PM Modi Inaugurates Rajasthan’s First Vande Bharat Express Through Video Conference

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12/04/2023

Rajasthan (Metro Rail News): On 12 April 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first semi-high-speed passenger train in the world on high-rise overhead electric (OHE) land and the first Vande Bharat Express of Rajasthan (Train No- 20977) through video conferencing.
The initial run of Vande Bharat Express will be Between Jaipur and Delhi Cantt. railway station.

The Ajmer-Delhi Cantt. Vande Bharat Express train covers more than 400 kilometres journey in 5 hours and 15 minutes which is 60 minutes fast than Shatabdi Express and is scheduled to run regularly between the Ajmer and Delhi Cantt from 13 April.
The train begins from Ajmer to Delhi Cantt, connecting Jaipur, Alwar and Gurgaon.

The Train fare from Ajmer Junction to Delhi Cantonment will be ₹1085 in Chair Car that includes₹142 as catering charges which are optional, and for the Executive Class, it will be ₹ 2075 with catering charges of ₹175.
However, The Vande Bharat Express ( Train No- 20978) fare between Delhi Cantonment to Ajmer will be ₹1250, which includes ₹308 as catering charges and ₹2270 in the Executive Class, which comprises ₹369 as catering charges.

This train is expected to provide accessibility to prominent tourist attractions in Rajasthan, such as Pushkar and Ajmer Sharif Dargah, and to encourage socioeconomic expansion in the region.

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OMR To Be A Major Metro Hub Under Chennai Metro Phase II Project

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11/04/2023

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CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): The Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) will become an important metro rail hub with lines passing through the main road at major junctions: Okkiam Thoraipakkam, and Sholinganallur which allow people to switch their trains on different lines to reach different parts of the city and also access to East Coast Road (ECR) and Velachery with the respective stations as a part of Phase II.

If the state government decides to extend lines to ECR and Velachery, the design of the stations at Okkiyam Thoraipakkam and Sholinganallur will be changed to allow for the addition of platforms and tracks in the future. Because of this, connecting ECR to the metro network won’t require building a new route that crosses OMR’s metro lines to connect ECR with the rest of the city; it only needs to be linked to the existing stations at these two intersections.

In Phase-2, Okkiyam Thoraipakkam is part of corridor-3 (Madhavaram Milk Colony to Siruseri Sipcot), whereas Sholinganallur will be an interchange station links the corridor-3 to corridor-5 (Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sholinganallur).

According to a metro rail official, the modifications made to these stations are minimal that won’t significantly raise project costs. The official further mentioned that they could construct a T-junction by linking ECR and Velachery either with Okkiyam Thoraipakkam or Sholinganallur, or both.

The concourse level of these stations will be constructed at an angle to allow for the future addition of platforms and for the creation of integrated stations. It will resemble the foot overbridge that links multiple platforms at Central or Egmore stations.

The Passengers from Anna Nagar, Porur, Alandur, Madipakkam, Nungambakkam, Adyar, and Madhavaram are able to change corridors at Okkiyam Thoraipakkam or Sholinganallur to travel to East Coast Road soon after OMR becomes a metro rail hub.

This metro link will reduce travel time from OMR to ECR or Velachery by 50% to 80%. There are currently four other routes that may be taken to reach Velachery from Sholinganallur in less than 45 minutes during rush hour.

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Chennai Metro Rail Limited Invites Tender For Phase II

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11/04/2023

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CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): The digitally signed open e-tender (CMRL/PHASE-II/SYS/C3&5-ASA06/2023) through the e-procurement portal for the Design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing & commissioning of a telecommunication system for CMRL Phase-II has been invited by the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) at various stations for Corridor 3 which connects Sholinganallur to SIPCOT 2 (45.8 km) and Corridor 5 (45.5 km) between Koyambedu Market Metro to Sholinganallur, OCC at Madhavaram & BCC Nandanam Metros building.

The Tender opens for the development of an effective and efficient mass transit system at a bid security of Rs. 1,80,66,000 or USD 227,090 with a completion period of 1330 Days.

