Indian Railways Thread (Dec 2015)

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 04 Mar 2016 08:08

Kakkaji wrote:The numbers don't seem to match in that rail electrification story. How can saving Rs 200 crore a year of diesel consumption lead to Rs16,000 crore per year in forex?

In any case, how can 'Cow + Marx' people come up with such bold ideas?

Probably its a typo, it should be 200 crores per day, and 16,000 crores per year.

James · Post by **James** » 04 Mar 2016 08:26

Continuing on the rail electrification piece, lot of other aspects also need to be taken into a/c:
1. As per the annual report for 2014-15, there were a total of 5,714 diesel locomotives. The same report mentions that the net addition of electric locos in that year was 152 (additions less scrapped). So even if the entire remaining 35,000 km of lines are actually electrified in the next 3 years, we will be way short of adding incremental electric locos to be able to materially replace the diesel loco stock. So we will still need to continue using diesel locos on electrified lines for some time.
2. Also, given the constrained financial position of the railways, I do not see adequate room for capex for additional electric loco manufacturing units. Same logic also applies for conversion of existing diesel loco manufacturing units to electric loco manufacturing units
3. If we stop production of diesel locos, what will those manufacturing units and their staff do? The units cannot be closed and the staff cannot be laid off. At the same time, I doubt that will be able to get adequate amt. of export orders in such a short time.

Maybe the railways have thought thru some of this but at least it is not public yet.

Source data for statistics mentioned in point 1 above:
http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwa ... 15_Eng.pdf

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 04 Mar 2016 10:15

Two major locomotive manufacturing FDI deals were finalized late last year, involving GE Evolution and Alstom Prima II locomotives:

GE won the deal to build 1000 diesel-electric locomotives
GE wins 1000-locomotive Indian Railways deal

On November 9 the Ministry of Railways issued GE with a letter of award for a US$2·6bn joint venture contract to develop a factory to supply and maintain 1 000 diesel locomotives. The contract is expected to be signed within 30 days.

GE said the deal was the biggest it had ever won in India, and would see the company invest US$200m to build the factory at Marhowra in Bihar as well as maintenance facilities at Bhatinda in Punjab and Gandhidham in Gujarat.

The plant would produce 4 500 hp and 6 000 hp diesel-electric freight locomotives with GE Evolution engines, with the first scheduled to be delivered in January 2018. The contract will allow the first 100 locomotives to be imported or assembled using imported kits, but the rest must be built in India with mostly Indian content.

Alstom won a separate deal to build 800 electric locomotives:
Alstom to supply 800 double electric locomotives to Indian Railways

Alstom has received a Letter of Award[1] from the Ministry of Railways to supply Indian Railways with 800 double section freight electric locomotives with associated long-term maintenance[2]. The total contract is worth above €3 billion. This project includes the set-up of a plant at Madhepura (Bihar state) and two maintenance depots at Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh state) and Nagpur (Maharashtra state). The delivery of the locomotives will spread between 2018 and 2028.

This project, one of the strongest endorsements of the ‘Make in India’ policy of the government, will play a crucial role in boosting the infrastructure development in the country. The 100% Foreign Direct Investment in the railway sector allowed by the Government has provided a renewed push to the Indian mainline railway sector.

The Prima locomotive for Indian Railways will be 9,000 kW at the wheel rim and will run at a speed up to 120 km/h. This contract positions Alstom as the number one on heavy-haul electric locomotives segment with now over 1,200 double locomotives ordered for the last decade.

9000KW is approx 12100hp, making these among the most powerful locomotives on the planet, along with the China Railways HDX series, which are also Alstom sourced. They will be twice as powerful as the most powerful locomotives in IR service today, the 6500hp WAG9.

Picklu · Post by **Picklu** » 04 Mar 2016 10:24

Piyush babu is undoubtedly the star performer of this govt barring NaMo.

Picklu · Post by **Picklu** » 04 Mar 2016 10:31

I think after seeing the 3 rail budgets, one thing is clear. The rail budgets have been as much as NaMo budget as the rail ministers' budget.

From the very beginning, focus has been on finishing existing projects, clear bottleneck and improve passenger comfort. No new trains and new lines only for freight. These have to be NaMo directives which both the rail ministers had to follow. However the first one was not energetic and creative enough to play within those directives and make his mark(many here would remember my rant immediately after the first rail budget) and NaMo removed him, bringing in Prabhu.

