Indian Economy-News & Updates

[RISING SUN]

WB Board approves USD 175 mm hydrology project
The World Bank Board has approved the USD 175 million project which will strengthen capacity of institutions to assess water situation in their regions and reduce vulnerability to recurring flood and droughts.

The National Hydrology Project will now scale up the successes achieved under HP-I and HP-II to cover the entire country, including the states of Ganga, and Brahmaputra-Barak basins, said the Washington headquartered multi-lateral lending agency in a release.

The project, will build on the success of the Hydrology Project-I and Hydrology Project-II, under which, for the first time, real-time flood forecast systems integrated with weather forecast in two large river systems (Krishna and Satluj-Beas) to give reservoir managers an accurate picture of the water situation in their region.

“Apart from helping states that have already benefited from the earlier two projects to further upgrade and complete their monitoring networks, it will help new states to better manage water flows from the reservoirs,” the release said.

Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) have already been signed between the central government and the states to integrate and establish the National Water Informatics Center. National Flood Forecasting Systems with an advance warning system and reservoir operation systems as well as water resources accounting in river basins will be included under the project.

“This project has the potential to help communities to plan in advance to build resilience against possible uncertainties of climate change,” said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India.

With rainfall in India being highly seasonal and 50 per cent of precipitation falling in just 15 days and over 90 per cent of river flows in just four months, the country continues to be water-stressed and is faced with the challenge of managing its water needs amidst recurring floods and drought.

The project will also help the states monitor all the important aspects of the hydro-meteorological cycle and adopt the procedures laid out in the earlier projects like measure how much rain or snow has fallen right in the catchments of rivers, how much silt has built up, and how much water will reach the reservoir.

Sensors in the field will instantly transmit this information to data centers through satellite or mobile phone technology, enabling managers to form a clear picture of the water situation unfolding in their region, the release said.

“Based on our experience over the last 20 years in establishing Hydrological Information Systems in southern India and in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, both national and state governments are now committed to an integrated river basin planning and management.

“This Project responds to this demand by extending its reach to cover the entire country,” said Anju Gaur, Senior Water Resources Specialist and World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the project.

The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 23 years.
http://www.india.com/news/agencies/wb-board-approves-usd-175-mm-hydrology-project-1931711/

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Railways
21-March, 2017 16:46 IST
Minister of Railways Chairs Round Table Conference To Improve The Quality of Catering Services on Indian Railways

Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu chaired the Round Table Conference on improving the Quality of Catering Services provided over Indian Railways. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A. K. Mital, Member Traffic Railway Board Shri Mohd Jamshed, other Railway Board Members, Representatives from the Food and beverage industry, other Govt. agencies viz FDA, QCI, NABCB, Food craft institute etc., SHGs and IRCTC were also present on the occasion.


Speaking on the occasion, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said, “The whole idea behind Round Table Conference is to take along the experts of the field. We have the responsibility of implementing policies for which we require experts and professionals to provide best services. Railways is a big entity. All Socio Economic aspects are being covered by Railways. Reach of Railways is very large from education to sports to biodiversity. Railways is immensely benefitted from these Round table Conferences by experts from different fields. Indian Railways want to get your ideas. The criterions of the policy are transparency, participative, durable and friendly to passengers and good quality. He also said that, All these activity should result in win win policy. Railways should think of solutions in Indian Context and have roadmap for future. Indian Railways is also open for professional in catering sector throughout India.

Background:

Indian Railways provide 11 lakh meals (approx) to passengers every day. The catering service in Railways is provided either through departmentally managed catering arrangements or through private licenses - Pantry Cars, Train Side Vending, E-Catering and through static units such as Food Plaza, Fast Food Units, AVMs etc.

Approximately 90% of mobile unit and 96% of static units are operated through private licenses. The licenses are given to the highest technically eligible bidder. The license model generates high license fee, however, there have been number of complaints by the end users i.e. passenger on account of poor quality, inadequate quantity, over-charging, staff misbehavior etc. In order to achieve the objective of improving quality of catering services in Indian Railways and establishing good governance standard railways proposes to tackle the problems identified through unbundling of catering services by distinguishing between food preparation and food distribution and by partnering with reputed players in the food and beverage industry.



