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Rapid Metro | NCR Planning Board sanctions 25 projects for Haryana state

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Rapid Metro | NCR Planning Board sanctions 25 projects for Haryana state

New Delhi: The Centre has approved extension of Metro line from Faridabad to Ballabhgarh at a cost of Rs 580 crore, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

He also added that the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) has sanctioned 25 infrastructure projects for Haryana related to urban transport and water supply with a loan assistance of Rs 1,552 crore.

An additional 15 projects costing Rs 504 crore will soon be sanctioned, he said.

Addressing a press conference here, Naidu said that the Government of India has recently sanctioned the metro extension from Escort Mujesar, Faridabad to Ballabhgarh with a length of 3.2 kilometres at a total cost of Rs 580 crores.

This extension which is targeted for commissioning by June 2018 would benefit the people of Ballabhgarh and other surrounding areas, he added.

He said that final detailed project report for the metro connection between Narela and Kundli with a length of 4.8 kms has been submitted recently by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to Haryana Government.

The cost of this extension is estimated to be Rs 1,120 crore, he said.

Naidu said that feasibility report of Express Metro Connectivity between Bata Chowk one of the stations on Badarpur-Escort Mujesar in Faridabad and Sector-45 proposed metro station in Gurugram with length of 31 kms has been submitted to the State Government by DMRC.

He said that the State government may consider one spur from Surajkund area to connect Metro Corridor of Phase IV between Badarpur and Mahipalpur.

Similarly, feasibility report for Metro connection between HUDA city centre and old Gurugram Railway station and further to sector 21, Dwarka via Palam Vihar with a length of 29 kms has been prepared and submitted recently by DMRC to State Government.

He said that the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is implementing Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS), a rail based high speed point to point connectivity with station at every five to ten kms.

He said that it is a transformational project which would reduce the travel time significantly.

He said that out of the three corridors to be implemented on priority, two are in Haryana that is 110 kms Delhi-Panipat and 180 kms Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar.

All three corridors are interconnected and trains could move from one corridor to other seamlessly, he added.

He said that such high speed connectivity would result in increased widespread economic activity and overall sustainable development of the region.

A total investment of Rs 50,000 crore would be made for these two corridors, he added.

The Minister said that Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has sanctioned eight schemes with a total loan amount of Rs 4,448 core in the State.

This includes four schemes for housing with a loan amount of Rs 922 crore and four schemes for urban infrastructure with a loan amount of Rs 3,526 crore.

(This article has not been edited by Metro Rail News’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Alstom delivers additional metropolis metro cars to Panama Metro

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Alstom delivers additional metropolis metro cars to Panama Metro

ALSTOM has begun delivering a batch of 70 additional Metropolis metro cars to Panama Metro, which will be used to increase capacity on Line 1.

The first three-car train was delivered to the line’s depot in Albrook on April 25 after completing its sea voyage from Spain.

In November 2015 Panama Metro awarded a €145m contract to a consortium of Alstom, Thales, Sofratresa, CIM, and TSO to expand the Line 1 train fleet and upgrade the line’s signalling system, power supply, and depot facilities.

Under its €130m share of the contract, Alstom is supplying 70 metro cars to lengthen the line’s 20 existing trains from three to five cars and increase the fleet to 26 sets.

Over the next few months Panama Metro will take delivery of three more three-car trains and the first complete five-car set, which is due to arrive in September.

Five-car operation is expected to begin on Line 1 in January 2018 and intermediate cars will be delivered at a rate of two vehicles per month from early next year.

Traffic on the 13.7km north-south line from Los Andes to Albrook has grown rapidly since its inauguration in April 2014 and Panama Metro says the expanded fleet of five-car trains will double capacity on the line.

Source: Rail Journal

Alstom and Airbus sign a cooperation agreement in Cyber Security

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Alstom and Airbus sign a cooperation agreement in Cyber Security

Alstom and Airbus announce the signature of a strategic cooperation agreement in the field of cybersecurity. The agreement was signed by Marc Fontaine, Marc Fontaine, Digital Transformation Officer at Airbus and Pascal Cléré, Senior Vice President of Alstom’s Digital Mobility division, at the Airbus site of Toulouse-Blagnac.

