Mass Rapid Transit in India

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 26 Aug 2015 19:28

The double deck concept is highly encouraging especially where land acquisition is a problem on either side to expand. However, we need to have big-data projections to know what future expansion might look like.. which is directly proportional the traffic which in turn maps to the capacity of the buildings and their use at locations connecting the roads adding to the traffic.

again, we keep ignoring to build infrastructure for people walking, bicycling and non-machinery/non-motorized vehicle movement. this is again another big data that we don't care at all. that requires a mass-rapid transition.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 27 Aug 2015 08:13

BMRC in Bangalore has proposed a similar viaduct at the Jayadeva Hospital intersection but with an additional perpendicular metro line. From The Metro Rail Guy:

The mammoth structure which will come up at the junction will be configured in this fashion:

Level -1 – Existing underpass
Level 0 – At-grade (ground) level road for local traffic
Level 1 – 2 way, 4 lane elevated road (from Raagi Gudda to Central Silk Board) which will be funded by the Bangalore Development Authority
Level 2 – Concourse level consisting of ticket counters/customer service desk/stores etc
Level 3 – RV Road to Bommasandra line platforms – the line will run right above the elevated road
Level 4 – Gottigere to Nagawara line platforms – these will be at a height of 72 ft above the ground

http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/18/d ... terchange/

Abhay_S · Post by **Abhay_S** » 27 Aug 2015 08:40

Rohit_K wrote:Jaipur's new metro which opened in June:

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

WOW, This is so cool.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 27 Aug 2015 19:46

MMRDA sanctions Rs 35,400 cr for 118 km Mumbai metro network
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 240_1.html

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) chaired by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday sanctioned the expenditure of Rs 35,400 crore for the development of 118-km Metro network.

This includes a 40-km Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd metro-2 corridor (Rs.12,000 crore), a 40-km Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro-4 corridor via Wadala GPO and R.A.Kidwai Marg (Rs.12,000 crore), a 27-km Dahisar-E-Andheri-E-Bandra-E Metro-5 corridor (Rs.8,100 crore) and a 11-km Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road Metro-6 corridor (Rs.3,300 crore).

This is in addition to Line 3 (Colaba-SEEPZ) on which work is expected to start in the next 6 months.

Route map of these 4 lines from the Metro Rail Guy:

http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/27/m ... g-118-kms/

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 27 Aug 2015 20:45

PM Modi to inaugurate Delhi Metro's 13.87 km Badarpur-Faridabad Metro service on 6th September

The fully elevated service, extension of ITO-Badarpur line, will cover nine stations Sarai, NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Sector 28, Badkal Mor, Old Faridabad, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, Bata Chowk and Escorts Mujesar.

Once fully operational, Line 6 will span from Kashmere Gate to Escorts Mujesar having a length of 43.4 km, with a total of 32 stations including five interchange stations, namely Kashmere Gate, Mandi House, Central Secretariat, Lajpat Nagar and Kalkaji Mandir.

http://post.jagran.com/pm-modi-to-inaug ... 1440659341

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 28 Aug 2015 06:44

Virtual Tour of Hyderabad’s Metro Train - these are currently conducting trials between Nagole and Secunderabad. Commercial ops are expected to begin in/around December.

more pics: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/26/v ... tro-train/

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 29 Aug 2015 20:40

Rohit_K wrote: Delhi Metro Launches Steel Bridge For Pink Line Under Blue Line

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

They've completed building a steel truss bridge in Chennai as well. This is one is at Guindy over the suburban railways' tracks:

more images: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/29/p ... ndy-ready/

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 29 Aug 2015 23:31

Rohit_K wrote: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.

Thanks Rohit_K ji, it makes sense now. This is how L&T built that span in Chennai:

Source: Flickr

Source: SSC

Here's one in Delhi:

Source: SSC

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 29 Aug 2015 23:56

Rohit_K wrote: They've completed building a steel truss bridge in Chennai as well. This is one is at Guindy over the suburban railways' tracks:

This is how it looks from the ground:

Source
(Essentially, they assembled it here and pushed it over the tracks once it complete. Then the station came up where the assembly is on this pic.)

