Metro Rail Today July 2021 by Urban Transport News

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VOLUME 01 | ISSUE 04 | JULY 2021 | COVER PRICE INR 250.00

METRO RAIL TODAY NEWS, INSIGHTS, ANALYSIS, PROJECTS AND BUSINESS UPDATES FOR RAIL AND METRO INDUSTRY

SEMI HIGH-SPEED RAIL Silver Line Semi High Speed Rail A cost-effective sustainable transportation model

Pune – Nashik Semi High Speed Rail World’s first Broad Gauge Semi HSR Project

Train 18 and Before Indigenous High Technology Research in India

Power of Data in Mobility Shaping India's future of Mobility with the power of Data

MY TRAIN 18 STORY An exclusive talk with Sudhanshu Mani, the innovator of India’s first indigenous engineless Semi High-Speed Train Published by Scan from here to read online

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From All The Information Sources That You Trust …

METRO RAIL TODAY | JULY 2021 | ISSUE 04

REGULAR COLUMNS

Editorial Advisory Board

Subscription Form

Editor’s Note

Round Up

Construction Updates

Tender Watch

Urban Rail Progress Report - India

INTERVIEW

Editorial Calendar and Rate Card

38 46

Sudhanshu Mani

Former General Manager, ICF (Chennai), Indian Railways

H.K. Raghu

Executive Director (Urban Transport & High Speed), RDSO, Indian Railways

Keshav Kumar

Rail, MRTS & Transit Infra Expert

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

2nd Rail Infra and Mobility Business Awards 2021 By Urban Transport News

2nd Rail Infra and Mobility Business Summit 2021 By Urban Transport News

EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE 21 54

Train 18 and Before: Indigenous High Technology Research in India

By Prof. Sunil Mani and Chidambaran Iyer, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram

Book Review: My Train-18 Story

By Manoranjan Kumar, Associate Editor, Metro Rail Today

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

You can submit your article, case studies, editorial and advertorial for our next issue by JULY 25, 2021 WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

ARTICLES/OPINION 42

Key lessons from large public transportation projects

What Will It Take for India to Reach Its Infrastructure Goals?

By Dr. Ramanath Jha, Retd. IAS Officer

Integrated Real-time Enterprise Asset Management System (iDREAMS) for RRTS By Vinay Kumar Singh, Managing Director, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC)

IN SPOTLIGHT 56

By Wharton India Economic Forum

DIGITALISATION IN RAIL 44

TECHNOLOGY TALK By Vinod Shah, Head-Communications, Urban Transport News

POWER OF DATA IN MOBILITY 28

Shaping India's Future Of Mobility With The Power Of Data By Tilak Seth, Head-Mobility, Siemens Ltd.

SEMI HIGH SPEED RAIL

Satish Agnihotri

Managing Director, National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL)

Indigenous Technology to Speed up and monitor Delhi Metro’s Phase 4 Project

Semi High-Speed Rail: A cost-effective sustainable transportation model By Ajith Kumar V., Managing Director, Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail)

Pune-Nashik Semi High-Speed Rail: World’s first broad gauge Semi HighSpeed Rail Project

By Anushka Khare, Associate Editor, Urban Transport News

EVENTS 56

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Industry Event Calendar 2021

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

METRO RAIL TODAY MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Our distinguished advisory board has been assembled to guide Metro Rail Today Magazine to become even more representative of rail, metro and urban transport industry. Members have been invited from the highest levels of the industry and academic/research institutions to ensure high quality content so that the magazine can continue on its path of success.

Karuna Gopal Smart Cities Advisor Foundation for Futuristic Cities, Hyderabad

Dr. Richa Chowdhary Associate Professor University of Delhi, New Delhi

Dr. Surabhi Singh Associate Professor Institute of Management Studies (IMS), Ghaziabad

Ar. Priyanka Kumar Urban Planner Regional Centre for Urban & Environmental Studies, Lucknow

Dr. Vivek Vaidyanathan Sudhanshu Mani, IRSME Urban Transport Scientist Rail Expert Center for Study of Science, Ex-GM/ICF, Indian Railways Technology & Policy (CSTEP), Bangalore

Rajesh Agrawal, IRSEE Corporate Consultant, Former Member (Rolling Stock), Railway Board

MC Chauhan, IRSEE Railway Expert Ex. Chairman –KMRC, Ex. GM/NCR, Indian Railways

Keshav Kumar Rail, MRTS & Transit Infra Expert, Gurugram

Dr. Valavan Amudhan Public Transport Expert Executive Director-TECHSACS

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VOL. I / ISSUE 04

JULY 2021

Mamta Shah Managing Editor Vinod Shah Head - Marketing Anushka Khare Associate Editor Manoranjan Kumar Associate Editor Surya Prakash Head of Design Vandana Shukla Production Manager

Dear Readers,

Metro Rail Today Magazine is being published monthly by:

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In this issue, we have given special focus on Semi High-Speed Rail revolution in India. Apart from featuring proposed Silver Line (Thiruvananthapuram– Kasargode Semi High Speed Rail Corridor), Pune-Nashik Semi High-Speed Rail Corridor, we have featured interview of Mr. Sudhanshu Mani, a retired IRSME officer who served at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai during his last 29 months of his service and he has recently authored a book titled “My Train 18 Story” which gives a very insightful information about making of the indigenously developed Train-18 known as its operational name Vande Bharat Express. As Mr. Mani discusses the story of the development of Train-18, we are covering here his journey which led him to write this book along with a book review and an interview. We also featured interview of Mr. H.K. Raghu, ED (Urban Transport & High Speed), RDSO and Mr. Keshav Kumar, Rail, MRTS & Transit Infra Expert to get insights on success of Govt. of India’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission. Hope you will enjoy reading this issue of the magazine. Stay safe and Healthy! Mamta Shah Managing Editor editor@urbantransportnews.com Please address your feedback to: editor@metrorailtoday.com. METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

ROUND UP

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH SVR Srinivas appointed as new Metropolitan Commissioner of MMRDA The Maharashtra government on June 3, 2021, appointed S V R Srinivas as the new Metropolitan Commissioner of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). Srinivas takes charges from R A Rajeev, who has been superannuated on May 31, 2021, after completing the first three - month extension given by the government. Srinivas is 1991-batch IAS Officer from Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Govt. of India approves USD 2.2billion Semi-High Speed Rail Project between Pune and Nashik The Union Cabinet of Govt. of India has sanctioned the Rs 160bn ($US 2.2bn) project to construct a 235km 1676mm-gauge line between Pune and Nashik in Maharashtra state. Construction is anticipated to take 42 months from financial close, and once complete, the line will support operation of passenger trains at 200km/h with an average of 140km/h, and freight trains at 100km/h. The line will reduce journey times between the two cities to two hours compared with more than six at present and serve 87,000 daily passengers.

RITES submit final report on Guwahati Metro Rail Project The Indian Railways consultancy firm RITES Limited has submitted the final Comprehensive Mobility Plan & Alternative Analysis report on the Guwahati Metro Rail project for Guwahati to the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). The firm has recommended Metroneo system for the Guwahati city. Now the GMDA will send the CMP report to the Guwahati Development Department.

Maha Metro conducts trial run between Zero Mile Freedom Park – Kasturchand Park section of Nagpur Metro Phase 1 Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro) conducted trial run of train from Zero Mile Freedom Park to Kasturchand Park on June 2, 2021. This section is part of under-construction Reach II of Phase 1 of Nagpur Metro Rail Project. This is the first step towards making Reach II (Sitabuldi to Automotive Square) operational in December 2021.

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ROUND UP

Ashish Saraf appointed as Country Director for Thales India

K-RIDE accords priority status to two corridors of Bengaluru Suburban Rail project

French multinational company Thales today announced the appointment of Ashish Saraf as Vice-President and Country Director for India with effect from 1 June 2021. In this role, Ashish will lead the company’s India business and will be responsible for the strategic growth of Thales in the country across all of its markets, further strengthening local teams, collaborations and innovation. He succeeds Emmanuel de Roquefeuil who takes up a new role as the VP and head for Thales in the Middle East.

Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) accorded priority status to two corridors viz. Corridor 2 and 4 of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (Bengaluru Commuter Rail System) on June 21, 2021.

MMRDA conducts dynamic testing and trial run of train on Mumbai Metro lines 2A, 7 RITES submits DPR for Uttarakhand Metro Rail Project A new DPR for Metro Neo has been prepared by Uttarakhand Metro Rail, Urban Infrastructure & Building Construction Corporation Ltd. based on primary & secondary traffic data collected for the Metrolite including Topography survey and Geotechnical investigations etc. The estimated cost of proposed MetroNeo system will be Rs 1,662.8 crores. Cost estimations in this DPR are broadly based on Nashik Metro Neo DPR considering an escalation at the rate of 5% per year. The proposed Metro Neo corridors in the Dehradun city area are one from ISBT to Gandhi Park which runs north-south and another from FRI to Raipur which runs East-West.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commenced dynamic testing and trial run on 20 km long priority sections of the Mumbai Metro Phase I Line 2A Project (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and the Mumbai Metro Phase III Line 7 (Andheri East-Dahisar East) on June 19, 2021.

RITES submits final DPR of Rs 10,559 crore Jammu and Srinagar Metro Projects RITES Ltd has submitted final detailed project report of Jammu and Srinagar Metro Rail Project to the Jammu & Kashmir Metropolitan Region Development Authority on June 11, 2021.

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ROUND UP

Govt. of India approves extension of Delhi-Panipat RRTS to Karnal The Union Government approved the proposal of extension of the Delhi-Panipat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Project to Karnal on June 29, 2021. This information was shared by Harayana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in a meeting on June 30, 2021.

MoU signed to use renewable energy in DelhiMeerut RRTS Corridor With the aims to promote the use of renewal energy in the transportation sector to improve the quality of life of people, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) have signed a Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) to harness blended renewable energy for RRTS. According to MoU, NCRTC will explore possible opportunities in electric/transformative mobility, Hydrogen based economy, and other alternative sources of fuels and energy.can also be run faster than before.

Satish Agnihotri appointed as Managing Director of National High Speed Rail Corporation 1982-batch IRSE Officer, Satish Agnihotri has been appointed as new Managing Director of National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL). He has taken oven charge of Managing Director from Achal Khare, who has superannuated on June 30, 2021. Prior to appointment to NHSRCL, Satish had been retired from the post of Chairman and Managing Director of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), 1982 and Master of Engineering (Structures), 1984, both from IIT, Roorkee and was conferred the distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013 by IIT, Roorkee. Agnihotri comes with more than 19 years of experience in implementation of mega rail infrastructure projects.

Mumbai Metro One, Axis Bank and RuPay launch ‘ONE MUMBAI’ Smart Card Mumbai Metro One, Axis Bank and RuPay today announced the launch of ‘ONE MUMBAI’ Smart Card, designed to ensure smooth contactless and cashless travel for Mumbaikars. This card is an open loop, contactless card with all in one multi-utility use for travel, e-commerce & retail spends etc. It can be used for the day-to-day shopping needs of Mumbaikars including groceries, fuel, dining, utility bills etc. apart from using it to travel in the Mumbai Metro.

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CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

Ahmedabad Metro: Afcons Infra cast first Pile Cap for Phase 2 The workers of Afcons Infrastructure poured concrete to cast their first pile cap for Phase 2 of Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project near Narmada Canal on June 2, 2021.

Kanpur Metro: Condition survey of buildings near metro tunnels started The Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) started ‘Building Condition Survey’ of proposed underground tunnel between Chunniganj and Nayaganj on June 14, 2021. A total of seven underground stations will be constructed under Phase 2 of the Kanpur Metro.

Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Afcons Infrastructure casts first pier under Package-6 Afcons Infrastructure Ltd team started casting of pier works near New Ashok Nagar station under Package-6 contract of Delhi-Meerut RRTS project on June 2, 2021. The pier (Pier No. 218) was 6.5 metres tall and was very first permanent structure of Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor within Delhi. In October 2020, Afcons was awarded Rs 1,061 crore civil contract for constructing 4.3 km stretch between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar.

Agra Metro: Piling works up to Fatehabad Road completed The project workers of Sam India Builtwell has completed casting work of 487 piles, 75 pile caps and 32 piers. These segments will be used for construction of elevated section of 7-km priority corridor (Jama Masjid - Taj East Gate) of Agra Metro Rail Project (Line 1) up to Fatehabad Road on June 16, 2021

Agra Metro: Sam India casts first double T-Girder for corridor 1 The project team of SAM (India) Builtwell cast first double T-Girder for Agra Metro Rail project on June 2, 2021. It Will be used in construction of station concourse slab above the road. In October 2020, Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) had awarded a contract worth Rs 272.95 to Sam India Builtwell for the construction of 4-km elevated stretch between Taj East Gate Station – Taj Mahal Ramp under Package AGCC-01 for Line 1 of Agra Metro Rail Project. Construction activities started in November, 2020.

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ROUND UP

Kanpur Metro: 500 U-Girder launched on priority corridor

Nagpur Metro: Maha Metro extends trial runs to Kasturchand Park

The workers of Afcons Infrastructure launched 500th Ugirder for constructing the 8.728 km priority corridor of Kanpur Metro Rail project between IIT Kanpur and Motijheel on June 21, 2021. This significant milestone was achieved within 312 days of very first 25m U-girder weighing 147 MT launched in August 2020. A total of 622 U-girder will be launched to complete the priority corridor.

Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MahaMetro) extended trial runs (train testing) on Reach-2 (Sitabuldi to Automotive Square) of Phase 1 of Nagpur Metro from Zero Mile Station to Kasturchand Park on June 2, 2021.

Delhi-Meerut RRTS: STEC construction of launching TBM shaft

Kolkata Metro: Linxon India started installation of Third Rail Electrification System for Line 3, 6 Linxon India started installing the 750V Third Rail electrification system for Line – 6 (new Garia – Netaji Subhas Airport) of Kolkata Metro Rail Project in mid of June 2021. Last month, Linxon India started installing the 750V Third Rail electrification system for Line – 3 (Joka – Esplanade) also. Linxon was awarded the traction and electrification contract for Line – 6 in 2019 by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) for its 5.4 km New Garia – Hemanta Mukherjee section. The scope of work included power supply for Joka Depot and Joka – Taratala section which is part of Line-3.

commenced

The project team of Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd. commenced the construction of launching shaft for tunneling underground stretch of Delhi-Meerut RRTS within Delhi at Anand Vihar on June 13, 2021. For this, first Diaphragm Wall (D-Wall) panel reinforcement cage (size 20m deep and 5m wide) was lowered and concreted. STEC will deploy two TBMs to run tunneling drive about 3 km.

Ahmedabad Metro: Ranjit Buildcon commneced casting of Pier Caps for Phase 2 work

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METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

TENDER WATCH

FRESH TENDERS Project

Scope of Work

Issue Date

Closing Date

Authority

Chennai Metro

Selection of General Consultant (GC) for Chennai Metro Rail Phase 2 Project – Corridor 4 and part of Corridor-3&5.

02.06.2021

14.07.2021

CMRL

High Rail

Design and Construction of Civil and Buildings Works including Testing and Commissioning on Design Build Lump Sum Price Basis for Double Line High Speed Railway involving Vadodara Station, Confirmation Car Base, Viaducts & Bridges, Crossing Bridges and Associated works between MAHSR Km. 393.700 and MAHSR Km. 401.898 in the State of Gujarat for the Project for Construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor

05.06.2021

04.10.2021

NHSRCL

Delhi Metro

Design & Construction of Twin Tunnel by shield TBM, Tunnel by Cut & Cover, Underground ramp at Derawal Nagar and Six underground stations viz. Derawal Nagar, Ghanta Ghar, Pulbangash, Sadar Bazar, Nabi Karim & Ramakrishna Ashram Marg Including Architectural Finishing, Water supply, Sanitary installation, Drainage works of stations on Janakpuri West to R.K. Ashram Corridor (Line-8 Ext.) of Phase-IV of Delhi MRTS.

