Mass Rapid Transit in India

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 30 Jun 2013 23:05

With land costs shooting up with no respite, they will have to bite the bullet and go underground in large parts of denser areas. Just need land for stations then.

ORR alignment which is stated to be ~64km long is already in the works isn't it from the description in the news item I linked above, unless I read it wrong.

For personal reasons I welcome the two new lines announced to the northern areas, where from the looks of rapidly rising costs lies the last option for me to setup tent in the city. The developed parts of the city are already beyond my budget unless I can exercise the options I have soon. But other higher priority things are coming in the way.

negi · Post by **negi** » 01 Jul 2013 00:01

Bangalore's traffic woes can be addressed in multiple ways obviously we need more roads and infra but for a start if the big 4 in IT here start promoting work from home for say 2 days a week then we will see significant reduction in traffic on road. I think time has come when IT industry wallahs start thinking rationally and trusting their troops a wee bit more , working from home can be effective if people are enabled and taught how to be an effective contributor without being physically present in office.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 01 Jul 2013 00:11

Or spread the zones to outskirts and pockets. Build wider new roads along with planning for the next 100 years. Analyze first if basic amenities can be made available for growth - water & electricity to begin with, and then roads and buildings should follow keeping millions using it, and plus find out how they want to use it, what kind of vehicles etc. People are getting richer, and 4 wheeler space is also increasing from compact sizes to medium size cars.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 01 Jul 2013 00:18

Driving around in Indian mega-cities is a non-starter beyond the few more years left for this lifestyle till car densities rise to a point where there will be perennial jams all day long. We have packed ourselves into a tight corner, by not spreading out and what is left to build is mass transportation. All the dreams of driving a lexus/bmw to work for IT-Vity folks is just that a pipe dream, unless of course you live within 2-3 km from the place you work.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 01 Jul 2013 20:54

Not to mention the rising levels of air pollution caused by all those jams. Fall in air quality in tier-2/3 towns and its direct relation to public health is alarming.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 08 Jul 2013 22:01

Saw this image in SSC forum of vintage Calcutta of the early 70's. When I was a elementary school student I remember the beginning days of the civil works with areas we frequent being all dug up. They have yet to completely connect all parts of the city after almost 40 years.

From the glacial pace of works it will take another 60 years to keep up with the expanding boundaries of the city...or perhaps never.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 08 Jul 2013 22:27

Some kind soul has doodled the wish list of lines for the future for Kolkata. Still a major part missing is a link along the N-S axis passing through Sealdah-ParkCircus-Ballygunge-Gariahat-Dhakuria-Jadavpur and further south to the existing line to Garia.
https://maps.google.co.in/maps/ms?msid= ... 4,0.363579

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 08 Jul 2013 22:40

sealdah is one of the intersection points of the NS and EW lines. all the other places are already near the existing NS line and the under construction EM bypass line.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 08 Jul 2013 23:25

You mean near the existing local commuter line (not metro) with connectivity to Sealdah ?

The metro line which exists is a good 1-2 km west of the axis I mentioned, and a similar distance to the under works EM Bypass line. The 'local trains' are not comparable to the comfort of metro travel at least from what I remember. I hardly traveled by the locals except once to Diamond Harbour to watch Halley's comet and a trip or two south to Baruipur.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 08 Jul 2013 23:36

EW line will pass through sealdah, near the current rly stn. it will intersect the existing metro line at the nxt stn, central.

1-2 kms can be managed by the very decent auto service, I don't think it's possible to cover every mile of the city right now. even with DMRC's vast network there are many places that are 15-20 min away from nearest metro stn.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 30 Jul 2013 02:23

High comedy. Let the metro folks repair the cracks. They have very good engineers.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/che ... 960719.ece

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/1411765

Wall cracks expose 'fissures' in Wesley parish

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 30 Jul 2013 08:45

digging anywhere in India is fraut with such dangers.. before it falls, they have to fix it.

i don't know any preventive steps to prevent tremors originating from these giant boring devices.

re-route is the best option.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 30 Jul 2013 21:09

http://m.economictimes.com/news/news/by ... 360511.cms

GUJARAT: Ahmedabad metro rail will be driverless and broad gauge project, said a top expert involved in the project. The broad gauge will result in savings of Rs 1,000 crore in capital expenditure and Rs 20 crore annually in operational expenditure. A Design Advisory Committee for the project has given a go ahead after considering pros and cons versus the standard metrog uage.

"Metro Expresslink for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA), the company in charge of the project, has zeroed in on Broad Gauge on the basis of recommendations of members ofDAC and their report submitted earlier to the State Government. In the last Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the report by the Gauge Committee was discussed and it was decided to do further study in detail to arrive at more informed decision," said an official of MEGA.

