Mass Rapid Transit in India

jamwal · Post by **jamwal** » 23 Dec 2010 12:31

Ask me. I can almost never book a train ticket from Dilli to Jammu even 10 days in advance.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 23 Dec 2010 15:30

jamwal wrote:Ask me. I can almost never book a train ticket from Dilli to Jammu even 10 days in advance.

Beat this. Train tickets from Bengaluru to Kerala have got filled up the day when reservations started (basically two months before the date of journey)

. Last year there was a huge wail from people when they found that reservations moved into REGRET state within half a day.

manish · Post by **manish** » 24 Dec 2010 09:25

A long time ago, in this very thread, I posted this bit about Mumbai's decision to go in for PRC buses when everyone else was going in for better/proven models by others.

manish wrote: Strangely, Mumbai's infra elements seem to keep coming out of China. First, BEST decided to go in for King Longs (badged Cerita) when everyone and his uncle was buying Tata-Marcopolo, AL and (India-built/assembled) Volvo B7RLEs. Heck, even private operators down south have given up on King Longs, so the decision was a bit baffling. At least NMMT went the Volvo way thankfully.

Mumbai's metro rolling stock too is coming out of China now instead of BEML or (again Indian-built/assembled) Bombardier ones.

BTW Reliance's reliance on Chinese stuff can be seen across the board. Chinese equipment for power generation, EPC, telecom equipment and now Metro Rail rakes. Apparently they are the single largest importer of Chinese made power equipment in India.

ADAG's 'success' seems to be built on Chinese made goods nowadays.

And now comes the news that BEST is having a load of trouble with its Chinese bus fleet.
BEST unhappy with its 248 Kinglong buses

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking seems to be regretting spending more than Rs 200 crore on China-made air-conditioned Kinglong buses. Members of the BEST committee, during their fortnightly meeting on Thursday, discussed how commuters had complained that these
purple buses were breaking down frequently.

There are 284 Kinglong buses in the BEST’s total fleet of 4,700. They were among the 1,000 buses the BEST bought under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

“We have received complaints that the driver of these buses halt before the start of the flyover and asks commuters to get down,” said Dilip Patel, a member of the BEST committee. Sunil Ganacharya, another member of the BEST committee, said, “Commuters say they are often asked to push the bus up flyovers.” There have also been cases of Kinglong buses catching fire or experiencing engine failures or problems with the radiator or clutch, BEST sources said.

Is it time to say we told you so? Thankfully BEST seems to have learnt from its mistakes and the recent addition of Volvo 8400s to the fleet seems to be the final nail in the coffin for the KLs there. Good riddance.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 24 Dec 2010 20:47

Sachin wrote:
jamwal wrote:Ask me. I can almost never book a train ticket from Dilli to Jammu even 10 days in advance.
Beat this. Train tickets from Bengaluru to Kerala have got filled up the day when reservations started (basically two months before the date of journey) . Last year there was a huge wail from people when they found that reservations moved into REGRET state within half a day.

1/2 day? took so long? chennai to coimbatore tickets for festivels gets booked under 10 mins

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 08 Jan 2011 09:18

New Metro Routes announced for Chennai in II Phase

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced that under the second phase of the Metro Rail, a project study would be taken up to establish links between Moolakkadai-Thirumangalam, Moolakkadai-Thiruvanmiyur and Luz-Poonamallee through Iyyappanthangal.

In his address to the State Assembly, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala said the earlier project was progressing at a fast pace and the government was taking efforts for its extension up to Tiruvottiyur at an estimated cost of Rs 3,001 crore.

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 08 Jan 2011 14:17

News is that the Airport Express of the Delhi Metro will make its first runs next week. It will have 4 stations, with two more in the offing. The train will run at 120 K. Currently, only Air India has agreed to start checking in at Connaught Place. Other airlines do not want to pay the high rent. Tickets will be 150.

