Mass Rapid Transit in India

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 20 Aug 2015 19:22

Theo_Fidel wrote:
arshyam wrote:In this plan, the western lines toward Porur, Poonamallee and beyond are non-existent.
This is supposed to be mono-rail and as long as JJ is there, that will be the plan. Planners will never allow a metro as it would cannibalize the traffic. Unfortunate but reality....

Which means, nothing will happen. Mono is dead in the water. Heck, it was never even alive to begin with. SSC has a thread that 115 pages long

discussing this project, and now coming to the view that it should be locked

.

nandakumar wrote:I am unable to see how mass transit system on the Porur and Poonamalle stretch is going to solve traffic congestion during non peak hours.

It won't saar. The metro will help move people faster from these areas into the city, not help the mofussil traffic go home faster. In fact, by having a metro, more people will move to places in this side of the city as the transportation will be much easier. But the idea is that this metro will prevent further road traffic from these new inhabitants, and maybe reduce some existing traffic. But the reality of this road is that, a substantial portion of traffic on this road is bound for Sriperumbudur and points beyond (Bangalore, Tirupati, Vellore, Mumbai, Salem, etc.). Currently, just the thought of driving from Iyappanthangal through the SRMC/bypass signal, then Porur, Ramapuram signal, then L&T, DLF signals and eventually Kathipara gives me a headache. I am sure I have missed a few bottlenecks. And these won't be solved by the metro. They will be solved by better/alternate road designs - reduce number of signals, frequent pedestrian crossings with escalators, flyovers to channel traffic at a few places, even wider roads, etc. might help.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 20 Aug 2015 21:15

Ideally new lines should be built on a 4:1 ratio. For every 4 kms built within the city to connect existing areas, 1 km should be built to connect peripheral areas. The Delhi Metro followed a somewhat similar strategy in Phase 1 (perhaps there was some DDA influence) in expanding the Blue line to Dwarka. That immediately opened Dwarka up to new residents.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Aug 2015 23:35

arshyam wrote:Mono is dead in the water.

Technically no.

The main problem JJ faces is that GOI is reluctant to under write mono while it is willing to guarantee metro's.
It is the GOI guarantee that is building metro's all over India with usually JICA+State+VGF money.

It is possible TN will become wealthy enough to do this on its own in a short while. I'd say once the state SDP rises above $300 Billion+-. 2025 or so....
JJ just bit off more than the state can chew on its own right now.
------------------

BTW what we call mofussil should actually be the heart of Chennai. A city with the population of Chennai should extend to Thiruvallur in the West and Kanchipuram/Chengalpet in the south. These areas are part of Chennai, they just don't know it yet.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 21 Aug 2015 00:05

^^ And with a good reason - no where in the world is monorail operated at the capacity needed for Indian metros. Even the Mumbai monorail. There's a reason why monorail as mass transit hasn't picked up much.

The centre did not provide funds, but gave the go ahead to GoTN on the first line from Kathipara to Poonamallee. SG has not funds left after serving idlis, and only 2 bidders are left in the process, and there hasn't been any updates since April of this year. Doesn't look good. I think it is better that GoTN bite the bullet and call this whole process off, and just build a metro on this route. With the future airport in Sriperumbudur, a metro will work nicely to help passengers transit. Mono is too slow and will condemn the new airport's connectivity forever.

Mofussil: agreed, but I was careful to call out Vellore, Tirupati, etc. As far as I am concerned, Chennai metro now extends up to the ring enclosed by Mamallapuram, Chengalpet, Kanchipuram, Arakkonam, and Tiruvallur-Gummipoondi (and transit systems should be built keeping this in mind). So points within are not mofussil

Rishirishi · Post by **Rishirishi** » 21 Aug 2015 01:35

Monorail can't really be called Mass transport. The capacity is just not there.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 21 Aug 2015 02:38

Arshyam,

I have to agree, in India’s super dense crush situation only metros with PPHPD of ~ 100,000 should be allowed. Personally I think the Chennai metro at medium size of 40,000 PPHPD is going to prove inadequate long term. But I guess in the interests of saving money we can manage.

Rishirishi wrote:Monorail can't really be called Mass transport. The capacity is just not there.

The newer models are getting there.