Source: SSC

Latest with the station can be seen here on SSC. It's too big an image to post inline, plus the user hasn't made it public.

More importantly, this location (Guindy) is shaping up to be another monster multi-modal interchange. The Metro will add on top of the suburban rail, as we can see in the picture. The road to the right has a bus stop which serves pretty much all of southern Chennai. A larger bus stop with dedicated bays is coming up here. The other side of the station is the GST road, which has two bus stops corresponding to the opposite direction traffic (north and west). Between the 3 bus stops and these rail stations, one can go to pretty much anywhere in Chennai, including far flung areas like Mamallapuram (bus), Chengalpet (train), Kanchipuram/Sriperumbudur (A/C bus), Avadi (bus) and Tiruvotriyur (bus/train). I am stressing these details because the mass rapid system will only be as effective as the connections it leverages.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 30 Aug 2015 19:38

In Bangalore, the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) has finished inspecting the Mysore road to Magadi road section of the east-west purple line.

“Once the CMRS is satisfied and gives us the green signal, Metro service can start along this stretch,” the official said. When asked to specify a date, he was non-committal. “It might be the first or second week of September,” he said.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/ ... 996038.ece

Whenever it opens, Bangalore would have 3 stand-alone metro lines due to the delay in constructing the underground tunnels & interchange.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 31 Aug 2015 04:25

arshyam wrote: Here's one in Delhi:

Source: SSC

more tfta than chennai

salaam · Post by **salaam** » 31 Aug 2015 20:11

Growing up, I had no doubt, that a day will come when TV will be reduced to a size of a handheld device. It was always a question of when, instead of how.

That being said, I never did dare dream of a tier 2 city like Lucknow getting a metro. Even if its a 2017-Election gimmick, built up infrastructure cannot be taken away later. I will gladly take Kanpur + Allahabad/Agra/Meerut metro for 2022 elections, as well as additional lines for Lucknow metro.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 31 Aug 2015 20:48

salaam wrote:That being said, I never did dare dream of a tier 2 city like Lucknow getting a metro.

Lucknow/Kanpur Region will be one of the largest cities in the world in our lifetimes. It is already one of the fastest growing and has a 8 million population combined. Over the next two decades they will grow and merge into 50 million person type city. Delhi-Gurgaon on steroids. The Metro is just the first start. I would not call it Tier 2 anymore, esp. when combined it is 2/3 the size of Delhi already, maybe not as rich but it is getting there. One little statistic. Lucknow/Kanpur literacy rate 85%, rivals the Southern Cities.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 31 Aug 2015 21:11

>>I never did dare dream of a tier 2 city like Lucknow getting a metro.

That's exactly the point, hell even Kochi is getting a Metro... can hardly believe it. You're absolutely right. Some of these images... Compared to what we've seen as children - the rust-red trains, with hand-painted markings... Don't know if you chaps remember.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 01 Sep 2015 00:07

JEM saab and others.. why should India lag behind.. even the baakis are growing leaps and bounds on this from drug, guns and terror exports

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 01 Sep 2015 04:24

salaam wrote:That being said, I never did dare dream of a tier 2 city like Lucknow getting a metro. Even if its a 2017-Election gimmick, built up infrastructure cannot be taken away later. I will gladly take Kanpur + Allahabad/Agra/Meerut metro for 2022 elections, as well as additional lines for Lucknow metro.

The preliminary DPR for Kanpur's Metro project is ready and under evaluation.

Route map and info can be found here: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/31/r ... pur-metro/

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 01 Sep 2015 04:27

The Krishna TBM in Bangalore made a breakthrough at Chickpet station today - AFTER an entire 22 months.

Lots of pics on skyscrapercity (too big to post in-line):
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthrea ... &page=1297

The metro rail guy has some images as well:
http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/31/p ... -chickpet/

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 01 Sep 2015 04:31

Could you please explain the significance of the TBM making it to the station after so long ? Was there a significant hurdle that was encountered, and how was it handled ?

