Indian Railways Thread (Dec 2015)

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 15 Jun 2023 18:57

This guy took my comments and tight jhapaads on his older videos very seriously and finally went to the Tapi bridge on the WDFC and shot a video, since I suggested projects to make his channel more interesting. He still is a work in progress and he is getting tutorials from me on how to make his topics of interest. Nevertheless the jhapaads have had a desired effect and he has upped his game. He has taken a view from the side. The still shot of his video shows that only two pier are left and that too one is close to finishing. That makes it 4 spans left to complete the bridge. Bridge is being executed by L&T while over all package is by Tata+Mitsui+IRCON. He is at the Vadodara end of the bridge. Tracks stop 300m from the bridge at that end. Surat end of the bridge the opposite end, has a new DFC station New Udhna(under construction) and the rail flyover at Niyol over Jalgaon line(yet to be fabricated and then pulled across) and lots of earthwork left as per this guys previous videos. Then tracks have to be linked from bridge to Bhestan completing Surat bypass. He deserves a like and encouragement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDq2_VaAPRw

This bridge was started in 2018. No doubt Covid intervened, but even L&T with its superb management skills have faltered a bit in constructing this bridge. I hope they complete the bridge by early 2024 and get freights off the Mumbai to Ahmedabad/Delhi line and decongest Surat through this bypass. Its not a very long bridge 700-800m and there is no great challenge. The very tall girders are because the bridge has to accommodate double stacked containers.

This bridge is one of the several causes why WDFC is running way beyond schedule.

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 16 Jun 2023 18:43

DFCCIL Commissioning of Ahraura-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Section Marks Milestone in DFC Project

WDFC + EDFC Status - 77.2% Completed

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 17 Jun 2023 11:38

Last mile connectivity of DFC................

₹858 crore DPR of 3.5km rail line from G Noida to new Dadri railway station approved
By Vinod Rajput
Jun 15, 2023 11:28 PM IST

The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India on Thursday approved the detailed project report of a 3.5km rail project to be constructed at a budget of ₹858 crore to provide connectivity from the logistics and transport hub being developed in Greater Noida to New Dadri railway station.
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.The Integrated Industrial Township Greater Noida Limited (IITGNL), which is developing the logistics and transport hub, will provide the ₹858 crore funding for the project.
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The rail link will be completed within three years, she said..
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The multimodal logistics hub is spread on 333 hectares and the transport hub is being developed over 145 hectares in Greater Noida.
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“This project will help in transportation of cargo within 24 hours from Greater Noida to Gujarat, Kolkata and Mumbai. Currently, in the absence of this rail connectivity, it takes four to five days to ship cargo to these cities. The Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, of which these projects are a part, will also benefit all western Uttar Pradesh cities as farmers can send their agricultural produce to other cities within 24 hours,” said Maheshwari.

The integrated industrial township in Greater Noida is on the way to becoming home to manufacturing units, which make electronic products and other items, she said.

Read Full Story from Here//
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/n ... 94496.html

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 17 Jun 2023 15:57

Mollick.R wrote:Last mile connectivity of DFC................

The rail link will be completed within three years, she said..

Read Full Story from Here//
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/n ... 94496.html

What the hell is the alignment? 3.5km in 3 years...

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 17 Jun 2023 15:57

Mollick.R wrote:Last mile connectivity of DFC................

The rail link will be completed within three years, she said..

Read Full Story from Here//
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/n ... 94496.html

What the hell is the alignment? 3.5km in 3 years

...

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 21 Jun 2023 05:55

The long, long wait is over since 1962. I. G. Patel Commission under Nehru had recommended a new railway bridge across the Ganga connecting Tarighat and Ghazipur and this was accepted. A road bridge was built in the 1970s and named after Hav. Abdul Hamid PVC who was a hero of the 1965 Khem Karan battle and was from Ghazipur. Abdul Hamid road bridge is now severely stressed, due to poor construction and heavily overloaded trucks that ply on the bridge. Governments came and Governments went, all sorts of promises made, but bridge was always illa and nothing done. Finally in 2016, PM Modi laid the foundation of a new road and rail bridge with bottom deck to accommodate double lined rail and top deck road. It will decongest Mughalsarai/DDU and offer better rail connectivity from Ghazipur to South bank of Ganga. Manoj Sinha current J&K Governor was the Ghazipur MP and work went very fast but he lost the 2019 election to a Samajwadi goon who was a criminal. Work slowed down and also Covid intervened. 4 days ago the CRS took place on the bridge and today the bridge is opened finally for rail traffic, 61 years after it was promised. Road traffic will have to wait a bit as the approach roads have to be made to the bridge. It is a huge occasion for people of Purvanchal to celebrate esp people from Varanasi and also those in Bihar from Ballia and Chapra who will definitely use this bridge and save time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aSNf0n7xsc

