The Chenab Rail Bridge: An Engineering Marvel of Indian Railway

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13/09/2022

Namma Metro: Ongoing efforts for an integrated and Multi-modal transport

Abstract
The transportation system plays a vital role in a part of any country as it contributes to social and economic development. Transportation was built closely with well-organized movements and the development of humans throughout the history of the world.
Transportation played a part in the industrial, economic, social, and cultural development of all regions in every commodity produced which includes agricultural to industries at various stages of production to distribution. The transportation system includes planning, design, development, maintenance, and improvement. The increasing vehicular traffic on the urban road in the network demand effective measure of traffic control on road – networks, mixed traffic creates congestion and traffic jam in road networks.
The land use feature and transportation system are interdependent as it contributes to improving and expanding the transportation network. If the system is efficient, safe, and economical, the development of the city improves with better accessibility. Mass rapid transit system projects like metro rails are expected to improve traffic and road safety conditions (reduced vehicular traffic, traffic congestion, road accidents, etc.) and environmental conditions (air and noise pollution) in urban areas Studies have been conducted to assess the overall potential and efficiency of the metro rail in terms of easing the traffic scenario in Bengaluru city through commuter perception.

The use of metro services by the public is known to decongest urban traffic. The public can use metro services when the outermost destinations are directly accessible to metro stations. Issues with connectivity from home or destinations to access the metro can lead to the choice of modal shift. In this regard, the last mile connectivity study is undertaken to evaluate the last mile problems. Last mile connectivity is defined as the movement of public goods from a transportation area to their final destination such as home or workplace. This is usually used in telecommunications, chain management, and transportation planning describing transportation efficiency. When users have difficulty getting from their starting location to a final transportation network, the scenario is alternatively
known as the problem in the first mile. Vice versa Last mile problem refers to difficulty getting conveyance from the transportation network to the users’ destination.

Development of Transport Systems
The quest for rail-based solutions began close to 40 years ago in 1983 in Bengaluru when a Commuter Rail system was first proposed. Since then, road traffic has grown by leaps and bounds as street-based transport has remained the only option, even as
BMTC buses became inefficient, unreliable, and unpredictable due to increasing traffic congestion.
If all goes well, the bulk of Bangalore’s Public Transport commuters will be moving in trains over rail tracks rather than on roads by around 2032. Plans that have been pending for a long are finally being implemented to expand Metro and add Suburban
Rail to cover large parts of the city with a combined urban rail network totaling over 400 km.
High Traffic Congestion Reports state that the total number of motorized vehicles in the city would be well over 10 million by end of the year 2022. The number of motorized vehicles in the city was 2.64 million in 2008. This had shot up to over 8 million by 2019 at an average CAGR rate of growth of 10.32. If this trend were to continue, the city will have over 14.5 million vehicles by 2025 itself.
Bus Transportation
Bus commuters increasingly have moved to two-wheelers, cars, and other more nimble vehicles of all sizes including door-to-door taxis that can be hailed over a mobile phone. Wrestling to gain advantage on streets with vehicles jostling for space has thus reached alarming proportions. No matter how excellent the supply side of public transport may be, services can only have as much quality and punctuality as traffic conditions will allow. This aspect is overlooked when calls are being made to increase bus services multi-fold to address public transport deficiencies. At the same time, buses do have enormous reach as city road networks are vast. Hence buses have an important role to play since tracks can’t be built everywhere for trains since they require a lot of space and are far more capital intensive.
Expansion of Rail-Based Transportation
The expansion of Metro and the development of a Suburban Rail system on dedicated tracks are steps that were long overdue in the city. These steps are now being taken by the government in an attempt to shift public transport users off the streets onto exclusive track systems for faster commutes. During Phases 2 and 3, Bengaluru Metro (popularly called ‘Namma Metro) is likely to add 211.6 km to the existing 42.3 km that has been in operation since 2017 (built under Phase 1). About 14 km under Phase 2 has been commissioned in 2021. Thus, 56.1 km is currently operational. Two new lines are expected to be commissioned by 2024-25 and the Airport line is likely to get ready by 2026-27.

Rail Network Connecting Most of the Areas

Metro’s Phase-3 routes and stations have been announced and Detailed Project Reports (DPR) is under preparation. It is likely that construction may begin by 2025 with an estimated completion target of 2032. Route selections appear reasonably good
to cover most parts and activity centers. On completion, the Metro network will have eight lines. Two lines would be aligned around the circle of the Outer Ring Road. The remaining six routes are mostly radial and will have intersections with the Ring line/s (some lines will intersect at multiple points). The three North-South Metro lines will provide easy access to central CBDs as they cut through the city’s central areas. The four Suburban routes will supplement the Metro system and offer faster commutes over longer distances (thus, it will more or less be an ‘express’ mass transit system with much fewer halts than the metro). The existing East-West metro Line (Purple line) will in the future be supplemented by the Parijaata Suburban Line that deviates from the Purple line’s route when within ORR but converges outside ORR at both ends. It is hoped that the onslaught of motorization will slow down, if not halt once these extensive rail-based travel options are made available. Road expansions need to be minimized; just enough to take care of necessities to operate buses or reach public transport, particularly in peripheral areas where the secondary and tertiary road networks are in poor condition, and also to assist commuters to reach trains easily.
Major Development Plan
To ease traffic congestion and with a focus on NammaMetro, suburban rail, and Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), underlining the need for a better mass transit system, a new 35-km Metro line connecting Sarjapur to Hebbal through Agara, Koramangala, and Dairy Circle at an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore has been announced by the present Bommai government in Bengaluru. A detailed project report (DPR) for this line is proposed to be prepared in FY 2022-23. Of the 35km, Hebbal to Koramangala (16. 8km) will be underground, and the remaining Koramangala to Sarjapurstretch (18.6km) will be elevated. BMRCL yet, have not stated anything clearly on whether this corridor will be taken up in Phase 3A or Phase 4 and also on its deadline but mentioned that several traffic studies need to be conducted before preparing the DPR. The BMRCL also disclosed that they plan to take up this corridor in the next phase. Experts and activists have welcomed the announcement since the proposed route cuts through the city’s core areas.

Earlier, BMRCL had drawn flak for focusing on Bengaluru outskirts, allegedly due to political pressure. It may be noted that, around nine years ago, BMRCL had proposed the Carmelaram-Yelahanka line, which was to be taken up under Phase 3, but it was later put into cold storage reportedly for the controversial elevated- corridor project. Now, it has been truncated to Sarjapur-Hebbal. The KR Puram-KIA Metro corridor will cover the Hebbal-Yelahanka section, so it makes sense to have a SarjapurHebbal line. The Bommai government has also announced adding another 33km of Metro line to the existing network in 2022-23. With the addition, the NammaMetro will have an 89km network. The 58-km Outer Ring Road-Kempegowda International Airport Metro corridor will be completed by March 2025. The DPR of Namma Metro’s Phase 3 corridors —32 Km Hebbal JP Nagar and 13 Km Hosahalli-Kadabagere lines— at an estimated cost of Rs 11,250 crore soon shall be submitted to the Centre for approval. The state government has said that the Peripheral Ring Road project will be implemented at a cost of Rs 21,091 crore under the DBFOT (design, build, finance, operate, and transfer) model. The contractor will bear the cost of land acquisition and construction. The government has stated that the 148-km Bengaluru suburban railway project will be completed by 2026 at an estimated cost of Rs 15,267 crore. A skywalk shall also be constructed at a cost of Rs 45 crore at Banashankari junction to connect the Metro station with the bus stand. Similarly, Metro stations will be connected to their nearest railway stations at a cost of Rs 55 crore in White-field, KR Puram, Byappanahalli, Yeshwantpur, Jnanabharathiand Yelahanka.
Last Mile Connectivity: A Need

