Today's Cancelled Trains
railway projects
11:08
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Saturday, 8 September 2018
Monday, 10 April 2017
passenger train
07:44
India -Bangladesh -India a new Express Passenger Train -Maitree Express
India -Bangladesh -India a new Express Passenger Train -Maitree Express
PETRAPOLE, Sealdah Division: Nine years after the inauguration of the Maitree (friendship) Express passenger train service between Kolkata and Dhaka, the first Khulna-Kolkata train chugged in to the Petrapole Railway station On the India-Bangladesh border on Saturday.
Repeatedly sounding its hooter, the five-coach diesel-hauled Maitree Express-II stopped at the railway station on the Indian side of the border at about 1.40 pm to loud cheers and applause. On a trial run, it carried a 43-member Bangladesh delegation, who were warmly greeted and received with bouquets and garlands by Indian Railway officials.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, inaugurated the trial run through a video link from New Delhi.
Resplendent in green and saffron border on white base, the Maitree Express II set off from Khulna at 8.15 a.m. and entered India through Benapole from the Bangladesh side.
The 176-km journey includes 96 km on the Bangladesh side. Railway officials said the regular passenger train services are expected to begin from July.
“The services are expected to kick off from July this year from Kolkata to Khulna through Petrapole- Benapole (on the Bangladesh side). The fare and the frequency of the services are yet to be decided,” said Basudev Panda, Divisional Railway Manager, Sealdah, Eastern Railway.
On Saturday S N Agrawal, General Manager, Eastern & South Eastern Railways, Satish Kumar, Addl. General Manager, Eastern Railway, Basudev Panda, Divisional Railway Manager, Sealdah, Eastern Railway will be present at Petrapole (on the Indian side) to receive senior railway officials from Bangladesh.
Interestingly, much before an international border came up and political realignments changed the landscape of the two Bengals, regular passenger services connected Sealdah to Khulna and Jessore through the Petrapole-Benapole route.
Bangladesh Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineer (West) Md. Iftikar Hossain said: “The train will have the air-conditioned and non air-conditioned compartments along with medical facilities. The fare will be at par with the fares of Maitree I. The number of air-conditioned and non ac and non air-conditioned compartments will depend on the number of passengers.”
“The Maitree I which runs twice a week has about 450 seats. We see on an average 80 per cent of seats are always booked,” Panda said.
Panda said the two countries would initiateAthe process of establishing immigration and customs facilities at the terminal destinations so that no change-over is required in between.
“The new passenger service will give a momemtum to collaboration between the two countries. People from the southern part of Bangladesh will benefit from the new service,” said Syed Salma Jafreen, Deputy Secretary, Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs.
Regular passenger services connected Sealdah to Khulna and Jessore through the route, much before the partition of India in 1947.
Passenger train services between the two countries were suspended after the 1965 war between India and Pakistan, when the territory now known as Bangladesh comprised the Pakistan’s eastern province.
East Pakistan later became independent Bangladesh in 1971.
Nearly 30 years after Bangladesh’s independence, the Indo-Bangla Petrapole-Benapole rail corridor was re-opened in January 2001 for goods traffic.
According to officials, these trains are now running on a regular basis.
On April 14, 2008, the passenger train service between Dhaka and Kolkata — the Maitree Express — was launched.
Source:RailNews
Source:RailNews
Thursday, 6 April 2017
ODA Loans
08:09
JICA ODA LOAN AGREEMENTS WITH INDIA FOR SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
JICA ODA LOAN AGREEMENTS WITH INDIA FOR SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Signing of Japanese ODA Loan Agreements with India: Comprehensive support for further socioeconomic development in India over a wide range of fields
signing ceremony
On March 31, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed loan agreements with the Government of India in Delhi to provide Japanese ODA loans of up to a total of 308.762 billion yen for eight projects.
Since the 2000s, there has been much attention on the economic growth trends of India, one of the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Although the global Great Recession that began in 2008 caused a deceleration of economic growth, since the establishment of the Modi administration in 2014 with its focus on economics, India’s economy has grown rapidly at a rate exceeding seven percent.
This growth notwithstanding, comprehensive support is needed to improve the state of poverty in India, where about 30 percent of the world’s poor live.
A summary of the eight Japanese ODA projects provided by the loan agreements is as follows:
(1) North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project (Phase 1) (I) (loan amount: 67.17 billion yen)
(2) Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project (I) (loan amount: 144.795 billion yen)
(3) Delhi Eastern Peripheral Expressway Intelligent Transport Systems Installation Project (loan amount: 6.87 billion yen)
(4) Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project (I) (loan amount: 13.725 billion yen)
(5) Chennai Metro Project (V) (loan amount: 33.321 billion yen)
(6) Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project (Phase 2) (loan amount: 14.512 billion yen)
(7) Nagaland Forest Management Project (loan amount: 6.224 billion yen)
(8) Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Program (Phase 2) (loan amount: 22.145 billion yen)
Details for the projects are provided below.