Agenda of round table conference

● Brief on current state of catering services over Indian Railways

● Presentation by IRCTC entailing the road map that it proposes to follow in order to address the issues of catering services over Indian Railways.

● Mechanism in which Railways and IRCTC shall partner with reputed players in the food and beverage industry to improve the quality of catering service and enhance customer satisfaction.

● Proliferation of e-catering by integration of reputed food chain.

● Infusing modern technology in food preparation and food distribution by working out the complete supply chain model.

● Evolving mechanism to actively engage end users i.e. rail passengers in up-gradation of catering services through a robust feedback system. The feedback of passengers shall be linked to the performance report of the Agency managing the catering services.

● Discussion on new catering policy 2017

Participants

● Representatives from the Food and beverage industry

● Representatives of other Govt. agencies viz FDA, QCI, NABCB, Food craft institute etc.

● Representatives from SHGs.

● Railway board members and officials.

● IRCTC

Outcome

● To integrate and collate the ideas emerging out of this immersive session and crafting an action plan to implement them.

● To come up with suggestions/feedback to ensure provision and availability of quality, hygienic and wholesome food to passengers on Indian Railways

● New Catering Policy segregates making of food and distribution of food. Railways wishes to set up base kitchens in different locations at a distance of two to three hours so that train may pick up warm food. The distribution of food shall be looked by experts in Hospitality. Railways shall also devise foolproof system of catering because some black sheep spoil the entire exercise.

*******

The Union Minister for Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu chairing the Round Table Conference on improving the Quality of Catering Services provided over Indian Railways, in New Delhi on March 21, 2017. The Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A.K. Mital and the Member Traffic, Railway Board, Shri Mohd. Jamshed are also seen.

The Union Minister for Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu chairing the Round Table Conference on improving the Quality of Catering Services provided over Indian Railways, in New Delhi on March 21, 2017.

 

[Tshering22]

Interesting. River cruises are becoming quite popular in the whole subcontinent. Even the middle class can participate, (Bangladeshi example).

Image rights MirzaZeehan

Once our rivers are transformed into clean waterways, the potential of intra-regional river transport is almost limitless. BBIN will stand to benefit from this a lot.

Also, please sign the Open Skies policy in the next BIMSTEC meeting; it will free all airline restrictions between BIMSTEC countries.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Railways
24-March, 2017 17:04 IST
Net Profit of IRCTC

The net profit of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has grown to ₹ 189 crore in Financial Year 2015-16 as against ₹ 131 crore in Financial Year 2014-15. It is a growth of 44%.

During the year 2015-16, a total of ₹ 24,023 crore has been collected towards the sale of train tickets through IRCTC portal.

The revenue is generated from the following activities:- (i) Service charges on internet tickets (ii) Sales of Rail Neer packaged water (iii) Sales of on-board catering services. (iv) License fee from outsourced catering vendors. (v) Revenue from tourism services.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 24.03.2017 (Friday).

****

Ministry of Railways
24-March, 2017 16:59 IST

Steps taken by Railways for Security and Safety

Policing on Railways being a State subject, prevention of crime, registration of cases, their investigation and maintenance of law & order in Railway premises as well as on running trains and security of railway tracks, tunnels & bridges are the statutory responsibility of the State Governments, which they discharge through Government Railway Police (GRP)/Civil Police. However, Railway Protection Force (RPF) supplements the efforts of GRP by providing better protection and security of passenger area and passengers and for matters connected therewith.

Besides, the following steps are also being taken by the Railways to provide security:

1. Proper coordination at all levels is being maintained by the Railways with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), State Governments, Central/State Intelligence Agencies and State Police/GRP authorities for security of railway infrastructure including railway tracks and stations over Indian Railways. The security agencies responsible for the track protection have been requested to take appropriate steps to prevent track sabotage cases.

2. Security Help Line number 182 is made operational over Indian Railways for security related assistance to passengers in distress.

3. An Integrated Security System consisting of surveillance of vulnerable stations through Close Circuit Television Camera Network, Access Control etc. has been sanctioned to improve surveillance mechanism over 202 railway stations.

4. On vulnerable and indentified routes/sections, 2500 trains (on an average) are escorted by RPF daily, in addition to 2200 trains escorted by GRP of different States daily.

