NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is looking after the work of the 508 km-long Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet train project, has said that it has invited bids for the design and construction of Ahmedabad and Sabarmati stations along with 18 km of the viaduct.
“The NHSRCL has invited bids for design and construction of about 18 km of the viaduct between Anand and Sabarmati, including high-speed rail (HSR) stations in Ahmedabad and Sabarmati for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor.
She said that the alignment also has 31 crossing bridges, including six steel truss bridges. Gaur said that in the last few days, the NHSRCL has opened three technical bids covering 64 per cent, about 325 km out of 508 km, of the total Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), popularly known as Bullet train project, including five HSR stations — Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch and Anand/Nadiad — out of the 12 stations”, NHSRCL spokesperson Sushma Gaur said.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor will traverse through Western Railway’s Ahmedabad Junction railway station and shall be integrated with the Saraspur side of the existing Ahmedabad station according to sources.
The Ahmedabad HSR station will be built over the existing railway platform No. 11 and 12. To ensure seamless integration of the Bullet train station with other modes of rail transport, it has designed a user-friendly station layout for Ahmedabad.
“An integrated building for passenger transit is planned on the eastern side of the existing railway station, where passengers will be able to swiftly switch from one mode to another. The integrated building shall provide a connection to Western Railway’s existing foot over bridges to facilitate passenger movement to and from Indian Railways platforms and underground metro station on Saraspur side,” said an official.
The initial deadline to complete the ambitious project was December 2023. The bullet trains are expected to run at 350 km per hour covering the 508-km stretch in about two hours. In comparison, trains currently plying on the route take over seven hours to travel the distance, whereas flights take about an hour.
NHSRCL invites Bids For the development of High-Speed Rail Stations
Football Fever: Kolkata Metro names a station after IFA
KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): A Kolkata Metro railway station adjoining the iconic Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata has been rebranded as Indian Football Association Salt Lake Stadium station on Thursday. The Indian Football Association (IFA), which is the governing body of football in West Bengal, was handed the naming and branding rights of the station by the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC).
After the unveiling of the new station, IFA general secretary Joydeep Mukherjee said, “IFA is always thinking about new ways of promoting its brand. IFA has a huge legacy and it has a big brand that we need to carry forward and we feel that this is a very nice way of highlighting the brand”. He also said that the association will have a kiosk inside the station to promote the brand of IFA.
“This is a result of many months of planning, follow-ups, discussions and meetings. IFA will also have a kiosk inside the metro station. We would like to thank KMRC for extending their full support towards West Bengal football”, he added.
Other than the IFA secretary, IFA president Ajit Banerjee, chairman Subrata Dutta and former footballers like Krishnendu Roy, Manas Bhattacharya, Prasanta Banerjee and current West Bengal state football team’s head coach Ranjan Bhattacharya were present at the ceremony. Interestingly, IFA becomes the first state football association in the country as well as in the world to have a metro station named after them. In England, Arsenal FC has a station named after the club in Highbury, North London.
Kolkata Metro to introduce more trains on its network from today
KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): With the rush of passengers increasing during the festive season, the Kolkata Metro has planned to introduce extra trains starting from today.
“Instead of 122 trains, the Metro will now run 146 trains at an interval of eight minutes. The services will start from 8 am and continue till 9:30 pm from Friday to Saturday. The last trains will leave their stations at 8:30 pm instead of 8:00 pm. Services on Sundays will also be extended from October 18. Instead of 58 trains, there would be 64 trains on Sundays from 10:10 am to 9:30 pm”, said one official.
Each train carries around 400 passengers. The Kolkata Metro resumed its services from September 14 after more than five months of suspension of its services due to lockdown. The services were made available on Sundays from October 4 onwards.
While around 50,000 passengers normally take the Metro every day.
On Friday, over 71,000 commuters availed the Metro services according to different sources at the Kolkata Metro.
High-speed trains of Indian Railways to only have AC coaches
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Indian railways is working on a plan to upgrade all its trains capable of running at a maximum speed of 130 kmph and beyond with special air-conditioned coaches in a bid to upgrade its high-speed network, the railway ministry said on Sunday. There will be no sleeper coaches in these identified trains.
The ministry recently clarified that the decision will only impact high-speed trains and all existing mail and express trains with a maximum speed of up to 110 kmph will continue to ply with sleeper coaches.
“AC coaches become a technical necessity wherever the speed of the train is going to be above 130 kmph. Indian Railways is working on a massive plan to upgrade the railway network to high-speed potential. Tracks on golden quadrilateral and diagonals are being upgraded to cater to the speed of 130 km – 160 km/hour. Non-AC sleeper coaches would be replaced by AC coaches only for such trains which will be running at a maximum speed of 130/160 kmph. Speed potential of some of the corridors has already been upgraded to 130 kmph. Wind and weather factors demand that only certain type of coaches run on higher speed,” an official was stated saying.
