Begusarai, Metro Rail News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone for Patna Metro Rail Project in Barauni via video conferencing. The project will take an estimated 5 years for completion with more than 13 thousand crores of funding. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also present. The project which will give a boost to transport connectivity and add to ease of living for the people of Patna and adjoining areas.
In a statement the government said, around 26 lakhs of Patnaites are expected to get benefit from the project directly or indirectly. The corridor is supposed to connect densely populated areas of the city like Raja Bazar, High court, Secretariat, Patna Junction among many other areas.
Project Details:
The Project will be completed in five years.
Danapur Cantt to Mithapur corridor will pass through the heart of city and connect densely populated areas Raza Bazar, Secretariat, High Court, Law University Railway Station.
Patna Jn. to ISBT corridor will connect Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, Patna University, Rajendra Nagar, Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Transport Nagar and ISBT.
The Metro will provide Eco friendly and sustainable Public Transport to residents, commuters, industrial workers, visitors and travelers.
Patna Metro Project Highlights:
The length of Danapur to Mithapur corridor is 16.94 km, which is mostly underground (11.20 km) and partly elevated (5.48 km) and comprises of 11 Stations (3-Elevated and 8-Underground).
The length of Patna Station to New ISBT corridor is 14.45 km, which is mostly elevated (9.9 km) and partly underground (4.55 km) and comprising of 12 stations (9-Elevated and 3-Underground).
New Delhi, Metro Rail News: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on February 15, 2019, flagged off the Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi Railway Station in the presence of Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and other senior officials from the railways.
The mood of the ceremony was muted in the backdrop of the 14 February Pulwama, counted among the bloodiest in Kashmir terror attack that left 44 CRPF jawans martyred. PM Modi, speaking at the event, said the country will give a “strong response” to this attack.
Before flagging off the train, PM Shir Narendra Modi spoke to senior officials associated with the construction of the Vande Bharat Express formally Train 18.
PM Shri Narendra Modi on board of Vande Bhart Express
He also took a tour of one of the coaches and inspected the driver’s cabin. The PM was seen enquiring about the design and the facilities provided to the passengers. He was shown how the driver of the train can see the happenings inside the coaches with the help of on-board CCTV cameras.
PM Said “I am grateful to designers and engineers behind Vande Bharat Express which will take its first trip from Delhi to Varanasi today. With our sincerity and hard work in the last 4.5 years we have tried to improve railways,”
The train that was flagged off by the PM today will travel from Delhi to Varanasi in nine hours and forty-five minutes. This includes stoppage time of 40 minutes each at Kanpur and Allahabad where there will be special programmes.
According to report the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and members of the Railway Board will be on board the train on its inaugural journey
The Vande Bharat Express, India’s first semi-high speed train, has been produced indigenously at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, in 18 months under make in India initiative on the cost of 100 cr.
Previously called Train 18, the Vande Bharat Express is engineless and can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph though it clocked 180 kmph during a trial run.
Train 18 is Designed and constructed by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the train was flagged off by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani on 29 October.
Vande Bharat Express has 16 coaches and the same number of seats as in a Shatabdi Express, which it will replace. The total seating capacity is 1,128 passengers.
The fares of the train are 40 per cent higher than that of Shatabdi.
Passenger comfort has been given detailed attention. Features include CCTVs, onboard Wi-Fi and infotainment, rotational seats, modular and disabled-friendly toilets with bio-vacuum systems, automatic doors with retractable footsteps among other features.
Every coach has a pantry facility to serve hot meals and, hot and cold beverages. The insulation is meant to keep heat and noise to very low levels for additional passenger comfort.
Besides the speed, Vande Bharat Express has an advanced array of features including energy-efficient coaches which leave less carbon footprint and braking system which can save up to 30 per cent of electrical energy. Every alternate coach is motorised to ensure even distribution of power in the train.
Loco Pilots Kamal Kumar Chitkara (R) and Sanjay Kumar Singh (L) on the inaugural run of Train 18 on Feb 15, 2019 at New Delhi Station
The train has driver coaches at both ends – like metro and local trains across the country.
The bookings for the train have begun and it will run commercially from 17 February from Delhi to Varanasi five days a week.
Time-Table of Vande Bharat Express Vande Bharti Express will run five days a week on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays.