The 8 coach Hitachi model below is approaching 25,000 PPHPD, which is fairly close to the Chennai metro. It can climb 6% grades and deal with 70M curve radius. Of course I believe this model is more expensive than a metro rail system so only for tight curves on super dense over ground areas.

http://www.hitachi-rail.com/products/ro ... ure01.html

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 21 Aug 2015 07:52

1 lakh people sign petition against Mumbai Metro's proposed fare hike

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 991_1.html

Congress MLA and former Maharashtra minister Naseem Khan, who led the protest, claimed, "By this evening over one lakh commuters including students, businessmen, women came forward and signed the petition seeking immediate roll back of any proposed hike." Addressing a gathering outside Ghatkopar station, Khan said, "Metro had to fix the fares between Rs 9 and Rs 13 and as soon as we (Congress-NCP) were out of power, the fares went up to Rs 40. Now Metro has been allowed to hike its fare upto Rs 110, which is highest all over the world." The fare slab of Rs 10 to 40 is already unaffordable (to commuters) and the way Metro's operator want the hike, it would amount to no less than a loot, he alleged.

The Supreme Court had recently allowed the operator of Mumbai's Metro railway to implement the recommendation of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) for a fare band of Rs 10-110.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 21 Aug 2015 07:55

Chennai’s Central Station to Become a Transport Hub

When civil work on the station is completed in late 2016, it’ll offer urban intermodal integration through a series of skywalks and pedestrian at-grade crossings. The metro will connect with buses (local, inter-state) and trains (Indian Railways at Central Station, MRTS at Park Town & Suburban at Park Station)

new construction images can be found here on this page. Sorry, didn't want to post them in-line.
http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/20/c ... sport-hub/

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 21 Aug 2015 09:41

Was at a meeting last evening where a senior TN Govt official was also present. He said the Govt was planning to set up an infrastructure investment fund (something like a real estate investment trust). It will be 74% privately owned and 26% govt contribution. It will be professionally managed but with wide private corporate subscription to the corpus. The fund will provide equity support for specific projects constituted as companies. The problem is that returns on equity from long gestation infrastructure projects are hard to come by. Chennai Metro for instance should consider itself lucky if it can pay back the JICA loan with interest forget about dividends on equity contribution from the State and the Centre. If private corporate sector is to pursuaded to contribute (some gentle arm twisting) Govt must sweeten it with some tax relief. One option could be to treat such contributions as qualifying for CSR initiatives by the company and although they are investments they should be made tax deductible. But later when investments (equity) are sold the entire proceeds can be taxed.

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 21 Aug 2015 09:50

nandakumar wrote:Was at a meeting last evening where a senior TN Govt official was also present. He said the Govt was planning to set up an infrastructure investment fund (something like a real estate investment trust). It will be 74% privately owned and 26% govt contribution. It will be professionally managed but with wide private corporate subscription to the corpus. The fund will provide equity support for specific projects constituted as companies. The problem is that returns on equity from long gestation infrastructure projects are hard to come by. Chennai Metro for instance should consider itself lucky if it can pay back the JICA loan with interest forget about dividends on equity contribution from the State and the Centre. If private corporate sector is to pursuaded to contribute (some gentle arm twisting) Govt must sweeten it with some tax relief. One option could be to treat such contributions as qualifying for CSR initiatives by the company and although they are investments they should be made tax deductible. But later when investments (equity) are sold the entire proceeds can be taxed.

There are infra projects and there are infra projects. Some, like urban mass rapid transit, are inherently unprofitable is priced at "affordable" levels. All MRTs, including SMRT in Singapore are viable only after massive govt subsidies. However, toll roads have established revenue models. As do airports. Or commercial property. Power distribution. Even water supply, though its politicaly contentious.

The problem with the govt is that no one thinks through the whole thing and puts together the right financial vehicle for the right projects, most of the time. They just float a trial balloon and hope something sticks.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 21 Aug 2015 11:45