The Bidders can also obtain a bid document on submission of a non-refundable fee of INR 33,500/- inclusive of GST in the form of NEFT/RTGS/SWIFT in favor of ‘Chennai Metro Rail Limited from 28th February 2023 until the bid submission end date (29th April 2023). The pre-bid meeting will be conducted online on 16th March 2023 at 03:00 PM, and bid submission for the contract will begin on 22nd April 2023.

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Afcons Infrastructure Limited Wins Redevelopment Project Of Ahmedabad Railway Station

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11/04/2023

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Ahmedabad Railway station Redevlopment Project

AHMEDABAD (Metro Rail News): On 10 April 2023, The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) opened the financial bid after the Delhi station submission for the redevelopment project of the Ahmedabad railway station of Gujrat in which Afcons infrastructure limited company quoted Rs 5,355 crore, which is the lowest bid among all three bidders.
Afcons Infrastructure Limited, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), and Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) had submitted bids for the redevelopment of Ahmedabad railway station against the Indian Railways’ estimated to cost Rs 3,000 crores in March 2023, where Afcons quoted Rs 5,355 crore, NCC quoted Rs 5,694 crore, and L&T quoted Rs 5,770 crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Rs. 10,000 crores in September last year for the development of three major stations. For New Delhi, they allotted Rs. 5000 crores; similarly, for Ahmedabad and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) of Mumbai was assigned Rs. 3000 crores and Rs 1,800 crore, respectively.

As per the Indian Railways, the tender committee would re-examine the pricing bids discussion with the lowest bidder to find the solution and to drop the price quotation this month, as a similar situation with a high price bid has also happened for the New Delhi station project. So, the contract can be awarded in May this year.
The redeveloped Ahmedabad station in Gujarat will be inspired by the iconic Modhera Sun Temple.

The redevelopment of Ahmedabad railway station will be built as an iconic new architecture to become a new landmark towards Kalupur side with distinct towers and have 15 acres of space of roof plazas above the track that provide facilities such as toilets, drinking water, retail kiosk, baby care rooms and waiting area for the passengers.

In addition,A 13-kilometre lane of the elevated road system has been planned to prevent crowding near the station with a roof plaza will also merge the railway station along with the bullet train station, metro station, BRT corridor, city buses and taxis.

An amphitheatre is planned to provide welcoming open spaces for the local population and station users, which is inspired by Adalaj Stepwell. No development is planned in ASI-restricted areas around the Brick Minar and Shaking Minarets.

The projects will have a multiplier effect on the local economy, boosting retail, real estate and tourism sectors and creating employment opportunities.

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Larsen & Toubro As Lowest Bidder For New Delhi Railway Station Redevelopment Project

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10/04/2023

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New Delhi Railway Station Redevelopment Project model — Image for representation only

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): On Monday, the redevelopment of the New Delhi railway station‘s lowest bid was submitted by Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The quoted price is above Rs 8,740 crore, which is considerably higher compared to the expected project cost of approximately Rs 5,000 crore by the railroads.

Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved Rs 10,000 crore to redevelop three significant stations: New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) of Mumbai. According to the authority, they are examining every aspect, and it might take around a month to reach the final decision.

This was the first time when Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) opened the tenders for the private players to submit bids. Only L&T and Sapoorji Pallonji – have submitted bids for this fully government-funded project. The Indian Railways had set the target to bid out the project in April so that the work would begin within the next couple of months.

The revamp of New Delhi railway station will take approximately two years and will have two unique twin domes with four floors of roof plazas, offering an extra 15 acres of space. In addition, the arrival and departure of the station will be completely separated to avoid crowding at the roof plaza, which will be 10 metres above the track.

Around the twin domes, there will be an elevated road system. The passengers can only come to the platform to board or after stepping from the train. However, the travellers will wait at the roof Plaza and exit the station from the same area to prevent crowd.