10.06.2021

28.07.2021

DMRC

Delhi Metro

Track Maintenance of Line-6 (Kashmere Gate-Raja Nahar Singh) including Sarita Vihar and Ajronda Depot.

11.06.2021

12.07.2021

DMRC

Delhi Metro

PART-A: Design, Manufacture, Supply, Testing, Commissioning, Training of 234 Nos. Standard Gauge Cars for Extended Sections of Line 7 & 8 AND PART-B: Design, Manufacture, Supply, Testing, Commissioning, Training of 54 Nos. of Standard Gauge Cars Including Comprehensive Maintenance up to Fifteen Years for These 54 Nos. Standard Gauge Cars for Aerocity – Tughlakabad Corridor.

18.06.2021

15.09.2021

DMRC

Kanpur Metro

Design and construction of TBM tunnel, cut and cover tunnel, underground ramp from Kanpur Central end of Nayaganj station to elevated ramp after Transport Nagar and three underground metro stations (viz. Kanpur Central, Jhakarkatti and Transport Nagar) including architectural finishes, E and M, TVS, ECS etc. on Corridor-1 of Kanpur MRTS Project at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.

18.06.2021

01.09.2021

UPMRC

Delhi Metro

Supply, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of an Independent PA system for Crew Control Rooms of DMRC

22.06.2021

13.07.2021

DMRC

RRTS

Package 26A Design, Supply, Installation, Testing and Commissioning and Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract of EMV based Open Loop Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) System for Delhi –Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor

26.05.2021

27.07.2021

NCRTC

Speed

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

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TENDER WATCH

TENDER RESULTS Lisha Engineers bags Rs 78.66 crore civil contract for Delhi Metro Phase 4 Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (DMRC) awarded the contract package DC-11 (Phase IV) worth Rs 78.66 crores to Lisha Engineers for Architectural Finishing Works Including Design, Fabrication, Supply, Erection & Roof sheeting of Pre-Engineered Building (PEB) Structures and Design & Construction of External facade, Water Supply, Sanitary Installation, Drainage, Site development works at Eight (08) Elevated stations namely Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Khajuri Khas, Sonia Vihar, Soorghat, Jagatpur Village, Jharoda Majraa and Burari of MaujpurMajlis Park –Corridor (Line-7 Extension) of Delhi MRTS Phase-IV Project on June 2, 2021.

ITD Cementation wins Rs 334 crore civil contract for Surat Metro Phase 1

Management System for Krishna Park Ext Underground station of line-8 extension corridor of Phase-IV of Delhi MRTS on June 17, 2021.

SYSTRA – AECOM – Egis Rail JV wins Rs 268 crore GC contract for Surat Metro Phase 1 SYSTRA-AECOM-EGIS Rail JV emerged as the lowest bidder in GC contract package of the Surat Metro Rail Project on June 19, 2021. The scope of work includes providing General Engineering Consultancy services for Surat Metro Rail Project , Phase 1. A total of 5 bidders were participated in the bidding process.

URC Construction wins Rs 97.5 crore civil contract for Delhi Metro Phase 4

ITD Cementation India Limited emerged as the lowest bidder in contract package DC-01 of the Surat Metro Rail Project on June 10, 2021. The scope of work includes Development and Construction of Dream City Depot including Metro Bhavan, OCC and associated E & M works under corridor C1, Sardhana to Dream city. A total of 9 bidders were participated in the bidding process. ITD Cementation had quoted Rs 334.13 crores against GMRC’s estimate Rs 346 crores.

URC Construction emerged as the lowest bidder in contract package DC-10A-R of the Delhi Metro Rail Project Phase 4 on June 29, 2021. The scope of work includes Architectural Finishing Works, Pre- Engineered Building (PEB) Structures & Foot Over Bridge (FOB), External facade, Water Supply, Sanitary Installation, Drainage, Site development works at Seven Elevated Stations namely Keshopur, Paschim Vihar, Peeragarhi, Mangol Puri, West Enclave, Pushpanjali & Deepali Chowk on Janakpuri West to R.K.Ashram Corridor (Extn. of Line-8) of Phase-IV of Delhi MRTS.

RT Vision Technologies wins Rs 6.93 crore PSD contract for Delhi Metro Airport Line

Sam India Builtwell wins Rs 100.29 crore civil contract for Delhi Metro Phase 4

RT Vision Technologies emerged as the lowest bidder in PSD contract of the Delhi Metro Rail Project (Phase 3) on June 14, 2021. The scope of work includes Design, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of Full Height Platform Screen Doors at Dwarka Sector 25 Station of Extension of Airport Express Line Delhi MRTS project of Phase-III. A total of 4 bidders were participated in the bidding process. RT Vision had quoted Rs 6.93 crores against DMRC’s estimate Rs 7.71 crores.

Sam India Builtwell emerged as the lowest bidder in contract package DC-10B-R of the Delhi Metro Rail Project Phase 4 on June 30, 2021. The scope of work Architectural Finishing Works, Pre- Engineered Building (PEB) Structures & Foot Over Bridge (FOB), External facade, Water Supply, Sanitary Installation, Drainage, Site development works at Eight Elevated Stations namely Madhuban Chowk, Prashant Vihar, North Pitampura, Haiderpur Badli Mor (over existing Line-2 station), Bhalaswa, Majlis Park, Azadpur & Ashok Vihar on Janakpuri West to R.K.Ashram Corridor (Extn. of Line-8) of Phase-IV of Delhi MRTS.

ETA Engineering bags Rs 48 crore E&M contract for Delhi Metro Phase 4 Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (DMRC) awarded the contract package DE-03 (of Phase 4) worth Rs 48.08 crores to ETA Engineering for Design verification, Detail engineering, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, Testing & Commissioning of Electrical and Mechanical system including Fire, Hydraulic and DG set, Environment control system, Tunnel ventilation system and Building

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Rahee Infratech wins Rs 122.59 crore track contract for Kolkata Metro Line 6 Rahee Infratech emerged as the lowest bidder on June 21, 2021 for Construction of Double Line Ballast Less Track for Elevated Viaduct portion between Nicco Park to Titumir in Connection with Construction of Metro Railway Corridor from New Garia to Airport Corridor.

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Metro Rail Progress Report India Investment Approved (in Rs/Crores)

Status of Urban Rail Projects in India

Agra Metro

12900

Ahmedabad Metro

System

OPERATIONAL

Metro Rail

Network Length (km) 697.5 19.5

Tram

38.0

Delhi Metrolite

Regional Rail (RRTS) High Speed Rail Total Network:

0 0 3345.5

6941

Chennai Metro

Monorail

2593.5

58193

Bhopal Metro Coimbatore Metro

Suburban Rail

16157

Bangalore Metro

85613 6683

Delhi Metro

117278 5587

Dholera Metro

7000

Gorakhpur Metro

4672

Gurgaon Metro

8736

Hyderabad Metro

18800

Indore Metro

7500

Jaipur Metro

7695

Jammu Metro

4825

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Kanpur Metro

System Metro Rail Metrolite Suburban Rail Regional Rail (RRTS) High Speed Rail Total Network:

Network Length (km) 896.06 0 0 85.15 508.18 1489.39

11076

Kochi Metro

8086

Kolkata Metro

47524

Kozhikode Metro

2773

Lucknow Metro

12374

Meerut Metro

11544

Mumbai Metro

140814

Mumbai Monorail

3000

Nagpur BG Metro

334

Nagpur Metro

19896

Navi Mumbai Metro

7633

Noida Metro

11185

Patna Metro

NEW APPROVED

System Metro Rail Metrolite/MetroNeo Suburban Rail Regional Rail (RRTS) High Speed Rail Total Network:

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Network Length (km) 626.67 69.85 252.96 224.7 4097.0 5271.18

13479

Pune Metro

24773

Srinagar Metro

5734

Surat Metro

12020

Thane Metro

7165

Trivandrum Metro

4219

Varanasi Metro

7000

Vijayawada Metro

15000

Visakhapatnam Metro

15933

Warangal Metro

1341

50000

100000

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

150000

URBAN RAIL PROGRESS - INDIA

METRO RAIL UNDER CONSTRUCTION METRO PROJECT

OPERATIONAL METRO RAIL NETWORK Project

Network (km)

Project

Network (km)

Ahmedabad Metro (Gujarat)

6.5

Meerut Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

20.0

Bangalore Metro (Karnataka)

42.3

Nagpur Metro (Maharashtra)

76.5

Chennai Metro (Tamil Nadu)

54.1

Navi Mumbai Metro (Maharashtra)

11.1

Delhi Metro (Delhi)

347.6

Patna Metro (Bihar)

31.39

Pune Metro (Maharashtra)

39.92

Surat Metro (Gujarat)

40.35

Gurgaon Rapid Metro (Haryana)

12.1

Hyderabad Metro (Telangana)

69.2

Jaipur Metro (Rajasthan)

12.0

Kochi Metro (Kerala)

25.0

Kolkata Metro (West Bengal)

39.2

Project

Lucknow Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

22.9

Dholera Metro (Gujarat)

100.0

Mumbai Metro (Maharashtra)

11.4

Delhi Metrolite (Delhi)

40.85

Mumbai Monorail (Maharashtra)

19.5

Mumbai Metro (Maharashtra)

Nagpur Metro (Maharashtra)

24.5

Nagpur BG Metro (Maharashtra)

268.63

Noida Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

29.7

Nashik Metro Neo (Maharashtra)

32.0

Kolkata Tram (West Bengal)

38.0

Thane Metro (Maharashtra)

29.0

Gorakhpur Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

27.5

Gurugram Metro (Haryana)

30.0

Kozhikode Light Metro (Kerala)

13.3

Trivandrum Light Metro (Kerala)

21.8

Total Network:

754.0

UNDER CONSTRUCTION METRO PROJECTS Project

Network (km)

Agra Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

29.4

Ahmedabad Metro (Gujarat)

33.5

Bangalore Metro (Karnataka)

80.0

Bhopal Metro (Madhya Pradesh)

28.0

Chennai Metro (Tamil Nadu)

118.9

Delhi Metro (Delhi)

103.9

Total Network:

896.06

NEW APPROVED METRO PROJECTS Network (km)

Total Network:

87.6

650.68

UNDER CONSIDERATION METRO PROJECTS Project

Network (km)

Coimbatore Metro (Tamil Nadu)

147.0

Ghaziabad Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

11.0

Noida Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

3.8

Hyderabad Metro (Telangana)

3.1

Indore Metro (Madhya Pradesh)

31.5

Kanpur Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

23.8

Varanasi Metro (Uttar Pradesh)

19.35

Kolkata Metro (West Bengal)

55.7

Visakhapatnam Metro (Andhra Pradesh)

140.2

Mumbai Metro (Maharashtra)

169.0

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Jammu Metro (J&K)

23.0

Srinagar Metro (J&K)

25.0

Vijayawada Metro (Andhra Pradesh)

66.2

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URBAN RAIL PROGRESS - INDIA

HSR/RRTS HIGH SPEED RAIL NETWORK Project

Network (km)

Executing Agency

Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor

508.0

NHSRCL

Under construction

Mumbai-Nagpur HSR corridor

741.0

NHSRCL

DPR under progress

Mumbai-Hyderabad HSR corridor

711.0

NHSRCL

DPR under progress

Delhi-Varanasi HSR corridor

865.0

NHSRCL

DPR under progress

Delhi-Ahmedabad HSR corridor

886.0

NHSRCL

DPR under progress

Chennai-Mysore HSR corridor

435.0

NHSRCL

DPR under progress

Delhi-Amritsar HSR corridor

459.0

NHSRCL

DPR under progress

Varanasi-Hawrah HSR corridor

760.0

NHSRCL

DPR under progress

Delhi-Mumbai HSR corridor

1384.0

HSRCIL

Feasibility study completed

Mumbai-Chennai HSR corridor

1334.0

HSRCIL

Feasibility study under progress

Chennai-Kolkata HSR corridor

1670.0

HSRCIL

Pre-feasibility study under progress

Delhi-Kolkata HSR corridor

1447.0

HSRCIL

Feasibility study under progress

Mumbai-Kolkata HSR corridor

1961.0

HSRCIL

Pre-feasibility study under progress

Delhi-Chennai HSR corridor

2184.0

HSRCIL

Feasibility study under progress

Total Network:

Status

15345.0

SEMI HIGH SPEED RAIL NETWORK Project

Network (km)

Executing Agency

Status

Ahmedabad-Rajkot Semi HSR corridor

227.0

G-RIDE

Pune-Nashik Semi HSR corridor

235.0

MAHARAIL

Approved by State Govt.

Thiruvananthapuram-Kasargod Semi HSR corridor

530.6

K-RAIL

Approved by State Govt.

Total Network:

992.6

Feasibility study completed

REGIONAL RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM NETWORK Project

Network (km)

Executing Agency

Delhi-Meerut RRTS Smart Line

82.15

NCRTC

Under construction

Delhi-Panipat RRTS Smart Line

103.0

NCRTC

DPR approved

Delhi-Alwar RRTS Smart Line

106.0

NCRTC

Under construction

Haryana Orbital Rail

121.7

HRIDC

DPR Approved

Total Network:

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Status

412.85

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Train 18 and Before Indigenous High Technology Research in India Train 18 is India’s first indigenously developed semi-high speed train set that was rolled out very quickly and at low cost. Yet, like many public R&D projects, Train 18 too has had to face obstacles that may yet prevent it from realising its full potential.

Prof. Sunil Mani Director, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram

Chidambaran Iyer Associate Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram

ndia initially followed a policy of growth with technological self-reliance but is now increasingly dependent on foreign technology that comes essentially through multinational corporations (MNCs) and via technology licensing agreements between unaffiliated Indian companies and MNCs. Barring the rare exceptions such as space, the country cannot boast of developing technology through indigenous efforts in high-technology areas such as nanotechnology and semiconductors, where such efforts were mounted earlier. This is despite the fact that the country has a number of very capable public-research organisations in high technology. India’s gross domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) as a proportion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been stagnant at around 0.70% since 2012.

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An area where India’s indigenous R&D efforts have been very successful is the design and manufacture of railway engines and coaches. Engines are manufactured at the railway production units at Chittaranjan, West Bengal, and Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The country’s requirement of rail coaches are met through domestic production at three factories at Perambur, Tamil Nadu; Kapurthala, Punjab; and Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. The coach factories have improved their productivity over time, as measured by significant reductions in the time taken to manufacture coaches. Exports of railway coaches and engines have shown a spike since 2015-16. Of the three coach factories, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) set up in Perambur near Chennai in 1955 is the major one as it has manufactured about 50,000 coaches since its inception—the highest by any rail coach manufacturer in the world. It also has state-of-the-art infrastructure to manufacture stainless steel Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches. At present, ICF is the leader in the manufacture of self-propelled coaches, viz. electric multiple units (EMU), mainline electric multiple units (MEMU), and diesel electric multiple units (DEMU) in the country. However, in the design and manufacture of train sets, which is common in all developed railway systems in the world, India till very recently has been a laggard. The introduction of an indigenously developed and manufactured train set, the Vande Bharat Express or METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

COVER STORY

Train-18, has proven India's design and development capabilities in this important technology (Press Information Bureau, 2019). The Train 18 (named after the year of the launch of the project, 2018) is India's first semi high-speed train. Built at 40% of global prices, Train 18 is capable of clocking 160-200 km per hour (kmph), against the average 50-60 kmph speed of India's express trains. Given that it took the ICF only 18 months from conceptualisation to manufacturing Train 18, and that, more importantly, 80% of its components are indigenous (Jacob, 2019a), Train 18 has the potential to turn out to be an important showpiece for the Make in India initiative of the government. What embellishes this accomplishment is the fact that the modus operandi for Indian Railways before Train 18 was always to acquire technology from abroad for rolling stock and to assimilate it gradually with the help of the technology collaborator. However, there were reports (Kumar, 2019) last year that due to a variety of reasons there was a threat of the production of Train 18 coming to a halt at ICF. The experience of Train 18 was beginning to look ominously similar to many other cases of indigenous R&D efforts, where when the domestic R&D project is nearing its logical conclusion, the government allows import of foreign technology supposedly on grounds that the domestically developed technology does not meet some of the standards (often deliberately set high). The Train 18 project Train 18 is the first self-propelled train designed and manufactured in India for long-distance inter-city travel. Manufactured at Rs 97.5 crore — less than half the global cost (Dayal, 2019) — this 16-coach air-conditioned train-set project involved conceptual design, detailed design, development and prototype tests of sub-assemblies, and the subsequent supply chain, assembly, and manufacture of the shells, followed by furnishing, testing and commissioning. Since Indian Railways was the developer of the technology, it had to coordinate not only with in-house technical teams but also with vendors who were developing the sub-assemblies. As Indian Railways did not have ready technology for 160-kmph-fit motorised bogies, the team had to develop bogies with fully suspended traction motors and under-slung propulsion systems, with an attractive exterior. At present two sets of trains, comprising a total of 32 coaches, are in service on the Delhi-Varanasi and the Delhi-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi routes. Their occupancy rates have been 100%, showing their immense popularity among passengers. It was also initially proposed to manufacture a total of 640 train-set coaches in the three years 2019-20 through 2021-22, although there is now some confusion about the actual order that has been given to ICF.

