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Yes, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi & Mangaluru are setting good standards; I really hope all cities should be like these.
Delhi's Regional Rapid Transit system, a high speed commuter rail network has finally gained some momentum.
Regional transit system goes into ‘rapid’ mode
July 19, 2016 05:59 IST | Sidhartha Roy
High-speed rail network will connect Panipat, Meerut and Alwar with Delhi; project report to be finished in six months, work to begin in two years
Imagine travelling from Meerut to Delhi in less than an hour while sitting in the air-conditioned comfort of a high-speed train tearing down the track at 160 kmph.
In a couple of years, the scenario could become reality with the much-hyped and much-delayed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) — that will connect the Capital to satellite cities like Meerut, Panipat and Alwar — finally getting on track.
The RRTS — a brainchild of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) — was first mooted more than four years ago to de-congest the roads and bring down pollution in Delhi, while ensuring high-speed connectivity between the Capital and its satellite towns Panipat in Haryana, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and Alwar in Rajasthan.
The much-hyped project is finally set to leave the station with the recent constitution of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited (NCRTC).
Nodal agency
The corporation, which will design, develop, implement, finance, operate and maintain the RRTS, has started its work under senior Indian Railway official Vinay Kumar Singh, who was recently appointed as managing director.
On July 11, 2013 the Union Cabinet had approved the constitution of the NCRTC with initial seed capital of Rs.100 crore for the NCR area to provide comfortable and fast transit to NCR towns and meet the high growth in transport demand.
The special-purpose vehicle was expected to function on the lines of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and was allowed to form subsidiary companies to implement each corridor. It is only now, however, that the corporation has hit the track.
Change in plans
While initially these corridors were expected to terminate deep inside the Capital, the Delhi government had wanted them to stop as close to the border as possible.
However, it has now been agreed that the corridors will not only enter the heart of the Capital but also integrate seamlessly with the Metro.
“The RRTS and the Metro networks will be complimentary to each other and act as feeder services for each other. Commuters coming from Panipat or Meerut can easily change over to a Delhi Metro line while those who want to go to the satellite cities can take the metro from near their house or office and reach their within an hour,” said a NCRTC official, who didn’t wish to be named.
“The seamless integration of these two networks will help in blurring NCR boundaries, and the NCR region will truly become one,” the official said.
The RRTS network will have stations near Delhi Metro stations such as New Delhi, Aerocity, Kashmere Gate etc., which will act as transport hubs with not only connectivity to the Metro network but also railway stations, the airport and Inter-State Bus Terminals.
“The RRTS is not just a transport project but also a project for sustainable urban development. It will take NCR from being unicentric with Delhi as the hub, to polycentric with similar economic development in NCR towns,” the official said.
Development
The NCRTC said that with the RRTS, places like Manesar, Neemrana or Sonepat — that are on the RRTS route — can develop into major urban centres like Gurgaon and Noida.
“Not only will this decongest Delhi, by providing people places to reside that currently seem too far away, but also bring skilled manpower from these places to the Capital. The RRTS has huge potential of providing access and opportunity to the masses,” the official said.
The detailed project reports of the three corridors: Delhi-Panipat, Delhi-Alwar and Delhi-Meerut are in an advanced stage of completion and are expected to be ready within six months.
Once these are ready, the NRCTC will tie up with funding agencies for the project. “Many agencies have already shown their interest in funding the project,” the official said.
The NCRTC expects work on the project to begin within two years if everything goes as planned.
For revenue generation, the NCRTC is thinking of implementing the concept of ‘land value capture’.
Revenue model
This revenue model, employed in the Hong Kong metro, works on the concept of acquiring and developing land near stations on the corridor.
“It is obvious that land value around such transport hubs go up and we want to capture that for the benefit of the project,” the official said. He added that by using the land near the stations for commercial development, the revenue generated can be used for further expansion of the network.
History
The story of the Regional Rapid Transit System goes back to December 2009, when a taskforce set up by the Planning Commission had proposed the setting up of the NCRTC for the implementation of a comprehensive integrated multi-modal sub-urban commuter transportation system for the National Capital Region.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in June 2011 between the Centre, the NCRPB and the State governments of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and NCT Delhi for the formation of the NCRTC.