5. Sniffer Dog Squads are utilized at some important stations for anti-sabotage checks.

6. Minister of Railways held a video conference with the Director Generals/Commissioners of Police of all States/Union Territories for improving passenger safety, security of tracks and railway property.

. Safety is accorded the highest priority by Indian Railways and all possible steps are undertaken on a continual basis including upgradation of technology to prevent trains accidents and to enhance safety. These include complete track circuiting of stations, Axle Counter for Automatic clearance of Block Section Counters (BPAC), Electrical/Electronic Interlocking System, Interlocking of Level Crossing Gates, Auxiliary Warning System (AWS), Vigilance Control Device (VCD) in locomotives, Colour Light LED Signals, Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), Fog Safe Device (FSD), use of 60kg rails and Pre-stressed Concrete Sleepers, long rail panels, better welding technology in the tracks, digital types of machines for Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD), electronic monitoring of tracks using Track Recording Cars (TRC) and portable Oscillation Monitoring System (OMS), progressive use of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, Centre Buffer Couplers in Integral Coach Factory (ICF) design coaches, Remote Monitoring and Management of Locomotives and Trains (REMMLOT), Air Conditioning (AC) of locomotive cabs and Installation of video/voice recording system of locomotives.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 24.03.2017 (Friday).

****

 

[wiseone2]

what is impact of demonetization on real estate ?

 

[Hindustani78]

Double track and bridge construction work in progress, at Srirangapattana Railway Station, Mandya. DH File Photo

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/603098/short-track-railways-eyes-private.html

Indian Railways is considering ending state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd's (SAIL) virtual monopoly on supplying steel for standard rail tracks, opening up annual purchases worth up to $700 million to the private sector, people close to the matter told Reuters.

The vast state rail operator is undergoing a $130 billion, five-year overhaul to modernise the world's fourth-largest network, which is blighted by ageing track and saturated capacity.

The government has also launched a $15 billion fund to improve rail safety. Train accidents due to track defects have risen 25 percent in the last two years, the railway ministry told parliament last week. (http://bit.ly/2nk5uZb)

In the current fiscal year, SAIL is set to fall around 250,000 tonnes of rails short of its 850,000 tonne target, according to the company's data - its eighth shortfall in 10 years, and its biggest.

SAIL executives said a sudden jump in demand for steel - up 45 percent since 2015 - to replace old tracks and lay new ones meant it was struggling to meet production targets. The company said the launch this year of a long-delayed new rolling mill at its main plant at Bhilai, in eastern India, would boost its capacity by around 100,000 tonnes.

Losing even a small part of its sales to the railways - its top customer - would be a blow to SAIL, which has lost money in seven straight quarters.

"SAIL's performance has been very poor and given that we have a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), any failure will not be appreciated," a government official said, quoting from a Jan. 11 letter from the railways to the steel ministry that oversees SAIL, threatening to sever a deal to buy rails almost exclusively from the company.

Two other government officials confirmed the railways' threat. All three officials declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The rails shortfall has slowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to revamp the network, and highlights how his infrastructure investment drive is forcing government units to get tough on suppliers.

The biggest likely winner from opening up to private suppliers is Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, which has already exported rails to Iran and has tried for years to muscle in on SAIL's business.

Jindal Steel wrote to Indian Railways on March 6, offering to step in, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. A spokesman for Jindal Steel said the firm was keen to help the railways with steel for its modernisation.

INFRASTRUCTURE RAMP-UP

The railways are already looking at bringing in alternative suppliers gradually by issuing new tenders for rails.

"Even after giving sufficient time to SAIL if the shortfall continues, the ministry of railways may explore the possibility of outsourcing some supplies," Indian Railways spokesman Anil Kumar Saxena said.

Modi has made increased infrastructure spending a key part of his economic plans since coming to power in 2014. State expenditure on roads and rails is at a record high.

"We need more steel because we are increasing laying of lines, gauge conversion and completing a backlog of work," said A.K. Mittal, the railways' board member in charge of track procurement. "We have seen a shortfall in the last year because of some issues at Bhilai. The existing rolling machine is an old one."

Two steel ministry officials said SAIL has offered to import 150,000-200,000 tonnes of rails to fill this year's shortfall. But ministry officials had noted there was nothing to stop the railways themselves importing, and cutting out SAIL, one of the two officials said.

