10 minute read
Round Up
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH
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Despite the Covid-19 challenges, Indian Railways said that the national transporter has registered the Highest Freight figures in terms of loading and earnings in the Financial Year 2020-21. In the closing month of this fiscal year 202021, Indian Railways surpassed the last year’s loading that is 1232.63 compared to last year’s 1209.32 which shows a growth of 1.93%. In this period, Indian Railways earned Rs. 1,17,386 crores from freight loading. It is 3% higher than the last year’s earning from Freight which was Rs. 113897.20 Crores for the same period. Indian Railways has maintained the momentum of highest ever loading in consecutive 7 respective months from September 2020 to March 2021. Indian Railways' Freight loading for the month of March 2021 crossed last year’s loading and earnings for the same period.
DMRC to establish National Metro Rail Knowledge Centre in New Delhi
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) is planning to establish National Metro Rail Knowledge Centre near Vishewavidyalaya Metro station to provide useful information to metro rail lovers as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In this regard, DMRC invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from private parties, corporate houses, NGOs, PSUs, and trusts, etc. for the establishment of the National Metro Rail Knowledge Centre (NMRKC) near Vishewavidyalaya Metro station (on Yellow Line). Based on the response to EOIs, DMRC may float an open tender for the establishment of NMRKC or a limited tender restricted to the applicants found suitable in the eligibility criteria as set out in the EOI document.
MMRDA published book on Basic Transport and Communications Statistics for Mumbai
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) published the 19th edition of "Basic Transport and Communications Statistics for MMR - December 2020“ on April 6, 2021. This edition was unveiled by R.A.Rajeev (Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA) at the MMRDA's New Administrative Building in BandraKurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai. The book covers significant data pertaining to transport and communications sectors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Along with the data about Metro/Monorail corridors, this publication also covers the Time Series Data of transport statistics, and it contains research about the transport network in MMR & Comprehensive Transport Studies.
Rakesh Singh assumes charge of new Managing Director of BMRCL
Rakesh Singh, an IAS officer of the 1989-batch, has been appointed as new Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) with effect from April 4, 2021.
Rakesh Singh would be the busiest bureaucrats in the state as the Government has a major focus on the development of urban transportation in Bengaluru City. Now Singh has major responsibilities to oversee the under-construction Phase 2 project of Bangalore Metro.
Indian Railways completes arch closure of world's highest Chenab Bridge in J&K
Indian Railways on April 5, 2021, completed the Arch closure of the iconic Chenab Bridge which is the world's highest railway bridge. This is a major step towards the completion of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) project. Chenab Bridge is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL), which set an important construction milestone with the completion of the steel arch of the iconic Chenab Bridge. This was one of the most difficult parts of the bridge over Chenab. This achievement is a major leap towards the completion of the 111 k.m. long winding stretch from Katra to Banihal. It is arguably the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history.
KUDA seeks state cabinet approval for Rs 1,340 crore Warangal MetroNeo Project
The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro) has prepared the detailed project report of the Warangal Metro Neo Project and submitted it to the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) for getting the approval from the state cabinet. The proposed eco-friendly Metro Neo system will run between Kazipet-HanamkondaWarangal via the District Police Office (DPO) junction. It will provide energy-efficient and eco-friendly urban transportation facilities for tier-II and tier-III cities. It will be a lighter and smaller system than the regular Metro systems being run in other big cities. The Metro Neo system will run on the mix of ground and elevated level corridor. Out of 15.5 km, 7.1 km will be built at ground level and the remaining 8.4 km will be built at an elevated level, according to the DPR. Among the 21 stations proposed for the Metro Neo project, 12 stations will be at an elevated level and 9 at ground level. The speed of Warangal Neo would be 70 kmph while the scheduled speed would be 25 kmph.
Uttarakhand to launch MetroNeo system for Dehradun-Rishikesh-Haridwar
After falling in the plan of metro first, then ropeway in the capital city Dehradun, now the preparations for running the Metro Neo system have been completed. The Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation (UkMRC) has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) suggesting the MetroNeo system for Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar. In fact, on the proposal of UkMRC, the government first declared Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar as metropolitan areas in November 2017. After this, a survey was conducted to run the metro rail in two corridors (ISBT to Rajpur and FRI to Raipur) in Dehradun. HaridwarRishikesh was placed in the second phase. After this, the plan was changed and there was a discussion on running the ropeway here. Meanwhile, the central government issued new guidelines for running eco-friendly Metro Neo systems in small cities. According to the new guidelines, the Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation (UKMRC) sent a proposal to run the Metro Neo system as an alternate mode of public transportation in Dehradun to the Center.
Schneider Electric launches EcoStruxure Rail to build reliable urban rail infrastructure in India
Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, launched EcoStruxure™ Rail in India on March 9, 2021. The company aims to build a collaborative digital environment for safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable metro rail operations in India through this end-to-end digital solution. The EcoStruxure Rail also intends to enhance smart management significantly, offer electrical safety as well as improve energy efficiency by up to 25 per cent. It enables efficient planning services and safeguards operations of the system, thereby increasing the overall operational efficiency by up to 20 per cent and reduce the total ownership cost by 15 per cent.