somnath wrote:
nandakumar wrote:Was at a meeting last evening where a senior TN Govt official was also present. He said the Govt was planning to set up an infrastructure investment fund (something like a real estate investment trust). It will be 74% privately owned and 26% govt contribution. It will be professionally managed but with wide private corporate subscription to the corpus. The fund will provide equity support for specific projects constituted as companies. The problem is that returns on equity from long gestation infrastructure projects are hard to come by. Chennai Metro for instance should consider itself lucky if it can pay back the JICA loan with interest forget about dividends on equity contribution from the State and the Centre. If private corporate sector is to pursuaded to contribute (some gentle arm twisting) Govt must sweeten it with some tax relief. One option could be to treat such contributions as qualifying for CSR initiatives by the company and although they are investments they should be made tax deductible. But later when investments (equity) are sold the entire proceeds can be taxed.
There are infra projects and there are infra projects. Some, like urban mass rapid transit, are inherently unprofitable is priced at "affordable" levels. All MRTs, including SMRT in Singapore are viable only after massive govt subsidies. However, toll roads have established revenue models. As do airports. Or commercial property. Power distribution. Even water supply, though its politicaly contentious.

The problem with the govt is that no one thinks through the whole thing and puts together the right financial vehicle for the right projects, most of the time. They just float a trial balloon and hope something sticks.

Agree with you about power, road and airport projects although in the case of some road projects, traffic volume can be a deal breaker. Also, the nature of the terrain may impose extra costs. But most urban amenities projects, such as water, sewerage, city roads etc. there is no viable revenue model that links charges to actual usage. The current taxes, cess, user charges leave barely enough surplus after paying for a bloated bureaucracy. Further increases are both politically and morally infeasible.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 21 Aug 2015 13:58

Metro systems are often unprofitable on an operating basis based on fares, but can easily be profitable without subsidization if stations themselves are commercial hubs . If you build a bunch of hub stations that are just part of a larger mall, those can easily drive the additional commercial real estate revenue to keep the system autonomously profitable. For this, I agree that it's necessary to thing through the matter first . Build a bunch of stations that are island platforms in the middle of the road and you have a big problem expanding them into commercial hubs. But build with foresight so they can be expanded even if initial cost is greater, and the system will be more sustainable long term .

somnath · Post by **somnath** » 21 Aug 2015 14:17

Suraj wrote:Metro systems are often unprofitable on an operating basis based on fares, but can easily be profitable without subsidization if stations themselves are commercial hubs . If you build a bunch of hub stations that are just part of a larger mall, those can easily drive the additional commercial real estate revenue to keep the system autonomously profitable. For this, I agree that it's necessary to thing through the matter first . Build a bunch of stations that are island platforms in the middle of the road and you have a big problem expanding them into commercial hubs. But build with foresight so they can be expanded even if initial cost is greater, and the system will be more sustainable long term .

They wont. The cost of building a metro is just too high. Many metro stations around the world are commercial hubs - think Raffles Place in SG, Central in HK, Bangkok (even Delhi, where the CP station is bang in the middle of the richest commercial centre in India). But commercial rentals, ads etc are not enough. No metro runs without implicit and explicit subsidies.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Aug 2015 14:26

imo looking at it as self sustaining or subsidies is not getting the full picture. metros save a lot of money in terms of people not using personal transport or buses, enable people to work further out , safer, much faster over long hauls.

overall it has multiplier effects on quality of life, jobs, students, real estate market & shops in the catchment area of each station.

its a social investment just like PSU banks or post offices or police.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 21 Aug 2015 17:57

The commercial hub concept was a failure for even the New York MTU. At best you break even and there is no profit to be plowed back into metro. Other than the main central hubs all the other commercial centers are shuttered permanently and are gathering dust and becoming an eye sore. This just not something Metro's are good at running, not a core competency as yumbeeyay's may say. Even the MRTS stations shops in the high density areas havn't attracted too much clientele and they were only aiming for IR levels of tea khaddai's. It may work in a handful of places but in the vast majority it is a waste of time/money.

Metro's must be subsidized because lower prices encourage mass travel and take vehicles off the road. Cars never pay the full cost of their road hogging and their environmental damage and are heavily subsidized that way. Metro's should be subsidized more than cars for sure.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Aug 2015 18:45

True. Even the co located metro and bus terminals on Singapore outskirts did not look very commercially thriving to me

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 21 Aug 2015 21:17

[Pics] Bangalore’s City Market & Vidhana Soudha Stations

more images: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/20/p ... -stations/

Delhi Metro Launches Steel Bridge For Pink Line Under Blue Line

more images: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/21/d ... blue-line/

