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.
PATNA (Metro Rail News): The proposal to make Anand Kishore, Managing Director of Patna Metro has been rejected by the Central Government. It is said that he has also many charges of State Government. In a letter from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, it is declared that Metro project is a very important project and it will be completed within a time limit.
There are two corridors approved in Patna Metro and a special purpose vehicle formed to the operation of Metro which is registered by company act. This company has now been 20-20% ownership of State govt and central govt.
The Center had recently nominated other directors including the chairman. Then the state government nominated Municipal Development Secretary Anand Kishore as MD This proposal was sent to the central government for approval.
Now, Under Secretary Jasbir Singh of Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India has informed about the non-acceptance of the proposal to nominate Anand Kishore as Managing Director of Patna Metro.
We got to know that Anand Kishor has some other responsibility of Government of Bihar. The metro project is a cost-based to be completed in given deadline. And MD needs to do complete focus in the project which is not possible.
The Center has asked the state government to appoint a full-time MD for the metro, which should not be given any additional charge.
A system for the real-time management of information & ticket exchange technology has been enabled for interfacing with travellers. This new technology is known as Electronic Ticket Control Database (ETCD); this methodology will help in preventing fraud and ease ticketing process smartly. It has been in service since Feb 2020, and already some European ticket issuers & passenger carriers are making bonds to it.
Recently, International Union of Railways (UIC) has awarded the Rail IT specialist Hit Rail B.V. a contract for the supply of its Electronic Ticket Control Database. The validation of this contract is up to five years from January 1, 2020. Now the UIC providing a centralised, real-time commuters ticket management system for all the Railways across the world.
The major purpose behind this initiative is the online ticket exchange among the ticket issuers and commuters, along with enhancing the security and fortify of e-ticketing. This new technology ETCD offered Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) mode by Hit Rail.
The ETCD service matches the demanding scalability, review and security aims created by the UIC. ETCD uses cloud technologies & is designed from the start to meet a large number of tickets and downloads and to be proficient of supporting following UIC services in the future, requiring the collecting or checking of ticket data.
UIC Electronic Ticket Control Database (ETCD) service, source: UIC
The Technical Director & ETCD Project Manager at Hit rail, Enrique Ruiz says “The ETCD is a significant technological leap forward into utilising leading-edge cloud services, like serverless applications along with cloud databases, to deliver a robust & secure service potentially connecting millions of railway tickets.”
UIC Passenger Director, Marc Guigon says: “ETCD technology is a new UIC IT solution that is a major application in UIC’s Rail Distribution ecosystem. Surely, in combination with MERITS (Timetables), PRIFIS (Prices) & Hermes (Reservations), ETCD would make the UIC IT distribution framework to offer all European railways members a cost-efficient, robust with a standard solution for international rail ticket business.”
Some Major Benefits of ETCD System:
It will help to maintain social distancing in crowded places.
Prevent from scam.
Real-time ticket control management.
It creates an easy ticketing process.
Keep record on Cloud storage of passenger’s information for further queries.
Online exchange of tickets control information.
This new technology is substantially better than contactless ticketing. The ETCD can be used in our transportation sector or any places where a wide range of public interactions are taking place including Shopping malls, Cinema halls, Railways Stations, Metro Stations etc to keep people maintain social distancing as well.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (Metro Rail News): HS2 Ltd on May 15, 2020, has formally launched the process of selecting a contractor to design, supply and support Control, Command, Signalling and Traffic Management Systems for the future high-speed line.
The contracts with an estimated combined value of £540m will cover:
Design, supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance until handover of CCS & TM for phases 1 and 2a between London, Birmingham and Crewe;
a potential extension to cover Phase 2b;
CCS & TM works for Phase 2b alterations at London Euston station;
provision of technical support services for 15 years, with two five-year extension options.
The ETCS Level 2 is required to control trains travelling at speeds of up to 360 km/h, with automatic train operation Grade of Automation 2 (ATP and ATO with driver) over ETCS.
The controller workstations and centrally located equipment cubicles will be at the Network Integrated Control Centre in Washwood Heath.
HS2 Ltd’s Procurement and Commercial Director, David Poole, said:
“Our state-of-the-art Command and Control Systems and Traffic Management systems will allow HS2 to offer fast, frequent and reliable low carbon journeys for millions of people every year. I look forward to our team working with the suppliers who come forward and together, ensuring that we deliver the best quality and value for the project.”
