New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged-off the Delhi-Faridabad Metro Line that would allow hassle free travel for around two lakh daily commuters between the national capital and the industrial hub in Haryana.
The extension of the Delhi Metro connects Badarpur to Escorts Mujesar in Faridabad.
The total cost of the project from Badarpur to Escorts Mujesar is nearly Rs. 2,500 crore. Out of this, Rs. 1,557 crore was borne by the Haryana Government, the Centre contributed Rs. 537 crore, while the Delhi Metro provided Rs. 400 crore.
All these are elevated and located on either side of the Delhi-Mathura Road (NH-2).
“The nine-station metro corridor which was 95 per cent indigenously built will provide people a safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable, environment-friendly and sustainable transport facility,” a Haryana government spokesperson said.
Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar, addressing a press conference on Saturday, had thanked the Prime Minister for “gifting” the Metro service which would take the city to “another level of progress” with better connectivity with other NCR towns.
He had also said that the Prime Minister would be announcing the go-ahead for connecting Gurgaon with Faridabad by Metro.
KOCHI (Metro Rail News): Kochi Metro will resume its services from today after a gap of 53 days. The metro trains will operate from 8 AM to 8 PM with theheadway of 10 minutes during peak hours and 15 minutes during non-peak hours, as announced by KMRL (Kochi Metro Rail Limited).
Operation of Kochi Metro services comes to a halt after the surge in Covid-19 cases and the imposition of lockdowns in the city. As the State Government eases lockdown restrictions, KMRL decided to resume operation of Kochi Metro.
KMRL is taking all measures to contain Covid-19 in Metro premises which includes cleaning and sanitization of all Metro stations, thermal scanning to check body temperatures of commuters before they are allowed to enter the station, sitting at alternate seats to maintain social distancing, contactless ticket system at all stations etc.
KMRL has also urged passengers to strictly follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour which includes compulsory wearing of masks, maintain social distancing, use of sanitizers provided at entrance of stations, usage of Kochi 1 Smart card for contactless commuting, installation of Arogya Setu app by all commuters and carrying minimum luggage to make the security checking process hassle-free.
In related news, Bangalore Metro operation timings has been extended and from today it will operation from 7 AM to 6 PM with a frequency of five minutes in peak hours and 15 minutes in non-peak hours from Monday to Friday, as announced by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
Metro train will services will not be available on Saturday and Sunday due Covid-19 induced curfew and trains will continue to operate at 50% capacity. However, depending on the patronage, the trains would be operated with increased or decreased frequency, BMRCL said in a statement.
BENGALURU (Metro Rail News): Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is constructing 38.44 long corridors connecting K R Puram to the Kempegowda International Airport via Hebbal Junction under Phase-2B of Bangalore Metro. This corridor will have 17 stations on the route.
Recently, Phase-2B along with Phase-2A got approval from Central Government. The total length of both these sections is 58.19 km from Central Silkboard to Kempegowda International Airport with 30 stations on the route. The total cost of the project is expected to be INR 14,788.101 Crores.
Tenders for construction of 38.44 long Phase-2B of Bangalore Metro are invited in three packages. The names of the bidders have been revealed as reported by Bangalore Mirror.
Contract No: PHASE 2B /P1/69 (a)
Estimated Cost of Work: INR 639.95 Crores Completion Period: 27 months Name of Work: “Construction of elevated structures (Viaduct & Stations) of length 11.003 km (including 281.00 m of Viaduct beyond Phase 2A) from Chainage 0.000 m to 10072.000 m and eight elevated metro stations viz, Kasturi Nagar, Horamavu, HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar, HBR Layout, Nagawara, Veerannapalya and Kempapura, including 650.00 m link line connectivity to Baiyappanahalli, Road widening, Utility diversion and allied works of Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase-2B.