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 01 Sep 2015 04:39

That section seemed to have both hard rock and extremely loose soil along the way which slowed the TBM's pace down.

reason given to be hard rock:
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalor ... 598584.cms

reason given to be loose soil:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/498 ... ckpet.html

The parallel tunnel took 12 months to tunnel, which is again a lot of time for a 432 meter section but a whole 10 months less than what Krishna accomplished.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 01 Sep 2015 04:52

Thanks!

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 01 Sep 2015 11:02

^^vsunder saar had an excellent post about the metro tunnel problems in Bengaluru. It's in the railway thread, copied on to the good posts thread. Well worth a read.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 01 Sep 2015 20:11

JE Menon wrote:That's exactly the point, hell even Kochi is getting a Metro... can hardly believe it. You're absolutely right. Some of these images... Compared to what we've seen as children - the rust-red trains, with hand-painted markings... Don't know if you chaps remember.

Snap of Kochi's Metro. What a gorgeous view.

source: https://twitter.com/TheMetroRailGuy

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 01 Sep 2015 20:25

Rohit_K wrote:The Krishna TBM in Bangalore made a breakthrough at Chickpet station today - AFTER an entire 22 months.

The image of workers coming out of the TBM gave me a kind of an eerie feeling (reminded me of wounds and worms). Do these people actually remain inside the TBM? Are they such huge machines to accommodate people inside? And any idea how are their work patterns? Don't know if any person can work a regular 8 hour shift in close proximity to such machines.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 01 Sep 2015 20:43

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

in any project that has tight timelines, democracy is vastly over rated. After patiently explaining to a couple of hundred morons, one runs out of patience, tolerance and "dictatorial" is the only way to go.

many folks will bust their balls working for a gora company but a certain laissez-faire attitude sets in when working in India.

With the kind of success Sreedharan has undoubtedly had, his way is the best way. Perform or perish is what Sreedharan is asking for, now what's wrong with that??

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 01 Sep 2015 21:00

+100

'Democratic style of functioning' is overrated pap. Did he deliver results ? Did he leave behind institutions that could function effectively in his absence, and groom second rung people who effectively took over (i.e. Mangu Singh at DMRC) ? Yes on both counts. That's all that matters.

To expand further, there are cultures where a consensus approach works well. Japanese work culture for example. They sit and sort out decisions over a seemingly prolonged period of time. But once agreed upon, they implement swiftly. It's a cultural thing for them. If they have any concerns, they bring it up early. Once it's brought up, anyone who subsequently acts against previously agreed upon consensus faces grave loss of face, and therefore doesn't try to hamper anything.

Our culture is not the same. A lot of people bring up concerns at any time that suits them, without any regard for the progress of the larger project. The kind of shame driven culture they have is not what we have. It's a very big deal for them to ask someone to go out of their way for something. Once a change has been agreed upon, it's also a big deal to be a spanner in the works. That's not the case in India. There's no shame associated with being the obstructionist. It's even celebrated. Of course people are entitled to state their point of view, but the fact that a larger project has to be executed also matters.

Within our work culture, certain people rise and lead effectively because their working style is effective within the work culture. Their example should be emulated, and not criticized, because their approach works. What works, must be something we learn from and apply, not arbitrarily diss . Ultimately only effectiveness matters.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 01 Sep 2015 22:06

-100

I would point out the same E.Sreedharan is trying all kinds of tactics to halt the Kashmir Railway project in its tracks.... ..being implemented by Konkan Railway, using those same imagined dictatorial powers. Dictatorial powers are not needed and in fact are counter productive. The same dictatorial powers mean that projects pending in Chennai from Metro Rail to Elevated roadways are stuck because JJ decided she did not like them.

Sreedharan key discovery was that finding competent, capable and driven people and putting them in charge and then backing them to the hilt delivers results. His discovery was that such people existed in India and had over the generations been ignored and shunted out time and again. He found them, cultivated them and they delivered for him. These are not the type of people who will work for dictators. It is the same the world over, despite what folks may tell you about who actually built the project. Maybe this is a good time to review the performance of the managers/workers and replace them with competent folks before it plunges back under the earth.

member_23370 · Post by **member_23370** » 01 Sep 2015 22:08

Are any of these trains being made in India or are we importing chinese junk?