Delhi, Metro Rail News: Delhi Metro’s 9.6 km Red line extension link between Dilshad Garden station in New Delhi to New Bus Adda station in Ghaziabad is expected to be inaugurated in February end.
Commuters can travel The total journey from Dilshad Garden to New Bus Adda will in 16 minutes.
The section will comprise of eight elevated Metro stations which are Shaheed Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala, Hindon River Station and New Bus Adda This section is a extension of the Rithala – Dilshad Garden Red Line and will
After opening of this 9.63 km long section, the Red Line will be 34.72 km in length. The 25.09 km long Red Line is operational between Rithala to Dilshad Garden.
As many as six stations along this route, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala, and New Bus Adda, have station buildings on both sides interconnecting at the concourse level and with station platforms through Foot Over Bridges (FOB).
Shaheed Nagar has building on one side (Ghaziabad to Delhi) and the other side is connected through FOB.
The Hindon River station is off-road with four floors, a lower ground level for parking, the upper ground level for the main station, an entry/exit and a concourse level for entering the paid area and connection of another entry/exit areas across GT-Road through the FOB and platform level.
After Vaishali, This would be the second Metro Line in Ghaziabad and the first Metro link connecting the interiors of Ghaziabad.
The extension of Metro line will connect residents of Ghaziabad City with various parts of Delhi / NCR region. This corridor will pass through the Sahibabad Industrial Area and will significantly impact the residential areas lying in proximity.
With the extension of the Metro, the connectivity to Mohan Nagar from Dilshad Garden would also improve considerably. Currently, commuters have to rely on other modes of transport from Dilshad Garden to reach Sahibabad and Ghaziabad.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) carried out most of the construction activities and launching operations during the night for four to five hours. The non-stop traffic on the GT road was a major challenge while constructing this section.
“Trains will be available at a peak hour frequency of six minutes and 12 seconds on the Dilshad Garden – New Bus Adda section.
A total of 35 six coach trains will be used on the entire Rithala – New Bus Adda Red corridor” Said Mr. Anuj Dayal.
Trial runs for the project started in August 2018 and it was cleared by the Public Investment Board on January 11. The Union Cabinet cleared the project on January 23 and approved the Centre’s grant of Rs 324.87 towards the project.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 1781.21 crore.
After the opening of this section, the DMRC will have a 336.5 km network with 244 metro stations.
Mumbai, Metro Rail News: The MumbaiMetro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has completed 20 km of the total 52 Km tunnelling, which is around 38%, of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ corridor. This was the 5th breakthrough achieved by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) Wainganga-3 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA)-T2 Metro station on February 13, 2019. TBM Wainganga-3 completed tunneling of 1.31 Kms within 318 days of commissioning.
S.K. Gupta, director (projects), MMRC, Who was present at the site said, “We have completed around 38% of tunnelling and 35% civil works of the project. In all, there will be 32 breakthroughs. These are all major milestones for our project.”
“There are 17 TBMs deployed to construct the entire length of the 33-km corridor, for which the tunnelling work spans across 52.21 km.” he added.
The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), named Wainganga 3, was commissioned on April 2, 2018, and built a 1.31-km tunnel from the launch shaft at Marol Naka, in 318 days. It is a part of package 7, which is being constructed by the consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd.
Starting it’s course under Metro Line 1 at Marol Naka The 92 meter long TBM Wainganga-3 tunneled at an average of 4.2 meters daily through the rocky strata made of Basalt, volcanic Breccia shaping the tunnel with 937 RCC cement rings.
Of the five TBM breakthroughs, three have occurred in this package, which will connect the international terminal of the airport to SEEPZ via MIDC and Marol Naka. The total length of the tunnel in the package is 7.07 km of which 50% of tunnelling has been completed till date. In January, the MMRC achieved a twin tunnel breakthrough at Dadar station. Officials said the next one is likely to be at Sahar.
Speaking on the occasion Mrs Ashwini Bhide,MD,MMRC said “Ths is a big milestone & we are ecstatic about completing another tunnel breakthrough in this package Ths route will offer interchanging facility to commuters where it will get connected with 2 Metro Corridors Metro line 1 & Metro line 6”
COLABA-BKC-SEEPZ LINE IN FIGURES
Total Length: 33-km
Operational by: 2022
Ridership: 15-20 lakh daily
Stations: 27 underground stations
PROJECT STATUS
Civil work: 35% completed
Tunnel length: 52-km
Completion of tunneling: 20 km (38%) Crucial link
It will connect major central business districts (CBD) such as Nariman Point, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Seepz in Andheri.