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 08 Jan 2011 18:23

manish wrote:A long time ago, in this very thread, I posted this bit about Mumbai's decision to go in for PRC buses when everyone else was going in for better/proven models by others.
manish wrote: Strangely, Mumbai's infra elements seem to keep coming out of China. First, BEST decided to go in for King Longs (badged Cerita) when everyone and his uncle was buying Tata-Marcopolo, AL and (India-built/assembled) Volvo B7RLEs. Heck, even private operators down south have given up on King Longs, so the decision was a bit baffling. At least NMMT went the Volvo way thankfully.

Mumbai's metro rolling stock too is coming out of China now instead of BEML or (again Indian-built/assembled) Bombardier ones.

BTW Reliance's reliance on Chinese stuff can be seen across the board. Chinese equipment for power generation, EPC, telecom equipment and now Metro Rail rakes. Apparently they are the single largest importer of Chinese made power equipment in India.

ADAG's 'success' seems to be built on Chinese made goods nowadays.
And now comes the news that BEST is having a load of trouble with its Chinese bus fleet.
BEST unhappy with its 248 Kinglong buses
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking seems to be regretting spending more than Rs 200 crore on China-made air-conditioned Kinglong buses. Members of the BEST committee, during their fortnightly meeting on Thursday, discussed how commuters had complained that these
purple buses were breaking down frequently.

There are 284 Kinglong buses in the BEST’s total fleet of 4,700. They were among the 1,000 buses the BEST bought under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

“We have received complaints that the driver of these buses halt before the start of the flyover and asks commuters to get down,” said Dilip Patel, a member of the BEST committee. Sunil Ganacharya, another member of the BEST committee, said, “Commuters say they are often asked to push the bus up flyovers.” There have also been cases of Kinglong buses catching fire or experiencing engine failures or problems with the radiator or clutch, BEST sources said.
Is it time to say we told you so? Thankfully BEST seems to have learnt from its mistakes and the recent addition of Volvo 8400s to the fleet seems to be the final nail in the coffin for the KLs there. Good riddance.

china ka maal lo sasthe mein, baad mein pachtao pursat mein

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 09 Jan 2011 05:39

L&T eyes Rs 5,000 crore monorail project in Gujarat

After bagging contract for the country’s first monorail in Mumbai, construction major Larson & Tubro (L&T) is now eyeing a similar project in Gujarat.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect is likely to be signed at the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat 2011 Summit, state government sources said.

“L&T has expressed interest in a Rs 5,000 crore monorail project in Gujarat. The company will sign an MoU for the same during Vibrant Gujarat,” said company sources.
After tasting success with the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad, the Gujarat government has been working on a wholly-elevated metro rail project between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar at an estimated cost of Rs 7,000 crore. The state government has also set up a Rs 200-crore company for execution of the Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA), apart from roping in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the metro rail project.

With an average 50,000 people commuting between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar daily, the project is expected to ease rising congestion on the route.

During his last Budget speech, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had proposed to grant project import status to monorail projects for urban transport at a concessional basic duty of 5%

Meanwhile, L&T and Scomi Rail of Malaysia are likely to finish the first portion of the first line of the Mumbai Monorail, contracted by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 10 Jan 2011 16:56

After chennai , now gujarat , good

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 11 Jan 2011 16:29

B Rajaram to present paper on Gravity Power Towers at 13th APM-ATS in Paris

Our babus continue to ignore his inventions, while the world honours the technology man who patented an anti-collision device, made the Skybus and more recently the Gravity Power Towers

Rajaram Bojji, former chairman of Konkan Railway, never got a chance to implement his revolutionary Skybus project which would have provided inexpensive, air-conditioned mass transport without land acquisition! The idea, backed by 17 patents, was abandoned by Indian authorities despite a successful demonstration in Goa. But Mr Bojji, who is better known as B Rajaram, moved on to new research and has kicked off the
new year with a bang.

Automated People Movers and Transit Systems (APM-ATS) has accepted Mr Bojji's work on Gravity Power Towers (GPT) as a peer-reviewed paper to be presented at its 13th International Conference on 24 May 2011. The biannual international meeting is being held in Paris for all those involved in the development of fully-automated people movers and urban transit systems around the world.

