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Three key stations to be revamped : Railway Minister

30/09/2022

Indian Railways to revamp three key stations — Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus / Representational Image

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Union Cabinet approved the Indian Railway’s ₹10,000 crore proposal for the reconstruction of three key Railway Stations — New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on 28th September.

Passengers will be able to take advantage of amenities like a food court, waiting lounge, children’s play area, place to shop for local goods, proper lighting, lifts, escalators and travelators amongst others, once after the redevelopment which is anticipated to be finished in 2.5 to 3.5 years.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “A master plan had been prepared for the smooth movement of traffic with adequate parking facilities. The stations, which will make use of green building techniques with solar energy, water conservation/recycling and improved tree cover, will be integrated with other modes of transportation such as metro and bus.”

“The stations will be safe with the installation of CCTV and access control. There will be segregation of arrival/departures, clutter-free platforms, improved surfaces and fully covered platforms … special care will be taken to provide Divyang-friendly facilities,” according to an official release.

Briefing the reporters, the Minister added that the government would be funding the redevelopment project so as to not put any extra monetary burden on passengers. “Railways cater to the middle class and lower middle class so any extra burden on passengers is not good. So, it has been decided to invest the budget money in the Railways and take it up with investment from the government. So, it is a conscious decision to not redevelop these stations in PPP mode,” he said.

The Minister, however, added that efforts would be made to complete the redevelopment in two years. “We will try to do this in two years. We will be using new technology for construction — modular construction. Once we are able to master this technology through implementation on these stations, it can be used in other projects as well in the country,” he said.

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RRTS tunnelling moves into next Phase with construction of 1.5 km Long Tunnel in Anand Vihar

Staff Reporter

28/09/2022

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): RRTS tunnelling work for India’s first Regional Rail moves into next phase with the construction of around 1.5 km long tunnel by Sudarshan 4.1 (Tunnel Boring Machine) from Anand Vihar to New Ashok Nagar. The 90 meters long machine Sudarshan 4.1 (TBM) has completed tunnel boring of half the total distance of around 3 km long tunnel.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is 82 km long, of which 14 km is in Delhi. The Delhi Section has four stations, Jangpura, Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar, and Anand Vihar, with only Anand Vihar station being underground.

Two Sudarshans (TBMs) are in operation to construct two 3 km long parallel tunnels from Anand Vihar station towards New Ashok Nagar. Out of this, the first Sudarshan, 4.1 has already bored 1.5 km tunnel to date, while the second Sudarshan, 4.2 has also constructed about one kilometre of tunnel so far. To retrieve these Sudarshans, after the completion of the construction of the tunnels, a retrieving shaft has been built near the New Ashok Nagar station, from where the corridor gets elevated.

On the other hand, about 2 km long parallel tunnels will be constructed from Anand Vihar towards Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh, which will terminate in front of Vaishali metro station. At present, one Sudarshan, 4.3 is boring a tunnel, and the other Sudarshan, 4.4 is in the final stages of assembling which will soon be launched to construct the tunnel.

Tunnel rings are made underground by TBM with the help of tunnel segments. Seven (7) tunnel segments are generally used to form a tunnel ring. The Tunnel Segments are being manufactured at NCRTC‘s Casting Yard with assured quality control. Due to the large rolling stock and a high design speed of 180 mph, the width of RRTS tunnels is being constructed as 6.5 m. diameter. Compared to the metro systems, this is for the first time that a tunnel of such a large size is being constructed in the country.

For the movement of trains in the underground parts of RRTS, two parallel tunnels are being built. Along with this, provision has also been made for various security measures to ensure the safety of the passengers. There will be a cross-passage approximately every 250 meters in the underground sections for the safety of passengers in case of any emergency. In addition, the tunnel will also have a side walkway of 60 cm-90 cm wide which will assist in maintenance activities as well as in case of emergency. Ventilation ducts will also be provided to ensure the movement of air in the tunnel.

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Pune metro submits draft DPR for Phase 2 to PMC

Staff Reporter

28/09/2022

Pune metro submits draft DPR for Phase 2 to PMC

PUNE (Metro Rail News): Pune Metro team made presentations before the PMC commissioner and other officials. Preliminary discussions were on 27th September, it will be followed by a site visit along the proposed draft DPR next week.

Shri. Atul Gadgil-Director (Works) Pune Metro, Shri. Vikram Kumar-PMC Commissioner, Shri. P.K. Acharya-Advisor, Shri. Shrinivas Bonala-Chief Engineer Project, PMC, and Shri. Hemant Soanwane- Executive Director (PR) was present during the presentation on DPR Phase 2.