A ministry spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

 

[Soumitra]

Double track and bridge construction work in progress, at Srirangapattana Railway Station, Mandya. DH File Photo

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/603098/short-track-railways-eyes-private.html

Indian Railways is considering ending state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd's (SAIL) virtual monopoly on supplying steel for standard rail tracks, opening up annual purchases worth up to $700 million to the private sector, people close to the matter told Reuters.

The vast state rail operator is undergoing a $130 billion, five-year overhaul to modernise the world's fourth-largest network, which is blighted by ageing track and saturated capacity.

The government has also launched a $15 billion fund to improve rail safety. Train accidents due to track defects have risen 25 percent in the last two years, the railway ministry told parliament last week. (http://bit.ly/2nk5uZb)

In the current fiscal year, SAIL is set to fall around 250,000 tonnes of rails short of its 850,000 tonne target, according to the company's data - its eighth shortfall in 10 years, and its biggest.

SAIL executives said a sudden jump in demand for steel - up 45 percent since 2015 - to replace old tracks and lay new ones meant it was struggling to meet production targets. The company said the launch this year of a long-delayed new rolling mill at its main plant at Bhilai, in eastern India, would boost its capacity by around 100,000 tonnes.

Losing even a small part of its sales to the railways - its top customer - would be a blow to SAIL, which has lost money in seven straight quarters.

"SAIL's performance has been very poor and given that we have a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), any failure will not be appreciated," a government official said, quoting from a Jan. 11 letter from the railways to the steel ministry that oversees SAIL, threatening to sever a deal to buy rails almost exclusively from the company.

Two other government officials confirmed the railways' threat. All three officials declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The rails shortfall has slowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plans to revamp the network, and highlights how his infrastructure investment drive is forcing government units to get tough on suppliers.

The biggest likely winner from opening up to private suppliers is Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, which has already exported rails to Iran and has tried for years to muscle in on SAIL's business.

Jindal Steel wrote to Indian Railways on March 6, offering to step in, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. A spokesman for Jindal Steel said the firm was keen to help the railways with steel for its modernisation.

INFRASTRUCTURE RAMP-UP

The railways are already looking at bringing in alternative suppliers gradually by issuing new tenders for rails.

"Even after giving sufficient time to SAIL if the shortfall continues, the ministry of railways may explore the possibility of outsourcing some supplies," Indian Railways spokesman Anil Kumar Saxena said.

Modi has made increased infrastructure spending a key part of his economic plans since coming to power in 2014. State expenditure on roads and rails is at a record high.

"We need more steel because we are increasing laying of lines, gauge conversion and completing a backlog of work," said A.K. Mittal, the railways' board member in charge of track procurement. "We have seen a shortfall in the last year because of some issues at Bhilai. The existing rolling machine is an old one."

Two steel ministry officials said SAIL has offered to import 150,000-200,000 tonnes of rails to fill this year's shortfall. But ministry officials had noted there was nothing to stop the railways themselves importing, and cutting out SAIL, one of the two officials said.

A ministry spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

Good we require diversity. Jindal, Tata, L&T anyone can provide good quality steel for the railways. They may even give it faster

 

[Hindustani78]

Good we require diversity. Jindal, Tata, L&T anyone can provide good quality steel for the railways. They may even give it faster

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL) — in allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

The Jindal group companies have maintained that the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block was never mined and, therefore, there could have been be no loss to the exchequer in terms of revenue lost, that the allotment was cancelled in 2014 by the Supreme Court when it quashed allotment of 214 coal blocks made between 1993 and 2010.

 

[ranjeet]

https://twitter.com/x/status/845589838879309824

 

[RISING SUN]

what is impact of demonetization on real estate ?

It's bad but builders have deep pockets so they are holding thinking in near future there will be jump in sales. However financial sector suffered badly during this period. After shocks were very deep however March first week onwards inflows are beyond current capacity to absorb this much pressure. One added advantage for us is that number of holidays are higher so it gets cleared by utilizing this period. Most people don't know but banks backend ops team works even on holidays including Sunday.

