NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Centre has said it cannot accept AAP government’s conditions on the Metro Phase-4 and asked it review its decision to not start work on Metro Phase-4 project till the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs revises its approval for the same on May 26, 2019.
According to the sources, The AAP government had in April directed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) not to start the work on Phase-4 project till the ministry revises its approval in tune with the AAP dispensation’s assent.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Shri Durga Shanker Mishra has written to Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev, asking him to review the decision of the Government of NCT of Delhi GNCTD) for stopping the work of Phase-IV and uplift this embargo at the earliest in public interest.
Delhi Government conditions on Metro Phase IV
While approving the Metro Phase-IV, the Delhi Cabinet had imposed two conditions
50-50 sharing of operational loss between the Delhi government and the Centre
The Delhi government will not bear any liability of repayment of loan given by the JICA, Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The Union cabinet had in March approved three of six corridors of the Metro Phase-4 approved by the AAP dispensation, sidelining the conditions imposed by the Delhi government while giving its nod to all six corridors. The three corridors approved by the Union Cabinet are Mukundpur-Maujpur (12.54 km), Janakpuri West-R K Ashram (28.92 km) and Tughlakabad-Aerocity (20.20 km).
The other three corridors of phase-4 which have not been approved by the Centre are Rithala-Bawana-Narela, Inderlok-Indraprastha, and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block.
The AAP government had objected it,
alleging that the Union government has made some “unilateral changes”
in the project, without communicating any reasons.
A good public transport system is often one of the defining features of a city, generating multiple far reached benefits, enhancing sustainable living, attracting residents, businesses, daily commuters, and tourists. Rail-based public transport projects such as LRTS/ MRTS/ RRTS generate large scale economic values for cities and are necessary for long term inclusive and sustainable development. However, in various transport systems across the world, fares that users pay do not fully help recover costs of the initial investment made. Substantial government monetary support, subsidies & loans are required to build, maintain and operate most of the rail-based transit systems. This traditional way of urban rail financing leads to a growing debt-subsidy cycle which undermines economic development.
At a time when urban rail investment appears to be a priority for the cities, governments face budgetary pressure leading to challenges in the financing of urban rail. The fiscal challenge for urban rail has prompted cities to find alternative funding and seek different governance frameworks to implement rail projects. Cities are recognizing the potential of urban rail in creating economic value, through its multiple non-transport benefits, especially its impact on land values and thus it’s potential to influence more intensive land development/ Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and hence urban regeneration with its associated agglomeration of benefits. Innovative financing through ‘beneficiary pay’ methods has emerged lately to cope up with the crunch of finances for building capital intensive public transport facilities such as Metro’s and Rapid Rails. Thus, it becomes essential for Indian cities to learn from the successful experiences of Innovative Financing for Mass Transit across the globe.
Impact of Rail
Transit on Land & Real Estate Developments
The LRTS/ MRTS/ RRTS provides fast, reliable, safe and comfortable connectivity solution to the expanding urban centers. It serves as an integral commuter transport backbone in the region. High speed, a significant reduction in travel time and wider reach, offers very different propositions to the spatial geographies. The hypothesis is that even incremental changes in transport infrastructure may encourage both land development and economic growth stems from the concept of the “accessibility” of locations. The more easily people and goods can access a given location, the more desirable that location is for both people to live and for businesses to establish themselves. This added increment of location desirability will lead to tremendous development in public transport station areas/ influence zones ‐ both physical land development and redevelopment as well as economic development. With the establishment of MRTS corridors, there is a sharp increase in valuations, as per various market studies. The enhanced real estate development due to building an MRTS corridor brings in:
Increase in catchment areas, due to which newer areas become accessible.
Increase in real estate valuations, due to increased accessibility, infrastructure development and economic development.
Transaction velocity increases with increase in number of real estate transactions. Till date. The rise in land & asset valuations due to public investments have usually been captured only by private players.