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India’s First Undersea Tunnel Work For Bullet Train Begins Soon In Mumbai

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Staff Reporter

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10/04/2023

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Mumbai-Ahmedabad Undersea Tunnel route map

MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The work for India’s first undersea tunnel work handed over to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, which is 21 km long for the underground package C-2 of the Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train project located between the underground station in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Shilphata near Kalyan.

On 9 April 2023, the financial bidding for the work was opened by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) in which Afcons Infrastructure Limited quoted by the lowest bid

The single-tube undersea tunnel that is 7 kilometres long will accommodate the twin tracks at Thane Creek (inter-tidal zone). It will also hold 39 equipment rooms at 37 locations which connect the tunnel location.

The Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) with a cutter head of diameter 13.1-m will be used to build this tunnel, which doubles the size of those used for the Metro. About 16 km of the tunnel portion will make by three TBMs, and the remaining 5-m stretch will be done by the New Austrian tunnelling method (NATM).

The tunnel will be about 25 to 65 metres deep from ground level, and its deepest construction point will be 114 metres below the Parsik Hill near Shilphata. Three shafts will enable the construction at BKC, Vikhroli and Sawli near Ghansoli with estimated depths of 36, 56 and 39 metres, respectively.

A 42-metre inclined shaft will facilitate the tunnelling through NATM at Ghansoli and the tunnel portal at Shilphata.

The corridor has BKC High-Speed Rail (HSR) station as the only underground station. At a depth of 24 metres from ground level, the platform is planned. Three floors have been set up on the platform: concourse and service floors along with two entry/exit points, one to facilitate access to the nearby Metro station on the 2B line and the other towards the MTNL.

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Tunnel Boring Machine -II Lowered at Moin-Ul-Haq

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10/04/2023

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TBM lowered at Moin-Ul-Haq stadium in Patna.

Patna (Metro Rail News): The very first Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) of Patna Metro Rail Project for Corridor II was commissioned on 7th of this month in a ceremonial inauguration by CM, Nitish Kumar at Moin-Ul-Haq stadium in Patna.

In a series of the same, the second TBM was also successfully lowered in the shaft here on Sunday at Moin-Ul-Haq stadium station to construct the underground metro network. Both TBMs will complete its journey of 1494m towards university in a period of five months. There will be a gap of 4 to 5 weeks between both TBMs. After which, Both will be retrieved and re-launched for its further journey. It is to be noted that there are four no.s of TBMs in that shall be deployed for this corridor, out of which the remaining two will be launched at Gandhi Maidan station in the month of September.

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Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express Receives Green Signal by PM Modi

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08/04/2023

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Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi flags off New Vande Bharat Express in chennai

CHENNAI (Metro Rail news): Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express in a function at Dr MGR Chennai Central Railway Station on 8 April 2023 in the presence of Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi along with Chief Minister M K Stalin and Union Minister of State L Murugan.

Chennai-Coimbatore (semi-high-speed) Vande Bharat express trains will cover the distance of 495 kilometres between two cities in 6 hours and 10 minutes for all days except Wednesday. The train journey begins from Chennai connecting Tirupur, Erode, Salem, and Coimbatore.

The Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express has eight coaches with one executive coach, accommodating 530 passengers, whereas all other Vande Bharat trains have 16 coaches.

The fare of Chennai-Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express( Train No- 20643) will be Rs.1365, including Rs.308 as a catering charge which is optional, as well as Rs.2485, which will be charged in the Executive Class, including Rs.369 as catering charges. However, the fare of Vande Bharat Express(Train No- 20644 ) will be Rs.1215 for Chair Car, which includes catering charges of Rs. 157 and Rs.2310 for Executive Cass, which will also include Rs. 190 catering charges.

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CMRL Conducts Inspection In Madurai Metro Rail Project

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08/04/2023

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MADURAI (Metro Rail News): On 7 April 2023, the officials of Chennai Metro Rail Ltd.(CMRL) inspected the metro field to find a suitable place for 18 stations and a train depot planned near the Thirumangalam bus stand.