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 01 Sep 2015 22:17

^^ No Chinese junk. Most of them are made in India by BEML (Bengaluru), Alstom (Sricity, AP), Bombardier (Gujarat), etc. Initial train sets are imported like Delhi did from ROTEM (Korea) and Chennai from Alstom (Brazil).

Some heartening trends that evolve around these metro projects, shows that our cities have a chance of becoming TFTA in looks in the future. The Jaipur double-decker was one instance, here's another:

FOB/pedestrian walkway at Ashok Nagar metro station, Chennai. Source: SSC

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 01 Sep 2015 22:30

May I ask, why the zebra stripes on kerbs in India? Because the Brits did/do it?
It is a waste of resources and detracts from the aesthetics.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 01 Sep 2015 22:53

^^^It is a traffic indicator depending on the color it tells you things like where to stop, where to park, where to switch lanes, pedestrian access, etc. Not that anyone bothers to learn....

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 01 Sep 2015 23:55

Theo_Fidel wrote:-100
I would point out the same E.Sreedharan is trying all kinds of tactics to halt the Kashmir Railway project in its tracks.... ..being implemented by Konkan Railway, using those same imagined dictatorial powers. Dictatorial powers are not needed and in fact are counter productive. The same dictatorial powers mean that projects pending in Chennai from Metro Rail to Elevated roadways are stuck because JJ decided she did not like them.

Sreedharan is not, and never was in charge of the Kashmir Railway, nor is he 'trying to stop it'. All he did was write a report on the Katra-Banihal alignment, upon the request of IR. Whether or not the railways choose to accept his recommendations is their choice, but it's a travesty to call it an act of obstructionism by him when he simply wrote a report on the IR's own request; he's not running the show, so the topic of administrative style simply does not apply in this case because he's not part of the project administration at all.

The projects he ran - Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro, were both implemented effectively, and the Kochi Metro, which he's principal advisor to, is coming along well.

Viv S · Post by **Viv S** » 02 Sep 2015 02:35

arshyam wrote:^^ No Chinese junk. Most of them are made in India by BEML (Bengaluru), Alstom (Sricity, AP), Bombardier (Gujarat), etc. Initial train sets are imported like Delhi did from ROTEM (Korea) and Chennai from Alstom (Brazil).

Why then are the trains for the Delhi Metro's Pink and Magenta lines being shipped in as CBUs from South Korea? They run on the same gauge as the rest of the Metro (I assume), so why not procure them from a local production line?

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 02 Sep 2015 02:42

^^ Did they order from someone else perhaps? Who's supplying the rakes for these lines - IIRC they are SG lines, not the usual BG.

[Added later]
Per Wiki: They ordered from ROTEM again, who supplied the phase I trainsets from Korea and BEML, Bangalore. Looks like the same case here too.

Metro Rail guy has an article on this: http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/07/12/p ... ii-trains/

In 2013, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had given the 486 coach order to Hyundai Rotem to provide 81 new trains sets. While there was some controversy over the bidding that got nasty, the issue was resolved earlier this year and Hyundai started shipping trains from Changwon, South Korea to India in May through the Mundra Port in Gujarat.

The six-coach trains have advanced features like increased speed, USB slots and larger capacity. Just like the Hyderabad metro, these trains can also be operated without a driver. While 20 sets of trains will be delivered from South Korea, the rest 61 will be manufactured locally at BEML’s plant in Bangalore.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 02 Sep 2015 06:25

rohit_k, awesome links on tbm krishna. here is another video of tbm's final moments breaking the supporting columns, for planned destruction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb4B3b8zjWA

sreedharan++. every person has sree-dharan within themselves when push comes to shove.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 02 Sep 2015 06:28

Viv S wrote:
arshyam wrote:^^ No Chinese junk. Most of them are made in India by BEML (Bengaluru), Alstom (Sricity, AP), Bombardier (Gujarat), etc. Initial train sets are imported like Delhi did from ROTEM (Korea) and Chennai from Alstom (Brazil).
Why then are the trains for the Delhi Metro's Pink and Magenta lines being shipped in as CBUs from South Korea? They run on the same gauge as the rest of the Metro (I assume), so why not procure them from a local production line?