Bidders Name: Afcons InfrastructureLtd., Shankara Narayana Constructions-Cherian Varkey Construction Company (JV) and NCC Limited
Contract No: PHASE 2B /P2/69(b)
Estimated Cost of Work: INR 645.30 Crores Completion Period: 24 months Name of Work: Construction of elevated structures (Viaduct & Stations) of length 11.678 km from Chainage 10072.00 m to 21500.000 m and five elevated metro stations viz, Hebbal, Kodigehalli, Jakkur Cross, Yelahanka and Bagalur Cross, including 250 m Pocket track, Road widening, Utility diversion and allied works of Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase2B.
Bidders Name: GR Infra Projects and Gulermak (JV), Afcons InfrastructureLtd., Shankara Narayana Constructions-Cherian Varkey Construction Company (JV) and NCC Limited Contract No: PHASE 2B /P3/69(c)
Estimated Cost of Work: INR 620.88 Crores Completion Period: 24 months Name of Work: Construction of elevated structures (Viaduct & Stations) of length 15.011 km from chainage 21500.000 m to 36511.000 m and two elevated metro stations viz, Bettahalasuru and Doddajala, including Road widening, Utility diversion and allied works of Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase-2B. This length includes approx. 718.18 m cut & cover portion in front of Yelahanka Air Force Station.
Bidders Name: GR Infra Projects and Gulermak (JV), Afcons InfrastructureLtd., ITD Cementation India, Shankara Narayana Constructions-Cherian Varkey Construction Company (JV) and NCC Limited.
INDORE (Metro Rail News): Indore Metro Rail Project which was facing stagnation for months due to multiple reasons including the Covid-19 pandemic is finally moving on track as work will resume on the project and will be carried out at rapid pace from now on.
Recently, a meeting was conducted to review the Indore Metro project which was chaired by Indore Divisional Commissioner Dr. Pawan Kumar Sharma who said that work on the metro projects in the city has lagged behind due to Covid-19 and other reasons but now work on this need to be accelerated. In the meeting, Collector Manish Singh, Executive Director of Indore Metro Rail Project Gautam Singh, CEO of IDA Vivek Shrotriya were also present.
The Commissioner instructed the officers of Indore Metro Rail Project to update and inform about the progress on the metro project every 15 days to the Indore Collector. All other obstacles including land acquisition will be removed with cooperation from the Collector. He also said that every station of the metro train should have proper facilities for the movement of passengers without any obstructions.
The Commissioner also advocated better connectivity of the metro stations with the airport and railway station so that passengers can catch the metro train without any hindrance. Outside every metro station, there should be an efficient system for the entry and exit of bus and other vehicles. He also praised Delhi Metro project as a model for mass transit system in the country and wants Indore Metro to follow the same path of Delhi metro in terms of work execution and planning.
Collector Manish Singh expressed displeasure over the irregular way of working of Metro Rail office in Indore and instructed the officials to open the office on a regular basis. He also advocated constitution of a dedicated team for the metro project which should remain in constant touch with the district administration.
During the meeting, Additional Director (Technical) of Indore Metro Rail Project, Shobhit Tandon said that the process of floating tenders in five packages has been completed. Soon the company will be given the operational right so that construction work begins as early as possible.
Indore Metro Rail Project
Phase-1 of Indore Metro comprises construction of 33.53 km long corridor as Line-3 (Yellow Line) which will form a ring around the city connecting Palasia – Railway Station – Rajwada – Airport – Bhawarsala through 29 stations. The corridor will have 6 underground stations from Kothari market to Airport and all other 23 stations will be elevated.
These stations are Bhawarsala Square, MR 10 Road, ISBT / MR 10 Flyover, Chandragupta Square, Hira Nagar, Bapat Square, Meghdoot Garden, Vijay Nagar Square, Radisson Square, Mumtaj Bag Colony, Bengali Square, Patrakar Colony, Palasia Square, High Court, Indore Railway Station, Rajwada Palace, Maulana Azad Marg, Bada Ganpati, Ramchandra Nagar Square, Kalani Nagar, BSF, Airport, Gandhi Nagar, Super Corridor 6, Super Corridor 5, Super Corridor 4, Super Corridor 3, Super Corridor 2 and Super Corridor 1.