At present, most mail and express trains have a maximum speed of 110 kmph. Premium trains like Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Durontos are allowed to operate at 120 kmph on significant parts of the Golden Quadrilateral and Diagonals. The rakes for such trains are fit to operate at 130 kph or above.
Officials added that these new AC coaches will be “economical coaches” similar to AC-3 chair car coaches in Humsafar Trains that have a rationalised fare structure. “It will be ensured that while the price of tickets of modified AC coaches remains very affordable for the passengers, the comfort and conveniences increase manifold and there is a substantial reduction in travel time,” an official said.
buy tadasiva online https://www.mydentalplace.com/wp-content/themes/twentytwelve/inc/en/tadasiva.html no prescription
A prototype of the new AC coach is being made at railways’ production unit at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, and should be ready in a few weeks according to sources. Compared to 72 berths in a sleeper coach, this new AC coach will have 83 berths, but the number of births in a coupe will remain the same as there will be no middle berths between side-upper and side-lower berths. The coaches are being re-designed by moving the electrical units and removing the space reserved for storing blankets and bedsheets since Railways will stop providing them due to the ongoing pandemic.
Three bidders submit bids to construct the first stretch of Agra Metro Rail Project
AGRA (Metro Rail News): The Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (UPMRC) recently unveiled the names of three construction firms who have submitted their bids to construct the first 4-km stretch between Taj East Gate and Taj Mahal Ramp of Agra Metro Rail project under the Contract Package AGCC-01.
UPMRC opened the technical bids of Contract Package AGCC-01 to built three elevated metro stations including viaducts. The bidders include Afcons Infrastructure Ltd., URC Construction Pvt. Ltd. and Sam (India) Builtwell Pvt. Ltd.
The tender was invited in August 2020 and its estimated cost is Rs 290 crore. The scope of work includes the construction of an elevated viaduct and 3 nos. elevated metro stations (viz. Taj East Gate, Basai & Fatehabad Road) including civil, architectural finished, water supply, fire fighting, fire detection, E&M works, and PEB structures on Priority Corridor-1 of Agra Metro Rail project.
The 14.25 km corridor-1 of Agra Metro is supposed to connect Sikandra to Taj East Gate. There will be 14 stations on the network. The proposed PAC depot will serve the trains for this corridor.
Amit Banerjee is appointed as the New Director (Rail and Metro Business) at BEML
BANGALORE (Metro Rail News): Amit Banerjee on Friday assumed charge as the Director (Rail and Metro Business) and Member on the Board of BEML Limited. A graduate in Mechanical Engineering from IIT (BHU), Varanasi, Banerjee had joined BEML as an assistant engineer in 1984, the company said in a statement.
buy fluoxetine online gaetzpharmacy.com/fluoxetine.html no prescription
In his professional career spanning over three decades in BEML, Banerjee has worked in the research and development and manufacturing functions.
His experience involves the design and development of various products like SSEMU, Metro cars, Catenary Maintenance Vehicle, etc.
His team has also received the Raksha Mantri Award for Design Effort towards Design and Development of Austenitic Stainless Steel EMU and Intermediate metro cars for Delhi Metro.
IRCTC to soon resume services of Tejas Express trains
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), a PSU of the Ministry of Railways is going to resume the services of Tejas Express trains for catering to the growing passenger demand due to the festive season. The Lucknow-New Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express trains were suspended from 19 March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“IRCTC has conducted an extensive training programme to educate and train its team of employees of Tejas Trains to manage the operations of the trains and provide services according to the ‘new normal’ amidst Covid-19 pandemic. A Standard Operation Procedure observing Covid-19 protocol has been issued to ensure the safety of the passengers”, said an official aware with the development.
The measures in place are as follows:
1) Every alternate seat will be kept vacant following the Social distancing norms for the initial period.
2) Passengers will not be allowed to exchange their seats once seated.
3) Use of face covers/masks will be mandatory for passengers and staff.
4) All travelers will install “Arogya Setu” app and same shall be shown as and when demanded.
5) Detailed instructions will be given to the passengers at the time of booking of tickets.
6) All the passengers will be provided a Covid-19 protection kit which will contain a bottle of hand sanitizers, one mask, one face shield and one pair of gloves.