 

[wiseone2]

It's bad but builders have deep pockets so they are holding thinking in near future there will be jump in sales. However financial sector suffered badly during this period. After shocks were very deep however March first week onwards inflows are beyond current capacity to absorb this much pressure. One added advantage for us is that number of holidays are higher so it gets cleared by utilizing this period. Most people don't know but banks backend ops team works even on holidays including Sunday.

real estate is overvalued based on income
i hear fresh graduates are not getting jobs in the IT field. It does not bode well.

 

[RISING SUN]

real estate is overvalued based on income
i hear fresh graduates are not getting jobs in the IT field. It does not bode well.

I was IT graduate myself however couldn't find the suitable job in 2010, so changed track towards management. Now leading the team in manufacturing company from payment industry.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...igarh-digni-rail-corridor/article17665163.ece

₹771-cr. project to handle freight traffic of 12 million tonnes
Panaji: A 33.7-km railway corridor, connecting Jaigarh Port to Digni station of the Konkan Railway, is set to become a reality. Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Chief Minister, Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways, and Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Transport and Ports, on Saturday laid the foundation stone for the Jaigarh-Digni rail link.

The project has been conceptualised by the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) under a joint venture (JV) model of the Rail Participative Policy promulgated by the Ministry of Railways.

The JV company has been formed as Jaigarh Digni Rail Limited (JDRL), in which JSW Jaigarh Port Limited (JSWJPL), KRCL, and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) are the shareholders. The PPP project will be implemented by JSW Infrastructure, an arm of JSW Group, which will hold 63% share, KRCL 26%, and the MMB remaining 11% share.

The special purpose vehicle executing the project has been named Jaigarh Digni Rail Ltd., said L. K. Verma, public relation officer of KRCL, on Saturday.

JSWJPL, an arm of JSW Infrastructure Limited, signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Ministry of Railways through KRCL on June 28, 2015. JSWJPL will develop this project under PPP model for development, operation, and maintenance. The estimated cost of the project is ₹771 crore, which is being funded through a combination of equity and debt.

The alignment for this new rail line passes through the difficult terrain of Sahyadri mountains which would necessitate construction of about 18-km-long tunnels. The estimated time of completion is 30 months, and the corridor is expected to handle a freight traffic of around 12 million tonnes per annum to and from Jaigarh Port.

On completion, this project will help the company haul commodities from Jaigarh Port to the Konkan Railway, and will bring a socio-economic change in the region by creating more jobs, said Mr. Verma.

 

[wiseone2]

It's official: Apple will make iPhones in India at Bengaluru facility
TNN | Feb 3, 2017, 02.59 AM IST
It's official: Apple will make iPhones in India at Bengaluru facility
BENGALURU: It's official. Apple will soon have `Made in India' iPhones, and they will come out of a factory in Bengaluru. The Karnataka government on Thursday issued a release welcoming Apple's proposal "to commence initial manufacturing operations" in the state. TOI was the first to report, in December+ , that Apple had finalized Bengaluru as the assembling location, but officials in neither Apple nor the government were then willing to confirm the development.

The release, signed by state IT minister Priyank Kharge, said Apple's intentions to manufacture in Bengaluru "will foster cutting edge technology ecosystem and supply chain development in the state, which are critical for India to compete globally." Though it did not provide a timeline, production is expected to begin in June.

India will be only the third country globally to assemble iPhones, an indication of how important the country has become for one of the world's most valued companies.

The release said state ministers and officials had met with several senior Apple executives including Cupertino-based Priya Balasubramaniam, VP - iPhone operations, Dheeraj Chugh, director - iPhone operations, and Ali Khanafer, senior manager - government affairs (India and Middle East).
Taiwanese company Wistron, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Apple, will make the iPhones out of its facility in the city's industrial hub of Peenya. In December, Apple had published job openings on its portal for several positions at its OEM in Bengaluru, including an iPhone operations program manager whose responsibility would involve leading the OEM operations team, managing component readiness, ensuring parts availability, quality and collaborating with cross-functional supply chain teams.

The government said discussions are on with Apple for collaborations in other areas too. It did not specify what these areas are, but the government is said to be pushing for manufacture of some phone components too, so as to create a manufacturing ecosystem in the city.

In May, Apple had announced a design and development accelerator in the city to grow the iOS developer community and also guide Indian developers to leverage Apple's programming language Swift and build apps for Apple TV and Apple Watch.