How does a Gravity Power Tower transit system work? Forum members with some understanding may please help.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 11 Jan 2011 18:28

SSridhar wrote:New Metro Routes announced for Chennai in II Phase
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced that under the second phase of the Metro Rail, a project study would be taken up to establish links between Moolakkadai-Thirumangalam, Moolakkadai-Thiruvanmiyur and Luz-Poonamallee through Iyyappanthangal.

In his address to the State Assembly, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala said the earlier project was progressing at a fast pace and the government was taking efforts for its extension up to Tiruvottiyur at an estimated cost of Rs 3,001 crore.

A major fault I see in the metro plans is a lot of middle class people travel from say Avadi to Tambaram, OMR to Avadi, OMR to Tambaram, OMR to Poonamalee.The new metro in no way services the needs of such persons. Looking at the Metro Maps, somthing is funny, no metro along OMR, considering the real estate IT vity corridor int hat area why is it being left out?? looks like the Real estate mafia feels this area has been milked to the maximum?

Besides why cant MRTS be extended from Velacheery to Palavaram, that way people travelling to Tambaram or Palavaram to Tidel park, Mylapore would find it very convienient.

uskumar · Post by **uskumar** » 11 Jan 2011 21:02

Aditya_V wrote:
A major fault I see in the metro plans is a lot of middle class people travel from say Avadi to Tambaram, OMR to Avadi, OMR to Tambaram, OMR to Poonamalee.The new metro in no way services the needs of such persons.

I guess the Metro will go through Ambattur(Not far from Avadi) as per the below article.
Focus on Metro Rail's place in transportation grid

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 12 Jan 2011 10:30

uskumar wrote:
Aditya_V wrote:
A major fault I see in the metro plans is a lot of middle class people travel from say Avadi to Tambaram, OMR to Avadi, OMR to Tambaram, OMR to Poonamalee.The new metro in no way services the needs of such persons.
I guess the Metro will go through Ambattur(Not far from Avadi) as per the below article.
Focus on Metro Rail's place in transportation grid

Yes but the line is only to Moolakadal( probably with go near Ambattur Estate- Padi rather than AMbattur -OT), with normal train conneting to Paris, if you stay in Ambattur, how do you travel to Tambaram, Nungambakkam, Omr etc. If you want to travel to Mylapore, Tidel park Tirvanmuyur, the existing lines take you to Central or Beach and from there you can take the MRTS. What use is this METRO?? Seeing the present Metro alignment, I dont see it seriously reducing CHennai Traffic. The only line which I see having good traffic in the Mylapore-Poonamalee line.

The existing EMU and MRTS is better. What Chennai needs is a Metro on the Outer ring road alignment which should have common stations with the existing Beach- Tirvottyur- ennore, Chengalpattu- Beach and MRTS. Also Metro should cover OMR. Otherwise it seems to be a big waste.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 12 Jan 2011 10:43

How do you expect to cover OMR, where are you going to put the line? Also existing MRTS will be taken over by metro. So all you will have is Chennai Metro

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 12 Jan 2011 10:46

Extend the Line From Trivamuyur- opposite Tidel park to cover OMR.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 12 Jan 2011 10:52

I dont think its possible. I take OMR daily , and the kind of constructions that have come up wont allow it to.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 12 Jan 2011 13:17

Not even if section from Overhead MRTS to underground system, there is some space near the right turn to Velacherry, granted it cause traffice congestion right now.

OMR is getting worse by the day, there has to be a public transport solution for it.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 12 Jan 2011 13:45

Aditya_V wrote:Not even if section from Overhead MRTS to underground system, there is some space near the right turn to Velacherry, granted it cause traffice congestion right now.

OMR is getting worse by the day, there has to be a public transport solution for it.

All spaces are getting filled up, before the govt does something there wont be any space left.

manish · Post by **manish** » 12 Jan 2011 14:57

OMR itself is wide enough to allow an overhead line isn't it? Why not build an elevated corridor down that road? Not like it hasn't been done before in Chennai as well as elsewhere?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Jan 2011 15:06

Aditya_V, you have a point regarding OMR and the situation getting worse. I live in Adyar very close to the Kasturiba Nagar MRTS station. The traffic on my once peaceful road is so horrendous that I am unable to even walk on the road. It all boils down to a lack of connectivity. The planning is haphazard.

