Breaking


Showing posts with label High- speed Bullet Train. Show all posts
Showing posts with label High- speed Bullet Train. Show all posts

Wednesday, 1 May 2019

08:12

Bullet Train Between Mumbai and Ahmedabad are in Full Force and Proposd Project from Kanyakumari -Chennai

Bullet Train Between Mumbai and Ahmedabad are in Full Force and Proposed Project from Kanyakumari -Chennai
The work for Mumbai-Ahmedabad is in full force. Recently, two 50-m training tracks for India’s first bullet train project were readied. The tracks slabs are made from high strength concrete with Japanese tech.
NEW DELHI/CHENNAI:  After India’s first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and lateral announcement of 10 more new Bullet Train corridors by the BJP government at the centre last January, a BJP candidate has proposed bullet train from Kanniyakumari to Chennai. Tamil Nadu state BJP candidate and state party president Tamilisai Soundarajan released the Thoothukudi constituency election manifesto which stated that steps will be taken to operate bullet train in the state.
The party manifesto also proposed a new four-lane road to Kochi and another road from Kanniyakumari to Chennai via Tiruchendur, Thoothukudi, Rameswaram and Puducherry. The manifesto also stated that the party will take steps to run a bullet train from Kanniyakumari to Chennai.
It may be noted that the work for Mumbai-Ahmedabad is in full force. Recently, two 50-m training tracks for India’s first bullet train project were readied. The tracks slabs are made from high strength concrete using Japan’s Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) technology.
It is worth mentioning that NHSRCL is implementing the high-speed bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The total length of the proposed corridor is 508.17 km. The route of Mumbai Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail will be passing through two states, Maharashtra and Gujarat and one Union Territory, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Worth mentioning here is that the government is reportedly planning to add 10 more bullet trains in the railway network. Indian Railways has already prepared a mega expansion plan which includes 10 bullet train corridors with the total length of about 6,000 Km across India. The expansion plan also includes doubling the freight capacity in coming years, reported ToI earlier this year.
Railways has already sent a proposal to the Cabinet seeking approval. The proposal asks permission to conduct a feasibility study. It also includes a detailed project report (DPR) for 10 possible bullet train corridors across India.

Source:RailNews
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Tuesday, 17 July 2018

08:24

Bullet Train Project Ahmedabad to Mumbai -Real Picture

Bullet Train Project Ahmedabad to Mumbai -Real Picture
Bullet Train project not a Strain on the Railway Resources: Ashwani Lohani, Chairman/Railway Board

NEW DELHI: The Indian government’s high-speed rail project will mark a paradigm shift in the way people travel in the country. Yet a few articles critical of the project have surfaced in the media. It is essential that matters relating to the issue are put in the right perspective so that the general public gets the real picture. This is all the more important keeping in view the fact that the major strides that the nation takes in its march towards development and growth often get clouded by a dialogue that is political in nature. Like planes. which are so popular, the bullet train will also be a means of mass travel between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
September 14, 2017, will go down in the annals of history as a giant leap for the Indian Railways (IR). On this day, the nation took a major step forward: it displayed its intent of moving away from the era of slow-speed trains to high-speed ones. As a citizen, and also as a railwayman, it was indeed one of the proudest moments for me. The very thought that the journey from the land of the Mahatma to the commercial capital of the nation would get covered in a timeframe much shorter than what air travel entails, and that this is just the beginning, is indeed exciting.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, popularly known as the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train in Ahmedabad. And the next few years till 2023 shall witness frenetic activity in Maharashtra and Gujarat to complete this project and position India and also its railway system in the illustrious list of nations that run high-speed trains.
This first route marks the beginning of a new journey for the railways as well as for the nation.
This project — apart from triggering a paradigm shift in how people travel within India and, therefore, facilitate travel and tourism — will also have a significant impact on the nation’s economy as it scores high on the ‘Make in India’ front. Called ‘Shinkansen’ in Japan , which means ‘new trunk line’, the bullet train is almost a wonder that will script the most memorable milestone in our journey towards a New India.
Consolidation and growth both should go hand in hand and, therefore, while IR has an unwavering commitment towards improving its existing infrastructure, which has witnessed decades of neglect, IR also has the responsibility and the intent to position itself in the comity of world railways as a railway system that is both modern and technology intensive.
Therefore, the first bullet train project shall also have a major demonstrative effect in showcasing the true advantages that extend far beyond even national pride that this project is bound to instil. The ability to travel from one city centre to another in almost half the time that commuting by air would entail is indeed a major step forward in this march of the nation towards progress and prosperity.
While we are improving the existing railway network by focusing on safety and building infrastructure in the form of doubling (third and fourth lines), traffic and terminal facilities, bio-toilets on trains, modern coaches, WiFi and CCTV monitoring at stations and trains etc, we are also moving ahead with vigour in bringing modern technological advancements such as the bullet train, an advancement that by no stretch of imagination is at the cost of the other much-needed basic improvements.
It is also often said by some of the ‘experts’ that the funds that would go into the high-speed project could have been better utilised for improving the existing network. It is, therefore, necessary to point out that the funds for the high-speed project have been provided by the Government of Japan and are tied to the project and, therefore, could not have been made available or utilised for other projects. It also needs appreciation that at a rock-bottom interest rate of 0.1% and a moratorium period of 15 years, the funds are almost as good as free for IR.
At this crucial juncture, when the nation has already gone ahead with the high-speed train project, the following reality needs to be reinforced: one, this is a project of national pride, besides being a harbinger of a paradigm shift in train travel experience in the country; two, IR is laying tremendous emphasis on infrastructure building and other improvements and this project is not by any stretch of imagination at the cost of basic consolidation of the network, and third, the cost of funding is low and definitely not a strain on the railway resources.
The concerns often expressed about the project are generally a reflection of an old school of thought and, therefore, deserve to be considered in that perspective.

