NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News):Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC), is expecting to earn close to Rs 800 crore from the auction of a prime land parcel in sector 94, near the Okhla bird sanctuary metro station. Noida authority, on Thursday, approved the process of e-auction of the land parcel with a reserved price of Rs 789 crore.
“The land parcel can be used for the development of commercial land use and any other activity permitted in the Master Plan of Noida. Noida authority has approved the e-auction through the revenue department of the authority under the regulations of Noida convention and habitat centre,” said an official. In March 2019, NMRC had issued tender to monetise the land parcel but in December 2019, it wrote to the Noida authority, requesting to facilitate the e-auction. The 44,151 square metre land is next to the existing Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro Station, where realty developer Supertech is executive NCR’s tallest residential building. The reserve price for the auction is Rs 178875 per sq metre. NMRC’s elevated metro line between Noida and Greater Noida is operational from January 2019. “It is acknowledged for successful operationalization of the project, it is essential for the project to be self-sustainable by implementing innovative revenue enhancement options and project structuring among others,” said an NMRC official.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): A detailed project report will be prepared by RITES on the proposed corporatization of Indian Railways’ production units, which will be discussed with the unions in the period of April-June next year. The unions of Indian Railways have opposed the decision of the national transporter to turn its production units into corporate entities, raising concerns about job losses, according to a news report.
Recently, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said that once the DPR by the Rail PSU is ready, the Railways will discuss it with unions and see how it can be taken forward along with ensuring that interests of Indian Railways’ staff are adequately taken care off. According to Mr Yadav, the consultation period will be of two-three months between April-June next year. Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways plans to corporatize the production units which it has claimed will lead to greater efficiency.
These production units include the Integral Coach Factory, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Diesel Locomotive Works, Wheel and Axle Plant, Diesel Modernization Works, Rail Wheel Plant, Modern Coach Factory and Rail Coach Factory. According to the report, even the opposition parties including Congress have opposed these plans. On just three firms bidding for the production of Vande Bharat train sets, the Railway Board Chairman said it was a domestic tender with local content requirement increased to over 75%.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has invited online open e-tenders from eligible applicants for alignment design including aerial LiDAR survey and other infrastructure-related works for Delhi-Amritsar high-speed rail corridor project. The total length of the high-speed rail corridor will be 459 km.
The development of the high-speed rail corridor will reduce the travel time between New Delhi and Amritsar significantly. The last date for the submission of the bids is 28 December 2020 and the bids will be opened on 29 December 2020. Meanwhile, Seventy-two per cent of contracts of the bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be undertaken by domestic firms as part of the railways’ efforts to boost ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, Chairman of the Railway Board V K Yadav said on Friday. Of the estimated cost of ₹1.10 lakh crore for the 508-km-long high-speed rail corridor project, ₹88,000 crores will be given to India as a loan by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“After a very detailed discussion with the Japanese government, we have made 72 per cent of the entire contract value open to Indian contractors which includes all civil engineering work including bridges, under-sea tunnel related contracts, whereas contracts for Japanese contractors are only limited to signal and telecom, initial rolling stock and electrical works,” Mr Yadav said.
“The Railways is going to achieve this objective of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in a big way and the most important thing is that the Railways is developing infrastructure in an integrated manner in such a way that we will be able to take care of traffic requirements till 2050,” he said. The chairman said that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is getting delayed due to land acquisition.
In Gujarat, 90 per cent of land has already been acquired and the remaining 10 per cent will be available by December 31.
. “The Railways is going to achieve this objective of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in a big way and the most important thing is that the Railways is developing infrastructure in an integrated manner in such a way that we will be able to take care of traffic requirements till 2050,” Mr Yadav said
KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): To enhance passenger convenience, the Kolkata Metro has decided to run additional services and extend timings of its services from 7 December. The Metro Railway in the city will now run 204 daily services instead of 190 services from Monday to Saturday starting 7 December.
