering 23 kms around 66.92 km will be elevated. two capital cities of Jammu and with 23 stations.

The estimated cost of the project is Kashmir state, will have metro trains In second phase, metro train will ?46,845 crore. operating within the next four years. operate from Greater Kailash to Bari Jammu and Kashmir government Brahamana railway station and from headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik Exhibition Ground to Satwari Chowk on Thursday announced that the to Jammu airport covering distance work for the light rail system metro, of 20.5 k ms with 17 stations, Kansal the first of its kind in the country, will revealed. He said the light railway 14

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS which generates revenue from both This would enable the Railways to tokens and smart cards. procure the right global technology available.

Referring to a request from the industry, it was stated that the Railways should consider procuring complete rakes of EMU and MEMU East-West Kolkata Metro eyes as per past practice, by considering revenue with advertisements on the requirement and capacity of tokens Railways may buy trains from production units.

East-West Metro is going to be private players revenue-smart. Its tokens and smart In a policy shift, the Indian Railways cards will display advertisements on is mulling the idea of buying trains one side. Kolkata's Line 2 is dashing from private players instead of for its truncated 5km Salt Lake run manufacturing them at production and crucial things like tokens and units. smart cards are already in place.

Interestingly, unlike the north-south As of now, three production units — L&T Metro Rail awards l i n e , t h e E a s t - We s t M e t r o ' s the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), advertising rights contract to polymermade tokens will earn non- Chennai, Modern Coach Factory, Gogineni group operating revenue as well. So will the Raebareli, and Rail Coach Factory, smart cards that will be used both for Kapurthala — roll out rakes for the L&T Metro Rail, the owner and operator of Hyderabad Metro Rail East-West and north-south Metros. Railways.

(HMR) network awarded the Both will have advertisement rights.

At a high-level meeting of Union advertising rights contract of the "The tokens and smart cards are Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal network stations to city-based OOH made of polymer so that the ads can and Minister of State of Railways specialist advertising company be displayed," said an official, adding Suresh C. Angadi and top officials ‘GOGINENI group’. Gogineni group that the move is aimed at and manufacturers of trains/coach have bagged the rights for augmenting revenue by tapping the components held in New Delhi advertising on the staircases, lifts of commuter base of East-West Metro. recently, the idea of procuring all the 48 stations and more than 200 Commuters will use the same smart Trainsets, Electric Multiple Unit pillars of the line forming major part card to avail services on the east(EMU) and Mainline Electric Multiple of the advertising options of the west and north-south sections. The Unit (MEMU) from the industry was Metro stations, the advertising "common mobility card" or the mooted. agency said in a release here on integrated ticketing system will be issued to commuters so that those It was concluded at the meeting that Monday. Hyderabad Metro network travelling on the north-south route a considered view should be taken is the second largest Metro network don't need to buy separate tickets. on procurement of complete train in the country with 72 Kms of route Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, s e t s f r o m t r a d e i n s t e a d o f network spanning 48 stations with implementing the East-West Metro p r o c u r e m e n t o f p r o p u l s i o n m o r e t h a n 2 5 0 n u m b e r s o f project, has taken cue from the Delhi equipment and manufacture of car staircases and 210 lifts. The metro Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), body and equipping the same in network is presently carrying 3.10 production units. lakh passengers every day and the METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS number is only increasing day-by day. Gogineni Group is a specialist OOH advertising agency in operation since 2006 and have scores of OOH assets like outdoor Hoardings, Railway station branding options and movie theatre branding assets. The group will offer an innovative advertising option to the advertisers leveraging its expertise and timely adaptation of the current advertising trends in the industry.

“Apart from the lifts and stair cases, we are also awarded for advertising on the metro pillars at different prime locations of Hyderabad like Hitech City, Jubilee Hills, Ameerpet, Secunderabad, Narayanaguda and Koti”, the release added.

are not interested in its operations and upkeep, either. No wonder the stations look deserted. So who rides the monorail, which connects Chembur with Mahalaxmi?

Operators say only the tourists visiting the city.

with the proposed bus stand at Bairiya via Ashok Rajpath, Gandhi Maidan and Rajendra Nagar terminal. The east-west corridor will mostly be underground (11.20km).

The 9.9km stretch of the north-south corridor will also be underground.

Patna Metro rail work to begin in Kochi Metro employees form three months union for first time Patna Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC) has targeted to commence work on the much-awaited metro rail project in three months. The first metro rail depot will be developed at Danapur. A senior PMRC official said the bidding process for acquisition of land for the metro rail project has begun.

The Kochi Metro, which offered convenient transport to Kochi’ites during employee strikes or hartal days, could grind to a halt from next shut down. With a section of employees coming together to form a left-leaning Kochi Metro Employees’ Union (KMEU), it is feared that operations of metro services might be suspended during employee strikes or hartal. It is for the first time since the incorporation of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) on August 2, 2011, that employees have formally announced a union. Labour minister T P Ramakirshnan will formally launch the union activities on Monday. “The aim of the union is to ensure employees’ welfare. There are no major internal issues, and all matters of lesser concern are sorted out internally,” said Sibi M M, secretary, KMEU.

M u m b a i m o n o r a i l p r o j e c t The foundation for Patna metro rail becomes a White Elephant for the project was laid by PM Narendra Modi remotely from Mokama on Govt February 17th, 2019. It will take five The monorail project in Mumbai, set years to complete the project in three up by the Maharashtra government phases with an estimated with an investment of more than Rs expenditure of Rs 13,365.77 crore.

3,000 crore, has become the The state government will bear the proverbial white elephant. After cost of land acquisition for the taking more than eight years — project. PMRC sources said work resulting in road closures and traffic would be first taken up on the jams in the central part of the city — 16.94km east-west corridor that will the project is as good as shuttered. connect Danapur with Mithapur bus Currently, only one rake is in use, but stand via Saguna Mor, Bailey Road thanks to incessant rain, service on and Patna Junction. The 14.45km He also brushed aside thoughts on that are frequently disrupted. Due to north-south corridor, on the other union activism adversely affecting salary delays, members of the staff hand, will connect Patna Junction operations of Kochi Metro. “We will id 16

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS follow the exemplary standards set by higher officials in the functioning of Metro,” said Sibi, adding that activities of the employee union “will not affect the functioning of public transport system”. Even while empathizing or declaring support with strikes, “our intervention will be exemplary and will not cause inconvenience to travelling public”.

Around 170 employees (out of around 600) have been provided membership. As more people join the union and they get a majority membership, the registration will be completed. The union has members belonging to executive staff consisting of general managers, assistant managers and the likes and non-executive staff consisting of section engineers, assistant crew controllers, assistant section engineers, depot controllers, traffic controllers, assistant line supervisors, station controllers, train o p e r a t o r s , j u n i o r e n g i n e e r, technicians, drivers, peons and similar categories. Kerala has a history of strikes and hartals, which has curtailed the growth of many organizations. According to Vyapari Vy a v a s a i E k o p a n a S a m i t h i , President T Naseerudhin, there were 107 hartals in 2018.

Mumbai Metro: BEML to deliver Bullet Train Project to be first set of rakes by 2020 completed by 2023, Says Piyush Goyal FIRST SET of Metro rail rakes will be ready and delivered to Mumbai The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highmetro by July 2020. However, mock- Speed Rail (MAHSR), also known as up coaches for Metro rakes will be Bullet Train Project will be completed delivered in September 2019. Bharat by 2023, Railway Minister Piyush Earth Movers Limited (BEML) has Goyal said in the Rajya Sabha today. the contract to manufacture the In a written reply, Piyush Goyal said trains for Metro corridors in Mumbai. that the bullet train project that spans The Mumbai Metropolitan Region across 508 kilometres, has been Development Authority (MMRDA) sanctioned by the Government. has awarded Rs 3,015 crore contract "This project is being executed by a for rolling stock to BEML. special purpose vehicle namely Manufacturing of the Metro trains will N a t i o n a l H i g h - S p e e d R a i l be carried out under the Make in Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), with India initiative. As per the rules, a t h e f i n a n c i a l a n d t e c h n i c a l minimum of 75 per cent of the assistance from the Government of coaches must be manufactured in Japan. The total estimated cost of India. The contract was awarded for the project is Rs. 1,08,000 crore," he manufacturing prototype Metro said. rakes for Metro line 7 (Andheri East So far, an expenditure of Rs. 3226.8 to Dahisar East), Metro line 2A (DN crore has been incurred on the Nagar-Dahisar) and Metro line 2B project up to June 2019, he said in (Mankhurd-Mandalay). his statement.

A senior MMRDA official said that civil work of two Metro corridors, Metro-7 and Metro-2A, is expected Asked when the government will to be completed before May 2020, expand the bullet train network all after which electrical and signalling over the country, Mr Goyal said, work will start and, once the first "Bullet Train or High-Speed Rail Metro rake is delivered, then trial Projects are highly capital and technology-intensive, and therefore, runs can start. their proposals for other sections are subject to technical feasibility, financial and economic viability and availability of funding".

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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop moves H y p e r l o o p O n e ’s s y s t e m i s closer to reality estimated to support 200 million passengers annually, linking central Pune and Mumbai in less than 35 minutes, compared with 3.5 hours at present, according to its press release.

Travel in Maharashtra between Pune and Mumbai, which is about 120 km, could come down to 35 minutes by 2026 if all goes well with the Hyperloop project proposed to connect the two cities. That is a step closer now, after the Maharashtra state cabinet approved the publicinfrastructure status of the project on July 30, clearing the way for a bidding process to select the private companies to build the super-fast transit system.

“Maharashtra will create the first hyperloop transportation system in the world, and a global hyperloop supply chain starting from Pune,” said Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, according to a July 31 press release from USbased Virgin Hyperloop One, one of the companies competing to build hyperloop systems. Maharashtra has named a consortium of Virgin Hyperloop and UAE’s DP World as the original project proponent for the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop project.

There are approximately 75 million passenger journeys between M u m b a i a n d P u n e annually—expected to increase to 130 million by 2026. Virgin nd 18

is likely to become operational.

According to information shared by National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), with Financial Express Online, the priority section of Sahibabad to Duhai has been targeted for operations by the year 2023. NCRTC is the executing agency of the RRTS project. The RRTS project is a first-of-its-kind rapid transit public commuter service which will connect Delhi to its regional nodes in the national capital region (NCR).

Harj Dhaliwal, Managing Director for India and Middle East, Virgin Hyperloop One, said: “Once commercialized, it will transform the Pune-Mumbai corridor into a megaeconomic region moving people and cargo between these two center’s in a cost-effective and sustainable The entire Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, which is 82 km long, manner.” has been targeted for train Virgin Hyperloop One said in its operations by the year 2025. The release that the project will generate Delhi-Meerut RRTS will cut down the a large number of new high-tech travel time between Delhi and jobs, create over $36 billion in wider Meerut to 55 minutes. NCRTC has socio-economic benefits, and create already started the pre-construction new hyperloop component and activities like underground utility manufacturing opportunities for work, pile load test and civil Maharashtra to export to India and construction on the 17-km long the rest of the world. segment between Duhai-Sahibabad on the corridor. The SahibabadDuhai section of the corridor will have four stations namely, Duhai, Guldhar, Ghaziabad and Sahibabad, besides a depot coming up in Duhai.

17-km long Sahibabad-Duhai stretch to be operational by March 2023 India’s first regional rapid transit system (RRTS) moves a step closer to reality! In just over three years Delhi-Meerut’s rapid rail’s Sarai from now, 17-km long segment from Kale Khan station to be country’s Sahibabad to Duhai of the Delhi- first mega transit hub Ghaziabad-Meerut rapid rail corridor The Sarai Kale Khan station on the

METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS much-awaited Regional Rapid Transit Corridor (RRTS) to be constructed across the national capital region is going to bring India’s first mega transit hub! The Sarai Kale Khan RRTS station in Delhi will act as a mega transit hub with multi model integration as the three prioritized RRTS corridors, DelhiMeerut, Delhi-Alwar and DelhiPanipat will converge at the station.

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is the organization responsible for implementing the RRTS project, plans to converge the three RRTS corridors of RRTS Phase-1 at the Sarai Kale Khan station. This means that passengers will be able to easily interchange their train, to be able to travel to different routes, without the hassle of changing the station.

According to information shared by NCRTC with the Financial Express Online, the mega transit hub system will provide convenient passengers’ movement and will also encourage people to utilize public transport.

METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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COVER STORY

Government of India is planning to introduce ‘Metrolite’ in Smaller Cities

T

he Government is planning to introduce Light

Metrolite as a prime mode of mass transit in smaller

Urban Rail Transit System named "Metrolite" in

cities. The cost of construction for Meterolite is much

50 small cities across the country. This is

less than (about 50% of elevated and 20% of

suitable for cities with a maximum 15,000 passenger movement per hour per direction which suit most of the smaller cities. It is to be noted that the metro rail system

underground) of a high capacity metro system.