Source:RailNews
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, 21 September 2017

18:52

First Bullet Train Between Mumbai and Ahmedabad Construction Work Started from 14th September 2017

First Bullet Train Between Mumbai and Ahmedabad Construction Work Started from 14th September 2017

The 508km Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed link will be India's maiden high-speed rail project. It is part of the 650km Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad line, one of the six high-speed corridors identified for implementation in the country.
"The high-speed rail project is part of the 650km Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad line."
The high-speed rail (HSR) linking Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with Maharashtra's capital Mumbai is being advanced as a fast-track pilot project.
The high-speed line is expected to spearhead the bullet train services in other parts of India. Estimated to cost Rs1.1tn ($17.15bn), the project is being implemented by Rail Vikas Nigam and National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC).
Ground was broken for the construction of the line on 14 September 2017 by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The line will be built on an elevated corridor for most of its length (468km) along an existing route, barring a 27km section inside a tunnel (including a 7km section undersea) and 13km aboveground.
The project is expected to reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to less than two hours compared to the current journey time of more than seven hours.
Line route and stations
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail will begin from Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex and end near Sabarmati railway station in Gujarat, covering 12 stations in total.
The stations covered by the project include Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand/Nadia, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. Two rail depots will be built, one each near Thane and Sabarmati Rail Depot.
Role of JICA in India's first bullet train project
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Indian Ministry of Railway signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study the feasibility of the corridor in October 2013. Rail Vikas Nigam subsidiary High Speed Rail Corporation (HSRC) was also associated with the feasibility study. The final feasibility report was submitted to Ministry of Railways in July 2015.
JICA further signed a memorandum for general consultancy with the Ministry of Railways, Government of India / HSRC, and a joint venture (JV) comprising Japan International Consultants for Transportation (JIC), NIPPON KOEI and Oriental Consultants Global, in December 2016.
The General Counsel is responsible to provide design and bidding assistance for the public works and systems associated with the project. JICA also agreed to cover the expenses related to the same.
Financing
Japan agreed to provide a soft loan of Rs880bn ($13.72bn) at an interest rate of 0.1% a year to be repaid within 50 years.
Contractors involved
The JIC, NIPPON KOEI and Oriental Consultants Global JV appointed India-based development advisory company Taru Leading Edge to prepare an Indigenous People Plan for the areas and people affected by the project.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR project development history
The pre-feasibility study for the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR project was completed in December 2010 by French consulting firm Systra, along with Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) and Italy's ITALFER. It had projected approximately 26.6 million passengers using the high-speed line in 2021 and 104 million passengers in 2041.
The Pune-Mumbai section was dropped from the pilot phase implementation plan due to cost constraints. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR was prioritised for development based on intercity traffic projections and relatively higher per capita income in Gujarat and Maharashtra states.
An MoU was signed between the Ministry of Railways, Government of India and the French National Railway (SNCF) in February 2013, under which both the parties agreed to jointly carry out 'operations and development' feasibility of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR project. SNCF agreed to fund the study with support from the French Ministry of Finance.

Source:Railway Technology



0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Monday, 12 June 2017

08:18

Indian Railways:NewToilet System for Men,Women and Separate Washrooms in E5 Shinkansen Series Bullet Train

Indian Railways:NewToilet System for Men,Women and Separate Washrooms in E5 Shinkansen Series Bullet Train
Railways: New toilet system with urinals, separate washrooms for men, women in offing
Railways is gearing up to acquire 25 E5 Shinkasen series bullet trains from Japan at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore for the Modi government's first bullet train project.
Rail passengers can look forward to an entirely new kind of toilet system — urinals, western style toilets with hot water and washing closet seat facility and separate washrooms for men and women equipped with triple mirrors for make-up. The E5 Shinkansen series bullet trains to be pressed into service on the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor will also have baby changing rooms comprising baby toilet seats, tables for diaper disposal and a low sink for children for washing hands.
Railways is gearing up to acquire 25 E5 Shinkasen series bullet trains from Japan at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore for the Modi government’s first bullet train project. The 731-seater E5 series Shinkansen bullet train, a new generation Japanese high speed train, will also have multi-purpose room to be used for breast feeding and also for sick passengers.
Besides, there will be two extra-spacious toilets for wheelchair-bound passengers in the 10-coach high speed train. Facilities of separate rest rooms and toilets for men and women while introducing wall mounted type urinals for men in the high speed train are in the offing for the first time in Indian Railways, said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the Rs 1 lakh crore bullet train project.
However, urinals and toilets will be installed in alternate coaches in the train. For example, toilets will be installed in coach number 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 while urinals will be available in coach number 2, 4, 6 and 8. Washrooms for men and women will also be placed in similar way. There will be luggage space for business class passengers in the train. Besides business, there will be also Standard class passengers. While the train will have 698 seats for Standard class, 55 seats will be earmarked for Business class.
The bullet train with seating facility will take about 2 hours 7 minutes to travel 508-km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Most of the corridor will be elevated, except for a 21 km underground tunnel between Thane and Virar, of which 7 km will be under sea. The undersea tunnel was chosen to avoid damaging the thick vegetation present in the area. The corridor will begin at the underground station in the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, and then traverse 21 km underground before emerging above ground at Thane.
JICA has agreed to fund 81 per cent of the total project cost through a 50-year loan at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent and a moratorium on repayments up to 15 years. Indian Railways will invest Rs 9,800 crore in the high-speed rail project and the remaining cost will be borne by the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Sunday, 21 August 2016

08:56

Railways to send 400 Officers to Japan to train in Bullet Train tech

Railways to send 400 Officers to Japan to train in Bullet Train tech

New Delhi: With country’s first bullet train project scheduled for commissioning in 2023, Indian Railways plans to send 400 of its employees to Japan for training in engineering, operational and safety aspects related to the project.
These officials from various railway zones having expertise in different areas will be trained at the expense of Japanese government. The first section of the bullet train between Mumbai-Ahemdabad is being constructed in collaboration with Japan, which has offered an assistance of over Rs 79,000 crores for a period of 50 years.