Mumbai Metro's 33 km long Underground line-3 contracts has been delayed for a while, but it is back on track
MMRCL Awards Contracts for Mumbai Metro’s Line 3
July 9, 2016
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MMRCL) has finally issued the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to all 5 consortia that 9 months ago had emerged as the lowest bidders for constructing 7 packages of Mumbai’s 33.5 km underground Colaba-SEEPZ metro line! This feat was accomplished after tiring rounds of negotiations & scope changes to bring the contracts’ value down which were cumulatively 50% higher than what RITES had estimated while preparing the line’s Detailed Project Report in 2011.
In March, the MMRC had received clearance from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to begin price negotiations with the lowest bidders through design changes that included reducing the number of entry/exits at certain stations, reducing the length of the platforms and hiving off critical functions like the installation of the Tunnel Ventilation System (TVS) andescalators into separate contracts of their own. This move allayed fears of a re-tendering exercise that would have further delayed the project.
Mumbai Metro’s Line 3
Contractor Info
• Contract MM3-CBS-UGC-01 – Cuffe Parade – CST
Tunnels & 4 stations at Cuffe Parade, Vidhan Bhavan, Churchgate & Hutatama Chowk
Contractor: Larsen & Toubro Ltd – Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd
• Contract MM3-CBS-UGC-02 – CST – Mumbai Central
Tunnels and 4 stations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Kalbadevi, Girgaon & Grant Road
Contractor: OSJC Moscow Metrostroy – Hindustan Construction Co.Ltd
• Contract MM3-CBS-UGC-03 – Mumbai Central – Siddhivinayak
Tunnels and 5 stations at Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi, Science Museum, Acharya Atre Chowk & Worli
Contractor: DOGUS – SOMA Enterprise Ltd.
• Contract MM3-CBS-UGC-04 – Siddhivinayak – Dharavi
Tunnels and 3 stations at Siddhivinayak, Dadar & Shitaladevi
Contractor: Continental Engineering Corporation – ITD Cementation India Ltd – Tata Projects Ltd
• Contract MM3-CBS-UGC-05 – Dharavi – Domestic Airport
Tunnels and 4 stations at Dharavi, BKC, Vidyanagri, Santa Cruz
Contractor: J. Kumar Infraprojects Ltd – China Railway No.3 Engineering Group Co. Ltd
• Contract MM3-CBS-UGC-06 – Domestic Airport – Marol Naka
Tunnels and 3 stations at T1 CSI Airport , Sahar Road & T2 CSI Airport
Contractor: J. Kumar Infraprojects Ltd – China Railway No.3 Engineering Group Co. Ltd
• Contract MM3-CBS-UGC-07 – Marol Naka – SEEPZ
Tunnels and 3 stations at Marol Naka, MIDC & SEEPZ
Contractor: Larsen & Toubro Ltd/Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd
From a total of Rs. 19,572.53 crore, the contracts’ final values are down to Rs. 18,115.23 crore, representing a 7.45% decrease.
Yet another Rapid Transit project for Mumbai.
MRVC submits new CST-Panvel corridor plan to Railway Board
- Deadline April 2022
- CST to Panvel in 50 mins
- Cost: Rs 14,561 crore
- Harbour Line platforms at CST to move to east.
After six years of deliberations, railway planners have finally submitted a comprehensive project proposal for the CST-Panvel fast corridor that promises to lift Harbour Line users from the current nightmare of train delays and disruptions.
The elevated corridor visualised by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) will cut travel time between Panvel and CST from nearly 90 minutes to 50, and will include a link to the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport. The plan will also have a provision to shift Harbour Line platforms at CST to the eastern side of the terminus in future and integrate the corridor with Andheri-Mankhurd metro line.
The detailed report of the Rs 14,561-crore project was sent to Railway Board for final approval last month.
While key features of the ambitious project, which MRVC hopes will be completed within six years, have been known for some time now, there had been little movement in railway offices to finalise the proposal. This has now changed and if sanction from the Indian Railways, Maharashtra government and other stakeholders arrives in time, the project will be kicked off next year.
"We have submitted the project report to the Railway Board. Earlier, we had thought of building the corridor over P D'Mello Road, but we now think that Mansion Road is a better option because it offers a better alignment," Prabhat Sahai, MRVC chairman and managing director, told Mirror.
