Indian Railways Thread (Dec 2015)

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 03 Aug 2018 19:53

Is this 5 lane or 3 lanes? What are the side rails for?

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 04 Aug 2018 10:44

I am not really sure where exactly this photo was taken. It could be near a yard as the DFC line would split into loop lines or shunting lines for the wagons and containers to be directed to parking yards.

I think vsunder would be the best person to shed more light on this.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 06 Aug 2018 17:13

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... deliveries
Coal Stockpiles Clog Up Indian Ports Amid Rail-Car Shortage

A Nandy · Post by **A Nandy** » 11 Aug 2018 13:33

Exide Ltd plans to turn Haldia into battery-making hub in South East Asia

Chatterjee said the nickle-cadmium batteries are targeted for use in bullet trains, the first of which is scheduled to come up between Ahmedabad and Mumbai by 2023.

"We have a technical tie-up with Furukawa of Japan, which supplies batteries to Hitachi for bullet trains. So, I find no reason Furukawa will not source batteries from us," he said.

https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 911_1.html

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 14 Aug 2018 18:37

Almost 800 km of the Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor is set to open this fiscal, with the remaining stretch of 1,500 km to be commissioned next year.

The project is only 50 per cent complete in terms of civil and electrical works, according to an official source.

However, the “percentage progress” does not mean the project cannot be completed by next year, as a lot of time was taken for project preparation, the source said. Against its earlier plan to open the entire network at one go, the Railways has now decided to open it in phases.

The first phase of about 200 km — between Ateli (in Haryana’s Mahendragarh district) and Phulera (near Jaipur) — will be opened later this month. It will use diesel engines, as the North Western Railway is not yet electrified.

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL), the infrastructure owner and manager, has handed over this set of tracks to the Railways, the operator. The Prime Minister, in his Independence Day speech, is likely to talk about this development, said an official. The government’s move to bring into effect the new land acquisition law had Railway officials in a quandary over the extent of compensation to be paid to each land-owner.

Land acquisition
The total land acquisition cost also doubled to ₹16,000 crore from the initial estimate of ₹8,000 crore after the new law came into force. This prompted a tweak in the routes.

The initial plan was to build new tracks away from the existing ones. After the new Act came in, to rein in land costs and prevent disputes, the Railways decided to build the freight corridor closer to the existing tracks.

Though many of these tracks run through railway stations — which could cause further project delays — the plan on the whole reduced complications as a lot of land parcels were already owned by the Railways, and DFCCIL could bypass negotiations.

More hurdles

Removing the level crossings proved another major challenge as several locals were opposed to it. The Railways involved the local governments to overcome this hurdle.

As it happens with most infrastructure projects, there were disputes on land acquisition, and with numerous contractors. “One of the big challenges was to ensure the bills were paid to contractors within the contract rules,” said a source.

The cost of the project, conceptualised in 2006, rose from the estimated ₹28,000 crore to about ₹81,000 crore, which was approved by the Cabinet.

The cost of funds from Japanese agency JICA and the World Bank also soared, effectively increasing the interest cost of loan repayment, which the Centre will have to bear.

Removing the level crossings proved a major challenge as the locals opposed the move

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ec ... 682411.ece

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 20 Aug 2018 07:44

Sharpest Rise in Spending by Indian Railways reflect Centre’s priority to revamp Rail Infrastructure

20 Aug 2018

Of the Top-10 ministries in terms of spending, six including Railways, Rural Development, Roads and Highways and Agriculture registered handsome increases in expenditure in the first quarter of FY19.

NEW DELHI: Of the top ten ministries in terms of spending capacity, six including rural development, roads and highways, agriculture and railways registered handsome increases in expenditure in the first quarter of FY19, reflecting the Central Government’s priority areas and its continuing stress on public expenditure to prop up economic growth.

On a year-on-year basis, the budgetary spending increase in the April-June 2018 quarter was the sharpest for the Indian Railways (133%) and the ministry of roads and highways or MoRTH (58.5%).