What is Light Rail Transit System?

currently being developed is of high capacity which is required for bigger cities with very high ridership and Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic (PHPDT).

Seeing the success of metro rail in the country, several other small cities with a lower projection of ridership are also aspiring for a rail-based mass rapid transit system.

In order to fulfil this need, "Metrolite" with lesser capacity and much less cost is planned by the government.

'Metrolite' will act as a feeder system to high capacity Metro as well. In addition to smaller capital cost, the operation and maintenance cost of Metrolite would also be less making the system more viable. State governments have already been requested to adopt 20

METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

Light rail transit (LRT), tram or fast tram is a form of urban rail transit which uses rolling stock similar to a tram, but operates at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way. While there is no standard

COVER STORY definition, in the United States (where the terminology

Features proposed in Meterolite Trains:

was devised in the 1970s), light rail operates primarily

1. Metrolite trains with a maximum 12 Ton axle

along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple cars/coaches coupled to form a train which runs with lower capacity at lower speed than a long heavy-rail passenger train or metro train.

load is to be adopted for PHPDT capacity from 2,000 to 15,000. The track curves of radius up-to 25 m are adopted. Hence, the car body width of 2.65 m is to be adopted as the standard

This type of transit system is referred to as a light metro.

dimension.

It is worth mentioning that Light rail systems are found throughout the world, on all inhabited continents. They

2. The car structure material shall be stainless

have been rather popular in recent years because of

steel or Aluminium. The train configuration will

their lower capital cost and increased reliability.

be of the three-car unit. The number of

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs issued the

additional coaches of the train may be decided

Standards for “Metrolite” earlier this month. This

by the Metrolite authority based on PHPDT in

system is most viable and sustainable due to its very

the initial design stage.

less capital and operation and maintenance cost.

3. Trains shall be capable of carrying full load

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA),

passengers up-to a gradient of 6%. Individual

Government of India is looking to start the Metrolite

metro authorities can decide the gradient

train in cities and towns where there is less number of

requirements based upon the site conditions as

ridership. Almost 50 cities will be getting the Metrolite if all goes as planned by the Government.

What plans does the Government have for the Metrolite? Read on and find out all the details!

Metrolite is predominantly planned at-grade.

4. Up-to-300-passenger loading for 3-coach train

unit. The train shall be capable of travelling in elevated, at grade and tunnel sections.

As of now, the metro railway is being developed for bigger cities with huge populations and where there are

5. Motorisation - Minimum 50% motorized axles

more passengers and Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic

for the unit of 3 non separable coaches.

(PHPDT). The idea of introducing a ‘lite’ version of the

Maximum operational speed is proposed at 60

metro comes inspired by the success that the Metro has

Kmph. Safety certified obstruction detection

seen.

The specifications state, “Seeing the success of metro

system shall be employed for the trains.

rail in the country, several other cities with lower projection of ridership are also aspiring for rail-based mass rapid transit system, which could be fulfilled by Light Urban Rail Transit System named “Metrolite” with lesser capacity and at much lesser cost.” The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has already issued standard specifications for the Metrolite railway, under the name ‘Standard Specifications of Light Urban

Here’s how the Metrolite is planned to function: 1. Each train will comprise of 3 coaches and will be

enabled to carry about 300 passengers.

2. The maximum speed of operation will be 60

kilometers per hour.

3. The train will travel at elevations, at grade and

tunnels.

Rail Transit System ‘Metrolite’ train.’

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21

COVER STORY 4. There will be a pathway exclusive for the

Metrolite system, and it will be separated from the road traffic with the help of continuous plinth/fencing on both sides of the Metrolite.

5. There will be ticket validators installed inside the

Metrolite trains and shelters too. These will be along with NCMC or any other ticketing setups.

6. If found travelling without an authentic ticket, a

hefty penalty will be imposed on the passengers This will be carried out through a random examination of passengers.

7. In case of emergencies, there will be scope for

side evacuation between two tracks.

8. The Ministry plans to install CCTV surveillance

systems on platforms. Also, train communication will be carried over the Tetra radio.

9. The Ministry has specified that for the

production of an extensive number of goods, the local manufacturing will be limited. The ministry

Automatic Train Wash Systems Keeping the coaches clean is an essential part for any public transport operator to ensure effective service, cleanliness and convenience of the customers. Clean surrounding has a key impact on the travelers using the coach services and helps in creating repetitive footfall and ensures smooth running of businesses.

The main concerns of using washing equipments to clean the coaches is that the it should have effective reach to all the areas covering the exterior of the coach, cleans the coach effectively and with little effort and time consumption.

has suggested outsourcing elements as much as possible.

The 'Metrolite' system will have a dedicated path separating the road traffic with it. For segregation with road traffic, fencing will be provided on either side of the network. To recall, the Modi government in its manifesto had promised to expand the metro network coverage to as many as 50 cities. This new transit system will be provided with shelter platforms, no platform screen doors, AFC gates, X-ray and baggage scanner. The ticket validators are likely to be installed inside the train and shelter with NCMC or other ticketing systems.

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METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

Introduction The first automatic train washes appeared in the late 1930s. Automatic train washes consist of tunnel-like buildings into which customers/drivers (or attendants) drive. Some train washes have their customers pay through a computerized POS (point of sale unit), also known as an "automatic cashier". The mechanism inputs the wash PLU (Price look-up codes) into a master computer or a tunnel controller automatically.

When sale is automated after paying, the train is put into a line-up often called the stack or queue. The stack

moves sequentially, so the wash knows what each train purchased. After pulling up to the tunnel entrance, an attendant usually guides the customer onto the track or conveyor. At some washes, both tires will pass over a tire sensor, and the system will send several rollers.

The tire sensor lets the wash know where the wheels are and how far apart they are. On other systems the employee may guide the customer on and hit a 'Send Train' button on the tunnel controller, to manually send the rollers which push the train through. When the customer is on the conveyor, the attendant will instruct the customer to put the train into neutral, release all brakes, and refrain from steering. Failure to do so can cause an accident on the conveyor. The rollers come up behind the tires, pushing the train through a detector, which measures train length, allowing the controller to tailor the wash to each individual train. The equipment frames, or arches, vary in number and type. A good train wash makes use of many different pieces of equipment and stages of chemical application to thoroughly clean the train or such kind of vehicle.

Need for Automatic Train Washing Plant The Automatic Train Washing Plant is able to achieve

COVER STORY Jet spray: Jet sprays are used to spray the water and clean the surface of train through pressure application, which helps in removing most of the dirt from the surface.

Dryers: Dryers are used to dry the washed surface quickly through the application of the pressure of air. It is necessary to dry the surface before the train starts operation once again, otherwise the dry dust will remain on the train.

Sensors: Sensors are necessary to detect the arrival of the train in order to start the cleaning process.

Controllers: Controllers are used to control the entire process such as kick starting of the spray jets, running of the brushes and also taking instruction from the sensors and provide feedback to the controller of the entire system and to run the pump.

Pump: Pumps are used to feed the water in

complete exterior cleaning of a rake of 24 coaches in

water tank and also used to create pressure on

about 15-20 minutes time while being placed on the pit

the pressure jet. The flow of the water and the air

line, for primary/secondary maintenance. Besides

in the dryer is caused by the pump.

providing safe and reliable service to our esteemed passenger, it is also necessary for the Railways to offer the convenience of neat and clean train coaches.

Nozzles: Nozzles are used to increase pressure of the water and the air.

Layout and Construction

Basic Components The Automatic Train Washing Plant can be installed at

Brushes: Brushes are used to rub the surfaces

the entry point of the train examination pit at coaching

of the train. It gives them the cleaning effect.

depots. This consists of 4 fabricated structures. Overall

The disadvantage being that it can rub the

Length of the plant is 30M and width 5.26m across the

surface more than necessary causing

railway track, with additional space requirement beside

damages and scratches to the surface.

the track of 4x5.5m & 2x2m for Pump/Operating room and air reservoir. ETP if required will need additional

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COVER STORY space of 4x5.5m.

?

3. Disinfectant

spray prevents breeding of

cockroaches.

D. Stage-4 - Main wash 1. ?Total eight vertical brushes – four on either side – are used to wash vertical walls of the coaches. ?One horizontal overhead brush is used to wash roof of 2.

the coaches. ?All brushes are driven by motors.

3. ?This work-station thoroughly cleans areas such as, 4.

A. Stage-1 - Prewash Unit 1. Pre-wash is the first operation in the washing ?

window shutters, destination.

Operating Chamber

sequence.

An operating chamber is provided with underground ?

2. Pre-wash operation wets the coach walls and roof

through low velocity water jets.

tank of 20,000 litters and overhead syntax tank of 5,000 litres for soap solution.

?

3. Pre-wash operation helps to loosen dust & dirt from

the coach exterior.

1. Electrical / Electronic operating panel with electrical ? fittings, wiring etc. is provided in the control room

B. Stage-2 - Soap solution spray and the First brush

with PLC control system for automatic working of the entire plant. Manual option is also provided.

?

1. Pressurized mixture of soap solution is sprayed on

coach body and roof. ? ?

2. The soap solution is then brushed on coach walls

?

2. Three sets of pumps with spare pumps are provided in series with an arrangement to switch over in case of break down.

and roof with the help of four vertical i.e. two on each side and one horizontal brush placed on the roof of the coach. ? ?

3. All brushes are driven by gear motors

Problem Definition 1. Brush patches in car wash: When car is cleaned with ? the rotator brush it leaves it’s pattern on car body, also known as brush patches.

C. Stage-3 – Under-gear cleaning ? ?

1. Pressurized jets of water and disinfectant directed

?

2. Corrosion: is the gradual destruction of material,

towards toilet discharge area clean the areas

environment. This means electrochemical oxidation

beneath the toilets which are not otherwise

of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen.

accessible.

Corrosion degrades the useful properties of

?

2. The jets also clean the under-gear portion of the ?

trolleys.

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METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

usually metals, by chemical reaction with its

materials and structures including strength, appearance and permeability to liquids and gases.

COVER STORY ?

3. Wastage of water: In the system large amount of

C. ScratchesScratches.

water is required which after use goes in sewage, and can’t be used again, also known as water waste. ? ?

4. Water patches: Water spots are caused by minerals

Conclusion There is immense pressure on maintenance depots,

deposits that etch the outline of a drop of water into

where an increasing schedule of maintenance is

the vehicle’s paint. Water has minerals, whether it is

required on a daily basis using a site, equipment and

from the hose or the sky. As the water evaporates,

technology which was fit for purpose, when it was

the minerals remain on the surface and they will

designed decades ago. Our extensive experience in

eventually create water spots or water patches.

the design and installation of train wash systems together with our team of PTS certified engineers

Water Recycling

means that we are also able to offer a full range of

In which the train wash system operates with the

maintenance packages which are designed to extend

introduction of water recycling which works by re-using

the operating life of the equipment. These range from

the waste water in the main wash section with fresh

simple Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM)

water being used for the final rinse. Water recycling can

contracts right through to an all-inclusive option for

be incorporated into new plant and retrofit applications

periods of up to 30 years.

to provide cost savings from reduction in the use of fresh water.

Advantages A. Low capital and operational cost.

B. Continuously self-cleaning.

C. Minimal maintenance.

D. Simple installation.

E. Easily re-locatable.

F. Easy to operate.

G. Easy to understand and maintain.

H. Standard parts and components used (easily available).

Limitations A. Primary investment is high B. Uses of chemical shampoos .

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25

PROJECT OF THE MONTH

Bengaluru’s Namma Metro

N

amma Metro ("Our Metro" in Kannada), also

minutes. The trains are formed of between three and six

known as Bengaluru Metro is a rapid transit

cars. The power output is supplied by 750-volt direct

system serving the city of Bengaluru, India. It

current through third rail. Namma Metro was the

is the fourth longest operational metro network in India

second rail transport system in India to use 750 V DC

after the Delhi Metro, Hyderabad Metro and Chennai

third rail traction, the first being the Kolkata Metro.

Metro. It also boasts of the first underground metro line in South India. The metro network consists of two

Timeline

colour-coded lines, with a total length of 42.3 kilometres

? The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) 1.

serving 40 stations. The system has a mix of

prepared and submitted the detailed project report

underground, street level, and elevated stations using

for the first phase of the Namma Metro project to

standard-gauge tracks. The metro has an average daily

BMRCL in May 2003.

ridership of 400,000 passengers. By 2023, the system

2. ? Construction work for Phase 1 of the project was

is expected to complete its Phase 2 network, which will

scheduled to start in 2005 but was delayed by a year

provide connectivity to the city's important tech hubs of

to February 2006, due to change in Government in

Electronics City and Whitefield.