Understanding Land Value Capture (LVC)
Land Value Capture refers to a type of innovative public financing, in which increases in land values generated by a new public infrastructure investment are all or in part “captured” through a land-related tax or any other active or passive mechanisms, such as betterment charges, tax increment financing, air rights sale, property development, to pay back such an investment. In other words, Value Capture, in a broader sense, opposes the windfall gains derived out of public infrastructure creation accrued to a privileged few as unearned income but argues for redistribution of such gains fully or partially to fund public investment and also to compensate social-costs often resulting from these investment negativities. However, the LVC concept is still perceived as a work-in-progress with varied success. As evident from global experiences, this was primarily due to the fact that there is a notional misconception of the Value Capture mechanism as only a financing tool. Mostly they have overlooked the needed support investments for infrastructure integration and the sustainable community living aspects specifically in the case of using LVC for a mass transit project. Land Value Capture can be blended with the planning and development framework to bring in the realizations of Transit Oriented Development as well.
Development Based Land Value Capture
(DBLVC): Development based Land Value Capture (DBLVC) is the type of LVC
mechanism where transit agencies or transit investors are directly or
indirectly involved in the delivery of development on land around transit
stations (George Hazel Consultancy, 2013).
Examples: Direct Property Development, Joint Property Development, Land Sales/ Auction,
Air Rights Sale, Land Lease
Agreements, Land Readjustment, Urban Redevelopment Schemes
Taxation Based Land Value Capture (TBLVC): Taxation
based land value capture (TBLVC) is the type of LVC instrument that is used to
recover transit induced value gains by imposing taxes or fees on existing
developments located in ‘transit investment benefitting areas” established by the transit agency. (Medda & Modelewska,
2009; Walters, 2012).
Examples: Cess, Taxes, Levies like
Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Special Assessments, Land Value Taxes (LVT),
Betterment Charges, Impact Fees, Station Connection Fees etc
Applicability of Land Value Capture Tools
Overall, Land
Value Capture finance is rapidly acquiring global legitimacy as an ancillary
and innovative source of funding for expensive urban transport projects. The highlighted economic
impacts of public transit investments on surrounding properties make a strong
case for transit Value Capture Finance in emerging cities. However, Development
Based Land Value Capture type mechanisms have unique advantages over Taxation
Based Land Value Capture type mechanisms and vice versa. It is critical that
city leaders and transit executives consider the unique advantages of the two
types of LVC to ascertain which best fits their local context and funding
objective. Alternatively, DBLVC and TBLVC mechanisms can be consolidated to
meet a funding objective, while leveraging the strengths of each type.
Feasibility, Equity, Efficiency, and Revenue Capacity and their supporting
criteria must be adhered to maximize the utility of any type of LVC mechanism for
transit finance. Efficiency and Revenue Capacity especially underscore the
essence of evaluating the revenues LVC mechanisms relative to their costs. This
is a critical step towards thinking more economically about LVC finance tools
used for financing transit and sustainable urban development.
The ‘Rail plus Property’ model: Hong Kong’s
successful self-financing formula for MTR
‘Rail + Property’
model is one of the most successful examples of Development Based Land Value Capture
(DBLVC), which has been used for financing Mass Transit Railway
(MTR Hong Kong). The reason behind the model being able to perform so
well is that the government of Hong Kong has enabled MTR to capture value from
the property-value increases that typically follow the construction of rail
lines. The key is a business model called “Rail plus Property” (R+P). For new
rail lines, the government provides MTR with land “development rights” at
stations or depots along the route. To convert these development rights to land, MTR pays the government a land premium
based on the land’s market
value without the railway. Similar models have been developed
for Shenzhen, China, Sydney & London.
Lucknow (metro rail news): The Lucknow Metro has reached the ridership figure of 1.11 crore since it has started services in the state capital in 2017.
The Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) statement issued here commented, “LMRC thanks all passengers, who have showered such immense support and warmth ever since the commencement of commercial services in 2017. We touched the ridership figure of 1.