The saga of the bridge: Nehru chacha cried par kuch nahi hua

https://www.governancenow.com/news/regu ... n-railways

I expect this bridge will become a feeder route for the EDFC. It connects Ghazipur on North bank of Ganga with Dildarnagar on the DDU(Mughalsarai) to Patna mainline which is on the south bank of the Ganga. Dildarnagar is 54km from DDU and EDFC. So Varanasi gets decongested, freight can use this bridge, does not have to go to Varanasi to cross Ganga over the old Dufferin bridge. Freight to Northeast India and North Bihar coming on the EDFC will possibly use this new bridge now and stop using Dufferin bridge in Varanasi.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 21 Jun 2023 21:10

One of the projects in the list I wrote up ^^^. Update: Bangalore Cantt. station redevelopment, Target October 2025. Concrete batching plant set up onsite, other preliminary works started

https://twitter.com/SWRRLY/status/16708 ... 82/photo/1

Trials started June 19th of Vande Bharat between Bangalore and Dharwad.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 22 Jun 2023 09:08

I use it regularly. Just removing the auto $hit-show from outside the station will improve its usability 400%.

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 22 Jun 2023 13:02

New Railway Bridge Being Constructed Near Delhi's Iconic Lohe Ka Pul by December 2023. This report perfectly illustrates the issue being faced in India. When you watch reports like this you really have to wonder about the absolute mountain that India has to climb.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 22 Jun 2023 13:13

Prasad wrote:I use it regularly. Just removing the auto $hit-show from outside the station will improve its usability 400%.

our revered and eternally transactional minorities.

the congi win has further stiffened their jihadi spine

soon we are likely to be looking at go/no go areas in many localities

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 22 Jun 2023 18:40

Railway ministry approves procurement of 238 Vande Bharat Metro rakes under MUTP for Mumbai
PTI Last Updated: May 19, 2023, 11:50 PM IST

The Railway Board on Friday approved the procurement of 238 Vande Bharat Metro trains for Mumbai, senior Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) officials said. These rakes will be procured under the ambitious Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III (MUTP-III) and 3A (MUTP-3A), which are being helmed by the Railway ministry and the Maharashtra government to augment the capacity of the metropolis' suburban train network, they added.

"These trains will be manufactured by the technology partner ensuring Make in India guidelines of the Centre's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The procurement will be undertaken by MRVC and it will be
with maintenance requirements spanning 35 years," said an MRVC spokesperson. Two depots for maintenance of the rakes already approved under MUTP-III and 3A will be set up by the technology partner, the official added. MUTP-III and MUTP-3A projects are worth Rs 10,947 crore and Rs 33,690 crore respectively.

As per the railways, Vande Bharat Metro will be a state-of-the-art rake that will be deployed for short distances to cover cities around 100 kilometres apart

Read Full Story from Here//
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... s?from=mdr

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... content=23

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 24 Jun 2023 22:10

North East में Sikkim तक पहुंचेगी Indian Railway, China को टेंशन, WB के Siliguri तक ही थी रेलवे लाइन

Strategic connectivity for Indian Army

sanjayc · Post by **sanjayc** » 24 Jun 2023 22:50

Was in Sikkim last month. Saw construction of this railway line in full swing. Of the 45-km rail line, 38.62 km are tunnels while 2.24 km are bridges

This article gives the latest status - trains to run next year
https://news.abplive.com/northeast/sikk ... ar-1605842

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 27 Jun 2023 08:07

5 VB trains to be flagged off today by PM Modi in Bhopal.

1. Bangalore to Dharwad.

2. Madgaon(Goa) to Mumbai.

3. Patna to Ranchi.

4. Bhopal to Jabalpur

5. Bhopal to Indore.

Both Bhopal trains will start from Rani Kamlapati station.