While Bengaluru has grown in leaps and bounds, especially in the last two decades after it became the Silicon Valley of India, the overall connectivity has miserably failed to keep pace with this growth. Though 110 adjoining villages were included in the city corporation nearly 14 years ago, the city’s public transport system continues to be patchy, forcing residents to rely on private vehicles. The city has multiple modes of public transport, including BMTC buses, Namma Metro, and suburban trains, but they function in isolation and lack integration. Hence, many commuters find them unreliable and bank on private vehicles for their daily commute. As the city has been a boomtown for the software industry and startups, the number of people with purchasing power to buy cars and two-wheelers is high. The result is severe traffic gridlocks at many junctions, due to the proliferation of private vehicles. Entry of the pandemic has only added to this tendency of using private vehicles. People are now wary of using public transport for the fear of contracting the virus.
The commencement of Namma Metro services in 2011 generated the hope that commuting from point A to B will be hassle-free, and would bring down the traffic volumes on roads, once BMRCL increased its footprint across the city. However, commuters complain that even after a decade of becoming operational most stations lack last-mile connectivity, and BMTC’s feeder buses have a poor frequency. In fact, the transport utility has cut down on feeder buses after the pandemic began. Many areas in West Bengaluru include Kengeri, Jnanabharati, and Sir M V Layout, and few areas off Magadi Road are not well connected by BMTC or any other public transport. As the BMTC has failed to ensure proper connectivity on these routes, commuters are forced to spend hours waiting for a bus.
The Railways planned to upgrade the Byappanahalli railway station to integrate with the metro and BMTC. The aim is to reduce congestion at Yeshwantpur and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Stations. Though work on the new terminus is almost complete, it has not been thrown open to the public. But in recent days the Railways, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), and BMTC have been working in tandem to ensure last-mile connectivity to commuters. The integration between BMRCL, BMTC, and Railways for last-mile connectivity is a big task considering the Departmental approach and approval process. Phase 1 of Metro has many lessons to be learned by all three agencies and the NHAI. This is the need of the hour for commuters considering the huge capital expenditure incurred by all three entities. Commuters are the worst affected presently. Including Common Mobility Card and seamless connectivity of Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) or Underpass between the three entities are issues that need to be resolved on a war footing. The state government should provide separate funding instead of asking each entity to contribute to integration and last-mile connectivity. To cite an example, Kengeri urgently needs FOBs between the Metro station and the TTMC as people have a lot of problems crossing the road. For this, all the corporations concerned should work together.
The daily ridership of Namma Metro’s Phase 1 was five lakh in February 2020. However, following the pandemic and the introduction of the work-from-home concept, it has dropped to 1.2 lakhs. This has forced the BMTC to reduce the number of feeder buses on the road. Now, the BMTC is operating buses based on their traffic survey. Also, there are complaints that many metro stations lack parking space, which forces people to use their own vehicles. The BMRCL had earlier tied up with rental scooter companies like Bounce and Yulu at some stations, but only a few locations have the facility now. Bengaluru citizens feel that all government stakeholders like BBMP, BMTC, BMRCL, SWR, NHAI, BDA, UDD, DULT, and RTOs need to work closely in the larger interest of the city to improve last-mile connectivity. The state government needs to fund projects as a single nodal agency to implement last-mile connectivity. BMRCL however, has stated that efforts are being made to provide facilities like bus bays at all upcoming Metro stations under Phases 2 and 3. Efforts have been also taken to coordinate with different agencies and plan to survey pedestrian and vehicular traffic at places where the stations are being set up.
Multimodal Transportation: An Expansion
The city’s transition from predominantly street-based vehicles to one that is rail-based for commutes is going to throw up several challenges. No matter how much urban rail is built, it can never match the volume of roads in a city and all rail commutes will
most certainly involve streets for the last mile and pedestrian paths for the final lap of any commute in most cases. Thus the emphasis on buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws, and parking available close to train stations would be a necessity. Arranging multi-modal transfer facilities is a formidable task as multiple agencies would be involved, but it has to be done, no matter what, to attract commuters to trains being built with huge investments. The next ten years are going to see vast changes in travel habits in the city after a long period of uncertainty and debates for solutions when commuters were largely left in the lurch.
Conclusion
Bengaluru is one of the fastest growing cities in India and expanding vastly in all directions. As a result of a larger floating population with an increasing existing population of the city, there has been an increase in vehicular population adding to extreme congestion and air pollution on the city roads. The mass rapid transit system (MRTS) has been encouraged in the city so that commuters could start using public transport more and more, instead of using private vehicles. Metro has emerged as the safe mode of transport, but still, commuters continue with unsafe modes of transport due to limited connectivity of the metro rail. The outermost destination covered by BMTC services and feeder facility has to be improved by providing more numbers to last-mile destinations for the different sectors. The last mile defines the difficulty in getting people from a transportation hub to their final destination. It may be noted that commuter preference for mass transit systems (MTS) has increased since its launch but the traffic congestion does not seem to have reduced to that extent. First and last mile connectivity to public transport forms an important part of the
travel experience on public transport. In Bengaluru, the connectivity to public transport varies across the localities, with certain areas in the city having either metro, bus, or suburban connectivity. At present, there is no formal physical integration or information integration across the modes of transport in the city. This level of integration is imperative to encourage people to use public transport.
A report from WRI in 2017 highlighted a lack of affordable transport to the metro and bus stations in Bengaluru which further highlighted that people who live beyond 5 km from the metro stations are unlikely to prefer public transport. A survey conducted by Ola Mobility Institute in 2018 showed that 70% of citizens in Bengaluru felt the need for improving first and last-mile connectivity. In another survey, 24 % of the respondents stated a lack of first and last-mile connectivity as their reason for not using public transport. The new age mobility service providers in the city have been working on solutions to address the first and last mile gap. At present, the app-based bike taxi, bike rental, cycle rental, shared cabs, and carpooling among others are the options to cover the first and last mile journey. However, not all public transit stations at present have parking facilities for app-based rental vehicles. As highlighted, the use of walking as a mode of first and last-mile connectivity is very minimal. The use of non-motorized transport such as walking and cycling can be encouraged by providing walking and cycling infrastructure as well as providing cycle parking at metro stations. Shared mobility – shared cabs, and shared autos offer effective means of covering the first and the last mile to public transport. However, the existing regulations in the state of Karnataka restrict mobility service providers from offering these services. The shared auto services work efficiently in certain areas of Bengaluru connecting the interior parts of the city with public transit stations. Further, a shuttle service or a feeder bus system with a specific route covering the distance between residential areas to public transit stations is the most desirable option to close the first and last mile gap. The innovation in the mobility space to close the first and last mile gap such as bike taxis, e-rickshaw, and e-scooters should be encouraged as they offer better first and last mile connectivity. Additionally, a multi-modal integration of all public transit modes in the city would enable service providers to build solutions to close the first and last mile gap. The city’s poor public transport utilization needs urgent attention. We need to conduct pilots in a few high-traffic corridors aimed at providing the requisite physical infrastructure, connectivity services for the above use cases, and complete information integration across different public and shared mobility modes. Such a pilot would provide huge learning for deployment at scale across the city.

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Maha Metro MD Dr. Dixit feted at 4th World Record Holders’ Meet

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13/09/2022

Maha Metro MD Dr. Dixit feted at 4th World Record Holders’ Meet

PUNE (Metro Rail News): Maha Metro MD Dr. Brijesh Dixit was felicitated at the 4th World Record Holders’ Meet held in New Delhi for being chosen in the top 100 record holders for excellence in world stage 2022 at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi on 11th Sept 2022. Dr. Dixit was presented with the Privilege Certificate of Distinct Honor and Praise.