The increase in cyberattacks and the expansion of the Internet of Things and Big Data require new measures to protect transport systems. In response to this challenge, this cooperation will support the emergence of a new risk management model adapted to the evolution of the transport industry.

“We are proud to cooperate with Airbus, the world leader in aviation, on this programme, which will provide operators with innovative and efficient cybersecurity solutions for safer transport.

This cooperation is fully in line with our ambition to be the precursor of the field of railway cybersecurity,” said Pascal Cléré. 

In particular, the programme will focus on the co-development of new analysis services concerning the vulnerability of transport systems, new shared core protection technologies and the definition of a new generation of operational security centres adapted to the industrial sector. Alstom will offer its customers products that comply with the latest legislation and governmental specifications, and will be able to propose audits of their customers’ existing solutions to increase protection levels.

Source: ALSTOM Press Release

Bombardier Trasportation places ‘breakthrough’ order for ABB transformers

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Bombardier Trasportation places ‘breakthrough’ order for ABB transformers

Austria: Bombardier Transportation has placed the first contract for ABB’s Effilight roof-mounted traction transformer design, ordering 42 transformers for installation on 21 Talent 3 electric multiple-units which it is to supply to Austrian Federal Railways for use in the Vorarlberg region.

The Effilight has a patented cell design which ABB says can reduce the amount of oil required by up to 70% without compromising functionality. The saving in oil volume compensates for the additional copper introduced to reduce losses and improve energy efficiency. To meet higher energy efficiency objectives, ABB has optimised the design for a load loss reduction of 25% compared with an older design of transformer of the same weight.

The initial order has been placed within a framework agreement which could see ABB supply up to 600 transformers for 300 EMUs by the end of 2024.

Source: Railway Gazette

Amaravati Metro | AMRC decides to entrust metro rail project to two companies

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Amaravati Metro | AMRC decides to entrust metro rail project to two companies

Vijayawada: Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) has decided to entrust metro rail project works, except metro depot at Nidamanuru, to two companies. Though the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) reportedly thought that it would be better to involve three major companies in metro works to facilitate speedy completion of the project, only two companies L&T and Afcons Infrastructure got eligibility in financial bidding that was conducted in Delhi on Monday.

According to a senior officer of AMRC, each corridor work will be entrusted to one company. Two corridors, one from Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) to Penamaluru and the other from PNBS to Nidamanuru are planned to be built.  “We think it will be easier if the metro works are divided as two parts and one each is entrusted to each company,” he said.

AMRC managing director N P Ramakrishna Reddy told Media that the DMRC and AMRC are now in the process of evaluating price bids submitted by the L&T and the Afcons Infrastructure and it will take around 15 days to complete.
“It may take around two months for the project to take off as a lot of process, including making agreements with the two companies is involved,” he said.
On the other hand, the AMRC is doing parallel exercise to secure foreign funding to the Metro Rail project in addition to the funding from Union and state governments. The state government has already given permission to the AMRC regarding to foreign funding. Germany’s KFW group and AFO group of France have already expressed their willingness to fund Rs 3,600 crore for the metro rail project.
The AMRC is also planning to go for public issue to obtain funds and the process will be in phased manner. “It may take at least 5 to 6 years to complete the metro project. So, the process of gathering funds will depend on needs and pace of the project. We are very cautious on interest rates offered by the financial institutions”, an official said.
Source: Hans India

Underwater Metro | Work begins on India’s 1st underwater metro tunnel in Howrah

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Underwater Metro | Work begins on India’s 1st underwater metro tunnel in Howrah

Kolkata: Construction of the country’s first underwater metro tunnel commenced on the banks of Hooghly river in Howrah of West Bengal on Friday.

A pair of boring machines was deployed to dig the 520m tunnel with 30m running under the river bed. The work of digging the underwater tunnel is expected to be completed within two months. The commencement of work for the underwater tunnel is an important landmark in progress towards completion of the second phase of Kolkata Metro expansion called the ‘East-west metro project’ that will connect Howrah station in the west with Salt Lake Sector V in the east.