Sonawane said, “Pune Metro recently submitted the draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the second phase before the municipal corporation. Metro officials and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials held the primary discussion on 26th September and will go for site visits for proposed metro sites in the coming weeks.”

Metro officials said that by including phase one and the proposed phase two plan, total metro corridors would be 200 km in the city. Under the second phase, circular connectivity has been proposed for the metro route as citizens can move in any locality by metro, officials said.

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Pune Metro line 3 pier erection scores century in just 6 months

Staff Reporter

28/09/2022

Pune Metro line 3 pier erection scores century in just 6 months

PUNE (Metro Rail News): The overall work of the Pune Metro Line 3 project connecting the IT hub of Hinjewadi with the central hub of Shivajinagar has gained a definite pace across several sections now. The work of construction of piers is also going on vigorously on this route on 27th September morning, the centenary of the construction of metro piers was reached. This 100th pier (viaduct+station) of Metro Line 3 has been erected in front of Balewadi Stadium.

The notable part is developers have managed to achieve this milestone of erecting the 100^th pier within the period of just six months after starting the pier work in March 2022.

The work of Pune Metro Line 3 on the Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar route has been jointly undertaken by Tata Group and PMRDA on the basis of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Tata Group has established Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company for its implementation.

It is worth mentioning that the progress of the PMRDA–governed Pune Metro Line 3 is on a full spree. And the notable part is that after erecting the 50^th pier on 23 August 2022; the developers have managed to complete the erection of another 50 piers and thereby achieve the milestone of erecting 100 piers, within the timeframe of just one month.

The Pune Metro Line 3 piers having a circular shape with a diameter of 2000 mm are very special in nature. These piers are being made to be fully compliant with the design parameters of the metro rail system. Also, they strictly follow all construction safety parameters as mentioned in the design and construction manual of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited has ensured that the safety standards are vigilantly followed.

The construction of the metro between Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar will provide easy, convenient, and affordable public transport options. It is the policy of the Tata Group not to compromise on quality and safety in all phases of the project, which was undertaken for the convenience of the citizens.

About Pune Metro line 3:

The Pune Metro line III is a 23 Km elevated Metro rail project connecting the IT hub of Hinjawadi to the Central business district of Shivajinagar. It is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project awarded by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) to a consortium consisting of Tata Group’s TRIL Urban Transport Private Limited (TUTPL) and Siemens Project Ventures GmbH. The Project would be developed & operated on Design, build, finance, operate & transfer (DBFOT) basis by a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited (PITCMRL) for a Concession Period of 35 years including the construction period.

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Maha Metro MD Dr Dixit Briefs Minister Dr Karad about Aurangabad Project Status

Staff Reporter

28/09/2022

PUNE (Metro Rail News): Maha Metro MD Dr Dixit today met Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Karad in New Delhi. Dr Dixit briefed the Union Minister about the Detailed Project Report (DPR) being prepared for the Aurangabad Project. It may be recalled that Maha Metro has now been tasked with preparing Detail Project Report for the Metro Rail Project for the city of Aurangabad.
Dr Dixit gave a presentation on the status of the proposed DPR. After successfully implementing Metro Rail Projects in Nagpur & Pune and having prepared DPR for similar projects in the cities of Nasik, Thane and Warangal (State of Telangana), Maha Metro is now working on similar projects in the city of Aurangabad.
As part of the proposed project for which DPR is being prepared, two Metro sections – Waluj to Shendra MIDC and Bidkin to Harsul are proposed to be constructed. In fact, given Maha Metro’s expertise in implementing infrastructure projects like RoB, and RuB, other than Metro Rail Project, the organization has also been asked to prepare a plan for Fly-over, which will run parallel to Metro Track, as has been executed in Nagpur. Metro via-duct and fly-over will run parallel from Waluj to Shendra MIDC of Aurangabad. A comprehensive DPR will be prepared for fly-over and two lines.
In that regard, a meeting was held at Aurangabad in January 2022 and was chaired by Dr Karad. The meeting was then attended by Aurangabad Municipal Corporation and senior officials from other local & civic departments, besides Maha Metro officers.

The double-decker at Aurangabad will be constructed on the lines of a similar project in Nagpur. Maha Metro has executed Multi-Layer Transportation Project on Wardha Road and is in the process of doing so on Kamptee Road. Three-layer transportation project has been implemented on Wardha Road with an existing road at the bottom, a fly-over over it, and a Metro route at the top of all. A similar project is also being implemented on Kamptee Road which also includes the unique four-layer transportation structure at Gaddigodam, which has an existing road and Railway track as the first two levels, followed by a Fly-over and Metro via-duct at a height of 24 meters. Multi-Layer Transportation Project on Wardha Road was inaugurated on 13th November 2020.