From that time, Prabhu is showing his tactical planning capability to steer the railway towards the 4 years goal that NaMo has set internally.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 04 Mar 2016 12:17

A single electrified line will cater to many trains. Some of which are run by electric locos and some by diesel. Until existing and new ones from the new factory are phased out, we'll continue using diesel electrics I guess.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 04 Mar 2016 20:26

I understand that global prices for crude follow their own logic. But for now diesel is not badly placed in price in calorific value terms of coal and crude per unit mass is concerned. Also remember that any significant increase in coal consumption will involve imports. Not much different from importing crude from west asia. If diesel locomotives can pay for their investment over a 15 year time horizon, that is not a bad deal.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 04 Mar 2016 20:32

Looked at youtube video of new IR coaches. Pretty decent for money spent except they still hammer the shell of the coach and haven't been able to use fine machining. Most of the non-premium coaches are going to be converted into these.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 04 Mar 2016 20:40

If Talgo is chosen for Delhi Mumbai line, it can be used for other lines connecting major cities where HSR may not be economically feasible. We need different types of trains/train sets. But I hope We have bio toilets, sliding doors and ACs for all trains.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 04 Mar 2016 21:15

I think due to the common Indian public traveling on railways being price-sensitive, it is right now not feasible to convert non-premium services to Talgo type trains.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 05 Mar 2016 00:19

The current budget shows the medium term plan regarding services. Multiple tiers of unreserved and reserved train services are being planned. There's a focus on improving quality of service, despite the appalling misuse of new train facilities that was recently documented. This is combined with a 30% increase in trainset procurement. With improved signaling and double/triple tracking, more trains can run at a higher average speed, improving capacity without simply overusing existing trainsets.

The budget highlights are an easy read into what's happening. Despite what the press claims, I don't think the RailMin gave an 'uninspiring budget'. Rather, he's in the middle of executing previously announced actions, and really should not be compelled to announce new things for the sake of it. Doing so just builds up the in-box .
Budget Speech Highlights (English)
Budget Speech Highlights (Hindi)

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 05 Mar 2016 03:17

One more critical bottlenck-renewal infrastructure building initiative from the 'Cow + Marx' people:

PM Modi launches Setu Bharatam project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched Setu Bharatam, one of his government’s most ambitious projects, to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019 by building rail over bridges (ROBs) and rail under bridges (RUBs).

In the first phase, the government has identified 208 bridges spread across 19 states where it intends to build ROBs or RUBs for seamless connectivity. This will not only help in avoiding congestion at national highways but also result in fuel saving. The government has earmarked Rs 20,800 crore for the project.

The government is set to start work on 1,500 dilapidated, British-era bridges. These old bridges will be improved by replacement, widening, or strengthening in a phased manner at a cost of about Rs 30,000 crore.

vasu raya · Post by **vasu raya** » 06 Mar 2016 20:03

somebody woke up!

Railways to set up special wing for research

Technology seems to be the latest mantra in the Indian Railway, with the national transporter set to create a special unit for conducting in-house research.

Named SRESHTA (Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology and Holistic Advancement), the new entity will comprise mostly scientists and railway experts.

Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), railways' current research arm, will focus only on day-to-day issues, while SRESTHA will be responsible for long-term research for improving the functioning of the public sector behemoth.

The new research unit will be headed by a reputed scientist, who will report directly to the Chairman, Railway Board, said a senior Railway Ministry official, adding "the need for such a wing was felt for long".

Though RDSO was meant to conduct research, it could hardly undertake any.

"Most of the time RDSO is involved in finalising the standards and specifications for the new equipment to be acquired by the public transporter. As a result it is left with hardly any time for research work," said the official.

Currently new technology is imported by railways as the RDSO has not been able to do in-house research work on various technologies required for upgradation in signalling and telecommunication system, track designing, improvement in rolling stock and many such areas.

However, despite the constraints, RDSO is credited for developing of pre-stressed concrete sleepers used for laying tracks and the newly designed double decker coaches.

The official said, "There is a huge requirement for introducing latest technology in rail sector to bring it at par with other developed railways in the world."