(1)North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project (Phase 1) (I)
(a) Objective and Summary
Including measures such as road widening, paving and slope stabilization, the project will improve National Highways 51 and 54 in North Eastern Region of India, which is adjacent to Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan. These improvements will boost the level of connectivity between the target region and other areas inside and outside of India, thereby contributing to economic development in the region.
(b) Background and Necessity
Along with a population increase and economic growth in recent years, there has been a growing demand for road improvements to handle domestic goods distribution, but road improvement and transportation efficiency measures tend to fall behind demand. National road improvements especially in mountainous areas lag behind improvements in flat regions for financial reasons and due to the technical challenges involved. The North Eastern Region, which is the target area of the project, in particular faces challenges such as a higher poverty rate than the average for India overall, steep terrain with hills and mountains that hinder road improvement efforts, a lack of road widening and slope stabilization measures, and broken pavement. The region also receives a large amount of rainfall, and landslides due to the steep terrain frequently make the roads impassable in the rainy season, hindering the flow of goods, and such road blockages are an impediment to economic development in the North Eastern Region. In addition to hindering the stable supply of goods, the delay in road improvements also impedes access to medical and educational facilities, and the existing national roads do not function adequately as a lifeline for the region. Improving the road network is a priority to ensure that local residents have a lifeline and for economic development.
(c) Executing Agency
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited
Address: Third Floor, PTI Building, 4 Parliament Street, New Delhi, 110001, India
Phone: +91-11-2346-1600, fax: +91-11-2371-1103
(d) Planned Implementation Schedule
1.Completion of project: June 2022 – when the roads are put into service
2.Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including construction supervision): April 2017
3.Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: Package 9: From Km 85.000 to Km 94.226, From Km 101.000 to Km 143.280, NH51
Planned release date: September 2017
(2)Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project (I)
(a) Objective and Summary
The project will construct a sea bridge (three lanes each way, total distance of approximately 22 kilometers) in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Maharashtra, in West India, over Mumbai Harbour to connect central Mumbai with Navi Mumbai on the opposing shore. The bridge will improve the connectivity to Navi Mumbai and other local areas where large-scale urban development is underway, thereby contributing to the economic development of the MMR.
(b) Background and Necessity
The MMR of Maharashtra in West India is one of the largest metropolitan areas of the country with a population of about 18.41 million people (2011 national census). On the tip of a peninsula is Mumbai proper, the center of the MMR and one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Because of the geographical and population constraints, traffic congestion is a severe impediment to MMR regional economic development. Given the scarcity of available land for development at the tip of the peninsula, the State Government of Maharashtra is promoting urban development in Navi Mumbai on the opposing coast by enticing industries to relocate there from Mumbai. Other urban development measures include expanding Jawaharlal Nehru Port, constructing Navi Mumbai International Airport and developing a special economic zone. These developments notwithstanding, the only transportation means between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai are a circuitous road around the bay and a single rail line, and it is therefore essential to improve the connectivity between the two urban areas for regional economic development in the MMR.
(c) Executing Agency
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
Address: Bandra – Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai, 400051, India
Phone: +91-22-2659-0001~0004/2659-4000, fax: +91-22-2659-1264
(d) Planned Implementation Schedule
1. Completion of project: June 2021 – when the facilities are put into service
2. Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including construction supervision): Consultants have already been hired
3. Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: Package 1: Construction of a 10.380 km long bridge section (CH 0+000 – CH 10+380) across the Mumbai Bay including Sewri Interchange
Planned release date: January 2017 (already released)
(3)Delhi Eastern Peripheral Expressway Intelligent Transport Systems Installation Project
(a) Objective and Summary
By installing intelligent traffic systems (ITS) on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, currently under construction in the Delhi Metropolitan Area by the National Highways Authority of India, this project will create an efficient traffic system capable of handling the increasing need for transportation, thereby promoting economic development in the Delhi Metropolitan Area.
(b) Background and Necessity
Despite a high demand for the transportation of goods whose final destination is not inside Delhi, there are inadequate loop roads on the outskirts of the city. Large trucks and other freight vehicles therefore pour into Delhi, causing traffic congestion and environmental problems such as noise and air pollution, and the number of traffic accidents and other problems are on the rise. Although the National Highways Authority of India is advancing the construction of loop roads and other measures, including road widening projects, due to the high population concentration and restrictions on available land, such traffic and environmental problems will not likely be solved with merely the construction of roads. It is therefore necessary to increase the traffic efficiency with a greater road capacity through the use of an ITS which includes an automatic toll collection system to shorten toll booth lines, and a traffic control system to reduce accidents and shorten the time for handling accidents when they occur.