France-based metro rail consultants M/s Egis Rail has been appointed by MEGA to undertake a comparitive Cost Benefit Analysis of Broad Guage (BG) and Standard Guage. The findings of its report were placed before the DAC and all the members unanimously accepted it.

The report claimed that there will be cost saving on infrastructure and system, rolling stock and also on operation and maintenance on ongoing basis. By selecting BG there will cost saving on civil cost of stations by around 15%, on viaducts by around 2% and on depot by around 7%. The higher capacity of wider coaches of BG will reduce the requirement of the number of coaches and MEGA will save around 11% on rolling stock.

The total cost benefit for rolling stock and infrastructure and system in capital cost will be more than Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 20 crore per year in operation and Maintenance. Core infrastructure works will begin in fourth quarter of year 2013 and Phase I is scheduled to be completed by August, 2017. The entire project including Phase II will be fully operational in March 2021.

MEGA metro rail project will see adoption of latest technology, cutting edge civil infrastructure, and futuristic control mechanism. It will be India's first driverless metro system, resulting in low operations & maintenance cost, increased frequency and safety.

The DAC comprises of M Ravindra, Ex. Chairman Railway Board and Ex officio secretary to the Government of India, Sudesh Kumar, Member of Electrical Railway Board and Ex-officiosecretary to Government of India; R P Agarwal, Director (Technical) with IRWO and former commissioner of Railway Safety; K K Agarwal, former Member (Traffic) of The Railway Board and Ex-Officio Secretary to GoI; N K Goel, former Executive Director Railway Board.

Arunkumar · Post by **Arunkumar** » 02 Aug 2013 17:02

http://www.gujaratmetrorail.com/projects.html

Was impressed with MEGA's specs. The TOI ascent on wednesday had senior openings in MEGA of the level of executive director with a strict condition of applying within 15 days. If they manage to start operations of 83km of broad gauge metro by 2016 that would be a hugh achievement.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 03 Aug 2013 01:44

^^They are going to use the Third rail system for power. I guess this will be the third metro project in India after one of the Kolkata lines and the Bangalore Metro to use it. All the others seem to prefer overhead lines.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 03 Aug 2013 02:02

Kochi is third rail too, looks like. Dunno why they went for overhead lines in Dilli.

vina · Post by **vina** » 03 Aug 2013 05:21

MEGA metro rail project will see adoption of latest technology, cutting edge civil infrastructure, and futuristic control mechanism. It will be India's first driverless metro system, resulting in low operations & maintenance cost, increased frequency and safety.

I think all the trains in Metro in India (Blr and Delhi and Mumbai, Chennai, maybe not Cal, because it came much earlier) have the ATP/ATC and signalling via track and can be operated driverless. Nothing earth shattering about the MEGA one.

3rd rail is the easiest and most cost effective for a metro. In Dilli, the Baboons of the IR egged on by Politicos had a "brilliant" idea of running conventional suburban rails seamlessly on the metro and insisted on broad gauge and overhead catenary for that reason. The idiocy of that idea is mindboggling. They simply can never get their minds beyond running smelly shoddy, poor quality rubbish for the unwashed and doling out freebies . Excellence and quality is something that simply doesnt exist in their blood.

Sridharan fought tooth and nail against it, but the Baboons prevailed. It is only the later train lines that came on standard gauge in Delhi. Hence the older line in Delhi has isolated rolling stock and equipment ! It will require a gauge change at some point in the future and another round of "approvals" and NOC and documents in triplicate from Mantri and Baboons. Talk about them creating work to keep themselves busy and important. All the other metros are coming up as standard gauge.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 03 Aug 2013 07:26

So why not operate them driver less ??? whats stopping them from doing that ???

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 03 Aug 2013 11:26

What do we gain with driver less. Drivers are cheap to hire in India. One more level of eyes on the ground safety.

Sridharan was no angel either. After bowing to the broad gauge fight he then stiffed the railways babu's by bolting SG coaches to broad gauge boggies. I'm sure he thought he was getting even with the babudom, what he really did was screw the people who use it by reducing the carrying capacity of the coaches. I'm very certain India will come to regret putting SG coaches on our Metro's.

WRT third rail it not such a clean issue. There has been much debate on this. Third rail DC has some important operational limits. There is a reason the TGV & the Shinkansen use overhead centenary. I think once the metro systems mature, expand to 400 kms and performance becomes critical, the third rail choice will be regretted as well.