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The event in which Dr. Dixit was felicitated is one of the Biggest-ever Record Holders’ festivals – The International Records Festival, 2022’ was organized by the Asia Book of Records & India Book of Records. It was attended by about 2,500 people with delegates from 7 countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Great Britain, United States of America, other than India participating in it. According to the Organizers, Maha Metro was short-listed as one of the finalists for the Top 100 Record Holders and invited to the Grand Event. Among the other participants were record holders in different categories. Maha Metro MD Dr. Dixit was among the chosen few invited. The theme of the event was One Blood One World’. Dr. Dixit was felicitated by Dr. Thang Van Phuc, a Member of the Council of the World Record Union, Chairman of the Vietnam Records Association, and former Deputy Minister of Vietnam home affairs. It may be recalled that Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari had felicitated Dr. Dixit for prestigious Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records certification for constructing the ngest Via-duct with Highway Fly-over and Metro Rail Supported on Single Column Piers’ and Maximum Metro Stations Constructed on a Double Decker Via-Duct, in Asia. Maha Metro MD Dr. Brijesh Dixit was also conferred with the prestigiousSpecial Lifetime Achievement Award at an event held at Andheri East, Mumbai on 15th July 2022. The award was presented to him by the Indian Institution of Bridge Engineers (IIBE) for his selfless and tireless efforts in the field of infrastructure development in the country.

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Maha Metro has been consistent and excellent at all levels. No surprise that it has won many accolades and awards at many levels constantly. With its track record till now, Maha Metro is certain to win many

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NCRTC implement Double-Tap AFC system for the country’s first Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor

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13/09/2022

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Delhi-Meerut RRTS — Representational Image

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is operating the 82-kilometer high-speed corridor between Delhi and Meerut, has developed the notion of providing customers of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) access to a premium class coach option.
A premium class coach will be added, which may be accessible through premium lounges at stations to encourage people who are currently traveling with their own vehicles.

According to the NCRTC, the priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai with five stations will be made operational by early next year.

The notion of a premium class coach was conceived to persuade those who are now using private automobiles to switch to RRTS without compromising comfort. The ultimate goal of minimizing traffic congestion on roadways would be furthered by the modal shift.

The report stated that the RRTS (AFC) system’s double-tap functionality would be used to regulate entry to the platform’s premium lounge. According to NCRTC, this was not only being done for the first time in the nation but also perhaps the entire world.

Gates for the AFC system would be located on the concourse and platform. Passengers could enter the paid section at the concourse and the standard class boarding areas at platform level using the concourse level gates. There would be a second row of gates at the platform for accessing the premium lounge which will allow access to premium class coaches.
If a customer chooses to board a premium class coach and purchases a ticket, using a QR code, or uses a National Common Mobility Card, the fare will be deducted in advance. However, commuters paying with e-wallets would have the option to choose between taking the regular class coach or the premium class after entering the concourse level.

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SCR zone enhances trains speed to 130 kmph

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13/09/2022

VIJAYAWADA (Metro Rail News): Ministry of Railways has shared the fast-tracking Progress of South Central Railways via its Twitter handle.

Fast-Tracking Progress!

Railways has enhanced the maximum permissible speed of trains to 130 kmph in the majority sections of Secunderabad, Vijayawada & Guntakal Divisions, improving the sectional capacity, punctuality & average speed of passenger & goods train. pic.twitter.com/kh3oVl7Zkn
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) September 12, 2022

South Central Railways has enhanced the maximum permissible speed of trains to 130 kmph in the majority sections of Secunderabad, Vijayawada & Guntakal Divisions. The Zone was able to reinforce the track and its infrastructure by removing bottlenecks in certain parts. After receiving the appropriate approval from RDSO/Lucknow in the year 2020, this infrastructure development, maintenance, and signaling activities were conducted regularly. The sectional speed of train services on both the Up and Down lines of these sections may be increased from 110 kmph to 130 kmph after major upgrading work was completed in these sections with effect from September 12th, 2022.

Secunderabad – Kazipet – Balharshah, Kazipet – Kondapalli sections of Secunderabad Division, Kondapalli – Vijayawada – Gudur of Vijayawada Division, and Renigunta – Guntakal – Wadi of Guntakal Division are the sections covered by this speed implementation idea. These sections cover the entire High-Density Route, Golden Quadrilateral, and Golden Diagonal routes of the SCR except for the part between Vijayawada and Duvvada on the Golden Diagonal route, where construction is currently progressing quickly to adopt enhanced speed.

The increase in the maximum permitted speed on these sections is likely to lead to an increase in the average speed of both passengers- and goods-carrying trains. The trains will run more punctually as a result of this. Importantly, the increased maximum speed will improve these vehicles’ sectional capacity.

Shri Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager In-charge, SCR has complimented all the Officials and staff of Team SCR for working relentlessly to complete all the related works in the enhancement of sectional speed to 130 Kmph. He said that the increase in sectional speed helps in reducing the running time of passenger trains considerably and paves the way for the smooth operation of train services.

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Bengaluru Sub-Urban Rail Project: A new era of Advance Transport System

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12/09/2022

Bengaluru Commuter Rail is an under-construction suburban rail network for the city of Bangalore. A Commuter Rail system for the city was first proposed in 1983. Since then, several different route proposals were made but no Commuter Rail project took shape. It was finally approved in the 2019 Railway Budget. On 1 February 2020, finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned in her budget that the project would be implemented at a cost of Rs 18,600 crores.

The Finance Ministry stated that the central government would provide 20% of the equity and facilitate external assistance for up to 60 percent of the project cost. It will be the first of its kind and unique in India as it will have metro-like facilities and rolling stock. It has the slowest design speed among all the new commuter rail projects currently being implemented in India as Nagpur broad-gauge Metro and National Capital Region Transport Corporation are building rail tracks for a design speed of 200 km/h with an operating speed of 160 km/h. The commuter rail along with Hyperloop, High-speed Airport trains, Intercity trains, Metro rail, Metro Neo, and Metrolite will provide rail based public transport to Bengaluru’s general public.

Current operation by Indian Railways

Indian Railway’s southwest railway zone operates several suburban train services from Bengaluru to Hosur, Jolarpettai, Tumakuru, Marikuppam, Bangarpet, Hindupur, Mysuru, and Hassan. Hosur and Jolarpettai are across the border in Tamil Nadu and Hindupur is in Andhra Pradesh, while Tumakuru, Bangarpet, Mysuru, and Hassan are in Karnataka.

Service to and from Hassan, Hindupur, Hosur, and Tumakuru will operate from Yesvantpur station in the city’s northern suburb, while service to Marikuppan, Bangarpet, and Jolarpettai will be to and from Bengaluru’s main city station. The zonal railway has been operating daily suburban service between Bengaluru and Mysuru. Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU) and Mainline Electrical Unit (MEMU) cars will be used for the services on the suburban routes.

Integrated intermodal and public transport experience with last mile connectivity

Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Bengaluru provides a roadmap for an integrated public transport experience. Bengaluru Suburban Rail stations will be integrated with other modes of transport for seamless transfer between travel modes – as in European cities. Public Bus Service, Metro trains, Inter-city bus, Inter-city trains, Metrolite, Metro Neo, Hyperloop, BRTS, Peripheral Ring Road, Bus priority corridors, Airport metro, Airport Bus service, High-speed Airport Train, will be integrated with the Suburban train network.

Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) and the Shared Micro-Mobility System initiatives have been launched to provide last-mile connectivity to suburban rail stations. K-RIDE plans to evolve all 57 stations into integrated commercial hubs (smart station hubs) where people can work, park, shop, eat, and trade. Approaches to suburban train stations will be provided from all directions.

Project Details

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DPR for the project has included many rare and unique features in System.

Many Stations will act as Integrated commercial hubs.
Many Stations will be built as Intermodal Integration hubs where people can switch easily with other modes of transport like Metro.
Stations will have an Automated fare collection system and Platform screen doors.
DPR suggests that Metro Train sets (EMU) – RS 13 series, which is used in Delhi Metro and manufactured at M/s BEML, Bengaluru, is the most suitable for the Bengaluru Commuter Rail system.