7) All the passengers will go through thermal screening and hand sanitization process before entering the coach.
buy prednisone online https://www.ecladent.co.uk/wp-content/themes/twentyseventeen/inc/en/prednisone.html no prescription
8) The coach including pantry areas and lavatories will be thoroughly disinfected at regular intervals.
9) The luggage and baggage of the passengers will be disinfected by a staff deputed for this purpose.
10) Cleaning and regular disinfection of frequently touched surface inside the coach will be done. The service trays and trolleys will also be disinfected.
“The bookings for the trains will be opened on the e-ticketing website of IRCTC www.irctc.co.in and IRCTC Rail Connect App shortly”, said an official.
Union Cabinet reportedly approves 148 km long Bengaluru Suburban rail project
BANGALORE (Metro Rail News): After decades of politics, Bangalore has finally got Sub Urban Railways. The Union Cabinet has recently approved the dedicated suburban railway service for Bengaluru according to different reports.
The Cabinet cleared the long-pending 148km Bengaluru suburban rail project yesterday but no official announcement was made. A ToI report cited sources saying that the rail project was given clearance but no official announcement was made due to the election code of conduct in place for the November 3 Rajarajeshwarinagar by-election. In the press briefing after the Cabinet meeting, Railway minister Piyush Goyal said, “We can’t discuss or give any information (on the project) as the poll code of conduct is in force in Bengaluru.”
The project was mentioned by late Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech for the financial year 2018-2019. The Union government had said that it will cover 20% of the total project cost and the state government will bear 20% of the project cost while the remaining 60% will be raised through external agencies. The cabinet nod comes nearly six months after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had assured that the union government will shortly sanction the funds while addressing reporters in Bengaluru.
Sitharaman had said earlier that the fare of the upcoming suburban transport system would be in sync with the metro rail fare. The Bengaluru suburban rail project will cater to the rising demand of daily commuters putting pressure on the local transport system in the city.
The proposed Bengaluru Suburban Rail corridor will be 148.17 km long and the network will have 57 stations. The rail line will consist of four lines viz. Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna/Bengaluru City-Kempe Gowda International Airport, Baiyappanahalli-Yesvantpur, Kengeri-Whitefield, and Hellalige-Rajanakunte.
According to sources, Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd, an SPV of the railway ministry and Karnataka government, will soon float tenders for civil work.
MMRDA gears up for the resumption of monorail services in Mumbai
MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): Anticipating that the monorail services will have to be started in the coming months, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has started the process and will soon be appointing an agency to carry out sanitisation work.
There is a probability of deployment of sniffer dogs on the network as the MMRDA has recently invited tenders for the deployment of sniffer dogs. There can be some other major developments as well according to sources.
“We have invited tenders for the appointment of an agency that will provide us with 20 sniffer dogs for 17 monorail stations and one depot”, said an MMRDA official.
The MMRDA has not yet made public the specific breed of sniffer dogs but the agency that bags the contract will provide 20 sniffer dog (eight-hour shifts) squads each with one professional handler, 2 kennel unit handlers (12-hour shift), and 2 supervisors ( 12-hour shift ) for a period of 24 months.
With the ongoing pandemic, as and when monorail services start, MMRDA doesn’t want to take any risk and it is ready to take all precautions and provide safe travel to passengers.
buy intagra online https://pridedentaloffice.com/wp-content/themes/twentytwentyone/inc/en/intagra.html no prescription
A tender worth Rs 48 lakh has been invited for sanitisation of the monorail and the company that bags the contract will have to carry out the work for a period of three months. Apart from this, MMRDA has also extended procurement tender for monorail by a month. Since the lockdown monorail services have been shut and authorities have been using this time to carry out maintenance and repair work.
The monorail facilitates the journey from Chembur to Saat Rasta near Mahalaxmi in 45 minutes. It currently takes a frustrating two hours by road, and if travelling by train, commuters must change two trains to reach Mahalaxmi.
Mumbai Metro 3: MMRC completes nearly 100% Breakthrough
MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has said that it is only nine more breakthroughs away from achieving 100% tunnelling for Mumbai Metro 3 project. Once it completes nine more breakthroughs, it will complete the tunnelling. MMRC said that it has achieved 32 breakthroughs, a length of about 48-km out of the total length of 54.5-km.
“MMRC is only nine more breakthroughs away from achieving 100% tunnelling. The remaining nine breakthroughs will be achieved in package Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 6,” the Metro Corporation said in a statement.
Subodh Gupta, Director (Projects), MMRC said that the tunnelling process in Mumbai is extremely challenging as the alignment passes through densely populated parts.
