Delhi Metro suffered a loss of ₹1,609 due to Non Operation

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Delhi Metro suffered a loss of ₹1,609 due to Non Operation

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) suffered a loss of around ₹1,609 crore due to the closure of metro services in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Lok Sabha on Thursday. Delhi Metro services, which were shut on March 22 to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, resumed on September 7 in a phased manner.
Full-fledged normal operations resumed on September 12.

“DMRC has informed that loss of revenue due to the closure of metro services in view of COVID-19 pandemic is around ₹1,609 crores,” Puri said in a written reply to a question. During the lockdown period, he said, preparatory work like detailed designing, preparation of tender schedule and finalisation of tenders, among other things, had been carried out by the DMRC.

Responding to another question about the government’s strategy to mitigate the effect of losses incurred by the DMRC, Puri said measures to enhance revenue through various innovative means like provisioning of the feeder system, property development at stations and on other lands, leasing of spaces, Transit-Oriented Development and Value Capture Finance are enumerated in the Metro Rail Policy, 2017.

Ajit Pawar Reviews Construction Work Of Pune Metro

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Ajit Pawar Reviews Construction Work Of Pune Metro

PUNE (Metro Rail News): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday morning reviewed the ongoing construction work of Pune Metro. Pawar is in Pune to attend the weekly review meeting on COVID-19 that will be held later today. Ajit Pawar visited construction sites in the early hours on Friday and took stock of the work from Metro officials.

The Pune Metro project, which was expected to start the operation of its first five-km stretch by April 2020, had missed the deadline due to the unforeseen lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus across the country. Maha Metro Rail Corporation had resumed work on the Pune Metro rail project in May after receiving approval from the state government and civic bodies following the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

The work on Pune Metro project, which comprises of two lines of 32 km, had started in December 2016 and was expected to finish by the end of 2022. However, work was halted for over a month due to the lockdown imposed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local trains will resume their services only when the states are ready: Railway Board

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Local trains will resume their services only when the states are ready: Railway Board

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Although the services have been there of Mumbai local trains only for ferrying essential staff, suburban railway services have remained suspended even in Unlock 4. “We will consider resuming suburban railway services once the state governments concerned are ready and they approach us,” Railway Board chairman VK Yadav said here while addressing Press Reporters. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant was also present with Mr Yadav.

“We have to minimise the spread of Covid-19. Once the state governments approach us, we will work the modalities to resume services,” He said.

On the resumption of the local trains in West Bengal, the chairman said, “We are in continuous touch with the West Bengal government. There have been frequent lockdowns in the state. Special trains were also suspended last month. Metro has started operations. We are discussing with the government over the resumption of local train services.”

Recently, the bombay High Court allowed lawyers in Mumbai to use the Mumbai locals.

90,000 jobs to be created by the construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor says NHSRCL

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90,000 jobs to be created by the construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor says NHSRCL

MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor will create 90,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction of the high-speed railway line, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is developing the project, has claimed. NHSRCL has stated that more than 51,000 technicians, skilled and unskilled workers, would be required for the construction of the railway lines.
“NHSRCL is exploring the possibilities of providing training to unskilled labourers in various construction-related disciplines such as bar bending, tile and concrete laying, construction electrical works, plastering, among others, to improve their chances of employability and earnings,” said NHSRCL spokesperson Sushma Gaur. The construction works for the high-speed railway corridor project will include 12 stations, a 460-km long viaduct, a 7-km undersea tunnel, 26-km-long tunnels and 27 steel bridges.

NHSRCL said 64% of the land needed for the construction of the project has been acquired, most of which are from Gujarat and f Maharashtra.
However, the authorities have stated that the deadline for the project, which was earlier set for December 2023, would have to be extended, as the land acquisition process has met several roadblocks owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“The timeline for land acquisition for the project will be rechecked due to the spread of Covid-19 in the country. Important construction-related tenders are expected to be opened and finalised in a few months. These tenders are for the design and construction of civil and building works involving viaducts, bridges, maintenance depots and station buildings,” said an NHSRCL official.