Indore Metro trains will have six coaches each with each train to have capacity of 1950 passengers. Metro Stations will have Automatic Fare Collection system along with advanced escalators.
In February 2019, civil construction work was started on Line-3 for an elevated viaduct of length 5.29 km from ISBT/MR10 to Mumtaj Bagh Colony. However, construction activities later start facing issues and delays due to disputes between General Consultant and the Contractor Dilip Buildcon. The metro project also got affected due to Covid-19 and the resultant lockdowns in the city.
At present, efforts are being made to resolve disputes between the GC and the Contractor at the administrative level and hope that it get resolved at the earliest so that construction activities again speed up for the project.
In February this year, Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MPMRCL) floated tenders for the construction of seven elevated stations between ISBT/MR10 Flyover and Radisson Square for Line-3 of Indore Metro. However, bid submission end date has been extended twice for this tender due to the Covid-19 second wave and now extended to 1st July 2021.
Recently, MPMRCL in March also floated tenders for the construction of elevated viaduct and 9 elevated metro stations for the same line from MR10 Road Station to Gandhi Nagar Station (10.9 km). However, here also bid submission end date extended to 1st July 2021 due to Covid-19 second wave.
Indore metro has set a deadline of 2023 to start operation which at present looks unlikely. Hope that construction activities for the project get accelerated along with inviting of tenders and awarding of contracts for Line-3 so that this line becomes operational as early as possible.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has appointed 1982 Batch IRSE officer (Retired) Satish Agnihotri as the new Managing Director on 1st July 2021. Previously, he had worked as Chairman & Managing Director, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a schedule ‘A’ CPSE under the Ministry of Railways for close to 9 years.
As per NHSRCL, he also held the position of Chairman, High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (HSRC), a fully owned subsidiary of RVNL since its inception in July 2012 till August 2018. HSRC was the Indian-side counterpart agency for carrying out various high-speed studies which were undertaken on Government-to-Government basis with China, Spain etc. and completed feasibility studies of 5 high speed rail corridors.
During his tenure as CMD of RVNL, RVNL completed 7000 km of project length including 3000 km doubling/3rd line, 880 km conversion of metre gauge track to broad gauge, 3000 km railway electrification, 85 km new line, 6 factories and many important bridges. A 7 km long tunnel was also completed in a record time of 25 months in a new line project in Andhra Pradesh.
According to NHSRCL Spokesperson Sushma Gaur, Satish Agnihotri comes with more than 19 years of experience in the implementation of mega rail infrastructure projects. He has taken charge from Achal Khare who was the first Managing Director of NHSRCL. He was appointed on 18th April 2017 and retired on Wednesday.
NHSRCL said on Twitter that as we bid farewell to our first Managing Director Achal Khare, on his superannuation, NHSRCL family takes this opportunity to thank him for his inspiring leadership and trailblazing spirit towards the dream of India’s first high-speed rail corridor.
KOCHI (Metro Rail News): Land acquisition process for Phase-2 of Kochi Metro from Jawaharlal Nehru International (JLN) Stadium to Infopark 2 is currently underway on a stretch of 11.2 km and is expected to be completed by December this year.
According to District Collector S Suhas, “A total of 386 parcels of land need to be acquired. Most of them are situated on the 10km reach between Palarivattom and Infopark. The 286 parcels of land will be handed over by August. The remaining ones on the 1.2 km between Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Palarivattom will be completed by December. Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) had started preparatory works on land already handed over.”
Approval for Phase-2 of Kochi Metro is expected soon from Central Government, the proposal for which is already submitted by KMRL and at present, it is under consideration.
Kochi Metro Phase-2 comprises construction of 11.2 km long elevated corridor from JLN stadium to Infopark 2 via Kakkanad with eleven stations on the route. These stations are Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Palarivattom Junction, Palarivattom Bypass, Chembumukku, Vazhakkala, Kunnumpuram, Kakkanad Junction, Cochin SEZ, Chittethukara, KINFRA (Rajagiri), Infopark 1 and Infopark 2.