Of course, the relevant sectors also spend substantial amounts raised via borrowings from the market and institutional sources (for instance, of the railways’ capital spending, over 60% is from extra-budget resources and MoRTH/NHAI gets less than a third of its investible funds from the Union Budget).

Among the other ministries which are conventionally high spenders, chemicals and fertilisers, human resource development and food & consumer affairs saw their spending decline from a year ago in the June quarter (see chart)— in case of the first two ministries, the curbs being imposed on subsidies (Q1FY18 saw more-than-usual releases of subsidies) led to reduced spending. Expenditure on major subsidies (food, fertiliser and fuel) declined 16% y-o-y in the Q1FY19.

The Centre’s budgetary capital expenditure in April-June 2018 stood at Rs 86,988 crore, 27% higher than the same in the year-ago quarter and 29% of the full-year target.

Among the other ministries, power ministry spent 53% of its annual budget allocation in the first quarter compared to just 19% of the corresponding target in the year-ago period. Similarly, the textiles ministry spent 44% and the drinking water and sanitation ministry spent 42% of its respective FY19 targets in the June quarter compared with 19% and 25%, respectively, a year ago.

The housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry, which administers the Pradha Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), could spend only 23% of the budget in Q1 this year compared to 43% a year ago.

While the Centre’s spending, especially capex, is strong, the state governments seem to have applied brakes on their capex to curb borrowings and remain on the fiscal consolidation path. Data review of 14 states show that their aggregate capex in April-June this fiscal was Rs 30,922 crore, just 11% of the combined annual target and 19% lower than what was achieved in the year-ago period.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 28 Aug 2018 17:31

Indian Railways new dwarf containers have 67% more volume; could be a game-changer in capturing high-end traffic.

A standard 8x8x40 feet ISO container does not make use of the 4-feet additional height available up to the 25kV OHE catenary wires, but a double-stacked dwarf container service does so, enabling almost 30% savings in freight charges. This could prove to be a game-changer for the Railways, winning back bulky low-density traffic such as plastic granules, white goods, FMCG products, PVC fabric, even automobiles.

New ‘dwarf’ containers are lower in height by 662-mm (26 inches) and wider by 162-mm (6.3 inches) than standard ISO containers. Inside space has been maximised by adopting FRP (fibreglass reinforced plastic) flooring—only 9-mm thick, as against ISO’s 28-mm thick hardboard flooring.

The ‘dwarf’ container provides 67% increase in volume when double-stacked and can carry a weight of 71 tonnes, against 40 tonnes by an ISO container. This maximises the available envelope of moving dimensions under the catenary as well as the permissible axle load.

The saga of the ‘dwarf’ began in 2006 when Kumar was on deputation to the Pipavav Rail Corporation, a JV company of Indian Railways, when he conceptualised running of double-stack ISO containers only on non-electrified sections since it would permit a height of 19-feet from rail. These trains have been running on the Rewari-Pipavav/Mundra non-electrified route for almost a decade now. The idea of ‘dwarf’ container was soon born, which Kumar designed with elongated corner castings so that the standard locking arrangement on container flat wagons could be used, even when the container is wider. So far, 90 units have been made, 180 more are on order, and the tally could reach over 2,000.

A Nandy · Post by **A Nandy** » 01 Sep 2018 10:04

https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... 2-5333789/

Construction of the High-Speed Training Institute, an integral part of the bullet train project, is underway in Vadodara. The Rs 600 cr project of building the institute is crucial because as per the agreement with the Japanese, continuous training of manpower in the technical efficiency of the Shinkansen is essential to run the system smoothly. By 2023, around 3,500 manpower needs to be ready with adequate skills so that the system can roll out.

Already around 1,500 Indian officials have received short-term training from Japan and about 60 have received long-term on-the-job training there. Another batch for long-term training will leave in October. The training institute with facilities for 334 beds and 166 rooms also has a 50-meter track of the bullet train for simulation.