I doubt it.. only dilli and gujarat lines are broad gauges. rest are standard iirc.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 02 Sep 2015 06:37

Viv S wrote:
arshyam wrote:^^ No Chinese junk. Most of them are made in India by BEML (Bengaluru), Alstom (Sricity, AP), Bombardier (Gujarat), etc. Initial train sets are imported like Delhi did from ROTEM (Korea) and Chennai from Alstom (Brazil).
Why then are the trains for the Delhi Metro's Pink and Magenta lines being shipped in as CBUs from South Korea? They run on the same gauge as the rest of the Metro (I assume), so why not procure them from a local production line?

SaiK wrote:I doubt it.. only dilli and gujarat lines are broad gauges. rest are standard iirc.

Only Delhi's Red, Yellow and Blue lines that were built in Phase 1 (and are currently being expanded) are on broad gauge. Dilli's other lines and the rest of country's metro systems have been built on standard gauge.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 02 Sep 2015 06:41

arshyam wrote:^^ No Chinese junk. Most of them are made in India by BEML (Bengaluru), Alstom (Sricity, AP), Bombardier (Gujarat), etc. Initial train sets are imported like Delhi did from ROTEM (Korea) and Chennai from Alstom (Brazil).

There are 3 metro systems with Chinese rolling stock (RS):

Mumbai - RS from CSR Nanjing
Gurgaon - RS from CSR Zhuzhou (subcontracted by Siemens)
Navi Mumbai - RS order placed with CSR Zhuzhou

All of these have been take out orders to-go.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 02 Sep 2015 06:43

Not just with Delhi metro and subsequent ones, Sreedharan left his style on Konkan Railways, as well as during the early days of Cochin Shipyard is what I remember reading. He like APJ was, is a good implementer of ideas and plans, working within the so called 'chalta hai' Indian system.

Like ABV's quadrilateral, UPA regime will be known in the future for opening up so many metro projects in many cities, laying the foundation for future extensions as these cities grow.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 02 Sep 2015 06:52

A TBM quietly made a breakthrough at Chennai's AG-DMS/Gemini station from Teynampet yesterday. With this, the tunnels between Saidapet to Gemini are complete.

source - https://www.facebook.com/chennaimetrorail

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 02 Sep 2015 07:06

Sachin wrote:
Rohit_K wrote:The Krishna TBM in Bangalore made a breakthrough at Chickpet station today - AFTER an entire 22 months.
The image of workers coming out of the TBM gave me a kind of an eerie feeling (reminded me of wounds and worms). Do these people actually remain inside the TBM? Are they such huge machines to accommodate people inside? And any idea how are their work patterns? Don't know if any person can work a regular 8 hour shift in close proximity to such machines.

Metro TBM's diameter ranges from 5.5m to 6.5m and can be anywhere from 60-120 meters long. There's a cabin for the operator and assistant towards the back of the TBM to control excavation as seen in this graphic. Regular workers do "their thing" all the way at the back of the TBM and don't get anywhere close to the cutterhead or shield. Only after the TBM makes a breakthrough and the power is turned off do they emerge from the cutterhead for a photo-op.

This article in the Hindu from 2008 has some nuggets about the work shifts:

While Delhi’s silt has made the task of tunnelling less onerous, for the men who man the machines the ambience underground is far from congenial. “Working shifts extend up to 12 hours and the tunnel is hot,” explained the official.

Health hazards and threat of accidents being high, the teams have to take a slew of precautions. Apart from safety gear that the gang-men have to wear, there are provisions to address exigencies like gas leak, fire and bursting of water and sewer pipes. There are provisions for emergency lights and modes of communication to help workers in case of accident.

It takes about 30 people to work on a single TBM.