(c) Executing Agency
National Highways Authority of India
Address: G-5&6, Sector-10, Dwarka, New Delhi, 110075, India
Phone: +91-11-2507-4100/2507-4200, fax: +91-11-2507-6507
(d) Planned Implementation Schedule
1. Completion of project: April 2019 – when the facilities are put into service
2. Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including construction supervision): April 2017
3. Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: ITS
Planned release date: April 2017
(4)Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project (I)
(a) Objective and Summary
The project will rehabilitate deteriorating irrigation facilities and provide agricultural technical support based on the needs of domestic market with consideration for participation of both male and female farmers to improve water use efficiency and agricultural productivity, thereby improving farmers’ livelihoods and promoting gender mainstreaming in the agriculture and irrigation sectors in Rajasthan State.
(b) Background and Necessity
Located in Northwest India, Rajasthan State (population: 68.55 million people) is poor in water resources, receiving only about half the rainfall (about 580 millimeters as a 100-year average, and as low as 320 millimeters in the arid region near the Thar Desert in the west part of Rajasthan) as the national average. There are currently more than 3,900 irrigation facilities for agricultural production installed in the state for efficient utilization of these limited water resources. However, many of those facilities have seepage and deterioration problems due to aging infrastructure and improper maintenance and management.
In rural areas of Rajasthan, not only men but women also play pivotal roles in performing agricultural work and maintaining irrigation facilities. Nevertheless, there are barriers to female farmers participating in training for the improvement of agricultural techniques and skills in maintaining irrigation facilities, and barriers also exist against female farmers taking part in the decision-making processes of water user associations.
It is therefore necessary to improve water use efficiency and agricultural productivity through the rehabilitation of existing irrigation facilities to improve water distribution, strengthen skills for the operation and maintenance of irrigation facilities, and provide agricultural technical support, while encouraging female farmers to participate in training and water user association activities.
(c) Executing Agency
Water Resources Department, Government of Rajasthan
Address: Secretariat, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302005, India
Phone: +91-14-1222-7459, fax: +91-14-1222-7459
(d) Planned Implementation Schedule
1.Completion of project: March 2025 – with completion of all project activities
2.Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including construction supervision): April 2017
3.Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: Domestic procurement is scheduled but international competitive bidding for procurement is not planned for this project.
(5)Chennai Metro Project (V)
(a)Objective and Summary
The project will construct a mass rapid transit system in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, in Tamil Nadu State, in South India to meet the rising demand for transportation, thereby contributing to local economic development and an improved urban environment through mitigating traffic congestion and reducing air pollution, noise and the like.
(b)Background and Necessity
With 8.7 million people (2011), the Chennai Metropolitan Area is the fourth most populous metropolitan area after Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, and is the political and economic core for South India. Although Indian Railways operates Chennai Suburban Railway, which connects the city center of Chennai and the suburbs, and Chennai Metro, which serves Chennai and the surrounding areas, there is a continued reliance on roads for transportation because the transportation network was not formed to meet transportation needs and is inconvenient for travel within the city. Moreover, there has been rapid growth in the number of registered vehicles with the rising population and income in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, which, combined with a rapid dispersion and expansion of commercial and industrial districts, has resulted in severe traffic congestion, bringing the average driving speed within the city to a mere 17 kilometers per hour. As with other large cities in India, the economic loss caused by such congestion and the air and noise pollution caused by automobiles have become problems. As the population and the number of vehicles are expected to continue to increase with economic growth, providing a mass rapid transit system capable of meeting the transportation needs and reducing pollution is a priority.
(c)Executing Agency
Chennai Metro Rail Limited
Address: Poonamallee High Road, Koyambedu, Chennai, 600107, India
Phone: +91-44-2379-2149, fax: +91-44-2379-2200
(d)Planned Implementation Schedule
1.Completion of project: March 2020 – when all of the facilities are put into service
2.Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including construction supervision): Consultants have already been hired
3.Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: Already contracted
(6)Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project (Phase 2)
(a) Objective and Summary
The project will enhance the forest ecosystem along with sustainable livelihood of local people by improving sustainable forest management, sustainable biodiversity conservation and community development, thereby contributing to harmonization between environmental conservation and socio-economic development in the project area in Odisha.
(b) Background and Necessity
Located in East India, Odisha (population: 42 million people as of 2011) is a state with abundant forests that cover more than 50,000 square kilometers in area, 32.3 percent (2015) of the total land area in the state. Approximately 40 percent of the forest area is an open forest area [1] with sparse trees due to excess cutting, and the deteriorating quality of the forests is a challenge. An additional issue is that the poverty rate of Odisha is 32 percent (2011), greatly higher than the national rate of 22 percent (2011).
Taking these circumstances into account, JICA implemented the Orissa Forestry Sector Development Project (2006–2015) [2], which was funded with a Japanese ODA loan and which adopted a joint forest management approach that brought the government and residents together to manage forests. Focused primarily on the Joint Forest Management Committee, the project supported activities such as afforestation and livelihood improvements, and, as a result, sustainable improvements in forest resource use have been confirmed in the project target area. Nevertheless, a large portion of the forest composition remains woodlands, and the poverty among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes that reside primarily in forest areas remains severe. A continued approach to these challenges is needed.
