Ashoka Buildcon wins gauge conversion contract in Gujarat

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18/04/2021

Indian Railways — Image for representation.

GANDHINAGAR (Metro Rail News): Ashoka Buildcon Limited has bagged the contract of gauge conversion of Bechraji (63.83 KM)-Ranuj (101.983 KM) section with total length of 38.153 KM in Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway. Ashoka Buildcon has received a Letter of Award (LOA) from Gujarat Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (G-RIDE) for this work. The accepted project cost is Rs.333.625 Crore.

Tender Number: GRIDE/BRCL/EPC/2020-21/002

Name of work: Gauge Conversion of Bechraji (63.83 KM)-Ranuj (101.983 KM) Section, Total Length of 38.153 KM Metre Gauge to Broad Gauge with 25 KV AC Electrification in Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway.

Contract Value: INR 333.625 Crore

This project of gauge conversion is a part of Katosan road – Becharaji – Chanasma – Ranuj (65km) gauge conversion from meter gauge to broad Gauge.

At present, a meter gauge line connecting Katosan to Ranuj passes through Becharaji near which is located the Mandal-Becharaji Special Investment Region (MBSIR). A broad gauge railway line connecting Viramgam with Mehsana already passes through the MBSIR at Detroj.

The conversion of gauge is imperative for the MBSIR as it develops and for the industries in the region. Maruti-Suzuki, Honda Motors and their ancillary companies have already started work on production plant.

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Ajitabh Sharma is the new MD of Jaipur Metro

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Narendra Shah

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17/04/2021

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JAIPUR (Metro Rail News): Ajitabh Sharma, 1996 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (JMRC).

Previously, Ajitabh Sharma was posted as Principal Secretary of Mines & Petroleum Dept and IT& Communication, Government of Rajasthan.

Recently, in a major reshuffle of bureaucratic officers, Rajasthan Government transferred 67 IAS officers including collectors in 7 districts. However, as per media reports, Ajitabh Sharma is not happy with the State Government and has applied for central posting on deputation basis.

Jaipur Metro is operating on huge losses with low ridership and the situation is further worsened as a result of Covid-19.

At present, Jaipur Metro is operational on a route of 11.97 km (Pink Line) from Mansarovar to Badi Chaupar with 11 stations under Phase-1 and Phase-1B.

Under Phase-1C, Pink Line will be extended by 2.85 km from Badi Chaupar to Transport Nagar with 3 stations. Once constructed, the estimated ridership for the entire stretch i.e. from Mansarovar to Transport Nagar, will be over 1.38 lakh till 2031.

Last Month, JMRC also finalised the revised detailed project report of Jaipur Metro corridor Phase-2. A total of 23.5 KM metro rail network has been planned between India Gate (Sitapura) and Ambabari with 21 elevated stations at the estimated cost of Rs. 4,546 Crore.

JMRC decided to not construct any underground tunnels as it would increase the cost of the project. JMRC has also invited invitations and suggestions from the public.

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Patna Metro receives two bidders for the supply of Turnouts & Scissor Crossover

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Narendra Shah

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17/04/2021

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Turnout for Shinkansen (scissors crossing) — Turnout (scissors crossing) | Photo Credit: MI-NE SEISAKU-SHO CO., LTD.

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Friday opened the technical bids for the supply of Turnouts & Scissor Crossover for the Patna Metro Rail Project and received bids from only two firms i.e. Voestalpine VAE VKN India Private Limited and Vossloh Cogifer S.A.

Contract: PT- 4

Name of Work: Design, manufacturing & supply of UIC-60 Turnouts & Scissor Crossover for Patna Metro Rail Project of PMRCL

DMRC invited bids for this contract in January 2021 with an estimated value of INR 19.82 Crore and completion period of 24 months. This is a PMRCL (Patna Metro Rail Corporation Limited) funded work.

Now the bids from both firms will be sent for technical evaluation which can take few months. After that, financial bids of the technically qualified bidders will be opened to reveal the lowest bidder of this contract and the most likely contractor for this work.

Under Phase-1 of Patna Metro Rail Project, 2 corridors (North-South Line & East-West Line) will be constructed having a total length of 30.91 km consisting of 24 stations. Both lines will be built on mixed elevated and underground corridors.

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DMRC issues new rules as a result of weekend curfew imposed in Delhi

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Narendra Shah

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17/04/2021

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DELHI: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has issued new guidelines as the weekend curfew is imposed in Delhi in order to control the rising cases of Covid-19 in the capital.