“Tunnelling in Mumbai is extremely challenging as the alignment passes through densely populated and congested parts of the city. In addition, there are high-rise, heritage, and dilapidated buildings; flyovers, metro viaducts, and railway lines in close proximity. The entire alignment passes through rocky strata. To achieve this task 17 TBMs were working simultaneously at one stage”, He said. Recently, MMRC achieved a 32nd breakthrough of the 1.10-km long tunnel from Siddhivinayak north shaft to Dadar Metro Station.
The overall progress of Dadar Metro Station is 61%. Package-4, which consists of Dadar, Siddhivinayak, and Shitladevi Metro Stations, showcases an overall 94% tunnelling progress and 95% of the excavation work.
KMRL completes all major surveys for regenerating canals in Kochi
KOCHI (Metro Rail News): Kochi Metro Rail Limited has completed all the major surveys for the coveted IURWTS (Integrated Urban Regeneration and Water Transport System) project aimed at regenerating the canals in Kochi.
KMRL undertook the project last year on the orders of the state government and awarded the work to Antea Nederland BV (Netherlands) for the development of the concept, master planning and detailed design. KMRL is reviving six major canals in the city named Edapally Canal, Chilavanoor canal, Thevara – Perandoor canal, Thevara canal, Market canal. and Konthuruthy canal.
“KMRL has completed all major surveys within a short span of time. Detailed Project Report has been prepared and submitted for approval to the State Government. We have lined up the course of action including cleaning of canals, rehabilitation of affected persons, shore protection and canal oriented developments, thus bringing life back to the canals in Kochi ” said Alkesh Kumar Sharma, MD, KMRL.
Alkesh Kumar Sharma who is also the Additional Chief Secretary for special projects in the state added that KMRL has big plans for the city. “Through this project, we will bring these canals to the erstwhile glory which shall be reminiscent of the nostalgic past where navigation was possible. KMRL is also looking to develop more lung spaces along the banks of these canals” he said.
KMRL has completed the most advanced LIDAR survey for getting the topographic details and to map the sub drains, which are falling into the canals. It has also completed the Social Impact Assessment Study, water quality studies and Bathymetric Survey.
Geotechnical bore-hole investigation at 56 identified locations for understanding the soil characteristics and lithology along the canals is nearing completion. The major portion of floodplain analysis and water-balancing studies is being done in the Netherlands and the same is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
As the project area falls under the CRZ zone, KMRL had submitted an application before the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and ministry has sanctioned the Terms of Reference for various mandatory clearance to be obtained. Kerala State Pollution Control Board has approved the Consent to Establish (CTE) and wildlife clearance from the forest department is expected shortly. The application for Wetland clearance has been submitted by KMRL to Kochi Corporation.
buy aurogra online https://www.mydentalplace.com/wp-content/themes/twentytwelve/inc/en/aurogra.html no prescription
Land identification and acquisition proposals are also progressing fast. As part of the social upliftments aspects of the project, persons residing along the canals banks will be resettled in a full-fledged housing complex that is being built to accommodate all those homeless. The land has been identified in kakkanad and the acquisition process is progressing fast.
As part of Urban, Regeneration KMRL has plans to implement Canal Oriented development (COD) Projects. The activities included are initial cleaning, widening, deepening to maintain the cross-section for flood mitigation and navigation, and bank protection and regular protective measures.
KMRL is planning to make the canals navigable to the possible extent and it will have intermodal connectivity with the Kochi Metro Rail, Water Metro and the road network. KMRL also envisages on developing water sports facilities, sports complex etc.
Special focus will be given to the development of sewerage systems and their management. Sewage management is addressed by laying primary sewer networks along the canals and the secondary networks to individual households.
L&T emerges as the lowest bidder for Delhi – Meerut RRTS Line’s Package 7
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Larsen & Toubro today emerged as the lowest bidder for the construction of around 12 km long elevated Package 7 of the 82.15 km Delhi – Meerut RRTS Line, after officials from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) opened financial bids submitted by different infrastructure companies.
This section on the main-line with 5 stations consists of 2 disjointed parts on either side of Meerut city and will be connected by the underground Package 8 for which technical bid evaluation is underway.
The work includes the northern end of Shatabdi Nagar to Brahampuri DN Ramp with 1 station at Brahmapuri (approx 2 km) Begumpul UP Ramp to Modipuram with 4 stations at MES Colony, Daurli, Meerut North and Modipuram (approx 10 km)NCRTC had invited tenders for this package in April 2020 with an estimate of $103.72 million (approx. Rs 757.23 crore) with a work completion period of 910 days (2.5 years). Technical bids had been opened in July to reveal 5 bidders.
