Farmers protest for compensation for the land they provided for India’s first bullet train project

M K Rai
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MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): India’s first bullet train project is facing resistance from farmers in Gujarat over the issue of compensation for their land to be acquired for the Rs 1.5-lakh-crore project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Recently a meeting of affected farmers was held at a village near Surat in which the farmers have decided to intensify agitation if their demands are not met.

“We are opposing the bullet train project over multiple issues including that of land acquisition process since February 2018. Due to nationwide lockdown the agitation slowed down. However, we have decided to give momentum to the ongoing agitation to ensure justice to affected farmers,”  Jayesh Patel, president of Gujarat Khedut Samaj was stated saying.

According to him, the high speed rail project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is a multi-state project and hence it should be implemented as per central government norms. Unfortunately there is no uniformity in compensation being paid to farmers of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Territory (Dadra & Nagar Haveli), he said, adding that as per central government norms farmers should be paid compensation four times higher than market rates, but in Gujarat it is not being followed.

Office bearers of Gujarat Khedut Samaj are holding meetings with affected farmers in South Gujarat to create awareness related to these issues. However, the demands of these farmers are not unaffected by politics.

Sources in National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) — the implementing agency for the bullet train project — claimed that over 60% work related to land acquisition has been completed. On this, Patel said that hardly 10% of the land is in the possession of NHSRCL.

As per NHSRCL , out of the required 1,380 hectare land, nearly 700 hectare has been acquired. A senior official said that the land acquisition process is speedier in Gujarat compared to neighbouring Maharashtra. Out of 940 hectare land in Gujarat, more than 600 hectare land is acquired as per NHSRCL sources. In the case of Maharashtra, around 80 hectare land out of 431 hectares has been acquired. As farmers of Dadra & Nagar Haveli are getting compensation as per central government norms, almost 7 hectare out of 8.7 hectare land acquired there.

The 508-km high-speed rail (HSR) will have 12 stations including two end-to-end stations — Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai and Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. Of the remaining 10 stations including Kalupur (Ahmedabad station), Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Bilimora and Vapi in Gujarat, while rest of the four Boisar, Virar, Thane and BKC fall under Maharashtra.

Kerala to have two solar-powered transport system including Water Metro

M K Rai
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Kerala to have two solar-powered transport system including Water Metro

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (Metro Rail News):  Two new solar-powered projects will be launched in a major boost to eco-friendly tourism and transport services in Kerala. On Saturday, the trial run of a mini train at the Veli tourism village in Thiruvananthapuram was completed. The train, installed at a cost of Rs 9 crore, is entirely solar-powered and is expected to attract tourist attention to the village.“This is an initiative to improve eco-friendly tourism in the state. The Veli Tourist Village is a tourist hub and the train, which is modelled on yesteryear steam engines, will puff artificial steam and chug across the artificial lake for 1.5 kilometres up and down,” an official at the site told news channels.
The artificial lake at Veli meets the Arabian Sea.
The mini-train, which has a 50-person capacity (48 passengers and two staff members including the driver) will run past the lake and the beach, through a railway tunnel and a 60-metre railway bridge. Most importantly, the roof of the three train coaches will have solar panels installed, which will directly power its engine. The extra solar energy generated will also be directed to the Kerala State Electricity Board grid according to an official.
The 10 feet long train will take its passengers on a 25-minute ride and will go at a maximum speed of 15 kilometres per hour. To add some old-world charm, old fashioned arm signals will also be added to the coaches. In addition to this, track changing points, turntables to turn the engines around, wood meshing, fibreglass partition and a steel frame will also be installed to ensure passenger safety.
Each coach of the train can carry 12-16 passengers and its rolling stock has been designed based on international standards. The 9-crore miniature project has been executed by the Uralungal Labour Contract Society. The village of Veli itself will see Rs 30 crore worth of development work including a swimming pool, a tourist facilitation centre and a convention centre on 20 acres of land. Another big-budget solar powered feeder service project is the Kochi Water Metro. Last week, when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced the completion of Phase 1 of Kochi Metro, he also said that works for the Water Metro project will soon begin. 
The Water Metro is essentially a fleet of aluminium ferries that will be introduced, mainly to connect passengers to Kochi metro stations. The project will be completed at a cost of Rs 747 crore and will include 78 such ferries, which will be solar-powered.