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 28 Jun 2023 12:21

Assam's first underwater tunnel to be constructed between Numaligarh and Gohpur at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore
By Bikash Singh, ET Bureau Last Updated: Jun 24, 2023, 09:38 PM IST

Assam's first underwatertunnel to be constructed between Numaligarh and Gohpur at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that tenders for DPR preparation will open next month. “I had a thought that there are several bridges over the river, can we have a tunnel under water. We know about Atal tunnel of Jammu and Kashmir amidst the mountains. I was thinking can we have a tunnel under the river Brahmaputra where railways can move and vehicles to can move.”

He added, “I felt probably this thought might be a dream and left it. One day in Delhi I was told that we can have tunnel under river Brahmaputra. Where it will come up, discussions took place. How much money will be required Rs
6000 Crore?” Sarma said,Where it will come up, discussions took place. How much money will be required Rs 6000 Crore?”

Sarma said, “We decided it will come between Numaligarh and Gohpur where both rails and vehicles will move. The tender for DPR will open on July 4. God willing during my tenure as the chief minister we will be able to start the work of the tunnel. Prime minister Narendra Modi has cleared the project. The two banks of Brahmaputra North and south will come closer.”

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... s?from=mdr

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 28 Jun 2023 12:22

Assam’s First Underwater Tunnel To Come Up Under Brahmaputra Soon | Read Full Plan Here
Updated: June 24, 2023 5:52 PM IST

The plan of the underwater tunnel calls for the construction of three parallel tunnels- one for road traffic, one for rail traffic, and another for emergency purposes.
With the Jamurihat-Silghat network, the strategic multi-modal transportation system will integrate the rail and highway networks towards North Assam, Tawang, and the rest of Arunachal Pradesh, a report by TOI said.
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Notably, the underwater tunnel will take off from about 9 km upstream of the existing Kaliabhomora (Tezpur) road bridge, and it will connect Jakhlabandha railway station on the south bank and Dhaliabil railway station on the northern bank of Brahmaputra, as per the Sawarajya report.

Interestingly, the underwater tunnel project will benefit the country as a whole and Northeast strategically by reducing travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

https://www.india.com/news/india/assams ... e-6130533/

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 28 Jun 2023 13:00

Exclusive | Indian Railways plans to float tender worth Rs 25,000 crore to procure 60,000 wagons in July-Sept
YARUQHULLAH KHAN JUNE 23, 2023 / 06:02 PM IST

As part of its plan to increase the share of Indian Railways' (IR) freight traffic, the Ministry of Railways is planning to procure another 60,000 wagons at a cost of around Rs 25,000 crore.

Sources close to the development said that the ministry will in July-September float tenders for the procurement of the wagons, of which 10,000 may be aluminium.

"The ministry is finalising a tender to procure another 50,000 wagons and is also looking to float a separate tender to procure 10,000 aluminium wagons," a senior Railway Ministry official said.

He added that the new tenders are part of Indian Railways' long-term plan to increase the share of freight traffic carried by rail from the current share of 27 percent to 45 percent by 2030.

"Around 20,000 rakes (a rake refers to coupled coaches of a train but excluding the locomotive) from the second round of tenders will be procured by 2025, and the remaining will be delivered in between 2026 and 2028," the official said.
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The proposed tender for wagons is on top of the railways’ June 2022 contracts worth Rs 23,500 crore for the supply of 60,000 wagons placed on Titagarh Wagons, Texmaco Rail & Engineering, Hindustan Engineering Industries, Commercial Engineer & Body Builders Co and Oriental Foundry.

Last month, Jupiter Wagons' managing director Vivek Lohia told Moneycontrol that they expect Indian Railways to come out with tenders for 50,000 to 80,000 new wagons in 2023-24.

Lohia added that his company plans to bid for these tenders and is eyeing new orders for a minimum of 20,000-odd wagons from the railways in the fiscal.

Indian Railways currently has a stock of about 320,000 wagons and will use the new wagons to supplement this capacity as part of its larger plan to cater to 45 percent of India's freight traffic by 2030.

Last year, the railways flagged off its first indigenously manufactured aluminium goods train rake in October. Made in collaboration with the wagons division of the Kolkata-based Besco Limited and aluminium major Hindalco, it also has a lower carbon footprint for every 100 kg of weight reduction in wagons, the railways had said.