New Delhi, Metro Rail News: To Provide hassle-free connectivity and in a major boost for regional mobility in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Haryana Cabinet has approved the detailed project report (DPR) of the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror Urban Complex) Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor yesterday.
For the financial year 2019-20, the Cabinet approved a seed capital of Rs 500 crore which will come from the state exchequer. The Cabinet also approved the gross contribution of Rs 6,436 crore for the project.
In addition, the slab of purchasable floor area ratio (FAR) was raised to 1.25 within 1.5 km of the RRTS corridor. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) Board, which is the implementing agency for the project, had approved the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor (106km) detailed project report in December 2018.
One of the three RRTS corridors prioritized for implementation, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor is planned to be implemented in three phase.
In Phase 1, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB Urban Complex will be constructed. In Phase 2, it will be extended from SNB Urban Complex to Sotanala and in Phase 3 SNB Urban Complex to Alwar will be constructed.
Pre-construction work is already started such as geotechnical investigation has recently commenced in Gurugram. Tenders for pile loading test have also been floated by NCRTC for Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor.
Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor will be elevated for 71 km (11 stations) and the remaining 35 km (5 stations) will be constructed underground, primarily in Delhi and Gurugram formely know as Gurgao
This corridor will connect with other RRTS corridors in Sarai Kale Khan and will be ability, facilitating commuters’ movement from one corridor to another hassle free of changing trains.
Likewiase, with an intent to incentivise the use of public transport, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor will be seamlessly integrated with other modes of transport in NCR.
The operation speed of RRTS trains will be 160 km/ph and an average speed will be 100 km/ph. It will be available at a frequency of every 5-10 minutes.
The RRTS trains will be air-conditioned with transverse seating and overhead luggage space for commuter comfort. There would be priority seating arrangements for people with special needs and a business class coach and ladies coach in every train.
The RRTS smart line will pass through the urbanised and industrialised areas of Haryana and connect Delhi airport with the RRTS network, increasing the overall productivity of NCR.
The corridor will strengthen the regional transport infrastructure by providing a fast, safe, comfortable and reliable mobility option to the residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Rewari, Manesar, Daruheda, Bawal, and nearby areas.
The fast commute connecting Delhi to nearby regions will be immensely beneficial in decongesting Delhi and its roads, providing citizens the choice to live and work in different regions, according to a press release.
Once constructed, the corridor is expected to bring down the travel time between Delhi-SNB to about 70 minutes.
This corridor will not only offer mass transit benefits but also bring in the wide range of economic benefits to the society, including effectively curbing pollution, improving safety and reliability of commute and creating employment as well as new economic opportunities, the release said.
L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Ltd, the concessionaire implementing the 72-km-long metro rail project in Hyderabad, is set to commission the much-awaited link to Hitec City. Trial runs have been under way for the past few weeks.
Inspections of rolling stocks
The Chief Electrical Inspector for Hyderabad metro, DVS Raju, today conducted the statutory inspection of rolling stocks (train sets) in the metro depot. The train sets have been procured from Hyundai Rotem Company of South Korea.
Safety features Checked
Following the inspection, “ This inspection will facilitate the commissioning of the stretch between Ameerpet and Hitec City line of the Corridor 3. We have checked all safety features of the rolling stock, including emergency evacuation process.” said DVS Raju.
The commissioning of this line will enable L&T management to fully operate two lines of the three corridors it has taken up for development.
While the main stretch up to the Central Bus Stand on the Musi river will be commissioned later this year, the line which terminates at Falaknuma is likely to take more time as there have been some right of way issues. This is being negotiated by the State.
The commissioning of the link up to Hitec City is likely to ease the traffic congestion on the busy line up to the IT hub where lakhs of people commute for work daily.
Patna, Metro Rail News: In a major boost to public transport in Patna, Narendra Modi government has Approves Patna Metro Rail Project comprising of two corridors on February 13, 2019. Patna Metro will be Bihar’s first metro and the mass rapid transit will surely become the major mode of communication in Patna. A Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Shri Narendra Modi has taken the decision. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 13411.24 crore. The project is scheduled to be completed in 5 years.