Routes

Route-1: Sampige Line

Route-2: Mallige Line

Route-3: Parijaata Line

Route-4: Kanaka Line

Depots

Two depots have been planned. Jnanabharathi depot would be spread over 56.9 acres and Devanahalli depot would be on 61.2 acres. However, these are not on priority routes 2 and 4. Hence, the feasibility of a depot at Huskuru along Kanaka Line is being explored besides other options.

Route Proposals

Routes recommended by RITES for CTTP – 2007

Corridor	Length (km)
Kengeri – KSR Bengaluru	13.0
KSR Bengaluru – Whitefield	24.0
KSR Bengaluru – Baiyappanahalli Via Lottegollahalli	23.0
Lottegollahalli – Yelahanka Junction	7.0
Banaswadi – BMR Boundary	29.0
Kengeri – BMR Boundary	9.0
Yeshwanthpura Junction – BMR Boundary	14.0
BMR Boundary – Hosur	12.0
BMR Boundary – Ramanagara	23.0
BMR Boundary – Tumakuru	50.0
Total	204.0

Routes proposed by Praja in July 2010

Route	Distance (km)
Yeshwanthpura Junction – Yelahanka Junction – Devanahalli – Chikkaballapura	60
Benniganahalli – Thanisandra Y elahanka Junction – Doddaballapura	37
Yeshwanthpura Junction – Benninganahalli – Anekal Road – Hosur	66
Tumakuru or Nelamangala – Yeshwanthpura Junction – Benniganahalli	83
Yelahanka Junction – Benniganahalli – Whitefield – Malur – Bangarpet	80
Yelahanka Junction – Yeshwanthpura Junction – KSR Bengaluru – Kengeri – Ramanagara	50
Total route length (km)	376

Routes studied by RITES, as per their final report of November 2012

From	To	Distance (km)
KSR Bengaluru	Mandya	92.88
KSR Bengaluru	Yeshwanthpura Junction	5.35
Yeshwanthpura Junction	Tumakuru	64.00
Yeshwanthpura Junction	Yelahanka Junction	12.45
Yelahanka Junction	Baiyappanahalli	19.23
Yeshwanthpura Junction	Baiyappanahalli	16.12
Yelahanka Junction	Doddaballapura	20.72
Yelahanka Junction	Chikkaballapura	46.05
Baiyappanahalli	Hosur	48.59
KSR Bengaluru	Baiyappanahalli	10.76
Baiyappanahalli	Bangarpet Junction	59.45
Soladevanahalli	Kunigal	45.2
Total	440.8

Routes proposed by RITES & approved

Route	Distance	Ridership(Estd, Lakhs)	Length (Km)	No. of Stations
Elevated	Surface	Elevated	Surface
KSR Bengaluru – Yelahanka Junction – Devanahalli (Sampige Line)	41.40	2.82	18.98	22.42	8	7
Chikkabanavara Junction – Yeshwanthpura Junction – Benniganahalli (Mallige Line)	25.01	2.03	12.905	12.105	6	8
Kengeri – KSR Bengaluru – Bengaluru Cantonment – Whitefield.(Parijaata Line)	35.52	1.64	10.40	25.12	4	10
Heelalige – Yelahanka Junction – Rajanukunte (Kanaka Line)	46.24	3.34	13.29	32.95	4	15
Total	148.17	9.83	55.575	92.595	22	40*

Conclusion

A Commuter rail service existed in Bengaluru as early as 1963 for HAL employees to commute from KSR Bengaluru to Vimanapura Railway station. In 1983 a formal Commuter Rail system for Bangalore had first been proposed by a team from Southern Railway under then Railway Minister C. K. Jaffer Sharief and a Member of Parliament representing Bangalore. Their recommendation had been to invest in 3 commuter rail lines and a 58-km ring railway. The package was estimated to cost Rs. 6,500 million in 1983 terms spread over a 25-year period.

Again in 1993 C. K. Jaffer Sharief Minister of Railways, India. Influenced the State of Karnataka to establish another committee looking into mass rapid transit. This committee recommended essentially the same put forward by Southern Railway in 1983 and the same circular railway. Both in 1983 and 1993 the proposal was rejected by the then Prime Minister of India.

In 2007, RITES (Rail Indian Technical and Economic Services) was commissioned by the Government of Karnataka to conduct a CTTP (Comprehensive Traffic & Transportation Plan) for the city of Bengaluru. Their report called for 10 Commuter Rail routes totaling 204.0 km. As per the report, Commuter Rail (along existing rail routes) would cost much lesser than mass rapid transit systems.

In July 2010, a proposal was made by Praja Bangalore in a ‘Call To Action report. This plan was supported & presented at the center for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CisTup), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. The proposal had suggested a 376 km network around three hubs (Yeswanthpura Junction, Benniganahalli & Yelahanka Junction) with 42 new stations. A key recommendation was to use the congested KSR Bengaluru only as a pass-through station. In November 2011, RITES conducted a feasibility study exclusively for commuter rail services in Bengaluru and submitted its final report to the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) in November 2012. The 179-page report studied all existing routes totaling 440.8 km of the rail network in & around the city & development of Commuter Rail services over three phases.

The state government approved the commuter rail system on 5 July 2013. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah approved the system in the 2013-14 state budget that he presented on 9 July 2013. The budget proposed the setting up of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Corporation Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to implement the project estimated to cost Rs. 87.59 billion.

In the 2016-17 Railway budget, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced a partnership with the Karnataka government for an Rs. 9000-crore Commuter Rail network for Bengaluru but did not allocate any funds. On 3 February 2016, the state government proposed a modified version of the original RITES plan. This looked to kick-start the project with an Rs. 1,000-crore investment to connect Mandya with Kengeri, Whitefield with Baiyappanahalli, and Tumakuru with Yeshwanthpu a Junction. The state government released 100 crores towards this. The state-appointed RITES again studied the feasibility of the project, and the latter’s survey deemed the project as feasible. However, Railways stated that the proposed Phase Two of the project (linking Tumakuru and Yeshwanthpura Junction) was not feasible.

In November 2018, RITES prepared a revised plan for a 161 km network that was again amended in August 2019 to reduce costs. Out of 82 stations, 29 stations were deleted, route length reduced to 148 km & costs lowered to Rs. 16,000 crores. This was finally accepted by the Government of India.

Latest Update

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 20 laid the foundation stone for rail and road infrastructure projects worth over Rs. 28,000 crores in Karnataka, including the Bengaluru Suburban rail project. Among the projects kicked off, the sub-urban rail project is the most costly project at a cost of over Rs. 15,700 crore. It envisages 4 corridors with a total route length of over 148 Kms. The objective is to enhance mobility and boost connectivity in Bengaluru.

The project will connect Bengaluru city with its suburbs through a Rail-based rapid transit system. Dubbed as India’s most integrated Rail project, it is likely to be completed by 2026. The network will have 57 stations in six directions of Bengaluru, which include Kengeri on the Mysore side, Chikkabanavara on the Tumkur side, Rajanakunte on the Doddaballapura side, Devanahalli on the Kolar side, and Whitefield on Bangarpet side. Further, PM Modi dedicated to the nation India’s first Air Conditioned Railway Station – Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Station at Baiyappanahalli, which is developed on the lines of a modern airport at a total cost of around Rs 315 crore.

In the state that is home to the fourth largest technology cluster in the world, 150 ‘Technology Hubs’ have also been inaugurated that will upskill the workers in cutting-edge technology. Karnataka is the number one FDI destination and Bengaluru is the IT hub of India. The road and rail connectivity projects in Bengaluru will give a strong boost to India’s economy. It will also catalyze the vibrant automobile, agro, aerospace, textile and garment, biotech, and heavy engineering industries.