The underwater tunnel was the major roadblock in completion of the project which may significantly reduce traffic congestion on the streets of Kolkata after getting operational. The Howrah station witnesses major traffic of daily commuters coming from neighbouring districts to work in the different parts of the metropolis.

The second phase of metro will also connect with another major railway terminus Sealdah that brings daily passengers from North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts of the state. These districts also satiate much of the agricultural and fish appetite of the city.

The Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) and Indian Railways funded second phase of metro railway expansion project and it will cost around Rs 50 billion. The project is expected to be completed by 2018. The 14.67km long stretch will have 12 stations, 6 of which will be underground and the rest 6 elevated.

With the beginning of work of the underwater tunnel, other halted stretches and metro railway stations in the phase may also get started. Many stretches of the phase are stuck in land acquisition problems, which the authorities are attempting to solve.

Make in India | Govt. makes mandatory to purchase 75% made in India coaches

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Make in India | Govt. makes mandatory to purchase 75% made in India coaches

New Delhi: The Central Government on Sunday introduced new rules for the procurement of equipment for metro rail projects. The government stipulated that a minimum of 75% of tendered quantity of metro cars to be manufactured in India, with progressive indigenisation of content, said the Urban Development Ministry in a statement. The government said that is part of the government’s efforts for the ‘Make in India’ initiative and to boost the metro rail systems in India.

Besides metro cars, the rule also stipulates that a minimum of 25% of critical equipment and sub-systems or spares have to be manufactured in India. There will also be a standardising of technical parameters for rolling stock (metro coaches) and signaling equipment, the Ministry said.

These new rules for metro for metros have been approved by the Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu and have been circulated to all metro companies on Friday, making them effective immediately.

“These initiatives will incentivise setting up manufacturing facilities in the country by increasing the volumes of procurement of rolling stock and all kinds of equipment by removing variations in the present technical norms for rolling stock and signaling equipment. This will in turn result in reduction of cost through economies of scale,” the Ministry said.

The Ministry has stipulated the following mandatory conditions to be incorporated in Tender Documents:

1.Minimum 75% of the tendered quantity of metro cars shall be manufactured indigenously with progressive indigenisation of content, for which the contractor may either establish independent manufacturing facility in India or partner with Indian manufacturers, if the procurement is more than 100 cars.

2.To facilitate ease in maintenance through easy availability of spares beyond the warranty period, an identified list of critical equipment and sub-systems shall be included in the Tender Document for ensuring indigenous manufacturing of a minimum of 25% of such equipment, either by Original Equipment Manufacturers themselves by establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in India or through Indian manufacturers.

3. Requirement of metro cars at State level shall be clubbed to enable applicability of local procurement norms.

4.To develop in-house expertise on long term basis, metro companies with large size fleet to undertake in-house maintenance.

A total number of 1,912 metro coaches are currently operational in the country with another 1,420 under procurement. Over the next three years more than 1,600 metro cars would be required. Each metro coach is estimated to cost about Rs 10 crore.

“The Ministry has concluded the long pending standaridisation of norms for rolling stock and signaling equipment applicable to over 90% of the present imports. Further, to promote indigenous manufacturing, the Ministry has stipulated procurement of 9 types of signaling equipment from within the country. Metro companies have also been directed to develop maximum possible local competence so that knowhow and technical support is available within the country. Indian companies have to be associated with production of a wide range of signaling and train control project equipment,” it said.

Indigenization of several metro functions has also been prescribed. These relate to communication systems, managing operational disturbances, time table preparation, fault reporting, control traction power, maintenance, infrastructure supervision, rolling stock management etc.

Presently, metros are operating in 7 cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Chennai with a total route length of 326 kms. Metro projects with a total route length of 546 kms are under construction in 11 cities and projects with a total route length of 903 kms in 13 cities are under consideration.