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Team behind Train 18

Roadblocks to the Train 18 project According to initial press reports (Jacob, 2019b), the Train 18 project had hit a roadblock. The government was said to have cancelled the orders for 40 new train-sets with the ICF and had decided to float fresh tenders, although two out of the 40 were already in service. Three problems were raised regarding the existing train sets manufactured by ICF and put into operation. Firstly, it was stated that the train was overweight. Secondly, as a result, the train set was said to be less fuel-efficient in comparison with other semi high-speed trains running in India. Thirdly, in procuring the components for the train, there were allegations that tendering rules were not followed, and this led to a spate of vigilance inquiries against the A-team that was involved in the design of this train set. The vigilance inquiry was supposed to have been precipitated by allegations of irregularities in the procurement of the propulsion system for EMU/MEMUs (suburban trains) and Train 18. While the first two problems are technological in nature and can be corrected through a change in the design, the third is procedural in terms of the norms for government procurement supposedly not being followed. There are examples from the past of stalling an indigenous R&D project conducted in public-sector organisations by instituting a vigilance or corruption enquiry against the top members of a project. In the 1990s, when the union minister for communication wanted to stall the R&D activities of the telecom research unit C-DOT, this was done by ordering a vigilance inquiry against Sam Pitroda, who was heading the R&D project. This completely destabilised that otherwise unique and successful indigenous R&D project in telecom switching equipment (Mani, 2019). The inquiry against the ICF team was launched in June 2019, following complaints that the Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives (MSD) was “unduly favoured” for the WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

COVER STORY

project and that the eligibility criteria in the tender were tailored to suit the firm, over MNC suppliers of major propulsion systems, such as Siemens and Bombardier (Mishra, 2019). However, MSD, a manufacturing company established in 1984, is one of the few firms in India that is focused on railway transportation. Over the last 35 years the firm has grown to employ over 3,200 personnel and in 2019 had a turnover of Rs 1,740 crore. The firm specialises in three areas of railway transportation, namely control electronics, power electronics, and safety-critical signalling. The firm is also highly R&D intensive, having set up its inhouse R&D Centre in 2004. It has exported its railway products to many countries, including the United States. In 2016, the ICF awarded a contract to manufacture 40 train sets at Rs 100 crore per train set to a Swiss-Indian consortium consisting of Stadler and Medha. The consortium was awarded the contract because it had the lowest quotation in the tender and it also satisfied the other tender conditions of having manufacturing facilities in India as well as having a minimum of five years’ experience in supplying train sets to developed markets (Jha, 2018). MNC manufacturers such as Bombardier and Siemens were offered the opportunity to submit counteroffers, but they are believed to have refrained from doing so. China’s CRRC and the state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) were among the other bidders in the first round.

the R&D activities of C-DOT and a committee was appointed to evaluate the functioning of C-DOT. This committee in 1990 alleged that there had been serious irregularities and time overruns in the large local switch equipment project. Although these so-called allegations were effectively answered by C-DOT, some of the key officials were removed from their positions, destabilising the R&D project. Mani (2019) showed that these efforts could largely be attributed to the machinations of foreign firms whose market in the country was challenged by the availability of C-DOT designed fixed-line switching equipment.

Interior view of Vande Bharat (Train 18)

After much furore in the national press and strong opposition emanating from the opposition parties—and possibly also from groups within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party that subscribe to self-reliance—the Railway Board approved, on 16 December 2019, a plan for ICF to manufacture 160, 240, and 240 coaches, respectively in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 at its factories (Lok Sabha, 2019). The new rakes will be manufactured on a revised design of the Train 18 model approved by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation of the Indian Railways. These trains will be lighter and more fuelefficient than the initial sets.

As a result of the constant destabilisation activities, C-DOT soon showed a lack of strategic direction. This manifested itself in the kind of research projects C-DOT focussed on and those it did not focus on. For example, while the technology frontier had moved on to mobile communication technologies, the lab continued to focus on fixed-line telecom technologies. The C-DOT example clearly emphasises the need to stay away from actions that have the potential to harm the indigenous development of technology.

Earlier Episodes of Obstacles

Over the years, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has built up considerable innovation capabilities in four important areas of space research (Mani, 2010) such as: (i) earth observations and remote sensing; (ii) satellite communications and navigation; (iii) space science and environment (Chandrayan-1 and -2); and (iv) launch vehicles (PSLV, GSLV). Among the four areas of considerable technological capability, two areas where the country has an undisputed leadership are remote sensing and the design and manufacture of satellite launch vehicles. Throughout its existence, ISRO has had to deal with many failures, but the state has always strongly supported it. Given the possibility of dual-use, ISRO could never hope to get any technological support from other spacefaring foreign countries. Therefore, ISRO’s foray into unknown and complex technologies with a fair amount of success is

The roadblocks placed in the diffusion of Train 18 are a repetition of similar such attempts in the past to prevent the adoption of indigenous technology. For example the public sector C-DOT was established in the mid-1980s to act as a knowledge-generating lab for telecommunications equipment. The technology developed at C-DOT would be transferred to public and private sector firms. The lab was very successful in developing digital switching equipment for smaller rural exchanges and its presence made the market for switching equipment contestable, eventually leading to a significant fall in the average price of switching equipment (Mani 2005). During 1989-91, many attempts were made to pare down WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

A Successful Model of Indigenous R&D

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

COVER STORY

perhaps one of the few examples of successful organisation and development of indigenous R&D in India. Baskaran (2001) and Mani (2010) have attributed the relative success of ISRO to three main reasons. First, the nature of the organisation itself has been important, which meant that there was very little interference by the government in ISRO’s R&D activities. This was ensured by the fact that the head of ISRO and the secretary to the Department of Space are the very same person, and they have always risen from within ISRO, thus possessing a fair amount of inside knowledge of the organisation. Second, the government has consistently funded its R&D essentially through grants. Space research has always received the second-largest amount of funds, after defence research, for R&D (Department of Science and Technology, 2018). Third, even when some of the satellite launches have ended up as costly failures, the government has continued to support ISRO with steady R&D funding. Moreover, ISRO has also, as a result, institutionalised the process of learning from past mistakes and then growing from strength to strength. The case of space research thus shows indigenous R&D projects can succeed and bear useful results. Conclusions The cost of development and reliability of Train 18 indicate that India may finally have designed and developed a

Inauguration of first Vande Bharat Express by Prime Minister of India

product matching international standards. Given the importance of railways to the economy, Train 18 has the potential to provide a fillip to the Make in India initiative. Also, it is a more cost-effective solution than having costly bullet trains between Indian cities. The history of technology development in India shows the need to not only support the adoption of indigenous technologies but also to stop putting roadblocks in the development of homegrown technologies. We must learn from our past and allow manufacturing technologies of the type of Train 18 to flourish. ***

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METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

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MY TRAIN 18 STORY An exclusive talk with Sudhanshu Mani

Taking my idea forward was not easy. As usual, the idea of manufacturing of an engineless train drew a lot of criticism. Officials objected to the idea and suggested that the technology could be hired from the countries that already have engineless trains. But I stuck to my point that I wanted to manufacture the engineless train here, with all intellectual property rights owned by India and not by any other country. WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

Meet Sudhanshu Mani, a retired but not tired IRSME Officer from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, Indian Railways who is known as an innovator of Train-18 (Vande Bharat Express). Train-18 is India’s first indigenous semi high-speed train which proves country’s capabilities to make it self-reliant under Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission. Mani has recently written a book titled “My Train18 Story” based on his experience and he talked with Metro Rail Today about the journey of Train18 from from conception to design to engineering to manufacture and roll-out for the service of the nation. What motivated you to write this book? Or let us say, what is so special in Train 18 that it compelled you to write a whole book? A team of ICF (Integral Coach Factory) manufactured Train 18 in 2018, India’s first semi-high-speed train set, which is now in service as the much-talked about Vande Bharat Express. This team had put together, from conception to design to engineering to manufacture and roll-out, a modern train set in a record time of 18 months, against the world-standard of a minimum of 36 months from the drawing board to prototype on line. The train was built at nearly one third of the estimated price for import of an equivalent train. I was the fortunate one to have led this team right through the extraordinary 18 months and some months before and after. This book is my tribute to this team. And of course, the pleasure of recounting those heady days was a bonus.

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

INTERVIEW

Please tell us something about the Train 18, its speciality and its features ? What was the motive behind launch of this train ? A modern train set was a long time coming. India needed a modern train set for decades but IR bureaucracy had repeatedly let the country down, immersed as it was in internecine battles and venal intentions to import. The capability and the chutzpah to take up a project of new train design and manufacture de novo existed among the ICF railwaymen. The support industries in India had also reached near world-standard in certain key areas and was waiting a friendly nudge to excel themselves. All it needed was to channelize this energy to bring something noteworthy to fruition. I was posted in 2016 at ICF as General Manager, in all likelihood on my last assignment before superannuation, after completing near life-long service of 35 years as a railway officer, including a rare stint in Germany in the Embassy of India as the Minister (Railways). I had always dreamt of India designing and manufacturing a modern and fast train with pleasing interiors and exteriors. Once at ICF, I had the dream, the vision, the opportunity and as time would tell me, the good fortune to realize my dream. As for special features, this train has many advantages like, No requirement of reversal, faster acceleration / deceleration, reduced travel time, more energy-efficiency, better passenger comfort, improved aesthetics, superior maintainability; in brief, a near-world-class train. As you are one of the key architects of this mission, how do you feel after the success of Train 18? What challenges have you faced during the whole journey? I naturally feel very good that I was afforded this great canvas at ICF to be able to give to the country something it long deserved. It is also a message to young aspirational India that we in India can do it. The challenges included technical and managerial/administrative. While the technical challenges were handled well by the entire team. The managerial challenges included managing the contradictions at Railway Board, supply chain, close interaction with industry, adherence to very tight time lines and so on. Government of India has recently launched Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. What do you think about the initiative? The Make In India and Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan are schemes whose purpose appears to be to boost manufacturing in India. The underlying idea is to replicate some successful sectors to make India a factory of the world, riding on R& D carried out by developed countries. We have seen some successes but nothing very significant. But the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat should be in innovation and creation of technology first and foremost.

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

In spite of our size and talent pool, we have remained an importer of technology. A country which can make Mangalyaan in an environment of technology-denial, at one tenth the cost of Antilia, the Ambani abode, has no homegrown products or technologies to show for! This is obviously a result of our cockeyed focus over the decades by successive governments. But the onus now lies squarely on this government to change course and do it fast. Government because private sector can invest in meaningful R&D but not in these Pandemic times when bottom lines are strained. But governments are big spenders. Our governments will not be able to do any meaningful R&D solely on their own, fettered as they are with bureaucratic straitjackets, barring exceptions like ISRO. So, the best bet is for the government to engage our industry with a caveat to do majority design and development work in India and source from wherever they wish. Our obsession with level playing field in Public Procurement is actually favouring multi-nationals and their products as the eligibility criterion stipulated in projects tend to exclude capable Indian companies which lack experience. So, the focus of Atmanibhar Bharat must change. We need a playing field which is skewed for the benefit of proficient local industry willing to design and create such that IPR would rest with India. The path to continued indigenous improvements in products and technology would then open. A million designs and projects are burgeoning in the minds and hearts of an aspirational India. All they need is a leadership with sense of purpose and resolve to make India truly Atmanirbhar. The Train 18 is an initiative which is indigenous to India? How do you think it has contributed to the Make in India initiative? As I told you, Train 18 finally became a reality in October 2018, a fruit of success, realized after an intense journey of 18 heady months, all by us, Indians. It was a mere train but it was welcomed with unprecedented excitement and kudos not just by railwaymen and rail enthusiasts but by the public at large. Why? Because it worked like a stimulator, an exemplar, an icon for the restless minds of the nation, both young and old, to try and replicate similar projects. Something like, if ICF can do it, why can we not? What are the different aspects which you discuss about in your book ? Please share in brief? The book is not about me, it is about the team. It starts with the embryo I had in my mind, my posting at ICF, my attempts to evaluate ICF and plunging headlong into the project with a very able and excited team. Hard work and travails, a hitch here and a roadblock there. Problems

WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

INTERVIEW

galore but solution soon, with great synergy. The team worked like men possessed, not only the ICF team but also all the partner companies. These companies saw in this project the pride of nation building, not business alone. How Train 18 had lived up to its name twice over, not only was it turned out in 2018 itself but the project took exactly 18 months from drawing board to prototype turn out. The proudest moment ever for ICF. What I have recounted is history in the making, with the help of many anecdotes from my working life in railways and yes, with apt quotes from my poet uncles like Shakespeare and Ghalib.

What are your future plans? How do you want to contribute to the future of India? I am very happy being a consultant, it pays well but I am happier doing other things which do not pay at all. Like playing the role of a motivational speaker in gatherings of young and old, writing, anchoring programmes on Youtube on current affairs and literature, promoting visual arts and so on. I will not say that I have any role in future of India but yes, as Shakespeare said, “things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing”, I am engaged with things which give me joy.

How do you take your association with Indian Railways and government of India?

Please share a message for our readers.

I have worked all my life for Indian Railways and even today, as a consultant for the industry I am a remote stakeholder. I had my share of happiness, disappointments, action and inaction. I have sung paeans to it many times and I have complained bitterly at times. But at the end of the day, I have no doubt in saying that I loved every moment of my life with Indian Railways.

That’s simple. Read the book not for its prose, lessons or stories. Treat it as an experience and be a part of it temporarily. You will love it reading it just I loved reliving it and writing it. It is, hopefully, not some mundane mumbo-jumbo of a technocrat or a dreary report of an engineer. It’s about multiple hues of a dream and how one can actually live the dream.

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METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Shaping India's Future Of Mobility With The Power Of Data Modern mobility highly contributes towards building smart cities and states. When a strong database backs transportation (or mobility), the growth rate of cities and states increases exponentially. It is impossible to create models and plans to improve mobility without relevant data and technology availability. The impact of technology on mobility

Tilak Seth Head-Mobility Siemens Limited

ata is the reality and future of the world. Everything in this world is being transformed and affected by data and data analytics. Mobility is one of the things being shaped by the power of data. Data and technology have brought about enormous up-gradation and convenience to the arena of mobility. According to Hootsuite, around 5.1 Billion active users of mobile phones are present, and 4.5 Billion users of the internet exist in the world. When the digital footprint is this large, it enables big data for analysis and improvement purposes.