“It is a completely new technology and we need to train our officials in various aspects so that we have manpower having knowledge of its process and engineering,” said a railway ministry official, adding this will be the highest number of officers being send by railways overseas for training.

Railway is expected to close loan negotiations with Japan by end of this year and work is expected to begin in 2018 to ensure its commissioning in time by 2023. The total cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 97,636 crores and to be implemented in a period of seven years.

“There are lot of work that needs to be done like we have to develop our own standards for high speed rail network and those needs to be vetted. We should also have a regulatory framework for the whole system. These are being jointly worked upon,” the official added.

It has been agreed upon to adopt Shinkansen Technology for Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR Project. The cooperation of Japan on this project will also be fixed on transfer of technology and ‘Make in India’.

Railway has formed a National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV), with a paid-up capital of Rs 500 crore for the project. Railways has already allotted Rs 200 crore for the SPV and Maharashtra and Gujarat will have equity of 25 percent each, while the Railways will have 50 per cent in the SPV.

A final feasibility report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) suggested that fare of the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad may be somewhere around one and half times more than the fare of the first AC of Rajdhani Express and it would be around Rs 2,800.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in parliament had said that the fare of Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail network will be affordable to people and less than the airfare between the two cities.
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, 11 August 2016

07:30

Japan to train IR Rail personnel on operating the first Bullet Train

Japan to train IR Rail personnel on operating the first Bullet Train

New Delhi: With Indian Railways venturing into the age of high-speed rail, the government has tied up with Japan to train the manpower required to drive the new age transport system.

Japanese experts will train railway personnel for operating the first bullet train in India. According to railways, there will be a requirement of nearly 10,000 skilled personnel to operate the bullet train as well as the other high speed corridors being developed in the country.

A senior railway ministry official said a training centre will be set up in India where the best of the Indian Railway staff will be trained to operate and maintain the high speed trains.

TRAINING CENTRE TO BE SET UP IN INDIA

Of these, nearly 4,000 staff will be required for the 508 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad bullet train corridor. “Indian train drivers will be trained in high-speed train driving simulator to practice how to control trains in extreme weather conditions and at speeds varying from 50 km per hour to 300 km per hour,” a railway ministry official said.

Apart from the bullet train, the Indian government is taking up work on five long distance high speed corridors and eight other semi-high speed corridors. The first semi-high speed Gatimaan Express between Delhi and Agra The game has not been launched in India yet has already started. The train runs at the speed of 160 km per hour.

ENGINEERS, TECHNICIANS TO BE TRAINED

A railway board official said that to meet the requirement, a pool of highly trained loco pilots and technicians will be created. Unlike the normal express trains, the high speed trains will be driven by two main pilots instead of one assistant pilot.

“Only the senior-most loco pilots, with over 20 years of experience, will be trained initially. Mental ability, quick decision making and medical fitness are critical for drivers on high speed trains.

Once they qualify the physical test, they will be put to training on simulators,” officials said adding the place where the training centre will be set up is yet to be decided. Similarly, the engineers and technicians of Indian Railways will also be trained to repair and maintain these trains as the high speed technology is entirely new to the country.
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, 6 July 2016

07:23

Indian Railway plans ‘Mission 350 Plus’ to build Bullet Train coaches, MagLev trains

Indian Railway plans ‘Mission 350 Plus’ to build Bullet Train coaches, MagLev trains 

Indian Railways is planning various Bullet Trains coaches and MegLev Trains across the country, apart from the Mumbai-Ahmedabad one

Mumbai: In the biggest scale-up of its ambitions so far, the Indian Railways has set up two committees – one to shepherd its plans to build bullet train coaches capable of running at speeds higher than 350 km per hour, and the second to explore the feasibility of running trains based on magnetic levitation or MagLev trains, as they are known worldwide.

The bullet train coach plan, christened Mission 350 Plus, will be headed by Inderjeet Singh, Executive Director (Carriage) at the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the railway’s apex technical body. The MagLev exploration committee will be headed by Nitin Chowdhary, currently Executive Director, Mechanical Engineering (Development) at the Railway Board. Both the committees have been given two months to submit their reports. The two plans were discussed extensively under the ‘future readiness’ module of the Indian Railways’ Chief Mechanical Engineers Conference held at Ooty in Tamil Nadu recently.

Over 45 of the Railways’ top mechanical engineering officers, led by member (mechanical), Hemant Kumar, attended the conference. The move comes in the backdrop of the Railways firming up studies for various bullet train routes across the country, apart from the Mumbai-Ahmedabad one.

These routes include Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata and Mumbai-Chennai, all part of the Railways’ High Speed Diamond Quadrilateral as well as routes like Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna, Hyderabad-Chennai and Chennai-Bengaluru- Thiruvanathapuram.

“A High Speed Rail Network (railway lingo for bullet trains) takes almost half a decade to go from the drawing board to the first pile on the ground. It could be a decade before work starts on any of these projects. Preparing to have some kind of homegrown expertise to build such coaches, rather than just looking to import, is a good move,” said a railway official.

The MagLev, currently in operation in China and Japan, is a much more expensive proposition though speeds touched by these trains are in excess of what some bullet trains can achieve. Recently, Japan managed to run a MagLev train at over 600 kmph during a test, which is a world record for a train’s speed.

Source:RailNews
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, 21 June 2016

18:59

Railways Bullet Train project from Mumbai-Ahmedabad overcomes BKC troubles

 Railways Bullet Train project from Mumbai-Ahmedabad overcomes BKC troubles

The 98,000 crore project for a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has found itself clear of a major hurdle. The Maharashtra government on Monday withdrew its objection to provide land at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai to build an underground station

Mumbai: The Rs.98,000 crore project for a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has found itself clear of a major hurdle. The Maharashtra government on Monday withdrew its objection to provide land at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai to build an underground station.