Draft project report of Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Bullet Train corridor submitted
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) has submitted draft project report of 865-km Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Rail Project to the Ministry of Railways for approval. Once the approval received, NHSRCL will prepare the final detailed project report . “"We will give all details in the final report. The idea is if the project is sanctioned, we can start work from day one. All routes will be justified on economic returns,” said Achal Khare, Managing Director, NHSRCL. The estimated cost of this project is Rs 1.21 Lakh crores.
Chennai Metro will have different railway signalling system in Phase 2 project
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is planning to adopt the latest railway singalling system in its Phase 2 metro trains. They will use the communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling system with UTO functions. Due to this, both phase 1 and phase 2 projects will function independently and trains running in one phase cannot be run on the other. Apart from this, phase I has four-coach trains, while phase II will have three and six-coach trains.
Ajitabh Sharma appointed as Managing Director of
Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation
Rajasthan Government issued a new transfer and posting of 67 IAS officers in the state. 1966-batch senior IAS officer Ajitabh Sharma now appointed as new Managing Director of Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (JMRC). However, according to media reports, Sharma is not happy with the state government and he has applied for the central posting on a deputation basis. Ajitabh Sharma was earlier posted as Principal Secretary of IT&C and Mining & Geology, Government of Rajasthan.
Japanese firm signs MoU for track works training for Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR project
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) on April 19, 2021 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan Railway Technical Service (JARTS) for Training, Certification and Advisory Services for construction of Track works for Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor under Package No. MAHSR-T-1, T-2 and T-3. The MoU was signed via a virtual ceremony in the presence of Managing Director, NHSRCL Achal Khare, NHSRCL Director Project Rajendra Prasad, Director Finance A.K. Bijalwan, Minister Embassy of Japan in India Shingo Miyamoto, Chief Representative JICA India Katsuo Matsumoto, President JARTS KONO Haruhiko, and other officials from JARTS, JICC and JR East.
Govt. of India approves Rs 14,788 crore Bangalore Metro Phase 2 Project
The Central Government cabinet on April 20, 2021, gave their nod to 58.19 km ambitious Phase 2 of the Bangalore Metro Rail project. This is a big step towards realizing the dream of metro connectivity to the City's International Airport. This project is divided into two sub-phases viz. Phase 2A (ORR Line) and Phase 2B (Airport Line) with an estimated cost of Rs 14,788.1 crores.
Construction of Patna Metro stuck due to nonavailability of fund
The much-awaited Patna Metro is targeted to be commissioned in October of 2024, but currently the pace of work is quite slow. Rs 19,500 crore are to be spent on Metro construction. The centre and state will spend 20-20% of this amount. The remaining 60% is to be given to be arranged from the Japanese agency Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) in the form of debt. But no agreement for the loan is yet finalized either by Patna Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC) or the Bihar Government. About 76 acres of land is to be acquired to build a metro depot at New ISBT for Phase 1 of the Patna Metro Rail proejct. The land for the depot has been identified on the east side of Patna - Masaudhi Road in front of New ISBT but the acquisition is slow due to the non-release of funds.
Delhi Metro employees seek complete shutdown of metro rail services
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Employees Union (DMRCEU) has written to the Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to stop metro services in view of the rising death of Metro employees in Delhi-NCR. Delhi Metro has lost dozens of its employees in the last two months due to spreading Covid-19 in the Delhi-NCR. On April 28, 2021, DMRC lost its Senior Account Officer who was working in the capacity of Sr. Deputy General Manager in the Finance department. The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has also lost its Public Relation Officer on April 23, 2021, due to Covid-19 infection.
MMRDA struggles to procure 136 ha for different metro corridors
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is struggling to procure almost 136 hectares of land for different Metro rail corridors interweaving the city. MMRDA has set deadline to open two new Metro rail lines 2A & 7 for the public from September this year; but availability of land for the carshed for the majority of Metro rail lines, which is the primary need for smooth operations of any Metro rail line; remains a major concern, and not just the controversy over the land in Kanjurmarg lieu of the Aarey site. It seems that the Maharashtra government, incumbent and earlier ones, haven’t been able to do much about it due to lack of political will.
About 2000 site workers leave under construction Pune Metro Rail Project
The Pune Metro will not meet its deadline for a trial run in the month of May after more than 2,000 labourers have returned home due to the fear of stricter restrictions and lack of work. A senior consultant who was part of the Pune Metro project lost his life due to Covid-19 in his hometown in Karnataka, causing a sense of fear among workers. As compared to last year, the spread and infection rate of Covid-19 is high, however, the Maharashtra Metro Railway Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) has taken care of workers in terms of food, stay and vaccinations.