Taking to Twitter, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways wrote, “People of Kolkata can rejoice as from 7th December, metro to increase services to 204 from Monday to Saturday.” He also wrote, “Further enhancing passenger convenience, there will also be an extension of timings & easier travel with services being available every 7 minutes during peak hours” in a tweet.
The first service will start from both ends i.e. from Dum Dum and Kavi Subhash at 7 am instead of 8 am and from Noapara at 7.09 am instead of 8.09 am. From Monday onwards, the last train service will leave Kavi Subhash and Dum Dum at 21.30 hours instead of 21.00 hours and from Noapara at 21.25 hours instead of 20.55 hours, according to an official statement. Metro rail services will be available in every 7 minutes during morning and evening peak hours.
Senior citizens, ladies and kids below 15 years will not be required to produce e-passes throughout the day. For all other passengers, e-passes will not be required between 7 am and 8.30 am, and 8 pm onwards. However, tokens will not be issued due to the pandemic, and travellers are required to make use of smart cards.
SHIMLA (Metro Rail News): Kalka-Shimla toy train has resumed its service after around seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, passengers are lining up to reach Shimla through the 90-km-long British-era narrow gauge railway track. The resumption of Kalka Shatabdi Express on December 3 has also boosted the train traffic.
Railway officials hope that the rush of passengers will increase in the coming days. Passengers coming directly from Delhi prefer to go to Shimla on the toy train. Tickets for the toy train are available through online booking and at the Kalka railway station.
“The response to the toy train is not like previous years when the situation was normal. Rush has started increasing. It will increase further once there is snowfall in Shimla, which generally occurs around December 25. Last week, 115 seats out of 180 were occupied. Today, at least 50 passengers out of 79, who boarded the toy train, Kalka-Shimla Himalayan Queen, arrived through Shatabdi at Kalka railway station. We are preventing overcrowding in the train”, Kalka station superintendent Gokul Kumar was stated saying.
The toy train departs from Kalka Railway station at 12.10 pm. It reaches Shimla railway station at 5.20 pm. The arrival time of Kalka Shatabdi from Delhi at Kalka railway station is 11.45 am. Kalka-Shimla Himalayan Queen was resumed on October 21. Though it was resumed till November 31, it was extended till December 31 keeping in view the increasing rush and festival season. The train has seven coaches with carrying capacity of at least 180 passengers. The Railway officials maintained that there are certain days when the number of passengers reaches 115. Initially, the number was very low.
The 96-km-long Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge track is the UNESCO-protected site. There are 102 tunnels on the track between Kalka and Shimla. The toy train halts at 18 small stations en route to Shimla and vice-versa.
This move is being seen as a very revolutionary step towards the future of High-Speed rails in India. This will also revolutionize the way and design of the entire public transit system of the country. As per the tender document, a study for building 2365 Km of High-Speed Rail tracks are there in the plan.
The scope of the work includes Carrying out Ridership Study (Traffic Study) for DPR of Various HSR Corridors with a deadline of 180 days under the first bid.
Under the second bid, the Scope of the work includes Data Collection and Associated Survey Works for DPR of Various HSR Corridors which are approximately 2365 km long with a deadline of 180 days.
Currently, Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor is under-construction high-speed rail line connecting the cities of Ahmedabad and India’s economic hub Mumbai. A major development in the matter is that the Indian Railways has got all the requisite wildlife, forestry and coastal regulation zone clearances in Gujarat and Maharashtra for the 508-km Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed Rail Corridor, officials said on Tuesday. Addressing a virtual press conference, Railway Board Chairman and CEO, VK Yadav said, “Requisite Wildlife, Forestry and Coastal Regulation Zone clearances in the state of Gujarat and Maharashtra have been obtained.” This will further help in speedy construction of the first-ever bullet train project of the country.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News):Indian Railways may soon introduce ‘Zero-based time table for the smooth operations of both the freight and passengers trains on its network. According to Railway Board Chairman Mr VK Yadav, “The Railways’ new “zero-based timetable” is expected to cut down travel time in long-distance trains between 30 minutes and six hours on an average”.
