MAD Architects unveils solar-powered Hyperloop transit system

Kanika Verma
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MAD Architects unveils solar-powered Hyperloop transit system

MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The avant-garde architecture of Beijing-based MAD Architects has merged with Hyperloop’s futuristic transportation technologies to unveil a new, solar-powered rapid transit system. Designed with an emphasis on sustainability, the elevated, tube-based infrastructure will promote car-free living, incorporate urban farming and harness renewable energy to minimize its environmental footprint.

The versatile system is designed for easy integration in a variety of environments, from dense urban centers to remote deserts.

MAD Architects’ collaboration with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (Hyperloop TT) is meant to transform the future of travel by showing how the transportation infrastructure can complement the natural environment and bring people closer to nature.

The Hyperloop concept, which was popularized by Elon Musk in 2012, is a proposed mode of transportation that uses a pressurized system of large tubes, through which pods carrying people or freight can be pushed at high speed without lag from air resistance.

MAD Architects and HyperloopTT’s vision expands on this idea with the integration of sustainable systems and green public space, which can be built along the tops of the tubes as well as underneath them.

“The pylon design minimizes the system’s physical footprint by lifting its functions almost 7 meters above ground,” explained MAD Architects of the versatile pylon design that doubles as structural support. “This eliminates the possibility of collision with road traffic, which in turn decreases the cost of land acquisition. It is composed of a single-mold fiberglass structure, proving its efficiency in both its development and usage.”

The base of each pylon is designed to accommodate organic urban farming activities and solar-powered LED grow lights. The Hyperloop TT system would also be powered with solar and wind energies. Flexible solar panel skin modules would be affixed to the system and used to power the Hyperloop, LEDs and interactive information boards.

Bladeless wind turbine forests would be installed at certain sections to create an additional source of power and reduce energy costs.

By next April trial runs on the extended line of Chennai metro

Kanika Verma
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By next April trial runs on the extended line of Chennai metro

CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): By April 2020, metro trains will be operated for the first time on the tracks in north Chennai between Washermenpet and Wimco Nagar before they are thrown open to the public.

Metro rail is likely to get the 9km line ready by mid next year. A metro rail official said trains will be operated in manual mode on the line before trial runs and inspections by the commissioner of metro rail safety (CMRS).

“We may operate trains by April or May next year. Much of the work would be completed by then. We will be ready for a June 2020 opening,” the official said.

Locomotives followed by metro trains in manual mode will be operated on the 9km stretch to check the alignment of the tracks. It will be followed by trial runs when trains will be operated on manual and automatic modes to test the integration of the cars with signaling and communication systems.

Syncing of platform screen doors, information display boards on platforms and the automatic fare collection gates in the ticketing area will be checked. It will be followed by formal inspections by CMRS to get approvals for commercial operations.

When the line opens, commuters could board a train from Wimco Nagar near Tiruvottiyur and reach the airport via Anna Salai. They could shift corridors to reach Koyambedu CMBT or Egmore station.

At present, construction to complete the elevated corridor and stations, underground and elevated, is underway. Workers are busy laying tracks on a portion of the elevated corridor.

“About 40% of the trackwork in the elevated section is done,” an official said. Once the trackwork is complete, overhead equipment and the mast will be erected before the signaling and communication systems are installed. A two-kilometer twin tunnel between Washermenpet and Korukkupet was completed more than a year ago. Officials said the underground tunnels are now ready with tracks and electricals.

Amravati metro will cut the cost of capital Metro by Rs 100 crore per km

Kanika Verma
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Amravati metro will cut the cost of capital Metro by Rs 100 crore per km

VIJAYAWADA (Metro Rail News): The Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) has decided to revise the detailed project report (DPR) for the Amaravati Metro project on the basis of suggestions made by the state government.

In a recent meeting with municipal minister Botcha Satyanarayana, AMRC officials stated that the Amaravati light-Metro project will cost the exchequer Rs 25,000 crore. The project has been designed with two corridors in mind.

The AMRC had estimated that it would spend Rs 12,500 crore for the 27-km long underground Metro rail line from Prakasam barrage to the Amaravati capital region. However, the state government expressed dissatisfaction about the underground line project as it would cost the exchequer Rs 450 crore per kilometer.