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Technology has been impacting mobility for a long time. Technological advances in mobility like infotainment platforms have led to masses being connected all the time. One of the biggest challenges for railway operators is growing passenger numbers combined with ever-increasing efficiency expectations, many railway stations around the world suffer from overcrowding. Overcrowding affects the safety in stations, the punctuality of train networks, the overall passenger experience and it mainly affects the work of railway operators. Some railway operators must pay an unpunctuality fee measured on train delays. Others have a threshold of an accepted number of safety related incidents that shouldn’t be surpassed. And others simply suffer from bad publicity because passengers can’t have convenient journeys due to the overcrowded station environment. With the unpredicted situation of a pandemic, railway operators are suddenly facing new challenges. The station environment is rather empty, people are scared in using public transport and the revenue of railway operators is

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POWER OF BIG DATA

decreasing. The daily tasks now include coping with measures set by the government, while having limited possibilities in proving their efficient implementation. Now the main tasks is to reduce the risk of infections and gain back the trust of passengers by showing engagement to make public transport safe and therefore the choice of transport again. This is where advanced solutions such as digital station technology measures, analyzes and visualizes the quantity/headcount and movement of passengers in stations and on trains. By providing live, historical and predicted data-based metrics about occupancies, passenger flow and unusual behavior, this technology helps railway operators improve and accelerate their decision-making process. These metrics and their analysis are visualized in a dashboard which provides a comprehensive overview and transparency about the station environment. The railway operator can access this dashboard from the computer in the operation control center (OCC) or from the tablet and smartphone. Alerts are triggered whenever an incident or a surpassed threshold is detected. Since every station environment is different, the capacity solution offers a portfolio of multiple implementation possibilities. These are based on the experience with different technologies that can serve as data source, the experience with different data-based metrics to be calculated and the experience with either visualizing the metrics in the most valuable way on dashboards and passenger information systems or integrating them into other systems via API. Daily operations of station management can be further improved by implementing digitalization solutions. In a contemporary world, technology even helps the transportation authorities to detect issues and loopholes like rail track breakages, delayed journeys, etc. Technological devices bring back huge chunks of data capable of being used by the authorities to analyze the current scenario and propose improvements. Use of Data in Mobility Rail transport is fundamental to India’s economic development. Rising urbanization, growing market and plethora of opportunities for upcoming young talent is moving people from city to city. Meeting this ever-swelling demand of connectivity. Rail transport is now relying on data driven solutions for accurate demand generation and forecast. For e.g. DRO (Demand Responsive Operation) is used to predict the transportation demand for mass transit networks and to build optimized timetables for each day based on that prediction. Furthermore, we can react in real-time to changes and hence adapt timetables online.

have begun. But, we need to cover a lot of distance. Let’s take the example of REMMLOT remote monitoring. I think it’s a good step where the electrical data of the electrical machines is gathered from the locomotives. Going forward, we need to also get the mechanical data in advance to assess the performance of a depot or a EME coach. When the train comes in, we already have the data on the wheel profile, rail profile, brake pads etc. You can take corrective action in an accelerated manner. You can bring in digitalization through advanced video analytics on road intersections, where through artificial intelligence or progressive learning or advanced algorithms you could decongest the road intersections through economic and effective measures. We can, through a lot of digitalization methods, predict equipment failure far ahead and prevent the breakdowns. I believe digitalization is the way to smart transport and Siemens is very much leading it with solutions for rail, metro or road customers. Conclusion Data driven methodology has the potential to meet the goal of accuracy, throughput and capacity of Indian railways. Use of data in mobility will improve safety, operation and maintenance. It is also proving to be promising in predicting and demand generation. We are fast moving towards connected mobility with passengers increasingly demanding connected mode of transport. Technology is the only input with which the rail transport can evolve to become the most sustainable yet efficient form of mobility. ***

Data plays a transformational role in the future of mobility. Therefore, the scenario of mobility mediums relies a lot on big data and technology. The baby steps of digitalization WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

RAIL INFRA & MOBILITY BUSINESS SUMMIT & AWARDS 2021 (SECOND EDITION) OCTOBER 11, 2021 | NEW DELHI, INDIA

With the aims to provide extreme recognition to the industry and leaders for their extraordinary contribution towards infrastructure development in the world through their innovative ideas, products and services, Urban Transport News in collaboration with leading industry, is announcing the second edition of Rail Infra and Mobility Business Summit & Awards 2021 (RIMBSA 2021). The program is scheduled for October 11, 2021, in New Delhi, India. KEY DATES  Submission of Nominations for Awards: 5 July - 30 August, 2021  Online Delegate Registration: September 1- 30, 2021  Announcement of Winners: 10 September 2021  Summit & Awards Ceremony: 11 October 2021 AWARDS CATEGORIES

CORPORATE Rail Business  Modern Mass Rapid Transit Project of the Year  Rail Solution Provider of the Year* (in 20 sub-categories)  M&P Solution Provider of the Year  Rail Business Start-up of the Year Infra/Construction Business  Modern EPC Company of the Year  Infra Solution Provider of the Year  Tunelling Solution Provider of the Year  Infra Business Start-up of the Year Mobility Business  Modern Bus Transit Project of the Year  Green Mobility Project of the Year  Logistics Solution Provider of the Year  Shared Mobility Solution Provider of the Year  Micro-Mobility Solution Provider of the Year  E-Mobility Solution Provider of the Year  Smart Mobility App of the Year  Mobility Business Start-up of the Year

Consultancy Business  DPR Consultant of the Year  Project Management Consultant of the Year  Infra Designer & Architect of the Year  Rail & Transport Training Provider of the Year  Transport Research Institute of the Year  Infra PR Solution Provider of the Year  Manpower Solution Provider of the Year Innovation  Railway Innovator of the Year  Infra Innovator of the Year  Mobility Innovator of the Year

INDIVIDUAL         

Rail Business Leader of the Year Infra Business Leader of the Year Mobility Business Leader of the Year Modern Infra-Man of the Year Modern Infra Women of the Year Infra Consultant of the Year Infra Architect of the Year Transport Researcher of the Year Inspiring Business Leader of the Year

**1. AFC & Ticketing 2. Camera & Recorder 3. Body Structure 4. Electrical & Power Supply 5. Fasteners & Fittings 6. HVAC (Air Conditioning 7. Instrumentation Equipment 8. Lift & Escalator 9. Measuring & Calibration 10. Mechanical Equipment 11. Rolling Stock 12. Signalling, 13. Telecom 14. Track & P-Way 15. Train Software 16. Sensor Technology 17. Cybersecurity 18. Steel & Metals 19. Brakes and 20. Operation & Maintenance (O&M).

Rules    

Three awards (1st, 2nd & 3rd Position) will be given in each category/sub-category. The winners will be awarded with an artistic trophy along with 'Certificate of Appreciation'. The winners will be selected by a team of industry experts and our editorial advisory board. The evaluation of winners will be done based on their past, present (ongoing projects), and innovative achievements irrespective of the age of the person or business entity.  The nomination fee is non-refundable.

Eligibility & Nomination Guidelines  Nominations are open to all national/international personalities/business entities irrespective of their age and size of the business.  The nominee must have at least one representative office / person in India.  The nomination form must be filled by an authorized representative of the firm/company/individual.  Nomination can be submitted for more than one category subject to the relevancy of the business of the company/firm/individual.  The nomination received from the blacklisted company will not be entertained.

How to submit nominations

Nomination Fee

Step 1: Fill Nomination Form Online Step 2: Receive Invoice for Payment of Nominations Fee Step 3: Pay Nomination Fee and Get Confirmation E-mail

INR 25000 + GST 18% USD 500 EUR 450

Rail Infra & Mobility Business Summit Summit Theme Investment, Financing and Business Avenues in Railways, Infrastructure and Mobility Industry in India Challenges & Solutions Audience Profile    

Minsters, Secretary level Officers from Key Ministries and Govt. Departments CEO, MD and Experts from Metro, Railways, Transport, Mobility, Infrastructure, R&D and associated Industry Delegates from domestic and multinational companies engaged in Railways, Infrastructure, and Mobility Industry. Key Opinion Leaders, Researchers, Scientists and Academicians from the relevant Institutes, and Organisations.

Host/Co-Host:

PR Partner: Scan QR code for more details

Contact for more information: Ms. Kanika Verma Event Coordinator T: +91 7982876817 E: growbiz@urbantransport.com

Mr. Vinod Shah Event Manager T: +91 9716454505 E: bizdev@urbantransportnews.com

Office: Urban Transport News F-35, Pankaj Plaza, Mayur Vihar Phase I, New Delhi 110091, INDIA

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Semi High-Speed Rail: A cost-effective sustainable transportation model value-added services. Silver Line Semi High-Speed Rail Corridor, which envisages world class public transport and sustainable development is the milestone developmental project of KRDCL. Our other major projects are Thalassery-Mysore New Broad-Gauge Line and Nanjangud-Nilambur Railway Line. Apart from these, recently K-Rail has been entrusted the work of updating the detailed estimate of Angamaly- Erumeli Sabari Railway Line. V. Ajith Kumar Managing Director Kerala Rail Development Corporation

erala Rail Development Corporation (KRDC) or K-Rail, as it is most popularly known-is a Joint Venture Company of Government of Kerala (GoK) and Ministry of Railways for the Infrastructure Development of Railways in Kerala. K-Rail aims to be a leading organisation in the field of development, redevelopment, operation and maintenance of railway works with passenger amenities of international standards and aims to complete the projects with high standards of safety, comfort, efficiency and

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Kerala is one of the most scenic and popular tourist destinations in India and is among the prime states attracting the largest number of global and domestic tourists. Faster travel offer can attract more tourists to kerala because the current scenario in state is 'more tourist places with lesser transportation system'. The population is distributed across the state of Kerala contrasted with urban conglomerations seen in typical metro cities. The road systems in kerala, though well connected, face severe constraints due to the urban sprawl and the haphazard ribbon development along the routes. In addition to that, about 5,000 people are killed in road accidents every year. About half a lakh people are injured in road accidents each year. The increase in private vehicles creates huge air pollution. In most of the major cities in kerala, there is no adequate space available to expand the existing highway and rail infrastructure, and there is a strong opposition against land acquisition at a wider range. As the development of Highways is very much slow and roads are not capable of bearing the influx of vehicles, most of the

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SEMI HIGH-SPEED RAIL

people prefer traveling by trains in Kerala. But due to numerous level crossings and sharp curves, Even the fastest train takes about 12 hours to cover a distance of 560 kms from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod with an average speed of 45km/hr. Because of the excessive train traffic in existing double line, some of the sections have capacity utilization of more than 115%. So one key to solve today's such transportation problems is to develop systems that meet the needs of the markets served poorly by the existing transportation infrastructure. The increasing need for movement of people and products at the local, regional, national, and international level has placed extreme demands on developing an integrated transportation system. It is in this context that a model sustainable project like the Silver Line becomes relevant. As you know a Semi high-speed rail corridor provides a reliable, safer, faster, comfortable, energy efficient, affordable, least obstructive and sustainable transportation system to bring guaranteed improvement to the economy. The heavy cost and the present infrastructure situation are not practically conducive to high-speed trains and hyper loop systems in the state. The construction cost and travel expenses of the high-speed rail corridor, which is urbancentric and has more tunnels and over bridges, is twice of the semi high-speed rail. Considering the short distance between the proposed 11 stations, the distance that a high speed train can cover at a speed of 350 km per hour is very limited and therefore an average passenger doesn't experiences much difference in the travel time. And hence Semi high-speed rail corridor is the best suited, less expensive and more economical rail project option for states like Kerala. That is why Kerala Government came up with this financially viable ambitious project, to make available the facilities of international standards to the common people with an affordable ticket price. In order to meet the growing demand of Rail passenger traffic and to resolve the overall transportation problems, 'Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Semi High-Speed Rail Project (Silver Line) was introduced as a long term solution. The Silver Line, which can attain the speed up to 200 kmph, can reach north to south in just 4 hours. In the current scenario, Silverline envisions public transport at a cost of only Rs 2.75 per km. According to the detailed project report, the cost of setting up the SilverLine is Rs 63,941 Cr. and is expected to be completed in five years. Of this cost, 52% will be met by foreign loans and the remaining 48% by Central and State Governments and other financial institutions. Since connectivity has become an important issue, the project is a real necessity for fast growing Kerala and it will provide a shifting to sustainable and efficient mode of transport. All-round development will be possible with the realization of metro cities and townships in rural areas along with the completion of the SilverLine project. The semi high-speed rail corridor, which opens up huge investment opportunities in the tourism and

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industrial sectors, will give a new impetus to the economic security of post-COVID Kerala. Silver Line is a total green project which enables 'Drives mode shift' from polluting buses and private vehicles. SHSR will adopt latest world class technology in Rail systems. Modern railway stations, Fully Air-conditioned Rolling Stocks with modern passenger amenities & maximum regeneration capability, Power supply with the latest electric traction system, Transit oriented development, 100 % green energy from renewable energy sources and Last mile connectivity with system driven evehicle public transport system are the other salient features. Each train set to have nine cars those can carry 675 passengers. 2 plus 2 seats configuration in business class and 3 plus 2 seats configuration in standard class will be provided. It is estimated that 80,000 people will travel on the Silver Line every day in the first year of project completion. By 2052-53, the number of passengers using this public transport will exceed 1.5 Lakhs. Eventually by 2052, it is expected that the Silver Line rail system can reduce approximately 5,94,636 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Feasibility Study report and the Detailed Study Report of the Silver Line project were prepared by Paris-based consultancy M/s Systra. The alignment of the Silver Line corridor was determined by conducting an aerial survey using LiDAR remote sensing method. In addition, traffic survey, environmental and social impact assessment study and Scientific Soil test have been completed in connection with the project. The Ministry of Railways has granted Inprinciple approval for the project and K-Rail has been permitted to take up pre investment activities. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been submitted to the Ministry of Railways for final sanction and it is under consideration at Railway Board. The NITI Aayog, the Expenditure Department and Railway board have examined and extend their support to the multilateral loan mobilization plan submitted by KRDCL and made a recommendation to the Department of Economic affairs of the Union Ministry of Finance. HUDCO has already sanctioned a loan of Rs 3,000 crores for the first phase of land acquisition of Silver Line from Kochuveli to Chengannur. The development of infrastructure and transportation facilities especially faster mode transportation, and promotion of new destinations will all go a long way in beginning a new chapter in the growth of tourism. Hence SilverLine will be a game-changer providing a modal shift to sustainable and efficient mode of transport. ***

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Indigenous Technology to Speed up and monitor Delhi Metro’s Phase 4 Project

Vinod Shah Head-Communications Urban Transport News

he Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is innovating new things to speed up the construction of ongoing corridors under its Phase - 4 project. A total of six corridors planned under Phase 4. Out of 3 have been approved by the respective Governments and work is being carrying out at full pace. Most of contract of Phase 4 have been floated and some are finalised despite of Covid-19 situations in Delhi-NCR. U-Girder Launcher with Transporter The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) recently introduced a major innovation in its construction technology by starting launching work on the Janakpuri (West) – RK Ashram Marg corridor with a specially designed Launcher attached with a Transporter for the launch of U-girders on its elevated section. The launcher started work near Majlis Park in the presence of DMRC’s Managing Director, Dr. Mangu Singh and other senior officials.

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

In the earlier phases of construction, erection of U-girders was done with the help of two cranes of capacity 350/400T which were placed at each pier location and the U-girders were transported at each pier location with the help of a long trailer having an approximate length of 42m. In a congested urban area like Delhi, it used to be very challenging to find adequate space for positioning these heavy capacity cranes which occupy a lot of space. In addition, transporting the U-girders of 28m length with such long trailers was also a herculean task as roads in the NCR are either too congested or have massive traffic volumes even during the night time. These limitations often discouraged the use of U-girders in construction in spite of the fact that the U-girders are the most suitable structures for viaducts in terms of cost and time. This new state of the art Launcher with Transporter is fully electric with much higher output in comparison to the conventional launchers/cranes. The Transporter carries the U-girder from one designated point and moves forward on rails laid on the already erected U-girders to further add more U-girders from the feeding point to the launcher. As a result, the U-girders are to be transported on trailer only up to the feeding point identified at a suitable location and not for the entire length of work. This results in much less requirement of space.