11 crore on Tuesday. Nearly 60,000 passengers travel by Lucknow Metro every day.”
It also
said, “nearly 60,000 passengers locomote daily by Lucknow Metro.”
According to the statement, “Lucknow Metro trains complete on an average 331 trips every day on the North-South corridor stretching from Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport to Munshipulia.”
The Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation said, “With time, Lucknow Metro has become synonymous with a world-class state-of-the-art public transport system that’s safe, energy-efficient, inclusive and has a dedicated human resource ready to serve the passengers with the simplest of their skills.”
Bhubaneswar (Metro Rail News): The Government of Odisha will aim to connect the heritage silver city of Cuttack with smart city Bhubaneswar by Metro train information shared by Ganeshi Lal Governor of Odisha.
“The government will provide interest-free crop loans to small and marginal farmers up to Rs 1 lakh,” said while addressing the inaugural session of the 16th Odisha Legislative Assembly.
He added further that the government will venture to create 30 lakh employment opportunities in six focus sectors and 75 percent of jobs will be reserved for qualified local youth in all upcoming industries in Odisha.
Women will now get Rs 10 lakh for their treatment instead of Rs 7 lakh under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. All the widow and destitute women will get social security pension.
Micro and Small Enterprises Welfare Board will be formed to work for the sustenance and growth of the MSME sector and a welfare board will be formed for those engaged in traditional livelihood earning means like priests, barbers, and washermen.
A suitable ‘interest subvention scheme’ will be introduced for the extension of credit at concessional rate to the eligible MSMEs.
The Governor said, “My government proposes to bring out a new industrial policy in line with the perspective plan with emphasis on the creation of job opportunities. Best-in-class industrial parks will be established for each of the focus sectors.”
He also informed that the government will complete the construction of 5 new ongoing medical colleges within the next 3 years, introduce a suitable interest subvention scheme for the extension of credit at concessional rate to MSMEs, and promulgate a new industrial policy in line with the perspective plan with emphasis on the creation of job opportunities.
The Governor announced that the
State government will lay Astro Turfs on all the 17 blocks of Sundergarh
district to prepare world class hockey players in the sports sector.
Odisha
Smart City Mission will try to develop five municipal corporations cities as
smart cities. Apart from Metro rail project, the government will attempt to
connect North to South and East to West through Biju Express Way.
Recently, Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi has announced free ride to women in Metro rail and buses in the capital city for increasing their safety. Women have been demanding safe travel, but the free ride was never their call. A government can always give sops to its citizen, but linking it to safety enhancement is intriguing.
The Metro is safer; it is manned by the Central Industrial Security Force, has regulated the access and closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitors the entire premise. Perhaps the argument in favor could be that women commuting will shift to Metro. It assumes that they are on the Metro map but this may not be the reality.
The government feels that finances are not an issue and the free rides scheme will cost Rs. 800 crores in just six months. A plan has already been chalked out, and suggestions have been invited from the Public as well.
The Metro and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will have to be financially supported as they do not have the money to absorb either the full or partial impact of the sop. This is going to be a continuous drain, not a one-off event. There will be serious challenges to its implementation, especially in the Metro. Will there be separate gates or separate cards? Is there a possibility of misuse through transferability of travel authority? How much will this infrastructure cost? And if the government decides to suspend this sop later, how will the reversal be handled? The Metro Automatic Fare Collection needs major alteration. That will be the likely reality of rolling it out in the Metro. Buses will be, of course, simpler.
A few cities outside India have experimented with the idea. Their beneficiaries have been senior citizens, children, and visitors. The ridership improved manifold; the shift happened from cycling, walking and driving cars. It was a welfare state gesture and the logic was not safety enhancement. But the scheme became unviable and was withdrawn at most places. The cities which adopted had much less population than Delhi. Average incomes also varied considerably. There is no certainty that the outcome will be different for Delhi.
But the basic question remains that If the government wants to allocate Rs 800 crore for the safety of women commuters — who constitute 30~33% of daily riders — how best to utilise it? A few suggestions.