“Zero-based time-table will see a dedicated corridor for freight trains and passenger trains. It will bring a paradigm shift in running the freight trains as it would improve the ease of doing business,” he said. It may be noted that improvements in freight movements will be institutionalized and incorporated in the upcoming zero-based time table,” the Railways said.
The zero-based time table initiative, which, inter-alia, includes scheduling of trains based on scientific principles, ensuring adequate corridor blocks for maintenance, increasing throughput by providing freight corridors, improving punctuality, improving utilization of Rolling Stock and providing convenient and efficient services to the passengers. It also includes rationalization of stoppages and trains taking into account the demand, utility for the passengers and commercial viability. One of the aspects of the initiative will be the gradual introduction of the hub and spoke concept with a view to facilitating easy transfers between “hubs” and “spoke” and inter-modal connectivity.
The concept also entails provision of integrated ticketing, access for persons with a disability, leisure facilities, check-in facilities, transfer/transit facilities, and amenities such as travelators, escalators, elevators etc., at identified stations designated as “hubs”.Indian Railways’ idea behind the zero-based time table”The idea is to increase the occupancy of poorly patronised trains and to reduce waitlisting in those trains which are in high demand. Once the timetable is operational, the journey time of long-distance trains will be reduced between half-an-hour and six hours on an average. Under this timetable, the speeds of trains will also increase,” VK Yadav said.
He said that no stoppages or halts will be done away with but that they will merely be rationalised. At present, Indian Railways is running 908 mail express trains as compared to 1,800 trains in the pre-covid era. As many as 20 special trains started from 21 September as clones of trains on high-demand route for waitlisted passengers, and 2,773 suburban services in Mumbai and 843 in Kolkata were introduced last month. In addition, 566 train services were operated from 20 October to 30 November as festival specials.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporate Limited (DMRC) today signed an agreement with Noida Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRC), under which DMRC will provide services to NMRC as General Consultants (GC)/Project Management Consultants (PMC) for its Phase – II project from Noida Sector – 51 to Greater Noida Sector -2.
The General Consultancy Agreement was signed by Sh. PK Garg, Director, Business Development, DMRC and Sh. Praveen Mishra, Executive Director, NMRC & ACEO, Noida Authority in the presence of senior officials of both DMRC and NMRC. The period of agreement will be for five (05) years.
“As per this agreement, DMRC will assist and guide NMRC in preparation of complete bid documents for various System Packages (RS, Signalling, Telecom, OHE, Track, SCADA, etc.), contract award process, management of system contracts and proper integration of all new line systems with the existing Aqua-Line (N-GN) Metro systems”, the DMRC said in a statement.
“DMRC will also give suggestions to NMRC in Value Engineering and cost optimization for all work contracts along with proof checking and approval of Designs submitted by NMRC’s appointed DDC for Civil and E&M contracts works”, the statement added.
As per the terms in the Contract, DMRC will also be responsible for construction supervision and independent Quality and Safety Monitoring (IQSM) of all Contract Packages (Civil, E&M, and System Contracts), besides Testing and commissioning of the entire systems works and equipment and guiding for regulatory clearances for systems contracts.
DMRC will help NMRC in preparation of Construction, Operation and Maintenance Manuals for the proposed Phase – II corridors. DMRC will also assist NMRC in preparation of all documents needed for CMRS clearance, CMRS inspection and sanction process.
DMRC will also be responsible for planning and arranging training to the personnel of NMRC in Operation, Maintenance and Repair of various equipments and the system as a whole.
The role of NMRC will be to provide all reasonable assistance to DMRC to ensure effective discharge of its responsibilities under this agreement.
NMRC will be responsible for arranging funds for the project and payment to system contractors/consultants upon certification by GC. NMRC will also provide suitable office space in Noida area for GC team.