In its response, the AMRC said that it can minimize the cost of the project to around Rs 100 crore per kilometer. AMRC managing director NP Ramakrishna Reddy said, “we are focussed on minimizing the cost of the project as per the directions of the state government.” “We had designed an underground line earlier.
However, the government has asked us to prepare estimates for an earth-grade Metro rail.

This can reduce the cost of the project drastically,” he added. Sources in the municipal administration department said that the department is planning to reduce the extent of the Eluru Road corridor, beginning the corridor from Nidamanuru instead of Gannavaram.

The AMRC is gearing to submit the new report along with the detailed project report prepared by SYSTRA within a month. Meanwhile, the state government is ready to go to the central government for assistance after verifying the final DPR.

Officials said that the government might consider a public-private partnership model for the project if the cost of the project is sufficiently reduced.

For 2 months DMRC to operate Gurugram’s Rapid Metro

Kanika Verma
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For 2 months DMRC to operate Gurugram’s Rapid Metro

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): On Monday evening, the Haryana government and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) signed an agreement, according to which the latter will take over operations of Gurugram’s Rapid Metro as an interim measure for two months.

Senior officials from both, the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) and the DMRC, confirmed this development on Tuesday.

D Suresh, managing director, HMRTC, and chief administrator, Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), said, “This will allow the DMRC, which is an experienced Metro operator, to run the Rapid Metro for two months while we make arrangements to run it independently. The DMRC will not run the Rapid Metro in the long-term.” He added that the DMRC was prepared to take over operations by September 22.

However, officials also said that this handover will be contingent on orders that are yet to be issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which on Tuesday adjourned its hearing of the Rapid Metro dispute to September 18, and instructed IL&FS to continue operating the Metro line for one more day.

The HSVP and the HMRTC had both filed separate petitions in the high court on September 6, challenging a termination notice issued by the Rapid Metro on June 7.

Anuj Dayal, executive director of corporate communications, DMRC, said, “An agreement has been signed. However, the process of taking over will commence only when it is officially communicated by the HMRTC to the DMRC. As of now, the HMRTC and the Rapid Rail authorities are communicating with each other and further course of action will also depend on court observations.”

Representatives from both, the Haryana government and the Rapid Metro, confirmed that negotiations between the two parties have so far not been able to arrive at a resolution. Chetan Mittal, the advocate for the Haryana government in the matter, said, “Negotiations with the operator have failed. Our position, as conveyed to the court, is that the assets and infrastructure need to be handed over to us at the earliest so that the service can be handed over to the DMRC. However, the operator is refusing to transfer the assets without first settling the project’s outstanding debts.”

Both parties have also been instructed by the high court to recommend the names of two judges, who will oversee the transfer of operations and maintenance of the Rapid Metro from IL&FS to the HMRTC, and then to the DMRC. They are expected to put forward their recommendations in court on September 18.

IL&FS also told the court on Tuesday that it would be willing to continue operating the Rapid Metro, provided the Haryana government settled the project’s outstanding debt. Mittal, however, said that the Haryana government would not agree to any payment terms without first conducting a forensic audit of Rapid Metro Gurugram Limited (and Rapid Metro Gurugram South Limited).

“Even the enforcement directorate is investigating allegations that the service has been used to siphon off about ₹300 crores, by issuing work orders to shell companies. Before any payout can be made, we have to be sure that the Haryana government is not picking up any of the company’s liabilities, or providing them undue benefits,” he said.

A senior IL&FS official, not wishing to be quoted, said that the company would not make any official comment until after the high court hearing on September 18.

NCRTC likely to provide freight movement on the RRTS

Kanika Verma
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NCRTC likely to provide freight movement on the RRTS

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): An official said on Tuesday, The National Capital Region Transport Corporation is likely to facilitate freight movement on its Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors.

He said Logistics services through RRTS would be “an excellent option” especially for transporting time-sensitive commodities which also face issues related to inadequate availability of cold-chain infrastructure.

The NCRTC, the executing agency of the RRTS, organized a consultation meeting with the logistics industry to deliberate on the ‘Provision of Logistics Services through RRTS corridors in National Capital Region’.