Regarding land acquisition for Phase-1B (1.163 km) of Kochi Metro between SN Junction and Tripunithura, the same will be completed in four months, the Collector said.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): ETA Engineering Pvt. Ltd. had received a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 17th June for the work related to supply and commissioning of Electrical and Mechanical system including environment control system, tunnel ventilation system and building management system for Krishna Park Extension station of Line-8 Extension corridor under Phase-4 of Delhi Metro.
DMRC invited tenders for this contract in December 2020 with an approximate cost of work of INR 57.94 Crores and completion period of 36 months.
Technical bids for the work opened in February this year which revealed name of eight bidders. Later, four bidders were disqualified based on bid evaluation. The financial bid values of other technically qualified bidders are –
Blue Star Ltd. – INR 63.56 Crores
EFKON India Pvt. Ltd. – INR 57.64 Crores
ETA Engineering Pvt. Ltd. – INR 48.08 Crores
Sterling and Wilson Pvt. Ltd. – INR 57.79 Crores
Contract Package Number– DE-03
Name of Work– Design verification, Detail engineering, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, Testing & Commissioning of Electrical and Mechanical system including Fire, Hydraulic and DG set, Environment control system, Tunnel ventilation system and Building Management System for Krishna Park Ext Underground station of line-8 extension corridor of Phase-IV of Delhi MRTS
Krishna Park Extension station will be an underground station on Line-8 Extension corridor which will run from Janakpuri West to R.K. Ashram (28.92 km with 22 stations) under Phase-4 and is expected to become operational by June, 2024. This corridor will have elevated section of 21.18 km and underground section of 7.74 km.
NEW DELHI(Metro Rail News): Alstom Transport India emerged as the lowest bidder for the design, supply and commissioning of 25 KV AC OHE Traction work including SCADA systems for Krishna Park Underground Station of Magenta Line (Line-8 extension) from Janakpuri West – R.K. Ashram of length 28.92 km under Phase-4 of Delhi Metro.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) invited tenders for this contract in December 2020 with an estimated tender value of INR 17.67 crore and completion period of 36 months.
Technical bids for the work opened in February this year which revealed name of three bidders. Later, bid by Hitech Erectors Private Limited was disqualified based on bid evaluation. The financial bid values of other technically qualified bidders are –
Alstom Transport India Limited – INR 22.76 Crores
Siemens Limited – INR 28.09 Crores
Contract Package Number– DE-05
Name of Work– Design, Detail Engineering, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of 25KV AC Traction (RIGID OHE), 33KV Auxiliary Sub Stations (ASS), Associated Cabling and SCADA Systems for Krishna Park Underground Station of Janakpuri west to R. K Ashram corridor (Extn. of Line-8) of Phase-IV Delhi MRTS Project.
As the bid value of Alstom Transport is slightly on the higher side against the DMRC estimate, it will be interesting to know the awarding of this contract to Alstom Transport.
This package contract will be funded by the JICA ( Japan International Cooperation Agency) as a part of loan sanctioned for Phase-4 of Delhi Metro of amount INR 8,390 Crores.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Delhi Metro’s 4.3 km long Grey Line (Line-9 from Dwarka to Najafgarh) extension corridor of 1.21 km from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand is expected to begin commercial operation from next month.
According to Anuj Dayal, Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), “We are making all efforts to try and open the Najafgarh – Dhansa section sometime later next month after complying with all statutory requirements.”
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot inspected Dhansa Stand Metro station on Saturday and tweeted, “I am happy to inform that the work of Dhansa Stand Metro station at Najafgarh has been completed. Soon it will be opened to the public. Inspected the station with DMRC officials today. This metro station also has a covered parking facility for about 150 vehicles.”
This extension corridor is one of three small sections under Phase-3 which are still under construction, completion of these three sections will officially marks the completion of Phase-3 of Delhi Metro. The other two sections are Pink Line (Line-7) small stretch of 1.38 km from Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 to Trilokpuri and Airport Express Line extension from Dwarka Sec-21 to Dwarka ECC Sector-25 of length 1.878 km with 1 station.