Kolkata Metro resumes services after over five months

M K Rai
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Kolkata Metro resumes services after over five months

KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): Metro rail services in Kolkata resumed on Monday after a gap of more than five months, a senior official said. “Services have resumed at 8 am and around 3,000 people have commuted in the first two hours,” Kolkata Metro’s  General Manager Manoj Joshi said.

“The last trains from the originating stations on both sides will commence their journey at 7 pm and complete it by 8 pm,” he said.
Special trains, however, were run for NEET aspirants on Sunday.

“Services have resumed at 8 am and around 3,000 people have commuted in the first two hours,” Mr Joshi said.
“The last trains from the originating stations on both sides will commence their journey at 7 pm and complete it by 8 pm,” he said. He also said that all safety protocols including social distancing were being followed.

Services on Yellow Line run in loops on Monday

M K Rai
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Services on Yellow Line run in loops on Monday

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Metro services on the Yellow Line connecting Samaypur Badli to HUDA City Centre ran in loops on Monday. The DMRC had already said in the morning that the services would run in loops till further notice. This was necessitated in view of the track repair work being undertaken on a portion between Rajiv Chowk and New Delhi section of Up line (going towards Badli).

The services on Delhi Metro Yellow Line ran in the following loops:

1) Normal services ran through both Up & Down Lines between Samaypur Badli & Vishwavidyalaya stations

2) Single Line (through Down Line) services were available between Vishwavidyalaya & Rajiv Chowk stations which may result in less frequency of trains in this section.

3) Normal services ran through both Up & Down lines between Rajiv Chowk & HUDA City Centre stations.

Services between single line section of Rajiv Chowk & Vishwavidyalaya were restored normally after both the Up & Down Lines with regular frequency later in the evening.

After being shut for nearly six months, Metro services in Delhi and the National Capital Region resumed in a phased manner on 7 September as part of Unlock 4 announced by the government.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had recently issued guidelines allowing the Delhi Metro to resume operations in a graded manner, following which the DMRC had said it would be done in three stages from September 7-12.

The Delhi Metro resumed services on last Monday with the curtailed operations on the Yellow Line and Rapid Metro. Stage two kicked in on Friday with Magenta and Grey lines also opening their doors to commuters and service hours being extended.

How Internet on India’s Trains Will Improve Passenger’s Experience

Narendra Shah
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How Internet on India’s Trains Will Improve Passenger’s Experience

Internet technology will play a crucial role in the government’s plans to modernise railway infrastructure in the country. In 2019, the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced plans for an ambitious project to overhaul the country’s crucial railway system.

When making the announcement, the minister also indicated the government would provide free Wi-Fi service inside trains running in the country. In a country which ranks second in the number of internet users, offering free internet to thousands of commuters will have a big impact.  

Here’s how this ambitious project will change the lives of thousands of people who rely on railway transport and many others.

Boost to the Railway Services

The railway services in India receive a lot of flak due to low-quality services. The ageing trains, poor management and other problems have affected this service despite the crucial role it plays in the daily life of thousands of Indians.

Recent surveys show that the transport service provider has continued losing passengers on short haul to bus services and long haul to air services. Their medium-haul intercity passenger traffic has continued dwindling.

The introduction of free internet is an important shot in the arm for the railway services. India’s young population is highly connected and they would love the opportunity to enjoy free Wi-Fi during their daily commute or whenever they use the trains. Without a doubt, this will see an increase in the number of passengers.

Online Services Boost

With thousands of people using trains every day, providing free internet would have a ripple effect on the digital economy. Many people in the country now go online for virtually everything. From shopping, learning, gaming, to betting, there’s a website available. 

Casino game lovers can use Wi-Fi to check legal and reputable gambling sites from indiagamblers.com. This is one of the fast-growing online industries and it can get a boost as many commuters look for fun online activities when travelling. 

The eCommerce industry will also receive a much-needed boost with more people going online. This is an opportunity for the thriving Indian eCommerce industry to use targeted marketing to reach train users. With most businesses now offering online solutions, there’s no better strategy to expand their market reach than targeting train commuters.

Increased Social Awareness

The advent of social media networks has changed how people communicate. People now need instant feedback and social media platforms offer this kind of communication. With the availability of free Wi-Fi on trains, social media platforms will see a boost in the number of users and engagement levels.

India already boasts the second largest social media population. The easy access to the internet will see more sharing of content across all platforms. Today, any information from the government or companies gets to the intended audience faster than ever.