In February 2019, two floors of the five-storey hostel building will be ready. Currently, the campus site is full of around 100 labourers and heavy engineering equipment working to meet the deadline. “We’re on schedule and start from two floors in February,” said Pradeep Ahirkar, Chief Project Manager (Vadodara), NHSRCL.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 05 Sep 2018 19:13

So which are those 18 bullet lines? Anyone?

https://swarajyamag.com/amp/story/insta ... -agreement

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 05 Sep 2018 19:29

E5 Series. That's their latest shinkansen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E5_Series_Shinkansen

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 05 Sep 2018 19:55

Hope they build animal crossing (over or under) if sound baffles walls up these tracks.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 05 Sep 2018 20:37

Very intelligent and thoughtful idea sir. Hope they think of it.

arvin · Post by **arvin** » 05 Sep 2018 21:15

Isnt tracks fully elevated with only a fraction on level and under ground. Sound baffles will be up on the bridge and may be only at places near human settlements.

ToT and assembly maybe indication that rest of diamond quadrilateral will also be shinkansen. No news on the feasibility studies on other routes though...

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 05 Sep 2018 21:32

SaiK wrote:So which are those 18 bullet lines? Anyone?

https://swarajyamag.com/amp/story/insta ... -agreement

They are just the train sets, not different lines.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 05 Sep 2018 22:41

Initial off-the-shelf order is for 18 trainsets but if there is going to be TOT and Japanese manufacturing plants chances are high the rest of the network will be Japanese. I think the Chinese thing didn't materialize and the Europeans don't have money or don't want to finance it.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 06 Sep 2018 07:34

Supratik wrote:Initial off-the-shelf order is for 18 trainsets but if there is going to be TOT and Japanese manufacturing plants chances are high the rest of the network will be Japanese. I think the Chinese thing didn't materialize and the Europeans don't have money or don't want to finance it.

Do Japanese have enough money to fund remaining lines? Total length of diamond quad comes to around 5500 km. So that's 11 lakh crores based on the project cost of Mum Ah'bad line.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Sep 2018 09:36

Karthik S wrote:Very intelligent and thoughtful idea sir. Hope they think of it.

Harish · Post by **Harish** » 08 Sep 2018 10:13

Suresh Prabhu has a weak memory - cannot recall complicated names like IRCTC - wants it renamed

To something shorter than 3 characters maybe. Maybe he should book a couple tickets on the portal. The experience (and the name) will stick around in his memory forever.

But since the mantri is likely to have his way, maybe we should come up with some sexy name for the national rail booking facility. Suggestions?

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 13 Sep 2018 08:03

84% Fewer Fatalities: How Indian Railways Recorded Best Safety Record in 5 Years

NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways has reported its best safety record in five years for the 12-month period from September 2017 to August 2018.

According to the official data, last year (September 2016-August 2017), a total of 80 train accidents occurred in India and they claimed 249 lives, while this year, the number shows a steep decline—the national transporter had to account for 40 deaths, which is an 84% reduction from last year.

Citing official data, a senior Railways official said, “Comparing the figures of the period between September 1, 2013 to August 31 2014, to that of the number between September 1 2017, to August 31, 2018, the fatality figures in collisions and derailments (whose causes the railways can address, according to the official) taken together have come down from 62 to 4—a 93 per cent reduction…”

The rest of the 36 deaths were due to mishaps at unmanned level crossings (UMLCs), manned level crossings, coach fire accidents and one has been registered under ‘miscellaneous.’

Elaborating on the number of injuries caused due to collisions and derailments, the official said that the number has come down from 272 last year to 12 this year.

Renewal of tracks on a large scale, regular safety reviews, improved safety training for staff as well as a close inspection of safety performance done between September 2016 and August 2017 are crucial factors that led to this favourable safety record.