Use of latest technology in improving passenger amenities is a key area where the new body will focus, he added.

Besides, a dedicated cross functional team called Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (SUTRA) would be set up for carrying out detailed analysis for optimal investment decisions and operations. The team would comprise professional analysts and have best in class decision support systems and optimisation engines.

It is a well-established fact that data backed decision making is the hallmark of great institutions and SUTRA is being set up for this purpose only, the official said. — PTI

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 06 Mar 2016 21:47

indeed. how long a wait was this to even get a start. mm.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 08 Mar 2016 11:33

IBN

Under Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu's Mission Raftaar, the Rajdhani and Shatabdi express will now be driven by two engines each.

This is an attempt to decrease the time taken for the journey and also to give these two trains some extra speed.

One engine will drive from the front and the other will be attached to the back of the train. This will hence accelerate the speed of the train.

A trial run with the Ajmer Shatabdi has been successful, which cut the travel time by over 40 minutes. However, the final clearance is yet to be given.

---

^^^ does anyone know if trainsets of our wide gauge and massive size exist with motors on every bogie which is the usual HSR method ? (not TGV though I think it has separate mighty engine but distributed braking)...DEMU - will it scale upto Rajdhani trains ?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 08 Mar 2016 11:43

what is the ROI on the second engine?? Surely, the second engine can be used much more efficiently on other duties.

Is it worth a "saving" of 40 minutes??

Or is it just de rigueur utilization of meager state resources for some dubious social purpose??

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 08 Mar 2016 17:08

chetak wrote:what is the ROI on the second engine?? Surely, the second engine can be used much more efficiently on other duties.

Is it worth a "saving" of 40 minutes??

Or is it just de rigueur utilization of meager state resources for some dubious social purpose??

Track (infrastructure) utilisation can be increased if trains reached their destinations sooner. More trains, more passengers, more freight, etc. Plus rail travel is inherently more efficient user of energy than road travel, e.g., it's far better to have an extra engine than say 200 buses chugging along.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 08 Mar 2016 20:49

Singha wrote:^^^ does anyone know if trainsets of our wide gauge and massive size exist with motors on every bogie which is the usual HSR method ? (not TGV though I think it has separate mighty engine but distributed braking)...DEMU - will it scale upto Rajdhani trains ?

EMUs are expensive to maintain. They also have to be managed as individual trainsets working together. Not all HSR systems are EMU, and in fact they are about halfways split between locomotive and EMU. Shinkansen and the German ICE are EMUs, while TGV and the Spanish AVE are locomotive driven. The Chinese I think have a mix of both since they bought from various sources.

kvraghav · Post by **kvraghav** » 09 Mar 2016 09:34

This dual engine might only work in the acceleration phase but during the coasting phase, both the engine might not be onto full power. I know that the acceleration to full speed is a long time but does a train like shatabdi have so many stops, spending significant time in acceleration?

ldev · Post by **ldev** » 09 Mar 2016 09:41

kvraghav wrote:This dual engine might only work in the acceleration phase but during the coasting phase, both the engine might not be onto full power. I know that the acceleration to full speed is a long time but does a train like shatabdi have so many stops, spending significant time in acceleration?

It's not only stops, but the numerous speed restrictions in place on all tracks where trains have to reduce speed. These restrictions could be due to work being done on tracks, on bridges, due to poor condition of bridges, due to track curvature etc. Indian railway tracks are not like Shinkansen tracks, they are ancient and decrepit and having a second engine will help a lot in increasing the average speed by more rapid acceleration after the numerous slowdowns. The only question I have is why one engine in the back instead of both engines in front say like the KK express.

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 09 Mar 2016 13:48

ldev wrote:The only question I have is why one engine in the back instead of both engines in front say like the KK express.

Turnaround time for intra-day shuttle type services will be much shorter if you avoid having to move the two engines to the other side after each journey.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 09 Mar 2016 19:49

I don't recall testing high speed operations (in IR parlance, that means 110+ kmph, mostly 130) with dual engines at both ends of the rake. The testing that was carried out by WR was with Vadodara based WAP-5 locos coupled together and run as a single MU-ed unit. They even used a single panto with a power cable to supply power to the second loco. This was because our current catenary design does not support high speed ops with multiple pantographs used by the same rake, due to oscillation issues. If one notices, only goods trains that run at 75kmph max are seen with distributed elec locos with individual pantos, and the odd Sapthagiri express between Chennai and Tirupati. I can assure that this train does not cross 100kmph. The rest are diesel hauled, which are out of scope for this discussion.

