DMRC ridership declined during riots & protests says Central Government

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20/09/2020

The DC-09 Underground Work for Delhi Metro Phase 4 was won by the Afcons — Image Source: DMRC

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) has said that there was some decline in cumulative ridership due to protests and riots in Delhi, the Centre has informed Parliament.

Responding to Unstarred Questions, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Thursday that the DMRC faced a loss of an estimated revenue of Rs 1,609 crore due to closure of Metro services in view of Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry said that preparatory work like detailed designing, preparation of tender schedule, and finalisation of tenders were carried out by the DMRC during the countrywide lockdown.

When asked “whether the government has devised any strategy to mitigate the effect of losses incurred by the DMRC”, the Ministry said various innovative means like provisioning of the feeder system, property development at stations and on other lands, leasing of spaces, Transit-Oriented Development and Value Capture Finance are enumerated in Metro Rail Policy, 2017 to enhance revenue of DMRC”.

Responding to the question as to how the DMRC is managing or restructuring loan payments, the Ministry said that payments towards loans have been made by it as per the schedule. The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has issued Standard Operating Procedures for the functioning of Metro trains allowed under the ‘Unlock 4’ guidelines.

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DMRC Invites Bids for Underground Section of Patna Metro

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M K Rai

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20/09/2020

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NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): In addition to Line-1’s first package (PC-04), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has invited bids for the construction of the first underground package (PC-03) of Patna Metro’s 14.05 km Line-2 of the Phase 1 project which will connect Patna Junction Railway Station and New ISBT through 12 stations.
After Package PC-01, the roughly 8 km package PC-03 is the second (and final) package of Line-2 and will comprise of 6 underground stations. Package PC-01’s contract for the 6.107 km Malahi Pakri – New ISBT section’s construction was in fact awarded to NCC Ltd. today after they emerged as its lowest bidder in August. A station planned at Prem Chand Rangashala between Moin Ul Haq Stadium and University stations has been dropped.
The work includes Design and Construction of Twin Tunnel by Shield TBM, Tunnel by Cut & Cover, Underground Ramp at Rajendra Nagar and Six Underground metro stations viz. Rajendra Nagar, Moin Ul Haq Stadium, University, PMCH, Gandhi Maidan & Akashvani with Entry/Exits & Connecting subway including Architectural Finishing, Water Supply, Sanitary Installation & Drainage works on New ISBT to Patna Station of corridor-2 of Phase-I of Patna MRTS.
Approximate Cost of the tender is Rs. 1958.81 Crores with a deadline of 42 months.

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Nepal Begins trials for its First Broad-Gauge Railway Service

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M K Rai

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20/09/2020

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JANAKPUR, NEPAL (Metro Rail News): Trial for Nepal’s first broad-gauge railway service in Janakpur has begun from Friday with the arrival of two sets of rail to revive operation in the Janakpur-Jaynagar section. Remained halted for the past six years for an upgrade, the previous narrow-gauge- now a broad gauge is expected to come into operation after Dashain-Tihar. With its operation, the first trans-border railway connection between two neighbours would again be established.

“I am very very happy as it is set to resume which shows the united work of Indian and Nepali Government. It would prove best for the people of Mithilanchal to ferry and also would increase the comfort of people,” a man was stated saying. “With the operation of rail, it would be easy for us to go to India to buy and bring things from there. Before its resumption we have to take the express vehicles, now anyone can go to India and meet relatives which would shorten travelling time. Now we will get means to ferry to and fro which also would ease the tension,” the person said to news agency ANI.

People gathered in large numbers at halt station in Janakpur on Friday afternoon to see and welcome the arriving train procured by Government of Nepal from Konkan Railways of India. Nepal’s Railway Department has procured the rail engines and coaches from Kokan India for 84 Crore 65 Lakhs Nepali rupees.

Operated using Diesel and Electricity, each set has 5 bogies (coaches). Out of them, one is AC coach while three are General bogies. One of the set’s engine has been designed with the capacity to accommodate passengers. Combining the 5 bogies, it bears the capacity of 1 Thousand and 3 hundred passengers at a time. The 34 Kilometer broad gauge railway track has been built in Indian assistance. It would revive the earlier Janakpur-Jaynagar railways connection between India and Nepal.