The Railways has also started removing unmanned level crossings—1565 UMLCs were removed in 2017-18 and the railway official said that the plan is to remove 1600 more in the coming year.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 13 Sep 2018 08:08

CRB reviews progress of Bogibeel project ahead of CRS inspection planned in 2nd week of October

MALIGAON: The Bogibeel bridge will be ready for inspection by Commissioner of Railway Safety by 2nd week of October.

Zynda · Post by **Zynda** » 13 Sep 2018 09:43

Railways Ministry has been one of the visibly better performing entity in current admin. Not only wide scale infra improvement, project fruition pace and adoption of better rolling stock (I dunno why this wasn't done before but onlee recently did IR stop manufacturing of old ICF pax coaches in all its factories and switch over to outputting of LHB products). I hope they play it up during their election campaigns.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 13 Sep 2018 11:11

Guntur-Tenali track doubling nearing completion

[T]rack doubling on the Guntur-Tenali stretch is going on at a brisk pace and would be completed in the current financial year. New trains would be introduced after the project ends.
..
Electrification works in the Guntur-Guntakal railway line has been completed; works at the Nadikudi-Sri Kalahasti stretch is also in an advanced stage
..
Nadikudi-Srikalahasti railway line laying work is in progress and said that to speed up the work, they will start the work from Sri Kalahasti side also, he said that land acquisition was pending at Udayagiri in Nellore district

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 13 Sep 2018 11:14

Massive Railway & Metro Rail infra boost in UP; more cities to get Metro Rail

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the ‘Lucknow Metro Diwas’ said that after Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Noida, more cities will get metro connectivity. The Uttar Pradesh government decided to start metro services in Agra, Kanpur and Meerut cities by 2024 at a total estimated cost of Rs.50,000 crore. There would be two metro corridors in Agra, the Taj city, and the project will cost more than Rs.13,000 crore.

“The Kanpur project will have 31 stations and it will be 30-km-long costing over Rs.17,000 crore, while Meerut Metro project will be of 33 km costing over Rs.13,800 crore,” he said.

“During 2009-2014, Rs 5,500 crore were invested on new rail infrastructure in UP while Modi regime allocated Rs 27,000 crore for building facilities in the state by 2019,” said Goyal.

“During one estimate, it was determined that in 65 years since independence, rail infrastructure in UP increased only by 25% while the passenger load increased 15 times and freight demand grew by 12 times,” said railway minister.

So much for the oft-mentioned gripe that UP and Bihar get a favourable treatment from the Ministry of Railways

While inspecting the ongoing construction work at Gomtinagar railway station, Goyal said that the project is likely to be completed by 2020.

The project of remodelling the Gomtinagar railway station which includes construction of six tracks, 10 platforms, concourse halls, twostorey terminal building, foot overbridges, shopping mall, multilevel parking, connecting dedicated road for arriving and departing passengers, etc, would cost Rs 1,800 crore.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Sep 2018 11:19

as a coincidence i was in kanpur yesterday after a gap of 21 years.
terrible ramshackle infra - other than smoke belching phat phatties being replaced with cleaner 3 wheelers nothing much has changed
narrow crowded roads
railway level crossings still in 80s mode where box overpasses needed.
the ganga bridges looked small and weak
the army cantonment roads are only good area seen - taxis have to pay a fee to use.

lucknow looked a lot better from the air atleast with noida type planned new sectors and metro construction reached the airport.

I could not see one high std highway hotel in the 75kms from kanpur to lucknow.

maybe more touristy areas like delhi-agra and bodh gaya/varanasi have them.

rich people are flush with money there in big bmws and audis but government seems not so rich.

the old "naveen market" looked just its usual self...now with a new hotel towering over it behind.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 18 Sep 2018 21:29

New freight corridor in the works. I am not sure why this is not being extended to Chennai/TN which is the manufacturing and port hub in the south.

https://swarajyamag.com/insta/indian-ra ... 4000-crore

M_Joshi · Post by **M_Joshi** » 27 Sep 2018 23:31

New Train 18 of IR : 160 kmph top speed. TO be unveiled next month.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 05 Oct 2018 20:34

Train 18 test run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOepgH2 ... e=youtu.be

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 05 Oct 2018 21:22

The same old crappy ladder steps still in place? They couldn't design something better?