This new Launcher is 62m long having a total weight of 230T. It can negotiate gradients up to 4% and 200m radius curves. The Transporter which transports the U girder is 41.75m long having a total weight of 35T. It can travel with a speed of 3 kmph at no load and 2 kmph at full load. WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

TECHNOLOGY TALK

The output of this new innovation is quite high as compared to the conventional method of launching of Ugirders. On an average, 4 to 6 U-girders per day can be erected with this Launcher whereas with the conventional method, about 2 U-girders can be done in congested working environments like in Delhi – NCR. The erection work of U-girders with conventional cranes can be done only during the night as it requires blocking of roads to position the cranes. Whereas in case of this new Launcher with Transporter, U-girders are transported with the Transporter on the erected viaduct without any interface with road from a single identified feeding point.

The IPMS has the features of integration of other construction related software such as Primavera Schedules for Project Planning and 3D BIM (Three-Dimensional Building Information Modelling) and a Mobile App through which the actual progress at site on real time basis can be uploaded in IPMS.

Such a technology is being used for the first time in India. The total load of U-girders to be erected is as high as 160 ton and 462 such U-girders are to be erected in the contract. This launcher today has been made operational for the construction of a 9.5 kilometre long viaduct from Mukarba Chowk to Ashok Vihar covering four stations namely Bhalswa, Majlis Park, Azadpur and Ashok Vihar and a connection to depot from Majlis Park.

Role Based Access is provided right from Higher Management to the Junior Engineer level through specially designed Dashboards and a Mobile Application. The project progress can be viewed in Dashboards as well as in 3D Models.

Integrated Project Monitoring Software (IPMS In a major initiative towards digitalizing its functioning, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has implemented a custom-made project monitoring software known as the Integrated Project Monitoring Software (IPMS) for monitoring the progress of its Phase 4 corridors and the Patna Metro.

IPMS will monitor the progress of work of all disciplines Civil, Electrical & Mechanical and Signalling & Telecommunication contract package wise at the Chief Project Manager and Project Manager levels and Corridor wise at the Directors and Managing Director level.

The software was launched in April earlier this year and is being used for monitoring the progress of contract packages which are awarded and in progress. As the works get gradually awarded, they are integrated in IPMS. Till Phase 3, DMRC’s project monitoring was being done offline. With the implementation of this new technology, DMRC’s engineers can now monitor the progress of work through this dedicated platform. Specially designed dashboards will feature progress of all major components of construction and their status can be checked just by the click of a button. The implementation of this software will enable easier round the clock monitoring of projects, as the IPMS portal can be accessed from anywhere on mobiles, laptops, computers. This will also help in better record keeping and knowledge sharing among the engineers. DMRC’s Vendor Payment Portal which carries all relevant information regarding payments made to the vendors will also be integrated with this platform in the days to come.

Through IPMS, all the stages of project planning and implementation right from the tender stage to revenue operation of each corridor will be monitored including the issues of work front availability such as land availability, tree transplantation and shifting of services and design status. For this purpose, corridor wise Master Construction Schedule has been prepared and uploaded in IPMS.

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This project by DMRC is an excellent example of the government’s Digital India as Well as Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. A consortium of three Indian companies has been assigned with this responsibility and the software has been indigenously developed by Indian Engineers. ***

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Pune - Nashik Semi High Speed Rail

The Pune-Nashik Semi High Speed Rail project will be a role model for development of new Railway Line networks in Maharashtra. This project is unique because it is the first Broad-Gauge SemiHigh Speed Rail Line in India and in the world. It is designed in such a way that goods train, conventional passenger train as well as High-Speed train can run on the same route. Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal MD, MRIDC

The dream project of the citizens of Maharashtra especially Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik will now be fulfilled, as Maharashtra Cabinet approves the proposal of Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (Maha Rail) in the Budget Session of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly held on 8th March, 2021. MRIDC will build a Greenfield Semi High Speed Railway Double Line with electrification between Pune and Nashik.

Anushka Khare Associate Editor Urban Transport News

ailway is the backbone of economic development of any country in the world. Road and Rail Transport facilities have expanded simultaneously in region and countries like Europe, Japan, South Korea, Russia and China. This has led to an unprecedented opportunity to achieve the sustainability and growth which is required for the 21st century. However, in our country Road infrastructural facilities have been developed extensively as compared to Railway Lines.

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Need for developing New Railway Line As per the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), prior to 2014, the length of National Highways in the State of Maharashtra was 6,249 km. In 2018, the National Highway length has been increased to 17,749 km. Thus, a tremendous increase in construction of 11,500 km of National Highway roads was found in Maharashtra in just 4 years from 2014 to 2018. In comparison to that 229 km of new Rail Lines have been added in Maharashtra in last 10 years. Pune – Nashik Semi High-Speed Railway Line The much-awaited Pune-Nashik Semi-High speed Rail Line would bring down travel time between two cities from present 06 hours to 01 hour 45 mins boosting passenger and freight movements. Thus, it will facilitate the creation of MumbaiPune-Nashik golden triangle as an emerging economic hub. Earlier MRIDC had received “In Principal Approval” (IPA) from Ministry of Railways on 02.06.2020 and approval from Central Railway on 10.02.2020 for implementing Greenfield Semi - High Speed Broad Gauge Double Line between Pune and Nashik.

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SEMI HIGH SPEED RAIL

Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, Managing Director, MahaRail who has authored a book "Construction and Maintenance of High-Speed Railway" and has good expertise on HighSpeed Trains said – “This project will be a role model for development of new Railway Line networks in Maharashtra. This project is unique because it is the first Broad-Gauge Semi-High Speed Rail Line in India and in the world. It is designed in such a way that goods train, conventional passenger train as well as High-Speed train can run on the same route.” The entire cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 16,039 Crore (including taxes) on Debt:Equity of 60:40 basis; wherein Government of Maharashtra and Ministry of Railway shall contribute equity of 20% each of the project cost. While remaining 60% will be raised from the Domestic Financial Institution. MahaRail has estimated to complete the project in 1200 days from the date of its financial closure. Details of the proposed alignment • • • • •

Total length of the Railway Line: 235 km Maximum Permissible Speed: 200kmph Proposed Major and Minor Stations: 24 Total number of Tunnels in the corridor: 18 Total Viaducts on the Semi High Speed Railway Line: 19

3D view of proposed Pune Semi HSR Station

the multi-fold industries like automobile hub, electronics, pharmaceuticals, sugar mills and other agricultural activities in and around the Project Influence Areas. The passengers of varied travel purposes such as tourism, educations, agriculture and as well as business and daily shuttles will have ample of facilities to connect with the rest of places through this corridor. All the intercity movements and transportation for both passengers and freight will flourish because of faster movement on Rail Line between Pune and Nashik.

Significant Features of this project This Semi High-Speed Train will start from new proposed Pune Railway station and it will be going to Hadapsar on elevated deck, from Hadapsar to Nashik the train will run on the ground and will go up to Nashik Road Railway station. The Semi High Speed Trains will initially have 06 coaches designed to run at speed of 200 Km/Hr with future increment up to 250 Km/Hr on the Broad-Gauge line. The number of coaches will increase to 12 and then to 16. The proposed alignment is designed such that there will be no compromise on speed. It is the first low cost Semi-HighSpeed corridor in the country with the provision of being synchronised with existing features of Indian Railway. Private Freight Terminals (PFTs) are planned at major stations like Chakan, Manchar, Narayangaon, Alephata and Sangamner. Also, loading and unloading facilities are planned at various stations.

The project is envisaged to yield tangible as well as nontangible savings due to the reduction in the number of vehicles being used for transportation by roads as well as certain socio-economic benefits such as employment generation, reduction in number of accidents and reduction in pollution due to the vehicular traffic. Other new Railway Line projects in pipeline and approved by Board of Directors of MRIDC are Mumbai - Pune (Semi High-Speed Rail Line), Salwa – Butibori (Chord line), Gadchandur – Adilabad (New Rail Line), Pune Ratnagiri, Aurangabad - Chalisgaon, Rotegaon Kopergaon, Pune – Aurangabad, Pune - Nanded, Chiplun – Karad, Vaibhavwadi – Kolhapur and laying of 3rd & 4th Line between Igatpuri – Manmad. Besides this, Pune – Kolhapur (Semi High-Speed Railway line) is also in pipeline. ***

The proposed alignment will pass through the talukas of Haveli, Khed, Ambegaon and Junnar tehsils of Pune district, Sangamner tehsil of Ahmednagar district and Sinnar and Nashik tehsils of Nashik district. This Rail Line will certainly augment the revenues from

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METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

An interaction with

H. K. Raghu Executive Director (Urban Transport & High Speed), RDSO

How do you take your position and responsibility at RDSO? How has been your journey so far?

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

ANS: I did my graduation from “University of Roorkee” (IIT ROORKEE) in Mechanical Engineering (Honors). It is the First Engineering Institute of India started as “Thomson College of Engineering” in 1848, later became “First Engineering University on India” after independence. Thomson College of Engineering was started, with a noble cause of constructing the famous “Ganga Canal”, main canal of 272 miles and 4000 miles long distribution channels. This was to save the then “Northern Province”, now “Uttar Pradesh”, from the periodical Droughts. The Institute is also having the “History of running the first ever Steam Locomotive Hauled Train in India” on December 22, 1851, for material transportation for the construction of the Ganga Canal. The “Ganga Canal” is itself, a remarkable piece of Civil Engineering, where the canal passes over the “Sonali River” near Roorkee through an “Aqueduct (a Bridge)” of half a kilometer 25m above the Sonali River surface. I did my “Post-graduation in Industrial Engineering (PGDIE) from “National Institute for Training In Industrial Engineering( NITIE) Mumbai”, the only Institute of its own kind in ASIA and total 6 such institutes in world , opened in collaboration with “International Labour Organization (ILO)”. NITIE is

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INTERVIEW

dedicated to help Indian businesses to make their presence felt globally. NITIE has decided to act as driving force not only in manufacturing sector but all dynamic sectors of the Indian economy. It has aligned its vision and activities in line with the current and future needs of the Indian economy and its vibrant and growing sectors. After post-graduation most of my colleagues joined multinational private sectors, for plum salary packages, but I did choose to serve the Nation , so I Joined the prestigious Indian Railway Mechanical Engineering Services(IRSME), in Jan 1991. There after working on several locations and posts, starting from “Coach Maintenance Workshop Matunga Mumbai” as “Assistant Works Manager”, “Additional Divisional Railway Manager Dhanbad”, “Chief Workshop Engineer” at, “Modern Coach Factory(MCF) Raiebareli” , then “Chief Project Manager (MCF)” , before joining as “Executive Director Coordination” of “Urban Transport & High Speed at RDSO/ Lucknow”. As “Executive Director Coordination” of “Urban Transport & High Speed Directorate” RDSO, our prime duty is to ensure, provision of safe and comfortable Urban Train Transportation System through Metro Rail Organizations. Our directorate is working as a regulatory body for all the Metro Rail Organizations, as per the Metro Act 2009. We are committed to our task of planning a safe/comfortable and affordable urban transport system for our citizens and the foreign tourists, by monitoring it from the very planning stage itself and up to its final execution and operation. What are some recent developments at RDSO? What is the role of RDSO in the development of infrastructure related to Urban Transport System in India? The main role of “Urban Transport and High Speed Directorate” at RDSO is to ensure that all the Metro Rails being planned in India, must be safe and comfortable, while following the international standards of safety in Metro train Operations and the Paramount PassengerSafety and Riding-Comfort. As already said , RDSO is the regulatory body, to ensure the Urban Transport (Mainly the Rail Transport) is planned and designed to give long lasting safe and comfortable services to our citizens. While following various directives like “Make in India” & “Atmanirbhar Bharat” to make our country self-reliant, we need to ensure that “No compromise is done in the planning as relates to the “Safety of the Structures” and the “Operations of the Trains”. With our sustained efforts, together with Metro rail organizations, Delhi Metro and Nagpur Metro has identified 18 Sub - Systems and 17 Unit Exchange Spares

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costing about 18.7 lakh US$, and 34 subassemblies costing about 3.83 Lakh US$ for Indigenization and “Make in India”, without a bit of compromising on the quality of system/product and the Safety of Train Operations. “Nagpur Metro” has also identified 28 different items for indigenization costing about Rs 13.74 Crores per Trainset. First and foremost effort towards “Make in India” is done by “Pune Metro” by giving its order of manufacturing and supply of its “102 Ultra-Modern Rolling Stock”, to a newly formed Company, “TITAGARH FIREMA” through an international bid. Its various design basis documents are under the scrutiny and approval of our Directorate at RDSO. RDSO has recently become the first Standard Developing Organization. How do you take this achievement? History of RDSO started as early as 1903, as “Indian Railway Conference Association (IRCA)” to provide for Standardization and Coordination amongst various State Owned Railway Systems, followed by the “Central Standards Office (CSO)” established in 1930 for preparation of Designs, Standards & Specifications and then as “Railway Testing Research Centre (RTRC)” established in 1952. In 1957, the Central Standards Office and RTRC were integrated into a single unit as Research Design & Standards Organization (RDSO) at Lucknow. Recently Government of India has notified BIS Act 2016, after which Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has become the nodal agency to give recognition to all the Standards making Organization in India and the recent development is nothing but giving formal recognition by BIS to RDSO as a Standard Making Organization for Railway Standards. After this all RDSO Standards will be given identification as BIS-RDSO Standards. In this regards a newly developed procedure for framing Standards by RDSO following the international guidelines , aligned with “WTO-TBT”, will come into force, giving more emphasis, on the “Active participation of all the Stake Holders”, especially the Indian Industries in framing the “Standards for Railway Products and Manufacturing Processes”. The Central Government has recently launched Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. What are the different things being done by RDSO in tune with this initiative? Please explain. RDSO has got a huge Vendor Base of industry partners , who actively participating in the process of Product Development. The First and foremost Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative is “Vande Bharat Express- Train 18” produced and launched by Indian Railway in December 2018. This is the first Semi High speed Train of India, fully conceived and manufactured in India under the great leadership of the

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

INTERVIEW

then GM/ICF, Shri Sudhanshu Mani, who acted is a father figure for the Team ICF for making it a reality of producing fully Indigenized “Semi High Speed Train” for India to world standards. RDSO remained closely associated from the concept design to the finally testing of prototype of this train. Maximum Design speed of this first Train-18 is 180 kmph and now specifications are being prepared for making it capable of achieving speed of 200 kmph.

Make in India is one of the most Important and bold initiative of Government of India , to create skills and job for our youths and providing world class products to Indian as well as International market at comparatively affordable prices.

Train 18: India’s first indigenous engineless semi high-speed train)

How does RDSO play crucial role in certification of Rails? What is the process for this?

The second big step is, in the field of Railway ATP (Automatic Train Protection) System. i.e. “Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)”. This is a notable “Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat” effort of RDSO. It has been developed successfully and presently under implementation in South Central Railway. For this effort our Industry Partners are M/s HBL, M/s MEDHA and M/s KERNEX and the academia partner is IIT KGP. RDSO and IIT KGP are working together for upgrading this ATP system to match the requirements of the High speed Operations also. The third big step will be, starting of production of world class Metros Coaches, by Modern Coach Factory (MCF) Rae Bareli. The required infrastructure to produce Aluminum Coaches with latest state of art manufacturing facilities is available and manufacturing will be taken up with Transfer of Technology (TOT) with the world leading Rail Coach Manufactures, it will be a reality in near future i.e. with in a year or two. RDSO is actively involved in all these efforts, giving its technological inputs and developing standards /specifications/process of manufacturing and its further proliferation in India, with export potential to ASIAN countries. What do you think about the make in India initiative? What has been the journey so far of RDSO when it comes to make in India initiative?

