Chronicle development updates on metro rail projects : Metro Rail News

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05/10/2018

Maha-metro | MMRC plans alternate route that will hike total project cost

Mumbai: After the National Monuments Authority (NMA) rejected its proposal to build a Metro rail route within the ‘prohibitory area’ of the Aga Khan Palace, a heritage structure, the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRC) or Maha-Metro has proposed certain changes in the route alignment that will lead to an increase of Rs 185 crore in the project cost.

In a communication to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the Maha-Metro suggested three options but recommended the second option, which proposes an alternate route. It involves diverting the route from Gunjan Chowk and increasing the length of the viaduct to an additional 0.92 km.

As per the first option, the Metro route would be diverted from Kalyaninagar Metro station and it would entail a slight increase of .06 km in the length of the viaduct. However, this option would involve relocating several local residents as the area is densely populated and has large housing societies and buildings. It will also involve the acquisition of defence land, which could be a time-consuming process, while the cost of the project would increase by Rs 135 crore.

The third option involved diverting the route from the Bund Garden Metro station and along the south bank of Mutha river, increasing the viaduct by about 0.563 km and shifting the location of two stations, leading to an increase of Rs 155 crore in the project cost. But this plan would have hit the ridership from the north side of Kalyani Nagar junction, and also raised environmental issues, as the revised route would pass along the riverfront. “The second option seems to be the most feasible one. The Maha-Metro would like to inform the PMC about the need for a proposed change in alignment, necessitated due to the rejection of the application by NMA,” it said.

On September 10, the NMA had rejected the Maha-Metro’s proposal to start work on a Metro route along Nagar Road, as it fell within the regulated area of the Aga Khan Palace. As per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, which was amended in 2010, no construction of any kind is allowed in a prohibited area within 100 metres of a nationally protected monument.

The Aga Khan Palace was declared a nationally protected monument in 2003 and the proposed Metro route was within the regulated area.

“Since the proposed site of construction is in the prohibited area of the centrally protected monument, no construction is permitted under Section 20 A(4) of AMASR Act, 1958,” the NMA stated.

Maha-Metro is implementing the Pune Metro project on two proposed routes which are divided into four parts. The route from Civil Court to Ramwadi is proposed to run on the median of the Pune-Ahmednagar Road, which passes through the vicinity of the Aga Khan Palace. The metro route was at a distance of 118.5 meters from the monument, which is within the regulated area, so the permission of NMA was sought.

Pune Metro | Tata-Siemens consortium wins bid for Metro project

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04/10/2018

Pune Metro | Tata-Siemens consortium wins bid for Metro project

New Delhi: The TRIL Urban Transport and Siemens consortium of Tata Group firm. The Project Ventures GmbH has bagged a contract to develop a Metro Line in Pune.

On Wednesday a press statement said that the consortium…has been awarded the contract by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority to develop the Metro corridor from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that over the Letter of Award to the consortium. “The elevated metro line will originate from Hinjewadi Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, travel via Balewadi to Shivajinagar.

The Hinjewadi is Pune ’s which has now become fastest growing IT industrial hub, providing employment to over 4,00,000 people. The 23.3-km corridor with 23 stations will be the first metro project in India on public-private-partnership (PPP) model after the New Metro Rail Policy of 2017.

From June the construction is scheduled to commence next year and the completion period is within the three years.

Tata Projects will be the EPC partner supporting the consortium.

Banmali Agrawala, president, infrastructure, defence and aerospace, Tata Sons, said they had expertise and capabilities of delivering on long-term and large infrastructure projects like this project. He was confident of meeting delivering the project as per the scheduled timelines. Sunil Mathur, MD, and CEO, Siemens, said this project will positively impact the quality of life for the people of Pune.

A consortium of Tata Realty and Infrastructure Urban Transport and Siemens project venture GmbH has won the contract to develop the Pune metro rail project’s Line-3, the two companies stated.

“(We have) been awarded the contract by Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority,” the two jointly said.

The 23.3-km elevated line will originate from Hinjewadi Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park and go via Balewadi to Shivajinagar. With 23 stations, it will be the country’s first metro rail project on a public-private-partnership model to be developed after the New Metro Rail Policy of 2017, said the statement.

Construction is expected to commence by June 2019 and be completed in three years. Tata Projects will be the engineering partner, according to the statement.

Cabinet approves Metro projects in Bhopal and Indore

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04/10/2018

Cabinet approves Metro projects in Bhopal and Indore

New Delhi: Ahead of crucial state assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Cabinet on Wednesday approved Metro Rail projects in both cities.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made the announcement after the Cabinet meeting and said that the project in Bhopal would be a 50-50 arrangement between the central and the state governments and the line would run for 27.87 kilometers. The total expenditure of the project is estimated at Ras 6,941.40 crore and would be completed in four years.