First, introduce a highly upgraded version of electronic surveillance in the city. CCTV cameras have been with us for some time now. Their usefulness is well recognised. The fact of being captured on a camera is a deterrence to a criminal. All this needs an upgrade with the introduction of technologies such as facial recognition in the CCTV monitoring. The 1.5 lakh CCTV cameras that Delhi is likely to get should be able to spot criminals in advance. It may not be instantaneous but will still be of great use. This is not day dreaming, but with only a portion of Rs 800 crore, it can certainly be tried at vulnerable locations such as bus and railway stations. A few countries are using similar technology for issuing traffic violation tickets to erring car drivers.
Second, improve the last mile connectivity. Safety is the greatest casualty here because of lonely travels in dark corridors. Small buses may be introduced with better frequency. Efforts so far have been cosmetic as there is more emphasis at crowd control and traffic regulation at boarding points rather than the safety of women.
Third, the presence of marshals at sensitive bus stops and busy metro stations have a salutary impact. They should not be symbolic.
Fourth, the overcrowding in the Metro and buses must be controlled. The efforts of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the DTC have been falling short. Just travel on the blue line to Noida during peak hours to understand what overcrowding means in the Metro. The peak hour frequency must improve. One may not get a seat but should be able to stand on both the feet. Bus infrastructure has to be improved and more new buses must be added. Open door drive in buses must be banned. Allocate more funds here. There should be an emphasis on travel delight.
Finally, an action plan to make auto rickshaws and cabs safer must find a place. Mobile apps have made a beginning but have a limitation as mobile phones are the first casualty when a crime is committed.
The announcement of freebies for commute in the national capital region has raised the issue of women’s safety again. There have been gruesome incidents in the past. It is open to question whether any of these incidents could have been avoided by free Metro or bus rides. For the Raksha Bandhan, freebies are acceptable but women safety in commuting is a far more serious matter. Let it not become another odd-even experiment.
BHOPAL (Metro Rail News): Chief minister Kamal Nath has directed the concerning authorities to prepare a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the metro projects in Bhopal and Indore and implement it at the earliest, according to a press release here on Tuesday.
Nath also reviewed
the progress of the metro projects along with the minister for urban
development Jaivardhan Singh.
On June 13, reported about an MoU between the European Investment Bank and the Union government, pertaining to the Bhopal Metro, which could be inked soon. Nath asked officials to complete all the formalities for seeking loans from the Asian Development Bank and New Development Bank for the Indore Metro project and from the European Investment Bank for Bhopal Metro.
Given the
intensive construction activities to be undertaken for the construction of both
the metros, Nath directed that all measures should be taken to ensure that
citizens do not face any inconvenience during the construction period and
traffic remains undisturbed.
A time-bound program so that the projects gain momentum is likely to be set in place.
The chief minister said that issues concerning land acquisition must be addressed during the construction phase of the metro project.
He said
information about the financial burden on the government must also be
addressed.
Nath said
that timelines for the construction work of different stages should be fixed
and they should be completed within the decided time limit.
He also
instructed that a report be prepared on underground and elevated sections of
the project.
MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The Maharashtra government has spent Rs. 12,940 crores on the on-going construction work of six metro corridors in the city from 2016 to the end of March 2019.
According to the state’s economic survey report 2018-19, the total expenditure amounts of 19% of Rs. 68,005 crores, the total cost of constructing the six metro lines.
While the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) is building one, The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is currently working on constructing five Metro corridors in the city.
The largest chunk of the total expenditure was Rs. 9,402 crore- has already been spent on the fully – underground Metro-3 (Colaba-Seepz) corridor by the MMRC. The corporation recently has completed 50% of tunnelling works for the project. Which costs Rs. 23,136 crores.
The next big chunk was spent on lines 2A (Dahisar- DN Nagar) and 7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East), both of which are expected to be up and running by December 2020.