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

We as a country are very rich in its natural resources, like unused Land, ample waste land, and the huge potential of renewable energy, which is required for setting up technologically advanced manufacturing industries, complying with Industry 4.0 standards. We also have a large, capable “Human Resource” to support these Industries. As regards RDSO journey, so far, it is basically little ahead of time. RDSO has already designed its Indigenized “Head Hardened Rail”, its “TCAS”, its “12000 HP Electric Locomotive”, its “Semi High Speed Coaches” and its “Passenger Traffic Locomotive” to haul the trains at 200 kmph. Though this journey is pretty long and full of challenges, but RDSO is confident to achieve the targets. For this RDSO has already entered in MOU with three international Railway Research Universities/Institutes viz: i) VNIIZHT and ii) NIIAS of Russia and KRRI/ South Korea.

Rail is the Road for Train operations; it becomes further more crucial when it comes to the High Speed Train Operations. RDSO has got a rich source of its “Testing Labs”, where Rails and other Track Components and full “Track Structures” are being tested and certified, including for the High Speed Train Operations. RDSO has already made its standards for “Semi High Speed Rails” and working in tandem with the “Indian Rail Manufacturing Firms” for developing the Rails for future “High Speed Train Operations”. Initial trials are very much encouraging and efforts made by industry partners are very promising. In near future, RDSO will also have the Test Track, which is to be used not only for the testing of Track Components and the “Newly Designed Rails”, but also the “Newly Designed Locomotives” and “Newly Designed Coaches/Wagons”. Construction of this test track is already started and it is expected to be ready for testing by end of year 2022. What are the major challenges which the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has brought about? What has been your strategy in combatting these challenges? Both the first and second wave of Covid -19 pandemic, imposed various restrictions on RDSO Normal Working, Host/Co-Host: but while dealing the first wave itself , RDSO has reformed itself and went digital. The inspection and approval processes are made online to deal with the second wave. Though during the second wave we have lost a large

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INTERVIEW

number of our officials and staff, the jolt which cannot be forgotten, but then the moto was that “The Wheel Must Keep Rolling”. During the first wave of pandemic, when most of the Metro Train operation and construction work came to almost stand still, RDSO has started the work of development of its “Online Portal” for “Safety Certification &Technical Clearance of Metro Systems” and by the time the wave was recessing, the portal was ready and made Go-live on 06.11.2020. This portal provides for “Online Submission of the Technical Documents by Metro Rails” to RDSO, its scrutiny by RDSO and Conveying the Technical Inputs to the Metro Rails which are required to modify its documents for making these fit for the Approval of the “Ministry Of Railways”. The entire process is made online and completely paperless. RDSO has also modified its ISO Procedures to enable the various directorates to switch over to remote inspection procedures, using latest electronic gadgets and video conferencing methods to resolve the technical issues with the industry partners. What is the role of RDSO in the upcoming metro projects, RRTS, High Speed Rail Projects and Semi High Speed Rail Projects across the country? As per the Metro Act 2009 , RDSO represents the Ministry of Railways for the statutory “Technical Approval and Safety Certification” of various Metro Rail Systems, starting from its planning stage itself to its final approval for operations ,ensuring the safety of train Running as well as the safety of passenger during travel and while waiting on stations . It is mandatory on part of Metro Rail Authority, to construct and operate its Metro Train, as per the safety advises of RDSO and take the approval of its systems from the Ministry of Railways.

Certification” will be done by RDSO including for the “Private Operators”, who are willing to operate their own trains. “High Speed Train Operations” will also require the approval of the “Ministry of Railways” from the planning stage itself, for which international consultants and certifying bodies are deployed to act as a third party for certification and the approval of “Ministry of Railways” for its operation and maintenance. What are the future plans of RDSO ? Future plan of RDSO is to make it, as world class “Railway Research Organization”, to deal with future challenges and shifting the existing “Preventive Maintenance Regimes” to the “Predictive Maintenance Practices”. For this plan is to shift its design from existing ones to smart ones, like “Smart Coaches”, “Smart Yards” and “Smart Signaling Systems”. The project report is submitted to the “Ministry of Railways” for consideration and approval. “The New Avatar of RDSO”, will have a collaborative approach with the “Strong Industry Partners”, “Leading Academia” and the “Leading International Railway Research Units”. Please share a message for our readers. From my last 30 years of experience, I can firmly say that India is having all the capabilities to achieve the “Five Trillion Economy Goal”. INDIA generates the “Excellent Engineers” and the “World Class Mangers”. Our Entrepreneurs are remarkable challenge takers. Time is now to consolidate our industries and support these, by “Reforming” our rigid framework of various rules and regulations, “Transforming” the government setup, resulting into “Performance” by providing support to our industries with a mission of “Minimum Government with Maximum Governance” in our minds. Government of India is now taking very bold steps towards relaxing its various policies, “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” are the two very big initiatives in this direction. Industries have to come up to the expectations of the “NITI Aayog Policies for Industry 4.0”, so that these industries are future ready for any change in the design requirement of a product and develop capabilities for export in addition to full filling the local market requirements. ***

Host/Co-Host: As regards RRTS, which are also governed by the Metro Act, the rules are the same as stated above. For “Semi High Speed Train Operations”, the “Testing and Safety

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METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Key lessons from large public transportation projects

t would be a truism to state that large public transportation projects that are freshly conceptualised and cover large tracts of land are likely to have several difficult issues to contend with. This article looks at four high-speed rail (HSR) projects that were taken up in four different countries in four different decades and draws conclusions and lessons that emerge from them. The four projects are Japan’s Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka, France’s TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) between Paris and Lyon, China’s Jinghu Railway between Beijing and Shanghai and India’s ambitious HSR project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The first three are operational and the fourth is under construction. The Tokaido Shinkansen, spanning 515 kilometres (km) between Tokyo and Osaka, pioneered high-speed rail travel in the world. While the Japanese engineers had begun backing such a project in the 1950s, the Japanese government accepted the concept in 1958 and construction commenced in 1959. Originally, its total estimated cost was put at 200 billion yen; but it soon became clear that this was way off the mark. The actual cost turned out to

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Dr. Ramanath Jha Retd. IAS Officer (1977 Batch)

be 380 billion yen (US $1 billion). The project, however, continued to move ahead and became operational in 1964, showcasing Japanese technology during the first Tokyo Olympics. Running at a speed of 220 km per hour, it cut travel time between the two cities from 6 hours 40 minutes to 3 hours 10 minutes. Today it carries about 159 million passengers annually. The Tokaido Shinkansen also marked a move from narrow gauge to standard gauge, a significant advance in technology, signal system, electrical systems, and improved traction configurations. In the 1960s, the Shinkansen inspired France into contemplating its TGV HSR. But it was only in 1976 that the French government agreed to finance it. This delay was because of a technological debate in France—whether to go for gas turbines or to switch over to electric traction. The debate was finally settled in favour of electric traction despite several technological changes and higher capital costs. In September 1981, the TGV began operations between Paris and Lyon. The train covers a distance of about 427 km in about two hours four minutes at an average speed of about 280 km per hour and carries about 110 million passengers per year. Built at a cost of around

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US $4.8 billion, it is operated by SNFC (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français), France’s national state-owned railway company. The Beijing-Shanghai HSR project was first proposed in the early 1990s. The initial design was completed in 1998. However, the appearance of a newer maglev technology entered the design debate that led to a delay in feasibility studies. The debate ultimately was settled in favour of the maglev technology. China Railway began the construction in 2008 and was completed in 2011. The train went operational in June 2011. Amongst the cited projects, this comprises the longest rail corridor of 1,318 km and runs at the fastest speed of around 350 km per hour, covering the entire distance in about four hours. The initial estimates put the cost of the project between US $16.25 and 21.25 billion. However, the end cost came to US $34.7 billion. Today, the Jinghu Railway carries 533 million passengers annually. The 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail, unlike the first three, is as yet under construction. The project was proposed for a feasibility study in the National Rail Budget of 2009-2010. This corridor originally included Pune as a section that was later dropped on account of several factors—the hilly terrain and high costs being two of them. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad section continued to be pursued and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with Japan for feasibility studies in 2013. Several issues arose, some of them were technical and others administrative, that needed to be sorted out between the state governments of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and the Ministry of Railways. To fast track the project, an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle), the National High-Speed Railway Corporation Limited, was created in 2016. The project needed many clearances and work could start only in 2020. The train’s operational speed is likely to be 350 km per hour and this ‘bullet train’ will cover the distance between the two cities in less than three hours. The estimated cost of the project is US $15 billion. The project’s initial completion schedule was 2023. However, with the land acquisition being delayed, there is some ambiguity about the project’s completion date. One could pick out several significant issues that appear common to all these large public transportation projects. The first is that all four had a long conceptualisation period. In all these four projects, this period was more than a decade. The questions that emerged at this stage were whether there is a case for the project; what would be the appropriate technology; whether it is sufficiently proven; what could be the best route that it could traverse; and whether its overall environmental and socio-economic benefits would outweigh the costs. Once an overall agreement was reached on these matters, questions of prefeasibility and more detailed feasibility studies arose. And once these studies yielded satisfactory results in terms of

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the ‘doability’ of the project, the execution began. The lesson is that the basics of such large projects must be got right before they are undertaken. Mistakes made may cost the country dearly and all care needs to be taken to avoid them. In two of the completed projects, there was a substantial rise in initial financial estimates and the final project cost. In the case of Japan, the cost almost doubled; in China, if the highest initial estimated figures are taken, the final cost rose 163 percent. Whereas the original estimate for the Indian project was USD 15 billion, it is safe to presume that with the project overshooting its anticipated time frame; there would be a steep escalation in costs. Tokaido Shinkansen and TGV took five years to complete and the Jinghu Railway three years. In the case of India, the deadline of 2023 set earlier has now been tentatively pushed to December 2028. The biggest hurdle appears to be land acquisition in Mumbai city. The lesson, especially in the case of India, is that large projects undertaken without conclusive inter-governmental agreement on matters of land puts the project in jeopardy and cost escalation. Finally, let us turn towards the most striking feature of the three completed projects. Tokyo is Japan’s capital city and also its largest. The Tokaido Shinkansen connects Tokyo to the second-largest city of Japan and its traditional economic hub. The TGV of France links its capital and the largest city of Paris to Lyon, the second-largest urban centre, its third-largest city, and its top banking centre. The Chinese project also connects Beijing, its capital city and Shanghai, the biggest city and its apex financial hub. The choice of destinations in all the three projects was to bring the decision-making centre, the capital city, in travel proximity to the nation’s top business centre. Surprisingly, while the Indian project begins from Mumbai, the financial capital of India, it does not connect it to Delhi, the national capital and largest city. Ahmedabad is neither the top business centre of the country nor amongst the six largest cities. In terms of economic advantages that could have accrued to the country, Delhi would have been the right end-destination. ***

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Integrated Real-time Enterprise Asset Management System (iDREAMS) for RRTS RRTS Assets are to be managed digitally through real time Enterprise Asset Management System for optimized performance at minimised cost Through this system of asset management, NCRTC will bring digital transformation in the way rail assets are being managed in India. It will help to be able to predict, identify, rectify or remove any risks or shortcomings related to its wide range of assets, making sure that it doesn’t hamper commuter safety and their experience of a hassle-free comfortable ride to their destination, any time. Vinay Kumar Singh Managing Director National Capital Region Transport Corporation

he National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is implementing an integrated real - time Enterprise Asset Management system (iDREAMS) for its various assets, systems and sub-systems including RRTS Trains, Automatic Fare Collection System, Platform Screen doors, Lift, Escalators, Signaling and Telecom, Electrical, OHE and numerous civil structures.

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As part of its endeavour to leverage state of the art technologies, the iDREAMS system is being designed to ingest crucial data from different sources such as Building Information System (BIM), Geographic Information System (GIS), Internet of Thing (IoT), Operation Control Centre (OCC), Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Building Management System (BMS) etc during design and construction phase itself so that the requirement of feeding additional data is not required. iDREAMS system will help NCRTC in achieving various tasks important for optimal use of assets and resources such as asset or inventory registration, providing asset capability/capacity information, compiling asset performance benchmarks and testing data as well as calculating the complete life cycle of various assets.

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DIGITALISATION IN RAIL

Apart from helping NCRTC achieving their corporate objectives, the iDREAMS system will also help in improving the safety standards of RRTS corridor, supporting economic growth and minimizing environmental impact by reducing any form of wastage. A tender for implementing iDREAMS system in NCRTC has been floated in this connection. Public Transport projects like RRTS and Metro Rails are capital inventive projects, primarily funded by multilateral agencies. To make these public projects financially sustainable in the long run, it is essential to work on revenue maximization and expenditure rationalization. NCRTC is working on both the fronts since its inception.

RRTS is a public transport infrastructure, being implemented for many decades. Number of assets are being procured/constructed/manufactured for RRTS project. It is imperative to utilize / manage / maintain these high numbers of assets efficiently for longer duration. Moreover, RRTS consists of multiple sub-systems and assets, which work in synchronization. Performance of one system effects other system as well i.e. fault in one system is correlated to another asset condition and working. For getting optimal performance ensuring best-in-class safety, it is important to manage and maintain assets in an efficient, well-defined and coordinated processes leading to better productivity, significant reduction in operating cost and enhancing the asset’s shelf life as well.

minimum life cycle cost and risk with an objective to deliver state of the art services to the commuter. Asset management is a systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets in the most cost-effective manner keeping all factors in mind such as costs, risks and performance attributes of the asset. Technology driven organizations are using asset management these days as it enables them to account their assets, help them identify, manage & remove risks in initial stages and improve the usage of their assets and resource in the long run.

The iDREAMS project is aimed to bring about revolution in rail industry and showcase a reference system for others to follow. Currently, the construction work of Delhi – GhaziabadMeerut corridor is in full swing on entire 82 km RRTS corridor. 800 piers of elevated section have already completed with around 8 km of RRTS Viaduct. Aerodynamic RRTS trains will run at the speed of 160 kmph and reduce the travel time from Delhi to Meerut from current 3 hours to less than 60 minutes. Commuters will be able to travel in air-conditioned, feature rich trains in safe and secure environment. ***

As the project is approaching towards operationalization, the aim behind introducing this system is to optimize asset performance and maximize asset availability for a WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Keshav is having more than 17 years of experience in successfully managing large scale infrastructure projects. He was associated with Delhi Metro, GE Transportation, PwC, High Speed Rail and other Railway & Transit projects. How has been your journey in the Railway and Metro sector ? What do you about the future of Urban Transit system in India ? First of all, I would like thank urban Transport News for giving an opportunity to share my journey and thought about the development of Urban Transport system in Indian cities. I spent significant years for the development of Public transport system. Post education, I started my professional journey from Indian Railway and then joined Delhi Metro. It was a turning point for me to explore the Metro System which was started recently in Delhi. After Delhi Metro work for the development of Metro network in Gurgaon, Locomotive project in GE transport, High Speed Railway development in JICT and PwC advisory service for the development of Rail, MRTS and other modes of Public Transport systems. See in India, most of the cities are highly dense, unplanned

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developed and lacking for a reliable transportation system Also number of road accidents are very high. The present traffic system is highly stressed condition (due to depleted infrastructure, poor connectivity, lower average speed etc.) and unable to cater the future requirement of cities. Its not only impacting environment but also affecting the overall economic conditions of the users. Considering all such issue, we must have a combination of sustainable and green transport solution in urban areas. The traffic problems are increasing in the cities with increase in population. As an Urban Transit expert, what would you suggest for this problem ? With increased urbanisation and rise in population , one of the most challenging and complicated issues in city life is the traffic problem. Peak-hour traffic congestion in almost all large and growing metropolitan regions around the world is here to stay. In fact, it is almost certain to get worse during at least the next few decades, mainly because of rising vehicular movement.