By increasing the number of people accessing free internet, the country will see a rise in social awareness. The government and other organisations can leverage this to deliver critical communication to the population.

Growth of Mobile Internet

Millions of people in the country now go online using smartphones and tablets. It’s easier and more convenient. With free internet services at all 6,500 railway stations across the country, mobile internet will grow and this is a good outcome. From mobile eCommerce, mobile gaming to other mobile digital services, there will be a notable boost in mobile internet use.

Revolutionising Railway Transport

For most people, railway transport is crucial despite many failings. With new developments across the country and the government’s commitment to improve systems, there’s a lot of excitement. The move to connect trains and stations with Wi-Fi is a revolutionary one and it’s bound to have a positive impact on many other aspects of life in the country.

DMRC invites bids for works of Patna Metro Rail project

M K Rai
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DMRC invites bids for works of Patna Metro Rail project

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) on 31st August 2020 opened the financial bids of the civil contract package PC-01 which was floated for the construction of 6.107 km stretch between Malahi Pakri – New ISBT section of the corridor 2 of Patna Metro Rail project. NCC Limited has emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) among the other four contenders for this contract.

As per the data revealed by DMRC, the financial position of all participants/bidders are as under:

  • NCC Limited: Rs 552.93 crore (L1).
  • Sam (India) Builtwell Pvt. Ltd.: Rs 561.96 crore (L2)
  • SP Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd.: Rs 589.84 (L3)
  • GR Infraprojects Ltd.: Rs 667.09 crore (L4)

The fifth contender Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Limited was found disqualified, hence their financial bid was not opened by the tender committee.

The scope of work under the contract package PC-01 includes part design and construction of the Elevated Viaduct, Viaduct connection to Depot including an elevated ramp for Depot, Stabling & Extension of Viaduct for Corridor-1 at Khemni Chak Station, Special Spans, Elevated Ramp at Malai Pakri and Five Elevated Stations viz. Malai Pakri, Khemni Chak (Interchange station), Bhoothnath, Zero Mile & New ISBT (Excluding Architectural Finishing works of stations & PEB works of stations) from Chainage 8020.000 mt. to 14127.726 mt. of Patna Railway station to New ISBT of Corridor 2 of Phase-I of Patna Metro Rail project.

After technical and financial evaluation of bids submitted by NCC Limited, DMRC will issue the final award of contract/letter of acceptance to the firm to commence the civil construction activities for the Patna Metro Rail project. However, the NCC Limited has quoted Rs 38 crore higher amount than the estimate of DMRC i.e. 514.924 crores. The tender notice was published on 28th February 2020 and technical bids were opened in June 2020. The firm has to complete the construction of the stretch in 30 months.

The 14.05 km long Corridor 2 of Patna Metro Rail project will connect Patna Junction Railway Station to New ISBT through 14 stations in the capital city of Bihar, India.

Kolkata Metro link goes live, mock e-passes issued 

M K Rai
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Kolkata Metro link goes live, mock e-passes issued 

KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): Around 400 people downloaded the mock boarding e-passes within the first 30 minutes of the launch of the link — ‘https//pathadisha.com/metro’ — on Friday, around 50 hours before its scheduled Sunday 7.59 pm official launch.

Last Wednesday, a team led by Metro additional general manager Sharad Srivastava had attended a meeting convened by home secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay at Nabanna to discuss ways to resume services of India’s oldest rapid transit system. They came up with this ingenious way to regulate crowd in COVID times: making commuters self-generate the QR-coded e-pass on their phones or take printouts and furnish them to enter a station.

The state government appointed Sanjoy Chatterjee, director of Ideation Technology, a technology partner with the transport department, to develop the Pathadisha Metro e-pass. The excitement was palpable among people who chanced upon the link while surfing the Net on Friday. “I managed to download it once, but couldn’t save my e-pass,” Supratik Chatterjee, an 18-year-old resident of Sovabazar, said. “I am extremely curious about the link and the e-pass. Initially, I thought it was a complex affair. But after going to the link, I found the steps quite simple. It seems to be a novel way to decongest the Metro and regulate crowd at stations,” said the 32-year-old executive and Kalighat resident Ashish Manna.