Karnataka.

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), a joint venture between Government of India and Government

? The project was approved by the Union Cabinet on 3.

of Karnataka, builds and operates the Namma Metro.

25 April 2006. Civil construction on the first section,

Services operate daily between 05:00 and 23:00

the stretch of the Purple Line between

running with a headway varying between 4–20 26

METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

PROJECT OF THE MONTH ? Baiyyappanahalli and Mahatma Gandhi Road,

commenced on 15 April 2007.

Purple Line The first 6.7-kilometre (4.2 mi), 6-station stretch (Reach

?

3. The section opened to the public on 20 October

1) of the Purple Line between Baiyappanahalli and

2011. The development of the network is divided into

Mahatma Gandhi road opened to public on 20 October

two phases, with Phase 1 comprising of 2 lines and

2011 and was the inaugural section of the Namma

was completed in 2017, and Phase 2 is expected to

Metro. The second 6.4-kilometre (4.0 mi), 6-station

be completed by 2023.

stretch (Reach 2) of the Purple Line between Mysore

Route map

Road and Magadi Road opened on 16 November 2015.

The first underground section of South India, a 4.8 km

The entire Network Map of Namma Metro Phase-1, at

(3.0 mi) stretch from Cubbon Park to Bengaluru City

total length of 42.30 Kms, Phase-2 at total length of

(KSR) Railway Station opened on 29 April 2016,

72.095 Kms (13.79 km Underground) and 61 Stations

thereby completing the entire 18.22 km (11.32 mi)

with 12 Underground Stations with Phase-2A at total

Purple Line stretch of the metro network.

length of 17.00 Kms with the stations is shown below.

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27

PROJECT OF THE MONTH Green Line The first 9.9-kilometre (6.2 mi), 10-station stretch (Reach 3/3A) of the Green Line opened on 1st March 2014. The stretch connected Sampige Road to Peenya

north-west, thereby providing better connectivity and increasing ridership. In October 2008, the Government of Karnataka approved this extension, which would cost an additional 1,763 crore (US$260 million).

Industry. The second 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi), 3-station

Phase 1 comprises two lines spanning a length of 42.30

stretch (Reach 3B) of the Green Line, operating

kilometres (26.28 mi), of which about 8.82 kilometres

between Peenya Industry and Nagasandra, opened on

(5.48 mi) is underground and about 33.48 kilometres

1st May 2015. The last stretch connecting Sampige

(20.80 mi) is elevated. There are 40 stations in Phase I,

Road to Yelachenahalli was inaugurated on 17th June

of which 7 stations are underground, 1 at grade and 32

2017, thereby completing the entire Phase 1.

are elevated.

The Green Line is the second line of the Metro and it connects Nagasandra in the north to Yelachenahalli in

Phase II

the south, covering a distance of 24.2 kilometres (15.0

The State Government accorded approval vide Order

mi), and serving 24 stations. It is partly elevated and

No. UDD 127 BMR 2010 dated 4 January 2011 for

partly underground. The southern section of the line,

preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) for

beyond Majestic was made open to the public on 18th

Phase 2 by the DMRC. The high-power committee

June 2017. It was inaugurated by the then President of

(HPC), in July 2011, gave an in-principle clearance to

India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 17th June 2017.

proceed with Phase 2. The Karnataka Government

Phase I

provided an in-principle approval to Phase 2 of the Namma Metro project on 3rd January 2012. Phase 2

The DMRC submitted the DPR for Phase 1 of the

was cleared by the expenditure finance committee

Namma Metro project to the BMRCL in May 2003. The

(EFC) in August 2013. The Union Cabinet announced

final approval on a scheme that incorporated the

that it had approved plans for Phase 2 on 30th January

expertise of DMRC and RITES Limited did not come

2014. The estimated total cost for Phase 2 was around

through until April 2006. The DPR prepared by DMRC

26,405 crore (US$3.8 billion). The State Government

envisaged a 33 km (21 mi) elevated and underground

would contribute

rail network with 32 stations for Phase 1 of the project.

project cost of

The proposed gauge was standard gauge unlike the

which was set to escalate at 5 per cent every year with

broad gauge on the Delhi Metro network. The rationale

inflation. The Union government will share that part of

for the metro includes reduced journey times, cutting

cost escalation due to increase in central levies, while

fuel use, accident reduction and lower pollution. In

the Karnataka State and BMRCL have to bear any

2007, BMRCL announced that it would incorporate a

other escalation. According to the experts, the total

northern extension (from Yeshwanthapura to

project cost for Phase 2 is estimated to reach at least

Hesaraghatta Cross) and part of the southern

30,000 crore (US$4.3 billion) at the start of

extension (from RV Road to Yelachenahalli) in Phase I,

9,000 crore (US$1.3 billion). The 26,405 crore was during 2011–12,

construction itself.

thus extending the length of Phase 1 network to about 42.3 km (26.3 mi), with 40 stations. The objective was to

In October 2018, Deputy Chief Minister G

connect the metro to the Outer Ring Road at both ends,

Parameshwara stated that the cost of Phase 2 would be

and also cover the industrial areas of Peenya in the

around 32,000 crore (US$4.6 billion).

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PROJECT OF THE MONTH Phase I

Line

Elevated length (km)

Underground length (km)

Total length (km)

% of length on curves

Stations

Purple Line

13.10

4.80

18.22

44.30 %

17

Green Line

20.20

4.00

24.20

39.70 %

27

Total

33.48

8.82

42.30

-

40

Phase II

Line

Terminals

Length

New Stations

Expected Work Completion date

Purple Line

Mysore Road – Kengeri

8.81 km

6

December 2020

Green Line

Baiyyappanahalli – Whitefield

15.50 km

13

March 2023

Green Line

Yelachenahalli – Anjanapura

6.29 km

5

August 2020

Green Line

Hessarghatta Cross – BIEC

3.37 km

3

March 2023

Yellow Line

R V Road – Bommasandra

18.82 km

16

March 2023

Red Line

Gottigere – Nagawara

50.87 km

24

March 2023

Blue Line

Silk Board – K.R. Puram

17 km

13

2023

Phase 2 spans a length of 72.095 km (44.798 mi) –

Mysore Road to Kengeri. A new 18.82 km (11.69 mi)

13.79 km (8.57 mi) underground, 0.48 km (0.30 mi) at

long fully elevated R V Road – Bommasandra line will

grade and 57.825 km (35.931 mi) elevated, and adds

be constructed under Phase 2, which will pass through

62 stations to the network, of which 12 are

Electronic City. The second new line is the 21.25 km

underground. Phase 2 includes the extension of the two

(13.20 mi) Gottigere–Nagawara line. The line is mostly

Phase 1 corridors, as well as the construction of two

underground (13.79 km or 8.57 mi), but also has a 6.98

new lines. The south-end of the Green Line will be

km (4.34 mi) elevated and 0.48 km (0.30 mi) at-grade

extended from Yelachenahalli to Anjanapura Township

sections. There are 18 stations on the line, of which 12

along the Kanakapura Road and the north-end from

are underground and 6 are elevated. Unlike Phase 1 of

Hesarghatta Cross to Bengaluru International

the project, all stations in Phase 2 will have parking

Exhibition Center (BIEC) on Tumkur Road (NH-4). The

facilities.

east-end of the Purple Line will be extended from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield and the west-end from

The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) is responsible for acquiring land for Phase 2. A METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

29

PROJECT OF THE MONTH total of 102.02 hectares (252 acres) of land is required

known as Bangalore High-Speed Rail Link, from MG

for Phase 2 (including Phase 2A) of the project. BMRCL

Road to Kempegowda International Airport (BIA), at a

spent 5000 crore on land acquisition.

cost of 5,767 crore (US$830 million). Previously, there

Phase III RITES began preparing the feasibility study for Phase 3 in 2014. The State Urban Development Ministry proposed that Phase 3 will have a total length of 127 km (79 mi). The Phase will include two lines that cover the Outer Ring Road (ORR) on the eastern and western side, and additional lines to connect the lines constructed in the previous two phases. A 33 km (21 mi) line is proposed to cover the eastern portion of the ORR from Silk Board to Hebbal, while a 31.37 km (19.49 mi) line will cover the western portion of the road. A 21.31 km (13.24 mi) line linking Hosakerehalli to ORR at Marathahalli passing through Old Airport Road is also proposed to serve the areas of Domlur, Konena Agrahara and HAL. Other proposed lines include a 33-

was plan for an independent body, but later it was decided that BMRC will manage this project. It was later decided to build the airport link as a regular metro line.

In September 2016, RITES suggested nine possible extensions from the existing and proposed metro lines to the airport. The state government invited the public to submit feedback on their preferred route. The nine proposed extensions have an average length of 30 km (19 mi), and each is estimated to cost between 4,500 crore and

7,000 crore. A 25.9 km (16.1 mi) extension

from Nagawara via Kannur and Bagaluru was the shortest, while the 35.4 km (22.0 mi) extension Yeshwanthpur via Yelahanka, Kannur and Bagaluru was the longest of the proposed routes. The BMRC received 1,300 responses from the public.

km line from Carmelaram(Sarjapur Road) to

A 25.9 km (16.1 mi) extension of the

Yelahanka, passing through Central College, Palace

Gottigere–Nagawara line via Kannur and Bagaluru up

Guttahalli, Mehkri Circle and Hebbal; and an 8.89 km

to the airport emerged as the most popular choice. In

(5.52 mi) line from Nice Road to Toll Gate (Magadi

February 2017, the Centre requested the BMRC to start

Road).

work on the airport link before the rest of Phase 3. The

Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) publicly unveiled proposed plans for Phase III on 10 April 2019. The plan proposes five new lines covering a total of 83.02 km. Two lines are proposed in north Bengaluru, connecting the KIADB Aerospace Park to Nagawara (25 km) and between Kogilu Cross and Rajankunte (10 km). Other proposed lines are from Hebbal to JP Nagar, and a 13-km line between Iblur and Carmelaram. The proposal was criticized by the

Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) forbade constructing an underground road or metro tunnel from the southern side of the airport due to security reasons.

Such a construction would have to pass underneath the airport's second runway before entering the terminal buildings. This restriction eliminated three of the 9 proposed extensions to the airport. All three proposals were extensions of the Gottigere-Nagwara line to the airport.

general public because all lines were planned in the

Bengaluru Development Minister K. J. George

outskirts of the city, while the originally proposed

announced on 12th May 2017 that the Government had

detailed project report had included lines that would

finalized the Nagawara-Ramakrishna Hegde Nagar-

pass through the important areas of the city.

Jakkur-Yelahanka route to the airport. On 10 January

Airport rail link There was a proposal to build a 33 km (21 mi) line 30

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2019, the State Cabinet approved a change in alignment for the proposed metro link with the airport.

The new line will begin at Krishnarajapuram, and

PROJECT OF THE MONTH traverse Nagawara, Hebbal and Jakkur before heading

selecting the destination station or the amount in the

towards the airport. The line will be 39.8 km long, about

ATVM. They can also add value or add trips to the

8 km longer than the previously proposed line. It is

contactless smart card. Commuters can purchase up to

estimated to cost

8 tickets at a time and can get the receipt print for card

10,584 crore (US$1.5 billion),

almost twice as much as the previous route's estimated

recharge. ATVMs accept coins of

cost of

denominations and

5,950 crore (US$860 million).

5 and

10

10, 20, 50, 100, 500

denominations of currency notes. However, the ATVM

Operations

cannot differentiate between 1 and 2 coins.

Fare collection

In November 2016, BMRC began accepting online

MIFARE DESFire platform, developed by NXP

payments to recharge smart cards. Tickets cannot be

Semiconductors, was selected to manage the

purchased online.

Automated Fare Collection (AFC) in Namma Metro.

The system uses contactless smart tokens and contactless smart card. Tokens are available only for a single journey. Smart cards can be used for multiple journeys. There is currently one type of smart card available on the metro – Varshik.

Approximately 68% of passengers on the metro use smart tokens and 32% use smart cards.

Security The Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KISF) is responsible for security on the Namma Metro.

50. It is valid for a year, and

Bengaluru Police conducted detailed mock drills at

provides a 15% discount on fares. The card can be

metro stations for the first time on 25 March 2017.

recharged.