M_Joshi · Post by **M_Joshi** » 05 Oct 2018 23:03

Prasad wrote:The same old crappy ladder steps still in place? They couldn't design something better?

These are steps for maintenance crew I suppose. It will have automatic steps & automatic doors.

Yet another interesting feature of Train 18 would be its automatic doors and footsteps! Yes, you read it right, the automatic doors will come with the facility of a sliding footstep that will open when once the train arrives at the platform.

https://www.financialexpress.com/photos ... n-india/3/

nam · Post by **nam** » 06 Oct 2018 00:15

Call me cynical, the trainset is been produced by some other company and "assembled" in Chennai. They were removing the packaging, as if it arrived from another place.

M_Joshi · Post by **M_Joshi** » 06 Oct 2018 02:36

nam wrote:Call me cynical,

Dear Mr. Cynical,

the trainset is been produced by some other company and "assembled" in Chennai. They were removing the packaging, as if it arrived from another place.

The trainset is designed & manufactured by ICF, Chennai. For the covering on the rakes, they could be 'outsourced' from a vendor just like ICF cannot & does not manufacture 1000s of parts that goes into making them, like any manufacturing facility worldwide. Just like I-Phone XS was designed in US, screen & some chipset come from Taiwan, Jpaan & SK & final assembly with many other parts are done in China, thus you see 'Made in China' sticker. It's not that all the parts 100%, including mining of rare earth minerals that go in the I-Phone XS are done in Shenzhen Apple factory.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 06 Oct 2018 08:32

M_Joshi wrote:These are steps for maintenance crew I suppose. It will have automatic steps & automatic doors.

I can still fondly remember those days in the 70s and early '80s traveling in 2nd class and 3rd class coaches in IR, standing at open doors with face getting blackened by soot from the engine. Memories.

nam · Post by **nam** » 06 Oct 2018 13:23

M_Joshi wrote:The trainset is designed & manufactured by ICF, Chennai. For the covering on the rakes, they could be 'outsourced' from a vendor just like ICF cannot & does not manufacture 1000s of parts that goes into making them, like any manufacturing facility worldwide. Just like I-Phone XS was designed in US, screen & some chipset come from Taiwan, Jpaan & SK & final assembly with many other parts are done in China, thus you see 'Made in China' sticker. It's not that all the parts 100%, including mining of rare earth minerals that go in the I-Phone XS are done in Shenzhen Apple factory.

I have no problem with ICF outsourcing parts production. That should be the way. I do have problem with ICF importing major parts and labeling them as Indian made, like BEML does with Tatra.

If they are giving Indian manufacturers opportunity to be part of the supply chain, wonderful. We are investing in Metro left right and center. By now we should have had a private Indian company producing Indian designed and built trains. Instead we are no where. The Chinese took Japanese bullet train tech and went to town with it.

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 06 Oct 2018 13:26

nam wrote:Call me cynical, the trainset is been produced by some other company and "assembled" in Chennai. They were removing the packaging, as if it arrived from another place.

The Metro pillers being built next to my house also have such plastic wrapping after they are built during the night. In the morning when I see a new pillar erected, its wrapped in plastic. I wonder if they are built by some one else and just brought and put here in the darkness of the night.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Sridhar K · Post by **Sridhar K** » 06 Oct 2018 14:24

ICF has been manufacturing EMUs for donkeys years and now with LHB manufacturing capability, shouldnt it be much of a stretch to design and manufacture coaches like Train 18. The sheet metals, seats etc may have been sourced from 3rd parties which could be wrapped.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 06 Oct 2018 15:47

nam, imagine mobile phones. We used to buy largely from abroad. Now we assemble them in India. Next steps have been taken where we will produce them here soon. Final steps will be to manufacture components in India. That is how you build the ecosystem where you don't have IP. Same with LCA. Similarly train 18 is assembled from some parts designed or obtained from abroad. IR requirement is huge. Eventually it is going to be local. First let us get an international standard product.