According to DMRC, “In view of the curfew imposed by the Govt. for coming weekend for the containment of Covid-19, Metro services will be available with a headway of 15 min across the whole network on the weekend i.e, on 17th and 18th April 2021.”

“The two sections, where there is a bifurcation in the network i.e, Noida/Vaishali section of Blue Line and Kirti Nagar/Inderlok section of Green Line, the headway will become double i.e. services will be available after every 30 minutes in these sections.” It further added.

Delhi Metro’s Flying Squads are ensuring compliance on daily basis and penalising those commuters who are not wearing a face mask properly and not following social distancing.

The weekend curfew was imposed as Delhi saw a massive increase in corona positive cases. From 9th April to 16th April, more than 97 thousand people have tested positive for Covid-19 and around 600 people have died. On Friday, Delhi recorded more than 19 thousand cases which is the highest number of corona cases recorded in a single day.

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IRCON invites tender for construction of Melli Yard works of Sivok Rangpo Railway Project

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Metro Rail News

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17/04/2021

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Rail Project — Image Representation Only

NEW DELHI, (Metro Rail News): Ircon International Limited now invites online tender for the construction of Melli Yard works including construction of Bridge No. 10 and No. 11 in connection with construction of Sivok – Rangpo New BG Railway Line Project.

Name of Work

Construction of Melli Yard works including earthwork in cutting, filling, development of drainage system, slope stabilization, retaining structures, Reinforced Soil wall system, Construction of Bridge No. 10 on pile foundation, Bridge No. 11 and other ancillary works between Km. 26.570 to Km. 27.540 in connection with construction of Sivok – Rangpo New BG Railway Line Project.

Important Details

Tender Number – IRCON/CC/SR-2046/Const./Yard – Melli

Estimated Cost of Work – INR 182.02 Crores

Completion Period – 30 Months

Pre Bid Meeting – 20-Apr-2021 11:00 AM

Document Download Start Date – 13-Apr-2021 11:30 AM

Document Download End Date – 03-May-2021 03:00 PM

Bid Submission Start Date – 27-Apr-2021 03:00 PM

Bid Submission End Date – 03-May-2021 03:00 PM

Further Details

For more information and detailed scope of work, applicants can download tender documents from the website – https://etenders.gov.in/eprocure/app

About Sivok – Rangpo Railway Project:

Sivok-Rangpo is an under construction 44.96 Km long broad gauge railway line connecting Sivok in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim. It will be the first railway connectivity to the State of Sikkim with the rest of India.

The project is already delayed due to multiple reasons and cost of project has escalated multiple times. The Indian Railways has given the contract to IRCON to construct this line.

IRCON is carrying out construction work for this project on behalf of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

On completion, this railway line will have 5 stations on the route namely – Melli, Teesta Bazaar, Geil Khola, Riang, and Rangpo. The Project will constitute construction of 28 bridges, 14 tunnels with 86% of the route totaling 38.53 Km will pass through the tunnels. The line is expected to become operational by December, 2022.

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Work is progressing well in Gujarat for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project

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Metro Rail News

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17/04/2021

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High Speed Project — Image Representation Only

NEW DELHI, (Metro Rail News): Managing Director of National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHRCL), Achal
Khare, recently in an interview with TOI, has talked about the ongoing progress on Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project. Regarding status in Gujarat, he stated that “We have got 95% land in Gujarat and out of 351km falling in the state, contract for 325 km has been awarded. The project is now fully into the construction phase. All the remaining civil packages in the Gujarat portion will be awarded during the current calendar year.”

Regarding status in Maharashtra, he stated that, “24% land has been acquired. But this is very scattered and we can’t even take up work on 10-15 km. In Palghar, we were quite successful. We had carried out joint measurement surveys in 71 out of 73 villages. It shows that people are largely not against the project. We completed 450 sale deeds in Maharashtra, all on consent, and in only Palghar we have done 220 such sale deeds. But we need to have 1,200 sale deeds. People are ready to give the land, the major issue is their land records.” “There are plots, around 500, where land ownership is not clear. There are plots where 150 or 200 names are entered in the records. They call it ‘gola plot’. There is no readymade solution to
this.