Tender No: Package 7 – DM/CN/COR-OF/108
Scope of the work includes Construction of elevated viaduct from the end of Shatabdi Nagar Station to Brahmpuri DN ramp and from Begumpul UP Ramp to Modipuram end including Modipuram Depot entry Ramp and 5 elevated stations of Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut RRTS Corridor. 4 out of 5 stations in this package – the ones at Brahmapuri, MES Colony, Daurli and Meerut North – will exclusively serve Meerut’s local metro system and serviced by ten 3-coach Bombardier trains
The details of the bid are as follows :
Firms along with bid values submitted by them:
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd. – Rs. 723.35 crores
Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. – Rs. 736.46 crores
NCC Ltd. – Rs. 749.22 crores
Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Ltd. – Rs. 758.39 crores
DBL – Sam India JV – Rs. 774.82 crores
Indian Railways receives 120 applications in response to private train RFQ
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Firms like L&T, GMR, Welspun are among the 15 companies from which the Railways has received over 100 applications in response to the Request for Qualification (RFQ) for PPP in passenger train operations, according to a statement issued by the ministry. Out of the 15 applicants, 14 are Indian firms while one is a Spanish company. The firms which have made the applications for the clusters include Arvind Aviation, BHEL, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarrriles, S.A, Cube Highways and Infrastructure III Pvt Ltd, Gateway Rail freight Limited, GMR Highways Limited, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited, IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited.
The others are L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited, Malempati Power Private Limited, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, PNC Infratech Ltd, RK Associates and Hoteliers Pvt Ltd, Sainath Sales and Services Pvt Ltd and Welspun Enterprises Limited. In all 120 applications have been received for the 12 clusters, from 15 applicant firms,” the ministry said in a statement. It may be noted that Ministry of Railways (MOR) had invited Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for private participation in the operation of passenger train services over 12 Clusters comprising 140 Origin Destination pair of routes through the introduction of 151 modern trains to increase high-quality trains operated on the network, it said.
This includes 12 applications each for the Delhi 2 and Mumbai 2 clusters, 11 for the Bengaluru cluster, 10 applications each for the Prayagraj, Secunderabad, Jaipur and Delhi 1 cluster and nine each for Chandigarh, Howrah, Patna, Mumbai 1 and Chennai. The Railways had invited RFQs for private participation in the operation of passenger train services over 12 clusters comprising 140 pairs of routes through the introduction of 151 modern trains on the network. This is the first major initiative to attract private investment for running passenger trains over the Indian Railway network. The project is expected to entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore. The private entities for undertaking the project would be selected through a transparent two-stage competitive bidding process comprising of Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP).
“The RFQs for 12 clusters were published on July 1. MoR will expeditiously complete the evaluation of applications and RFP documents will be made available to the qualified applicants by November 2020. MoR has targeted to award all the clusters by February 2021,” it said.
Union Cabinet approves Rs 8,575 crores for Kolkata East-West Corridor Metro project
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the railway ministry’s proposal to construct the Kolkata East-West Metro Corridor project at a revised cost of ₹8,575 crores. The metro project is expected to ease congestion, improve urban connectivity and offer cleaner mobility solution for daily commuters in Kolkata. The total length of the route under the project is 16.6 km, comprising 12 stations. This will include the construction of a metro corridor between Salt Lake Sector-V to Howrah Maidan in West Bengal.
The project is being implemented by a special purpose vehicle Kolkata Metro Rail Corp. Ltd set up under the Ministry of Railways. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that the project was approved 12 years ago, with an investment cost of ₹4,000 crores. However, there were delays and the project was stuck due to land acquisition and other issues. The project work started afresh in 2015, in coordination with the state and the central government.
“This project will take mass rapid transport to new heights in Kolkata and will be completed in 14-15 months,” Goyal said in a virtual briefing. An official statement said that the pre-pandemic target for completion of their project was December 2021. “Efforts are being taken to minimise the impact of the pandemic on completion of the project. The project includes immense technological challenges like tunnel below river Ganges which is the 1st transportation tunnel in India under any major river as well as Howrah station, which is one of the deepest metro stations in India,” it said. The trainsets are being made by state-owned by BEML, giving a boost to the government’s vision of a self-reliant India, the minister added.
The project will create transit connectivity between the business district of Kolkata with the industrial city of Howrah in the west and Salt Lake City in the east through a safe, accessible and comfortable mode of public transport.“Since this corridor connects three most important parts of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area. This will connect important landmarks like Howrah, Sealdah, Esplanade and Salt Lake Sector-V which is an IT hub,” the statement said, adding that the project will integrate multiple modes of transport like the metro, suburban railways, ferry and bus transport by constructing interchange hubs.