1:An open forest is defined as having a canopy density of branches and leaves to the covered ground when viewed from above of at least 10 percent and less than 40 percent.
2:When the project began in 2006, the name of the state was Orissa, but it was changed to Odisha in 2011.
(c) Executing Agencies
Forest and Environment Department, Government of Odisha
Odisha Forestry Sector Development Society
Address: SFTRI, Campus, At/P.O. Ghatikia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751003, India
Phone: +91-67-4238-6084, fax: +91-67-4238-6085
Note: contact the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Society as noted above for inquiries about this project.
(d) Planned Implementation Schedule
1.Completion of project: March 2027 – with completion of all activities
2.Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including project management): April 2017
3.Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: International competitive bidding for construction is not planned for this project.
(7) Nagaland Forest Management Project
(a) Objective and Summary
The project will restore forests in the lands under shifting cultivation in Nagaland in Northeast India, and provide livelihoods means other than shifting cultivation for local residents to contribute to sustainable forest environment conservation and improved livelihoods of local residents.
(b) Background and Necessity
Nagaland, a state in Northeast India, has abundant forest resources covering more than 78.1 percent (2015) of the land area, and more than 70 percent of the population (1.98 million people) live in rural villages, leading lives dependant on agriculture and forest resources. In particular, lands that have been traditionally cultivated by shifting cultivation in the state are the primary form of agriculture, providing more than 60 percent of the food for the state.
Although the shifting cultivation conventionally left forestland fallow for 10 to 12 years, allowing the land to retain its fertility and its water, a drop in the volume of cultivated land due to a decrease in the agricultural working population in recent years combined with over cultivation making up for lowered crop productivity and other factors have shortened the fallow period, causing a drop in the fertility and water retention on agricultural land. This has resulted in a vicious cycle in which crop productivity drops and the scale of the swidden agriculture must then be increased as new farmland is sought, making forest conservation and ensuring a livelihood means other than swidden agriculture challenges.
(c) Executing Agency
Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Nagaland
Address: Upper Forest Colony, Kohima, Nagaland, 797001, India
Phone: +91-37-0224-4227, fax: +91-37-0224-4227
(d) Planned Implementation Schedule
1. Completion of project: March 2027 – with completion of all activities
2. Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including project management): April 2017
3. Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: International competitive bidding for construction is not planned for this project.
(8) Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Program (Phase 2)
(a) Objective and Summary
The program will advance private investment, encourage the improvement of policies and systems for promoting industry and advance the quick realization of infrastructure, including roads, power and water services in Tamil Nadu in Southeast India. These initiatives will improve the investment environment in the state, contributing to increased foreign direct investment there.
(b) Background and Necessity
Located in the southeastern part of India, Tamil Nadu is on the sea lane to Southeast Asia, and due to the state’s abundant labor force and coherent policies for attracting foreign capital, the number of Japanese and other foreign companies expanding to Tamil Nadu has been on the increase, particularly in the two-wheel and four-wheel vehicle industries. As the state is a target area for the Chennai Bangalore Industrial Corridor (an industrial cluster region conceived and planned by the Governments of Japan and India for general regional development through public-private cooperation) and a key area for industrial revitalization, there is a demand for investment environment improvements.
The State Government of Tamil Nadu is not only aggressively advancing investment enticements but also policies for improving the in-state investment environment. For infrastructure, 1.35 trillion rupees (approximately 10 percent of the state’s gross domestic product) has been allocated, and various policies are being planned and implemented toward the utilization of private funds, including the establishment of an investment fund.
The latest business environment ranking (2016) from the Government of India places Tamil Nadu only in the middle of the country’s states, and further improving the investment environment in terms of organization and infrastructure is a priority.
The program is positioned to further improve the investment environment and infrastructure developed through the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Program, funded by a Japanese ODA loan completed in March 2016, and it is expected that with these measures the efforts toward a better investment environment by the government of Tamil Nadu will move a step forward.
(c) Executing Agency
Finance Department, Government of Tamil Nadu
Address: Secretariat, Chennai, 600009, Tamil Nadu, India
Phone: + 91-44-2566-5566
(d) Planned Implementation Schedule
1. Completion of project: June 2019 – with completion of the loan disbursement
2. Issuing of letters of invitation for consulting services (including project supervision): No hiring of consultants is planned for this project.
3. Tender announcement of initial procurement package for international competitive bidding on project construction: International competitive bidding for construction is not planned for this project.
Source:JICA
Friday, 3 February 2017
UNESCO
07:20
INDIA INNOVATIVE INDEX FOR RANKING LAUNCHED
INDIA INNOVATIVE INDEX FOR RANKING LAUNCHED
Amitabh Kant launches India Innovation Index A joint initiative of NITI Aayog, DIPP and CII States will be ranked on innovations from 2017
To make India an innovation-driven economy, NITI Aayog, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) together launched a mega initiative “India Innovation Index” that will rank states on Innovations through country’s first online innovation index portal that will capture data on innovation from all Indian states on innovation and regularly update it in real time.