Prasad further said that the project in Indore would be longer – at 31.55 kilometers and would cover most of the city. The total cost of the expenditure is estimated at Rs 7,500.80 crore and would also take four years to complete.

A number of cities in India are looking at Metro projects to fulfill their public transportation needs. While the Kolkata Metro was the first in the country to begin operations – back in 1984, Delhi Metro – which began operations in 2002 – is the longest in terms of network and is a modern network which has connected the length and breadth of the city.

Bhopal too wants to want to find its name in the metro map. The mass transit system just wants the city wants. Many feel it is the complete package that will make traveling easier and better.

The general public feels that if the metro project is launched in the city, it will lead to the creation of jobs directly as well as indirectly. It will also give the much-needed impetus to the real estate market.

Residents who live along the proposed metro route are waiting for metro rail to roll in. Currently, people use private means of transport to travel within Bhopal. This leads to traffic congestion and also increases pollution levels.

If metro rail comes, residents will have a reliable, economical and comfortable means of public transport. This will automatically reduce reliance on private vehicles, reduce traffic chaos and to some extent bring down pollution levels.

There are several developing pockets like Kolar that are not well connected to the main city. With metro coming in, the lot of developing areas will get connected to other parts of the city too.

Mumbai Metro | Mum Metro to celebrate Daan Utsav

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03/10/2018

Mumbai Metro | Mum Metro to celebrate Daan Utsav

Mumbai: October 01, 2018, the Reliance Infrastructure promoted Mumbai Metro One will be celebrating a week-long Daan Utsav between October 2 and 8, 2018. Daan Utsav (earlier called the Joy of Giving Week) is India’s ‘festival of giving’. Launched in 2009, the festival is celebrated every year – commencing on Gandhi Jayanti. Mumbai Metro has been celebrating Daan Utsav from past 3 years. This will be the 4th consecutive year of celebration by Mumbai Metro.

During this week, organizations and individuals can celebrate the joy of giving in any form. As an organization that is thoughtful and caring towards its ecosystem, this festival is a great opportunity not only to impact lives in a positive sense but also set a great example. This Mumbai Metro will collaborate with multiple NGOs working for the cause of differently-abled, underprivileged kids and elderly people. The objective will be to engage with its commuters and encourage them to support the cause.

Mumbai Metro One will be holding a series of fun activities at Andheri, Chakala (J.B. Nagar), Airport Road, Marol Naka and Saki Naka Metro stations as a part of its promotion of Daan Utsav Week. This year Mumbai Metro has partnered with NGOs like CRY, Joy Skill Crafts, HelpAge India and iVolunteer for Daan Utsav. On 6th Oct at 6 pm will be this year’s attraction: a Zumba session specially organised by iVolunteer for Mumbai Metro’s security personnel and housekeeping staff, who can enjoy stress buster moments off their routine schedules.

Mumbai Metro will be providing space and necessary logistical support to collect donations from commuters for differently-abled, underprivileged kids and elderly people for their education and healthcare needs. Besides, Mumbai Metro will be doing promotion of the festival by using digital screens, train and station announcements, train posters, social media, live updates and telecast of workshops, Mumbai Metro website, e-mailers to employees, wallpapers and digital banners.

#DaanUtsav is here! Celebrate the joy of giving in the most unique way with Mumbai Metro.#HaveANiceDay #MetroDaanUtsav pic.twitter.com/0jzIiLTr23
— Mumbai Metro (@MumMetro) October 2, 2018

The building activities at the stations including innovative games to sensitize Metro commuters about the need to give so that we turn into a more caring society. The commuters will be given receipts for their donations on the spot and later emailed the details of the utilization of their donations by the NGOs.

An MMOPL spokesperson said, “We regularly undertake appropriate CSR measures having a direct and positive impact on the community in the local area where we operate. We are elated to celebrate Daan Utsav to foster a sense of compassion within our own organization as well as our commuters. We are not merely a public utility but also an organisation with the humane side. We sincerely urge Mumbai Metro employees and our commuters to come forward and relish the joy of giving back to the society.”