When the link becomes functional from Sunday evening, precisely 12 hours before the first train on Monday, one can generate the e-pass, valid for an hour. The link will be available in Pathadisha app, station entry points, Metro Railway’s app, Metro Railway’s website, along with many state government websites. But on Friday, one could access the link just by typing it out. “These were practice sessions. There are no trains on Saturday. So the e-pass generated were of no use,” said a transport department official.

Even as 74 trains will run on Sunday, only NEET aspirants can ride them between 10 am and 7 pm. They just need to show theirs admit cards to walk into a station. The use of e-passes starts only when Metro resumes for the public at 8 am on Monday. The valid e-passes will be issued only from 8 pm on Sunday, 12 hours before the first train that starts at 8 am on Monday. In all, 110 trains will ply in the north-south section and 72 trains along the East-West corridor. No e-passes will be needed in East-West Metro. Only smartcard users can board trains for now. No tokens will be issued for fear of contagion.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority approves two proposals

M K Rai
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Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority approves two proposals

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): MMRDA has approved two proposals for establishing direct connectivity between Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri E) stations and two commercial complexes. It is also open to more proposals. The authority has approved proposals to build a 514-metre (m) foot overbridge (FoB) from the upcoming station at Poisar on the Metro-7 corridor to Sarova properties. It has also approved the proposal for construction of a 1,300-m bridge connecting the upcoming Aarey station to Oberoi Mall, officials said.

BG Pawar, joint metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “The work will commence once we approve the detailed engineering design.” Officials also said that the cost of building the connectors will be borne by the developers.

As both the routes pass along many commercial complexes, MMRDA said that it is expecting a better response from developers after the lockdown.

“Owing to the pandemic, we haven’t received a good response from developers. But we are hoping that they will approach us in the future, as direct connectivity to a Metro station will also increase the property value of a complex,” an official from MMRDA said.

The authority is looking to open Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri E) lines by May 2021.

This year in July, MMRDA had approved a policy to enable direct access between Metro stations and the complexes nearby. Direct access is a worldwide concept that will ease the problem of first and last-mile connectivity to the metro stations. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is executing the 33.5km fully underground Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) corridor, has also been in talks with commercial and residential complexes along the route to enable direct access to its underground stations.

Delhi Metro goes full on with 1.5 lakh weekend travellers

M K Rai
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Delhi Metro goes full on with 1.5 lakh weekend travellers

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): With all its 10 corridors operational, Delhi Metro’s 288 trains made more than 3,700 trips in nearly 18 hours of service on Saturday. The resumption of services with the old timings, though with certain Covid-19 precautions in place, allowed more than 1.5 lakh people to travel by the urban train network. The high-speed Airport Express Line was the last corridor to reopen, but more importantly, the service timings reverted to the pre-lockdown schedule of 6 am to 11 pm and the frequency of trains was also increased. Before the suspension of services in March, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation operated fewer train between 11 am and 4 pm, considered ‘off-peak’ hours. Because of the strict social distancing norms reducing Delhi Metro’s carrying capacity, the peak hours have been done away with, and trains are available at an optimum frequency between 8 am and 8 pm.
Till 7.30 pm on Saturday, the ridership figure was 1,52,845, a rise of 18.5% against the 1,28,886 recorded in the same period on Friday. The Airport Express Line, which reopened on Saturday, carried 2,268 passengers. Like in the last couple of days, it was the oldest corridors of the Delhi Metro network that logged the most passengers. The busiest, Blue Line (Dwarka-Vaishali/Noida Electronic City), ferried 47,023 people, followed by Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli-HUDA City Centre) with ridership figure of 44,949 and the oldest, the Red Line (Rithala-Shaheed Sthal) at third place with 19,904 riders. The three corridors cumulatively accounted for 73.1% of Saturday’s ridership despite constituting just 42.5% of the Delhi Metro network.
“Now that services have resumed on all the corridors, DMRC will make public only the Line utilisation figures as was done before the lockdown because these figures only reflect the actual utilisation of a metro train system which is spread 400 km with 28 interchange stations providing comprehensive connectivity to the Delhi-NCR people,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director (corporate communications), DMRC.
While Saturday was a weekend and still saw 1.5 lakh passengers, Monday is going to be the real challenge for DMRC as its ability to handle increased footfalls through longer service hours will be put to test. “For your and everyone’s safety and to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, wearing of face masks and adherence to social distancing norms throughout the travel has to be ensured by all commuters,” Dayal reiterated.
As part of its special drive to make people aware about the importance of wearing face masks or cover throughout the journey in the metro including inside the trains, “DMRC on Saturday counselled around 200 passengers for not wearing face masks properly. In addition, 114 passengers were fined Rs 200 each for violation of social distancing norms or for not wearing a mask inside the train,” Dayal said. On Friday, DMRC had counselled 150 passengers for not wearing face masks properly and penalised 92 commuters for not wearing a mask or not maintaining social distancing.