Proposed Patna Metro Network
Patna Metro rail project will have two corridors – Danapur to Mithapur and Patna Railway Station to New ISBT. It will cover a vast area of around 42 km. Danapur to Mithapur corridor will cover 26.94 km stretch, Patna Railway Station to New ISBT corridor will pass through 14.45 km stretch.
Patna Metro Rail Project: All you need to know
The Danapur Cantt-Mithapur corridor will cover the areas located in the heart of Patna. The people residing in densely populated areas will have access to Patna Metro. Patna Metro stations will come up at Raza Bazar, the Secretariat, the High Court and the Law University Railway Station.
The second corridor from the Patna Railway Station to ISBT corridor will pass through key locations such as iconic Gandhi Maidan, PMCH, Patna University, Rajendra Nagar, Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Transport Nagar and ISBT.
Providing details regarding the Patna Metro rail project, the central government said the Danapur-Mithapur corridor will be mostly underground and partly elevated. The Danapur-Mithapur section of Patna Metro will have 11 stations. Out of these 11 stations, three will be elevated and 8 would be underground.
The 14.45 km-stretch of Patna station to New ISBT corridor will see an elevated stretch of 9.9 km and partly underground 4.55 km. This section Patna Metro will have 12 stations. Out of these 12 stations, 9 will be elevated and 3 will be underground.
Patna Metro will provide an alternative mode of communication to a population of 26.23 lakh. They are likely to be benefitted by the Patna Metro Rail Project directly and indirectly. The central government said that people residing in these areas will be able to travel on metro trains from one spot to different areas of the city conveniently.
The approved corridors will have multi-modal integration with railway stations and ISBT station and will have feeder network of bus, Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) and Non Motorised Transport (NMT).
Patna Metro will also focus on the last-mile connectivity as there will be multi-modal integration with railway stations and ISBT. Patna Metro will also run feeder network of bus, Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) and Intermediate Public Transport (IPT).
The central government has stated that the Patna Metro rail project will have non-fare box revenue from rental and advertisement. Apart from these, there will be Value Capture Financing (VCF) through mechanism of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Transfer of Development Rights (TDK).
Our February issue has focused on Hyperloop technology and cover story of Mumbai & Navi Mumbai Metro along with monthly specials such as exclusive interview, new development in Metro Project, technology update, pre-event coverage, opinion, industry leaders, industry watch, live tender, upcoming event, and current jobs opening.
The highlight of Metro Rail News January 2019
S. No.
Index
Page no
1
Editor Note
6
2
Round Up
10
3
Editor Choice
13
4
Cover Story: Hyperloop Technology
18
6
Interview with Mrs. Ashwini Bhide, IAS, MD at MMRC
22
7
Interview with Mr. S.K. Chaudhary, Chairman and
MD, Ircon International Limited
24
8
New Development: Aqua Line Metro open for public
26
9
Project of the Month: Mumbai Metro
28
10
Featured Project: Navi Mumbai Metro
33
11
Opinion: A – Failure of Mumbai Monorail holds lessons for Urban planner Planners. B– Urban Mobility Challenges in India
Chennai, Metro Rail News: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the last stretch of the first phase of 45-km Chennai Metro rail network through video-conferencing from Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu.
The Last stretch of the Chennai Metro Rail Project from AG-DMS to Washermenpet of 10 kms has been completed and was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri. Narendra Modi and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri. Edappadi K Palaniswami via video conferencing at Thiruppur, Tamil Nadu on 10.02.019 in the august presence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Banwarilal Purohit, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri. O.Panneerselvam and other dignitaries participated at the event.
The Last stretch of the Chennai Metro Rail Project from AG-DMS to Washermenpet of 10 kms has been completed and was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri. Narendra Modi and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri. Edappadi K Palaniswami via video conferencing at Thiruppur, Tamil Nadu on 10.02.019 in the august presence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Banwarilal Purohit, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri. O.Panneerselvam and other dignitaries participated at the event.
At Chennai Central Metro Station, Hon’ble Union Minister (Independent Incharge), Thiru Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hon’ble Minister for Fisheries, Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Thiru. D.Jayakumar, Minister for Social Welfare, Dr. V. Saroja, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Thiru. M.C.Sampath. participated in the video conference function and undertook a metro ride post inauguration from Chennai Central to AG-DMS via Washermenpet.