In Gujarat also, we had issues of plots where there were 20 owners of a plot. We discussed it with the Gujarat government and they extended all help to resolve ownership issues. We could settle issues there quite well. But in Palghar, in many cases the real owners and persons in possession of land are different,” he further added. About completion of project and the impact of Covid-19 on meeting project deadlines, he stated that, “The Covid impact will be there. But we are trying to do something by December 2023 or early 2024. We have aligned the contractor also on this thinking that let’s try and achieve something in one section for the trial purpose. I am in talks with the Japanese side. We have not been able to concretise all this. But they are agreeing to this kind of arrangement. We are trying that something is done in 2023. If not fully, our attempt is let’s partially fulfil the dream.”

He also talks about the budget allocation for the project and said that “This year we have been allocated Rs 14,000 crore, which is more than Rs 1,000 crore per month. We will award all civil contracts in Gujarat. We have awarded two major contracts, which are to the tune of Rs 33,000- Rs 34,000 crore that will be carried out in the next four years. This Rs 14,000 crore will be used mostly for works.”
On Delhi-Varanasi high-speed rail corridor, he stated that “We have submitted the draft report
for Delhi-Varanasi stretch. We will give all details in the final report. The idea is if the project is
sanctioned, we can start work from day one. All routes will be justified on economic return

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Trains of Chennai Metro Phase-1 & Phase-2 will operate independently

By

Narendra Shah

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15/04/2021

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CHENNAI: At present, Chennai Metro Phase-1 is fully operational with route length of 45.1 Km and when Phase-2 will began operations, trains running on Phase-1 will not run on Phase-2 and vice versa.

This is because of usage of different signalling systems for Phase-1 and Phase-2, as a result both the Phase-1 and Phase-2 projects will function independently and trains running in one phase cannot be run on the other. While Phase-1 has four-coach trains, Phase-2 will have three-coach and six-coach trains, according to CMRL (Chennai Metro Rail Limited).

According to CMRL official, “Because the projects have different signalling systems, the trains operating in Phase-1 cannot work in Phase-2. It will have no impact on the passengers. Some stations like Alandur, St. Thomas Mount, Vadapalani, Thousand Lights and CMBT, which will be present in both projects, will not be in the same building and will be located very close to each other. So, if a commuter wants to switch between Phase-1 and Phase-2, they have switch stations. We will make sure the switching is seamless.”

In the Phase-1 project, distance-to-go signalling system was used whereas in Phase-2, the communications based train control signalling system would be used, officials said. The latter is considered to be more precise and Metros in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai were now opting to deploy the system, they added.

Phase-2 of Chennai Metro comprises construction of three lines covering a total of 118.9 km, these lines are –

Line-3 from Madhavaram to Siruseri (45.81 km with 48 stations)

Line-4 from Light House to Poonamallee (26.1 km, 28 stations)

Line-5 fromMadhavaram to Sholinganallur (47 km, 46 stations)

Construction activities for Phase-2 are expected to start in next few months with whole phase is expected to be completed by 2026.

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Land value near metro rail corridors to increase by 10-15% – JLL Report

By

Narendra Shah

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15/04/2021

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MUMBAI: As the metro rail network is expanding at rapid pace in Indian cities, the land value within 500 m of upcoming metro corridors in India is expected to rise by 10-15%, as per JLL report.

India has seen a phenomenal growth in metro rail construction in last 2 decades covering a total of 760.62 km of metro rail network with another 578.34 km under construction. Cities including Kochi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Nagpur and Nashik have seen significant expansion of new metro lines.

Further, two new technologies including Metro Lite and Metro Neo are being planned to provide affordable connectivity options in tier II cities and peripheral parts of tier I cities.

As per the report, residential property in South Delhi area appreciated by 15-20% in last 5 to 6 years while the micro-market of corridor-I and corridor-III in Hyderabad saw rates rise by 15-20% from 2018 to first quarter of 2021. Many pockets in the city of Chennai witnessed an increase in land prices closer to metro stations ranging from 15-35%. In Bangalore, The micro-market of CBD along with few SBD locations like Indiranagar, CMH Road, Jayanagar, Malleswaram, Yeshwanthpur, Rajajinagar, etc. witnessed a price growth of 8-10% as soon as the East-West & North-South corridors opened for public use.

According to A Shankar, head, strategic consulting and valuation advisory, India, JLL, “The real estate market has seen a steady growth along the metro corridors, owing to increase in developments alongside the routes. Furthermore, on an average, the land value within 500 m of metro corridors has increased by 15-20%, especially in residential and commercial areas. Additionally, it has been observed that appreciation in land value has been on a rise after the metro operation and increase by 2-5% annually over other locations, compared to the construction and planning phase.”