The MMRDA has spent ₹1,561 crore on Metro-7, wherein 67% of the civil works have been completed, and ₹1,351 crore on Metro-2A, wherein 63% of the civil works have been finished, according to the economic survey report.
RA Rajeev, the metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said that the next big expenditure will be on the systems. “We have a system order of more than ₹3,000 crore, which includes rolling stock, signalling, telecommunications, etc. This expenditure is due in the next year,”
The
Mumbai Metropolitan Rail Development Authority has also spent ₹201.30 crore on
Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli); ₹227.98 crore on Metro-4
(Wadala-Kasarvadavali); and ₹196.31 crore on Metro-2B (DN Nagar-Mandale).
However,
citizens, have been protesting against all the three routes.
Powai
residents have demanded rerouting Metro line 6, citizens have been demanding
underground routes for lines 2B and 4.
A
transport expert from Mumbai Vikas Samiti, AV Shenoy, said the MMRDA should
have conducted public consultations before starting work on these projects. He also
added, “This is a serious lacuna with the authority…there were no public
consultations or citizen committees set up to weigh the projects before they
spend such a huge amount on it.”
CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): To encourage more people to use the Metro Rail and guide them to the nearest station, Chennai Metro Rail plans to put up signages in areas near the stations.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they will start a survey to identify the spots where the signages have to be installed.
Stage by
stage
“We will fix the signage in about 500 meters around the stations, giving directions to the nearest station. For example, if one is standing at Vadapalani, there will be signage showing they are about 400 meters away from the station and as they move closer, it will show 300 meters and so on.
This will particularly help those who are new to the city and want to use public transport,” an official said.
At present, a handful of stations such as Koyambedu, Arumbakkam, and Ashok Nagar have signages near the stations but they are not well placed or clearly visible from a distance. The new ones may not be like the existing ones, the official said.
“We plan to put them up in all 32 stations in the 45-km network of phase I project. Also, the new signages will be more prominent and placed in such a way that any commuter will notice it. This is why, we are first carrying out a survey to see the location, instead of just fixing the signages,” the official added.
Inside
stations
Chennai
Metro Rail has begun putting up additional signages inside stations in the underground
network. In stations like the Government Estate, they have already installed
signages.
“In the other newly opened stations along Anna Salai and 19 other underground stations too, we are taking steps to put up signages,” he added.
DELHI(Metro Rail News): Vande Bharat formerly known as Train 18, India’s first engine-less semi high-speed train, started its operation in mid-February and attained a great achievement. The train runs at a speed of 104 km/hour between Ghaziabad and Allahabad, which is termed to be the average highest speed in India.
The Vande Bharat Express was designed and built in Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai under the Government of India’s Make in India initiative over a span of 18 months.
Two of the center compartments are first class compartments that have 52 seats each and the rest being the coach compartments which have 78 seats.
It has a driver cabin at both ends of the train. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off Vande Bharat train on February 15 from New Delhi railway station.
The high-speed train has the best amenities including high-speed onboard WiFi, GPS based passenger based information system, touch-free bio vacuum, LED lightings, mobile charging points, and a climate control system that automatically adjusts the temperature.
In May 2019, the indigenously-built Vande Bharat had completed one lakh kilometer run time without missing a single trip.
Till now the train has covered at least 1.35 lakh kilometer and is still counting. To make sure that the train runs at a high-speed, the Indian Railway has done major changes. The Indian Railway has awarded the loco-pilot of the train for maintaining peak speed.
It began its operation in February 2019. The train runs through three different zones- Northern railway, Northern-central railway, and North-eastern railway. The train covers more than 600 km from Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Chipyana Buzurg to Allahabad Junction.
Vande Bharat Express operates five
days a week and it’s departure time from New Delhi is 6 a.m. and the train
reaches Varanasi at 2 p.m.
The Railway Ministry has initiated
many changes in the train. According to the experience of passengers, toilet
facility has markedly improved from other trains, for providing better catering
services the ministry is also planning to provide a pantry car for the train.