Indian Railways resumes services of Vande Bharat Express

M K Rai
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Indian Railways resumes services of Vande Bharat Express

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Railways on Saturday started operating an additional 80 (40 pairs) of trains across the country. The list includes India’s first semi-high speed train Vande Bharat Express which started operating between New Delhi and Varanasi after a gap of more than 170 days.

Indian Railways suspended the operations of Vande Bharat Express on 23 March after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The second Vande Bharat Express train which operates between New Delhi and Katra, however, remains suspended. As of now, Indian Railways have started the New Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express which will operate five days in a week except on Monday and Thursday.

However, on the first day of its operation, the premium train saw a low occupancy rate with just 2% passengers booking tickets on this train. “This is just day one. Many trains are weekly, bi-weekly and so on. Reservation for those trains is expected to pick up as we get closer to those days,” said one official. The train will be numbered 02435 which will leave Varanasi at 3 pm for New Delhi and 02436 will leave New Delhi at 6 am for Varanasi.

With the railways stating that they have introduced special trains in areas where there is more demand and tickets are being waitlisted, only three among the 80 have managed to garner even 50 per cent occupancy on the first day of booking, according to the data.

It is significant to note that when the railways announced that bookings were open for the 15 pairs of trains running on the Rajdhani routes since May 12 and 100 pairs operating since June 1 — the tickets were all booked within a few hours.

Earlier, at a media briefing, the railway board chairman VK Yadav said, “Eighty new special trains or 40 pair of trains will start operating from September 12. Reservations will begin from September 10. These will run in addition to the 230 trains already in operation.” Yadav said.

“Wherever there is a demand for a particular train, wherever the waiting list is long, we will run a clone train ahead of the actual train, so that passengers can travel,” he added.

All Phase-4 stations will accept ‘One Nation One Card’, says DMRC Chief

M K Rai
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All Phase-4 stations will accept ‘One Nation One Card’, says DMRC Chief

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Fare collection system in the upcoming Phase-IV lines of the Delhi Metro will be fully compliant with the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), and commuters will also be able to use a mobile phone to enter or exit a station on its corridors, DMRC chief Mangu Singh has said. Asserting that Delhi Metro is a “modern metro system” comparable to the best in the world, he also said that these two facilities might be rolled out at the Airport Express Line by the end of this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2019 had launched the indigenously-developed NCMC to enable people to pay multiple kinds of transport charges, including for metro and bus services across the country, through a common card. The proposed ‘One Nation One Card’, the inter-operable transport card would allow the holders to also pay their toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping and even withdraw money.

He further said that the facility to use mobile phones to enter or exit automatic fare collection (AFC) gates are available in major modern systems in various countries, including in the Seoul Metro. “We are working to continuously improve our system, with better technological and other interventions, to improve our rolling stocks and energy efficiency. In Ph-IV, our AFC system will fully accept the national common mobility cards, which can be used in any cities,” he told PTI.

“Also, a mobile phone will effectively work as a smart card, and riders will be able to use to enter or exit the AFC gates, in Ph-IV lines,” Singh said. The managing director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, however, underlined that e-payment system and technology are fast-evolving and by the time the Ph-IV work is complete, new technologies may emerge.

“But, we have been working on it for quite some time, and the facilities of NCMC and entry and exit using mobile phones might be available by the end of this year on the Airport Express Line” he added. Currently, riders on the Airport Express Line can also enter or exit AFC gates using a QR code on mobile phone that has to be collected from a metro counter, but the future plan is to have a system whereby commuters can generate their own QR codes on phones and enter through AFC gates using that facility, Mr. Singh said.

The DMRC chief said, these two facilities will be first available on the brand new lines to be built under Ph-IV, and hopefully by the time the construction is over, the corridors to be built under this phase as extensions of existing lines, would “also be upgraded” for compliance. Asked if old smart cards will work in Ph-IV lines, he said, “Yes.” The Union Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, in March last year had approved three out of the six corridors of the Delhi Metro’s proposed phase IV.