Suresh Prabhu-led Indian Railway requires 0.9 hectares of BKC land for access to underground station.

However, the Maharashtra state government had earlier denied Railway ministry the land saying that giving it away would hamper the state’s project – the Mumbai International Financial Services Centre, located in BKC complex and that there could be a loss in revenue of around Rs 10,000 crore.

Nevertheless, there appears to have been some settlement on commonground as a senior state government functionary told, “A revised plan for the underground station was recently submitted to the state. This seems viable.”

According to sources, the State government might in turn as for major concessions in building its showpiece project-the financial centre.

Although the land in not within the criteria of special economic zone (SEZ), state government is expecting the centre to relax norms.

Source:RailNews
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, 9 June 2016

08:20

Maharastra Government offers additional vacant area around LTT as BKC too down-market for Bullet Train

Maharastra Government offers additional vacant area around LTT as BKC too down-market for Bullet Train

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship bullet train connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad is too ‘posh’ to roll into the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Kurla. In a meeting with the chief secretary and the Chief minister, Union Railway Ministry officials turned down Maharashtra’s offer to shift the terminus for India’s Rs. 98,000-crore bullet train to Kurla on grounds that the suburb is “too down-market and packed with slums” to accommodate a high-profile project of national importance such as the bullet train.

In a meeting with Union Railway Ministry officials on Tuesday, Chief Minster Devendra Fadnavis offered the additional vacant area around the LTT as an alternative to central business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) but the officials turned it down saying the proposed station’s popularity may take a hit if it were to be Kurla instead of posh BKC, senior officials said.

Among all of Mumbai’s suburbs, Kurla has the highest number of slum settlements, with encroachment and illegal construction rampant. According to the 2001 census, the suburb, spread over 15.88 sq km, has as many as 232 notified slum settlements home to 6.59 lakh people. This is over 80 per cent of the total population of 7.78 lakh in the central suburb.

Confirming the Railway’s reluctance to move into Kurla for a project like the Bullet Train, state Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya said their adamance had put a hurdle in the project’s progress. “By saying Kurla is too down market and packed with slums for a high-profile project, they are overlooking the fact that acquisition of land is not an issue since they are themselves the owners. The Chief Minister also conveyed to them we could invest in sprucing up Kurla, widening roads and removing congestion if need be,” Mr. Kshatriya said. He added the Railways will have no choice but carry out a feasibility study at Kurla. “Also, it is not as if Kurla is too far from Bandra for them to raise an objection.”

Maharashtra and the Railway Ministry have been at loggerheads over finalising a location for the station where the high-speed train would terminate. While the Railways have been insisting that the Mumbai station be constructed underground at BKC, the state has turned down the proposition on the ground that a state financial centre has been planned on the same land.

The construction of the train network is slated to start in 2018, and is likely to pass under the sea through a 21-km tunnel starting from Thane creek. Keeping in mind the importance of the project, the Railways have already formed a National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with a paid-up capital of Rs 500 crore. Both Maharashtra and Gujarat have equity of 25 per cent each in the SPV.

The construction of the station or the commercial structure will not be borne by the state government, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has informed the state. The JICA has agreed to finance 81 per cent of the total project cost; in other words, provide a soft loan of Rs 79,380 crore. The total cost of the project is Rs 98,000 crore. The Japanese agency has promised to provide the latest version of the Sinkansen bullet train, promising to cover the 508-km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in about two hours at more than 300 km per hour.

0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Friday, 27 May 2016

07:57

First bullet train to run in India by 2023, says Railway minister Suresh Prabhu

First bullet train to run in India by 2023, says Railway minister Suresh Prabhu

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has said the first bullet train will run in India in 2023, heralding a new era in train operations in the subcontinent. "In 2023, the first bullet train will run in India. We have already discussed the phases of bullet train project," Prabhu said.

  • The bullet train is expected to cover 508 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in about two hours, running at a maximum speed of 350 kmph and operating speed of 320 kmph.
  • "Work is going on as per the schedule," Prabhu said.
  • Passengers will get the thrill of riding under the sea while travelling between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on the first bullet train of the country. The 508-kilometre-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor will have a 21-km tunnel under the sea.
  • Estimated to cost about Rs 97,636 crore, 81 per cent of the funding for the project will come in the form of loan from Japan. The estimate includes possible cost escalation, interest during construction and import duties. It is a soft loan for 50 years at 0.1 per cent annual interest with a 15-year moratorium.
 Railway minister Suresh Prabhu said the work is going on as per the schedule
• Total cost of the project is Rs 97,636 crore; bulk of the funding to come from Japan
• The bullet train will run at a speed of 320 kmph and pass through an undersea tunnel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad

Source:TOI
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

23:48

Fight over Bullet Train plot in BKC reaches Fadnavis

Fight over Bullet Train plot in BKC reaches Fadnavis

BKC ideal for the project, insists Railways. But MMRDA says it will make IFC construction cost shoot up. Consultants of Railways, Maharashtra to jointly work out solution.

Mumbai: With the central and state governments in a logjam over the location of the originating station of the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, a decision has been taken to have their consultants sit together to work out a solution.

Officials from the railways, Maharashtra government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority had a meeting on Monday to discuss the stalemate. The railways has proposed to construct an underground railway station for the showpiece bullet train at Bandra Kurla Complex.

The state government has however been reluctant to provide land, having planned an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) on the vacant land in the complex. A senior state official said, “We have asked the railways to tell us exactly how much land they require to construct the bullet train station.” He added representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency will sit together with consultants of MMRDA to work out if the IFSC and bullet train station can co-exist in Bandra Kurla Complex.