The successful contractor will be required to estimate the price and whole-life cost of implementing ETCS with hybrid Level 3 functionality once the EU Agency has published the technical standards and specifications for this functionality for Railways.
If the cost and benefits of Level 3 functionality are more advantageous than Level 2, HS2 Ltd will have a contractual right, though not an obligation, to require the contractor to implement hybrid Level 3 functionality in some or all areas.
Requests to prequalify should be submitted by July 7. HS2 Ltd expects to invite four applicants to tender in January 2021, with the contract to be awarded in 2022.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News):Indian Railways has decided to start 200 train set from 1st of June 2020 in terms to help the passengers reach their destinations, as part of the relaxations declared in lockdown 4.0.
Railways Ministry in consultation with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare & Ministry of Home Affairs giving a big change to the workers has determined that train services on Indian Railways would be further partially renewed w.e.f. from 1st of June 2020.
Booking has been started of all these trains today from 10 am. These special services would be in addition to the existing of the Shramik special trains being operated since May 1st and Special AC trains being operated since 12th of May 2020.
Other regular Commuter services with all mail/express, passenger & suburban services will remain cancelled until further information, as per Piyush Goyal Statement on Twitter.
All the trains will be completely reserved with both AC and non AC classes. General coaches will also have reserved seat for sitting. There is no unreserved coach on the train. The fare will be as usual & for General coaches being reserved 2nd seating fare will be charged & seat would be given to all the commuters.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Alstom has started deliveries of the 12000 hp, WAG-12B electric locomotives which are built by Alstom, certified by Ministry of Railways & Commissioner of Railway Safety (RDSO), to Indian Railways, that is all set to revolutionise freight logistics in India. These WAG 12B engines are the most-powered locomotives that would run on Indian rails.
The entry of WAG 12B (e-loco) would allow faster & safer transfer of heavier freight trains capable to haul ~6000 tonnes at a top speed of 120 km/h. Planned to be deployed for services on Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), these e-locos would raise the average speed of freight trains in the country by at least 20-25 kmph.
Equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) based propulsion technology, it will begin to significant savings in energy consumption because of the use of regenerative braking. Further, this progress would not only bring down operational expenses but also decrease the congestion faced by Indian Railways.
The project has a strong impetus on indigenous manufacturing with 90% localization and as per the delivery schedule, hundred locomotives would be delivered annually.
Currently, Alstom is executing metro projects in various Indian cities, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi & Lucknow, where they are supplying rolling stock manufactured out of their state- the of-the-art facility in Sri City.
Managing Director of Alstom India & South Asia said that Alstom is happy to begin delivery of the electric locomotives to Indian Railways. Initiation of induction into the IR fleet testifies our commitment towards the country. This is a revolutionary product that would be faster, safer & eco-friendly.
Also, it is scripting a fresh chapter for India’s sustainable mobility journey & we are pleased to be partnering in this.
With the Make-in-India mandate, all 800 e-locos are being manufactured indigenously. Designed at Alstom’s Engineering Centre in Bengaluru, these e-locos are being made in one of India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities at Madhepura in Bihar.
Spread across 250 acres, with a production capacity of 120 locomotives every annum, the Madhepura industrial site is organised to international standards of safety & quality. According to the plan, multiple ultra-modern maintenance depots in Saharanpur & Nagpur would ensure high service availability of the locomotives.
The Saharanpur depot is previously functional and the Nagpur is under construction. Equipped with ultramodern features, these depots would play a critical role in maintaining India’s most advanced freight locomotives at significantly lower expenses.
The loco is named WAG12 with Number 60027, departed from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Station at 14:08 hrs in long haul formation for Dhanbad Division of East Central Railway, consisting of 118 wagons which travelled from Pt DeenDayalUpadhyayaJn to Barwadih via Dehri-on-Sone, Garhwa Road.
India’s most powerful locomotive, the WAG12B has joined the huge network of Indian Railways. WAG12B is equipped with 12000 HP and has been manufactured by French company Alstom.
The locomotive began its services from Pt.Deen Dayal Upadhyay railway station in Uttar Pradesh. The locomotive is capable of taking heavy consignment of freight and will be used in the Dedicated Freight Corridor(DFC).
The loco is named WAG12 with Number 60027. The train departed from DeenDayalUpadhyaya Station at 14:08 hrs in long haul formation for Dhanbad Division of East Central Railway, consisting of 118 wagons which travelled from Pt DeenDayalUpadhyayaJn to Barwadih via Dehri-on-Sone, Garhwa Road.