Hence the single panto + power cable option. But since the power cable supplies at 25000V, from a safety point of view, it is not feasible to run it under/over passenger coaches to supply to the other loco at the end of the rake. Needs a lot of testing if considered, and that hasn't been done AFAIK.

My best guess with this plan is, the BRC WAP-5 mu-ed trials with the single panto must have finally succeeded, and we can start to see such units on the long high speed trains like the Ahmedabad Shatabdi, Mumbai and AK Rajdhanis, Durontos, etc. Add in the few really long Shatabdi expresses based out of Delhi - Bhopal and Amritsar. Perhaps even the eastern ones like Patna Raj, both Kolkata bound Rajdhanis, etc. The latter though, are constrained by a lack of WAP-5s in the east, as the only shed holding them is Ghaziabad. The western ones make more sense since Vadodara also houses WAP-5s and there are enough trained crew on this type. So the eastern trains might get GZB WAP-5s, or they will need (or have completed, I don't know) similar testing with WAP-7s, which are held by more sheds there (HWH, for one).

No point adding 2 locos on trains like the Shatabdi expresses between Chennai-Bangalore/Coimbatore. These rakes are not long enough, and a single WAP-4 is more than sufficient to haul them at 110kmph comfortably, which is the current max permitted speed. I have personally seen even the venerable WAM-4s effortlessly haul them and arrive before schedule at the destination, though railfans may not like the WAM-4 due to its age

. Down south, the challenge is to first upgrade the tracks to 130 first, then we can expect some improvements. Even then, a single WAP-7 should be sufficient.

If Mr. Prabhu also meant improving non-Rajdhani/Shatabdi class trains, then a lot more possibilities open up. Most of our daily express trains run with the max complement of 24 coaches, often with very tight schedules. So dual locos will help enormously (far more than they would the premier trains with less stops) to pick up speed from multiple stops, and clear sections after the restrictions others have mentioned above. Trains serving the SCR area will perhaps benefit the most, due to terrain and SCR's penchant to park goods trains on the mainline and let passenger trains overtake them through the loop lines

. The GT, AP, Kerala, Coromandel, Poorva, Geetanjali expresses, Punjab, Kalka, Howrah mails, are the few that come to mind. Also, day trains like Kovai (arguably the fastest ordinary intercity on IR) will also benefit from such a plan. But given the loco shortage, this may be initially restricted only to the premier trains for now.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 09 Mar 2016 20:02

ldev wrote:Indian railway tracks are not like Shinkansen tracks, they are ancient and decrepit and having a second engine will help a lot in increasing the average speed by more rapid acceleration after the numerous slowdowns.

Oh please. Just because you are comparing with the best in the world, does not automatically make our tracks ancient and decrepit. If they really are that bad, how is IR managing to run some of the most longest and heaviest passenger trains at such frequency daily? Also, dual locos pulling an enormous rake from the front will introduce a lot of wear on the tracks and its bed - if our tracks were decrepit as you say, IR will not try this out, or have multi-engine goods rakes, etc.

You have identified the challenges correctly, but maintenance is a fact of life, and most speed restrictions are temporary and valid for the duration of maintenance. Towards that, yes, the dual loco plan will help pickup. The bigger challenge that necessitates such an idea is the severe congestion on the tracks, which leads to slowing down (running for a long distance on just double yellows is quite common) due to a train in the block ahead, overtake goods from loops, frequent halts, etc. For example, GT has 41 stops between Chennai and New Delhi, and has to run aggressively to keep up!

ldev wrote: The only question I have is why one engine in the back instead of both engines in front say like the KK express.

As I said in my previous post, it will most likely be like the KK with dual engines permanently coupled to each other. It is relatively easy to distribute diesels throughout the rake (on KR, goods formations like 3-1-3 locos are quite common) since they don't use the OHE and don't have to worry about oscillations, but since most of our high speed trains are electric hauled, the OHE factor comes into play.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 09 Mar 2016 20:14

Singha wrote:A trial run with the Ajmer Shatabdi has been successful, which cut the travel time by over 40 minutes. However, the final clearance is yet to be given.