After the study, T Archunan, the director of the Madurai Metro project, studied the possibilities of constructing the elevated stations in Thoppur, Thirunagar, Thiruparankundram, and Pasumalai. He further added during the discussion of underground slope construction that it is challenging to construct an underground slope near Palanganatham Bridge.

A total of 18 stations have been provisionally identified. Out of these stations, there would be 14 elevated stations along with four underground stations to provide service from Thirumangalam to Othakadai. The construction will be on a single route at a distance of 31 kilometers, with 25 km as an elevated Flyover route and 5 kilometers on the underground route connecting nearby temples.

According to the managing director of Chennai Metro Rail Limited, M A Siddique informed that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Rs 8,500 crore project with 20% contribution of central and state governments and 60% external financial contribution, is expected to complete in June. He also mentioned that construction work of the metro starts in 2024 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

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First Tunnel Breakthrough achieved for Delhi section of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor

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08/04/2023

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Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) breakthrough for Delhi - Ghaziabad - Meerut RRTS corridor

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): NCRTC has today achieved its first Tunnel breakthrough for the Delhi section of the Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut RRTS corridor. The tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), Sudarshan 4.1 made the breakthrough from the tunnel retrieval shaft constructed at Khichdipur, Delhi.

Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India initiated the breakthrough by pushing the lever in the presence of Mr. Vinay Kumar Singh, MD, NCRTC. The Directors and other senior officials of NCRTC and contractors were also present on the occasion.
The first TBM of the Delhi section, ‘Sudarshan 4.1’, was lowered at the Anand Vihar launching shaft in January 2022 for the construction of RRTS tunnels between Anand Vihar and Khichdipur. This RRTS tunnel is the longest tunnel in Delhi made by any Tunnel Boring Machine and is about 3 kilometers long. RRTS tunnels have a diameter of 6.5 metres which is highly optimised as compared to global benchmarks of tunnels for similar design speed of 180 Kmph with wider and higher rolling stock.

A total of 4 tunnels are being constructed in Delhi for the 82-kilometre Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut RRTS corridor for to and from movement in both directions. Two parallel tunnels of about 3 kilometers long between Anand Vihar to Khichdipur towards New Ashok Nagar RRTS station and about 2 kilometer long parallel tunnels from Anand Vihar to Vaishali towards Sahibabad RRTS Station.

This is the first tunnel which has been completed in the Delhi section from Anand Vihar to Khichdipur. The other TBM ‘Sudarshan 4.2 has completed tunnelling of about 2.5 kilometer in the same direction. On the other hand, Sudarshan 4.3 and 4.4 are boring tunnels in the direction of Sahibabad from Anand Vihar and have completed the construction of more than 1.5 kilometres and 1 kilometre respectively.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, MoHUA while congratulating NCRTC said, “RRTS is aimed to ease regional mobility in NCR thereby reducing vehicular congestion on roads and lowering air pollution. Multi-modal integration has been one important consideration while planning and implementing RRTS. I am confident that it will enhance the quality of life in NCR.”

Mr Vinay Kumar Singh, MD, NCRTC said, “I compliment the engineers of NCRTC as well as our construction partner for completing this section of tunnelling which was a complex and challenging task.

Going towards New Ashok Nagar, it has negotiated very close to existing metro station piling structues in addition to foundations of expressways and non-engineered buildings in Patparganj and Khichdipur.

NCRTC has prioritised commuters’ convenience over ease of construction. Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar RRTS station are examples of extensive multi-modal integration which will enable seamless transfers to stations of Indian Railways, ISBTs, City Bus as well as Metro.”

More than 14000 high-preciion pre-casted tunnel segments were used to construct this 3 kilometer long RRTS tunnel, ensuring a long tunnel life .The Tunnel Segments of Delhi section are being casted at NCRTC’s Casting Yard established at Karkardooma, Delhi.

NCRTC is targeting to commission the entire 82 km long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut for the public by 2025. Before that, it will operationalise a 17-km long Priority Section between Sahibabad and Duhai shortly, before the scheduled time.

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