Lucknow Metro | school children from different parts spread gandhiji’s message inside moving metro train

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03/10/2018

Lucknow Metro | school children from different parts spread gandhiji’s message inside moving metro train

Lucknow: On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the school children from different parts of Lucknow on 2nd October, spread Mahatma Gandhi’s message of “Cleanliness and Sanitation” inside moving Metro train between the operational 8.5 km corridor from Charbagh to Transport Nagar. Approximately 120 school students disseminated this message to all Metro commuters between this stretch through various activities like sketching/drawing, fancy dress show etc.

Students beautifully displayed their talent depicting the importance of a clean environment, clean Metro and the role of Lucknow Metro in keeping the city clean and green. Prominent schools of the capital like the Lucknow Convent Public School, SKD Academy, Red Rose Senior Secondary School, Rhyme and Rhythm International School and the Career Academy sent their students to participate in the events at Lucknow Metro for conveying the noble ideals of the Father of the Nation.

Student spread message of cleanness on the 2nd October

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On the occasion, Shri Kumar Keshav, Managing Director/Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) said,” Bapu’s messages in the field of cleanliness and hygiene were showcased by school students through sketching/drawing and fancy dress in Metro train. Bapu’s ideas continue to inspire us and LMRC is the right platform to reflect his ideas among the fellow citizens.” “LMRC is a role model of an eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable mode of Mass Rapid Transportation System(MRTS) and will prove to be the lifeline of the city in the long run.”, he added.

A group of students from the Career Academy and the wards of Lucknow Metro officials dressed in the attire of Mahatma Gandhi also travelled in Metro train between Charbagh and Transport Nagar to propagate the message “Swachta Hee Sewa” through Gandhiji’s character.

Lucknow Metro | LMRC successfully completes the erection of 60 metre special steel span

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03/10/2018

Lucknow Metro | LMRC successfully completes the erection of 60 metre special steel span

Lucknow: On 29, September, Lucknow Metro repeated its historic feet by successfully completing the erection of a 60 Meter Special Steel Span near Nishatganj over the mainline Railway operational track at the location. This achievement has been accomplished by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) Engineer under the leadership of Shri. Kumar Keshav, Managing Director in just 5 days without hampering the movement of the mainline railway and the vehicular traffic plying along the adjacent Indra Bridge.

The launching activity of this 470-ton steel span over Metro viaduct was a daunting task in itself as this activity was performed during night hours at a height of approximately 16 meters above the ground level. Lucknow Metro had applied the ‘Push Launching Methodology’ to achieve this engineering feat. Earlier, in August 2016, LMRC had achieved the similar feat for the first time at the Awadh Rotary between the operational transport Nagar- Charbagh Metro Corridor.

Speaking about this milestone achievement, Shri Kumar Keshav, MD, LMRC, said, “This is a huge accomplishment for us as it has been completed in just 5 days. We had to take several precautions during this operation for the safety of the public. Every activity was minutely monitored to check the deflection and vibration of the support structures considering the huge load factor associated with the movement of the machinery.”

The erection activity for this job was started in the night of 24th September 2018 and the final erection of the 60 Meter Special Steel Span was achieved in the early morning hours of 29^th September 2018. During night hours, the launcher was moved or pushed ahead over the supporting trestles with an automatic movement. However, this movement was not continuous as the span could gain only 500 mm of distance in one go considering the trickiness of the job and the heavy traffic movement during night hours.

What made it even more challenging was that it had to be erected above the 25000V OHE of Indian Railways without disrupting their operation.

Chennai Metro | Commuter suffers injury at metro station

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03/10/2018

Chennai Metro | Commuter suffers injury at metro station

Chennai: Falling tiles and breaking of glass panels at Chennai Metro station is now a cause of concern for the authorities. Chennai Airport suffers from the same problem where instances of glass breaking or tiles falling have been registered. Last week a metro commuter was injured when a tile fell on her head while she was on her way to buy tickets.

The commuter was rushed to the hospital by Metro officials for treatment. Thankfully, the commuter did not sustain serious injuries.

Vijaya, a 28-year-old resident of Bharathi Nagar was on her way to board a train from Shenoy Nagar Metro Station. As she entered the concourse level – the location where tickets are bought, a tile from the roof fell on her head. She was injured as the tile came crashing down and was immediately rushed to the hospital.

Staff stationed at the metro station rushed her to the hospital where she was treated and discharged.

This is not the first time a tile broke off from the roof in a Metro Rail station. A few weeks ago, a passenger had a narrow escape when a tile fell close to him as he was walking inside the Egmore station, a source said.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials while confronted said that the construction is done under strict supervision. They agree that this was indeed an unfortunate incident and that they will ensure such incidents are not repeated.