Police officials stated that the drill was to assess

? Varshik is priced at

? Saral was available for

70. It permitted one day's

travel on BMTC non-air-conditioned buses and on the metro. Saral is no longer available.

readiness to deal with situations such as hoax bomb calls, terrorist infiltration or attacks. Sniffer dogs, bomb detection and disposal squad, anti-sabotage squad and Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) were involved in the

? Saraag was available for 110. It permitted one day's

drill. Police had previously conducted basic mock drills,

travel on BMTC air-conditioned buses and on the

but this was the first one aimed toward dealing with

metro. Saraag is no longer available.

specific threats. The chosen day was a Saturday, when 10,

crowds are usually larger, in order to make the drill more

50 and 100. Sanchar was withdrawn from 1

challenging for officers. BMRCL has not informed of the

? Sanchar was available in denominations of

40,

March 2017.

drill in advance.

BMRCL began selling tokens through automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) on 4 December 2012 at the MG Road, Indiranagar and Baiyyappanahalli stations.

The service will eventually be expanded to all metro stations. The touchscreen enabled ATVMs are available in 3 languages – English, Kannada and Hindi.

Commuters can purchase a single journey token by he ATVM cannot differentiate between 1 and 2 coins.

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31

INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry

E

xclusive Interview with Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways & Union Minister of Commerce & Industry in which he talks about public-private partnerships (PPPs), Dedicated freight corridors, Bullet Train Project, Privatization of the Railways and Railway Infrastructure.

1. Railways has been allocated Rs 1,60,76 crore, which is 20% higher than the previous year. Do you think the money is sufficient and how do you plan to spend it?

Ans: We have got exactly what we asked for, Railway has improved its performance over the years quite significantly and we have been meeting our capital expenditure target to a large extent, particularly last year. I am grateful to the honorable finance minister for providing adequate funds that we require for our expansion and modernization plans.

2. Recently, there was a controversy over a coach factory in Rai Bareli, where the Opposition said the Railway is planning to privatize it.

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Ans: There was no controversy, it’s just a lack of understanding of some people. Either they don’t have a good understanding or they pretend not to understand.

3. Do we see trains being run by private players in future?

Ans : We will cross the bridge when we come to it.

Nothing has been finalized and we are open to ideas.

4. What is going to be your focus in the second term? Last time you had focused on reducing the number of accidents and managed to bring it down to lowest ever in the history.

Ans: For me, we have a holistic vision to make this the world’s best railway. It includes better passenger amenities. It includes better infrastructure, more safety, more capacity to serve our passengers and obviously it also includes freight as an important element. So, it’s not restricted to one or the other element only.

5. What is the update on ambitious bullet train project? Do you think it will be completed before

INTERVIEW the 2022 deadline?

Ans : 2022 was never a deadline, we will try to do a small portion by that time. The deadline as per the Japanese is December 2023. We have requested them if some portion of it can be fast-tracked.

6. Do you think the hike in fuel charge will have an impact on Indian Railway?

Ans : I don’t see any significant impact; we are moving so fast on electrification that I am not worried too much about it.

7. The finance minister spoke about an investment of Rs 50 lakh crore between 2018 and 2030. Which are the key areas in which you think the money will be invested in?

Ans : We have drawn up a whole programme and it has been presented to me and we have gone through different iterations, in which some of the old projects like 100% electrification, advanced signalling, better passenger amenities, station development, those are already in public domain. Now, we have worked out what needs to be done to create additional capacities.

So that our modal share of freight can once again start going up, the cost of logistics in the country can start coming down and our passengers, along with good amenities, can get more and more avenues to travel by train to reach their preferred destination.

8. How different is the budget in terms of a larger message compared to the interim budget?

Ans: The interim budget was only a subset of this one.

At that time, we were only going for a vote on account for four months. It is almost like a continuation.

A big thrust has been given to the ease of living for the middle and lower-middle classes. There is an effort to bring in Rs 100-trillion investments in infrastructure across sectors over the next five years. Everyone should have a home with access to toilets, an LPG connection and electricity.

Manufacturing is also a major focus. We have plans to

promote electric vehicles (EVs); tax benefits are being given to those purchasing EVs. This is good as pollution has become a major concern. Both rural and urban India have been given a thrust. There are huge benefits for the micro, small and medium enterprises. This is a reform-orientated Budget.

9. Railways is expected to see investments to the tune of Rs 50 trillion by 2030. Which are the key focus areas?

Ans : We have lined up a whole gamut of investments for regional connections, through government expenditure as well as private funding.

Some of the old projects like 100 per cent electrification, advanced signaling, better passenger amenities, station redevelopment — these are already in the public domain. Now, we are thinking about what should be done to increase additional capacities so that our share of freight can again start going up.

10. Are we going to see privatization of the Railways?

Ans : Not at all. Are all roads in India privatized? Are governments not playing a role in airports or ports? If they (private players) want to set up lines for a specific requirement, I see no reason to object. It will expand the opportunity and passengers will also benefit. We already have partnerships with companies such as Coal India and NTPC. We have to expand and fasttrack this.

11. Are you saying public-private partnerships (PPPs) are going to be the way forward for the Railways?

Ans : Wherever we view opportunities we will try to invite PPPs. If someone wants to set up a semi-highspeed corridor between two cities, we are happy to consider such proposals. If someone wants to bring new technologies to India and faster line transport, we are open to such technologies. Like in Mumbai, we have monorail. Unfortunately, the party that set it up failed and hence the government had to take it up and do it.

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33

INTERVIEW One failure doesn’t mean everybody is going to fail.

12. The Budget is focusing on dedicated freight corridors. Do we expect an increase in freight traffic too?

Ans:Our share in freight has gone down to 30 per cent.

We are trying to see whether we can increase it to more than 30 per cent. We want to enhance capacity addition in the entire railways sector. Going forward, if I can bring down the cost of logistics, I have to expand the network.

13. The operating ratio for the current year is kept at 95 per cent. How will you achieve this?

Ans: There are so many ways such as cost efficiency, better procurement, efficient maintenance, less safety related issues, more mechanization of the network, raising non-fare revenue, and monetization of some assets that are already there. We have many ways to do it.

14. Gold import duty has been increased. How do you see this development?

Ans: At the end, people gradually will start monetizing their gold. I think as a nation it will be best if we reduce imports and focus on monetizing the available gold.

People say there are thousands of tonnes of gold in India. Different estimates are there.

15. Fuel and gas may be expensive now. Railways is also a bulk consumer of diesel. What will the impact of this be on national transporter?

Ans: When prices were up we had cut it (duty on fuel).

International prices and dollar rates are down now.

However, infrastructure requirements are not down.

Infrastructure is the need of the hour and if we have to do a bit to finance that.

We are moving so rapidly to electrification. I don’t see any significant impact of this on the railways. We are almost carrying half our passengers and half our freight on electrified routes now. Speed of electrification is so fast in another three to four years we will not be having any need for diesel. Hence, I am not worried about it.

(This article first appeared on The Economic Times)

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FEATURED PROJECTS

Hyderabad Metro

T

he Hyderabad Metro is a rapid transit system, serving the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

It is the second longest operational metro network in India after the Delhi Metro (250 stations) with 50 stations and the lines are arranged in a secant model. It is being funded by a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, with the state government holding a minority equity stake. A 30 kilometres (19 mi) stretch from Miyapur to Nagole with 24 stations, was inaugurated on 28 November 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was the longest rapid transit metro line to be made open in one go, in India. It is estimated to have cost ?18,800 crore (US$2.7 billion). As of June 2019, about 300,000 people use the Metro per day.

Trains are crowded during the morning and evening rush hours. A ladies only coach was introduced on all the trains from 7 May 2018

Route Map Currently, the Hyderabad Metro has 50 stations. Phase I of the Hyderabad Metro has 64 stations; they have escalators and elevators to reach the stations, 36

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Red Line: Miyapur – L.B. Nagar Route Length — 29.21 km (18.15 mi) Number of Stations (All elevated) — 27 Link to other Corridors 1. A t A m e e r p e t – C o n n e c t i n g C o r r i d o r s 1 a n d 3 2. At Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station – Connecting Corridors 1

Green Line: JBS – Falaknuma Route Length — 15 km (9.3 mi) Number of Stations (All elevated) — 14 Link to other Corridors 1. At Parade Ground – Connecting Corridors 2 and 3 2. At Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station – Connecting Corridors 2 and

Blue Line: Nagole - Raidurg Route Length — 27 km (17 mi) Number of Stations (All elevated) — 23 Link to other Corridors 1. At Ameerpet – Connecting Corridors 3 and 1 2. At Parade Ground – Connecting Corridors 3 and 2

FEATURED PROJECTS

announcement boards and electronic display systems.

The stations also have service roads underneath them for other public transportation systems to drop-off and pick-up passengers. The signboards of Hyderabad Metro are displayed in Telugu, English, Hindi and Urdu at metro stations. Otis Elevator Company supplied and maintains the 670 elevators in use on the system.

planned for about 85 km. In April 2019, K. T. Rama Rao said that 200 kilometres (120 mi) of metro rail was planned for Hyderabad, with metro along the entire Outer Ring Road. All metro corridors are scheduled to terminate at Shamshabad, near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, as planned in Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II.

In May 2018, L&T Metro Rail signed a contract with Powergrid Corporation of India to install electric vehicle charging facilities at all metro stations beginning with Miyapur and Dr. B R Ambedkar Balanagar stations.

L&THMRL has setup free wifi access units for commuters at Miyapur, Ameerpet and Nagole metro stations, in association with ACT Fibernet, as part of a pilot project. Metro Rail Phase II expansion has been

Construction The construction work was undertaken in two phases.

There are six stages of completion in Phase I. Phase I Phase I of the project includes 3 lines covering a distance of around 72 kilometres (45 mi). The metro rail METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

37

FEATURED PROJECTS line between Nagole and Secunderabad was originally scheduled to open by December 2015; it was partly opened on 29 November 2017, with it being fully functional in December 2018 A proposed 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi)-long green line in the old city will pass through Dar-ul-Shifa, Moghalpura, Hari Bowli, Shah-Ali-Banda and terminate at Falaknuma. This stretch is scheduled to be completed by 2022.

Phase II

started the pillar erection on the same day for StageI and on 6 June 2012 for Stage-II. The work for Corridor 2 has been delayed due to traders in Koti and Sultan Bazar demanding realignment of the route to safeguard traders and old age heritage markets. If the recent bill proposed in Parliament which allows construction within a 100 metre radius of heritage structures and sites of historical or archaeological importance is passed, Metro might receive a chance as it helps to connect the Old city with IT corridor.

The Government is planning the second phase of metro The construction of the entire 71.16 km was split into rail. The construction of Phase II will be taken up solely 6 stages with the first stage originally scheduled to by the state government, instead of Public Private be completed by March 2015.

Partnership (PPP) mode in Phase I. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was entrusted to give a detailed 2. In November 2013, L&T Hyderabad Metro started project report (DPR) for Phase II. Metro Rail Phase II laying tracks on the metro viaduct between Nagole expansion plan is for about 85 km, which includes and Mettuguda, a stretch of 8 km. providing link to Shamshabad RGI Airport.

3. The first highly sophisticated train of the Hyderabad As per the initial plans, the three corridors mostly Metro Rail (HMR) arrived from Korea during the third remained the same, but minor changes were week of May 2014. Stringent trial runs commenced introduced. This includes stop at Lalaguda, or a stop at Lakdikapul instead of the Secretariat. Also, the lines 4. from June 2014 till February 2015. The trial runs started on the Miyapur to Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar have been marked with several different colours. stretch in October 2015.

Ameerpet- LB Nagar metro stretch opened on 24 CMRS inspection for Stage-II (Miyapur and September 2018. HiTec City to Raidurg, 1.5-kilometre S.R.Nagar Section) was completed on 9 August stretch on Corridor Three - Nagole to Raidurg, is scheduled to be completed in July 2019 but still not 2016. operational for public, as it involves construction of 49 5. The steel bridge of HMR was successfully placed pillars and the Raidurg terminal station. over the Oliphant bridge in August 2017.

Hyderabad Metro Airport Express The Ameerpet - Hi-Tec City route was made open on In August 2019, TRS Working President K. T. Rama 6. conditional basis on March 20, 2019. Due to lack of Rao said that the work on Hyderabad Metro Airport reversal facility post Hi-Tec City station, trains are Express from Raheja Mindspace to Shamshabad RGI 7. being operated temporarily in “twin single line” Airport will commence soon. The 31 km long method, until Raidurg metro station with reversal Hyderabad Metro Airport Express link will cost around ? facility was meant to be brought back into service in 5000 crore.