The deployment of the metro corridor directly impacts real estate sector as it increases land value, land use change and densification alongside the metro corridor. Also, mass transit systems such as metros and monorails significantly contribute towards solving traffic problems. Thus, projects which are planned around the vicinity witness an increased urban real estate value, since consumers are willing to pay more for convenience, the report said.

The Central Government plan is to expand the metro rail network to around 1000 km by present network when India celebrates its 75th Independence Day in 2022. India plans to have at least 25 Indian cities with a metro network with a total network of 1700 km by 2025.

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The casting of 1st Pier began for Phase-2 of Ahmedabad Metro

By

Narendra Shah

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15/04/2021

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AHMEDABAD: Casting of 1st Pier has started by Ranjit Buildcon Limited on Radesan Road for the 28.25 km long Phase-2 of Ahmedabad Metro.

Ranjit Buildcon was awarded this contract under Package-C2 of the Ahmedabad Metro Phase-2 Project with a contract value of INR 417.90 crore and completion period of 27 months.

Tenders were invited for this work in January 2020 and in July, technical bids were opened. In October 2020, when financial bids were opened, Ranjit Buildcon emerged as the lowest bidder quoting the bid value INR 417.90 crore against the estimated cost of INR 470.06 crore.

Name of Work: Construction of 6.478km elevated viaducts and 5 stations from CH. 25467.443m to 31945.443m and 0.679 km elevated viaducts and ramp for depot entry in connection with Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase – 2 from Motera Stadium to Mahatma Mandir (excl. E&M, architectural finishing and roofing) – Package C2.

Phase-2 of Ahmedabad Metro consist of 2 corridors i.e. Line-1 from Motera to Mahatma Mandir with length of 22.838 km (20 stations) and Line-2 from GNLU to GIFT City with length of 5.41 km (3 stations). Both the corridors are fully elevated.

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Bentley Systems Brings Infrastructure Digital Twins to NVIDIA Omniverse

By

Narendra Shah

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14/04/2021

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Jacobs Waterworks Team — Image courtesy of Houston Waterworks Team (a Joint Venture of Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. and CDM Constructors, Inc.)

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced that it is developing applications using the NVIDIA Omniverse platform for photorealistic, real-time visualization and simulation of digital twins of massive-scale industrial and civil infrastructure projects.

Bentley Systems has extended the Bentley iTwin platform to integrate with NVIDIA Omniverse to provide a graphics pipeline for AI-enhanced, real-time visualization, and simulation of infrastructure digital twins. This integration allows engineering-grade, millimeter-accurate digital content to be visualized with photorealistic lighting and environmental effects on multiple devices including web browsers, workstations, tablets, and virtual reality and augmented reality headsets from anywhere in the world.

Bentley iTwin is an open, scalable cloud platform that enables engineering firms and owner-operators to create, visualize, and analyze digital twins of infrastructure assets. Digital information managers use it to incorporate engineering data created by diverse design tools into a living digital twin and align it with reality data, IoT data, and other associated data without disrupting their current tools or processes.

Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley said, “Visualization and simulation underpin many of the use cases for infrastructure digital twins. The collaboration of Bentley iTwin and NVIDIA Omniverse is delivering real-time, immersive 3D/4D experiences that will enable true-to-reality, physics-based simulation of even the largest and most complex infrastructure assets. GPU-computing is transforming the world of engineering and construction and promises to unleash the potential of AI for simulation and advanced analytics in infrastructure digital twins.”

“Modern infrastructure are magnificent feats of engineering. NVIDIA and Bentley share a vision of physically based digital twins – so accurate and realistically simulated that they will revolutionize everything from infrastructure design to operations,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “NVIDIA Omniverse was built precisely to realize this vision – to create shared virtual worlds that are simulated with physical and photo realism. We are delighted Bentley is developing applications for infrastructure digital twins on NVIDIA Omniverse.”

Unmatched High-Fidelity Infrastructure Visualization

The combination of the Bentley iTwin platform and NVIDIA Omniverse provides an unmatched, high-performance user experience at a scale that had previously not been possible.

The integration of the capabilities of the Bentley iTwin platform and NVIDIA Omniverse enables users to virtually explore massive industrial plants and offshore structures as if they are walking through the infrastructure in real time, for purposes such as wayfinding and safety route optimization.

“The industry is moving in a positive direction toward more automated and sophisticated tools that improve client outcomes,” said Donna DeMarco, plant information modeling, Jacobs. “Jacobs is proud to partner with Bentley in leveraging tools like iTwin linked with NVIDIA Omniverse to achieve strong results for our clients.”

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