Indian Railways to allow private firms in the bullet train projects

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Indian Railways to allow private firms in the bullet train projects

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Indian Railways, in a major development, is set to have private players for constructing and operating its planned seven new bullet train projects. The projects —Delhi-Varanasi, Mumbai-Nagpur, Delhi-Ahmedabad, Chennai-Mysore, Delhi-Amritsar, Mumbai-Hyderabad, and Varanasi-Howrah — are expected to cost around Rs 10 trillion. “All the seven new bullet train routes will be open for private players. We will be doing it on a public-private-partnership model,” said V K Yadav, chairman and chief executive officer of the Railway Board.

These routes will be in addition to the already planned Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project. The move comes when the railways is trying to attract private players for its Rs 1-trillion station redevelopment and Rs 30,000 crore private train project. 
The last date of application for private investors is October 7.

The Indian Railway Station Redevelopment Corporation has come up with a request for quotation for 10 stations.
Among the major stations include the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal (CSMT) in Mumbai and New Delhi Railway Station. The CSMT is expected to see investments of around Rs 1,642 crore and NDLS around Rs 4,925 crore. The last date for submitting bids for New Delhi is November 6 and for Mumbai October 22. 

Railways to charge user fee as part of train fares

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Railways to charge user fee as part of train fares

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Indian Railways will soon start charging ‘user fees’ as part of train fares for the stations that have been redeveloped and those with high footfall in order to generate revenue to provide better facilities for passengers, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said Thursday. Once it comes into effect, it will be for the first time that such charges are levied on rail passengers.
Yadav said the charges will be nominal and will be applicable in about 10-15 per cent of the 7,000 railway stations across the country.”We are going to keep a very small amount for the user charge. We will issue a notification for the user charge for all stations including both those that are getting redeveloped and those that are not,” the chairman said.

“When the redevelopment of the stations gets completed, the money will go to the concessionaires. Till then that money will go to the railways for improving facilities across stations.
It will be an affordable amount, but it is important to levy if we want to provide world-class facilities similar to airport development. We want to upgrade all our major railway stations,” Yadav said.

He further said the Railways will not levy the charge across all the 7,000 stations but all major stations where the footfall of passengers will increase over the next five years.”It will be done in about 10-15% of all our stations where we expect the footfall to increase,” he added.The statement comes in the backdrop of concerns raised over a potential rise in the prices of ticket fares with private entities being allowed to run trains in the country.

UPMRC Chief boards Lucknow Metro for Inspection

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UPMRC Chief boards Lucknow Metro for Inspection

LUCKNOW (Metro Rail News): Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) restarted the Metro operations of Lucknow Metro for its commuters on 7th September 2020 and it has been running its services smoothly. The commuters are cooperating and in turn, the ridership has been gradually increasing with each passing day. Mr Kumar Keshav, MD, UPMRC conducted an inspection & took an overview of CCS Airport, Krishna Nagar & Hazratganj Metro stations. During the visit, he also interacted with Metro commuters onboard & elucidated the advantages & benefits of using ‘GoSmart card’ for daily travel.

“Shri Kumar Keshav conducted an inspection to review all the safety measures, preventive steps & guidelines of the government were being complied with inside the Metro operational system. He also ensured that all the adequate arrangements were done catering to the commuter health, personal hygiene, safety & security. Lucknow Metro has been providing the safest commuting experience to the public while maintaining & following all the social distancing norms inside the Metro premises”, a statement said.

During the visit he took note of Health Desk being monitored effectively in doing thermal scanning, checking the status of Arogya Setu app & sanitizing the passengers was being done before entering the Metro stations. During the interaction with Metro commuters, he highlighted the various benefits of GoSmart card which ensures Total contactless Travel right from entering the Metro station, boarding the train to exiting the premises. Apart from the cashless transaction with no currency exchange GoSmart card also offers a discount of 10% on each Metro journey. He emphasized that a GoSmart card user doesn’t need to stand in the queue to buy tokens & if such a need arises he can easily buy multiple tokens through his card.
Mr Keshav, while addressing the commuters inside the train said,” Lucknow Metro is the safest way to travel especially during this time when people are concerned about their health, safety & security. We have been providing all the state of the art facilities to our commuters with our world-class infrastructure so that they experience an enjoyable metro ride. UPMRC also assures that cleanliness & upkeep of its premises is being maintained to meet the expectations of our commuters”

CISF Catches Two Persons With Pistol In Bag At Sikanderpur Metro Station

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CISF Catches Two Persons With Pistol In Bag At Sikanderpur Metro Station

GURUGRAM (Metro Rail News): The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Friday apprehended two people and seized a country-made pistol from their possession at Sikanderpur Metro Station.