2–3 months. On 19 May 2019, the construction of all

Time Line

the 2,599 pillars for the 66-km Hyderabad Metro rail

1. Groundbreaking (Bhoomi Puja) for the project was

(except the 6-km stretch in old city) was completed.

conducted on 26 April 2012. The concessionaire 38

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INTERVIEW

Exclusive Interview with NVS Reddy, MD, HMRL

S

tarting out as a one-man team in the Hyderabad municipal corporation, this shishya (disciple) of E Sreedharan had a dream to build a Hyderabad metro network that would redesign the city itself.

The first-of-its-kind PPP venture faced many challenges — technical, social, and political — but N V S Reddy has proven where there is passion, there is a way to get work done.

“You have to think about how you can make our country a different country.”

With this motto as his driving force, N V S Reddy, the Managing Director of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL), has been propelling the Hyderabad Metro rail project forward in a way that has made it synonymous with efficiency and a standard among public-private partnership (PPP) ventures. N V S Reddy shared several aspects of the challenging project with us as highlighted below.

We know that Hyderabad Metro has the second-

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largest operational network in the country and is currently the only one under the PPP model. Are there any other unique features?

Yes. A PPP of this magnitude — a $3 billion or Rs 20,000-crore metro rail project — is unheard of even in advanced countries; it’s a `first’.

Uniqueness begins with this underlying rationale: whereas most metros are built as engineering or transportation projects, I look at it as an opportunity to redesign a city.

Western countries have learnt it the hard way; the spatial expansion of cities happened as a result of automobile revolution, which means cities were designed for car movement, not for people!

I feel cities should be convenient for women, children, the differently-abled, the elderly. People should enjoy quality public spaces; not everyone can afford to go to clubs! There is a direct correlation between crime rates in cities and lack of public space.

Gender equality is another important aspect. Women

INTERVIEW can move independently when there is good public transport — just like how the advent of two-wheelers made a big difference.

After the unfortunate Nirbhaya incident, I conducted sessions with various women’s groups and received valuable inputs about safety and shared them with my engineers. We are building a public utility — not Taj Mahal — and the engineer’s job is to understand the problems of the society and give technical solutions.

We placed 64 surveillance cameras at every station — this automatically brings down eve-teasing.

Next, Hyderabad Metro stations look different at the ground level. Usually, a ‘palace-like’ station is built above or underground but the ground level is neglected, because metro rail organizations do not own the roads, the Municipal Corporations do.

Even in advanced countries, entries to the underground Metro stations resemble rat holes! I have begun changing the landscape at street-level with street furniture, greenery, sidewalks, etc.

If congestion in cities is to be reduced, there needs to be good pedestrian facilities along with an efficient public transport system.

We often hear about `engineering innovations’ by HMRL. Can you give an example?

One example is the prefabricated station structure we put — again a first. Normally, elevated metro stations have a `portal structure’. The challenge I gave the L&T engineers was to make a `balanced cantilever structure’; it’s a very complicated design.

Though initially nervous, the engineers actually did it!

Thus, not for a moment did we stop traffic. My guru, E Sreedharan, called this a “marvel”. We have many such engineering achievements.

You have been given an extension for the third time.

What is your success mantra?

was the only thing that could make this project a reality; it had been written off as being “impossible”, “jinxed”, etc. For seven years, I worked without a single day off, even on festivals.

The second thing, have an open mind regarding ideas and solutions, which often involves reconciling contrasting views. There are 2600 pillars or “piers”, technically, in this project and I can write a chapter on each pillar and how the problem was solved!

There are several unforeseen things: like, when digging, we had to rely on intelligence and common sense to figure out if there were water pipes, naalas, sewage lines or electrical cables underneath.

Because, often, things like drawings for even recent water pipelines are not available with the Water Board.

One such ‘hunch’ actually led to the discovery of a huge, “elephant naala” from the Nizam’s days!

It was live, and right in front of the Assembly — a nightmare because it was in the middle of the road deep below and couldn’t be shifted. Solutions had to be found without stopping essential services and traffic even for a few hours! People are not aware of all these things.

Often, I came up with the workable solution myself and then the engineers would do the millions of calculations required for the sake of stability of the structures. It’s not only about weight; there are different kinds of stresses.

Though Hyderabad is not in the seismic zone, we have incorporated resistance into the design because I am building the structures for the next 100 years. Extreme loading conditions were designed.

I am basically a finance person, but we were taught rigorous courses in engineering in the Railway Staff College, and I have been in projects throughout.

Yet, two-thirds of my problems are not engineering problems but social, heritage and other problems.

Especially in a sensitive city like Hyderabad. Unless you have an open mind, it is impossible to handle the combination of problems.

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41

INTERVIEW Finally, when we were under attack, as a leader, I never revealed problems to my people as they would get demotivated. I would keep their morale up by telling them stories from the Olympics to overcome the worst circumstances.

Mostly, they are government projects, which is a different ballgame — if government gives you money, you construct. And then one is not bothered about what kind of specifications you put, whereas when it is a private thing, you have to be extremely careful.

When agitations were going on, I wrote songs in favor of the metro, with the help of an RTC (Road Transport Corporation) driver who writes poetry. We released 5000 CDs, which were played in pandals during festivals and they became very popular.

I sat with experts like Gajendra Haldea, and discussed each clause in detail.

These appeal more to the people, rather than esoteric things like “air pollution”. Communication is important. If you have passion and you enjoy your work, solutions come to you and innovations happen.

Why did you think of PPP mode at all?

I had worked with Mr Sreedharan on the Konkan Railway.

Later I came to the Andhra Pradesh government on deputation from the South-Central Railway.

I had a dream — if Delhi could have a metro, why not Hyderabad? In 2006, when we expressed our wish to chief minister YSR (Y S Rajashekhar Reddy), his reply was, “Fine, but don’t ask me for money!”

He told me to think of a model — “since you have done many projects and are known for your innovation.”

I started the project as a single-man organization in the Municipal Corporation; later, I wanted freedom and in 2007, HMRL was formed. I had the best of engineers, brilliant people but they were wary of the private sector.

I had worked in the Railways and knew rail operations are complicated; but my argument was, if you can trust the private sector with air safety, rail safety is definitely less complicated. You see, reforms had bypassed the Railways; slowly, I brainwashed them.

We had to prepare technical documents, the Concessionaire Agreement, etc., from scratch. They were not available, as hardly 4-5 projects in the world are PPPs, that too they are part-PPP. 42

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Those technical documents would be quite a treasure…

Yes, the Planning Commission published them in 2009 as a `Standard Concessionaire Agreement’, available to anyone. I have made them technology-neutral, where you don’t tell them how to design but just give them broad parameters, safety requirements, performance indices, etc. Pune is now following these documents.

When the initial agreement with Maytas Infra failed, was it a damper?

Yes, but you must deal with failure. Crisis management is about how you think differently. You have to think about how you can make our country a different country.

Many top guys commit suicide because one, you are lonely at the top, and two, the pressure is high. In India, you are also worried about what society thinks.

I lecture across institutions about failure management, leadership during crisis, and pressure at the highest levels.

After L&T came in as concessionaire, it was still far from smooth-sailing, right?

The kinds of problems we faced! There were huge protests, my effigy was burnt various times, and I had to be given police protection!

In this country, we have extreme freedom and we don’t realize that democracy doesn’t mean only rights but also responsibilities. No Harvard, MIT or Stanford can teach you how to do a project in sensitive Indian cities.

INTERVIEW Extreme patience and perseverance was required. Any religious structure takes 1–1.5 years of negotiations, and even though our engineering solutions had ensured that the main structure was not affected, objections were raised even for compound walls.

For other reasons, we were targeted by politicians, NGOs, and all kinds of vested interests.

Some people have said that instead of a metro, there should be a BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System)…

Everyone is an expert in this country! People have even said MMTS (Multi-modal Transport System) is preferable to a metro, not realizing that it was I who had built MMTS — and which, incidentally, they had opposed then.

Well, I was one of the first few Indians to talk about BRTS but then realized the limitations. Fact is, our cities are not planned cities. We don’t have what is called a `hierarchy of roads’, where an arterial road leads to a sub-arterial road, which further leads to smaller levels of roads.

Instead, we have ‘gallis’ connected straight to the main road and that’s how, at every few hundred metres, you have a junction.

Traffic and transportation engineers are aghast to see how traffic moves in any Indian city at 3-4 times the capacity of a junction!

You must remember that there are strong lobbies in transportation — a strong metro lobby, a monorail lobby, a strong BRTS lobby, etc. All modes have their merits and demerits.

You are involved with the Elevated Bus Rapid Transit System (EBRTS) for Hyderabad Airport Metro Ltd (HAML). Could you elaborate, please?

Yes. I was fascinated with the BRTS that was successfully implemented in South American cities. In big Indian cities, conditions are normally not conducive — at grade road level, it is not possible. At junctions

especially, there are problems as you need a dedicated right-of-way.

In this stretch [where the EBRTS is being set up], with dedicated right-of-way, we are making it. It’s at half the cost of [building a] metro. At every half a kilometre you have a bus station that looks almost like a metro station; and there’s no pollution because they are all electric vehicles.

But how does HMRL have the mandate for EBRTS? I have the expertise, as I have been involved with road flyover projects earlier. It will be another PPP, after bidding.

And then we are providing linkages with the Metro — starting from KPHB station of the Metro Corridor 1 and touching Mindspace junction of Corridor 3, and also some in-between connections We can definitely guide them. Some of my engineers are well trained, and there can be synergies with the Metro.

Will the work at Raidurg stretch be completed as per schedule by August-end?

Yes, another couple of months, maybe by September.

How do you keep to minimum the famous “time and cost overruns” assumed to be inherent in infrastructure projects?

I would rather not comment on that at this stage.

But are there solutions so that these overruns don’t occur at all?

There are solutions. Again, had I behaved like a typical bureaucrat, this project would not have happened.

Even though the concessionaire agreement talks about what the government should do and what the concessionaire should do, it doesn’t work like that. You have to be proactive.

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43

INTERVIEW sector partner — I was the face of the metro and handled all kinds of political pressures.

Then, the issue of corruption. I had made up my mind that not a rupee would be paid to anyone. Luckily, all chief ministers and chief secretaries supported me — I survived five CMs and 13 chief secretaries!

Why is there still delay in building the Old City stretch — hadn’t the opposition to it and other issues been resolved?

No, works have not started yet in the Old City. There are many issues and I wouldn’t want to comment on it.

Now `they’ are ready, but there are other issues.

Initially, at that time, it could have been easily done, but…

What gives you the confidence that the project will break even by 2022?

Like I mentioned in the original model, it will break even in the fifth year, or maybe slightly later, but it will. I have designed it like that.

How have you designed it?

Only four metro systems in the world are making money. They were also built as government projects but later they realized the efficiency of the private sector. There, 50-percent of the revenue comes from passenger fares and 50 percent from property development.

For funding options, you need to think through and come up with ideas. Like here, out of the 2-acre plot for the station, I built `Metro Bhawan’ on only half an acre; the rest was given to the concessionaire L&T to build a mall.

For the standard problem of `Last-mile connectivity’, you had tied up with a parking aggregator, but there were issues…can you tell us more about this?

There are vested interests, and teething problems do arise, but nothing as sensational as some would want you to believe.

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We are doing a lot of work differently. Things are happening, which I don’t want to mention at this stage.

Some examples are electric charging facilities in a big way, and shuttle services. And, without spending public money.

You keep talking about not spending public money and involving the private sector. Why would the private sector be convinced?

I believe in market forces. Otherwise it becomes like subsidies.

It’s not as if I trust the private sector blindly. I don’t encourage monopoly rights, and tell them they need to face competition. But I firmly believe in private-sector entrepreneurship and flexibility, and I encourage and mentor many engineers.

Solutions can always be found.

Despite benefits, a metro rail is expensive to build.

What are other options for enhanced connectivity?

A metro is not always required, and cheaper options can be thought of. There is a concept called PHPDT (peak-hour peak-direction traffic) — from point A to point B, how many people are required to be transported. That should determine what mode and system of transport to build.

Despite the huge number of people taking to metro commute, traffic snarls remain. In what ways can this be addressed?

They will remain. No city is able to solve all its traffic problems.

There are 50 lakh vehicles in Hyderabad and we are adding half a million each year, with increasing urbanization. Indian cities are powder kegs, at the rate cars are coming on to the roads — narrow lanes, and cars on both sides!

Not just cities but even villages will come to a standstill or erupt with violence.

All over the world, there are restrictions on private ia as

INTERVIEW vehicles, and that should come here in India as well.

Would more flyovers help?

Anything the Telangana government has done that can serve as an example to other states?

Most states are doing things but sometimes governments don’t always have the right priorities.

There, bureaucrats with vision become important.

Flyovers are required but can only be a mid-term solution. Long-term solution is good public transport, pedestrian facilities, and first- and last-mile connectivity. So that there is no need for private vehicles at all.