Officials said that the representatives from various logistics organizations, including Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, CONCOR, Delhivery participated and shared valuable insights. Given its network, the RRTS has “strong potential” to also become a preferred partner for e-commerce logistics, they said. The system which is primarily being implemented for commuter movement is planning to utilize its capacity during a lean period for freight movement.

An official quoted NCRTC MD Vinay Kumar Singh as saying in the meeting “Apart from its numerous benefits as a green corridor, it would act as a catalyst for economic growth,”.

Singh said that apart from its numerous benefits as a green corridor, it would act as a catalyst for economic growth. According to the NCRTC, RRTS is envisioned to serve as a more sustainable alternative for urban freight movement in the NCR by handling goods at its depots. “There are depots proposed along Phase-I RRTS corridors at the strategic locations –Duhai and Modipuram depots on Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor, Murthal and Panipat depots on Delhi-Panipat corridor and Dharuhera depot on Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor,” the official said.

Commuters will be able to travel on the country’s first rail rapid transit corridor in over three years from now as its 17-km-long Duhai-Sahibabad section in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad is expected to be operational by early 2023. The entire Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, spanning 82 km, will be operational by 2025.

Texas high-speed rail Contract signed for US$ 14 billion

Kanika Verma
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Texas high-speed rail Contract signed for US$ 14 billion

TEXAS (Metro Rail News): For a high-speed train connecting Houston and Dallas in Texas, US Texas Central has announced that a design-build contract has been signed with the joint venture of Salini Impregilo, and its US subsidiary, Lane Construction Corporation.

The project’s total investment is expected to be approximately US$20 billion with the civil works estimated at US$14 billion.

The high-speed rail is expected to be operational in 2026 work is scheduled to begin in 2020 – following the conclusion of the approval process for the project.

The project is expected to lead to the creation of 10,000 jobs per year during peak construction and 1,500 permanent jobs when fully operational.

Salini‐Lane is to supply the civil and infrastructure scope for the new high‐speed train service between Houston and Dallas. This includes the design and construction of the viaduct and embankment sections along the entire route, the installation of the track system and the alignment and construction of all buildings and services.

This design‐build agreement authorizes a set of early works for the joint venture to continue advancing engineering design, detailed planning, interface definition and other key prerequisites necessary to start construction. This agreement is the result of their previous work providing front‐end engineering and design for the train’s civil infrastructure.

Carlos F said, “This agreement brings us one step closer to beginning construction of the civil infrastructure segments of the project,”.
Aguilar, CEO, Texas Central. “Salini‐Lane’s unmatched track record with rail infrastructure, and very specifically its world-class high‐speed rail expertise across the globe, will be central to the completion of America’s first end to end high‐speed rail system.”

The Texas train will be based on Central Japan Railway’s Tokaido Shinkansen train system.

Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat starts services soon

Kanika Verma
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Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat starts services soon

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Piyush Goyal chaired Railway Ministry is all set to start the operations of the second ‘Make in India’ Vande Bharat Express on the Delhi-Katra route soon.

The Railway Board has announced that the train operations of the second Train 18 on Delhi-Katra route will begin before the upcoming festival season.

Considering the fact that getting reserved train tickets during the festive period is often challenging, the introduction of the new Vande Bharat Express train service is expected to benefit a lot of passengers who are planning to travel during that time.

According to Railway Board Chairman, Vinod Yadav, the Delhi-Katra route was chosen by the board in a bid to capitalize on the high traffic volume owing to the holy pilgrimage of Mata Vaishno Devi temple.

The upcoming semi-high speed train on Delhi-Katra route is likely to bring down the travel time between both the cities to 8 hours from the current 12 hours.

This is going to be the second such engineless semi-high speed train, offering world-class train facilities to passengers. At present, only one Vande Bharat Express is operational on Indian Railways network, connecting Delhi to Varanasi.

The new Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express will depart from the national capital at 6:00 AM and reach Katra at 2:00 PM. On its return journey, the train will depart from Katra the same day at 3:00 PM and reach Delhi at 11:00 PM.