The Phase-II metro from Thiruvanmiyur goes under the Lattice Bridge Road and then up to Luz before turning left towards T'Nagar under the Luz Church Road. This is an important stretch too as it has a number of residential locations, businesses, schools etc.

I prefer the MRTS extended, another line from the Thiruvanmiyur station, up to Siruseri or Mahabalipuram (along the Buckingham Canal alignment). With MRTS extension from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount expected to be completed by end-2012, that should offer connectivity to the South & North (though two change of trains may be needed. With a third, even the West can be travelled to.). With unified access, change of trains should not be too difficult. The Thiruvanmiyur line will then have to be extended all the way to Mahabalipuram to serve those on ECR.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 12 Jan 2011 15:45

Yes, I think the best line is the Mylapore -Poonamalee line in the new metro. The 2 main deficiencies are

1) No connection for OMR - ECR residents beyond Thirvanmuyur

2) No direct connectivity from Avadi- Ambattur to Tambaram/Vandalur via Ponnamalee on the Outer ring road alignment- Lots potential Metro users need this connectivity

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Jan 2011 16:13

Aditya_V wrote: 2) No direct connectivity from Avadi- Ambattur to Tambaram/Vandalur via Ponnamalee on the Outer ring road alignment- Lots potential Metro users need this connectivity

Yes, there should be a direct connectivity between the Western and Southern suburbs as both are fast growing and future is in these places. The new ORR (not the existing Mount=Poonamallee road) is being built with exactly a provision at the centre median for an elevated railway line. I had posted in the roads thread about this a few months back.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 20 Jan 2011 05:35

Namma metro bengaluru

prashanth · Post by **prashanth** » 20 Jan 2011 20:45

Finally!
Looks good. Have to wait and watch how people respond. I've heard fares are not low.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 20 Jan 2011 20:47

prashanth wrote:Finally!
Looks good. Have to wait and watch how people respond. I've heard fares are not low.

What I read in papers today is that they would be priced a "bit higher" than the bus fares

. Did not know whether the fares were for the normal buses, or for the Volvo buses (which is pretty higher than normal ones).

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 22 Jan 2011 05:53

L&T, Alstom bag Chennai Metro track work project
The Chennai Metro has so far progressed rapidly and smoothly.

The Chennai Metro Rail has awarded the Rs 449.22-crore contract for design and construction of track works to a joint venture of L&T and Alstom.

According to a press release from Chennai Metro, the joint venture of Larsen & Toubro, Alstom Transport, SA, and Alstom Projects India has bagged the tender for design, construction of track work in viaduct, tunnel, underground, and depot in corridor I & II.

The track work consists of 104 route km, including 15 route km in the depot at Koyambedu, to be completed in four years.

partha · Post by **partha** » 22 Jan 2011 06:16

krisna wrote:
Namma metro bengaluru

Finally! I hope it de-congests Bengaluru. Any idea when is the work on underground metro in the Majestic area starting?

prashanth · Post by **prashanth** » 22 Jan 2011 22:33

^
They have put up signboards at KR circle to take diversion as tunneling work is in progress. But I think Majestic area will be the last to be taken up. I don't dare to imagine what a mess it will be when they finally dig up majestic.Apparently, they have planned for a superstructure at the central bus stand.

prashanth · Post by **prashanth** » 23 Jan 2011 11:52

Those services are also supposedly loss-making despite the load.

Doubt this. I agree the fares are the highest but BMTC as a whole, is not loss-making. Please refer wiki.

I pay Rs 10 for 2KMs on a non-a/c bus

A few days back, I travelled from majestic to koramangala in a non AC bus. Fare: Rs 12. Distance: Around 10 KM.
Rs 10 for 2KM is too much. I doubt if you have got the distance right.

Contrast all of this with the local suburban services provided in Mumbai and you can see why consumers will feel justified in feeling conned by such projects that are also funded in part by our taxes.