Other Important Infra Projects

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of several rail and road projects. These include the redevelopment of Bengaluru Cantt. and Yesvantpur Junction railway station to be developed at a cost of around Rs 500 crore and Rs 375 crore respectively. Several rail electrification projects and railway line doubling projects that have been completed were dedicated to the nation today.

Two sections of the Bengaluru Ring Road project are to be developed at a cost of more than Rs 2,280 crore which will help reduce traffic congestion in the city. Other road projects are six laning of the Nelamangala-Tumkur section of NH-48, widening of Punjalkatte-Charmadi section of NH-73, and rehabilitation and upgradation of a section of NH-69. The cumulative cost to be incurred in these projects is about Rs 3,150 crore.

The Prime Minister dedicated the nation to 150 ‘Technology Hubs’ that have been developed by transforming the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across Karnataka. This unique initiative developed at a cost of over Rs 4,600 crore is supported by many industry partners. It aims to create a skilled workforce to address Industry 4.0 manpower needs. These Technology Hubs, through their various innovative courses, will provide high-skill training in cutting-edge technology and improve opportunities for ITI graduates in employment and entrepreneurship.

The Prime Minister while laying the foundation stone of the project said that “Bengaluru is a reflection of the spirit of Ek Bharat – Shreshtha Bharat. The development of Bengaluru is the development of millions of dreams. Therefore, in the last 8 years, it has been a continuous effort of the Central Government to develop Bengaluru further”. “The Indian Railways is now trying to provide the facilities, the environment that was once available in airports and air travel. The modern railway station in Bengaluru named after Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya is also proof of this,” PM Modi further said in connection to India’s first Air Conditioned Railway Station which was inaugurated on the day.

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Exclusive Interview with Thiru M.A. Siddique, MD, CMRL

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12/09/2022

Metro Rail News conducted an email interview with Thiru M.A. Siddique, Managing Director, Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (CMRL). In the interview, Mr. Siddique talked about the recent development of the Chennai Metro Phase 2 Project.

Mr. Siddique is an IAS officer of Tamil Nadu Cadre belonging to the batch of 1995. He has served in various capacities in the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Government of India. He served as Sub-Collector, Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district from 1997-1998 and subsequently joined the Finance department as the Under Secretary to Government in 1998 and worked as Deputy Secretary in Finance Department from 1999 to 2002, acting as the Budget Officer of the State Government. He served as District Collector of Dharmapuri District between 2002 and 2004 and in Sivaganga District from 2006 to 2007. He held the post of Director of Museums for two years from 2004 and 2006 and that of Commissioner of Archives for three years between 2014 and 2017.

In the Government of India, Mr. Siddique worked as Director in the Department of Expenditure for a year in 2008-2009 and worked in two key ministries of Home and Finance for five years between 2009 and 2014. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Technology in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. M.A. Siddique has been appointed as the Managing Director of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) on 12 June 2022. He was the Commissioner of Revenue Administration until then.

Here are the edited excerpts: –

What are the outcomes of the access audit of two new stations of Chennai Metro which has been conducted recently? How important are such audits for the metro systems and what should be the needed response mechanism?

Access Audit for all 32 Operating Metro Stations of Phase I and Phase I extension was conducted by an NGO and the reports are submitted to CMRL. The above report and checklist are prepared based on Harmonized Guidelines issued by MoHUA in the year 2016. The Phase I and Phase I extension Metro Stations were constructed based on the earlier Guidelines issued by CPWD in the year 1998. However, based on the Audit checklist, CMRL is in the process of implementing the missing amenities like Slope corrections, Dedicated parking, Handrail modifications, Corrections to Tactile floor layouts, Signages, Lowering of Ticket counters, Modifications in Physically Handicapped Toilets, etc.

MD visited the progress of the above works at two stations (ST. Thomas Mount & Arumbakkam) and the works are progressing well. All Phase II stations are being designed based on the 2016 Guidelines.

With long-gained expertise in public finance, policy-making, and public administration how are you taking the new responsibility as MD CMRL? What are your immediate priorities and plans?

Immediate priorities are:

Increasing the ridership to ensure a consistent operating profit
Take measures to provide intermodal and last mile connectivity both for seamless passenger experience and to increase ridership.
Exploring non-fare box revenue, wherein CMRL has identified huge potential on this front.
Above all, to ensure timely completion of Phase II, which is considered the largest metro project taken up at a time. Timely completion will reduce project costs and provide traffic solutions to Chennaities early.

What is the official statement regarding the development of infrastructure and systems at Chennai Metro? Is it in accordance with National Building Code 2005 for all sections?

Yes. All Metro Systems in both Phase I and Phase II Extension have been designed based on NBC 2005 and NFPA130. In Phase II, all systems are being designed based on NBC 2016 and NFPA130. All Fire and Life Safety requirements and other standards are based on NBC 2016 / NFPA130.

What is the status of Phase II works? How are you planning to achieve the deadline with works on multiple sections of the Phase? What would be strategy towards common issues generally responsible for project delays and cost overruns?

There are 60 Contract Packages in Phase II. 19 are Civil contract Packages and 41 are Track & Systems.

Status of Award of Contract:

Civil Package: 12 Civil Packages are awarded and works are in progress. For 1 Civil Package, Bid opened and is yet to be awarded. Tender for balance 6 packages are under process.
Track Package: 2 Track Packages are awarded and works are in progress. Tender for balance 3 Packages are under process.
System Package: 2 Packages are awarded. The tender balance of 34 Packages is under process.

Commissioning of Phase II is planned in Phases, starting from November 2025. Phase II will be fully operational by December 2027.

Stage	KM	ROD
Stage 1	15.5	Nov-25
Stage 2	33.0	Feb-26
Stage 3	26.0	Aug-26
Stage 4	11.7	Jan-27
Stage 5	11.0	Jun-27
Stage 6	19.9	Dec-27

CMRL is developing and implementing a TOOL called PMIS (Project Monitoring Information System) for Project Monitoring. Issues like delay in Award of contract, Delay in Land Acquisition, Permission/ NOC from other stakeholders, delay in utility diversion, traffic diversion, etc. are monitored closely and timely mitigation measures are being taken up.

How important is the OMR line which the Government is increasingly emphasizing? In what ways the proposed line shall help the commuters in road traffic during peak hours?

OMR is the IT Corridor Highway of Chennai, housing many IT hubs. Part of Corridor 3 of Phase II is planned along OMR. The traffic on this road is heavy since many people spread all over Chennai city travel to their workplaces through this road. Once the entire Phase II is operational (including the OMR line) people from any part of Chennai can travel to their works spot by Metro. Further, CMRL is planning to construct an Elevated pedestrian walkway below the Viaduct connecting the Stations along OMR which will give direct connectivity to various IT hubs. By using this facility, people can get to their work without getting on the road.

What are the Extension plans of the Chennai Metro for different phases? In what ways you are planning to address the traffic issues for densely populated Northwest greater Chennai localities?

Other than Phase II, which is under implementation, the DPR (Detailed Project Report) for the Extension of the Metro line from the Airport to Kilambakkam New Bus stand is in an advanced stage. In addition, CMRL is in the process of preparing a Detailed Feasibility Report for the following lines.

Poonamallee Bypass to Sriperumbudur
Koyambedu/ Thirumangalam to Avadi via Mogappair and Ambattur
Siruseri to Kelambakkam
Kelambakkam to Kilambakkam

The Koyambedu to Avadi line via Mogappair and Ambattur will address the traffic issues of densely populated North West Chennai.

What is the status of the merger of MRTS with CMRL which has been lying pending for a long? What are the major obstacles? In what ways the merger would help and benefit the people in the city?

The merger of MRTS with CMRL is already agreed upon in principle by Railway and CMRL. Railways want to construct one additional track (4th line) between Chennai Beach and Park before handing over MRTS to CMRL. Land acquisition for the above is in progress. The strategy for the merger of both is being worked out. Since ST. Thomas Mount Station is a common interchange Station between Metro and MRTS, MRTS line will become an integral part of the Metro System and people from all parts of Chennai will be benefitted.