En route, the Vande Bharat Express train will halt at Ludhiana, Ambala Cantt, and Jammu Tawi railway stations. Manufactured under ‘Make in India’ initiative, the train has been equipped with a slew of modern features including automatic doors, bio-vacuum type toilets, comfortable seating, onboard hotspot WiFi for entertainment purposes, GPS based audio-visual passenger information system, LED lighting, etc.

ETA-Tricolite JV bags Rs. 101 Cr Contract of Delhi Metro

Narendra Shah
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ETA-Tricolite JV bags Rs. 101 Cr Contract of Delhi Metro

New Delhi (Metro Rail News):  ETA Engineering and Tricolite Electrical Industries Limited (ETA-Tricolite JV) got the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on September 13, 2019, as The ETA-Tricolite JV has emerged as the lowest bidder.

Scope of work

The total value of the contract is Rs.100.91 crore. The scope of work includes design verification, detail engineering, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of electrical and mechanical (E&M) system including fire, hydraulic system and DG sets, environment control system (ECS) and tunnel ventilation system (TVS) for the Dwarka Sector 21-Dwarka Sector 25 Metro Rail Project (Extension of Delhi Airport Express Link) and Najafgarh-Dhansa Bus Stand corridor (Delhi Metro Line 9 extension).

The section from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand station shall be financed by Japanese Bank Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) whereas Dwarka Sector 21 to Dwarka Section 25 (ICC) shall be self-financed.

The tender was notified in February this and technical bids were opened on March 14, 2019.

The first trial runs on 4.29 km long Dwarka – Najafgarh corridor (Line 9) was commenced on July 16, 2019. This section has a total of three stations. Najafgarh station is underground. Out of Dwarka and Nangli are elevated ones, while N

Commencement

This section is expected to be commissioned in December 2019.

ETA Engineering Private Ltd. is working in India since 1994. The company is part of the ETA ASCON – STAR GROUP of Companies based out in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Tricolite Electrical Industries Limited – is a leading Exporter, Manufacturer, Supplier of Electric Switchboards, 33 KV Panels, 11 KV VCB Panel from Gurugram, Haryana, India.

This information is exclusively shared by Gurgaon based consultancy firm Subinfra Project Management.

Chief Secretary prepare a plan to increase Lucknow Metro ridership

Kanika Verma
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Chief Secretary prepare a plan to increase Lucknow Metro ridership

UTTAR PRADESH (Metro Rail News): On September 16, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari directed officers to prepare an action plan to increase ridership of the Lucknow metro.

He also asked the officials to implement the one-city-one card scheme for the Lucknow Metro and the city’s bus services.

Tiwari said while presiding over a meeting here said that for providing better transport facilities to the common people an effective action plan should be prepared to increase ridership for the metro from ChaudhariCharan Singh airport to Munshipulia.

The CS said, at every station, the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation should ensure and develop necessary facilities like bus and auto stops, and footpaths.

He also directed the Lucknow municipal corporation, the Lucknow Development Authority, the housing board, and the public works department to provide adequate support to develop parking facilities near metro stations.

East-West Metro soil test in yield zone

Kanika Verma
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East-West Metro soil test in yield zone

KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): Samples of soil are being collected from the Bowbazar area that has been affected after a machine boring an East-West Metro tunnel hit a sand aquifer containing a large amount of water, leading to subsidence.

Engineers said an analysis of the samples would reveal how soft the soil had become after the accident and whether it would be able to bear further stress once the tunneling work resumed and collapsed buildings rebuilt.

Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, the implementing agency of East-West Metro that aims to connect Salt Lake Sector V with Howrah Maidan, started the exercise on Monday, the first of its kind since the collapse on August 31.

A KMRC engineer said samples of the soil from this region in Bowbazar would be analyzed by our soil experts. The idea is to understand the degree of disturbance on the soil because of the accident underground and then calculate its stress-bearing capacity.

A team of workers led by engineers set up conical structures in Gaur De Lane on Monday and used it to bore a pit underground with the help of a steel shaft. The shaft was thrust inside the pit using an iron pulley. An engineer said, “After subsidence, we want to check the exact character of the soil on the surface and below”.