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India ask Japan to float tender for Mumbai Ahmedabad HSR

Staff Reporter

28/09/2022

Mumbai Ahmedabad high-speed rail / Representational Image

MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): India has informed Japan that the project’s land issues appear to have been resolved and tenders for the electrical and signalling systems and the rolling stock for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor should be floated immediately.

According to sources, Japan and India have agreed to set a limit on the cost of the systems and rolling stock. If the prices quoted by Japanese companies for these items exceed that limit, the Japanese side will be responsible for paying the difference outside the parameters of the loan agreement for the project.

This resolves a long-standing project impasse, as it had been reported that the cost of many essential items to be supplied by Japanese companies had increased up to 90 per cent higher than project consultants’ estimates.

The Japanese government’s Japan International Cooperation Agency is covering 80% of the cost of the bullet train project with a soft loan that forces India to purchase all essential components from Japanese suppliers. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 1.6 lakh crore.

According to officials, the corridor of the Gujarat section should be fully operational by 2027 followed by the Maharashtra section by 2029.

“Since there is a cap agreed by both parties and since civil works are now being executed at a fast pace, there is no roadblock to floating the systems tenders for the Japanese firms,” a source said.

The Indian side informed their Japanese counterparts at the sixth Joint Working Group meeting for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Project that the tenders for the systems, particularly the electrical and signalling should be awarded by December to March.

V K Tripathi, the Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board and Satoshi Suzuki, the Japanese Ambassador, the meeting held earlier this month was co-chaired by them.

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation, the project’s implementing organisation floated the tender for the 21-km tunnel in the state on 23rd September which is a significant indication that the project may finally be able to put its land-related problems in Maharashtra behind it. The tunnel will be seven kilometres long and will be under the sea.

The tunnel is the 502-km corridor which is the most difficult civil engineering project. The tunnel tender is open to international competition and companies from Japan and India are both permitted to team up with other international players to submit bids.

The procurement of the rolling stock or the actual train sets was another issue for the project. Only Kawasaki and Hitachi are eligible to provide the rolling stock in Japan. According to sources, the Indian side had wished to prevent a scenario in which both companies jointly submitted a bid which might increase the price.

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First tunneling work of CMRL Phase II project to begin in Madhavaram

Staff Reporter

28/09/2022

CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): The first tunneling activities for Metro Rail’s Phase-II project will start in Madhavaram by the middle of October.

According to representatives of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) that arrived from China more than two months ago was lowered into the construction site last week. One TBM will commence the initial tunneling operation at Madhavaram and drill toward Kellys to construct a subterranean section. A second TBM will be utilized a month later.

Work will first start on the subterranean portions from Madhavaram to Kellys in the 118.9-Km Phase II Project’s three corridors: Madhavaram to SIPCOT, Light House to Poonamallee and Madhavaram to Shollinganallur (a part of Madhavaram-SIPCOT corridor). Two more TBMs will begin operating between Kellys and Taramani later this year. The underground work will eventually spread to other parts of the city as well.

“Usually, we give a gap of a few weeks between the deployment of the two TBMs. It is always better to operate with a space of 100 m or more. Before starting the tunneling work at Madhavaram, we completed surveys and utility diversion work. We have to track and plug the borewells within residences,” an official said.

The underground stretch in various sites of the Phase II Project, which was developed at a cost of 61,843 crores, would be constructed using 23 TBMs by Chennai Metro Rail. The majority of the equipment used this time including 12 machines from Tamil Nadu and one from Pune would be refurbished domestically. According to another official there will also be one from Germany and five from China. These will hasten the underground stretch’s completion.

“Some of the machines have already arrived and will soon gear up for the work. TBMs can usually bore nearly 8-10 m a day but, if the geological conditions are tough it could slow down to as much as 5 m. We have been planning well to see that there aren’t too many delays in the completion,” he added.

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More Train Tracking Devices to be installed by Indian Railways

Staff Reporter

27/09/2022

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): A Real-Time Train Information System (RTIS) is being used by Indian Railways to track trains.

The RTIS device which has been developed in partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) enables the automatic acquisition of train movement time at stations, including the time of arrival and departure or run-through. The RTIS is already being used on 2,700 locomotives in 21 electric locomotive sheds.

The GPS-based technology is anticipated to be installed in 6,000 more trains across 50 Loco-Sheds by using ISRO’s Satcom hub. The device enables speed and location tracking of RTIS-enabled locomotives and trains while removing the need for manual intervention. It can provide mid-section updates with a 30-second periodicity to railway passengers.