The Phase – II project of NMRC will be an extension of the Aqua Line from Sector 51 to Greater Noida Sector 2. This corridor is 9.605 km long consisting of five (05) elevated stations namely Noida Sector 122, Noida Sector 123, Greater Noida Sector 4, Ecotech 12 and Greater Noida Sector 2.
NMRC is currently operating the 29.07 km long Aqua-Line from Noida Sector 51 to Greater Noida Depot which consists of 21 elevated stations. The Aqua Line began its passenger services from 26th January 2019.
NEW DELHI/AGRA (Metro Rail News): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the Agra Metro Rail project on December 7, reports stated on Wednesday. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by the state’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “The Prime Minister will be virtually inaugurating the project in the presence of the Chief Minister and other dignitaries on December 7. The required arrangements are being made,” Agra District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh was stated saying.
The UP Metro Rail Corporation Limited (UPMRC) has begun preparations in this regard. Ahead of the programme, barricading for the construction of the first corridor is being done on Fatehabad road. The foundation of the first metro rail station will be laid opposite TDI Mall on Fatehabad road. On February 28, 2019, the Union Cabinet had approved the Agra Metro Rail project with two corridors that would connect major public nodes, tourist places, and city cluster areas in Agra.
According to the UPMRC, the Rs 8,379.62 crore Agra Metro Rail project will be a major boost to the urban public transport connectivity in the city. A total of 27 stations will be developed along the 29.4 km rail corridor in the city.
According to the detailed project report (DRP) approved by the Union Cabinet, the Agra Metro Rail project will have two corridors passing through the heart of the city and connecting prominent tourist places, including the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Etmaddulah and Sikandra, as well as major government offices, hospitals and market places. A total of 27 stations will be developed along the 29.4 km rail corridor in the city.
CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): The Chennai metro has seen a massive increase in the passenger turnout since the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions have been relaxed. According to a media report, around 8.58 lakh people have used the Chennai Metro Rail.
In September, according to the data from CMRL, more than 3,60,000 people have commuted from via the Chennai metro. The number rose to more than seven lakh in October. Reports suggest that there has been a 65% increase in the commuter turnout since the restrictions were relaxed. Since September, till today, more than 19 lakh people have travelled by the metro rails.
In November, over 21,500 people resorted to the newly-launched QR code system for ticketing purposes. This system offers a 20% discount for single and return journeys.
A statement from the Chennai Metro Rail Corporation said that owing to the benefit of the public, all gates of the metro stations have now been opened and the facilities like lifts, subways and escalators have also been made functional inside the metro station.
Most of the high-value technical work like laying of bridges and tunnels will be handled by Indian contractors.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Seventy-two per cent of contracts of the bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be undertaken by domestic firms as part of the railways’ efforts to boost ”Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board Mr VK Yadav has recently said. Most of the high-value technical work like laying of bridges and tunnels will be handled by Indian contractors, while Japanese firms will handle works related to signalling, telecom and rolling stock, he said at a webinar organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham). Of the estimated cost of Rs 1.10 lakh crore for the 508-km-long high-speed rail corridor project, Rs 88,000 crore will be given to India as a loan by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). “After a very detailed discussion with the Japanese government, we have made 72% of the entire contract value open to Indian contractors which includes all civil engineering work including bridges, under-sea tunnel related contracts, whereas contracts for Japanese contractors are only limited to signal and telecom, initial rolling stock and electrical works,” Yadav said. “The Railways is going to achieve this objective of ”Aatmanirbhar Bharat” in a big way and the most important thing is that the Railways is developing infrastructure in an integrated manner in such a way that we will be able to take care of traffic requirements till 2050,” he said. The chairman said that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is getting delayed due to land acquisition. In Gujarat, 90 per cent of the required land has already been acquired and the remaining 10% will be available by December 31.