After the railways and the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) failed to sort out their joust over a plot of land for the ambitious bullet train project at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), the contentious issue has now reached the Chief Minister’s court for a decision.

The railways wanted a 50-acre plot of land in BKC for setting up a terminus for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The MMRDA is opposed to the proposal on grounds that it has already proposed an international financial centre (IFC). In March, the state government officially communicated to the railways that it could not accept their proposal as it would make the MMRDA incur huge financial losses.

However, earlier this month, the railways sent another proposal to the MMRDA in which it proposed a bullet-train terminus that would be built on the same plot but underground, so that both the IFC and the terminus could co-exist.

Officials from the railways, Maharashtra government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority had a meeting on Monday to discuss the stalemate.
Chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya called ameeting on Monday to hear out both sides on the issue. During the meeting, MMRDA officials sought to know why the railways were insisting on having a terminus at BKC when the railways already has large land parcels in its possession in Bandra (East), Kurla and Thane.

The MMRDA also pointed out that their cost of constructing the IFC would go up if they were made to construct it above the railway terminus and that the height of the project could become an issue due to the centre’s proximity to the airport.

The railways replied that since the bullet train project was meant to provide connectivity between two IFCs — one in Mumbai and other in Gujarat known as Gujarat International Finance & Tech city or GIFT city — it made sense to have the terminus at BKC.

Besides, BKC offers better connectivity to other parts of city, which would facilitate the dispersal of passengers, the railways argued.

However, giving no indication about which way the decision will go, Kshatriya said, “After hearing both sides, I asked them to conduct further deliberations. Both sides will then be asked to present their cases before Fadnavis and his decision on the issue will be final.”

Source:RailNews
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, 10 May 2016

16:03

Cargo Ship from Barcelona carrying Talgo Coaches arrives at Mumbai

Cargo Ship from Barcelona carrying Talgo Coaches arrives at Mumbai 

Indian Railways imports high-speed and modern Talgo coaches from Spain. Talgo train trials at 200 kmph likely in June. Delhi to Mumbai journey in just 12 hours with high-speed Talgo train

Mumbai: Lightweight, comfortable, loaded with modern amenities, and compatible with high-speed rail travel, all-new Talgo coaches have arrived in India at Mumbai. Manufactured by Spanish locomotive maker Talgo, these will be put through trial runs across two routes in India.

These coaches will be transported to Izzatnagar Depot after getting customs clearances,” a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The Spanish train-maker has offered to test run its lighter and faster trains free of cost on the existing Indian Railways network.  “The first Talgo train trial will be conducted between Bareilly and Moradabad rail route at a maximum speed of 115 kmph for oscillation test. This will be followed by another trial between Palwal and Mathura route at a maximum speed of 180 kmph,” the official said. The third one will be carried out between Mumbai-Delhi corridor, the same route which is used by Rajdhani Express and another non-Rajdhani Express. While the Delhi-Mumbai route is confirmed, the other route has yet to be decided.

The Spanish coach manufacturer, Talgo has agreed to conduct these trials free of cost and it will depend on results whether the Railway Ministry will plan on introducing these trains in the country. In the meantime, a permission letter has been issued to Talgo to import these coaches to India. They will come in as completely knocked down kits and will be assembled locally, following which trials will be conducted.

On the current infrastructure present in India, the Talgo high-speed coaches will have the capacity to travel at speeds of 160-200 kmph. They are compatible to upgrades, which will see even faster speeds.

At such high speeds, the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai will be reduced from a current 17 hours to 12 hours. Besides bringing down travel time, Talgo coaches, being lightweight, also requires up to 30% less energy which will ensure massive savings on power bills for Indian Railways. These Talgo high-speed trains are currently in operation in many places in both Asia and the US.

Known for its high speed and light trains, Spanish train maker Talgo’s nine state-of-the-art train coaches have already reached Mumbai and will undergo crucial test run by the Railways next month.

Dispatched in a cargo ship from Barcelona on March 27, they will be put on trial on the existing tracks for validation test.

Depending upon the results of the trial, the railways will consider introduction of high speed trains.  Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the aim of the trial run with Talgo coaches is to reduce by 5 hours the time taken on the Delhi-Mumbai route. Talgo has brought its trains on an experimental basis for the project. If the Talgo train runs at speeds varying between 160 and 200 kmph on the existing infrastructure without any upgrade, the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai is expected to be cut down to about 12 hours from the current 17 hours. Besides reducing travel time, Talgo’s lighter trains consume 30% less energy which will help railways reduce their power bill. Talgo claims that the coaches can run on higher speeds even on curves.
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, 24 April 2016

07:59

Indian Railways to get 12% return in Bullet Train project

Indian Railways to get 12% return in Bullet Train project

New Delhi: Railways claim that the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project is financially viable and will fetch over 12% return.

Officials are defending the project in the wake of a debate over whether its high cost will send the railways into a debt trap. An IIM study has  questioned the financial viability of the project. The study says that railways can make the project viable if the train on this route makes 100 trips a day. According to the study, a fare of Rs 1,500 per 300 kilometres should be charged to recover the cost and make the project viable.

According to the study, a high speed train on the 508 kilometre-route can carry 800 passengers. The train will have to carry 88,000-1,18,000 passengers on a daily basis. This can be only done by making 100 trips a day. “We have calculated the financial viability on the basis of 70 trips. If we increase number of trips to 100, our financial return will increase accordingly,” a high-level official told.
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Saturday, 5 March 2016

06:25

MMRDA red-flags Centre’s move for Bullet Train station in BKC

MMRDA red-flags Centre’s move for Bullet Train station in BKC

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had selected BKC for its proposed International Finance Centre

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project – the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad – appears to have hit a roadblock with the MMRDA opposing the location of the underground bullet train station at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had selected BKC for its proposed International Finance Centre (IFC).