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INTERVIEW

At present only mega cities having certain level of transport system, so people are moving in to those cities for their livelihood. We have to change the scenario for future sustainability. We need to develop advance level of transport systems in all types of cities which can carry large number of users. Development should in a distributed format to improve Use of Intelligent Transportation System to manage the traffic problem. Integrated development is also a key parameter for seamless transition from one mode to other mode. Government is in the process for the development of smart cities and transport system in India cities. How do you think is the concept of RRTS going to change the concept of transport system in the NCR region ? Please share your opinion. RRTS will be a game changer in NCR after successful operation of Delhi Metro. As we know that majority of people have migrated or commuting from near by locations to Delhi for their work or businesses. The common mode of commuting is either by personal vehicle or buses. After RRTS, with reduce cost and convenience people would definitely like to travel from the nearby location to central Delhi area and vice versa. It will not only improve the regional connectivity but also create enamors opportunities in nearby cities in every segment. Similar concept should be implemented in connecting cities which will becomes decongest the exiting area and also reduce the overall pollution and demand of personal vehicle. The Railway is bringing new reforms through trains like Vande Bharat and station redevelopment plan. What do you think about it? Users are expecting for standard services and safety in railway journey in comparison with the airlines.. Its a visionary plan by the Government to developed world class stations and upgraded infrastructure like new types of trains, Vande Bharat Express, Tejas Express etc,. improved signalling system, OHE etc. Although no. of initiatives have already been taken up by the Ministry of Railways (MoR) and zones, still Railway is really struggling on their services and infrastructure development front. To completely turnaround the railway infrastructure, it will be a mammoth effort and need huge investment. I have a very optimistic view on the future development, however to see a significant impact of such a type of vision, all projects should be taken into fast track with a strict timeline.

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Railways should start working towards participative models, give clarity on requirements, and onboarding professionals who can support implementation of such mega plans. There are no. of development models are successfully implemented across the world and railways should also adopt those concepts. What changes shall be made in train operations to reduce accidents when it comes to Railways ? What are the improvements which can be made in the operations of Metro trains ? It is unfortunate that we have no. railway accidents report every year and thousands of people lost their lives in train accidents in the past. Every accident not only destroys human life but also has a significant impact on the railway assets. In India, more than 70 % people are using trains for interstate travel. Railway carries millions of passengers on a daily basis. We should take priority to reduce/stop any kind of accident whether due to human error or any other reason. Our trains and associated system should be completely failsafe with zero error. See, Although Metro system is guided system similar to railway system but If you compare Railway operation with Metro system, only few occasions accidents happen due to technical snags, also no loss of human life had happen in any of the metro in India. Operationally metro systems are mature but still lots of improvements can be done as per the local conditions requirement. We should focus on the journey and time vs money assessment, so that gaps can be identified and provide solutions to the commuters. It also supports operating organisations to manage their operational income and expanses. As Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives gain new shapes, what do you think about these initiatives ? Please share your views. It’s a noble concept of creating ecosystem for self-sustained manufacturing capabilities. As we know, we are dependent on export items in the metro and advanced level of transport solution development. See India is a growing economy and the entire world is looking for a market. Our local suppliers and manufacturers are capable of meeting the future requirement but the major challenge is to compete with international suppliers on cost of the product, their life cycle and quality. Govt. focus and initiatives are very much evident on the development as Make in India, MSME, restricting

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INTERVIEW

international bidding at certain value, and local content conditions. We have an enormous opportunity to develop a strong manufacturing Hub to meet the internal requirement and also for the rest of the world. We must promote our industry by developing them, secure demands and create other enablers in support of it but also be ready to develop innovative and best quality products for the world. I would like to appreciate Indian railway, who has not only developed in house manufacturing capabilities but also exporting to few customers. Similar approaches would be seen in the metro and other segments as well. What do you think about the driverless train technology which was introduced in India through Delhi Metro ? What are the pros and cons of this technology as per your opinion ? Transportation Technology is changing day by day and we are in an open world structure. We are at the very initial stage so every new technology should either be developed or brought to use for a better transport solution. In Metro, Rolling Stock with GoA2/3 is very common but now GoA4 is also available, it gives the next level of safety in train operation and optimised services. I don’t see any problem in using driverless trains. Dubai and other cities are using such technology very successfully. Delhi Metro is also implementing driverless technology in a stage-wise manner. You will see other metros will be also using similar technology in near future Do you think the infrastructural development of the mass transit system is adequate in India ? What do you think about the topic? In India, urbanisation rate is very high with a growing population, the country is working hard to transform itself over the next few decades. Every city is required to develop adequate urban infrastructure for future development, in which Improving public transportation is a priority for govt. We need every city to be equipped with a reliable and safe transport system as per local conditions. For the next 15-20 years we have to create good numbers of transit infra projects, should be a combination of possible modes. All smart cities are working in the same direction. I am hoping within 2-3 years we will have a reasonable transport infra system in Indian cities. What are the new technological advancements coming in the field of Metro and train operations? How will these technologies transform the future of the sector? The rapid pace of technological, environmental and demographic change is leading to some major technological innovations in the world of rail and metro. New and upcoming technologies will change the

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entire transport system development and management. Metro systems around the world have many differences in their design and operation, one aspect of which is the level of automation. Like driver less operation, Asset management, fault detection and corrective actions, easy control, real time monitoring, passenger access, infotainment, etc. It will also improve the operational safety and security with reduced cost and time As 5G is going to be rolled out in next few years, what changes do you think it will bring ? Please explain. Today’s current communication systems are unable to provide adequate services to satisfy both passengers and rail operators 5G is offering many technological advances throughout the world in other industries in terms of cellular reliability, so why not apply these advantages to the railway systems as well? 5G will be at the heart of Future Railway Mobile Communications System (FRMCS), the successor to GSM-R allows for real-time updates on ticketing and availability, closures, delays, and much more pertinent information a traveller would seek at a moment’s notice. On a deeper level, 5G also helps technicians, conductors, and other railway workers to have real-time monitoring of the entire train systems, including areas of wear and tear. As per industry 5G is set to revolutionise Automatic Train Operations: 5G’s higher bandwidth will also enable greater use of high-quality video for security, enhanced communications between operating personnel, improved situational awareness during emergencies, aerial inspections, and a host of other data-hungry applications.

You were a part of the webinar organised by Urban Transport News and Metro Rail Today. What suggestions and messages would you like to give to our firm? First of all, I would like to congratulate the Urban Transport News and Metro Rail Today team for their marathon effort to conduct such a detailed Webinar series on Urban transport system, emerging technology and research. Every session was very informative and knowledgeable, I personally enjoyed it a lot. In future you can create a subject specific webinar and conference where industry leaders can present and share their achievements and thoughts for the development in the Transport sector. ***

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What Will It Take for India to Reach Its Infrastructure Goals?  Wharton India Economic Forum

kepticism abounds over whether the nearly US$3 trillion Indian economy is growing fast enough to reach Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s GDP target of UD$5 trillion by 2024 - 25. But signs suggest that economic activity may have bottomed out, and foreign institutional investors are placing big bets on India’s infrastructure sector, according to participants in a panel discussion at the Wharton India Economic Forum held last year in Mumbai., India

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Foreign investors are attracted to “butterflies” or cash-flow generating assets like existing airports to operate and use as a cushion to invest in greenfield projects, the panelists said. They are optimistic also because of improved transparency in governance of projects, auction systems for allocation of licensing for public resources, the existence of a top tier of well-managed private companies and other market mechanisms such as the creation of funding platforms for infrastructure, they noted. In order to reach its GDP goal of $5 trillion, India’s economy will need to grow at a sustained rate of 9% over the next five years, according to C. Rangarajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on January 20 sharply revised downward India’s growth forecast by 130 basis points to 4.8% for 2019-2020. In its World Economic Outlook update, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said growth in India slowed sharply “owing to stress in the non-bank financial sector and weak rural income growth.” Three Metrics That Matter “At some level, the growth rate is an irrelevant number,” said Alok Kshirsagar, senior partner at consulting firm McKinsey, who leads its risk practice in Asia. He noted that “we obsess about” the growth rate and listed three metrics that matter. The first is the pace of private and public investment, particularly investment in terms of

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OPINION

actual capital expenditure and capital formation. The second is the pace of growth in new income and job opportunities, such as the employment created by ecommerce platforms in food delivery or taxi hailing, he said. The third is the growth in per capita income, which is rising, according to government data. The major challenge India faces is concerns net new investment, which has been depressed because liquidity challenges at banks have limited credit offtake, according to Kshirsagar. “[That] has prevented a large part of the engines of the economy, such as the small and medium enterprises sector and the supply chains, from growing and caused them to freeze up over the last two or three years,” he said. Much of the pain caused by such liquidity challenges is “self-inflicted,” said Kshirsagar. “I look at this as corporate India driving itself into a ditch. About a year ago everyone persuaded themselves that the sky was about to fall.” According to him, while a few non-banking finance companies had “some deep-rooted issues” because they engaged in corrupt practices and fraud, the problem was blown out of proportion. “We have taken what could have been an isolated set of issues associated with five or six institutions — a bank, an NBFC, a mutual fund and a couple of real estate development companies — and made it an economy-wide problem,” Kshirsagar said. “We have to get our confidence back because we got ourselves into this ditch. We have to jump out of it.” The Indian government is trying to make financing available for infrastructure projects. One is the creation of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund with investors such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Temasek of Singapore and the HDFC Group. The government has also announced Rs. 100 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in infrastructure projects covering the power, railways, urban irrigation, mobility, education and health sectors. Efforts to sell stressed assets of India’s public sector banks and divest government holdings in state-owned corporations are other encouraging signs. In the latest Union budget that was presented three weeks after the WIEF conference, the government set a disinvestment target of $2.1 trillion by 2021. India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had claimed that the economy is returning to a sound footing, with “seven key green shoots” that are clearly visible, including foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment trends, industrial production and the purchasing managers’ index. A day later, two indicators dampened that enthusiasm: Retail prices rose to 7.6% in January, rising to its highest since 2014, and industrial output shrank by 0.3% in December 2019.

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Growing Optimism? Encouraging signs are visible are visible at toll plazas and tax collections that reflect activity in the informal and formal sectors, respectively, said Shailesh Pathak, CEO of L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd. (L&T IDPL), the Chennai-based infrastructure development subsidiary of engineering and construction services company Larsen & Toubro. He noted that GST (goods and services tax) collections in November 2019 were up 6% and crossed Rs. 103,000-crore ($14.4 billion), reversing two quarters of negative growth, according to government data. They have since crossed Rs. 110,000 crore ($15.4 billion) as of January 2020, according to government data. “The true number that matters for the formal economy is GST collections,” he said. “Numbers don’t have ideology.” Toll plazas offer a sense of the informal economy, noted Pathak, whose company operates 33 toll plazas across the country. “From the end of October onwards, the traffic numbers reveal that the worst is behind us,” he said. He noted that the formal corporate sector accounts for barely 14% of the Indian economy, and that most of India’s economic activity happens in the informal sector. Across its toll plazas, L&T IDPL collects about a million dollars each day, Pathak noted. Of that, digital toll collections have grown from 2% in November 2016 to 64% as of early January 2020, he said. “This is not counted in GDP, but it has removed queues from toll plazas in our projects. There are 540 toll plazas in the country. Can you estimate the savings in those toll plaza queues in diesel, congestion and the waste of time?” More and more of the informal sector is finding its way into GDP calculations, thanks to simplified tax regimes and a push towards greater compliance. “For a long time, the business model for many of these informal businesses was tax evasion,” said Pathak. “That’s not a sustainable business model.” All that will doubtless boost India’s macroeconomic performance, said Pathak. “Whatever the GDP growth rate is next year, by 2024-2025, it will definitely be 300 basis points more than that,” he predicted. He noted that India overtook the U.K. economy in terms of GDP size last year, and said it would surpass Germany and Japan by 2029. Speeding up Growth “After India won independence [in 1947], it took 60 years to get to the first trillion dollars,” said Sujay Bose, CEO of the National Infrastructure Investment Fund. “The next trillion took 10 years and then from $2 trillion to $2.9 trillion took roughly three years. Now, in five years to do $2 trillion more is not out of whack; it can be done.”

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OPINION

Bose pointed out that the decade between 2005 and 2015 saw almost a trillion dollars of investments in infrastructure projects in the country. “The second trillion [can be achieved] faster if you do things the right way,” he said. India is already moving up the leagues in some infrastructure segments, Bose noted. For example, over the next few years, the four largest global metro footprints will include three in China and in India (the fourth will be in Tokyo), edging out London and New York City. “If we can achieve that kind of directional investment in infrastructure, it becomes a key leg of the GDP growth to $5 trillion.” Pathak said he thinks better days are ahead for India’s infrastructure sector also because the abuses of the publicprivate partnership (PPP) model in past years have declined and the government is coming down heavily on errant actors. “In India, PPPs became TTTs, or taxpayer-totycoon transfers,” he said. In such PPPs, an infrastructure project would be gold-plated with inflated costs that banks would fund, enabling private sector participants to take out their equity even before commercialization, he explained. “Obviously, when you run a $1,000 infrastructure project at a capitalized value of $2,000, you are not going to make money,” he explained. However, if after completion, the project does generate positive cash flows and makes profits, the private sector partners would stick with it, he noted. “If it doesn’t [become profitable, the private sector partners] walk away. The banks carry the can.” Many of those PPP excesses occurred between 2006 and 2012, saddling public sector banks with nonperforming assets that are hobbling them till date, Pathak said. Since the government is reluctant to let public sector banks go under, it recapitalizes them with taxpayer money, he noted. “That is not a sustainable business model.” Bose expected the PPP concept to “reemerge in a different way, with all the lessons that we have learnt from the previous decade.” Pathak offered an alternative and sustainable way to operate infrastructure projects: Build them using government money, and once it’s a cash flow yielding asset, hand them over to the private sector to operate them. Mumbai and New Delhi airports are prime examples of private sector companies taking over operations after they were built with public funds, and they also make way for construction of additional terminals, he noted.

The upshot of that, according to him, is that “butterflies” will attract international funding because they have secure cash flows in sight, while “caterpillars” will find it hard to raise such capital. A second terminal at Mumbai’s international airport is a “butterfly”, since it is built by private sector partner GVK Power and Infrastructure, but the same company’s winning bid to build a greenfield airport in the Navi Mumbai will find it challenging to attract international capital, he added. Butterflies are clearly in demand, as recent deals show. Last October, NIIF and its partners Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Canada’s PSP Investments signed a deal to acquire an equity stake of 26.3% each in the GVK group’s holding company that owns Mumbai international airport, for a total value of $1 billion. Pathak revealed that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Canada’s largest pension fund, which last September bought a 51% controlling stake in L&T Infrastructure Development Projects, is “very clearly looking at butterflies” for its India investments.

Caterpillars are ugly to look at and full of risk. Butterflies are lovely, cash flow yielding assets for the next 30 years.

Butterflies and Caterpillars Under-construction, public funded infrastructure projects are “caterpillars” and those handed over to the private sector for operations are “butterflies,” said Pathak. “Caterpillars are ugly to look at and full of risk. Butterflies are lovely, cash flow yielding assets for the next 30 years.”

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He said the government could open similar “butterfly” opportunities for investors in assets with existing cash flows such as railway stations. “If you have a footfall of 300,000 in a railway station, of course there is money to be made. The private sector would be happy to take it over.”

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OPINION

On that note, he pointed out that a competition is underway between many Indian cities to build their own metros, and that in the next 10 years, at least 25 Indian cities will have state-of-the art metro systems. As it happens, greenfield “caterpillar” projects are also attracting international investors. The NIIF combine with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Canada’s PSP Investments (a pension investments manager) will also get the rights to build the Navi Mumbai airport. NIIF’s other partner, Zurich Airport International AG of Switzerland, recently won the concession to build a second airport at Jewar near New Delhi. The Zurich Airport Group had in 2016 sold its stake in Bengaluru’s international airport to Fairfax Group of Canada. “We are actually able to get really serious, high-quality capital into greenfield projects,” said Bose. “This is a turning point in the infrastructure development picture in India.”