NOIDA (Metro Rail News): The Noida Metro Rail Limited (NMRC) has recently invited bids again for the construction of a 9.605 km elevated extension of Noida Metro’s Aqua Line from Noida Sector-51 to Greater Noida Sector-2 through 5 elevated stations. NMRC had invited tenders for this civil package for first time in May with an estimate of Rs. 430.69 crore, received bids from 3 firms (1 of which was not a construction firm), cancelled the tender in July to seek a better response, re-invited tenders again in September, and then received two bids from Sam India and GR Infraprojects in mid-November. The Scope of work includes Part Design and Construction of Elevated Viaduct and 5 elevated stations viz NOIDA SEC -122, NOIDA SEC-123 GR. NOIDA SEC-4 ECOTECH-12 GR NOIDA SEC-2 (excluding Architectural finishing Works and PEB works of stations) from Chainage 0.00 m to Chainage 9605 m of Noida -Greater Noida Metro Rail Project. The estimate Rs. 491.99 crores with a completion period of 24 months. The Pre-bid Meeting will be held on December 3 while the last date for submission of the Tender is December 18.
This is a new development of the Noida Metro.
LUCKNOW (Metro Rail News): “The staff of Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited deployed at the metro stations is setting a new precedent in best passenger service and integrity for other Metro systems across the country with each passing day. Ever since Lucknow Metro’s first commercial run in 2017, the staff and security personnel deployed at metro stations have been receiving immense appreciation and gratitude from the passengers for their sheer dedication & commitment while performing their duties. The ‘Lost and Found’ cell stands as a fine example in this regard with the entire workforce going an extra mile to return the lost belongings, valuables, cash, bags, laptops, mobile phones, etc. while simultaneously helping those in need of assistance and extending support to even those outside the station premises”, it said in a statement. “The recent incidents of the previous month present a similar picture. On November 02, 2020, a 20 yrs old female passenger accompanied by her father at Sachiwalaya Metro Station, suddenly felt dizzy, Ms Neha Shukla, an on-duty female security guard at the platform, informed this to her security officer, Mr Basantlal (Nodal). The female security guard and the male security guard (nodal) immediately assisted the female passenger and took her to the station controller, Ms Sarita Maurya, station controller who gave her glucose. After some time, when the female passenger became normal, she was allowed to leave the station along”, it added.
In yet another incident that occurred on November 4, 2020, an unclaimed bag lying at the gate of Alambagh Bus Stand Metro Station, containing 2 mobile phones, a body spray, 2 watches and Rs. 205 cash was spotted by the on-duty Sub-Inspector, Shri Tej Bahadur Singh who submitted the it to the Station Controller. Afterwards, Ms. Aishwarya Dixit, resident of Naubasta, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, came back looking for his belongings and was handed over his bag after official formalities & necessary verification by the station staff. He thanked the metro staff for their attitude, responsible conduct & timely prompt action.
In addition to these, on November 17, 2020, a commuter, Mr Mehndi Junaid Muzaffar, a native of Jammu & Kashmir, left behind a bag near baggage scanning machine at CCS Airport Metro Station containing 2 ATM cards 1 Aadhar card, 1 PAN card & passport. On-duty security guard submitted his belongings to the station controller Mr Subhash Chandra and after due verification, the bag was handed over to its rightful owner. He also thanked Metro for their pro-active response. Speaking on this, Shri. Kumar Keshav, MD, UPMRC said, “It is our prime responsibility to provide a safe and comfortable commuting experience to our commuters. We assure the people that not only them but also their belongings are completely safe & secure in our Metro system. On the humanitarian aspect, Lucknow Metro’s entire staff has discharged their duty responsibly to meet the expectations of the public. With the co-operation from the people, Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited aims to provide a safe, secure and a barrier-free travel experience to all.”
Whenever I hear this word ‘Climate Change’, I remember a very famous sentence:- Nature has everything available to Satisfy our Needs but Not Our Greeds.