Under approved segment of Phase-IV, 61.679-km of new metro lines shall be constructed across three different corridors comprising 45 metro stations. These new sections shall provide interconnectivity among the already operational lines of the Delhi Metro. According to the government, the Mukundpur-Maujpur, R K Ashram-Janakpuri West and Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridors were approved by the Cabinet. The other three proposed corridors of Phase-IV which have not yet been approved by the Union Cabinet are Rithala-Bawana-Narela, Inderlok-Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block.

After a long wait, work had begun on the construction of Delhi Metro’s Phase-IV project with a groundbreaking ceremony held at Haider Badli Mor here on December 30 last year. And, with that piling work had begun for construction of 10 stations of 28.92-km Janakpuri West-R K Ashram Marg corridor, which is an extension of the Magenta Line and will have a total of 22 stations. Asked about the status of construction of stations under Ph-IV, Singh said, tenders have been floated and finalised for all the major elevated sections.

Metros to provide a safer Travel during the pandemic

M K Rai
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0
Metros to provide a safer Travel during the pandemic

The Metros across the nation have resumed their services after the Centre gave a green signal for restarting the metro services in a graded manner. The metros have already been opened up and are expected to be fully operational by September 7. The Metros which possess only one line are fully operational in all cities except Nagpur and Mumbai due to the state government’s decision to go for a further lockdown of one month.

The metros having more than one line have opened their first line. The DMRC has opened up its yellow line on September 7 while the rest lines are expected to provide services by September 12. According to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the set of things need to be taken care of while the metro starts providing their services again.

These guidelines are:

1. Stations in containment zones will be closed.

2. To ensure physical distancing, suitable markings at stations and inside trains will be
done.

3. Wearing a face mask is mandatory for all passengers and staff. Metro rail corporations
may make arrangements for supply of masks on payment basis to the persons arriving
without masks.

4. Only asymptomatic persons will be allowed to travel after thermal screening at entry into
the stations.

5. Provision of sanitisers would be made an entry into the stations for use by passengers.


6. Sanitisation of all areas having human interface needs to be done at regular intervals.

7. Use of Smart Card and cashless transactions to be encouraged. Tokens and paper slip tickets to be used with proper sanitisation.Adequate dwell time at stations to be provided to enable smooth boarding/deboarding,
ensuring social distancing. Metro rail corporations may also resort to skipping of stations
to ensure proper social distancing.

8. Passengers to be advised to travel with minimum luggage and avoid carrying metallic
items for easy and quick scanning.

The government has already notified that the metros are needed to operate their Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems according to the guidelines issued by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE). These guidelines are for increasing the fresh air intake which the metro corporations are already working on. Many of the Metro Corporations have said that they have planned in such a manner that the metro coaches get maximum fresh air while operating.

The metros are indeed not as safer as your private vehicles today due to Coronavirus spread but when as far as Public transportation is concerned, Metros are safest among all. It would help if you were calm and relaxed when you board a metro next time. You will feel a contactless service at the metro stations once you ride on a metro. However, People are encouraged not to travel for leisure. The need of the time is to travel only for essential works like going to office etc. We can hope for a safer and better journey in metros as compared to the other modes of transportation.

Way towards Digital Metros

M K Rai
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Way towards Digital Metros

Digitalization is not a very old thing for the Indian subcontinent. Instead, the concept is very old, but its Indian version is indeed very new. It came into limelight after the demonetization process announcement by the government of India in November 2016. The Digital India movement gained a rapid pace just after the country faced a total shortage of paper money. The concept behind the use of digital money that is based on the number system is to reduce the use of paper money, which further helps to reduce the cost spent by the government in printing notes.

Printing of notes takes a huge amount of investment, human resource and time as well as the best quality of papers which are imported from other countries. The government aims to reduce this cost and thus, in turn, helps payment interfaces. Before the demonetization process, the online payment services were chargeable. Paying for a job application included a payment interface charges of around Rs 20-30 just for a payment of Rs 500. The digital process was then not as easy as it is today.

When the government took the initiative to change the system with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) introducing the UPI payment system, the online payment system got transformed in a few years. In the year 2016, only Paytm used to be the sole player in the game. With the coming of UPI, a host of new players have come into the field and government is also helping these players, which further helps in reducing the payment interface service charges to zero. Today, we can see a lot of mobile apps available working on the UPI payment system.