At present, Grey Line of Delhi Metro has length of 4.3 km from Dwarka to Najafgarh with three stations namely Dwarka, Nangli and Najafgarh with the first two are elevated while the Najafgarh station is underground. The new Dhansa Stand Metro station will also be an underground station. After completion of this underground tunnel section of 1.21 from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand, Grey Line will have length of 5.4 km with four stations.
The extension corridor was scheduled to become operational by December 2020 but the construction work got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdowns with the new deadline for operation was May 2021. However, some work is still remained to be completed. As per sources, the final safety inspection of the underground corridor is likely to take place on 10th of July.
The tunneling work for the underground corridor is carrying out using two methods, the 700 meters of tunneling was done using TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), a contract for which was originally awarded to the joint venture of Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd. and SUCG Infrastructure India Pvt. Ltd in October 2017 which also includes construction of Dhansa Stand Metro station and for another 290 meters, tunneling work is being done by the cut and cover method, the contract for which was awarded to Paras Railtech Pvt. Ltd. in October 2020.
HYDERABAD (Metro Rail News): Warangal Metro Neo Project is gaining pace as the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Metro Neo proposed for Warangal city has been submitted to the State Government for approval, as per the KUDA (Kakatiya Urban Development Authority) Chairman Marri Yadava Reddy.
The State Government has also forwarded the project estimate to the Union Government which is yet to release the funds for the same. The project total cost is estimated to be INR 1,020 Crores.
KUDA has appointed the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) to conduct a feasibility study to prepare a DPR for the Warangal Metro Neo Project. Subsequently, the Maha Metro prepared a DPR for the project and submitted it to the KUDA.
The Warangal Metro Neo will consist of 15.5 km long corridor out of which 8.4 km will be an elevated portion while 7.1 km will be at ground level. The project will have 21 stations with 12 at elevated level and 9 at ground level.
The metro neo line will run from Kazipet to Warangal Bus Station via the District Police Office (DPO) junction. It will have advanced signalling and telecommunications systems and will be equipped with Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.
The project will consist of electric bus coaches of length 25 meters running on rubber wheels with each train to have maximum capacity of carrying 250 commuters at a time. The coaches will draw power from an overhead electrical (OHE) system.
Metro Neo is a Mass Rapid Transit System that aims to provide safe, comfortable, reliable and energy efficient transportation services to the commuters. It has cost advantage as well as lighter and smaller in comparison to regular metro systems and is particularly suited for Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities.
BENGALURU (Metro Rail News): Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director Rakesh Singh on Saturday inspected the six stations on the Mysuru Road-Kengeri Section of Bangalore Metro which was supposed to be operational by July 20.
According to him, the work at the metro stations was paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic which caused shortage of workers and supply material and at present, finishing works are pending at some stations which will probably get completed by mid July.
BMRCL is making all efforts to start operation of this section in the first week of August and has instructed the contractors to finish all pending works at the metro stations by mid-July. BMRCL has also submitted the required documents to the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety to inspect this section.
This section under Reach 2A/2B (Mysuru Road to Challaghatta) includes a total of 7 elevated stations namely – Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagara, Jnana Bharathi, Pattanagere, Mailasandra, Kengeri Bus Terminal and Challaghatta with total route length of 8.81 km. The last station Challaghatta which lies across NICE Peripheral Road is expected to become operational by March 2022.
The contract for this section of Purple Line western extension is awarded in two parts. Reach 2A section of 3.94 km from Mysuru Road to Pattanagere was awarded to IL&FS Company for four stations at INR 327 crore and Reach 2B from Pattanagere to Challaghatta of 4.86 km to Soma Enterprise at INR 332 crore.
Once operational, this section will reduce the travel journey time between Mysuru Road and Kengeri to 15 minutes and with expected daily ridership of 75,000 passengers on this section.