India became 6th country in the world to join the elite club of producing high horse power locomotive indegenously.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted on Monday that, “Bolstering PM @NarendraModi Ji’s vision of Make in India, first WAG12B (12000 HP) loco departed from Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station in Uttar Pradesh today. Powerful and capable of high speed, the locomotive is a significant addition to the Indian Railways.
Bolstering PM @NarendraModi ji’s vision of Make in India, first WAG12B (12000 HP) loco departed from Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Station in Uttar Pradesh today.
Powerful and capable of high speed, the locomotive is a significant addition to the Indian Railways. pic.twitter.com/GD6opgWXrR
Praised as the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects of Railways, the Ministry of Railways and Alstom came together in 2015. An agreement worth 3.5 billion Euro was signed to manufacture 800 electric locomotives for freight service and its associated maintenance.
Features of 12000 hp, WAG12B electric locomotives
These locomotives are state of art IGBT based, 3 phase drive, 9000 KW (12000 horse power) electric locomotive.
The locomotive is capable of the maximum tractive effort of 706 kN, which is capable of starting and running a 6000 T train in the gradient of 1 in 150.
The locomotive with twin Bo-Bo design having 22.5 T (Tonnes) axle load is upgradable to 25 Tonnes with a design speed of 120 mph.
The locomotive will be used in the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) for the faster movement of goods, especially coal and iron ore.
The locomotive is supposed to be a game-changer for movement of coal trains in the DFC of Indian Railways. The locomotive will allow faster and safer movement of heavier freight trains.
The new locomotive will not only bring down the operational costs for railways but will also reduce the congestion faced. The project is expected to give a boost to the government’s “Make in India” initiative.
More than ₹2,000 crores has been invested in the project already with one maintenance depot already established in Saharanpur. Work is starting on the second one at Nagpur.
More than 300 engineers from India and France are working in Bangalore, Madhepura, and France on the Project. In two years time, more than 90% of the parts will be manufactured in India
MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has selected two new contractors to continue the construction works on metro line 7 with a distance of 17 km. It is among Dahisar and Andheri.
For the construction of Metro line 7, the MMRDA cancelled the contract of simplex infrastructure as it was provided with a contract for the distance of 5.5 km from Aarey junction on western Express Highway of metro line 7.
Metropolitan commissioner of MMRDA, RA Rajeev notified that they were serious of completing the metro projects within time. Simplex infrastructure ltd was provided was Rs 348 cr in April 2016. However, just 75% of the work has been completed.
RA Rajeev further added MMRDA is now searching for other 3 months delay with the migrant workers gone.
According to media reports, the MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner, RA Rajeev informed that they were serious about finishing the metro projects in time. However, due to the delay in projects, the contracts have been terminated after following all procedures.
Now, the contract has been given to new contractors. J Kumar which has received the contract will work for viaduct while NCC will focus on the station work. MMRDA has already converted the bank guarantee of ₹35 crores from Simplex.
The Simplex Infrastructure Limited was given ₹348 crores in April 2016 to contract entire stretch of Metro 7 corridor between Andheri and Goregaon via WEH. However, only 75 per cent of the work has been completed.
Earlier, RA Rajeev informed that Mumbaikars will have to wait for three more months than what was scheduled to hope on a ride on Metro 2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro 7 (Dahisar East -Andheri East). The two metro rail corridors were to be operational by December this year.
Since the lockdown, despite having 11,000 labourers as workforce at various sites, the development authority could not commence any work for a month or two. The MMRDA is now looking at another three-month delay with the migrant worker gone, Rajeev added.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Since the lockdown extension has been announced with so many new rules and eases. Meanwhile, The Metro Rail services still continue to be suspended until the next announcement.
Today the govt extended the lockdown for the 3rd times till 31 May to restrain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, according to the revised guidelines by the Home Minister.
Public Service Announcement
In light of the extension of lockdown issued by the government, Metro services will remain closed for commuters till 31st May. Our helpline services 155370 shall also not be available. You may reach us at helpline@dmrc.org.
— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) May 17, 2020
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on their Twitter said that in light of the lockdown extension issued by the govt, Metro services will remain closed for commuters till 31st May, Public Service Announcement.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had announced that metro services will not be started during the lockdown while existing regulations will apply to the Railways.