Investing in Infrastructure Kshirsagar pointed to a few aspects that make India’s infrastructure projects more attractive to international investors than they were in the past. First, the presence of “large, professionally -run companies” such as L&T Infrastructure Development Projects and the emergence of NIIF as major funding platform is fundamentally changing the infrastructure market. Increasing transparency in governance and the use of auctions to allocate public resources have made it easier to attract international equity capital, he said. “As a fundamental premise of resource allocation, a huge change as occurred in the last five or six years [with auctions] as a way of allocating resources. When you look back 20 years from now, it will be a very important development to encourage more professional capital to avoid the gold-plating [of projects] and the tycoons’ corruption and political corruption.” The push towards asset monetization at public sector organizations, such as the planned divestment at the stateowned logistics company Concor [Container Corporation of India], is driving “a lot of excitement from all the major

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

global sovereign funds and global infrastructure investment funds to participate in that,” he added. “There is an important virtuous cycle occurring where the government is under pressure to do asset monetization, international capital is looking for butterflies, and you now have platforms and vehicles such as the NIIF through which to do that. I am optimistic about the combination of the market mechanism and asset monetization with a more transparent project pipeline to encourage equity capital.” Role of State and City Governments While most attention is focused on the central government, India’s state and city governments play an underappreciated but crucial role in ensuring the success of infrastructure projects, the panelists noted. Kshirsagar pointed out that more than half of tax revenues in India are controlled by states. “Historically, when state-run corporations were run well, they had an enormous role to play,” he said. For example, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation or the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation played an important role in land allocation and creating the ecosystems in their respective states in the 1950s, 1960s and the 1970s, he said. However, decay has set in over the years at several stateowned corporations. “Unfortunately, most of them have in in the last 10 or 15 years have become huge sources of corruption and sweetheart deals, and there has been an atrophying of their capabilities,” Kshirsagar said. New structures such as special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to implement infrastructure projects have helped, and they are enabling many private sector companies to participate in smart-city projects including smart metering, water treatment and sewage treatment “that would simply have not been possible earlier,” he added. “Collectively, we need to raise that bar on [state-owned corporations] by using SPVs and other structures to encourage more private sector participation.” According to Pathak, city governments represent an “even bigger risk” than state governments in infrastructure projects. “The way the state operates in India, the city is a subservient body. So, there is no champion for the city called Mumbai. It is the chief minister of Maharashtra who’s running Mumbai; it is the chief minister of Karnataka who is running Bangalore. This is not going to work.” Another risk for investors in infrastructure projects relates to the enforcement of contracts, Pathak said. If contracts cannot be enforced, they will lead to time and cost overruns in projects, he cautioned. “In Singapore, if I give a check and it bounces, I go to jail. In India if my check bounces, it is the start of negotiations because nobody wants to go to court.” According to Bose, growing aspirations among Indian citizens for development, and the

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OPINION

unrelenting pace of urbanization will drive a “bottom-up” push for infrastructure projects. Looking Beyond the Numbers Kshirsagar reiterated that GDP growth numbers are irrelevant, in response to a member of the audience who pointed to a Harvard research paper last year by India’s former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian. In that paper, Subramanian contended that between 2014 and 2018, India’s GDP had been overstated by 2.5 percentage points. Against official estimates of 7%, India’s GDP growth was no more than 4.5%, he had argued. “What is powerful about Arvind’s paper is it looks at the underlying drivers of consumption and investment. And it did show that they were not growing,” Kshirsagar said. But since then, corrective mechanisms have been put in place such as with auctions of public resources, more transparent contract allocation and greater accountability, he added. Reforms such as the introduction of the GST regime to unify the multiple taxes that prevailed earlier are important and positive structural changes, even if they were poorly executed, he added. GDP growth numbers represent the overall picture, but it is important to look for those that perform better than the average, such as states such as Chhattisgarh and parts of Madhya Pradesh that have done better than the industrial powerhouses of the past, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, he

said. The same is true for companies, where a select few high performers that are better governed will be able to take advantage of opportunities that transparent market mechanisms make available. “Forget the averages. Just look at where the growth is.” Bose had advice for those about to start their careers or those who are in the early stages of their careers: “Read what the economists say but focus on what investors are doing. The largest and savviest investors in the world are allocating more and more of their capital to one, infrastructure, and two, to India. Forty percent of the largest investors in the world are saying that their top allocation of exposure is going to be for the infrastructure sector, and almost all the large institutional investors who operate outside the OECD countries have India as one of the top destinations of capital.” ***

BOOK REVIEW

Book Review

My Train 18 Story Book Title: My Train 18 Story Authored by: Sudhanshu Mani Language: English Publisher: Kiva Prakashan, Lucknow Launch Date: June 1, 2021 Price: Rs 295/- (Paperback), Rs 895 (Hard Cover) Overall Rating: 4/5 Review by: Manoranjan Kumar, Associate Editor, Metro Rail Today

Mr. Sudhanshu Mani the author of the book titled My Train 18 Journey. He is generally known as the Trainman of India. He has been one of the crucial officials as he led the project to design which afterwards manufactured the first ever semi-high speed modern train of India, the Train 18 and this is known as Vande Bharat express which is currently in operation. This has been an indigenously developed train and this book talks about Mr Mani’s last 29 months as a government servant heading the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Indian Railways (IR) at Chennai. Mr Mani underlines different challenges which came on the way of the journey of Train-18. It is not only a narrative about how a train was conceived, developed and built but it deeply talks about the processes, techniques and planning involved in the making of Train18. The process has not been a single day process but it took years to complete the process and the author discusses the last 29 months of his service in ICF as already told. The book is only of its kind in the whole country and a must read for all the youths and train lovers. The train itself had transcended the mundane to sublime because it took the countrymen by a storm in 2018 when it was put on line as a symbol of what aspirational India needed. The book describes the journey of a man, and above all his team, which committed itself to creating something which was hitherto considered unachievable. They have created a symbol for developing and aspirational India. Train-18 represents this symbol in a more precise and peculiar way. The writer narrates the whole story in a very beautiful way and his own style and techniques. It is undoubtedly that he has given a very unique, honest and brief description of the whole journey and process of the making of Train-18.

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The book is about leadership of an individual which brings transformational changes in any organization. The book is about the creative power of Indian engineers, which if channelized properly and which can create histories and wonders. The book brings out the stifling bureaucracy of Indian Railways but it’s not about this malady which plagues India but about how bold and devoted men can challenge the babudom and vanquish it to give to the country something which was a long time coming. The narrative has been wonderful as men like him have been creating new heights despite the different bureaucratic challenges which any government organization faces today and Indian Railways is not at all an exception. The book has many interesting anecdotes to press the points the author wants to make. Interspersed with Shakespearean and Ghalibian quotes, perhaps overdone, it is also a delight for those who seek to define managerial situations and solutions through poetic expressions. As the story unfolds, unusual devices used by the author manmanagement and team-building emerge and there lies a lesson or two between executives in public as well as private spheres. Primacy of the human resource in any organization, particularly a large one like Indian Railways, has been deciphered cogently with many personal examples. The examples and anecdotes act as apt pointers, making it different from a plethora of didactic books on the subject and cushion the points being made as “been there, done that” and mere homilies of someone from a high pedestal. “Some of the anecdotes are hilarious, some are scathing but they all are befit the narrative tellingly. In one of these,

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BOOK REVIEW

while describing his way to deal with people who do not care for action and delivery but sit smugly with inaction, the author says that they reminded him of jalebis because jalebi-making is synonymous with unnecessary nitpicking to stall any work. Whenever he came across any such instance, he would make his own judgement from file notings, invite the officers delaying the case to his room, order jalebis and offer it to them, saying that they had really earned this feast. In another one, he talks about a government officer and his briefcase. An officer never carries his briefcase, his peon does. Should he be required to carry it himself someday, he makes a funny spectacle as he thinks carrying a briefcase yourself is infra dig and so he makes a cartoon of himself. And this is why the author started using a shoulder bag early in his career”, notes a commentator. It is a purely an insider’s description of the huge Rail Shivir, a sort of a jamboree for ideation organized by the Railway Ministry in Delhi is uproariously comical and brings out what nobody in the media ever even hinted at. Calling the senior officers chosen to make presentations to the PM, “a caboodle of burlesque”, which included him as well, it sarcastically brings out how a simple suggestion of the top man had made into a tamasha with the spirit of ideation taking a backseat and a drama was played out with 5000 railway men as willing, or unwilling, actors cum spectators. He really talks about the matter in a very honest and bold way. Indeed it is one of the biggest honest narrations of any major government project. In fact, being an insider’s narration, it adds more worth to Mr. Mani’s work. When it comes about the beginning of the book, Mr. Mani who seems to be Perplexed and frustrated by the questions of the lack of modern trains in India, the author begins by wondering about “more of the same” mentality of IR and then shows that much more than the same is possible with country’s own resources. The author has included technical details too but with the stress on his mantras for dealing with such complexities as Public Procurement Systems, Design of Rolling Stock, Manufacturing techniques and Train Simulations. He wants quick and positive transformations and advocates about it. It is really a very genuine and factual effort of the writers which has come out in the form of this book and everybody who is interested in the development and modernisation of our country must read this book.

Train 18 symbolises the innovative fervour, grit and technical competence of Sri Sudhanshu Mani and his ICF Team. E. Sreedharan Padma Vubhushan, Technocrat & Metroman of India

faster acceleration, reduction in travel time, better comfort and aesthetics It is not only a very genuine and kind effort of Mr. Sudhanshu Mani but he describes the way his team went about determining their technical capability truthfully and then challenging themselves to strive for something beyond that but not being fool enough to attempt something which was way beyond in a way that is really a very interesting and true fact about the whole journey. His honest and genuine approach gives the book a shape which has made it an asset for the future generations of India. It is a must read book and it will work as a torch bearer for such projects which are going to be undertaken in the coming future. ***

Even the technical details, however, are written in a manner which can be within the comprehension of average readers. For example, the author explains in the beginning what a train set is, while a conventional train is made up of coaches and a locomotive, an engine in common parlance, at one end or either end, a modern train set is a train of permanently-coupled coaches such that all the equipment is mounted under the train chassis itself and there are no locomotives and such a train has many advantages like WWW.METRORAILTODAY.COM

METRO RAIL TODAY JULY 2021

Satish Agnihotri takes charge of new Managing Director of National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL)

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), 1982 and Master of Engineering (Structures), 1984, both from IIT, Roorkee and was conferred the distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013 by IIT, Roorkee. Agnihotri comes with more than 19 years of experience in implementation of mega rail infrastructure projects. He has worked as Chairman & Managing Director, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a schedule ‘A’ CPSE under the Ministry of Railways for close to 9 years. He also held the position of Chairman, High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (HSRC), a fully owned subsidiary of RVNL since its inception in July 2012 till August 2018. HSRC was the Indian-side counterpart agency for carrying out various high-speed studies which were undertaken on Governmentto-Government basis with China, Spain etc. and completed feasibility studies of 5 high speed rail corridors.

1982-batch IRSE Officer, Satish Agnihotri has been appointed as Managing Director of National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL). He has taken oven charge of Managing Director on July 1, 2021 from Achal Khare, who has been superannuated on June 30, 2021.

During his tenure as CMD/RVNL, RVNL completed 7000 km of project length including 3000 km doubling/3rd line, 880 km conversion of metre gauge track to broad gauge, 3000 km railway electrification, 85 km new line, 6 factories and many important bridges. A 7 km long tunnel was also completed in a record time of 25 months in a new line project in Andhra Pradesh.

Prior to appointment to NHSRCL, Satish had been retired from the post of Chairman and Managing Director of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

Now Satish Agnihotri has responsibility to lead the more than 7 high speed rail projects planned in India.

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INDUSTRY EVENT CALENDER 2021

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February 22-25

SmartRail

London, UK

February 24-26

International Railway Summit

Berlin, Germany

February 24

Rail Business Awards

London, UK

March 3-5

Eurasia Rail

Konya, Turkey

April 20-21

Safety of Passengers

Warsaw, Poland

May 12-14

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Moscow, Russia

May 20-21

Smart Ticketing & Digital Services Forum

Budapest, Hungary

June 1-July 31

Urban Rail & Equipment Business Virtual Show

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June 16-18

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June 21-23

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June 28-30

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September 7-9

Railtex & Infrarail

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September 13-15

Transport Security Congress

Miami, USA

October 11

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New Delhi, India

October 12-13

Middle East Rail

UAE

October 18-20

SmartMetro

Vienna, Austria

October 29-31

Urban Mobility India Conference & Expo

Kochi, India

November 9-10

MOVE

London, UK

November 11

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New Delhi, India

Nov 30 – Dec 2

SmartRail Europe

Rome, Italy

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METRO RAIL TODAY MAGAZINE Issue

Special Story

Featured

Apr 2021

History of Metro Railways in India: Trams to Modern Metro

Development of Metro Rail Projects in Uttar Pradesh

Major components of Rolling Stock (Metro Rail)

Role of Development Finance Institutions (DFI) in Urban Railways

May 2021

Indegenisation in Metro Railways: Indian Vs Foreign Players

Development of Metro Rail Projects in Delhi-NCR

Heat Ventilation & AirConditioning (HVAC) system

Cool Reflections for Overheating Metros in Summer seasons

Jun 2021

Need of High Speed Rail (HSR) and Hyperloop Train in India

Progress report on Mumbai & Navi Mumbai Metro Project

Signalling & Telecom, Train Control, CBTC Technology

Role of Ministry and UMTAs in developing Urban Rail Transit

Jul 2021

Development of Metro Rail Projects in India: In depth Analysis

Metro Rail Projects in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

Role of Machinery & Plants in operation of Metro Rail systems

Public-Private-Partnership in developing Urban Railways

Aug 2021

Latest Innovation in Urban Rail Transit Systems

Metro Rail Projects in Bihar and West Bengal

Rolling Stock and Coach Manufacturing Plants

Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme in Metro Railways

Sep 2021

Role of Construction Equipment in development of Metro Rail project

Development of Metro Rail Projects in Maharashtra

Role of Digitalization and BIM Technology in Urban Railways

Role of Steel and Cement Industries in Urban Railways

Oct 2021

Future of Regional Rail Transit System (RRTS)

Metro Rail Projects in Madhya Pradesh

SCADA, Traction and Propulsion Equipment

Role of Foreign Funding Institutions in developing Urban Rail Transit

Nov 2021

Future of Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) like Metrolite, MetroNeo

Delhi Metrolite and Nashik Metro Neo Project

AFC, Ticketing & Contactless Payment System

Future of Consultancy Business in Urban Railways

Dec 2021

Role of Suburban Rail in Metropolitan Cities

Metro Rail Projects Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir

Role of IoT, 5G and Automation in Urban Rail

Life Cycle and Cost Analysis of Metro Rail System Projects

Jan 2022

Comparative Study on Metro and other modes of Public Transport

Metro Rail Projects in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana

Importance of specialised Training for Metro projects

Year End Review 2021, Progress Report on India & World Metro

Feb 2022

Future of Mono Rail and Urban Trams in India

Special Report on Kolkata Tram and Mumbai Monorail

Train Surveillance and Security Systems

Business Opportunities in Rail & Metro sectors

Mar 2022

Hydrogen Fuel and Green Metro Systems

Metro Rail projects in Gujarat

Pneumatic and Mechanical Equipment

Rail & Metro Budget 2022 (Analysis) /Women in Urban Rail

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Metro Rail Today July 2021

Articles inside

2nd Rail Infra and Mobility Business Awards 2021 By Urban Transport News

Keshav Kumar Rail, MRTS & Transit Infra Expert

Round Up

2nd Rail Infra and Mobility Business Summit 2021 By Urban Transport News

Tender Watch

Construction Updates