Even while the CMRL official gives assurance, such incidents have become common. Earlier glass panels broke at the Nehru Park and Pachaiyappa’s College stations. Two months back, glass panels broke at the Pachaiyappa’s College station. At Nehru Park Station two glass panels broke.

CMRL official informed that the glass panels are made of toughened glasses. Even if they crack, they will not break. These special panels are designed to hold glass particles together.

An expert at IIT-Madras said that the fact that such issues were cropping up in a relatively new structure showed that the construction was shoddy.

PIB approves Rs 13,359 cr for Bhopal & Indore metros

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01/10/2018

PIB approves Rs 13,359 cr for Bhopal & Indore metros

New Delhi: Public Investment Board (PIB) of Ministry of Finance has agreed Rs 13, 359 crores for Indore and Bhopal Metros. This decision comes ahead of Assembly polls this year in Madhya Pradesh. The project proposal will now be sent to Union cabinet for consideration post-PIB’s clearance.

It was in 2009 that the proposal for setting up the metro project in Indore and Bhopal was mooted. This was also the first metro rail project made on lines of New Metro Rail Policy.

As per top sources, PIB has approved Rs 6,397 crore for Indore metro and Rs 6,962 crore for Bhopal metro.

In the first phase, 31.55 km would be covered in Indore and 27.87 km would be covered in Bhopal. As per the plan, there will be 30 metro stations on both of the metro lines proposed under Phase-I. The per km expenses is likely to be between Rs 182-200 crore. Both Indore and Bhopal metro rail projects will impact at least three dozen Assembly seats in the Madhya Pradesh.

Close sources reveal that in the PIB meeting there were few members who suggested having a light rail transport system. They felt that metro rail project will not be a feasible for the two locations. Many members felt that the state government should reconsider the decision.

But after long deliberation, the idea of light rail transport was rejected.

Now that PIB has given a nod for financial assistance, the proposal will be sent to Union cabinet. MP government has already gone ahead and appointed a consultant for both the metro rail projects.

With Assembly election around the corner, the current government wants to expedite the project at the earliest. The project will benefit business hubs and people living in the capital city of MP.

Proposed Indore Metro Rail Project is planned to be a rapid transit system. They will be offering free Wi-Fi connectivity for the metro commuters. This will also be the first driver less trains in India and the project is likely to be wrapped up by before 2020.

On December 2016, the MP government had approved the detailed project reports of both the metros at the total outlay of Rs 14,485.55 crore.

Indore metro rail corridor:

Will cover – Palasia, Rajwara, Bada Ganpati, Airport, Bhawarsala, MR10, Vijay Nagar, Radisson and Bangali Chouraha in the phase-I.
Proposed length of entire Indore metro project is 104.25 km
the estimated cost is Rs 26,762 crore

Bhopal metro rail corridor

Will be covering 14.99 km linking Karond Square, Bhopal Talkies, Railway Station, Bharat Talkies, Bogda Pul, Shubhash Nagar underpass, DB Mall, Board Office Square, Habib Gang, Naka, Alkapuri Bus Stand and AIIMS.
The Bhopal metro is 95.03 km.
The estimated cost is Rs 22,504 crore.

Hyderabad Metro | HMRL changing the location of four pillars on the route

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01/10/2018

Hyderabad Metro | HMRL changing the location of four pillars on the route

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) is changing the location of four pillars on the route in order to ensure sufficient carriageway for traffic movement and also to avoid Metro pillars in the middle of the road between Cyber Towers and Shilparamam flyover.

According to the original plan, the pillars were to be constructed in the middle of the road, which would permanently reduce space on the already narrow carriageway between Cyber Towers and Shilparamam flyover.

Now the pillars are being shifted adjacent to the flyover and they are being accommodated in the central median of the flyover. To this effect, the ramp portion of the flyover is being widened through an engineering solution of strengthening and rebuilding the sidewalls of the ramp of the flyover.

On 30^th, September Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited Managing Director, NVS Reddy along with the engineers of L&TMRHL inspected the works from Cyber Towers to Raheja Mindspace Junction.

The engineers were instructed to take up several activities in parallel mode in order to expedite the construction of 22 Metro pillars and viaduct beyond Hitec city station to Hotel Trident for the creation of train reversal facility.

Beyond the Hitec city station to Trident Hotel, for the creation of train reversal facility, all measures will be taken to reduce the duration of each activity on the viaduct on the crucial 650-meter length.

Now on the temporary basis Temporary, the partial closure of the road from Cyber Tower junction to Cyber Gateway junction is being planned. And apart from this, the discussions are on for partial road closure and traffic diversion measures with Cyberabad traffic police.