Principal secretary, urban development–I (infrastructure projects), Nitin Kareer said the Ministry of Public Transport will be asking the Railway Ministry to either relocate the proposed station for the bullet train to its terminus stations at Bandra or Kurla.

Kareer said the site at BKC was selected by MMRDA for setting up IFC.

“Besides the area that the proposed IFC would cover, it will also include multi-level underground car parking. Apart from this, IFC could come up in a relative short duration, but it would take time for the bullet train to start generating revenue,” he said.

Kareer said as compared to Metro stations, the underground bullet train station will require much bigger area. Hence, it was decided at a meeting of MMRDA, transport and other senior officials that the Ministry of Railways be asked to consider an alternate site for the bullet train station.

Earlier in January this year, Railway Ministry fast tracked the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project. The high speed rail corridor costing Rs 90,000 crore (Rs 900 billion) will also have equity participation from Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The top speed on this corridor will be 350 kmph. The halts on the route include Thane, Virar, Dahanu, Lonavala, Valsad, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodra, Anand or Nadiad and Ahmedabad.

The state government had recommended including Belapur in Navi Mumbai in the proposed route.

 Source:RailNews
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Friday, 18 December 2015

08:38

Bullet Trains can change Tier-II Cities of India into Suburbs of Metros: CRB

Bullet Trains can change Tier-II Cities of India into Suburbs of Metros: CRB

Railway infrastructure upgrade got a big boost with an agreement signed between India and Japan for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. AK Mittal, Chairman of the Railway Board, gave out his views on how this project will roll out.

Outline for us the complete bullet train infrastructure plan, where Mumbai-Ahmedabad is just one corridor, where Japan is investing

The Indian Railways presently operates trains that are up to only 150 kmph. High-speed involves trains running over 250 kmph. Most advanced countries have a high-speed network. A distance of 500-700 km is covered within a time period of 2.5 hours or so. The advantage is that is absolutely safe, low cost compared to airlines, energy efficient, eco friendly and has large carrying capacity compared to roads. A high speed network can also transform tier-II and tier-III cities into suburbs of the big cities.

This is also a new model for funding large-scale infra. For the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor 80 per cent will be done by Japanese financial agencies with the balance raised by the Railways. So how will the Railways raise the 20 per cent?

Eight-one per cent of the funding is coming from Japan at very concessional terms. The term loan period is 50 years, with a moratorium of 15 years and with an interest rate of 0.1 per cent. These are terms that India has not got from any other country or even Japan has not given to any other country in the past. So, this speaks of our relationship with Japan. The technology that we are going to get is one of the best in the world — it is absolutely safe with no accident history in the last 50 years. This project will be executed over seven years. Arranging the funds for the balance ₹18,000 crore over this time frame is not difficult. Moreover, it will be the Government of India funding. We will also speak to the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat and ask them to participate.

Which are the other bullet train projects that the Railway Ministry may be looking at? Which are the corridors that may be looked at?

Ultimately we are going to connect all the metropolitan cities by the high speed corridors. All the four metropolitan diagonals and quadrilateral lines will be connected by high-speed rail. The first corridor is 508 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Ultimately, all these six corridors will be around 10,000 km but that is quite some time away.

Is there any timeframe that the Railway Ministry may be looking at for the completion of all the corridors and the diamond quadrilateral?

We are still at the feasibility stage for other corridors. The first feasibility study which was completed in July was taken on a very expeditious basis to finalise this deal with Japan. We will take it forward on a fast-track basis.

For other corridors, first let us examine the feasibility report and then we will come to the other issues.

By when will the construction actually begin in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor?

We have to still form a company, and then a structure and some other studies are to be done. We will take it forward very fast and the construction should start in another one-and-a-half years.

What form will the company take?

This will be an SPV (special purpose vehicle) with the participation of Government of India as well as the two States. We still have to decide on the stake of each of the partners but the bulk of it will be the Government of India. We still have to have dialogues with them to decide the contours of this sharing.

For the component sourcing for this particular project, will we see a large network of outsourced components in the initial phase?

Let me give you the broad breakup. The total project cost is ₹70,000 crore. Since it is executed over seven years, the completion cost becomes around ₹98,000 crore, taking into account inflation, escalations, interest over a period of time, etc. Now, out of ₹70,000 crore, more than ₹50,000 crore is civil cost, civil structure cost which definitely is going to go Indian companies.

Then comes core technology components like signalling systems, other communications systems, train protection systems. In the beginning core technology equipment will be imported from Japan, which will be around ₹12,000 crore. Then there will be some elements of the project where we will need Japanese expertise. There the contractor or the lead partner may be Japanese, so this is the structure in the beginning.

In the MoU signed with the Japanese government, it has an element of Make in India. It means even in the core technology items — including signalling, train production, operational systems and rolling stocks — there will be an element of Make in India and progressively they will be manufactured in India. (Courtest: Bloomberg TV)
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, 15 December 2015

18:09

Japan set sights on Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail project

Japan set sights on Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail project

Kuala Lumpur: Some 14 companies were invited by officials from Malaysia and Singapore to present “in-depth” views on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project.

Land Public Transport Commis­sion (SPAD) Chairman of Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said it had reached a stage where there was “a lot of interest” in the HSR project. He revealed that the commission received more than 220 enquiries during the project’s request for information (RFI) stage.

“Ninety-eight firms made written submissions of their ideas on how the project should be implemented. And we invited 14 companies to give in-depth views in person,” said Syed Hamid during the China High Speed Railway symposium at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday. He said the interviews were conducted by SPAD and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority.

Transport Oriented Development – a mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximise access to public transport – would be carried out along the HSR line, said Syed Hamid.  “I believe the HSR project will transform the landscape of transportation and will bring long-term economic social benefit to Malaysia and Singapore,” he said.

Syed Hamid also congratulated China Railway Corporation, one of the 14 short-listed companies, for taking the initiative in organising the symposium.