The India Innovation Index Framework will be structured based on the best practices followed in Global Innovation Index (GII) indicators and additionally by adding India-centric parameters those truly reflect the Indian innovation ecosystem. This initiative will be the point of reference for all international agencies to collect India’s up to date data points for global indices and analytic.
Inaugurating the portal, Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog said, “This portal will be a first-of-its-kind online platform where Global Innovation Index indicators and India–centric data from various states will be coalesced and disseminated and updated periodically. This will be a one-stop data warehouse and will track progress on each indicator at the National level and the State level on real-time basis. The access to this portal will be hosted on the NITI Aayog website, and NITI Aayog will update this data periodically.”
Mr. Kant said, “I would like to congratulate Confederation of Indian Industry for creating the Global Innovation Index a decade ago and the World Intellectual Property, Cornell University for working together to further develop it and make it a global consulting document for policymakers around the world.”
Data collated on this portal will not only be used to ameliorate current data gaps w.r.t the GII, but be the prime source for the India Innovation Index, which will be jointly developed by NITI Aayog, DIPP and CII, in consultation with World Economic Forum, the World Intellectual Property Organization, Cornell University, OECD, UNIDO, ILO, UNESCO, ITU and others with the objective to rank Indian states as per their innovation prowess and provide impetus to them to build their respective innovation ecosystems and spur the innovation spirit among institutions and people.
The Global Innovation Index (GII), co-published by World-Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD with CII as a Knowledge Partner since inception, has been ranking world economies including India since 2007 according to their innovation capabilities and outcomes using 82 indicators among a host of other important parameters. It has established itself as both a leading reference on innovation and a ‘tool for action’ for policy makers.
India currently ranks 66th out of 128 countries on the Global innovation Index (GII) 2016. To improve India’s rank in GII and other international indices, NITI Aayog jointly with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), organized the Global Innovation Index – India Roundtable on 31st January in the capital.
Mr. Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Government of India said, “GII gives us an opportunity to look at innovation and to rethink about our progress. This also gives an opportunity to compare with the best in the world, to look at best practices around and then learn from them. DIPP has formed a taskforce on innovation with representation from industry, academia and government, through this taskforce we are trying to improve our GII ranking.”
Speaking at the inaugural session, Mr. Ratan P. Watal, Principal Adviser, NITI Aayog said, “Regulation, fiscal incentives and R&D plays a major role in driving innovation. A lot of money is provided for R&D but unfortunately R&D money goes in silos within various government departments giving no result. Scientific departments, departments which deal with such budgets and CII have to come together and work towards it”.
The event was a first-of-its-kindintensiveconsultation exercise conducted by the government to solicit inputs from key stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem in India and abroad such as Ministry of Commerce, Department of Science & Technology, TRAI and top global agencies such as WIPO, Cornell University, World Economic Forum, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, International Telecommunications Union, International Labour Organisation to identify and understand issues and challenges related to it. This exercise was aimed at addressing India's data gaps by adopting international methodologies on critical innovation indicators at the input and output side.
Source:PIBNEWS
Friday, 20 January 2017
India
19:12
EASTERN RAILWAY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CRICKET MATCH VIEWERS
EASTERN RAILWAY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CRICKET MATCH VIEWERS
20-01-2017
Press Release : ER’S SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CRICKET MATCH VIEWERS
EASTERN RAILWAY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CRICKET MATCH VIEWERS
Kolkata, January 20, 2017
To facilitate the viewers for returning to their destinations after the 3rd One Day International (Day/Night) Cricket Match between India and England to be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 22nd January, 2017, Howrah Division has arranged to provide provisional stoppage of 53049 Howrah – Mokama Passenger at BOINCHI and MEMARI stations on 22.1.2017. The train leaves Howrah station at 23.10 hrs.
Source:Eastern Railway
Wednesday, 26 October 2016
railway projects
16:11
Alstom’s plant closure not to impact railways project: French Minister
Alstom’s plant closure not to impact railways project: French Minister
'Rafale deal will pave the way for the strengthening of France-India technological and industrial cooperation'
Alstom’s decision to stop production at a plant in Belfort due to poor demand will not impact its India operations, French minister of State for Industry, Christophe Sirugue said in an interview.
Alstom’s India operations will include the implementation of a more than a €3 billion contract it bagged in November 2015 to supply Indian Railways 800 freight electric locomotives and carry out the related long-term maintenance.
Following Alstom’s recent plan to halt output at Belfort plant, the French government, in a controversial move, had agreed to purchase 15 high-speed trains from the rail transport major to protect around 400 jobs, months ahead of the national polls. The French state holds around 20 per cent stake in the multinational company.
“Alstom and the French government had recently held talks on the future of Belfort site, and more generally on the situation of Alstom’s different sites in France.” Mr. Sirugue told The Hindu.