"We made concerted efforts to reach out to Apple directly. We want to create a conducive environment for global majors like Apple so that we emerge as their preferred partner in their India growth story," Kharge told TOI. Gujarat, Maharasthra and Telangana too were competing for the Apple facility.

Apple uses a fairly complex supply chain. The parts for the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac are manufactured, mostly by third parties, across 28 countries. It has 766 suppliers, of which 346 are based in China, 126 in Japan, and 69 in the US. There is one in India, a unit of Flextronics in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

"There is no component ecosystem in the country besides what Samsung has done in India. With Apple's China sales slowing down, it's opportunity India, and Apple might look at a different SKU, distribution and sourcing model to make it affordable to millions of aspiring customers," said Navkendar Singh, senior research manager - mobile devices research, India and South Asia, in research firm IDC.


Vishal Tripathi, research director in Gartner, said the move to assemble in Bengaluru is a good starting point that positions India as a strong alternative site to China and Taiwan that have been strongholds in manufacturing. "It has put India in a different stead," he said.

 

[RISING SUN]

BEML Wins Contract to Convert Bangalore Metro Trains into 6-Coaches
Bangalore-based BEML Ltd. yesterday announced that it had won a Rs 1,421-crore contract from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) for supplying 150 intermediate metro coaches. These coaches will be used to convert the existing 3-coach 50 train fleet into 6-coach formations to provide more capacity & convenience to commuters on the Purple and Green lines on which roughly 30 trains are currently being operated.

The BMRCL had invited bids for this contract in October 2016 after the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) approved its funding, and the award of this contract to BEML shouldn’t really come as a surprise as the new coaches have to be compatible with the existing 150 coaches which were supplied by the BRMM consortium led by BEML between October 2010 – May 2014. Due to those technical compatibility reasons, BEML was also the only bidder for the contract.

Press Release by BEML:

BEML Limited, a Public Sector Mini Ratna Category-I Company under the Ministry of Defence and the premier manufacturer of Metro Cars, has bagged a prestigious order of Rs. 1421 Crore from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation for supply of 150 sets of Intermediate Metro Cars to augment the existing 3 Car Trains supplied by BEML to 6 Car trains.

An agreement to this effect was signed. Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, Managing Director, BMRCL and Shri Deepak Kumar Hota, Chariman and Managing Director, BEML have exchanged Contract Agreements. Shri Aniruddh Kumar, Director, Rail & Metro Business of BEML was also present on the occassion. The supply of Intermediate Metro Cars to BMRCL shall commence from July 2018 and to be completed by December 2019. – link to press release

Technical Specification

• Current 3-coach train composition: DMC-TC-DMC
• Future 6-coach train composition: DMC-TC-MC + MC-TC-DMC
For reference, DMC = Driving Motor Car ; MC = Motor Car ; TC = Trailer Car

As per the BMRCL’s notice inviting tenders – of the 150 new coaches, 63 will be supplied to the Purple Line (Challegata-Whitefield) for converting 21 3-coach trains into 6-coach trains while 87 will be supplied to the Green line (BIEC-Anjanapura Township) for converting 29 3-coach trains into 6 coach trains. These numbers could change in the future as per ridership demand, after which the BMRCL can choose to move coaches on top of trailers via ground transport or simply utilize the 210m rake interchange line at Majestic Station which connects the Green & Purple lines.

Bangalore Metro train – Photo Source: Churumuri

Although the press release mentions that deliveries will commence in July 2018, the first 6-coach train for commercial revenue service is expected to be pressed into service only towards the end of 2018 or early 2019 as the train & sub-systems would first have to be tested at one of the BMRCL’s depots followed by testing on the main-line during non-revenue hours. BEML is currently also fulfilling orders for Kolkata Metro’s Line-2 and Delhi Metro’s Blue & Red lines, and with a fixed production capacity at their facility, I expect the last 6-coach train to be put into service only in 2021.

On a related note – this year the BMRCL is expected to invite bids for procuring new trains for Phase 2’s new lines: Line-3 (RV Road – Bommasandra) and Line-4 (Nagawara-Gottigere). Trains for that contract are expected to consist of 6-coaches from the onset.
http://themetrorailguy.com/2017/03/...onvert-bangalore-metro-trains-into-6-coaches/