The Metro Corporations had been using a blended model which included recharge of smart cards with both cash as well as through online payment mode as the Coronavirus spread has created a new demand of going for entirely cashless.

One alternative to the existing system could be the ambitious scheme of the central government, “National Common Mobility Card” or (NCMC) launched by prime minister Narendra Modi in March last year during the launch of the first phase of Ahmedabad Metro in Ahmedabad. The scheme commonly known as ‘One Nation One Card‘ Scheme is an umbrella the program under the ministry of housing and urban affairs of Government of India. This scheme proposes to include a common payment option for various services with being an indigenous prepaid card supported by the national payments corporation of India led the Rupay payments system.

The Digitalization in the metro faring systems will not only help the commuters or the metro corporations, but it will also help the government to reduce its expenditures on the printing of banknotes. The revenue generated by payment interface service providers will further help the startups and boost the Make in India concept.

The largest Metro network of the country, Delhi Metro run by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced that it is not going to entertain any cash transactions on its network with going fully digital in the ticketing system.

The Lucknow Metro the other hand, has come up with a new card called Go Smart card. According to the UPMRC, the nodal agency for operating the Lucknow Metro says, ” The Go Smart Cardsaves both time and money as the users have to no longer stand in queues for buying tickets/tokens, moreover, they get a 10% discount on the fare (of the journey) each time they travel. Besides these benefits, ‘Go Smart card users can also enjoy free Wi-Fi facility at the MetroStations for which they just have to tap their card at the card reader. Tokens can also be purchased through Token Vending Machine (TVM) using ‘Go Smart’ Card, so a user’s relatives and friends can purchase tickets using the same card”.

There are few more things which can be given a digital shape in the Metros. In the metro coaches, AI-based digital displays can be used in place of audio which creates noise pollution in the metro coaches. The digitalization in the collection of fare will ensure health safety and transparency.

The further thing which the metro corporations may do is replacing the physical tokens or tickets with digital tickets. The QR code technology can be used in making it more accessible. The AFC gates shall adapt to such technologies which further helps the ticketing system through QR codes more efficient and easy to use. Metro Corporations can develop integrated Android & iOS apps to make the process smoother. As a person who boards a metro train just for a single trip in a year would never like to buy a smart card, it is the responsibility of the Metro Authorities to ensure that interests of such passengers are not neglected. The QR based online ticketing system will surely be of great benefit when it comes to cater to the demands of passengers in such difficult times of the Pandemic.

Mumbai’s Metro 2A, 7 trial runs to start in January 2021

M K Rai
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Mumbai’s Metro 2A, 7 trial runs to start in January 2021

Mumbai (Metro Rail News): Trial runs for two Metro lines – Metro 2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro 7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) – will commence from January 14, 2021, said commissioner of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) RA Rajeev on Thursday. Commercial operations for the two lines are expected to start from May 2021.

“We will receive the first set of trains in December 2020. Post which, system integration will take about five months. We can assure citizens that the operations will start from May 2021,” he said. MMRDA will commence operations with 10 train sets, with a headway of 20-25 minutes between trains initially according to sources.

The Metro was expected to be operational by December this year, but the Covid-19 lockdown resulted in delays. Rajeev said MMRDA was making up for lost time by readying teams for each site and “maximising” labour force for Metro 2A and Metro 7.

According to MMRDA, 7,109 labourers were working at the Metro sites on March 16, before the lockdown was announced.
Now, 6,332 labourers are at the Metro sites. “We have almost reached the pre-lockdown count. We are also arranging special trains for labourers to reach Mumbai,” he said.

While the authority was looking to employ locals at its sites, only 150-200 labourers at the two Metro sites are from Maharashtra. Officials said labourers from Maharashtra are trained for industrial jobs and not for working at construction sites.

A right-to-information (RTI) query dated September 8 by environment activist Zoru Bhathena revealed that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is executing Metro 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli) on behalf of MMRDA, has not been allotted land for the Metro 6 depot yet. “Exact location of depot is not yet finalised. The plan shall be prepared only after the finalization of the land,” the reply stated.

Direct connectivity for Metro 7 stations

MMRDA has approved two proposals for direct connectivity with Metro 7 stations. Sonia Sethi, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said two foot overbridges – one from Aarey station to Oberoi Realty; and another from Poisar station to Shapoorji Pallonji – have been approved.

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