“The government, Alstom and stakeholders elaborated a joint plan which will preserve Alstom’s strong technological expertise on several segments of the railway market, in particular locomotives. Therefore, those talks will have no impact on Alstom’s operations in India, including the (Indian Railways) contract.”
The €7.87 billion deal for purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft by India will pave the way for the strengthening of France-India technological and industrial cooperation, he said.
Source:The Hindu
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Sunday, 28 August 2016
MOU
06:31
China’s largest train maker launches India ops with Haryana factory
China’s largest train maker launches India ops with Haryana factory
China’s biggest high-speed train and railway equipment maker announced that its first joint venture in India has started operations over the weekend in Haryana, in an indication that Sino-India cooperation in the railways sector was poised to take off.
It is for the first time that the Beijing-based China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) – a mammoth state-owned enterprise (SOE) in China with more than 175,000 employees – was setting up a joint venture in south Asia.
A subsidiary of the company has supplied subway trains for the Rio De Janeiro Olympics.
Its first plant in North America started operations in September 2015 in Massachusetts.
The Sino-India joint venture, expected to manufacture and repair locomotive engines, is being called the CRRC Pioneer (India) Electric Company and has been set up in the Bavo Industrial sector in Haryana, on the New Delhi and Mumbai industrial corridor.
“Total investment is $ 63.4 million and the Chinese side holds 51% of the share,” the CRRC said in a statement.
“It will also provide technology support to India’s rail system, and supply electric transmission systems to oil drilling, wind power generation and mining equipment making in India,” the statement said.
“It is the first time for the company to open a plant in south Asia where one of the world’s most comprehensive rail system spans. CRRC is also the first foreign company to set up assembly line of rail transportation equipment in India after PM Narendra Modi unveiled his ambitious ‘Made in India’ campaign in 2014,” it added.
The Chinese company has been present in the Indian market since 2007, supplying subway trains, engines and other equipment.
It will, however, be the first time that CRRC begins manufacturing in India.
“Given more than 60,000 kilometres of railways in India, it is far from enough to build a single locomotive engine plant in India,” company vice-president Yu Weiping said.
“CRRC will build more plants able to produce trains, locomotive traction systems and other key parts in India,” he added.
CRRC Corporation was formed in 2015 following a merger between China CNR Corporation Limited and CSR Corporation Limited and has since focussed on foreign markets.
In March, the Delhi Metro Rail Corp and CRRC Nanjing signed a Memorandum of Understanding for supply of 19 four-car train sets for the Noida metro.
Source:Hindustan Times
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Transportation of goods
07:39
APL Logistics brings double-stack Container Train service to India
APL Logistics brings double-stack Container Train service to India
Chennai: APL Logistics, a unit of the Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, has extended its famous double-stack container train service — that help customers load double the volume of cargo in a single voyage — to India.
APL (American Presidential Lines) pioneered the concept in early 1984 in US domestic rail operations.
APL IndiaLinx, the rail operations arm of APL Logistics in India, recently stacked 90 forty-foot boxes two-high on a train from Mundra port for an inland container rail terminal at Kishangarh, near Delhi, according to a company official from Singapore.
The double-stacked train operation followed the Indian Railways’ recent decision to allow stacked train access along this rail corridor. This was part of the Railways’ bigger project to provide a freight-dedicated network of railroads with double-stack train access connecting key gateway ports and major North Indian industrial centres before end 2016.
APL IndiaLinx plans to expand its stacked train service network as more rail corridors are allowed double-stack access, the official said without giving a deadline. In 2006 the company was granted the rail operating licence. It owns and operates 18 weekly rail services between inland container rail terminals in northern India and the gateway ports on India’s west coast.
India Infrastructure and Logistics Private Ltd was set up in 2006 as a joint-venture between APL and Hindustan Infrastructure Projects & Engineering Private Ltd to provide rail-based container transportation and related logistics in India. Its service is marketed under the brand APL IndiaLinx.
BENEFITS
When a customer has a huge volume of freight to move between two points, using trains offer traffic and environmental benefits over trucks. With double-stack trains, these benefits are even greater.
With the container boxes stacked two-high, a double-stack train can potentially double the capacity in a train run. This effectively allows the company to move boxes out of the port area at a faster velocity in each train run, thereby easing congestion.
In fact, it also frees up the highways for trucks to move cargoes into other locations not served by rail or that do not have sufficient capacity or distance to justify rail movement. The use of double-stack trains also allow to make fewer train trips. This means reduction in fuel and emission, said the official.
In the US, double-stack trains run regularly over an intricate rail network providing time-predictable and efficient connectivity between the coastal terminals, manufacturing and consumption centres inland, the official said.
Source:RailNews
Thursday, 11 February 2016
Transportation of goods
07:43
India's foreign investment into Australia is worth $11 billion.
India's foreign investment into Australia is worth $11 billion.