What is your message to the public, as a metro chief?

Pedestrian facilities require space, and we Indians also have entrenched civic habits. How will you translate these ideas into reality?

Please be responsible and disciplined. We are collectively doing a lot of damage to the city and our health — use public transport wherever possible!

We have done it on Road no. 36, Jubilee Hills. We found that many houses had violated the house-plan, and so we demolished the encroachments mercilessly.

Out of 370 court cases, we won 360 — mostly landacquisition cases.

Have we seen any instances of damage to the Metro in Hyderabad?

I give credit to the governments at the centre and the state, as I received no veiled threats. Of course, I became very unpopular with some people but it had to be done.

No, the violations were in town-planning; with Metro property, people are behaving very well! I thank them for that.

(The article first appeared on swarajya )

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45

FOCUS SYSTEM

Depot Machinery & Plants

I

n line with the Government of India’s initiative on Make in India, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) became the first ministry to issue Phased Manufacturing Plan (PMP) for indigenous procurement of metro rail components.

Accordingly, the specification of various components has been standardized to engage and encourage longterm investment in the fast-growing metro-rail sector, which already has 657 km of operational lines in eighteen cities along with more than 800 km of metro rail projects under construction in twenty-seven cities.

India is now almost self-sufficient for power supply traction and track material. Further, MoHUA has been successful on negations with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and ADB (Asian Development Bank) to encourage indigenous production and assembling for the upcoming Chennai Metro and Mumbai Metro. MoHUA has also issued Metro Rail Policy 2017 to focus on systematic planning and implementation, and guide State Governments with emphasis on standardization and indigenization of the metro technologies keeping in view import substitution, 46

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export promotion, sustainability and cost-reduction (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 2017).

The rapidly growing metro market in India has relayed focus on various aspects of a typical metro rail project, one of the most significant areas being Operations & Maintenance (O&M). It certainly is positive to see that the metro rail market realizes the importance of this critical discipline and is actively pursuing budgets for O&M for asset longevity, a novel concept in India.

O&M services include all functions of service deliveries such as train service operations, station operations, customer service, ticketing and fare collection, marketing, web-site management, operator involvement in solution development & implementation, control centre management, passenger demand management, security management, asset management planning and deployment, rolling stock maintenance including overhauls and refurbishments, stations and depot facility management, track and structures, signalling and traction power maintenance and various other

FOCUS SYSTEM services.

Capital Investment and Maintenance Cost of the Metro

concept is to progressively evolve the need-based maintenance regime, which can be suitably configured in the form of minor & major schedules.

15,000. The track curves of radius up-to 25 m are

American Dream Coalition fact sheet presents that a myth is ‘pay no attention to the high construction cost, because once rail lines are built, they will last forever’ and the reality is ‘Rail lines must be rebuilt and equipment replaced every 20 to 30 years.

Reconstruction often costs much as the original construction.’ The Washington, DC, metro rail system was built at a cost of $12.5 billion. Today, its managers say that over next ten years they will need to spend another $12.5 billion renovating roadbed, replacing cars, and refurbishing stations. (americanderamcoalition.org). The federal transit administration refers to these as “capital costs” but in reality, they are maintenance costs, and as such they make rail much costlier to maintain than buses. Total length of 198.5 km of metro rail will cost Rs.10751/Crores (excluding taxes and duties) and metro has not mentioned anything about the maintenance cost. As mentioned above, maintenance cost of metro rail is as much as the original cost. It should have been considered in the cost evaluation, as it needs a large amount. Already 100% cost overrun is estimated for first phase of the metro (Rs. 12000 crores instead of Rs. 6000 crores estimated for first phase in 1996.).

Evaluates DMRC statements, which are published in different newspapers articles. DMRC officials have often used these statements for justifying and highlighting the benefits of metro system. Therefore, it is important to analyze these statements. The analysis questions the basis of benefit assessment methodology for metro.

Optimizing maintenance processes and costs is a key factor in the life cycle cost of a tram, metro or main line system.

The main outlines of the maintenance philosophy followed are: Monitoring of the performance of equipment by condition monitoring of key parameters. The

adopted. Hence, the car body width of 2.65 m is to be adopted as the standard dimension.

Unit replacement and to get essential repairs carried out by the OEMs, will be preferred. Since the cost is a constraint, certain activities of the workshop can be outsourced.

Labour intensive procedures be kept to the minimum & emphasis laid on more automation with state-of-the-art machinery to ensure quality with reliability.

Enhancing the skills of the maintenance staff to ensure quality and productivity in their performance.

Energy conservation to be given due attention.

Rolling Stock Maintenance Needs The servicing requirement is to be determined from the Rolling Stock manufacturer. Depending upon manufacturer's requirements, servicing facilities may be provided to include the ability to carry out the inspection, maintenance, overhaul and repair of the rolling stock fleet, including the following components: Body; Bogies; Wheels; Traction motors; Electrical components; Electronics; PA/ PIS Mechanical components; Batteries; Rolling stock air conditioning; Brake modules; Vehicle doors, windows and internal fittings.

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47

FOCUS SYSTEM Sl no.

A.

PLANT & MACHINERY Material Handling

1

Travelling over head EOT cranes for workshop 35/10T

2

Travelling over head EOT cranes for inspection bay 2.0T

3

Travelling over head EOT cranes for ETU shed 5T

4

Jib crane for workshop 3 T

5

Synchronized pit jacks system for lifting (3 cars as one set)

6

Car body stands for keeping car shells

7

Dummy bogies

8

Mobile lifting jacks-15T

9

Mobile lifting jacks 10T

10

Battery powered Electric locomotive

11

OHE Inspection car

12

Road mobile Crane 5T cap

13

Fork lift trucks 3T cap

14

Pallet trucks

15

Pick up van

16

TATA Truck

B.

Wheel shop

17

500T Hydraulic wheel press

18

Vertical boring m/c / Turret Lathe for wheel machining

19

Multipurpose Wheel Lathe/CNC surface wheel lathe

20

CNC Axle turning lathe/Axle journal turning & burnishing lathe

21

Axle UST inspection machine

22

Induction Heater

23

Bearing Extractor

C.

Bogie shop

24

Bosch Tank: Bogie wash/cleaning plant (manual)

25

Bogie static load testing m/c

26

Shock absorber testing m/c

27

Spring scragging &testing m/c

28

Magnacheck crack detector

29

Glowcheck crack detector

D.

Rotating m/cs

30

Air blow plant/Cleaning booth for Traction Motor

31

Baking Oven for traction motor drying

32

Dynamic balancing

E.

Other m/cs

33

Under floor Pit wheel lathe, Chip crusher and conveyor, Electric tractor for movement over under floor wheel lathe

48

34

Bogie Drop Table

35

Automatic Washing plant for Metro cars.

36

High-pressure washing pump for front and rear end cleaning of cars

METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

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PRE EVENT COVERAGE

A

s the fastest growing region in the global e c o n o m y, S o u t h e a s t A s i a e m e r g i n g economies have attracted worldwide attention.

It is estimated that by 2020, ASEAN is expected to become the fifth largest economy in the world. As one of the important countries in ASEAN, China has always maintained close cooperation and exchanges with ASEAN. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Chinas imports and exports to ASEAN increased by 11.2% in 2018, higher than the United States and the European Union.

Under the initiative of < MASTER PLAN ON ASEAN CONNECTIVITY 2025> and â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Belt and Roadâ&#x20AC;? initiative, the rail transit infrastructure continued to develop in Southeast Asia. In April 2019, Malaysia and China made major breakthroughs in the negotiations on the East Coast Railway project after 8 months of suspension; the key projects such as China-Laos Railway, Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, and China-Thai Railway are being actively promoted. At the same time, Chinese rail transit products will also go overseas, and seek international cooperation in 50

METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

funding and technology in the rail transit market with ASEAN countries.

The 3rd ASEAN Rail Summit 2019 will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 18-19th 2019.

During the summit, more than 300 experts and decision makers from ASEAN and global rail industry government agencies, design units, operators and industry suppliers will come together to discuss development of ASEAN rail transit industry, opportunities and financial considerations, technological innovation, Operation management and other topics and to jointly promote the construction and development of ASEAN Rail transit industry!

Metro Rail News is an official media partner of the 3rd ASEAN Rail Summit 2019.

Learn more information about the summit please log in our official website: http://en.shineconsultant.com/prod_view.aspx?TypeId =11&Id=278&FId=t3:11:3

BUDGET 2019

Budget 2019

Metro Initiatives to be enhanced by encouraging Public Private Partnership

F

inance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that corporate India is a job creator and called for cooperative arrangement between the private and public players (PPP) to develop metro rail infrastructure.

(SPV) structures like Rapid Regional Transport System (RRTS) proposed on the Delhi-Meerut route," she added.

"I propose to enhance the metro railway initiative by encouraging more PPP model initiatives. A 210kilometer line of metro will be made operational in 2019.

Time is right for India to enter into aircraft financing and leasing," she said while presenting the first Budget of the Narendra Modi government.

"Adoption of PPP in metro rail projects has been an enduring challenge. The solution lies in innovative approaches and bankable projects," she said.

The Finance Minister also spoke about improving the Railway infrastructure and said that this sector needs an investment of Rs. 50 lakh crores between 2018 and 2030.

"Railways will be encouraged to invest more in suburban railways through Special Purpose Vehicle

Delhi Metro receives Rs 400 cr for expansion, RRTS project Rs 974 cr push Projects for the expansion of Delhi Metro was allocated Rs 414.70 crores in the Union Budget 2019-2020 announced.

With the Metro Phase IV proposal being stuck between

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BUDGET 2019 the Centre and Delhi government, Metro officials said the allocation has been made for expansion plans in NCR, particularly Noida and Ghaziabad.

Last year, the allocation for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was Rs 50 crore as no projects were planned for the fiscal year. Delhi Metro has a circuit spanning almost 350 kilometres in Delhi and NCR. The budget has also provided a purse of Rs 19,152 crore for Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and Metro projects, which can be used for the Metro Phase IV when it receives clearance. In total, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs allocated Rs 17,713.93 crore for executing Metro projects across the country.

The Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project between Delhi-Meerut and Delhi-Alwar, which is also currently sitting with the State and the Centre, will ensure a faster transit between the NCR towns.

Work on the 82-kilometre Delhi-Meerut circuit has already begun in a section that falls under Uttar Pradesh. The aim is to reduce travel time between the two points to 60 minutes.

The Delhi-Alwar project has already been approved by the Haryana and Rajasthan Governments. Delhi Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approval is still pending over the building of a station in Sarai Kale Khan.

Indian Railways to focus on suburban network The suburban train services of Indian Railways are a major regional connectivity booster for big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and other smaller cities. The national transporter will be encouraged to invest more on suburban railway system through Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) structures such as the Rapid Regional Transport System (RRTS) which has been proposed on the Delhi-Meerut route

The government has allocated Rs 974.25 crore for the development of the project. Last year, Rs 315 crore was allocated for the project.

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53

PROJECT UPDATE

Mumbai Metro projects gather steam, new lines to be operational soon

M

aharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), a 50:50 joint venture between the Union and Maharashtra government, expects to launch trial runs for 11 km stretch of the Nagpur Metro in September 2019, 7 km of first route of Pune metro will be operational by December this year. Maha Metro is currently engaged in the development of projects in Nagpur, Pune, Thane and Nashik with total cost of Rs 32,080 crore..

Of the total 35 km, 13.5 km with a daily rider-ship of 5000 is operational in Nagpur and with the launch of trial runs on 11 km route, 25 km of metro line will be up and running by September.

Maha Metro Managing Director, Brijesh Dixit, told DNA, "Nagpur's 35 km route will be operational by December 2020. The Rs 8,680 crore project is being developed through optimization of designs and requirements, rationalization of all processes and construction methodology." He informed that at present, daily ridership of Nagpur Metro is 5,000 which will increase to an estimated 3 lakh commuters after the entire project

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becomes operational.

As far as 31 km of Pune project with a cost of Rs 11,400 crore is concerned, Dixit said the 7 km of first line is expected to be commissioned by December this year.

The entire project will be operational by end of 2021.

Further, Maha Metro has completed detail project report for the Rs. 11,000 crore Thane metro project. The state government has forwarded it for Centre's approval. ''Of the 30 km route, about three km is underground,'' Dixit informed.

The 25 km of Nashik metro project is named 'Metro Neo' and with an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore will consist of two elevated corridors and will have a fleet of electric buses feeding the network, each costing 50 lakhs. The Maha Metro has recently submitted the feasibility report of Nashik Metro rail project to the State Government.