“China has not only shown the interest but showed they are keen to win the bid. This is something that we can say about the Chinese companies,” he said. Syed Hamid said China had already contributed heavily in Malaysia’s transport industry, having supplied more than 80 per cent of the rolling stocks in the country.

“Now we have the track from Kuala Lumpur right up to Sg Besar, all using rolling stocks from China. Now even our LRT is going to use rolling stocks from Chinese companies,” he said. He added that China had promised to work with SPAD Academy in revising its module and curriculum to upgrade the skills of its members.

Syed Hamid said Malaysia was expected to spend RM160bil (S$52bil) in railway projects including the MRT line, the LRT line extension as well as double tracking and electrification of KTM tracks.

Both China and Japan are competing with each other for HSR construction projects around the world and have expressed interest in the project here.  Japan, fresh from a $15 billion rail win in India over China, aims to sell its bullet trains to a high-speed line being planned between Singapore and the Malaysian capital, opening a new market for companies from Hitachi Ltd. to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The government supports such a bid, Japanese Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii told reporters in Tokyo Tuesday. Cooperation between the government and business leaders was crucial in clinching the deal with India last week, he said.

Japan, which built the world’s first high-speed train more than half a century ago, is stepping up efforts to export its bullet-train technology to meet a pledge by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to triple infrastructure exports to 30 trillion yen ($248 billion) by 2020. Singapore and Malaysia have proposed a rail line connecting Singapore and Kuala Lumpur that will cut the travel time for the 300-kilometer (180-mile) journey to 90 minutes from at least four hours by road.
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Monday, 14 December 2015

20:02

Critics sing different tunes on India’s ambitious High Speed Rail project

Critics sing different tunes on India’s ambitious High Speed Rail project
The highlight of the three-day visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is the signing of a pact for the the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-speed rail corridor, a massive project involving a cost of 98000 crore rupees. Both sides have invested time, energy and diplomatic resources in this showpiece project for which the Japanese are committed to advancing a loan of 8 billion dollars.
But before Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu borrows money for the project, there is an urgent need to review the faulty model that his ministry has prepared. If not, this expensive mistake will haunt India for a long time.
Japan has offered to participate in the California High-speed rail project by forming the Japan-California HSR Consortium which comprises of  Kawasaki Heavy Industries, East Japan Railway Company, Hitachi Ltd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nippon Sharyo Ltd, Sumitomo Corporation etc to satisfy the Buy America laws. It is possible that a similar consortium may make an offer for an HSR system in India, and manufacture train-sets here, even though there is no compulsory ‘Make in India’ law, despite the Prime Minister’s call for it.
It must however be pointed out that the US has not sought any funding from Japan, even though many American states have not been able to tie-up funding arrangements for their HSR projects. The US also does not seek transfer of technology through these firms because General Electric has already formed a partnership with Chinese HSR train set manufacturers. It is only a matter of time before GE absorbs the technology and innovates on it.
India’s case is different. We are seeking loans to build the HSR but are ambivalent in our approach to acquiring technology and indigenous manufacture of high-end components in the traction chain. Essentially, India’s Ministry of Railways projects the image of a buyer of rolling stock rather than that of a technology seeker.
A country that needs low-cost loans, with a mix of treasury and commercial loans, will never hold vantage position when it comes to technology acquisition. A nation holding advanced rail technology is unlikely to offer more than low-tech and low value items like car bodies. It is unlikely to offer critical components in the traction chain. Even though the media releases and speculative reports contain HSR technology transfer, it is very doubtful that any hard bargain has been done about acquisition of HSR technology like what the South Koreans have done in the past. Korea could pull off complete technology transfer after nearly seven rounds of tough negotiations, because they bought technology with their own money. With a resident technology, Korea is able to produce almost all critical high tech and high value components of HSR train sets within their country and even compete against Germany, France and Japan. Even if we invite HSR technology holding nations to set up shop in India, the loan repayment liability and lack of control on high prices of rolling stock, signaling equipment and spares will adversely impact HSR’s operational success in India.
HSR idea began in 2001-2002
In India, the history of HSR started with an announcement made in the Rail Budget of 2000-2001 about high speed railways, which resulted in a general feasibility study done by Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES).
Serious efforts however were made in 2005-2007 by the Railway Board to get the project moving. Files were initiated for the first time in 2006 about one medium rail line route length (around 450 – 500 km) each in the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern regions of India, in consultation with State Governments. This was not accepted by Lalu Yadav, the then Railway Minister who did not want to encourage High-speed rail projects, as he felt that these were infrastructure projects meant for the elite and middle-class passengers. In those days, the Prime Minister used to be given a presentation by the Railway Board on the broad outlines of the Railway Budget. In  January 2007, a separate presentation about HSR was made along with this budget presentation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In that presentation, a strategy for mobilising resources for HSR with a near zero net cost to the government was included.
The presentation was appreciated and accordingly another proposal was moved by the Board to include a formal announcement about HSR proposed routes in the Rail Budget of February 2007. This was resisted by the Railway Minister but the Board stood firm and insisted on including this announcement in the Budget. Finally an announcement was made about a proposal to prepare a pre-feasibilty study. In those days the Railway Boards in general showed a tough sense of professionalism.
The Board then started consultation process with the States and presentations about the HSR were given to Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries. Gujarat was the first State Government to offer support and offered to finance the study. Some States like Punjab, Kerala and Maharashtra too wanted to know about HSR and gave very valuable guidance. For example, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister was unhappy about the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR not covering important cities like Pune and Nasik and also Mumbai -Nagpur. Punjab supported an elevated alignment but expressed concern at land acquisitions by the National Highways Authority of India. Karnataka did not favour the proposed Chennai-Bangalore link but wanted a corridor to extend to Hubli-Dharwad to support their industrial expansion plans.
A proposal to create a National High Speed Rail Commission of India (NHSRCI) was unanimously approved by the Board for seeking clearance of the Council of Ministers. However, the Railway Minister did not clear the proposal.
Having shared this chequered history of roadblocks that the then Railway Board faced, I, as part of that Railway Board, must admit that we made a mistake in randomly choosing four regional HSR corridors of 450-500 km, instead of a national network as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisaged. His plan of a HSR Diamond Corridor is perhaps the most suitable intercity network model. This was exactly what India’s most illustrious railway expert, E Sreedharan advised when Dedicated Freight Corridors were being planned—he had suggested that India should opt for a Dedicated Higher Speed Passenger Corridor rather than a freight one.
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, 11 December 2015