Apart from this, there are also plans are onto make Cyber Towers flyover as a temporary one-way flyover towards Cyber Gateway and diverting the traffic through Deloitte crossroads – Oracle Junction – Google crossroads – Hitex – Shilparamam – Hitec city Junction, etc.

To immediately strengthen all the alternative roads to facilitate traffic diversion, directed to the HMRL and L&TMRHL engineers. This will highly aid in taking up Metro Rail works round the clock in order to meet the target set by the Governor ESL Narasimhan to launch Metro services on Ameerpet-Hitech city route by December.

Chandigarh to revive monorail project after 21 years

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01/10/2018

Chandigarh to revive monorail project after 21 years

Chandigarh: It was in 1997 that the proposal to launch monorail in Union Territory was mooted. Now after 21 years, the administration is planning to revive the project after shelving the idea of metro train.

Local MP Kirron Kher and UT adviser Parimal Rai had a meeting with Swiss Transport Company Intamin at the UT Secretariat in Sector 9 last week. The Swiss company shared presentation on monorail. The Union government in 2006 had rejected the Chandigarh monorail project, instead had asked to explore metro rail project.

Post meeting Kirron Kher while speaking to Times of India said, “The administration is exploring different ways of improving public transport and connectivity with the nearby cities, and monorail is one of those models. The Swiss company has only submitted its proposal presentation so dar.”

Senior UT official on the other hand shared that monorail will cost about Rs 2,500 crore. He added that metro rail would have cost Rs13,600 crore. Monorail will be connecting Chandigarh with Panchkula and Mohali. The project will not require digging up the city unlike the case for metro project.

The UT official stated that they only had a meeting with the Swiss Company and that they have not finalised anything. For Metro project the official said that the project largely remains on paper as it will not be feasible to carry it out in the city. It would be tough to identify 200 acres of land and cost of setting up metro is also exorbitant.

French company Systra MVA is also in race to work towards offering urban mobility solutions. As per its proposal, there should be four means of transport. These are: light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit, modern tram, and monorail systems for three corridors.

In 2017, home minister Rajnath Singh has made it official that metro project was not a viable option for Chandigarh. He has asked the authorities to explore other options. It is now that monorail project is gaining momentum.

Bullet Train gets Rs 5,500 crore loan from International agency JICA

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01/10/2018

Bullet Train gets Rs 5,500 crore loan from International agency JICA

New Delhi: Finally Bullet Train project is getting the much needed impetus. As per Business Standard reports, Japan The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with the Indian government to provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 89,547 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 5,500 crore) as Tranche 1 on the ‘Project for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR)’ corridor, commonly known as bullet train project.

The purpose of MAHSR is to build up a high-frequency mass transportation system. The proposed route for building the High-Speed Rail is between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The project will be made on lines of Japan’s Shinkansen technology (Bullet Train). This will go a long in way in enhancing mobility in India as well as aid in regional economic development.

JICA said in a statement that Japanese state-owned funding agency has also signed another agreement to provide ODA loan of 25,903 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 1,600 crore) for building a metro rail system between Howrah Maiden to Salt Lake Sector V, including an underwater section, as a part of the ‘Kolkata East-West Metro Project (III).’

Business Standard further reports that the Kolkata East-West Metro Project (III) will tone down traffic jams, bring down air pollution, decrease road accidents and facilitate smoother travel for commuters. The metro project will link Howrah Maiden to Salt Lake Sector V through Esplanade and make available an enhanced admission to the public from the west gateway area to the central business district as well as the residential-cum-institutional complex areas.

Two ODA loan agreements were signed between Katsuo Matsumoto the Chief Representative, JICA India and C S Mohapatra the Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance.

Matsumoto said MAHSR is will become the economic pulse as had the Shinkansen done for Japan. With this project, they look forward to simplify mobility, offer seamless connectivity and augment regional economic development with a safe and dependable inter-city transport system.

The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is the Executing Agency of the MAHSR Project.

Monorail | Global monorail systems market 2018-2025 report overviews

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29/09/2018

Monorail | Global monorail systems market 2018-2025 report overviews

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Recently in a panel was constituted by Mumbai Metro Rail Development Authority (MMRDA) on August 15 to bring closure to the deadlock between monorail operator and MMRDA over per-trip expense. After discussions and deliberation, the committee has in its report suggested on increasing the per-trip cost to ₹10,600 from ₹4,600. MMRDA was already incurring losses while operating the 8.

9-km section of the monorail between Chembur and Wadala Phase-1.

Bangalore Metro | Commuters delayed after technical snag on green line

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29/09/2018