Further work of extending railways track from Kurtha to Bijalapur of Mahottari measuring 17 Kilometers is underway. The Kurtha-Jaynagar Railway measuring 35 kilometres in length section was constructed with the technical and financial support of India. The railway is likely to come into operation after Dashain and Tihar festivals.

(With inputs from ANI).

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DMRC’s earning rises to Rs 6 crore from fare revenue

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M K Rai

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20/09/2020

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DMRC’s actual ridership is half of the Projected Ridership — Image Source: DMRC

NEW DELHI 9Metro Rail News): The Delhi Metro, resumed its services on September 7 after a no service of 169 days. After coming back on track, it has earned approximately Rs 6 crore as fare revenue. The highest of it came on September 14 with fare revenue amounting to Rs 1.09 crore.

During normal days of pre-COVID days, the average daily earnings from fare revenue was between Rs 9 crore to Rs 10 crore. The resumption of cash flow holds significance in light of the DMRC’s (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) loss amounting to Rs 1,609 crore, as shared by the Centre in Lok Sabha on Thursday, on account of suspension of services between March 22 and September 6. On September 7, when the Yellow Line, which runs between Gurgaon’s Huda City Centre and Delhi’s Samaypur Badli, was opened along with Rapid Metro Gurgaon, DMRC earned Rs 10.06 lakh as revenue from ticket sales from 15,226 commuters.

The earnings rose to 70 lakh when all the lines started operating from 6 am to 11 pm on September 12. It further rose to Rs 1.09 crore on September 14, as over 2.5 lakh people — as against an average of 27 lakh during pre-corona — used the Metro services in what was the first working Monday after the complete restoration of usual services.

The Centre reiterated its stand in the Lok Sabha on Thursday in a written response. Responding to a query on measures taken by the Centre to tackle a potential impact of loan repayment by Metro operators, it said, “Urban transport is an integral part of urban development, which is a State subject. As per Metro Rail Policy, 2017, financial sustainability during operations of Metro rail system, which also includes debt servicing, is the responsibility of the State Government.”

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Rs 34 crore loss after COVID stopped services of Kochi Metro

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M K Rai

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19/09/2020

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KOCHI (Metro Rail News): Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) suffered a loss of `34.18 crore due to suspending of services owing to Covid-19. Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri revealed the figures while answering a question by Benny Behanan, MP, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The loss of Delhi Metro — the largest metro network in the country — stands at a whopping `1,609 crore. Bengaluru Metro incurred a loss of 170 crores followed by Lucknow Metro (90 crores) and Chennai Metro (80 crores).
Non-operation of services for more than five months, since the start of the nationwide lockdown on March 25, put Kochi Metro under severe financial stress as salaries had to be paid to around 1,200 employees, including Kudumbashree workers, and rail tracks and 25 trains had to be maintained.

It was only on September 7 that the Kochi Metro resumed services, by adhering to COVID protocol.“Kochi Metro has incurred losses due to Covid-19 like other Metros in India. A strong ridership in the coming months should help in meeting the operating expenses. This loss in the short term has to be met through government support. The loss definitely will adversely affect our accounts and balance sheet,” KMRL Managing Director Alkesh Kumar Sharma said.

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Uber integrates Hyderabad metro on its App

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M K Rai

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19/09/2020

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Hyderabad (Metro Rail News): Ride-hailing major Uber announced on Thursday that it is partnering with Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) and L&T Metro to integrate public transport into its app. With the public transport feature, riders will be able to plan their transit journey with real-time information and end-to-end directions, all within the Uber app. Hyderabad is the second city in India and third in the Asia Pacific to get the feature, after it was launched in Delhi in October 2019.
Under the current partnership in Hyderabad, users will be able to plan their commute by reviewing HMRL and Telangana State Road Transport Corporations’ (TSRTC) bus service information on the Uber app. On selecting ‘Public Transport,’ the app displays information on HMRL and TSRTC bus service with details on real-time scheduling, arrival and departure times, pricing, information on stops, and walking directions to a destination.

Users will have the option of customizing each journey by choosing preferred modes of transit and route including choosing ridesharing options to help with first/last mile connectivity.