Of course, that explains it. The Ajmer Shatabdi is fully diesel hauled, so they can have one loco in the front and the back. So it's not electrics as of now. Perhaps the GHY Rajdhanis, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad rajdhani can be augmented next, since each have a long diesel run.

Singha wrote: ^^^ does anyone know if trainsets of our wide gauge and massive size exist with motors on every bogie which is the usual HSR method ? (not TGV though I think it has separate mighty engine but distributed braking)...DEMU - will it scale upto Rajdhani trains ?

EMUs saar. All our local trains are distributed EMUs onlee. With proper research (finally a true research bureau is being formed!), this can be enhanced to higher speeds and sleeper accommodation, definitely possible. Even if not the Rajdhani class of 130+ kmph, regular express trains can benefit. The only problem is the OHE - they will have to test running cabling through the rake fed by a single panto.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Mar 2016 21:53

the ghy rajdhani actually starts from dibrugarh 500km east.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 09 Mar 2016 22:16

^^ True, there are three distinct Rajdhanis from Dibrugarh and Dibrugarh Town via GHY following two distinct routes to Delhi. I meant the ones that goes through Bareilly, Lucknow, Samastipur as it's a longer route under diesel. The other one I believe, changes locos at Patna or Barauni.

Don't all of them get augmented with extra coaches at Guwahati?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Mar 2016 07:37

I travelled rajdhani from kanpur to ghy in old days when BG line to dibrugarh was not there, so don't know what the scene is . to avoid any extra ops in ghy (keep to 30 min stopping time), they might run the same trainsets.

ghy eastern end has a diesel loco shed and reasonable amount of side lines to park extra coaches but not lavishly so.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 10 Mar 2016 08:47

I have a naive question. I think of a person holding one end of a rope and making waves. Now think of the panto of the leading loco generating such mechanical waves on the wires, that travel back and cause some problems for the panto trailing it, unless the waves are damped or die out before the panto 24 or 22 coaches behind. But why should not this be a problem for the loco ahead too, after all the mechanical wave will also progress forward of that loco too and when the panto reaches it, there could be issues with intermittent contact, arcing etc. If that is not an issue, then why is there an issue with the panto of the trailing loco?
Perhaps there should be a way to dampen these either in the panto itself or in the way the wires are attached to the posts. What other factors could possibly cause problems for the second electric at speeds like 130kmph other than such waves? If the waves that propagate in front do not cause issues for the loco following behind, then why is it that it causes issues for the second loco?

vina · Post by **vina** » 10 Mar 2016 09:18

Vsunder wrote:I have a naive question. I think of a person holding one end of a rope and making waves. Now think of the panto of the leading generating such mechanical waves on the wires, that travel back and cause some problems for the panto trailing it, unless the waves are damped or die out before the panto 24 or 22 coaches behind. But why should not this be a problem for the loco ahead too, after all the mechanical wave will also progress forward of that loco too and when the panto reaches it, there could be issues with intermittent contact, arcing etc. If that is not an issue, then why is there an issue with the panto of the trailing loco?
Perhaps there should be a way to dampen these either in the panto itself or in the way the wires are attached to the posts.

Yes. The there will be be waves set up on the overhead line. Two things mitigate it.

1. If you look at it, the contact wire (dropped from the overhead catenary) are anchored to the poles It is also kept under high tension. Within that length, so given that length, for it to vibrate, the amplitude wont be much. Yes. The forward panto will influence the rear pantograph. But unless you are looking at very high speed operations, for IR like situations, it is not a biggie.

2. The pantos are spring loaded (and also damped) and firmly pressed against the contact wire. So despite it setting up the waves, within design speeds, it will maintain contact.