PROJECT UPDATE Travelling towards General post office in South Mumbai from Wadala. This approval brings 50 km long Metro network at an estimated cost of Rs. 24,000 crore.

Benefits of the Metro System:

Reduces journey time by 50-75% compared to the road.

Metro 10: Gaimukh to Shivaji Chowk (Mira Road)

Shifting of road users to the metro by 25% to

Length: 11 km Estimated cost: Rs. 5000 crore Stations on the route: – Gaimukh, Gaimukh Reti Bundar, Versova Chaar Phata, Kashi Mira, Shivaji Chowk.

to seven persons.

Metro-11: Wadala to GPO corridor

Will help reduce traffic on the road by 30% to

Length:14-km Estimated cost: Rs 8,000 crore Stations on the route: – Wadala RTO, Ganesh Nagar, BPT Hospital (Elevated), Sewri Metro, Hay Bundar, Coal Bundar, Darukhana, Wadi Bundar, Clock Tower, Carnac Bundar, CSMT Metro (All Underground).

35%.

30%.

Density on suburban trains will reduce from 12

Will reduce accidents on Suburban System due to reduction in overcrowding.

Metro 12: Kalyan to Taloja Length: 25-km Estimated cost: Rs 11,000 crore Stations on the route:– APMC Kalyan, Ganesh Nagar, Pisawali Gaon, Golvali, Dombivli MIDC, Sa Gaon, Sonar Pada, Manpada, Hadutane, Kole Gaon, Nilje Gaon, Wadavali, Bale, Vaklan, Turbhe, Pisawe Depot, Pisawe, Taloja

LMRC floated tender for Kanpur Metro

T

he Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) Ltd., who has been assigned to carry out interim works for Kanpur Metro Rail Project, invites open tenders from eligible applicants.

Corridor-1, Phase-I of Kanpur Metro at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.” The brief scope of the work and site information is provided in ITT Clause A1 (Volume-1) & Employer’s Requirements (Volume–3)

Who fulfill qualification criteria for the work “Contract KNPCC02(R1): Construction of elevated viaduct and 9 Nos. elevated station (viz. IIT Kanpur Station, Kalyanpur Railway Station, SPM Hospital Station, Kanpur University Station, Gurudev Chauraha Station, Geeta Nagar Station, Rawatpur Railway Station, Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital Station & Motijheel Station) including special span on Priority Section of

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55

OPINION

Proposed Metro Expansion In Gurugram Needs Careful Planning Author

Amit Bhatt Director- Integrated Transport, WRI India

Ridership is the fundamental parameter that is used to justify a Metro link, says Transport expert Amit Bhatt

T

he Metro expansion is unlikely to achieve desired results, if the authorities fail to take into account. passenger demand and integration with other modes of public transport.

A couple of weeks back, it was reported in the media that the Haryana Government has approved the extension of the Metro line in Gurugram. The Rs 6,000crore project will involve the construction of 31 kilometres of the Metro rail line. The new line proposed from the HUDA City Centre Metro station, will link Old Gurgaon, before linking with the Rapid Metro. The project is expected to commence from 2025 and is estimated to carry around 5.5 lakh passenger trips per day. It will be implemented by the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation and is subject to necessary clearance and approval, as well as land acquisition.

Another news around the same time was regarding the Noida Metro Rail Corporationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aqua Line. The 30-km Metro line built at a cost of around Rs 2,600 crores links Noida to Greater Noida. The project started its operations from January 2019, but has since been

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OPINION struggling with the issue of low ridership. Currently, the ridership on Aqua Line is just over 13,000 passenger trips per day. In fact, the Sector 147 Metro station has just 20 passengers per day. Yes, only 20 passengers in an entire day! That’s not all. The stations of sectors 144 and 146 see only 36 passengers each per day.

Therefore, as Gurugram looks to plan the new Metro line, it needs to remember that just constructing a Metro will not get riders.

Let’s touch upon a few precautions to be taken by Gurugram’s Metro planning committee.

Don’t overestimate ridership Ridership is the fundamental parameter that is used to justify a Metro link. This is due to the fact that it costs a lot of money to build them, and we are talking about investments in excess of Rs 2,600 crores per kilometre.

This is where we fail and fail miserably. For example, the Rapid Metro was supposed to carry over 1 lakh passenger trips in 2013 when it was launched. The ridership was expected to grow. Six years later, with additional Phase 2 linkages, it is carrying around 20,000 trips. That’s 5 times less than what was estimated in the first year. Similarly, as per the 1995 DPR, the Delhi Metro was supposed to carry 31.85 lakh trip on the completion in 2005 which was revised to 22.6 lac trip in the 2003 DPR. However, the Delhi Metro carried only 6.6 lakh trips in 2007. That’s only 21% of 1995’s estimate or 29% of 2003’s estimate. There are many reasons for poor ridership number and many are beyond the control of the Metro authorities. Main contributor to this is the low usage of a costly piece of infrastructure.

Don’t underestimate the power of integration It is imperative to understand that people don’t choose a transport mode and then plan their journey. In fact, they plan their trip and then chose a mode depending upon parameters like time, cost, safety, comforts, etc.

Hence integration with other transportation modes will be the key to success in attaining a significant ridership.

While it is good that the proposed alignment has lined to 58

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Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line as well as Rapid Metro Station, it is also important to consider the integration with other important mobility nodes in the city, like railway stations, bus routes, junctions like Rajiv Chowk, Iffoc Chowk, etc and upcoming facilities like Delhi-Alwar link of the Regional Rail Transit System (RRTS), etc.

Last but not the least, there is the issue around integrating stations with walking, cycling, and paratransit infrastructure. Therefore, it is important that Metro authorities plan for an integrated system and not just think about moving passengers from one station platform to another.

Don’t ignore the importance of demand management When a city builds a Metro rail, which is a costly infrastructure, it is expected that the land use and transport infrastructure that is developed around it will be able to support it. The technical term used to describe this is Transit Oriented Development (TOD).

However, past experiences in Gurugram suggests that the city is doing anything but TOD. The second phase of Rapid Metro in Gurugram was built along the Golf Course Road, so that a progressive city would restrict the use of private automobiles along Metro corridors, but in this case, the city did the opposite. The high cost of the Metro tickets meant that people who wanted to save money did not use the Rapid Metro. Additionally, expanding the road to 16 lanes eliminated those people who wanted to save time. The result is an abysmal usage of such high-quality infrastructure. Therefore, the city needs to have a clear action plan around TODs. The Metro is a costly infrastructure that needs careful planning, design, construction, operation, and monitoring. If done right, it can transform the whole mobility scenario in a city. If not, it will be stuck between the devil and the deep sea!

APPOINTMENT

Appointment

Satyanarayansinh Rathore appointed as GMRC Managing Director Satyanarayansinh Rathore, Chairman, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), has been appointed as Managing Director of the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC).

He would be taking over the post from I P Gautam, who had resigned from the post following his appointment as a member of the Lokpal body.

Earlier, Rathore was acting as nominated Director of GMRC after he retired as Additional Chief Secretary, Roads and Building Department, Government of Gujarat.

Rathore started his career as a Civil Engineer with Gujarat Service of Engineers (GSE) cadre. He belongs to the royal family of Valasna State. He is popularly known as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Highway and canal man of Gujaratâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Manas Sarkar appointed as Kolkata Metro managing director The Centre appointed Manas Sarkar as the managing director of the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) on August 2, 2019.

At present, Manas Sarkar serving as the director (project and planning) of the Kolkata metro, has been appointed for a period till the date of his superannuation or until further orders, whichever is earlier, according to an official order.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi headed the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) and approved the proposal of the Ministry of Railways for the appointment of Sarkar as the Kolkata metro MD on a deputation basis, the order said.

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59

ARTICLES AFC gates, platform screen doors, X-ray baggage scanner and DFMD are not suggested in the Metrolite shelters. This will remove any signalling and PSD equipment rooms in the station platform making it an unattended station.

The system shall have a dedicated path separating the road traffic with Metrolite system. Fencing can be provided on either side of network. Shelter platforms shall be planned in a staggered manner in alternate side for Up and Down lines to reduce the actual road space.

1. Rail based mass transport system for Metrolite more viable The metro rail system being developed at present across the country in bigger cities is of high capacity with very high ridership and peak hour peak direction traffic (PHPDT).

Seeing the success of metro rail in the big cities across the country, several other cities with lower projection of ridership are also aspiring for rail-based mass rapid transit system, which could be fulfilled by light urban rail transit system named 'Metrolite' with lesser capacity and at much lesser cost. Metrolite would also act as feeder system to high capacity metro. In addition to less capital cost, the operation and maintenance cost of 2. Centre and State Government not on the same page Metrolite would also be significantly cheaper, making with regards to Metro Train plans the system more viable.

The Centre has received proposals of construction of Zebra crossings shall be provided on either side of the

834 km of metro corridors from 20 cities with an

platforms for passenger movement from the side foot

estimated cost of all these corridors approximately

paths. Respective municipal corporations shall identify

costing over Rs 3 lakh crore.

all possible paths for providing at least single-track operation of Metrolite trains between two parallel roads.

Even as the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new policy on metro rail says that this mode of public transport should be the last option in

Ring network shall be planned to reduce the head way.

any city, because it is very capital intensive, there a

Station area shall be planned with more natural lighting

rising demand from various cities across the country

and natural ventilation instead of heavy closed

seeking metro corridors. The Centre has received

structures.

proposals of construction of 834 km of metro corridors

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ARTICLES from 20 cities. The estimated cost of all these corridors sums up to over Rs 3 lakh crore.

Cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi lead in demanding more corridors. For Mumbai, multiple corridors of a total length of nearly 130 km has been proposed at an estimated budget of Rs 53,242 crore.

For Chennai, the Tamil Nadu government submitted a revised proposal in January for implementation of Phase-II of Chennai Metro, for a total route length of 118.9 km at an estimated cost of Rs 69,180 crore.

Delhi has also proposed multiple corridors of a total

Issued 3 hours before train leaves, ensures only genuine passengers get on, cuts out 'reservation' by touts.

length of 104 km with an estimated budget of Rs 46,845 crore. The Centre issued the Metro Rail Policy in 3. How a biometrics-based token system is reducing August 2017, which focuses on systematic planning chaos on railway platforms and implementation of metro rail systems in a more comprehensive and sustainable manner.

Boarding ‘general’ compartments — in which seating is not reserved — especially in long-distance trains

Officials said in the past, a few proposals have been

leaving major cities, has always been an ordeal for

sent back to the states for review due to various

passengers. The massive mismatch between the

reasons. For instance, Jharkhand had submitted a

numbers of travelers and the available seats drives

proposal for a 16.25-km corridor in Ranchi. The

people to queue up on platforms up to 10 hours in

proposal was returned in April 2018 with a request to

advance. Chaos at the time of boarding has led to

consider strengthening of the existing bus fleet with

stampedes and even deaths in the past. The Railway

other short- and medium-term measures, as suggested

Protection Force is employed routinely to prevent fights

under various studies, before embarking upon the

among groups of passengers. Gangs of touts ‘reserve’

Mass Rapid Transit System.

seats for a jai price, and those who can’t pay suffer.

The policy also says the states desirous of availing

EXPLAINED

central financial assistance for upcoming metro rail

What is Biometric Token System

projects should mandatorily explore the possibility of having a public private partnership arrangement.

The Western and Central Railways have introduced a new system by which passengers travelling in the general coach, where seats are not reserved, are given a token roughly three hours before the train’s departure. These tokens are given on a first-come, first-served basis, and carry a serial number on them, which governs the order in which passengers will board the train.

The use of biometrics (fingerprint) rules out touts METRO RAIL NEWS | AUG 2019 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

61

ARTICLES and ensures only Bonafede travelers receives a token. While some creases need to be ironed out, the initial evidence suggests that the use of BTS has brought a semblance of order to the otherwise unruly process of boarding an unreserved coach. In the past, there have been several episodes when the commotion around boarding has led to passengers getting hurt.

“The data (captured in the machines) will be used to analyse the pattern of crowds and the patronage of trains. In case of a mishap, we will have details of the passengers, and with the help of this (biometric information) we can prevent black marketing of unreserved tickets,” Ravinder Bhakar, spokesperson, Western Railway, said. The biometric data will be stored locally with the authorities for a year, Bhakar said.

Price, and those who can’t pay suffer.