Arunkumar · Post by **Arunkumar** » 03 Aug 2013 19:04

Theo sir, Wiki tells me two of the largest metros i.e moscow and London which are almost 400 km in length are using third rail DC supply of around 630V. London is unique in the sense some of it uses differential voltage kind of thing with the third rail at -210v and fourth rail at 420v. The cantenary is used in shanghai because it uses a higher voltage of 1500vdc. The third rail seems to be the norm rather than exception.

member_27444 · Post by **member_27444** » 03 Aug 2013 19:10

Third rail is also used in NY NJ is most efficient for under ground but if flooding and drainage is problem lik Mumbai cantilever is thecway

Arunkumar · Post by **Arunkumar** » 03 Aug 2013 19:17

Mumbai also uses 25000 vac IIRC. Not seen in any other metro.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 04 Aug 2013 08:11

Very well written article to educate the layman on the pros and cons of the choices.

Traction choices: overhead ac vs third rail dc
http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/ro ... il-dc.html

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 04 Aug 2013 08:45

arvin wrote:Mumbai also uses 25000 vac IIRC. Not seen in any other metro.

Delhi uses the same, acc. to the article posted above by Bade, and that system too has some advantages and some limitations. The flooding problem which you mentioned must have weighed heavily in making the decision I guess, although most of the line is going to be elevated rather than underground. Mumbai floods like the banks of the Brahmaputra every Monsoon.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 23 Sep 2013 11:40

Jaipur Metro

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 24 Sep 2013 06:49

Jaipur is the fastest implementation so far of any Metro project. Last year this time around we were in Jaipur and saw massive construction works ongoing. Good work indeed. The first tier-2 city to get it done in the shortest period from design, approvals and delivery.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 07 Nov 2013 15:09

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/jayalalithaa-flags-off-metro-rail-test-run/article5321219.ece

Flagging off the test run of the Chennai Metro Rail, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa inquisitively watched the four-coach train making a small trip of one km along the test track in Koyambedu on Wednesday.

The test run marked an important milestone in the execution of the Rs.14,600-crore project that is expected to integrate mass rapid transport system in the city.

merlin · Post by **merlin** » 07 Nov 2013 19:12

negi wrote:Bangalore's traffic woes can be addressed in multiple ways obviously we need more roads and infra but for a start if the big 4 in IT here start promoting work from home for say 2 days a week then we will see significant reduction in traffic on road. I think time has come when IT industry wallahs start thinking rationally and trusting their troops a wee bit more , working from home can be effective if people are enabled and taught how to be an effective contributor without being physically present in office.

Eggjactly. ICs can definitely work from home at least 2 days a week but unless GoK cracks down and issues some kind of order this will not happen. I see waaaaaaaaaay too many people in cars travelling to work with every other seat empty. Bangalore just doesn't have the roads for it.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 07 Nov 2013 21:51

I continue to believe that at some point cars will have to be banned from within our cities. At densities approaching 50,000 per sqkm, there simply cannot be any space for cars. The land area under the car is probably worth 10-20 times the value of the car! Once the Metros are up and running, the central areas will have to cleared of cars first.

rgsrini · Post by **rgsrini** » 09 Nov 2013 01:24

^^Theoji,
To start with, they can charge a "Congestion fee" in core areas, similar to London, after ensuring that convenient public transport (such as Metro) is available for most part.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 15 Nov 2013 21:17

Gurgaon Metro, the circular line that connects to Delhi Metro, is up and running:

Source credit: metrofreak on SSC India

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 27 Nov 2013 03:26

The force behind the Metro

It is 9 p.m., the 12-hour night shift started an hour ago. Workers lug pipes and poles to the piling site. It is heads-down and work time. A couple of junior engineers from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) supervise work. “They are in the site-office,” we are told.

Workspace safety

The makeshift site-office is bright-lit. The junior engineers speak to a couple of workers, giving them instructions, meanwhile a worker signs the attendance register. Pooja Sudhir and Roshni C.V. are in-charge. Work is on at five rigs, which keeps them busy all night. They worked at the North Bridge site before being moved to this site. This is Roshni’s first job after graduating. It is exciting, she admits.

The inevitable, safety question pops up. “It is perfectly safe here. Plus there is frequent police patrolling and a police station nearby. We are safe here.”

There is a distant rumbling of machinery, “piling is on. We have to go there,” Pooja says as she hands us hard hats, “a must at our sites,” boots too, because of the slush. “And we will walk”, she says. It is impossible to walk through the enclosed stretch; one has to walk along the road between the partitions and the oncoming traffic. It is almost 9.30 p.m. At a time, during the shift, there are around 50 workers at work. The site wears a deserted look, but it turns out that the action is around the piling site.