Even window glasses have also changed to prevent it from stone-pelting
instances.
Noida (Metro rail news): Paytm has announced the launch of Metro Route Search – a feature that can be used by commuters to plan their journey. The feature is available in all 10 cities that have metro rail facility including Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Lucknow, Kochi, and Jaipur.
Features
The feature does not just suggest a route between origin and destination but also provides estimated travel time, fares, the number of stations to traverse and interchanging station for changing lines.
For scenarios where multiple routes are possible, it also recommends the best route, taking into account the travel time and the number of times the metro lines are to be changed during the journey.
Step to use the Metro Route Search feature on Paytm?
Open Paytm app and click on the ‘Metro’ icon.
Select your city and click on Route Search.
Select your origin and destination stations and click on the search button to view the routes.
The feature would suggest the route and also show you the journey time between the selected stations.
“At Paytm, we constantly think of ways for improving the travel experience of our users. The Metro Route Search is yet another step towards offering a more convenient way for metro travellers to smartly plan their journey. We witnessed an overwhelming response to this feature within hours of making it live on the app. We have many more innovative features in the pipeline that will help improve our users’ journey experience across all modes of transport.” Said Abhishek Rajan, VP, Paytm.
Paytm has been a pioneer in launching innovative features for Flight, Bus, and Train travellers. Previously, they had launched FREE Cancellation that allows users to cancel their travel ticket without requiring to pay any cancellation charges. Other popular features include Live Train Tracking, Quick Book and Voice Search that were rolled out to make train ticket booking, seamless experience for users.
Jammu & Srinagar (Metro Rail News):Jammu and Srinagar likely to get Light Rail Transit System corridors. The detail projects reports (DPR) for both the place have been completed.
The government has formed the Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MRDA) to manage the much-hyped project to expedite various schemes.
Rajeev Ranjan, the managing director of MRDA said that If everything goes according to plan, the work on these prestigious projects could begin by the end of this year and the report will be submitted before the Union Cabinet by the next month for the final approval,
He further said, “It is not an underground project because that is not feasible in J&K.” He named the project as a light metro, which is different from the metro. It is an alleviated project in which an engine could be driving three coaches.
This project will require around Rs 10,000 crores for its completion. Rajeev Ranjan said that the project will help in facilitating the travel of people in two big cities of the state. The DPR for both Jammu and Srinagar project were prepared by the RITES- a consultancy service working for development of infrastructure in Urban transport.
Raghav
Langer Chief Executive officer of Jammu and Kashmir said,” We got the project
report prepared last year and now it is being handled by a separate authority.”
Srinagar corridor Details
Officials
said the distance between the intersections will be around one kilometre. The
Srinagar corridor will have 24 stations with 12 each in the two parts of the
corridor. The corridor-I will be spread over 12.5km and will begin from HMT
(Shalteng) till Indra Nagar, which is close to the Army’s 15 Corps
headquarters. The corridor-II will cover a distance of 12.5km and will begin
from Osmanabad till Hazuri Bagh in the heart of city.
Jammu Corridor Details
The
Jammu city will also have a two-part corridor of 23km length. The Corridor-I
will begin from Bantalab to Greater Kalash and will have 17 stations. It will
pass through the heart of Jammu city.
Jammu Metro Rote Map
Both
the corridors will have major depots. The Corridor II will start from Udheywala
and end at Exhibition ground and will have six stations.
The Metro Man E Sreedharan, who was appointed as an advisor by the J&K government had also visited the sites of both the projects and given a go ahead.
MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): There is hardly any doubt about the fact that hyperloop is probably the next big thing in transportation space. But, what if we told you that it can reduce travel time between Mumbai and Pune to under 30 minutes. Virgin Hyperloop One has proposed a plan that will help people to travel from Mumbai to Pune under 30 minutes. According to news reports, Virgin Hyperloop One will begin working on the project by December 2019. Virgin Hyperloop is an American transportation technology company that works to commercialize the high-speed technology concept called Hyperloop.