Australia hopeful of securing free-trade agreement with India: Minister
MELBOURNE: Australia is hopeful of securing a free-trade agreement with India "sometime this year", trade and investment minister said today after the country signed the historic Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement with 11 other nations.
Andrew Robb, with his counterparts from 11 other nations signed the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) deal in Auckland in New Zealand.
He said the agreement brings 'enormous promise' across both traditional areas of trade and investment and so-called 21st century areas like e-commerce and increasingly important global value chains.
"The tariff cuts will deliver material gains for our exporters across the board and place downward pressure on the cost of imported goods for households and businesses, but the benefits that will flow from the creation of a more seamless trading environment are not well understood," Robb said.
The minister expressed hope of securing a free trade agreement (FTA) with India 'sometimes this year', a local TV channel reported.
He said "there are some quite sensitive issues but we are making good progress," the report said.
According to a feasibility study conducted by both the countries jointly, the comprehensive FTA is likely to result in India gaining between 0.15 and 1.14 per cent of its GDP, while Australia would end up with the gains between 0.23 and 1.17 per cent of its GDP.
The two-way trade between India and Australia stood at $12.12 billion in 2014-15.
India's foreign investment into Australia is worth $11 billion. While, Australia has invested only $649.37 million during April 2000 and January 2015 in India.
Robb further said the TPP would see the elimination of 98 per cent of tariffs among the 12 states.
"The tariff cuts will deliver material gains for our exporters across the board and place downward pressure on the cost of imported goods for households and businesses, but the benefits that will flow from the creation of a more seamless trading environment are not well understood," he said.
"The embrace of paperless trading, streamlined customs procedures and trading rules, assistance for SMEs, more seamless data flows and greater flexibility with data storage, are all features of the TPP," he added.
The agreement also contains provisions to help stimulate new investment and as experience shows, when you deepen trading relations increased investment inevitably follows, he said.
The US-led TPP agreement sets in place common rules for labour, the environment and for the first time in a trade treaty, rules to combat bribery and corruption. It will also ensure private companies and businesses are able to effectively compete against State Owned Enterprises.
Friday, 23 October 2015
Narendra Modi
08:57
Japan offers Loan to India’s $15 billion Bullet Train in edge over China
Japan offers Loan to India’s $15 billion Bullet Train in edge over China
Japan has offered to finance India’s first bullet train, estimated to cost $15 billion, at an interest rate of less than 1 percent, officials said, stealing a march on China, which is bidding for other projects on the world’s fourth-largest network.
Tokyo was picked to assess the feasibility of building the 505-kilometre corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, and concluded it would be technically and financially viable.
The project to build and supply the route will be put out to tender, but offering finance makes Japan the clear front runner.
Last month China won the contract to assess the feasibility of a high-speed train between Delhi and Mumbai, a 1,200-km route estimated to cost twice as much. No loan has yet been offered.
Japan’s decision to give virtually free finance for Modi’s pet programme is part of its broader push back against China’s involvement in infrastructure development in South Asia over the past several years. Tokyo’s push in India comes just weeks after it lost out to China on the contract to build Indonesia’s first fast-train link.
Beijing offered $5 billion in loans without asking for guarantees, an Indonesian official said, ending a months-long battle to build the line linking Jakarta with the textile hub of Bandung.
India’s cabinet will take a decision on the Japanese proposal over the next few weeks, an Indian railway official said
“There are several (players) offering the high-speed technology. But technology and funding together, we only have one offer. That is the Japanese,” said A.K.Mital, the Chairman of the Indian Railway Board, which manages the network.
The two projects are part of a ‘Diamond Qaudrilateral’ of high speed trains over 10,000 km of track that India wants to set up connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
Japan has offered to meet 80 percent of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project cost, on condition that India buys 30 percent of equipment including the coaches and locomotives from Japanese firms, officials said.
Japan’s International Cooperation Agency, which led the feasibility survey, said the journey time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad would be cut to two hours from seven. The route will require 11 new tunnels including one undersea near Mumbai.
“What complicates the process is Japanese linking funding to use of their technology. There must be tech transfer,” said Mital.
JICA declined to comment on the details of its offer. “The report has already been handed over to India, and the Indian government is now in the process of making a consideration,” a spokeswoman said.
Toshihiro Yamakoshi, counsellor in the economic section of the Japanese embassy, said Japanese companies were keen to collaborate with their Indian counterparts on the rail project as part of Modi’s Make-in-India programme. He said it was too early to provide details of the cooperation.
Tokyo’s push in India comes just weeks after it lost out to China on the contract to build Indonesia’s first fast-train link.
Beijing offered $5 billion in loans without asking for guarantees, an Indonesian official said, ending a months-long battle to build the line linking Jakarta with the textile hub of Bandung.
Japan’s NHK broadcaster quoted Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii as saying that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had instructed him to step up exports of transport systems to India and Southeast Asia.
“It is very regrettable that a high-speed railway project in Indonesia was awarded to China,” he said.