Higher speeds (like TGV etc) will require higher tension in the catenary and also measures to damp it.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 11 Mar 2016 00:58

NTC machine at work on EDFC at Maitha near Kanpur. I saw this machine in early November while whizzing through on LKO Shatabdi. Three such machines have been deployed on the Delhi-Kanpur section of the DFC, one at Maitha,
this one. one outside Aligarh at Daud Khan and one near Firozabad at Bhagan. The Daud Khan machine was not there only this one and the one at Bhagan in Nov. But the three yards were all ready with mounds of 270m head hardened rails and sleepers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l-bgvI4TAQ

vina · Post by **vina** » 11 Mar 2016 09:44

NTC machine at work on EDFC at Maitha near Kanpur. I saw this machine in early November while whizzing through on LKO Shatabdi. Three such machines have been deployed on the Delhi-Kanpur section of the DFC, one at Maitha,
this one. one outside Aligarh at Daud Khan and one near Firozabad at Bhagan. The Daud Khan machine was not there only this one and the one at Bhagan in Nov. But the three yards were all ready with mounds of 270m head hardened rails and sleepers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l-bgvI4TAQ

Amazing stuff. The sheer productivity of these NTC machines is simply astounding. It probably did away with a couple of million man years of hard labor and brought about a higher quality and built to spec track.

Kudos for the IR to adopting these , along with the automated track reconditioning machines. Way to go ! And I don't hope the commie buffoons and RaGa's acolytes and the JNU ding dongs whining about productivity creating "unemployment" (along with a few Cow+Marx types) are not watching this and set up the clamour for doing away with these machines and directing unskilled labour from MNREGA towards this. A sure shot way to sink the entire DFC and push it's entry into service by a decade and creating more mass misery along with the attendant corruption and dole politics.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 11 Mar 2016 16:37

It costs INR 24,000 for a 2min halt on IR. Now with a total audit on IR, IR can furnish figures to assorted local MLAs, MP's and dharna enforcers as to why a certain train cannot stop at a moffusil station because the ticket sales are too low to warrant the cost incurred to IR for the stoppage:

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Arti ... 2016004028

This was long overdue.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Mar 2016 17:36

GE locos with the cab at only one end seem to be proliferating and the old narrow body BG diesel locos no longer used much...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVedD7Hyeeo

geeth · Post by **geeth** » 12 Mar 2016 11:00

Regarding VSunderji's question on mechanical waves..from my observation, I see no mechanical waves produced. This is possibly because the contact wire is slung by vertical wires, one end of which is brazed and other end has an eye. This eye is oval shape and allows the wire to lift up when the spring loaded panto pushes it up to maintain contact.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 Mar 2016 07:34

eastern ramparts of the empire

dibrugarh-ledo passenger train

loco shed areas in dibrugarh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRHbeXHOrYA

rajdhani near dibru somewhere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP3jUQNUq1E

this is nice GHY to murkongselek MG train - green countryside

one more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCd3vPtB2s0

silchar sealdah express flagged off Feb 1, 2016 - hauled by a pair of meaty diesels. even BD passenger trains on NC hills seem to have two locos now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSy2XAbs8OQ
NC hills https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6JrgQNvJGo

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 Mar 2016 13:01

ledo is now the easternmost station of IR. the 9km last stretch to lekhapani has been abandoned after the BG conversion.

http://samit.org/irmap/06.jpg

i have gone as far east as tinsukia and its neighbouring duliajan(OIL india refinery and township) but never farther east to Ledo. its scary to think there is still 150k to reach the actual border across road network that gets more and more lean.

Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 14 Mar 2016 18:23

My question to Gurus:-

The recent deal with Alstom and GE orders around 1800 engines to be "assembled" by foreign owned companies in their own 74% foreign owned companies in India.

1. Is there any ToT to Railway locomotive factories or they will continue to manufacture older versions?

2. Will the older versions be ultimately phased out and only imported locos assembled in India from foreign companies will be purchased in future?

It seems to a layperson like me that even Japanese Bullet train import in India does not envision transfer of any core technology.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 14 Mar 2016 21:29

Why don't you take the opportunity to find out yourself and post about it, instead of just asking others ? There's no reason you can't become a guru on the topic.

Zynda · Post by **Zynda** » 15 Mar 2016 19:44

This Shatabdi Express is supposedly doing 130Kph at Ahmedabad-Mumbai section after the increment speed increase from 120 to 130!

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 15 Mar 2016 21:05

another long delayed (by the stupid congis) project completed - 1st BG train reaches agartala on 13 jan 2016