Last week, DMRC had said that it has started preparations for the resumption of train services and protocol for social distancing is being worked upon although the date of opening is not been finalised.
It said that it is working out the detailed cleaning and maintenance procedures before the service is resumed.
“The date of the opening of the Delhi Metro has still not been finalised and will be notified to the public in due course. All systems of the metro including the signalling, electrical, rolling stock, tracks etc will have to be tested in detail before services are ultimately started to ensure full safety for our commuters,” DMRC Executive Director Anuj Dayal had said in a statement.
Coldwater high-pressure jet, battery-operated walk-behind automatic scrubber dryer, automated vacuum cleaner, steam cleaner, automatic escalator cleaners are being used extensively for cleaning purpose, the corporation had said.
MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): J K Infra projects Limited has notified the stock exchanges that it has got an (LoA) Letter of Acceptance from the Mumbai Metro Rail (MMRCL) Project.
For the construction of part design & construction of rest package 1, line 7, elevated viaduct works from chainage Ch (-) 525.903m (Pier P1E) – ch (+) 5801.297m (Pier P 278) Andheri (East)- Dahisar (East) corridor of Mumbai Metro Project of MMRDA,” the company stated in the filing.
J Kumar Infra projects Limited is now trading at Rs 82.20, up via Rs1.9 / 2.37% from the previous closing of Rs 80.30 on the BSE. The scrip began at Rs 80.50 and has reached a high & low of Rs 85.20 & Rs78.30 respectively.
NAVI MUMBAI(Metro Rail News): City Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) receives the delivery of eight 3-coach trainsets from Chinese rail coach manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. on May 15, 2020, for Navi Mumbai Metro Rail project successfully. according to the logistics service provider Total Movements Private Limited.
Declaring the completion of delivery of metro train coaches to CIDCO, Total Movements Private Limited stated that the company was selected as an Onshore Logistics service provider to support the development of the Navi Mumbai Metro Project. These Metro coaches were received at Mumbai Port and moved to Navi Mumbai Metro Depot, Taloja.
@CIDCO_Ltd receives delivery of eight 3-coach metro train sets from @CRRC_ZELC for Navi Mumbai Metro project successfully.
Further, the company added in the statement that the Detailed route survey through the busy roads of Mumbai, deploying numerous specialized trailers at once, the building of temporary roads as none of the main roads had the clearances required for safe movement and coordination with traffic police/multiple government authorities for smooth transportation through the city were the crucial challenges faced by our team.
“With detailed route surveys, swept path analysis, accurate lifting plans, and seamless coordination our team managed to overcome the challenges and delivered the coaches by unloading them on rails. Proud to have added another feather to our cap!”, said in a statement further.
CIDCO had given a contract worth 78 million euros to an international consortium led by Ansaldo STS and including Tata Projects Limited and CRRC Zhuzhou for electrical and mechanical systems for the first phase of Navi Mumbai Metro Line 1 in July 2014.
CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. was given the responsibility to design, manufacture, supply, testing and commissioning of 24 standard gauge metro coaches (eight 3-coach train sets) for Navi Mumbai Metro project.
According to the contract, the size of three-car trainsets is 64.6m long and 3.1m wide, with a passenger capacity of around 1,100 and a maximum speed of approximately 80 km/h. The CRRC had delivered the first two train sets of 3-coaches to CIDCO in March last year.
The trial run on 2-km long distance from Pendhar Metro Terminal Yard to Pendhar Station was conducted in September 2019. This section is part of 11-km long Phase 1 of the Navi Mumbai Metro project.
The Navi Mumbai Metro project is always in controversy due to wrong planning and irregularities in the tendering process at various stages of project execution.
NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): On Wednesday Indian Railways declared to cancel all the bookings till 30 June, only Shramik special trains and 30 special trains will run. As per the National transporter, the process of cancellation will be automated and the passengers will get their refunds with effect from21st of March.
Railway Board has issued an order adding the provision of waiting list not only in its current operational special trains for May 22 journeys with also for every forthcoming operations.
However, it has capped the waiting list on the trains that are up to hundred for AC-3 tier, fifty for AC-2 tier, two-hundred for Sleeper Class, hundred for chair-cars, and twenty each for 1st AC & Executive Class truncating the files for confirmed tickets considerably.
The changes would come into effect for booked tickets from 15th May for journeys beginning 22 May.