D Vikas, Divisional Security Commissioner, Pune, said: The Western and Central Railways have introduced a

“Since we started this system, the unmanageable

new Biometric Token System (BTS) that seeks to

crowds have been transformed into well-managed,

streamline the process of boarding unreserved

disciplined groups… We started with two counters at

coaches. Tokens are issued on a first-come, first-

either end of the platform; both counters were manned

served basis, after accepting biometric information of

by RPF staffers who possessed good personalities and

individual passengers. Passengers with valid tickets

soft skills. The system was also cost-effective, as an

are required to place their fingers on a scanner, and are

average of Rs 20 was spent on each train.”

issued a token with a serial number against their biometric data. Passengers must queue up and enter the compartment (coach) in the order of their serial numbers.

A senior RPF officer pointed out that since the issuance of tokens begins only three hours before departure, “passengers don’t have to wait for 8-9 hours in queues”.

Authorities in Western Railway and Central Railway said the Railways hoped to expand the token system to the rest of the country soon.

The initial experience with the system has underlined some issues and generated user feedback. Some passengers have suggested that the tokens should be given along with the tickets themselves — this, they have said, would obviate the need to reach the station three hours before the train’s departure in order to get a token.

There are some teething problems as well.

On August 1, Pune Jn station, passengers of the 12149 Pune Danapur Express leaving Pune at 8.55 pm, complained that the token-issuing machine had “heated up” and stopped functioning after dispensing

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ARTICLES just 98 tokens.

users at a reasonable cost. The scheme also provides financial assistance to cities thereby ensuring

The initiative is also not sufficiently well known yet.

implementation in 8 out of the 11 cities with BRT. Of the

Many passengers continue to queue up separately

remaining 3, Delhi BRT was funded by the State

hours before the trains’ departure because they are

Government while Hubli-Dharwad and Naya Raipur

unaware of the biometrics-based tokens.

were funded through financial assistance from the World Bank. None of the cities have expanded their BRT networks beyond what JNNURM/ World Bank funded. In fact recent reports from Pune and Bhopal suggest that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems will be compromised either by allowing all vehicles into bus lanes or even by demolishing the system completely.

This is being done with the hope to ‘improve traffic movement’ along these corridors.

The typical reasons given for cities’ declining interest in BRT are common-that there is more ‘traffic’ on the corridor, that it is difficult to access bus lanes in the

4. Metro Lite? Let's learn from the BRTs

centre of the road, that there are more accidents on the roads after BRT. Most of these arguments are

Government of India (GoI) has recently released the

perception based but not data backed. The real cause

specifications for developing ‘Metro Lite’ or 'Light Rail

for cities backtracking on their BRT commitments is

Urban Transit' systems in our cities. At the core of these

more than such simplistic arguments. The following

specifications is the recommendation to segregate at-

systemic issues need to be addressed in cities, to

grade road space for rail based public transport. The

revive the current BRTs and to enable success of

detailed technical specs provide a deja-vu for people

upcoming ‘Metrolite’ systems.

who worked on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in India which also operate on similar principles, except

a) Let’s face it, we still love our cars! – The Delhi

that the services are provided by buses. It is therefore

BRT received much bad press which eventually led

crucial to do a careful review of why BRT systems

to its scrapping. While a lot of time and effort was

couldn’t scale up in Indian cities to ensure success of

spent by experts criticising the design elements of

our upcoming mass transit systems.

the system, many forget that the bus users’ perception of the system was positive and the

BRTs in India started from Delhi and Ahmedabad and

backlash was from car users protesting their space

were later embraced by nine other cities across the

being taken away for buses. We now see in Pune

country (See Shalini Sinha (VREF, 2019) for a thorough

and Bhopal as well that when the congestion

review of all the BRTs in India). The Jawaharlal Nehru

reaches beyond a certain level of inconvenience for

National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was

car users, cities think exclusive bus lanes are

instrumental in establishing the need for BRT systems

dispensable. Cities’ willingness to restrict car usage

in medium and large sized Indian cities to prioritise bus

hasn’t emerged yet and that’s at the heart of the

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63

ARTICLES problems being faced in sustaining existing BRTs

for long-term public transport vision for the city and

and other public transport systems. b) Special Purpose Vehicles-Trade off between

integration across modes. Given that the Indian cities’ had limited success in establishing Unified

pace of implementation and institutional

Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTA),

ownership? JNNURM mandated all its BRTs to be

establishing PTAs focussing just on mass-transit,

implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle

city bus and other paratransit services may yield

(SPV) formed specifically for the project. This was

better results.

inspired by the success of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) which operates India’s largest

d) Financing a BRT-Too big for the city, too small

metro network and Transmilineo-the world’s most

for a donor? As stated earlier, none of the

popular BRT system which were both established

JNNURM funded BRTs were extended further even

as SPVs. The BRT SPVs were intended to avoid the

in cities where it was received positively. One of the

procedural delays of traditional Government

reasons for this continues to be the lack of access to

agencies by focusing only on the project. However,

finances for expansion. BRTs are in an ‘in between’

most SPVs were understaffed to plan, execute and

financing requirement where most proposals are in

operate a successful BRT while some just existed

the cost range of INR 400-500 crores. Many cities

on paper while implementation was done by Urban

are unable to pay for it within their local budgets

Local Bodies (ULBs) (eg. Visakhapatnam and

while at the same time international financing

Vijayawada). This resulted in limited institutional

institutions find it too small. Providing access to low-

and financial support for BRT execution and

cost finance is a key prerequisite to provide high-

upkeep.

quality BRT systems across the country.

c) Lack of Public Transport Authorities (PTA) with

While the existing BRTs are systematically

legislative support: Executing BRTs is often a

neglected, many cities across India are investing in

complicated exercise since it involves retrofitting

metro rail systems which are even more capital

existing high demand streets to a new pattern of

intensive. Additionally, GoI is now promoting

usage. This typically delays the execution of

Metrolite/ LRT systems which are also going to be

projects as extensive stakeholder consultations

more capital intensive compared to BRTs. Its about

and integration of various users’ needs need to be

time that our cities address the systemic issues

taken up along with site-specific issues like shifting

hampering mass transit systems. Taking a project

utility infrastructure. Therefore, BRTs require strong

financing and execution approach is likely to see

support from its implementing agency with a long-

Metrolite's facing the same fate as the current

term vision for the need of the project, which the

BRTs, at a much higher cost!

project specific SPVs couldn’t provide. A recent report by the Volvo Research and Education Foundation (VREF), UITP and BRT Centre of Excellence, Santiago, Chile presents a global overview of successful BRT systems. It highlights how BRT implementation benefited greatly from being implemented under a PTA with the mandate

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Author Ravi Gadepalli Independent Consultant-Transit Policy, Planning and Operations

ARTICLES Project as most sustainable mode of transport in the city to remove the transport gridlock and to provide comfortable, inclusive and sustainable singular initiative which shall reduce the use of fossil-fuel to meet transportation need of the people at the city level and significantly reduce the carbon footprint.

In its own way, Maha-Metro has been engaged in contributing to the gigantic national imperative to meet the NDC of the country under Paris Accord. Metro-Rail in itself substantially reduces carbon-foot print by recourse to use of non-fossil fuel and consumption of

5. Greening the Green Transport – MahaMetro Tryst with solar Energy

ultra-low energy per-capita for urban transport when compared to personalised two-wheelers and cars and even public transport buses. But bigger contribution of

India was one of the early signatories to the United

Maha-Metro in this regard is its tryst with Solar Energy

Nations Paris Accord (2016). The country, as per its

in big way.

national climate action plans, known in UN parlance as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), under the

It is to be noted here that almost at its inception Maha-

Paris Agreement has set for itself three major goals to

Metro began the first Metro Rail Corporation in the

be achieved in time bound manner—increase the share

country, to integrate the Solar Energy into its being and

of non-fossil fuels to 40% of the total electricity

since that day, it has traversed a journey where it is

generation capacity, to reduce the emission intensity of

committed to meet 65% of its all energy needs

the economy by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level, and

(including traction) by means of solar energy. The

to create additional carbon sink of 2.5 -3 billion tonnes

journey so far of Maha-Metro’s tryst with solar energy is

of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree

as under below

cover.

In order to achieve the commitments given to UN and to

March 2016 Installed a pilot Solar project of 16 kWp at Metro

catalyze a sustainable and environment friendly

House roof with Net Metering facility.

development, Government of India has set an ambitious target for installation of 175 GW of renewable energy projects by year 2022. Out of which, 100 GW of Solar projects, which consists 60 GW of ground mount and 40 GW of rooftop mount Solar PV projects are to be

July 2016 Installed Solar PV of 12kWp capacity at the boundary walls near track

installed. Such a commitment at macro level for the

December 2016 Prepared a Detailed project Report (DPR) for

country as a whole by the Government of India requires

installation of 25 MWp Solar PV.

specific action at micro level by cities and entities.

The accelerated construction of Nagpur Metro Rail

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65

ARTICLES January 2018 Floated a tender for installation of Solar PV system at 3 stations of Priority Section.

April 2018 Agreement signed with the contractor for installation of Solar PV system at Priority section stations having a capacity of 312kWp. June 2018 Commencement of work for the installation of Solar panels at the roofs of 3 stations of Priority section.

October 2018 312 kWp solar PV systems commissioned.

March 2019 173 kWp solar PV systems commissioned at Airport Station March 2019 273kWPsolarPVsystemcommissioned at Metro Bhawan Quite clearly compared with its peers, Maha-Metro has embarked on a path not travelled below. At four of its stations 485 kWp capacity has been installed, which is generating 60,000 units of electricity per month. It is also worth noting that during Phase 1 total of 14 MWp will be installed which will finally increase to 25MWP generating 34 million units of electricity per annum. In an unprecedented move Maha-Metro is using its 38 stations, 36 km of via-duct and 10 km of boundary wall to support solar energy production. Some of the breathtaking installations of its roof-top solar power units are as below

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(Pic: An actual photograph of Solar PV system at Khapri, Airport South& Airport Metro Station)

Unflinching Commitment to Renewable Energy

ARTICLES Well Utilized Station and Administrative Building Roofs

It is worth noting in this content that the Maha-Metro Green Power strategy was not only timely and

Maha-Metro have already taken an initial leap by

consistent with National Renewable Energy Mission

installation of about 758 kWp Solar PV systems at

but it also preceded the signing of Paris Accord. MahaMetro’s commitment to usher in comfortable, inclusive sustainable and environmentally friendly mode of transport also from day one, made it incumbent upon

the roofs of its four stations and administrative building ‘Metro Bhawan’. The solar PV systems are connected to the grid with Net-metering

itself to make solar energy integral to the wellbeing of

arrangement for export of the momentary surplus

the company.

energy. The solar PV panels are mounted on the roofs with specially designed mounting clamps

Making Impossible Possible- Maha Metro Solar

without piercing the roof and that enabled Maha-

Strategy

Metro to avoid the potential water leakage.

In every metro project, enormous rooftop space gets created as a byproduct, by way of construction of Metro Stations, boundary walls, various workshops & maintenance buildings in depots. Maha-Metro right from its inception, took a conscious call to utilize this

The Solar PV system at each station is connected at 415V Auxiliary side and in parallel to the grid supply. The generated solar energy meets the partial or full energy requirement of the auxiliary

valuable resource for harnessing the solar energy

load and surplus energy (if any) is carried to

through installation of Solar PV systems for green,

through internal grid for train running. The residual

eco-friendly and sustainable development which was

energy is sent back to the discom grid through a

in line with National Mission as well as country’s

net-metering arrangement.

commitment to UN under Paris Accord.

Removing the Generation Point Pollution Solar Energy Traction Ambition Metro Rail system in general creates a positive Not content with static use of solar energy Maha-

impact on the local environment through reduction

Metro plans to tap grid power at 132 kV levels,

in air pollution. However, the overall impact of the

which will then be used for Traction & Auxiliary

metro system on air pollution of the nation crucially

purpose at 25 kV and 33 kV respectively. The

depends on how the electricity needed to drive the

Solar systems will be connected at 415 V at

metro is generated. The commitment of Maha-

Auxiliary side and the challenge is to feed back

Metro to fulfill up to 65% of its total energy

the surplus power at 25 kV for traction use and

requirement by using Solar energy makes it a truly

remaining at 132 kV level to the discom grid.

Green Transport.

Further, the Solar PV panels are to be mounted on the station roofs and there should be no piercing

It goes without saying then that Maha-Metro is

of roof to avoid any water leakage.

ever-greening the green-transport itself.

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JOBS

Job Opening S. No.

Organizaon

Description

Last Date

1.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL)

Director – 01 Post

06/09/2019

2.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Limited

Assistant Manager/ Manager

04/09/2019

Supervisor / Bridge Maintainer / Bridge Total no. of Posts – 10 Post

2.

Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC)

Deputy General Manager – 01 Post Assistant General Manager – 02 Posts Deputy Engineer – 03 Posts Total no. of Posts – 10 Post

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30/09/2019

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