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 22 Aug 2015 08:53

Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd has completely redesigned the sidewalk below the Uppal station

more lovely images here: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/22/l ... ds-future/

prashanth · Post by **prashanth** » 22 Aug 2015 17:32

After reading some posts (and linked information from various sources) in skyscrapercity forum, my respect towards E. Sreedharan and DMRC (Delhi metro corp) in general, has diminished. DMRC was asked to prepare DPR for Bangalore metro. It turns out that they bungled up the DPR, causing huge time delays and cost overruns for Bangalore metro.
It is said that DMRC's DPR lacked sufficient details and soil testing reports were not accurate. Going by the report, contractors used wrong type of tunnel boring machines to cut through rocks causing damage and breakdown of the machine. TBM Godavari re-started operations recently, after being idle for more than a year. DPR was modified after BMRC consulted IISc in 2009.
http://bmrc.co.in/pdf/news/IISc-Report.pdf

Recently E Sreedharan made statements to the effect that BMRC is not competent enough. Sure, they are partly responsible for the mess, but DMRC isn't entirely blameless.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 22 Aug 2015 19:05

Sreedharan has a dictatorial, my way is the right way style of functioning.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 22 Aug 2015 19:23

Most able leaders have dictatorial streaks. Even Modi is called a dictator by the leftist cabal. Sreedharan has an entire lifetime of work where he has proven himself. A few mistakes and suddenly he becomes evil. Typically Indian. The Jaipur and Kochi metro where DMRC had a major role are going fine.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 22 Aug 2015 19:59

Rohit_K wrote:Chennai’s Central Station to Become a Transport Hub

When civil work on the station is completed in late 2016, it’ll offer urban intermodal integration through a series of skywalks and pedestrian at-grade crossings. The metro will connect with buses (local, inter-state) and trains (Indian Railways at Central Station, MRTS at Park Town & Suburban at Park Station)
new construction images can be found here on this page. Sorry, didn't want to post them in-line.
http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/20/c ... sport-hub/

Not sure what's the hang up, so here goes:

Source: Metro Rail guy, copyright attributed to Afcons Infra Ltd.

Source: Metro Rail guy, copyright attributed to Afcons Infra Ltd.

There are a few more on the page, but these seemed to best show the scale of work in building what could turn out to be the largest underground metro station in India with 2 levels of tracks underground, akin to the Connaught Place station in Delhi.

Here are the list of landmarks that will be connected from this station off the bat (I am going into some detail so folks from out of town can understand the amount of inter-connectivity this metro station and the network will bring):

From Central, through metro:

Metro to CMBT, the mofussil bus terminal at Koyambedu (Line 2)
Metro to Egmore station (one stop away from the Central metro) and connect to south bound mofussil trains. (Line 2).
Metro to Intl Airport (Line 1).
Metro to St Thomas Mount (Line 2, Line 1) which will connect to suburban trains bound for Tambaram and the other end of the MRTS line. Line1 also connects to the suburban line at Guindy, one stop earlier. Tambaram will also be the site of Chennai's 3rd rail terminal after Central and Egmore, so this inter-modal connectivity will help passengers going out of town.
Metro to Washermanpet (Line 1) connecting to the railway station there, which has some suburban trains from Chennai Beach to Arrakonam/Gummidipoondi. This is one stop away from Royapuram, in case the rail terminal there materializes. This line is further planned to go up to Tiruvottiyur.
Metro to the old CBD of Chennai, i.e. Mount Road/Anna Salai (line 1).
Stanley Hospital and medical college (right next to Washermanpet metro hub), the new super-speciality hospital (right next to Chintadripet metro), and Apollo hospital (Thousand Lights/Greams road metro) (all on Line 1)

Central station itself links the following on site, hopefully with better foot connectivity:

Madras Park station for suburban trains to Tambaram/Chengalpet/Kanchi
Park Town station for MRTS trains to Chepauk stadium, Mylapore, Tidel Park/(start of) IT corridor, Velachery and St Thomas Mount R.S. (last under construction).
Central Moore market complex station for suburban trains to Avadi, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam/Tiruttani, and Gummidipoondi/Sullurpeta (for Sriharikota).
Central station itself with long distance trains.
MTC buses that criss-cross the city and connect all corners quite extensively. (That the buses are old and battered is a different issue though)
Ripon Building (seat of Chennai Corporation), Southern Railway HQ, Govt General Hospital, Madras Medical College.