The Indian Railways unveiled the Kavach Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System earlier this year. Direct Loco-to-Loco Communication is a feature of the technology that enables trains to run in adverse weather conditions and prevent collisions.

It was developed in collaboration with three Indian vendors by the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO). The Indian Railway Ministry said in a statement: “Currently, GPS feed from around 6,500 Locomotives (RTIS and REMMLOT) is being directly fed into the Control Office Application (COA). This has enabled automatic charting of trains and real-time information flow to passengers through COA and NTES integration.”

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Pune metro installs CBTC for safety of passengers and trains

Staff Reporter

27/09/2022

PUNE (Metro Rail News): The Pune Metro has installed a Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling system for the safety of both passengers and trains. It will be feasible to run a train every two minutes with this technology while keeping a safe distance between each train.

Information regarding the precise location of the train will be transmitted to all Zonal Control Centres and TCMS systems of all trains through the radio unit located on the side of the tracks.

Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director, Brijesh Dixit said, “In CBTC system, the position, speed, location, timing and other important information of the train will be continuously communicated and updated by the on-board computer on the train, Train Control and Management System (TCMS) with other trains running on the tracks and Zonal Control Centre through radio communication.”

A Metro official said, “The information of a train will be continuously received by the train running ahead and the train running behind it. As a result of such features two trains can never approach or hit each other. If for some reason a train stops, the train behind it will automatically stop at a safe distance.”

The official added, “The signaling and train control system in Pune Metro will be software-based. For its testing calibration and validity, the work of low-speed and high-speed train trials and multiple train trials are being done in Vanaz and Nal stop sections. In the trial, three trains run simultaneously.”

Dixit added, “CBTC’s high-speed train trial is an important step towards the completion of Pune Metro. In a few months, Pune Metro will be operational from Garware College and Phugewadi to Civil Court. The safety and security of the commuters are of utmost importance and therefore CBTC and Automatic Train Operation (ATO) systems have been chosen for Pune Metro”.

The trial’s objective is to determine whether a train’s information is correctly communicated to and received by the trains moving in front and behind it. The trials that have been run thus far have been satisfactory.

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L&TMRH records loss of 1,745.85 crore in FY 21–22

Staff Reporter

27/09/2022

HYDERABAD (Metro Rail News): In the fiscal year 2021–2022, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) the private concessionaire that developed and runs the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) services recorded a loss of 1,745.85 crore which is just slightly less than the loss of 1,766.75 crores the previous year.

Fare and non-fare revenue, operating revenue and other income for the fiscal year 2021–22 under consideration were 357.15 crores as compared to 227.95 crores the previous financial year. A total of 1,746.21 crores was lost before taxes.

According to the company’s annual report, revenue from the metro rail system and other sources was 319.62 crores for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2022 including construction revenue of 118.23 crores and 155.76 crores respectively.

According to the report, the government-imposed restrictions because of the COVID-19 epidemic had an influence on all areas of the company’s activities. Due to the impact on metro train ridership and the low footfalls in the company’s retail malls, the company was forced to support shops by switching to a revenue-sharing model of lease rentals in place of fixed rentals.

In addition to making sure that it provides safe and punctual travel along with affordable last-mile connectivity, contactless travel aimed at reducing commuters’ pain points and pandemic-related apprehensions, it would continue to target higher ridership, according to the 12th annual general body meeting of L&TMRH held last month.

“All efforts are being put in to make Hyderabad Metro the safest and cleanest transportation mode keeping in view the current pandemic situation,” said the report. It was pointed out that the CMRS – Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety, had cleared the way for increasing the maximum speeds of the trains to be increased from 70 kmph to 80 kmph on all three corridors to reduce the travel time in March with software updates.

The company also disclosed that it had successfully refinanced all of the term loans it had obtained from banks raising 12,975 crores through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and commercial papers (CPs) lowering the interest rate on these loans by more than 2.5% annually.

Net fixed assets which are made up of property, plant and equipment investment property and intangible assets were valued at 17,043.29 crores and the net fixed assets comprising of property, plant and equipment, investment property and intangible assets stood at 17,882.95 crores, respectively. A total of Rs435.95 crore was added to property, plant, equipment, investment property and intangible assets during the year.

Four malls and an office building totaling 1.28 million square feet each were completed as part of transit-oriented development (TOD) projects in Punjagutta, Errum Manzil, Hitec City and Moosarambagh while work on an office building in Raidurg with a 0.5 million square foot footprint is anticipated to be finished this year.

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