There is a cluster of workers and engineers around a machine grinding a pit into the ground. Instructions are yelled back and forth. “In Delhi, we didn’t have to dig so much to reach hard surface. Here, we have to dig as deep as 27 metres because the soil is loose. And this takes time,” says Pankaj Kumar, half in exasperation. The native of Madhubani in Bihar, a site engineer with Jindal, sub-contractor on the project, he has been in Kochi for a week and all of it on the night shift. “I am sure Kochi is beautiful. Only that I need to see it in daylight,” he jokes.

Arrangements for accommodation for engineers and workers have been made at places such as Ponekkara, Pathadipalam and Kalamasserry (for workers on this stretch, we are told). It is national integration of sorts on site – there are professionals from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, Bengal, Orissa and Tamil Nadu besides Kerala.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 15 Aug 2015 06:42

From The Metro Rail Guy:

HISTORICAL DATES
Commencement of Metro operations
• Kolkata - 24 October 1984
• Delhi - 24 December 2002
• Bangalore - 20 October 2011
• Gurgaon - 14 November 2013
• Mumbai - 8 June 2014
• Jaipur - 3 June 2015
• Chennai - 29 June 2015

2015 Calendar
- Delhi: Badarpur-YMCA Chowk in Faridabad will open later this month/early next month
- Bangalore: Mysore Road - Magadi Road line will open in September
- Chennai: Little Mount – OTA line will start testing in October
- Hyderabad: Nagole - Secunderabad will start in December

Lots of info and daily updates on the website and twitter handle.

salaam · Post by **salaam** » 15 Aug 2015 08:08

Rohit_K wrote: Lots of info and daily updates on the website and twitter handle.

Above site is an one stop shop, many thanks for sharing it. Now I don't have to go to wiki or individual sites every month.

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 19 Aug 2015 21:03

Finally..something I've wanted for a long time. Chennai Metro is looking to connect with Siruseri in Phase 2 - this will be beneficial for all ITvity folks living/working on OMR

http://themetrorailguy.com/2015/08/19/c ... iruseri-2/

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 19 Aug 2015 21:58

If and when it runs, it'll be excellent! A large number of people will gladly travel a/c train rather than endure dust and humidity of the bus journey. I'm assuming this will be a branch off- at tvm station onto OMR? How though? Underground? That'll be a few years of nightmare travel daily

Rohit_K · Post by **Rohit_K** » 19 Aug 2015 23:11

The infra for Madhavaram - Siruseri line will be completely new and not shared with the MRTS. At TVM, there will be a metro station to switch to the MRTS only. Whether it'll be overground or underground, the DPR will reveal it when it's ready in about a year from now.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 19 Aug 2015 23:41

Guys, if you want to use codes, the correct one is TYMR

. Or Thiruvanmiyur for those unfamiliar with codes. A metro here will be tricky due to land costs and space. Possible locations are on OMR itself, right next to the MRTS station, or under this road. Under the MRTS station is the canal, so a station there may not be easy. Likewise, adding another level to the MRTS station with the metro on top may not be possible as the load bearing capacity of the current structure will need to be evaluated, considering it is built on top of the water way with loose soil. But if it is possible, it remains the best option from the land availability and interchange PoV, and will be the 4th such location in Chennai if that happens

- Central, Mount, Alandur being the other three.

Frankly, this change is welcome, and is a far better plan than the earlier version. OMR is a much needed addition, as is the plan to connect the Madhavaram-Perumbakkam line at St Thomas Mount or Alandur, instead of the original plan of OTA station. That would have been silly, to have 3 hubs on 3 consecutive stations. However, I am still concerned about the lack of planning to support the expanding city westwards. Unlike Mumbai, Chennai can grow in 3 directions, and the metro should be planned to expand in all three. In this plan, the western lines toward Porur, Poonamallee and beyond are non-existent. This is short sighted, considering the plan to have a greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur. The Koyambedu-Light House line is too short; extend that westwards along the Poonamallee high road, which can be elevated due to wider roads thereby saving on costs, and take it all the way into Poonamallee/Nazarathpet. That will keep the option open for a future extension to the airport as and when it happens. A spur through Porur and reaching Kundrathur will also be helpful. A metro in this area will open up a large area for residential layouts, and can hopefully de-congest the core city a little. It is way to dense today.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Aug 2015 03:05

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....

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 20 Aug 2015 09:49

Just back from a road trip to Bangalore. The stretch from the point where the by Poonamalle bypass road joins NH4 to Kathipara junction took one and a half hour in the afternoon on a working day. The reason as far as I could make out was the huge real estate development both commercial residential on both sides of a seven to eight mile stretch. Small streets and bylanes intersect with the national highway. Traffic on the highway had to be stopped to allow for traffic from either side to cut through or make a right turn to join the highway. This happens every 500 metres or so. Heading out West out of Chennai is proving to be a nightmare. Looks set to be so for the forseeable future. 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.