An agreement to build a hyperloop route between Mumbai and Pune was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson. The full project is proposing to link Central Pune, the Navi Mumbai International Airport and Central Mumbai – with a potential commute time of 25 minutes.
Recently
Hyperloop One officially tweeted: “Pune to Mumbai in under 30 minutes. Are
you ready?”
— Virgin Hyperloop One (@HyperloopOne) June 20, 2019
The distance between
Mumbai and Pune is around 150 km. By road, it takes more than 3 hours to reach
Pune and by train, the scheduled time is 2.30 hours, however, the Hyperloop One
promises to cover the same distance within 25 minutes. It is expected to
benefit more than 25 million travellers and it would also connect Navi Mumbai
International airport to Pune.
The company plans to take the technology to other routes as well. It believes that there are five viable routes between different Indian cities with estimated 55-minute commute for a Delhi-Jaipur-Indore-Mumbai system, 50-minute for a Mumbai-Bangalore-Chennai commute, 41-minute for a Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram commute and 20-minute for a Bangalore-Chennai commute on the hyperloop system.
The first phase will be opened as
a trial run which will cover 15 km initially and later it will be extended till
Pune. The project is likely to be completed by 2023. Hyperloop One is expected
to invest $500 million in the first phase of the development.
Mumbai (Metro Rail News): The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor will be affecting 54,000 mangroves spread over 13.36 hectares, this project is commonly called the bullet train project, said state transport minister Diwakar Raote on Monda
He replied to a question raised by Shiv
Sena legislator Maneesha Kayande in the state Legislative Council.
He stated, “There will be no cutting
of trees and there will no threat of flooding to some parts of Navi Mumbai and
the pillars of the project will be high so that there is no damage caused to the
environment.”
Raote informed in his written reply, “As
per my information, farmers are keen on handing over their land for appropriate
remuneration.” In this multi-billion dollar project the state government
has suggested to plant five plants for each one tree that will be removed.
The project, expected to cost over ₹1
lakh crore, is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Replying to another question raised by
Congress MLC Sharad Ranpise, Raote said, “The proposed land acquisition
for the bullet train project is 1,379 hectares of which 724.13 hectares is
private land in Gujarat while 270.65 hectares is in Maharashtra.”
“In Palghar district 188 hectares of private
land is going to be acquired of which 2.95 hectares has been purchased as per
the ‘private negotiation’ policy of the state government. Due to the bullet
train project 3,498 people from Palghar will be affected.” Said Raote.
Raote said, “84.81 hectares belonging to
6,589 farmers has been acquired in Thane district, of which 2.95 hectares has
been purchased as per the private negotiation policy.”
Many years ago the state government introduced
private negotiation as a policy in which the land is bought directly from the
owner instead of following the land acquisition procedure which normally takes
more time.
BENGALURU (Metro Rail News): Metro Rail operations on the Purple Line between Baiyappanahalli and Nayandahalli could have been pulverized any time in the 21-day period between May 15 and June 5 due to a glaring lack of security.
A whopping 1.225 tonnes of copper wires, valued at Rs 5 lakh and installed for earthing on the ‘third rail’ that electrically powers the Metro Rail, was found removed and missing — basically stolen.
Earthing is crucial to protect not only the system but also human life as it provides an alternative path for dangerous currents to flow so that accidents due to electric shock and damage to the equipment can be avoided. With copper, totally 490 meters in length, missing, the entire electrical system powering the trains on the line could have been destroyed, halting Namma Metro services for long hours until repaired.
KVST Raju, the BMRCL engineer who filed the complaint, told the police that 257 meters of copper conductor installed in the upline and 233 meters installed in the downline (totally 490 meters) had been stolen between May 15 and June 5. May 15 was the last confirmed report of the copper being in place.
The theft came to light only on June 5 and was detected, not by the track maintenance workers who are supposed to keep a check on it daily, but by a loco-pilot at the controls of a train moving between Baiyappanahalli and Swami Vivekananda stations.