“We recognize that public transport and Uber can be a powerful combination as riders will have information on metro and bus service schedules to make smart choices, along with options to complete the first and last mile of their journey. We hope with this new initiative, the people who wouldn’t regularly consider public transport will realize how easy and affordable it can be,” KVB Reddy, MD & CEO, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited said.

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Delhi Metro suffered a loss of ₹1,609 due to Non Operation

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M K Rai

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19/09/2020

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NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) suffered a loss of around ₹1,609 crore due to the closure of metro services in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Lok Sabha on Thursday. Delhi Metro services, which were shut on March 22 to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, resumed on September 7 in a phased manner.
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Full-fledged normal operations resumed on September 12.

“DMRC has informed that loss of revenue due to the closure of metro services in view of COVID-19 pandemic is around ₹1,609 crores,” Puri said in a written reply to a question. During the lockdown period, he said, preparatory work like detailed designing, preparation of tender schedule and finalisation of tenders, among other things, had been carried out by the DMRC.

Responding to another question about the government’s strategy to mitigate the effect of losses incurred by the DMRC, Puri said measures to enhance revenue through various innovative means like provisioning of the feeder system, property development at stations and on other lands, leasing of spaces, Transit-Oriented Development and Value Capture Finance are enumerated in the Metro Rail Policy, 2017.

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Ajit Pawar Reviews Construction Work Of Pune Metro

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M K Rai

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19/09/2020

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PUNE (Metro Rail News): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday morning reviewed the ongoing construction work of Pune Metro. Pawar is in Pune to attend the weekly review meeting on COVID-19 that will be held later today. Ajit Pawar visited construction sites in the early hours on Friday and took stock of the work from Metro officials.

The Pune Metro project, which was expected to start the operation of its first five-km stretch by April 2020, had missed the deadline due to the unforeseen lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus across the country. Maha Metro Rail Corporation had resumed work on the Pune Metro rail project in May after receiving approval from the state government and civic bodies following the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

The work on Pune Metro project, which comprises of two lines of 32 km, had started in December 2016 and was expected to finish by the end of 2022. However, work was halted for over a month due to the lockdown imposed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Local trains will resume their services only when the states are ready: Railway Board

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M K Rai

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19/09/2020

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AC local trains — Image for representation.

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Although the services have been there of Mumbai local trains only for ferrying essential staff, suburban railway services have remained suspended even in Unlock 4. “We will consider resuming suburban railway services once the state governments concerned are ready and they approach us,” Railway Board chairman VK Yadav said here while addressing Press Reporters. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant was also present with Mr Yadav.

“We have to minimise the spread of Covid-19. Once the state governments approach us, we will work the modalities to resume services,” He said.
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On the resumption of the local trains in West Bengal, the chairman said, “We are in continuous touch with the West Bengal government. There have been frequent lockdowns in the state. Special trains were also suspended last month. Metro has started operations. We are discussing with the government over the resumption of local train services.”

Recently, the bombay High Court allowed lawyers in Mumbai to use the Mumbai locals.

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90,000 jobs to be created by the construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor says NHSRCL

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M K Rai

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19/09/2020

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MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor will create 90,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction of the high-speed railway line, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is developing the project, has claimed. NHSRCL has stated that more than 51,000 technicians, skilled and unskilled workers, would be required for the construction of the railway lines.
“NHSRCL is exploring the possibilities of providing training to unskilled labourers in various construction-related disciplines such as bar bending, tile and concrete laying, construction electrical works, plastering, among others, to improve their chances of employability and earnings,” said NHSRCL spokesperson Sushma Gaur. The construction works for the high-speed railway corridor project will include 12 stations, a 460-km long viaduct, a 7-km undersea tunnel, 26-km-long tunnels and 27 steel bridges.
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NHSRCL said 64% of the land needed for the construction of the project has been acquired, most of which are from Gujarat and f Maharashtra.
However, the authorities have stated that the deadline for the project, which was earlier set for December 2023, would have to be extended, as the land acquisition process has met several roadblocks owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“The timeline for land acquisition for the project will be rechecked due to the spread of Covid-19 in the country. Important construction-related tenders are expected to be opened and finalised in a few months. These tenders are for the design and construction of civil and building works involving viaducts, bridges, maintenance depots and station buildings,” said an NHSRCL official.

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