As a successful and experienced technocrat what would be your message to young minds willing to join the Metro and Rail Industry? Any message for our readers?

Metro is using the best technologies in the world, for example in Phase II Civil-construction both underground and elevated. Underground tunneling below the existing corridors is challenging and needs expertise. In the case of Elevated construction, we are constructing 4 no’s spans on the balanced cantilever construction method, each spanning 100m that too with sharp curves. The work has to be executed without endangering the road traffic and two metro corridors below with utmost safety standards.

Similarly, CMRL in Phase II is using more advanced CBTC signaling technology to increase reliability and train frequency.

The trains are built to the latest standards for safety and comfort.

Therefore, the young generation of engineers who join Metro has abundant exposure and career opportunities in the metro organization.

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Improving Passenger Experience on moving Wheels

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12/09/2022

inside-wagon-train-interior-passenger-train-with-empty-blue-fabric-seats-scaled

Abstract

Indian Railway has embarked on a transformational journey and is harnessing innovation to usher in a new era of sustainable mobility in India – one that offers safer, reliable, faster, punctual, and comfortable travel for the passengers, making every train journey a satisfying experience, while being environment-friendly with a lowest possible carbon footprint. Indian Railway is a key driver of India’s economic growth and development. The Government of India has focused on investing in railways to upgrade its infrastructure networks fit for operating both freight and passenger trains at higher speeds which shall play a major role in integrating and bringing different parts of our vast country closer and thus enhancing economic activities in meeting the $1 Trillion economy target.

The amalgamation of advanced technologies and empowering measures by the Government in all the areas of the railway from infrastructure to rolling stock, customer services and modernized railway stations, digitization of railway operations and predictive asset management, implementation of the landmark Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) and ambitious bullet train network are all propelling the nation towards sustainable mobility, with passenger experience and economy growth at the core.

Introduction

Indian Railways is the third largest railway network in the world by size and is continuously undergoing changes. One area of importance is to improve the network capacity and utilization, faster services, and safe running of trains.

The current scenario has changed the transport paradigm with the focus shifting from infrastructure to service and from ready-made to tailored solutions. Underling the importance of evolving with technology, the Railway Minister recently said that technology is the only input that can significantly impact the future of the Railways. Further, with metro rails resuming operations in a graded manner, digital technologies help in demand management, social distancing, and providing real-time information for authorities and passengers.

For the Railways, the rapid digitalization is marked by the fourth industrial revolution — Railway 4.0. It enhances railway infrastructure, services, systems, signaling, and rolling stock while improving the operational efficiency of the assets. They are being re-imagined, designed, delivered, and operated using technology that brings stakeholders into collaborative partnerships, thus changing the face of the Railways.

Designing coaches, signaling and traffic management, freight management, train services, workforce, and customer management are some of the key areas of digitalization in the rail sector.

By embracing digitalization in all spheres of its operations — such as asset management, signaling, manufacturing, and passenger information system — the Railways is on track to improving its revenues and passenger experience

Rolling Stock

Most of the rail coaches run through traditional manufacturing processes that lead to high inventory costs with parts being produced and stored before being assembled. With digitalization, costly traditional manufacturing is being rapidly optimized and enhanced by platform-based 3D technologies.

With the rolling stock manufacturers using virtual 3D platforms and technology to incorporate subsystems, components, and assembly information, the coach designs are accurately modeled, simulated, analyzed, and improved in the virtual world, to correct the faults and inefficiencies in order to avoid costly mistakes. Additive manufacturing is evolving as a game changer in the Railways like in other sectors. The Railways recently started using a ‘Make in India’ 3D printer to design and print coach components in-house as per requirement.

The Railway Minister also recently announced the plan to redesign passenger coaches as per international standards to make them safer, comfortable, and faster. The 3D design platforms and passenger experience solutions are also revolutionizing the rail sector by incorporating integrated electronics, reconfiguring seating and standing areas, or adding styling through the cabin that reflects the local aesthetic or identity.

Signalling System

The technological advancements are enhancing the railway infrastructure capacity by converting to electrified routes with advanced signaling. This modernization of the signaling system includes the implementation of the European Train Control System (ETCS) which adheres if the speed limit of the train is compatible with the permitted speed allowed by signaling, thus improving safety and punctuality. With the plans to modernize 8,000 railway stations, the government is also leveraging the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process for designing and installing railway-signaling systems. 3D technologies help to visualize infrastructure life-cycle and solve problems by eliminating various issues because of the mistakes caused by poor communication of data.

The infrastructure 3D model technology also recognizes the oncoming train and its speed records data image and helps with 3D visualization of railway track with all assets, train driver simulations, and digital track capturing. Additionally, the new policy framework by the government has proposed to use of a public-private partnership (PPP) to unleash faster development signaling systems in the country.

Workforce Management

The staff in the Indian rail network are using various innovative technological solutions to improve efficiency, ranging from customer service to maintenance and repair work. Having a workforce management platform helps the staff to plan and schedule processes in a planner software for control over the entire workforce process such as capacity planning, daily task scheduling, real-time rescheduling, routes, employee availability, and competing time slots.

The software platforms allow the operators to see all scenarios and decision consequences in real-time and then take informed action. It also enables the train planners with a dynamic decision support tool to see all scenarios and decision consequences in real-time, to help make customer-centric decisions and improve service reliability.

Train Service Efficiency

Different trains running on a network have different priorities, speed restrictions, and stoppages. Considering these constraints, track speeds, and requirements, train schedules are being made to increase network utilization. This, when performed with network optimization, increases the number of trains that can run on the same network, thereby increasing the revenues for the Railways.

Fleet Planning

Having the right fleet of wagons, and coaches at the right place and at the right time can increase the revenue for the Railways. Reducing empty kilometers by proper planning can reduce the time and cost spent. This requires an intelligent planning platform that can incorporate all the constraints and produce the best plans based on KPIs.

Disruption handling is an essential part of an intelligent planning platform to handle unexpected disruptive events such as the non-availability of loading cranes, and late arrival of inter-modal transport units. Delaying the entire train will mean a hold-up for the other load orders and result in many unhappy customers. An intelligent planning system aids as a decision support system, one that provides an overview of all possible solutions and their influence on KPIs.

A huge part of maximizing utilization comes from reducing maintenance time. Maintenance and cleaning are critical and, in most cases, can’t be delayed. For instance, wagons that have been used to transport diesel must be thoroughly cleaned before they can be used to transport petrol. In order to clean the wagons efficiently, planners need an intelligent system that provides full visibility of which terminals, employees, and materials are available at the requested time slots. With such visibility, they will be able to manage last-minute cleaning tasks while responding to urgent order bookings that come in unexpectedly.

Customer-Centricity

The Indian rail network is continuously enhancing the passenger experience through digital technologies. Modern features such as facial recognition, emergency talk-back system, WiFi infotainment system, automatic plug-door, and step control have completely changed the passenger travel experience.

One of the steps undertaken to modernize the Railways is the use of solutions that enhance passenger experience and offer the ability to propose custom-tailored coaches depending on train routes and passenger tiering. These solutions allow a detailed exploration of the cabin, including a 360-degree view of the rail coach, and high-end visualization provides the customers with a visual experience while meeting their requirements.

The Railway Ministry recently launched a transparent reservation system wherein passengers can check their real-time reservation status. Keeping in mind the current scenario, the contactless ticket checking system by the Railways is helping passengers to check for the availability of berths to passengers.

Over the last couple of years, technology and innovation have been changing the face of the Railways as it has embraced digitalization in all spheres of its operations such as asset management, train signaling, manufacturing, passenger information system, and coach factory automation. With the Railways’ digital transformation, the industry will accelerate new railway intelligence thus enabling enhanced industry-wide knowledge and business model innovation.