China won the Delhi-Mumbai survey after securing clearance from Indian security agencies long worried about China’s involvement in Indian infrastructure.
The two neighbours fought a war in 1962 over a border dispute that remains unresolved, though trade between them is booming.
India’s cabinet will take a decision on the Japanese proposal over the next few weeks, an Indian railway official said. He said there were lingering concerns about whether the billions of dollars required for high-speed rail might be more usefully spent in modernising the railway system.
“There is a lot of money involved in this. The different departments are weighing the implications. Should we be committing all our resources to a single high-speed line,” the railway official said on condition of anonymity.”
“The railways have not attempted anything as big as this before in terms of costs,” the official said.
India’s rickety state-controlled rail system, which moves 23 million people a day, has a poor safety record and is in desperate need of funds to modernise it.
The average speed of trains is 54km/hour, and rail experts have argued that the priority ought to be to improve the speed and safety on existing trains and routes.
Tuesday, 13 October 2015
Shinkansen development
12:30
Japanese firms step up Multi-Dimensional approach in India’s HSR Plans & Output
Japanese firms step up Multi-Dimensional approach in India’s HSR Plans & Output
Indian and Japan Government teams are working for past 5 to 6 years towards implementing this Superfast Shinkansen trains in India to provide extremely efficient time and energy saving along with security and safety for passengers.
Many Japanese firms who are notable for Super-fast trains in Japan; have started bidding for this project funding and also have started approaching the Japanese agencies in identifying to sell their equipment’s or services for India bullet train plan. Not only the firms that are pitching for this project; along with this project there is industrial corridor planned in which zones are expected to be developed. In other words multi-dimensional output is expected along with bullet train corridor.
The actual construction work for first ever bullet train line in India is expected to begin in 2017, and expected completion in 2023 and made operational by 2024. The Japan International Cooperation Agency recently submitted the final study report on the feasibility study of the proposed high-speed rail system on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route to the Indian Railways minister, estimating the ambitious project would cost Rs 988,050 million. Japanese government has offered to fund the project at a low interest rate. However, the loan offer comes with the rider that 30 per cent materials for the project would be sourced from Japanese firms.
High Speed Rail network is one of the show piece of any developed country, and it is also considered as mandatory for accelerating growth and sustaining the economy at a speed. The Japan bullet train [Shinkansen]; a super-fast, modern, clean and safe way to travel has been transporting users for over 50 years at an average speed of over 200 mph in Japan. It has become an icon of Japanese culture and a means of transport for millions of people every year. It is nothing but pure engineering beauty.
About 800 Bullet trains per day, are in service. The reliability of Japanese train is such that According to many research reports, the Shinkansen’s average delay from schedule per train is 36 seconds, including delays due to uncontrollable causes, such as natural disasters. With an impressive safety record of 50 years running history, carrying nearly 10 billion passengers, there have been no passenger fatalities despite frequent and heavy earthquakes and typhoons.
While technically every aspect of modernizing the transportation is appreciable by everyone; the cost factor seems to be not welcomed by everyone. Even in Japan; shinkansen ticket pricing is considered as every expensive travel mode if considered to travel less than 2 hours route. There are low cost carriers both train and flight which is far lesser than shinkansen pricing. The Bullet trains either be run on the long distance, medium distance routes, the fact is it will be more expensive than Normal trains or other transportation modes.
There is a view to the consumer cost that is cost of implementing this train line and the impact to the economy. UCLA`s economic analysis of Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train and its impact on the growth of cities raised a question in the report mentioning Construction of Japan’s bullet train did not generate higher economic growth or additional jobs, according to the study.
In comparison with China often it is told that china in way had made its way to achieve the bullet train capability by implementing on its own and implementing bullet train has brought china a new industrial image, while India is nowhere less then implementing on its own when it comes to these hi-fi technologies; the other nations are also in competition to provide technologies to India. China is also one of the country currently conducting feasibility study for a high speed railway in the over 2000 km long New Delhi-Chennai corridor, while Japan is doing the same for Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor.
Whereas India has lots of challenges to overcome in implementing superfast bullet train line; not limited to fencing, passenger pricing and or building entirely new terrain tracks. Many engineers in India who work in the old train lines consider that spending crores of rupees on the bullet train project is an unnecessary expense. Many of these think that this money would be better spent on improving the trains that they already have and expanding the number of train lines.
The good news is most people in India do agree with these new super-fast trains because of all the conveniences they bring and eagerly are waiting for Bullet train riding. India is a fast growing economy and getting from point A to point B needs to become faster and companies need to trust that their employees will get to where they need to be on time and that’s where the Shinkansen trains are best. Despite the challenges that the firms may face; one fact is that it certainly improves in providing job along the corridor as many firms are expected to pop up.
Writer Profile: Junko Nirmala is a Tokyo resident with 16 years of experience in technology and business consulting services mainly focusing on India-Japan Market and cross border related services. Writer can be reached at junkonirmala@gmail.com. The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his/her private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of any publishing media.