The whole process of global warming and climate change is just a manifestation of human greed. It’s the human greed of wealth and money which has turned Earth into a place whose existence itself is in question. The ongoing Pandemic itself is a process which has been caused by many problems created by the world of human beings. Before discussing the various aspects of climate change on Urban Transport System, let’s discuss here something about Climate Change, which is becoming a matter of urgent attention today. This is not the first instance of Climate Change today, but the process occurred before as well. Our past few generations have over Exhausted the resources of Mother Earth, which may drive our future generations into trouble. When we come to its famous definition, then we see that Climate Change includes a lot of factors. This isn’t only a process influenced by human interference, but there are a lot of other factors. This is, however, inevitable today that humans are the one who has critically affected the climate of Earth and henceforth, the process of Climate Change. Climate change includes both the global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century, the rate of human impact on Earth’s climate system and the global scale of that impact has been unprecedented. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, which further increased the pollution level of the cities rapidly made the Introduction of a better Public Transport System inevitable and necessary. As the size of London increased rapidly with huge masses of migrants coming to the city, the first underground Metro System was introduced. Today, as we proceed forward, we see a lot of changes taking place in and around us. The pollution of the Capital City of Delhi itself touches alarming levels every year during the winters. Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and all other major Indian Cities have a characteristic feature in common, and that is “The Rising Pollution”.We have in all major cities developing Metro Projects, but the rush on the roads is not over. Indeed, it is increasing day by day as time passes and we have no other way than to regret on our conditions. The governments have been doing their work as usual with the public using the same old ways of travelling. As the purchasing power of people has increased after with the introduction of Globalisation, the lifestyle of people in the developing countries have also started maintaining cars. This new crowd of car owners have not only created traffic problems, but they are contributing a lot towards the increased carbon emissions. This further enhances the problems with increased heat, drought and insect outbreaks. These all are linked to climate change which also causes wildfires. These all factors further result into declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns. The traffic which we see in our everyday life is increasing day by day. According to different reports, By 2031, some 600 million people are expected to live in India’s cities. However, only about 20 Indian cities with populations over 500,000 have any kind of organized public transport systems. And, only a few can lay claim to a system for mass rapid transit. The share of public transport in large Indian cities declined from 70% in 1994 to almost 40% in 2007. Furthermore, India’s accident and fatality rates are among the highest in the world, mainly affecting the poor and vulnerable who do not have their own means of transportation. The scenario has to be changed. A lot of factors need to be replaced as the increasing traffic may increase pollution by a higher level. The increasing problems need to be addressed. The people should be made aware of the fact that the Public Transport System is more secure and safe. Furthermore, the public transport system is more environmentally friendly than private ones. Here, I am explaining it with the example of Mumbai. Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) was the first multi-modal project of its kind in India. It included improving the roads, rail, buses, bridges, and the traffic system of Mumbai. Over 17,000 households – including thousands of squatter families living in shacks along railway tracks – were relocated to safe permanent dwellings and given legal title to their new housing. This whole process was challenging and required tremendous efforts in terms of assessment, building of resettlement sites, consultation, negotiation, relocation, and post-resettlement support.India’s public transport systems are largely run by public sector monopolies. They typically suffer from poor service, inefficient operations, and deteriorating finances, resulting in dramatically declining mode shares. On the other hand, private transportation is often costly, extracting a huge cost from the urban population, especially from the very poor. Things need to be understood in a better and effective way. The people now need to be more aware and responsible for their role. The use of the public transport system needs to be encouraged and adopted by the people. The growing population is in itself a bigger concern and global warming along with climate change, another big issue. The climate change will further influence the climate of individual places, and henceforth, it will further need to make necessary changes in the way of urban transit set up. For example, if flooding becomes a new feature of a City influenced by climate change, the setup and planning of urban transport system, there needs to be changed. In such circumstances, technology will play a vital role in the future of our cities. Climate Change, Global Warming and greenhouse effect has taken together may create huge problems for the human civilizations in time to come. It’s an urgent need of time to address these issues and challenges to make sustainable development look realistic. The people of Urban Centres will play a crucial role in this, and the Urban Transport System will form the backbone of Future India.