Have to agree with you here. Compare fares with Chennai MRTS:
Kasturbai Nagar to Lighthouse; Distance 10KM; Fare Rs 5. Non AC.
Our metro : Byappanahalli to MG road; Distance ~ 7KM ; Fare Rs 15;AC
If IT/Vity folks are the target in this route wonder what they will do by getting down at Byappanahalli. Whitefield is still far away.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 23 Jan 2011 12:28

prashanth wrote:Have to agree with you here. Compare fares with Chennai MRTS:
Kasturbai Nagar to Lighthouse; Distance 10KM; Fare Rs 5. Non AC.

MRTS does not have a loan to service or for that matter even pay for its own upkeep. It is a loss making service. One reason it really can not expand of even paint its stations properly.

This is true of Mumbai suburban too IIRC. It drops in and out of loss making status. One reason there was no money to expand and improve transportation.

The modern metro at least pay for the capital cost and maintenance. This is good for the system in the long run. In 10 years our per capita income will be much more and hopefully the fares will be more bearable.

manish · Post by **manish** » 23 Jan 2011 16:46

prashanth wrote:^
They have put up signboards at KR circle to take diversion as tunneling work is in progress. But I think Majestic area will be the last to be taken up. I don't dare to imagine what a mess it will be when they finally dig up majestic.Apparently, they have planned for a superstructure at the central bus stand.

Works within the bus stand premises have already begun. Digging has started in the section of the bus stand adjacent to the bus depot (on the KG Road side)

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 23 Jan 2011 21:52

Taken from fotos

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 24 Jan 2011 07:35

Namma Metro first test run successful

The eagerly-awaited Namma Metro train, which is scheduled for commercial operations in March, completed its first full technical test run between Byappanahalli and Mahatma Gandhi Road, a distance of 6.7 km, successfully here on Sunday.

The train, comprising two driver-motor coaches and one metro car pulled out of the Byappanahalli Depot around 4 p.m., after clearing minor hitches within the depot, and reached its destination on Mahatma Gandhi Road around 7 p.m. with stops at all the six stations en-route.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 25 Jan 2011 01:15

Meantime Delhi metro crowds! Must be seen to be believed.

Doubt if even 6 car rakes can clear this sort of rush. Look the station attendant shoving people in @ 0:50

We may yet come to regret the SG coaches and the short "international standard"

rake lengths selected.

prashanth · Post by **prashanth** » 25 Jan 2011 21:18

Im actually worried about the contrary. With fares around Rs 15 for 7KM I doubt if the metro service can attract decent crowd in Bangalore. In addition to that we have an efficient BMTC in Bangalore.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 25 Jan 2011 22:15

You mean IT-Vity Blr with 3bd flats going at 1 crore, and people buying cars with no where to park cannot afford to pay Rs15 even for a one way ride. That is surprising. I know people who pay Rs50 for a one-way Auto ride in rural kerala for a distance of less than 3 km.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 25 Jan 2011 22:24

Theo: I'm hesitant to make comments on Delhi Metro's crowded nature right now. The system is still under construction . All such efforts entail making a call on how much traffic is expected, and building accordingly. Sometimes, especially in our system where the protests and opposition are more public early on, but the latent demand isn't clear, it's often likely that a new system turns out to be vastly better utilized than expected in sections, straining the whole system in the process. But they'll learn lessons, and modify Phase 3 and 4 accordingly. Even Phase 2 underwent changes over the past 5 years - the initial proposal is not what got ultimately built. DMRC is after all the first effort to such a scale in the country; Kolkata Metro doesn't really count in comparison, and won't until it builds out much more than what exists now.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 25 Jan 2011 23:08

At least its much less crowded than Mumbai's local trains. Seems to be safer too as you don't read about the 2-3 people dying as they do everyday in Mumbai. All in all a huge improvement.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 25 Jan 2011 23:23

Good to know BLR metro run is successful. I wish they soon extend that 5 or more kms right up to ORR / new peripheral roads.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 25 Jan 2011 23:29

Wait till the Mumbai Metro starts running. Those Delhi Metro crowds will start looking quite sparse in comparison. I am not fully convinced that they'll even manage to get the train doors closed.