Mukhi · Post by **Mukhi** » 06 Oct 2018 20:43

Would Admins be Ok if I start a seperate thread to monitor the progress of Bullet train?? Please advise.

Zynda · Post by **Zynda** » 06 Oct 2018 21:14

From SSC forum:

Pathetic! Indian Railways suffers losses as passengers steal towels, bedsheets, blankets from trains

In the last fiscal alone several items were stolen from long-distance trains including 1.95 lakh towels, 81,736 bedsheets, 55,573 pillow covers, 5,038 pillows and 7,043 blankets

Indian Railways passengers, it seems, will never learn! From vandalizing railway properties to stealing items from trains, so far, Indian Railways continues to face several challenges in maintaining its infrastructure. According to a Mumbai Mirror report, in the last fiscal alone several items were stolen from long-distance trains including 1.95 lakh towels, 81,736 bedsheets, 55,573 pillow covers, 5,038 pillows and 7,043 blankets. Sunil Udasi, CPRO Central Railway was quoted in the report saying that between the months of April and September this year, items worth Rs 62 lakh approximately were stolen including 79,350 hand towels, 27,545 bedsheets, 21,050 pillow covers, 2,150 pillows and 2,065 blankets.

Earlier this week, a Ratlam resident, Shabbir Rotiwala, who boarded a long-distance train from Bandra Terminus was arrested for stealing six bedsheets, three pillows and three blankets. He was travelling in an air-conditioned coach and was spotted stuffing the bed linens in his bag by the train attendants before alighting at Ratlam railway station, where he was arrested. According to railway sources quoted in the report, last fiscal, items worth Rs 2.5 crore were stolen excluding the damaged properties. They further stated that the cost of each bedsheet is Rs 132, while each towel costs Rs 22 and each pillow costs Rs 25.

Over the last three fiscals, Indian Railways had suffered a loss of nearly Rs 4,000 crore, thefts being one of the major reasons. Last year, on Tejas Express, whose cheapest ticket costs Rs 1,185, passengers stole its Jaguar fittings from toilets, headphones and also left several LED screens damaged. Not only that, last month it was reported that the vandalism and theft caused by passengers on Mumbai-Manmad Panchavati Express train, left Indian Railways with a repair bill of around Rs 9 lakh. The rake of that train had recently been upgraded with new swanky LHB coaches, but alas, passengers were careless while using the new amenities!

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 06 Oct 2018 22:28

Mukhi wrote:Would Admins be Ok if I start a seperate thread to monitor the progress of Bullet train?? Please advise.

Why not here..? Its fairly low traffic thread anyway.

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 06 Oct 2018 22:33

Zynda wrote:

Over the last three fiscals, Indian Railways had suffered a loss of nearly Rs 4,000 crore, thefts being one of the major reasons. Last year, on Tejas Express, whose cheapest ticket costs Rs 1,185, passengers stole its Jaguar fittings from toilets, headphones and also left several LED screens damaged. Not only that, last month it was reported that the vandalism and theft caused by passengers on Mumbai-Manmad Panchavati Express train, left Indian Railways with a repair bill of around Rs 9 lakh. The rake of that train had recently been upgraded with new swanky LHB coaches, but alas, passengers were careless while using the new amenities!

I heard from a regular traveller, that people simply damaged the Panchavati coaches because the did not like them. This is not act by ignorant people who do not know how to use things properly. It was deliberate vandalism. Its gonna take a long while before people will change their mentality.