Lastly, the MTC network itself is quite formidable and has buses serving the local areas from various locations of the metro and suburban. For example, Saidapet (suburban+metro), Guindy(suburban+metro), Alandur(2 lines of metro), Ashok Pillar (metro line 2), Vadapalani (metro line 2), Koyambedu (metro line 2), Thirumangalam (metro line 2), Egmore (metro line 2), Teynampet (metro line 1), LIC (metro line 1), Central (see above), High Court (metro line 1), and Vallalar Nagar/Mint/Washermanpet (metro line 1) are big bus hubs in their own right. So the metro stations at these locations will enable more passenger connectivity.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 22 Aug 2015 20:02

prashanth wrote:It is said that DMRC's DPR lacked sufficient details and soil testing reports were not accurate. Going by the report, contractors used wrong type of tunnel boring machines to cut through rocks causing damage and breakdown of the machine. TBM Godavari re-started operations recently, after being idle for more than a year. DPR was modified after BMRC consulted IISc in 2009.

DMRC like other metro orgs subcontract soil testing/geotechnical investigations. That component is not done in-house. Godavari TBM broke down last year around July after encountering hard rock, so looks like IISc back in 2009 also got their analysis wrong?

Tunneling is a tricky task - sh!t happens. You never know what you'll encounter. In Seattle for the Highway 99 project, the Bertha TBM in Dec 2013 encountered an 8 inch diameter steel pipe and broke its blades while trying to drill through it. Only last week were they able to reassemble the front-end pieces for tunneling to resume later this year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_(t ... g_machine)

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 22 Aug 2015 20:08

^^ (OT) Even the later this year is tentative, will have to wait and see if they really start. Till then, that place is a giant mess.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 23 Aug 2015 10:44

Delhi’s new u/c Pink line crossing the Airport Express Line at Dhaula Kuan

more pictures: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/07/17/p ... ress-line/

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 23 Aug 2015 19:37

^^ Very nice. The pic below takes the cake for me, though. Any idea if this is the highest point of the network? Earlier one I know of was over the Inner Ring Road near Rajouri Garden on the Dwarka line - the trains used to go slow over the bridge.

Source: The Metro Rail Guy, as usual.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 24 Aug 2015 06:22

Yes, this is the highest - the viaduct is 23.6 meters above the ground - clicky

prashanth · Post by **prashanth** » 24 Aug 2015 11:00

Rohit_K wrote: DMRC like other metro orgs subcontract soil testing/geotechnical investigations. That component is not done in-house. Godavari TBM broke down last year around July after encountering hard rock, so looks like IISc back in 2009 also got their analysis wrong?

May be they got it wrong or may be TBM breakdown was unpredictable, as you say. But having to start survey anew in 2009 when the zero date was way back in April 2007 points to inaccuracies in the initial DPR. I repeat, BMRC partly responsible for the mess, but DMRC isn't entirely blameless.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 24 Aug 2015 11:04

there is a post by vsunder or theo sir in the IR thread going into why the TBM broke down. hiring some least-cost contractor was considered part of the reason.

Arunkumar · Post by **Arunkumar** » 24 Aug 2015 21:46

^^^Its by vsunder sir IIRC. Very informative post. Excuse was given for north-south as hard rock/granite wheras actually the TBM was some low cost option.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 24 Aug 2015 23:14

I'm reposting vsundars full post as it fascinating reading still. I hope he is amenable to this, if not my apologies in advance... ...BTW I wish posts like this would reach the good posts thread instead of CT filled dross it is overflowing with right now.

As you can see India has a certain attachment to jugaad operations....

vsunder wrote:Excellent question/s Either due to jugaad, poor management, money not arriving in the appropriate tranche, whatever reason, BMRCL ( Bangalore Metro rail corp.) in their infinite wisdom decided to split the underground project tender into two parts, the North-South sector, KR market to Sampige road and East-West, Cubbon Park to Magadi Road. The East-West sector, Cubbon Park to Magadi Rd. was handled by some foreign company that had those Thai TBM operators. They did a very professional job and East-West tunneling is now complete . Not only that, the Thai operators also have the propensity to post tons of tunnel pictures on their FB pages, so there is a lot of photographic record of the East-West tunneling compiled by interested parties who trawl FB. Track laying and third rail laying is reaching completion East-West post tunneling. I am not sure about the status of the signalling and communications equipment. They have even managed to push a train set by battery power clear across the town to Mysore Rd. from its depot. That was considered a major milestone, first train through tunnels in South India. All hoopla went on for some time. The train was preceded by a giant steel cut-out of a bogie to make sure it does not get obstructed anywhere in the tunnels and so remedial action can be taken. This was the gauge checker. So East-West is in great shape but still did not come in on time.