MaaS enabled Train Travel

The passenger railway industry has been under increasing pressure to transform due to changing business dynamics and customer expectations. There is a need for enhancing passenger experience and ensuring profitability for railway operators worldwide. The need is to invest in next-generation rail travel where a passenger is informed at every stage of his journey in real-time to enable personalized mobility.

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is also gaining increasing traction today as the COVID-19 pandemic makes a strong case for contactless travel and minimized human touch points. Emerging IoT-based data sources will see greater uptake as they help travelers make better-informed choices about their journeys. The use of IoT will also aid in better planning and optimization of transport networks and services. It will result in a resilient and connected rail travel experience that is safe, seamless and has the traveler at the front and center of the whole transportation business. This paper identifies key drivers that facilitate a seamless travel experience with the integration of multiple rail journey elements. It will enable rail operators to offer personalized mobility services while driving operational efficiency.

A paradigm shift from physical to digital connections

Today, the primary challenges plaguing the passenger rail industry include lack of multi-modal journey planning or last mile coverage, customer safety, siloed travel platforms, and non-availability of real-time personalized and contextual information. The latter leads to long delays and queues at the stations for ticketing, commuting services, and travel inquiries. Additionally, rail operators face issues with the migration of legacy systems onto new payment systems. Overall, the absence of reliable connected infrastructure resonating between the passengers, and technology service providers, underpinned by obsolete business models is highlighting the need for change in railways.

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is emerging as the key driver that facilitates the shift from physically connected to digitally connected services. Implementing a digital ticketing or a frictionless checkout system that supports account-based, cashless and biometric ticketing in collaboration with other partners in the travel ecosystem could prove to be the starting point for a better, safer customer experience. It will also reduce the cost of travel for rail operators and passengers alike.

MaaS also facilitates a reduction in environmental emissions, paving the way for cleaner travel. Amidst and post the COVID-19 pandemic or any other future crisis of such nature, intelligent and contactless technologies would prove a key enabler of faster and safer rail travel. Already, health checks have become a norm in public travel and transportation. Going forward, digital factsheets/ general information about crisis scenarios will be an imperative need to guide railway staff on operations. The need is to have established protocols for:

How to disinfect facilities and surfaces
Training staff to handle passengers’ concerns on safety measures
Deploying health control checkpoints to minimize the risk of infected people
Generating alerts and reminders for regular disinfection of entry/exit points, customer touchpoints, vehicles, and equipment.

Moreover, systems imbibed with surveillance mechanisms, enable safety for travelers round the clock – in crisis and otherwise. These drivers could be supported by a robust IoT ecosystem and prescriptive analytics within IoT, the two foundational technology themes driving the future of rail travel. For instance, imagine that a train gets canceled while passengers are on their way to the station. The passengers receive a simple app notification informing them of the cancellation; while also providing a ready list of alternatives to choose from to quickly get to their destination. This would be an example of pure customer delight even in a crisis. Passenger needs in the future would go beyond predictions and this is where prescriptive analytics adds value. It not only determines or describes the travel challenges but also prescribes solutions to overcome them using re-route mechanisms.

Intelligent Rail Travel: Focusing on passenger experience and safety

Travelers today are eager to choose their own way of seamless end-to-end travel; driven by one-stop solutions, making multimodal journey planning a key trend. The future of passenger rail travel will witness ecosystem play where multiple vendors will be part of the travel management system supported by aspects like customer engagement, planning and routing, booking and ticketing, reporting, partner management, and payment gateways, all integrated on a single unified customer-centric platform. Ecosystems inclusive of retailers, travel aggregators, caterers, smart technology providers, medical aid providers, and other ancillary services will help create exponential value for travelers through industrial convergence. The benefits will come by way of a reduction in delays caused due to long queues at ticketing windows, commuting services, and travel inquiries; enabling frictionless automated payments and refunds, and ensuring seamless travel with real-time updates for passengers. Coupled with prescriptive analytics to assist passengers across their journey; ecosystems will drive mass personalization, while simultaneously reducing the cost of operations and risks for rail operators.

Personalization of Services: Services on Wheels

The various facilities provided as a one-stop solution for end-to-end travel support promoting enhanced passenger experience on moving wheels (Train aboard) and passenger transportation can be illustrated as under :

Onboard Entertainment
Music & Entertainment
Personalized movies
Wifi connectivity

Retail Merchandise
Personalized retail products
Parcel delivery onboard

Food on Wheels
Food booking from nearby restaurants
Personalized onboard food booking from Pantry

Onboard Comfort & KM
Attendant Onboard
Biometric / QR Code Ticketing
App-based AC adjustments
App adjusted recliners
Query solving on the go by using phygital assistants
Smart windows

Frictionless Payments
Digital payments & Currency Exchange
Fraud Management

Robo Guides
Travel Guides / Voice-enabled Chatbots, Local Maps
Language translator alerts on events at the destination

Linked Services
Smart real-time customized parking
Book taxis, metros, ride-sharing, ride-hailing

Medical Assistance
Book wheelchairs/personalized ambulance at stations before travel
Medicine delivery from the nearest pharmacy during rail travel
Frequent health checks at customer touchpoints

Passenger Safety

The engine for seamless travel experience Some of the key customer safety trends that are currently in high demand in the passenger railways segment include deriving real-time information on rail movements and leveraging predictive maintenance and driver assistance systems. As part of predictive maintenance strategies, some of the leading rail operators use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify defects in their locomotives and cars thereby preventing any untoward incidents. AI helps in predicting when assets need maintenance with real-time asset health monitoring sensors. The advanced driver assistance systems help in preventing accidents and prescribe solutions to avoid any mishaps in real-time. Cyber security is also becoming a priority for rail operators as the cyber threat landscape expands; putting passenger data privacy at risk. Physical safety, an erstwhile challenge for rail transport, is also witnessing increasing emphasis with rail operators leveraging systems with high-tech 3D cameras, biometrics, and sensors to track the behavior of passengers moving through subway stations and eventually report any suspicious activities. Biometric ticketing inspection would help in identifying passengers thereby reducing fraud. Machine vision-based automatic inspections, leveraging high-resolution video cameras and drone-based surveillance at the stations and depots are becoming a surging trend now, enabling the safety of people and railway assets.

Key Developments

Cabin designed to avoid ear pressure, especially in tunnels: Many of us must have experienced ear pressure during air travel. Similar challenges might occur in high-speed rail, especially while passing through tunnels. The reason is, that when the train enters a tunnel at high speed, an air pressure differential occurs between the inside and outside of the car causing pain in the ears. In order to overcome such discomfort to our passengers, the complete car body will be made airtight and a positive pressure above the atmospheric pressure will be maintained inside the cars.
Noise Mitigation: Noise is an inherent part of any machinery. Engineers work day and night to solve this discomfort for the users and those who will be around the high-speed rail networks. Many such features to reduce noise will be fitted in these trains. For Example, the use of double skin aluminum alloy in the car body, air-tight floors with noise insulation, sound-absorbing side covers over the bogie portion, fairings (smooth covers) between cars, noise insulation panels for pantographs, etc.
Special Lurch Control System: All cars will be fitted with an active suspension system that will minimize lateral vibrations due to car body swaying. Besides the conventional suspension system which uses spring and the lateral damper; active suspension consists of an actuator and controls vehicle body movement. Such features will add up to increasing passengers’ comfort during the high-speed rail journey.
Ergonomically Designed Interiors: There will be three different classes on these trains namely First class, Business class, and Standard class. Seats in all classes are ergonomically designed and have ample leg space for passenger comfort. Additionally, Trains will be provided with modern passenger aircraft-like features like LED lighting, overhead baggage racks, seat leg rests operating in conjunction with seat tilting in First class and Business class, reading lamps in First class and Business class, etc. Trains will also have other facilities like power outlets for laptop/mobile charging etc. Cars will be fitted with modernized toilets for men, and women and with special consideration for wheelchair accessibility.
Passenger Interface: Cars will be fitted with an enhanced passenger information system for regular communication with passengers onboard. LCD passenger information display system will provide information in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi. Displays will show information such as train name & number, current station, next stopping station & destination station, information in emergency situations, text news, door opening side, and speed, etc. In addition to LCD displays, a Voice communication system consisting public address system, an automatic announcement system, emergency call equipment, and wired/wireless interphone (for crew) will be provided onboard. All passenger cabins (both sides of cabin end) and all toilets will be provided with an emergency call system. Passengers will be able to talk with the train crew by pushing a button in case of any emergency.
Facilities for differently able passengers: The trains will be specially equipped to handle the special needs of differently-abled passengers. Certain seats in the coach will be wheelchair friendly. Wheelchair-accessible toilets will be designed with ease of use for special needs. Cars will have braille-enabled information signage in the vestibule area, toilets, and other required places.
Multipurpose Rooms: Apart from the world-class seating arrangement in each car, one car will be provided with a multipurpose room with a folding bed, baggage rack, mirror, etc. for sick persons or child-feeding women, and many other such purposes. The multipurpose room will be large enough to accommodate wheelchair passengers.
Passenger Security: Passenger safety is given utmost importance in this project. There will be a set of cameras on the front and rear ends of the passenger cabins and on both sides of the vestibule that will record any suspicious activity onboard.