According to CISF’s official statement, a female and a male passenger aged between 20 to 30 years were intercepted after the officials noticed an image of a pistol inside a lady bag during the baggage screening through the X-BIS machine at Sikanderpur metro station.Later, on the physical checking of the bag, a country-made pistol was found inside it. Both the passengers, from Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) were questioned, but they did not give “satisfactory answers” about the carrying of a country-made pistol. Thereafter, the matter was informed to Senior Officers and Haryana Metro Rail Police (HMRP).

On arrival of HMRP IFFCO Chowk, passengers along with the seized country-made pistol (Desi Katta) were handed over to them for further legal action in the matter, a statement said. 

(With inputs from ANI).

Jaipur Metro to resume services from September 23 onwards

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Jaipur Metro to resume services from September 23 onwards

JAIPUR (Metro Rail News): After more than five months, Jaipur Metro services will resume from September 23 onwards. The train will be operational on the entire stretch from Chandpole to Baddi Chaupar. The newly constructed underground corridor will be inaugurated by chief minister Ashok Gehlot around noon. Before operations were closed due to lockdown, only phase-I (Mansarovar to Chandpole) was open.

“The operations will start around 3 pm. The ministry of housing and urban affairs and ministry of railways have allowed the Metro to operate in a calibrated manner. We will follow the same protocol”, said an official.

To ensure social distancing, suitable markings at stations and inside trains will be done. Wearing masks will mandatory for all passengers and staff. “Unlike other cities, Jaipur Metro does not have huge ridership. Provisions such as sitting on alternate seats will be made. But there will be no requirement to skip stations in containment zones,” He added.

Jaipur Metro will ferry commuters from Chandpole to Badi Chaupar at Rs 6 on the 2.4km underground corridor. The fare for the entire 12.06 km corridor (Mansarovar to Chandpole) will be Rs 22. The new corridor could give a fresh lease of life to JMRC as it can increase its ridership once operational. In the absence of Phase 1B, the performance of Phase 1A of Jaipur Metro was ‘poor’ as the average ridership dipped.

In the Pre COVID days, an average 20,000 passengers used the Metro daily against the projected figure of 1 lakh. The future depends solely on the way, the Metro operates in the coming days.

PM to inaugurate Kosi Rail Mahasetu via Video-conferencing today

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PM to inaugurate Kosi Rail Mahasetu via Video-conferencing today

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu to the Nation through video-conference at 12 Noon today. Apart from this, the Prime Minister shall also inaugurate 12 rail projects related to passenger facilities for the benefit of Bihar.

These include a new railway bridge on the Kiul River, two new railway lines, 5 Electrification projects, one Electric Locomotive Shed and 3rd Line Project between Barh-Bakhtiyarpur.In 1887, a meter gauge link was built in between Nirmali and Bhaptiahi (Saraigarh). During the heavy flood and severe Indo Nepal earthquake in 1934, the rail link was washed away and thereafter due to meandering nature of river Kosi no attempt was made to restore this Rail link for long period.

The Kosi Mega Bridge line project was sanctioned by Government of India during 2003-04. The Kosi Rail Mahasetu is 1.9 KM long and its construction cost is Rs. 516 Crore. This bridge is of strategic importance along the India-Nepal border. The project was completed during the COVID – 19 Pandemic where the migrant labour also participated in its completion.

UPMRC celebrates Vishwakarma Puja

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UPMRC celebrates Vishwakarma Puja

LUCKNOW (Metro Rail News): Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) duly worshipped Lord Vishwakarma today, on the occasion of Vishwakarma Puja at Metro Depot in Transport Nagar. On this occasion, Mr. Sushil Kumar, Director Operations, Mr. Swadesh Kumar Singh, General Manager Operations, Mr. Avnish Goyal, Deputy General Manager Rolling Stock & Systems along with other senior officials and employees were present.Since the inception of the commercial operations of Lucknow Metro in 2017, Lucknow Metro team has been tirelessly working to provide Lucknowites a world-class metro system. But giving Lucknow a world class metro system was not that easy.

“It was made possible only due to the skilled leadership of Shri. Kumar Keshav, Managing Director, UPMRC and the hard work of the engineers of Lucknow Metro, due to which the construction work of the priority section of the metro and the entire North-South Corridor in the city was completed ahead of scheduled time”, the UPMRC said in a statement.