As workers went about boring, several residents who have been evacuated but who still keep returning to have a look at their houses, stood and watched the lane where they have been living for decades suddenly lose its character.

The mid-afternoon calm was replaced by the buzz of generator sets as engineers poured into their tabulation sheets with every sample of soil that was pulled out. Engineers said that during tunnelling the impact on the surrounding soil was not limited to those near the tunnel alone but also in the adjoining areas.

Settlement of soil gradually decreases with the increase in the distance from the center of the tunnel underground. Over the last week, a team of engineers has been checking the structural stability of some of the buildings across Durga Pituri Lane, Gour De Lane, and Shakrapara Lane.

A separate team has been working on strengthening the foundation of some of the buildings by injecting a solution of sodium silicate and cement underneath a process known as grouting. After the soil test is completed, engineers said they would sit down and analyze the results to understand if more buildings were at risk in this cave-in zone.

Andhra government suggests Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation to ‘level down’ rail project

Kanika Verma
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Andhra government suggests Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation to ‘level down’ rail project

VIJAYAWADA (Metro Rail News): In a bid to promote sustainable transportation between Vijayawada-Amaravati-Guntur-Tenali, the State government has decided to shelve the earlier designed elevated corridor, Semi-High Speed Circular Rail project and instead take it as an ‘at grade section’ project (at the same level of the road), if the plans materialize.

The project, when conceived by the previous TDP government, was an elevated one but the new government wants to change the project design to bring down the cost.

On Monday, Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation Limited (AMRCL) managing director NP Ramakrishna Reddy said the government has proposed the project to provide quick mode of transportation to the capital Amaravati from nearby cities and towns, to reduce undue population pressure on the road network and to help in the economic growth of the satellite cities and towns.

Gurugram-based Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC) was entrusted with the task of preparing a feasibility report and detailed project report in coordination with the AP Capital Region Development Area (APCRDA), he said. In its preliminary feasibility report submitted earlier, the agency had estimated the project length to be 104 km at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 crore.

In a recent review meeting with the AMRCL officials, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to materialize the project as ‘at grade section’ to reduce the cost of expenditure following the Suburban Rail Policy-2017. He also suggested to take up the project according to top priority on developing modern facilities and greenery alongside the existing railway lines and through utilizing the lands on a lease basis.

Elaborating further, the AMRCL chief said that the Ministry of Railways will take up about 19-km-railway line works between Amaravati-Namburu section, following the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act- 2014. The remaining 85 km length of the railway line will be developed under joint venture model with 20 percent equity from the State government and the Ministry of Railways funding for 60 percent of the balance can be availed in form of soft loan from banks and financial institutions, according to the provisions stated in the Suburban Rail Policy.

Metroman says DMRC ready with design to rebuild flyover

Kanika Verma
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Metroman says DMRC ready with design to rebuild flyover

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Metroman E. Sreedharan has said that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has readied the design to reconstruct an expansion-joint-less, four-lane flyover at Palarivattom on the lines of the one at Edappally to replace the one whose cracked girders will be pulled down.

He added, while 100 of the 102 girders and the deck above will be pulled down, the piers and pier caps will be wrapped using reinforced concrete. The method is stronger and durable than carbon-fiber-wrapping that had been suggested earlier.

Mr. Sreedharan told that the design was readied in advance on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s suggestion, to save on time. He wants me to recommend someone to supervise the rebuilding work, and I will get back to him in two weeks. The work will be executed by the Kozhikode-based Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd.

The Metro man said that the estimate and tender documents will be readied in 15 days. DMRC will not be associated with the reconstruction work since our personnel here who are engaged in metro work are being diverted to other work sites. Neither will I supervise it. I will give technical guidance, in my personal capacity.

Elaborating on the scale of damage sustained by the flyover, he said since 97 of the 102 girders had suffered major or minor cracks within less than three years of the flyover being commissioned, casting doubts about the safety and longevity of the structure.

 “The replacement of girders will ensure that the flyover on the Edappally-Aroor NH Bypass has a lifespan of 80 to 100 years.

He said, “The girders, which were built using the deck-continuity method, will be replaced with pre-stressed girders as was done on the Edappally flyover which was built by DMRC. The two special spans at the center of the flyover will not be replaced. Thus, vehicles can continue to go beneath the structure”.