09:07

India clears Japanese plan to build High-Speed Rail Network

India clears Japanese plan to build High-Speed Rail Network

Cabinet clears Japanese plan to build high-speed rail. The decision ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit beginning on Friday gives Tokyo an early lead over China
New Delhi: India’s cabinet has cleared a $14.7 billion Japanese proposal to build the country’s first bullet train line, a Cabinet Minister and an official said on Thursday, one of the biggest foreign investments in Indian infrastructure.

The decision ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit beginning on Friday gives Tokyo an early lead over China, which is also bidding to construct high-speed train lines along large parts of India’s largely British-era rail system.

“It’s been done,” a Cabinet rank Minister who attended the meeting headed by the Prime Minister of India on Wednesday night told.

An official in the Prime Minister Modi’s office also confirmed the decision, saying there were some issues relating to the bullet train but that had since been sorted out in time for Abe’s visit.

“We expect to make an announcement during the visit,” the official said. Both the minister and the official spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The highly-anticipated multi-billion dollar deal is being touted as one of the biggest foreign investments in India’s ageing infrastructure. Japan offered an attractive financing package on the railway project to win over Indian leaders. Japan has offered to finance the project with a 50-year loan at an interest rate as low as 0.1%, the official said. India won’t have to start payment on the loan for 15 years, said another official familiar with the negotiations.

The bullet train line is expected to link the financial capital Mumbai and Ahmedabad in the state of Gujurat, cutting the 505km journey from at least eight hours to just two.

Japan is expected to lend India more than half the cost for the project – about $8bn – at very low interest rates for up to 50 years.

The Modi government has committed to invest $137bn in the country’s vast, but antiquated railway system over the next five years.

Last month, US’s General Electric and France’s Alstom also won billion-dollar contracts to provide India’s railways with new locomotives.

Japan couldn’t confirm whether the final decision had been made, the details of the deal or when any decision would be announced but the country is looking forward to backing the project if picked, said one senior Japanese government official familiar with the negotiations on Wednesday.

“If the Japanese system is chosen, we would work hard to ensure its smooth implementation,” said the official in Tokyo who asked not to be named.

Japan and India have been strengthening ties in the last 18 months as Asia’s two largest democracies look to build a counterweight to China.

In October, warships and aircraft from the U.S., India and Japan practiced hunting enemy submarines together in exercises in the Bay of Bengal, signaling the their deepening relationships and rising concerns about China’s growing military and economic influence in the region. China has been growing closer to many of India’s neighbors by backing big infrastructure projects.

A huge deal in India would help make up for Japan’s embarrassing losses in bids for high-speed rail contracts in Indonesia and Thailand to China. Japan’s failure had alarmed officials in Tokyo, heightening concerns that China is eclipsing Japan as the main economic partner for key countries in Southeast Asia.

The high-speed corridor is a pet project of Mr. Modi, who is trying to modernize the Indian economy. Under the Japanese proposal, construction is expected to begin in 2017 and be completed in 2023.

Indian Railways moving on the fast track
With 23 million passengers travelling on its 65,000-km network, the Indian Railways move an entire Australia every day. So, instead of putting more trains on the already crowded tracks, railway minister Suresh Prabhu’s strategy has been to give passengers more bang for the buck by speeding up the existing trains, for which a major exercise is now underway to upgrade no less than nine corridors. This will not be as good as the high-speed Mumbai-Ahmedabad super-fast train but still quite good.

But unfortunately, the gestation period for such complex civil engineering projects is years, not months. Till then the passengers will have to just wait.

This fast-train service is provided to suit all kinds of passengers, with the Rajdhani Expresses whisking away the well-heeled who may be averse to flying. On the other hand, daily wagers, migrant workers, students going home for a break, etc. have the Garib Rath, Sampark Kranti Express and other such long-distance super-fast trains to travel in comfortably without burning a hole in their pocket. Business people who wish to make a quick day-trip to major metros find the Shatabdi Inter-City Express trains useful.

The following corridors are slated for a rise in the maximum speed to 160-200 km per hour (kmph), for which feasibility studies are underway: New Delhi-Chandigarh, New Delhi-Mumbai, Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysore, Delhi-Kanpur, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Chennai-Hyderabad and Nagpur-Secunderabad.

A Chinese team is looking at the problems of the difficult Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysore section, 500 km, which is full of gradients and sharp curves. The Bengaluru-Mysore stretch was till recently metre gauge, an alignment which has been mostly retained even after its conversion to broad gauge.

The Konkan Railway, which will be upgrading the 700-km Panvel-Madgaon section (Mumbai-Goa corridor), may find the going relatively easy as the track is already laid for 160 kpmh, thanks to the far-sighted policy of E Shreedharan when he headed it as its first managing director.

With the LHB and the WDP4 locomotive diesel fit for 160 kpmh, trial runs had been undertaken as far back as in 2003, and speed up to 130 kpmh could be permitted right away. Increasing it to 160 kpmh would involve certain signalling and other inputs.

Seventy-seven projects for doubling, tripling and quadrupling very high-density corridors are being executed on a war footing. This will help decongest and considerably speed up trains and improve their punctuality.
0
By at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,