MRVC, and not Central Railway, will operate train services on the elevated high-speed corridor. On the existing CST-Panvel line, CR operates around 15 services during peak hours. MRVC plans to run 25 services on its corridor during the period. All trains will be air-conditioned, according to the project report.
The high-speed line will begin from Carnac Bunder, next to CST's platform number 18, run above Mansion Road and head towards Wadi Bunder. It run along Dockyard Road and then follow the existing CST-Panvel line till Vashi. From there, it will turn right towards Palm Beach Road. From Belapur, it will again follow the existing route.
The CST-Mankhurd and Vashi-Belapur sections of the corridor will be elevated, while Mankhurd-Vashi and Belapur-Panvel portions will run at ground level.
The spur to the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport has been planned just before the bridge of Nerul-Ural line.
Meanwhile, on the mainline...
Railways to start trial of Talgo trains on Delhi-Mumbai section from August one
By Express News Service
Published: 21st July 2016 10:34 PM
A vendor walks near the Spanish train Talgo after it arrives at Moradabad Railway Station during its first trial run between Bareilly and Moradabd on Sunday. | PTI
NEW DELHI: Indian Railways will start the trials of Spanish-made Talgo trains on the busiest Delhi-Mumbai section from August 1 after its successful trials on Mathura-Palwal, where it achieved 180 kmph with fully loaded capacity Thursday.
The trials on Delhi-Mumbai section will be done at a maximum speed of 150 kmph for nearly a month before a report is submitted to Railway Board. At present Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani runs at an average speed of 80 kmph covering 1388 km distance between the two cities in 16 hours. Talgo coaches can cut the journey time between Delhi and Mumbai by 4 hours 30 minutes.
“The primary results so far are similar to as claimed by the company and we will make a detailed report on other technicalities. Next week we will conduct trials of emergency braking distance system which means distance it takes to stop after applying emergency break at 160 kmph,” said a senior railway officer monitoring the trials.
With Railways working to increase speed of trains, Talgo trains can be a game changer if they succeed in achieving claimed targets of running on existing rails at 180 kmph without any major infrastructure changes. At present, Gatimaan Express is the fastest train at 160 km/hr.
The cost of a Talgo coach is Rs 5 crore and it requires minimal infrastructure upgrade to run on Indian rails. Talgo envisages the journey between Delhi and Mumbai can be completed in about 11 hour 40 minutes as compared to 16 hours 10 minutes at present.
The Talgo coaches can run on curved rails without decelerating speed. Besides reducing travel time, Talgo's lighter trains consume 30 percent less energy. The Railways has set up a Mobility Directorate to work on strategies to increase speed of trains. Gatimaan Express – India's first semi-high speed that clocks 160 kmph, was launched on the Delhi-Agra route in April.
Govt nod for 4 new rail tracks in Himachal Pradesh
TNN | 12 hours ago
Shimla: The Government of India has accorded 'in-principle' approval for the construction of the Bilaspur-Mandi-Manali-Leh railway line along the India-China border and undertaking Final Location Survey (FLS), informed Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday.
As the rail line is of strategic importance, it is going to boost the tourism potential right from Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh.
In a written reply to Sanjay Raut in Rajya Sabha, Parrikar informed that the 'in-principle' approval has also been accorded to Missamari (Bhalukpong)-Tenga-Tawang; Pasighat-Parasuramkund-Rupai and North Lakhimpur-Bame-Along-Silapathar rail lines.
As per the estimates, the cost of construction of this 498km rail line has been has been calculated as Rs 22,831 crore with a negative rate of return of 4.46% tnn
The Ladakh Autnomous Hill Development Council, Leh, in its proposed greater Leh master plan for next 30 years, has already emphasized on the detailed sector-wise projections. The Rs 414 crore future plan has already defined the land use for future projects including proposed sites for the construction of railway stations and tracks in the areas for the proposed Kullu-Manali-Leh rail line.
@anant_s @Abingdonboy @Bombaywalla @Nilgiri
Vizag metro project accepted by central and state governments by PPP method
Project cost 13k crores
Central funds 20%
State funds 20%
Remaining from private entities
3 corridors 45 kms
Builder dmrc
Entire corridor will be elevated!
Just require 5 acres of land acquisition!
http://www.eenadu.net/district/inner.aspx?dsname=Visakhapatnam&info=vsp-top1
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