The new trains (viz; Tejas, Vande Bharat, Hamsafar, etc.) will have special smart features for enhanced passenger safety and comfort. The smart coach aims to provide world-class facilities to passengers with the help of intelligent sensor-based systems.

It is equipped with Passenger Information and Coach Computing Unit (PICCU) provided with GSM network connectivity, which reports to the remote server. PICCU will record the data of WSP, CCTV recording, Toilet odor sensors, panic switch, and other items integrated with fire detection and alarm system, air quality and choke filter sensor & energy meter.

With the use of Vande Bharat, Tejas SMART Coach, Indian Railways aims to move to predictive maintenance instead of preventive maintenance. The introduction of this modern Tejas Sleeper-type train for long-distance journeys is another paradigm shift by Indian Railways for enhancing the travel experience for the passengers.

Additional Smart Features Includes:

PA/PIS (Passenger Announcement/Passenger Information System): Two LCDs inside each coach display vital journey-related information to the passengers such as the next station, distance remaining, expected time of arrival, delay, and safety-related messages.
Digital Destination Board: A flush-type LED Digital Destination Board has been installed on each coach by splitting the displayed data into two rows. The first row displays the Train number and Coach type while the second row displays the scrolling text of the destination and intermediate station in multiple languages.
Security & Surveillance Monitoring: Six nos. of cameras are fitted in each coach which gives live recording. CCTV cameras with day-night vision capability, Facial recognition even in low light conditions, and Network Video Recorder are provided.
Automatic Plug Door: All main entrance doors are centralized and controlled by Guard. The train will not start until all doors are closed.
Fire Alarm, Detection, and Suppression System: All coaches are provided with an Automatic Fire Alarm and Detection System. The Pantry and Power Cars have automatic fire suppression systems in case detected. Emergency Talkback for medical or security emergencies.
Improved Toilet Unit: Provided with an anti-graffiti coating, Gel coated shelf, New design dustbin, Door latch activated light, and Engagement display. Toilet Occupancy Sensor – Automatically displays the toilet occupancy inside each coach, Panic Button in Lavatories – Fitted in each lavatory, in case of any emergency.
Toilet Annunciation Sensor Integration (TASI): Two nos. of Toilet Annunciation Sensor Integration are fitted in each coach which will relay dos and don’ts announcements in the lavatories, whenever it is engaged. Bio-Vacuum Toilet system provides improved hygiene conditions in the toilet due to improved flushing and also saves water per flush.
Stainless Steel Under-frame: Complete under-frame is of austenitic stainless steel (SS 201LN) which increases the life of the coach because of reduced corrosion, Air Suspension Bogies – Provided with Air Spring Suspension in bogies to improve passenger comfort and ride quality of these coaches.
Board condition monitoring system for Bearing, Wheel, to improve safety, HVAC – Air quality measurement for Air Conditioning system, water level sensor to indicate water availability on real-time basis
Textured Exterior PVC Film: Exterior is provided with textured PVC film, Improved interiors – Seats and berths having fire–resistant silicon foam, provide better comfort and safety to passengers.
The other facilities: Roller Blind on the window: Instead of curtains roller blinds are provided for easy sanitization, mobile charging points are provided for each passenger, a berth reading light is provided for each passenger, and upper berth climbing arrangements are made conveniently.

Tejas-type Sleeper coaches are manufactured at Modern Coach Factory (MCF) which will gradually replace the premium long-distance trains over the Indian Railways network.

Conclusion

Since its inception in 1853, Indian Railways, the world’s third-largest train network, has seen tremendous growth and change. Much of the credit goes to the use of technology, which has improved the systems, infrastructure, and signaling, giving the train journey new meaning.

The future of passenger rail travel in India will be providing enhanced customer services and convenience. This will be enabled by an intelligent end-to-end transport system, capable of optimizing resources, learning from pitfalls, re-routing the journey, and leading the way with predictive mechanisms.

Digital technologies will play a key role in helping rail operators ensure better communication, crowd control, as well as operational logistics. The combination of IoT, AI, predictive and prescriptive analytics, and other technologies will pave the way for connected rail wherein MaaS will help interlink various modes of transport. Leveraging a connected ecosystem will help railway companies deliver mass personalization, thereby providing a best-in-class travel experience to the customers; driven by better safety and simplified processes. This in turn will help the passenger railway companies to track their customers’ preferences and analyze the patterns of travel.

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Koyambedu to be the next busiest junction of CMRL

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12/09/2022

Chennai Metro/Representational Image — Representational image

CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): The next significant interchange in the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) network will be Koyambedu because it will provide much-needed integration between Phase I and Phase II developments. Additionally, there is a chance that this network could begin from Koyambedu rather than Thirumangalam for the future line that the State government has planned to connect Thirumangalam and Avadi via Ambattur.

Koyambedu station in Phase I has the highest footfall which is roughly 8,500–9,000 passengers each day. Many commuters board trains at Koyambedu from places like Maduravoyal, Nolambur, Chinmaya Nagar, and even Virugambakkam.

According to representatives of Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL), changes have been made to the alignment and it has been finalized in Corridor 5 of the 61,841-crore Phase II project, which has three corridors: Madhavaram to SIPCOT (Corridor 3), Light House to Poonamallee (Corridor 4), and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (Corridor 5). A CMBT station was present along the original route; however, CMRL presently intends to relocate it to Koyambedu, which is close to the current station.

“At Koyambedu, the station built in Phase I and the station coming up for Phase II will be integrated and the platform for Phase II will come up over Phase I. We plan to acquire a minimal piece of land for Phase II station at Koyambedu. The idea is to ensure those traveling in Phase I and Phase II can interchange seamlessly. We chose Koyambedu instead of CMBT because the major operations in CMBT will eventually shift to the upcoming Kilambakkam Bus Terminus,” an official stated.

A station from the Phase I project is already operational at Thirumangalam, and a second station has been planned for the Phase II project. Despite the CMRL’s desire, it may be difficult to combine the two stations because the Phase I station is subterranean and the Phase II station will be elevated.

The construction project for Phase II is gaining momentum at various significant locations throughout the city, including Adyar, Madhavaram, Greenways Road, Royapettah, Purasawalkam, Poonamallee, Porur, Light House, and Kodambakkam. The first section of the Phase II project from Poonamallee to Kodambakkam might be made public in another four years.

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NMC to give space to MahaMetro for Metro Neo depot at Gangapur

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12/09/2022