INTERVIEW
Q&A with Ashutosh Shukla, Director - Transportation & Mobility, Schneider Electric India In a recent conversation with FE Online, Ashutosh Shukla, Director- Transportation & Mobility, Schneider Electric India talked about the current scenario and challenges for metro rail in Indian and about the company offers open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform that delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity to the customers. Schneider Electric India claims that the solution aids Metro Rail networks in different areas like power delivery, environmental control, communication and services. What is EcoStruxure Rail? How does it aim to solve the critical issues faced by the Indian metro-rail segment? EcoStruxure Rail is an enterprise level end-to-end digital solution for metro rail to create collaborative environments for a safe, energy efficient, reliable and sustainable rail infrastructure operation. This solution is targeted towards providing real-time awareness breaking silos, resulting in safe, comfortable, on-time operations, and effective passenger services into the Indian market. The advanced IoT-enabled EcoStruxureTM platform will aid metro rails in four main areas: power delivery, environmental control, communication, and services. It also increases the resilience of the system in case of cybersecurity attack by providing solutions to avoid and detect intrusions at all levels: control centre, telecom system and field devices. It improves the smart management, electrical safety, and atmosphere of Metro stations, as well as the operation of their systems, with solutions for: • Traction Power: Complete solutions for Rail electrification, including traction substations and its electrical equipment, overhead systems, control and protection for the network and microgrid supervision helping the proper energy management and operation. • Signaling Power: A complete portfolio designed to cover the power supply needs for critical signaling systems, oriented to feed the disperse assets spread over the tracks. • Distribution Power: The most comprehensive portfolio primary and secondary distribution that covers every application and every environmental condition, including UPS and cooling systems which includes air quality control by deploying energy management solutions through HVAC, lighting, etc. • Construction management: Through application of 5D BIM modelling adding elements of Time and cost over 3D BIM, optimize planning, estimation, scheduling,
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align procurement and finally digital handover end facility management. The solution intends to significantly enhance smart management, provide electrical safety and improve energy efficiency by up to 25%, enables efficiency planning services and safeguard system’s operations, thereby increasing the overall operational efficiency by upto 20% and reduce the total cost of ownership by 15%. What is the current scenario of the metro rail segment in the country and the challenges faced by the sector? The metro rail-segment in India is growing at a rapid pace. Recently, the focus is also shifting to tier II cities as new metro rail constructions have started in cities such as Indore, Surat, Bhopal, Kanpur, Patna, etc. While some projects are Greenfield i.e. they are in the first phase, others are extending their existing railway infrastructure by introducing new lines and phases. Managing this exponential rail network is becoming increasingly difficult as the sector is facing issues like system complexity, high volume of passenger traffic, limited space of the stations etc. Furthermore, there are numerous installed electrical facilities that consume a significant amount of electricity. This necessitates a continuous and reliable power supply to ensure that system operations are carried out safely and efficiently. Schneider Electric’s advanced IoT-enabled EcoStruxure™ Rail platform is best positioned to solve the critical challenges faced by the Indian metro-rail segment. It helps optimise energy consumption by using smart energy management solutions, integrating renewables, and braking energy recovery. What is the estimated size of the metro rail segment in India? According to a research by Indian Infrastructure, over 25 cities in India will have operational metro rail networks in
METRO RAIL TODAY MAY 2021
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