In this function and the metro ride, Consul General of Japan Thiru Kojiro Uchiyama , Chief Representative ,JICA India Thiru Katsuo Matsumoto, Members of Parliament Thiru S.R. Vijayakumar, Thiru T.G.Venkatesh Babu, Dr. J. Jayavardhan and Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Special Initiatives Department, Dr.T.V.Somanathan, I.A.S, OSD(UT), Ex.Officio Jt. Secretary MOHUA, Thiru Mukund Kumar Sinha, Director (Systems & Operations), Thiru L. Narasim Prasad, Director (Finance), Tmt. Sujatha Jayaraj, Director (Projects). Thiru Rajeev Narayan Dwivedi also participated.
The Metro cross through some of the densely populated areas in the city and with the inauguration of the new line, one can travel from Chennai Central to Airport in about 30 minutes.
The metro will also connect the northern part of the city, considered undeveloped, with other parts of the city through Metro Rail enabling thousands of people from the area to enjoy a comfortable ride.
The project was executed by the Govt of India and Tamil Nadu Government with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). With the Phase-I over, the focus has now shifted to Phase-II which expect to connect another 100-km through the new age transport system. The Phase-II is expected to connect the IT corridor, residential areas of the city and suburbs like Poonnamalle and Tambaram.
Glimpse of Chennai Metro Rail’s final leg Inauguration
PM Shri Narendra Modi Arrival Greeting
Pic 1- Chennai Metro Rail’s final leg Inauguration
PIc 2 -Chennai Metro Rail’s final leg Inauguration
PIC 3- Chennai Metro Rail’s final leg Inauguration
Mumbai, Metro Rail News: The Consortium led by of Datamatics Global Services Limited (DGSL) and AEP Ticketing solutions S.R.L, Italy (AEP), have been issued the letter of acceptance (LOA) for implementing Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system for 52 stations of Mumbai Metro Line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar Metro), 2B (DN Nagar to Mankhurd Metro) and 7 (Andheri (E) to Dahisar) of the Mumbai Metro Rail project. The LOA was issued by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to the Consortium for approximately Rs. 160 crores.
The LOA between the Consortium and MMRDA was signed in the presence of Shri. R. A. Rajeev, IAS, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA; Shri. Sanjay Waghmare Director(Systems), Metro PIU, MMRDA, Mr. O.P.Nebhnani, Officer on Special Duty(S&T), Metro PIU MMRDA, Dr. Lalit Kanodia , Chairman , DGSL , Shri Rahul Kanodia, Vice Chairman & CEO – DGSL; Shri Sanjeev Subhedar, EVP and Global Head Engineering Services and other top officials from MMRDA and DGSL.
On the occasion, Shri. R. A. Rajeev,
IAS, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA said “The ticketing system for the Mumbai Metro
should be implemented taking into consideration ease of use for the commuters
of the city of Mumbai. At the same time it should be state of art supporting
future of the growing metro network and supporting upcoming fare media technologies.”
Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Lalit S. Kanodia, Chairman, Datamatics, said “Over the years,Datamaticshas invested and built expertise in Automated Fare Collection technology and has been a part of large global AFC mandates. We are headquartered in Mumbai and therefore winning Mumbai Metro project is special and a very proud moment for us.”
Automated Fare Collection (AFC) has been a focus area for Datamatics and over the last 25 years, the company has been instrumental in successfully executing over 25 marquee projects in the tier 1 metropolitan cities across the globe including Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Chicago, Melbourne, etc.
Rahul L. Kanodia, Vice Chairman &
Chief Executive Officer, Datamatics, said “Datamatics is the only Indian company to have AFC
solution. We have put in our best efforts for making the Lucknow Metro a
successful project and we are delighted to be a part of prestigious Mumbai
Metro Line 2 and 7 projects.”
In India, Datamatics is also implementing AFC
system for Lucknow Metro Project which includes design, supply, installation and
end-to-end testing of the ticketing, gates, servers, hardware networks and
software components. The first phase of this project has already gone live with
8 stations. This is the fastest rolled-out AFC system in India till date.