Indore & Bhopal Metro | MP govt looks for Rs 14,485 crore funding for metro project

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Indore & Bhopal Metro | MP govt looks for Rs 14,485 crore funding for metro project

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government is looking for avenues to raise Rs 14,485.55 crore to implement metro rail project in Indore and Bhopal.

“We have a big plan to run metros in Indore and Bhopal for which a huge amount of money is needed. We are scouting for avenues to get this money,” Urban Development and Housing Minister Maya Singh told reporters here.

“Homework to run the metros in the two cities has been completed. The moment we manage finance, the project will be kick-started,” she said.

Last December, the government approved the detailed project report (DPR) which envisages Rs 14,485.

55 crore investment to put in place the rapid transport system in the two main cities of the state.

Chennai Metro | CMRL to provide Platform Screen Doors in underground stations

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Chennai Metro | CMRL to provide Platform Screen Doors in underground stations

Chennai: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (DMRC) decided to provide Platform Screen Doors at all its underground stations to prevent suicide attempts. Last year, a 25-year-old man attempted suicide at the Vadapalani Metro Rail Station in Chennai by jumping on to the track, a year after the service was launched.

The record is worse in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Last year alone, 76 attempted suicide and 12 died.

In a bid to prevent such attempts, the Delhi and Chennai Metro Rail systems have decided to install platform screen doors (PSD) in underground stations.

These doors are synchronised to open along with the train doors, thereby blocking access to the track for commuters.

While in the Delhi Metro with over 150 stations PSDs are being set up only in six major stations for now, all the 19 underground stations of the Chennai Metro Rail will have this facility.

When the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) and his team inspected the stations from Thirumangalam to Nehru Park, they also checked if there was a risk of passengers getting trapped between these doors.

“We checked whether there was a risk by placing our feet between the PSD door before it closed; it instantly detected it and opened. Passengers won’t get stuck in between. Then, we asked CMRL what if the dupatta or saree of a commuter gets stuck in between, and they said the door is manually opened by the station controller.”, an official of the CMRS said,

Since there are CCTV cameras in most parts of the station and inside the trains too, the driver and station controller can see when such incidents take place.

Chennai Metro Rail have carried out several test runs in this regard to check if the PSD doors work.

 

Jaipur Metro | JMRC’s efforts to lease out space for advertisements fail

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Jaipur Metro | JMRC’s efforts to lease out space for advertisements fail

Jaipur: The efforts of Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) to earn additional revenue by leasing out space for advertisements inside and outside the Metro trains and stations have entirely failed.

Only one company participated in the tender process. An official said that even the rate quoted by the company was very low.

The JMRC would invite tenders once again. For buying space for advertisement inside trains, two companies had participated in the tender process. Out of which, one company failed to clear the technical bid. The company which won the tender quoted 40% low rates.

Similarly, one company showed interest to use space on rent for advertisements on Metro pillars. This firm also quoted rates 50% less than expected. “Not many companies have shown interest. Moreover, the companies which came quoted less rates and it was not feasible for the JMRC. The tenders will be soon invited again,” said the official.

The JMRC and Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) had earlier locked horns over the right on Metro pillars. The JMRC claimed that it would earn additional income from advertisements which could be utilised for Metro operations. However, JMRC failed to reap the benefits. After witnessing continuous fall in ridership in the second year of Metro’s operations, the JMRC is exploring other ways to earn revenue.

The corporation has also drafted a proposal to lease out the space at all nine stations to open 50 retail shops. The proposal has been forwarded to the state government for final approval. The JMRC is expecting to earn a revenue of Rs 9 crore per annum after leasing out the space for these shops.
Last year, the JMRC was struggling to earn revenue as average ridership in Jaipur Metro dropped from 49,774 per day in the first month (June 2015) of its operations to just 19,390 per day in December 2016.
This has also resulted in revenue loss for JMRC as it could earn Rs 70.44 lakh per month after spending approximately Rs 3.5 crore per month on Metro train operations. The route of phase-I (Mansarovar to Chandpole) has already been criticised by the BJP government several times as it is financially not viable.
Source: TOI
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