It is the North-South tunneling that is the problem. This is some jugaad Indian company, that used zero experience employees to cut corners and bid low on the tender. Result plenty of times their TBM's got stuck and now one is really and truly dead in the tracks. The employees never post any pictures so photographic records unlike the East-West route are hardly available for the North-South route. The TBM's North-South are named Kaveri, Krishna and Godavari. The entire East-West operations were carried out by just two TBM's, Margarita and Helen. So with their pants on fire BMRCL requested the owners of Helen and Margarita to keep Margarita( the two are slurry machines by the way while, Kaveri etc are Earth pressure balance machines). in Bangalore and help the North South tunneling. Helen was sent to Jaipur. Margarita is already proving her worth and has done 750m of tunneling from Majestic to Sampige road, the section where Godavari is stuck at 350m. See the difference. BMRCL was shouting that the progress is slow because of exceptionally hard granite. But you can see that work done by professionals and a professional company as opposed to jugaad operations. A TBM starts 7 months later and tunnels 750m while another joke company does 350m in far longer time and gets stuck. On the south side Krishna does 9m a month and still has not broken through at Chikpet, I think one can do better with a pickaxe and shovel. Once it breaks through at Chikpet, there is a 747m drive to Majestic before operations are complete. The third TBM Kaveri has started out on its last drive the 747 m from Chikpet to Majestic under Robbins management. It suddenly started tunneling 80+m a month under the new company that has taken over operations from Coastal or whatever the name of the jugaad company is. Previous to that under the jugaad company 10m a month would be a great achievement, people actually had come to take that as a great achievement, how low are the standards. As usual BMRCL announced in their news conferences, Bangalore is very special for the rock is very hard etc. People lap up this nonsense. It is for these reasons I believe that posts made on this forum many a time are far removed from the ground reality. Do people not process information before they post, or are they living in la-la land, generic posts ignoring the actual ground realities are just too painful to read. I am hearing that once Krishna breaks through at Chikpet and once Godavari is restarted, operations will be fully handled by Robbins a well-known US based company that is handling irrigation tunnels in Andhra Pradesh. Of course Margarita will remain with the other company. Currently it has stopped it's magnificent drive and undergoing checks before it finishes the 223 m to Sampige rd. It made it's drive from Majestic to Sampige rd. ( South to North) because the massive slurry plant it needs was set up at Majestic for it's East-West operations and it is utilizing this same slurry plant for its rescue operation on the Northern sector. As the TBM moves, massive pipe segments are attached and huge pumps convert the excavated rock and soil into a slurry that is pumped now almost a 1km away back to Majestic for processing and disposal at the slurry plant. During the East-West drive, the slurry was being pumped all the way from Cubbon Park to Majestic. TBM Godavari of the jugaad company does not need a slurry plant, it is a different type of machine, and is moving North to South. The sad part is such complicated projects should not be handled by IAS officers who have little or no knowledge of technical matters like this Kharola fellow. Companies should be vetted for past performance and tenders of all sections like all UG or all overground given to a single contractor with known antecedents.

I can see the deviousness already. Trial balloons are being floated to allow this Metro to undertake single line operations underground. Krishna is making slow progress on the South and Godavari is stuck on the North, so one tunnel, North-South is left with close to 1400m of tunneling. The other North-South tunnel, one has about 800 m of tunneling( Kaveri left with 530m and Margarita with 223m). I think they want to begin operations in that tunnel when it is done and thereby state that commercial operations on Phase 1 is achieved albeit a year and a half later than what they told Modi, I mean one leg is better than no leg and we are adjusting only. But there are some rules forbidding single line operations and my guess is that some move is afoot to seek an exception. Apparently there is some precedent in Delhi that they are using as an excuse. Keep tuned, you will hear more. With 2200m of tunneling left, plus track laying, comm equipment and signalling to be installed post tunneling, testing, how on Earth can one tell Modi that operations will begin March 2016? I mean what sort of effing country is this? I think I have a superb idea. Indians are into heritage this and heritage that. Why not do a first, we have this obsession with the Guinness book of world records. The first being no modern signalling underground and yes to single line operation. Bring back the Beale ball and token system underground and a man standing with a naptha flare in the dark tunnel as in the IR of yore. We can send tourists too in there to show how great we are at jugaad and making things work and also reclaim the IR heritage. I for one want to see the good old naptha flare, and the tennis racquet with the leather pouch with the Beale's ball.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 24 Aug 2015 23:53

Agreed, and done (http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 7#p1890757). Thanks for digging it up.