Sanjeev
Subhedar, EVP & Head – Engineering Solutions, Datamatics, said “Datamatics is committed to Indian customers to
provide most advanced AFC solution suitable for Indian conditions within
project timelines. Datamatics assures its customer of continued upgrades and
long term support to protect the investment made by our customers.”
Lucknow, Metro Rail News: The Uttar Pradesh budget presented today by state Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal gave Regional Rail project a major boost with the allocation of 400 crores to National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for RRTS project. Earlier in the Union Budget, Central Government has allocated a sum of Rs. 1000 crores to this project.
Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut RRTS Corridor is 82 km long and will have 22 stations. The DPR of the project has already been approved by UP Government, while In-principal approval of Delhi Government has been received recently. Pre-construction activities such as Geotechnical Survey, Road widening work, Utility diversion work, Initial Pile Load Testing etc are in full swing for construction of this corridor.
The high-speed rail will cover the distance from Meerut to New Delhi in less than 60 minutes. It is a new, dedicated, high speed, high capacity, comfortable commuter service connecting regional nodes of NCR to Delhi.
The NCRTC has already established its field offices in Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Delhi and posted officers and mobilized resources. This corridor is expected to be completed by the year 2025.
NCRTC is a joint venture of the Union government, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan and is executing three prioritized RRTS corridors — Delhi-Alwar, Delhi-Meerut, and Delhi-Panipat in the first phase. Eight such corridors have been identified under the Integrated Transportation Plan 2032 prepared by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
The European Commission (EC) has announced today its decision to prohibit the proposed merger of the Siemens and Alstom mobility businesses. As a result of this prohibition, the merger will not proceed.
Alstom regrets that the remedies offered, including recent improvements, have been considered insufficient by the Commission. The remedies were extensive in scope and addressed all the concerns raised by the Commission in respect of Signaling or Very High Speed trains. In addition, a number of credible and well-established European players expressed strong interest for the remedy package, thereby fully confirming its viability.
This is a clear set-back for Industry in Europe. Alstom, together with Siemens, is convinced that the transaction would have created substantial value for the global mobility sector, the European railway industry, customers, travelers and commuters, without harming European competition. It would also have allowed the creation of a European player having the ability to cope with the growing competition from non-EU companies.
The Board of Directors has unanimously thanked Alstom’s team for its outstanding management of this project and has highlighted the company’s very strong performance during this period.
Looking ahead, Alstom will focus on pursuing its growth path as a global leader in the mobility sector supported by excellent business fundamentals: a global footprint, a record €40 billion backlog, sales constantly outperforming market growth, and a very solid balance sheet. With a successful 2020 Strategy that delivered results ahead of target, Alstom remains today uniquely placed to offer customers and ultimately passengers, competitive, clean, and innovative mobility solutions. Alstom will now project itself into a new future and define a strategic roadmap including appropriate capital allocation.
New Delhi, Metro Rail News: The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety has granted the mandatory approval for commencement of operations on the Dilshad Garden – New Bus Adda section. Sources said the new corridor is likely to be inaugurated soon.
Delhi Metro’s Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda corridor map
This entirely elevated 9.41 kms long section comprises of 08 stations namely; Shahid Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala, Hindon River Station and New Bus Adda. This section will be an extension of the Rithala – Dilshad Garden Red Line.
“Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety S K Pathak inspected the Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda section of metro on February 5 and has granted the approval,” a senior official said.
This section will immensely benefit the people of Ghaziabad and connect the satellite city with the national capital. Passenger services on the section will be started soon after meeting all necessary compliances and formalities, he said.
This section will be an extension of the 25.09-km Rithala-Dilshad Garden corridor or Red Line, which has 21 stations.
After the opening of this section, the Delhi Metro network will span 336.5 km with 244 metro stations.
The Delhi Metro’s current operational span is 327 km with 236 stations.
entley Systems announces the availability of OpenUtilities™DER Planning & Design Assessment Solutions, the latest of Bentley’s electric utility software offerings that provide decision support and cost-based models and simulations for Distributed Energy Resources (DER) integration. In partnership with Siemens’ Digital Grid business unit, OpenUtilities Solutions for DER empowers electric utilities, electricity suppliers, and distribution network operators (DSO) with software applications to analyze, design, and evaluate DER interconnection requests through desktop and cloud-based services, while supporting the reliability and resilience of network operations. OpenUtilities Solutions for DER create automatic network analysis models for Siemens’ PSS®SINCAL with the integration of GIS-based network data (including ESRI, GE, and Smallworld).