On the occasion of Vishwakarma Pooja, all the officials and employees prayed to Lord Vishwakarma and wished for timely completion of various metro projects in the state. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Kumar Keshav, Managing Director, UPMRC said, “We have constructed the Lucknow Metro project in a record time which is a beautiful gift for the people of Lucknow. I am pleased to tell you that we will develop the same world-class infrastructure for the Kanpur and Agra Metro projects as well. UPMRC team is committed to provide the best Mass Rapid Transit System to the public with all modern amenities and state of the art technology. We steadfastly transforming the contemporary way of mass commutation for the urban population”.

Kochi Metro to participate in The Fit India Freedom run

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Kochi Metro to participate in The Fit India Freedom run

KOCHI (Metro Ril News): “The Kochi Metro Rail Limited has decided to participate in the Government of India’s Initiative of Fit India Freedom Run”, it said in a statement. About 600 numbers of KMRL Employees are going to participate in the two-week-long events. The employees are divided into four groups and they will participate in Cycling, Running and Walking.

“The initiative is to encourage fitness and help all to get freedom from obesity, laziness, stress, anxiety, diseases etc, duly understanding the importance of fitness in the pandemic time’, the KMRL said. The event is planned to be conducted among KMRL Employees starting from 15.09.2020 to 02.10.2020.

The employees will be participating in the Fit India Freedom Run at their own place / facility and at convenient time from the 15th to 30th Sept 2020. The event will be coordinated virtually through mobile applications. The company will be encouraging employees to actively participate in the events.

“Final day Fit India Freedom Run will be held on Gandhi Jayanthi, the 2nd October 2020 in the Muttom depot of KMRL. The concluding day of the Fit India Freedom Run will be combined with social activity including cleaning activity and tree planting and fun run by observing the  Covid-19 Protocol on Metro depot premises’, the statement added.

Aarey project to be shifted!

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Aarey project to be shifted!

MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): With few recent developments, it can easily be seen that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government is keen on shifting the Metro 3 car shed out of Aarey forests. The workS for removing construction materials from the site has already begun which gives a clear signal about the move.

”The car shed site is being closed and secured”, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) project director SK Gupta was stated saying by a media agency. He further said that the construction debris was being cleared out and pits were being filled so that they did not remain a safety hazard.

Soon after being sworn in as chief minister, Thackeray announced a stay on construction of metro carshed in the area. The matter is politically sensitive and no one wants to comment on this as of now. The move will cost a huge loss to the MMRC according to experts.

20 including GMR show interest in redeveloping the New Delhi railway station

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20 including GMR show interest in redeveloping the New Delhi railway station

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): As many as 20 global and domestic companies including France-based Socié té Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF), Arabian Construction Company, Anchorage Infrastructure, GMR, Adani Group, JKB Infrastructure have evinced interest to redevelop and transform the New Delhi railway station. The project is a part of the national transporter’s ambitious asset monetization programme.

The project would be developed on a public private partnership (PPP) model, with a concession period of 60 years.
The estimated cost of the project is₹6,500 crore and will be completed in around 4 years.

Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory body under the ministry of railways on Monday said it held a pre-bid meeting on the redevelopment of the railway station, which saw ‘enthusiastic participation’ by 20 national and international firms.

The phased redevelopment will include station redevelopment, development of associated infrastructure, relocation of social infrastructure as well as the refurbishment of railway offices and railway quarters. New Delhi railway station is the largest and second busiest railway station in India. It handles approximately 4.5 lakh passengers daily. The station handles around 400 trains per day.

“Food courts and restrooms, an elevated concourse with segregation of arriving and departing passengers, refurbished platforms with easy access from the concourse level, mezzanine level exclusively for passenger facilities such as lounges, an elevated road network with multiple entry and exit points, a multi-level car parking facility and green building provisions, such as optimum use of natural ventilation and lighting will be some of the key highlights of the redeveloped station,” said a statement.

The project will also include commercial ventures such as office, five-star hotels, budget hotels and serviced apartments on approximately 30 acres of land. There is also a plan to set up a business district on the outer circle of Connaught Place and near Bhavabhuti Marg. The station will be integrated with the Delhi Metro.

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