@Rohit_K, thanks, so Dhaula Kuan is on my list of the best places to get metro/urban pics. What a contrast to the giant mess it used to be - the flyover under construction, the traffic coming from Janak Puri/cantonment clogging NH-8, and the slow crawl on the Ring Road. On top of it, the Cantt rail-over bridge had some structural issues and allowed only one way traffic from Janak Puri, which meant buses for Janak Puri took a long detour through Mayapuri and Hari Nagar to get there from RK Puram side. But only 5 bucks' fare

. In a few years' time, this will be just a simple metro ride in AC comfort.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 25 Aug 2015 01:30

From Flickr via SSC. Source.

Shows how the multi-level tracks are formed on top of the Kathipara clover leaf flyover - sort of Chennai's own Dhaula Kuan. I am not sure about the technical jargon, but the final 2 spans of the upper line just before the station are much longer than the regular spans as they have to cross over flyover roadway spanning 6 lanes, and L&T used a special technique to build it. Maybe gurus might know what I am referring to? Also, see the covered rail line beyond the station at 1 o'clock - it is apparently to reduce distraction for pilots of planes landing at MAA - the landing approach path goes right over the station. Even the station roof is designed to provide minimal distraction to the flight path by keeping it as flat as possible. The upper deck is the currently operational portion, the lower one will start running next year to the airport, and Chennai Central station by 2018.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 25 Aug 2015 05:42

arshyam wrote:I am not sure about the technical jargon, but the final 2 spans of the upper line just before the station are much longer than the regular spans as they have to cross over flyover roadway spanning 6 lanes, and L&T used a special technique to build it. Maybe gurus might know what I am referring to?

It's called a CLC (Cantiliver Construction) span. They first build the box right above the pier (pillar) and then gradually extend the spans in either direction to balance the weight until the next pillar is reached. The Delhi Metro's Phase 3 update by the Metro Rail Guy has an image of one such CLC span taking shape at Mayapuri:

more interesting Phase 3 pictures here:
http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/25/d ... 15-update/

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 25 Aug 2015 08:03

as a village kid living in blrhalli i can onlee gawk wide eyed at such brawny shakinaw pics.

our metro is going along like a cottage industry.

whenever I visit delhi I asked my BIL to just drive me around the huge roads in his swift dzire while I open the window and enjoy the wind and the powerful feel of the place ... esp the tightly specced broad pavements...the horticulture....a lot of it looks like the "foreign" we village kids dream of...definitely the capital of a "rising power" vs blrhalli

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 25 Aug 2015 18:30

was at kathipara interchange yesterday, great and functional edifice, worthy of khan-land work. The functional part is important, since panda has lots edifices that defy logic or reason.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 25 Aug 2015 21:53

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GJJrBruERU

seeing this video and analyzing the functional facets, i think there is something (perhaps too early to say) about supporting the right spots for bus tops and lungi wala crossings. proper walk paths, tunnels, and no interference to traffic is mandatory to compare khan land functionality.

we are a country of mass! so mass rapid transit should carefully and keenly think about walkers.
#justsaying (for advancement onlee)

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 26 Aug 2015 06:51

Delhi's TFTA designed trains for Phase 3 lines are here. These will be used on the new Pink & Magenta lines.

being unloaded at Mundra port in Gujarat:

at the Depot:

more pics at The Metro Rail Guy:
http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/07/12/p ... ii-trains/

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 26 Aug 2015 07:02

Jaipur's new metro which opened in June:

source: http://changingtomorrow.in/tag/bapubazaarjaipur/

For a 3 km stretch on Ajmer road, they built a double decker viaduct:

source: http://photorator.com/search/india

Level 0: local traffic
Level 1: express traffic
Level 2: metro

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 26 Aug 2015 07:14

Thank You, Rohit_K. This is seriously exciting stuff. Good to know of these.