OpenUtilities DER Optioneering provides an initial screening and hosting capacity analysis (HCA) to improve customer response time and integrate DER into grid planning, operations and long-term investment decisions.
The solutions generate an electrical digital twin for utilities – a GIS digital twin that enables owner/operators to more efficiently model the grid for decentralized energy without compromising safety and reliability. Some of the major challenges utilities encounter with DER integration are system complexity, increased regulatory requirements, high customer demand, and cost management. Digital twins can provide huge efficiencies in grid operations by streamlining DER interconnection applications with optimized workflows to better assess operational impacts, long-term strategic scenarios and investment decisions.
With the increasing penetration of DER into the grid, utilities need digital applications to handle the increasing demand for DER interconnections and collaborate across work groups. OpenUtilities DER Optioneering offers a cloud-based decision support initial screening and supplemental screening mechanism to evaluate DER interconnection requests using validation checkpoints and hosting capacity analysis. Utilities can benefit from this fast-track interconnection procedure to readily approve DER applications or to defer them to power systems planners to conduct further studies and impact analysis. The application provides a practical and cost-effective method to streamline and automate the DER approval process without always having to involve costly engineering resources and expedite the interconnection request process. It enables non-engineering staff and managers alike to effectively manage DER interconnection applications while adhering to complex regulatory requirements for DER permits.
The OpenUtilities Analysis framework enables power systems planning engineers to more efficiently perform simulations to study the potential impacts of increased DER penetration.
In cases where more detailed system impact studies are needed before an interconnection request can be approved, OpenUtilities Analysis gives power system engineers a mechanism to reduce the amount of manual work required at each step of an impact analysis study. This means accurate forecasting, state-of-the-art models and the ability to efficiently study many power flow scenarios within the network. It enables power system planners to better forecast and model the grid for decentralized energy without disrupting current operations.
OpenUtilities Design Optioneering advances OpenUtilities Analysis one step further with cost-based decision support for planning and designing complex utility networks with DER. The application provides the ability to analyze both planned and existing infrastructure, optimize equipment sizing, and estimate materials and labor costs for DER projects. This helps utilities minimize design construction costs associated with DER and streamline the DER interconnection process with detailed cost estimation included with the impact analysis studies.
OpenUtilities Solutions for DER empowers electric utilities to actively manage the increased demand for distributed energy resources (DER) in the evolving energy mix while maintaining grid reliability, resilience, and safety.
Bentley’s OpenUtilities solutions all leverage an open Connected Data Environment (CDE), a source of information used to collect, manage, and share all information about assets. By enabling an open CDE, utilities can better manage and access consistent, trusted, and accurate information. Utilities can share the benefits of an open, integrated, and connected framework to enable collaboration, improve decision making, and optimize the value of high penetrations of DER.
Vonnie Smith, vice president of energy infrastructure for Bentley Systems, said, “We are excited to provide new value to power utilities and industrial power customers with our strategic partnership with Siemens. Through an open Connected Data Environment, these new applications will help utility owners and operators share critical information to realize the potential of their network models for continuous benefit throughout the day-to-day running of their organizations.”
According to Michael Schneider, general manager and global head of Siemens Power Technologies International, “Electric utilities today have a growing need for planning and analysis solutions that tackle the fluctuations of decentralized renewable generation. That means good forecasting, state-of-the-art models and the ability to study many scenarios per year. Enabling these outcomes requires a highly dynamic mode of analysis where network models are continuously up-to-date. It also helps utilities and industrial owner-operators address the challenges of planning, designing and operating networks with integrated DER in a highly efficient manner.”
Bentley’s OpenUtilities helps electric utilities plan, design, construct, and operate utility infrastructure to meet ever-changing industry requirements, reduce costs, and deliver sustainable, safe, timely, and reliable service. The software provides applications for planning and design including mapping and geospatial analysis, site analysis and design, substation design, network design and management, transmission tower design, and DER solutions for grid modernization.
About Siemens
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. With its publicly listed subsidiary Siemens Healthineers AG, the company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018, Siemens generated revenue of €83.0 billion and net income of €6.1 billion. At the end of September 2018, the company had around 379,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet atwww.siemens.com.