Pre-casting will be done away with at the flyover site, so that the existing girders can be simultaneously pulled down without throwing traffic into disarray.

Mr. Sreedharan said, all bearings must be replaced. Care will have to be taken so that vehicles can proceed without being caught in snarls and by making optimal use of space on service roads.

Chennai metro employees union moves HC to prosecute MD

Kanika Verma
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0
Chennai metro employees union moves HC to prosecute MD

CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) Employees Union has filed a written petition in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the State Government and the Commissioner of Labour to initiate criminal action under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 against the Managing Director and other top officials of metro rail for taking vindictive action against its members.

On Monday, Justice S.M. Subramaniam ordered notices to the government, Labour Commissioner as well as the MD and other officials of CMRL on the petition filed by the employees union represented by its president A. Soundararajan, 72, of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). Alternatively, the petitioner urged the court to grant permission to the union to launch a criminal prosecution.

In an affidavit, the union stated that a total of 254 employees in the cadre of the technician, train operator, station controller, and junior engineer were recruited by CMRL in 2013 and 2014.
All these employees were getting 30% of their basic pay towards House Rent Allowance and 35% towards cafeteria allowance which was inclusive of education, transport, washing, and medical allowances.

However, while revising the pay with effect from January 1, 2017, CMRL reduced the HRA from 30 to 24% took away the cafeteria allowance totally. This led to the nonexecutive cadre employees losing Rs.8,960 to Rs. 15,580 a month through the HRA was reduced from 30 to 24% and the cafeteria allowance was reduced from 35 to 20% for those working in the executive cadre.

Further, by a circular dated July 21, 2018, CMRL withdrew benefits such as 15 days paternity leave and 20 days of half pay leave. These measures led to various forms of protest and the formation of the trade union. After CITU began taking up for the cause of the employees, the management first suspended and then eventually dismissed seven office bearers from service.

Even as conciliation proceedings were pending before the Assistant Commissioner of Labour and an appeal having been preferred by the seven office-bearers against their dismissal, the management had suspended nine more workers and issued charge sheets to 15 more workmen in connection with a strike, the union said and sought permission for prosecuting the top brass.

2 Metro stations on track, to be operational in December

Kanika Verma
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0
2 Metro stations on track, to be operational in December

PUNE (Metro Rail News): By December this year, the city will have its first two Metro stations. According to the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MahaMetro), which is executing two phases of the project in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, the Sant Tukaramnagar and Phugewadi, says that facilities will be ready for Metro operations by then.

Work on the foundations of the remainder of the elevated corridor on this line, between Dapodi and Range Hills, has been progressing slowly, mostly because of problems related to land acquisition.

MahaMetro has already started work on the 5km underground stretch, between the Range Hills and Swargate Metro stations. The train will go underground just after Range Hills, near the College of Agriculture, and proceed underground till Swargate.

Enroute, it will have stops at Shivajinagar, Civil Court (also being planned as a multimodal transport hub), Budhwar Peth, and Mandai. “About 38% of the civil work on the Sant Tukaramnagar station and 22% on the Phugewadi station has been completed so far. Each station will have three entry/exit points in the first phase,” a MahaMetro official said.

Across the two lines, MahaMetro has identified a total of 12km as priority sectors. Work on these stretches PCMC-Dapodi (7km) and Vanaz-Civil Court (5km) has been fast-tracked, as MahaMetro aims to make the Metro operational by the end of the year.

Two other stations at Anandnagar and Garware College on the Vanaz-Civil Court stretch will be ready by January, officials said. “The construction of Metro stations on the elevated section is completely different from constructing the viaduct and so, different firms have been appointed,” a MahaMetro official said. “Work on the stations, which was slow off the blocks, has now gained momentum,” the official added.

Each Metro station will comprise two levels a concourse, which will have ticket counters and other amenities, and the platform where commuters will board and get off the Metro trains.

A MahaMetro official said they were in the process of acquiring land private and government-owned to set up the entry-exit points for the stations, each of which will boast of lifts and escalators for commuters to reach to the platforms.

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