Read Full Story From Here//
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/busin ... 47681.html

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 03 Jul 2023 17:47

EDFC and WDFC Update

1. 1809 km from Son Nagar(Bihar) to Sanand(Ahmedabad suburb) operationalized. Entire length of main arm of the EDFC of 932 km from Son Nagar Bihar to Dadri in UP operational. EDFC connected through WDFC by double stack enabled double freight line, Dadri to Rewari on greenfield alignment via Sohna in Haryana which is operational. Rewari to Sanand also operational. 880km of WDFC operational including connections to Mundhra(Adani) port, Pipavav port and Kandla port.

2. Punjab section of EDFC is single lined due to LA issues. 400km from Khurja on main arm of EDFC to Ludhiana. Ludhiana to New Shambhu on Haryana/Punjab border outside Ambala 82km freight trials taking place and will be operational in about 2-3 weeks. New Khatauli UP to Khurja 134km freight trials also taking place. 216/400km finished. in Punjab, Haryana, Western UP section. All of Punjab section of EDFC is finished freight trials taking place.

https://twitter.com/dfccil_india/status ... 5424979971

Left is 185km New Khatauli---Saharanpur-----Yamunanagar------Ambala-----Shambhu, target Dec 2023. This will complete EDFC.
Total length EDFC 1330km. 350km from Son Nagar to Andal in WB via Jharkhand, EDFC mired in politics and LA issues. Will take another decade to complete.

3. WDFC diesel loco trial took place on June 30th over New Narmada bridge between Makarpura(Vadodara) and Gothangam(Surat) 103km

https://twitter.com/dfccil_india/status ... 9363813376

Sections left on WDFC for track linking

(a) Sanand to Makarpura 125km Target Dec 2023. L&T+Sojitz executors.

(b) Surat city bypass 40km. This involves completion of bridge over Tapi river on the bypass which is approaching completion. Target Dec 2023. Executors Tata Construction+Mitusi+IRCON

https://twitter.com/dfccil_india/status ... 4859095040

(c) Sanjan(on Gujarat/MH border) to Vaitarna 80km target Dec 2023.Executors Tata Construction+Mitsui+IRCON

(d) Vaitarna to JNPT port 125km lots and lots of work left Tata Construction dropped the ball repeatedly. Earthworks incomplete in large stretches. Hopefully they will finish by early 2025. The three videos linked below, shows the immense work left. First video from JNPT to Panvel, next Panvel to Kopar where WDFC jumps over 6 CR lines via Rail flyover. Last video Kopar to Vaitarna. Shows earthworks done by Tata are way too little. Executors Tata Construction+Mitsui+IRCON

Three part journey along WDFC alignment JNPT to Vaitarna 125km, shows the dismal nature of the work by Tata Constructions who have been warned many times and do not do much. They were kicked out and threatened to go to court and this would have delayed the project even more. Because of their tardiness WDFC is delayed to 2025. Idiot company. Cannot handle multiple projects around India. They are also doing Jewar International airport.

Part 1. JNPT to Panvel drone journey WDFC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmWZ4xIX22M

Part 2. Panvel to Kopar drone journey WDFC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHSosZ46WsY

Part 3. Kopar to Vaitarna---WDFC drone journey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAf0CiSc0-w

Total WDFC left for track linking 380km. Total length WDFC 1509km. In the four sections (a)---(d) it is (d) the end run to JNPT that is the issue. It is this 125km section that will delay the WDFC from its target Dec 2023 to 2025. MH govt of UT(Unhelpful attitude for LA), Tata Construction, NGT (mangroves) all conspired to screw this part.

Loco trial between New Kalanour and New Pilkhani 17km over new bridge over Yamuna river EDFC section on the Khurja to Ludhiana section is also imminent. Was to be done June 30th.

Bottom line EDFC will be finished Dec 2023. WDFC will be finished Dec 2023 except the Mh section Vaitarna to JNPT port. Freight from NCR region to Gujarat ports is making it in 50 hours now via WDFC and will further fall as the days go by. Maersk is guaranteeing 60 hours delivery time to Gujarat ports and Pipavav in particular from ICD Sonipat container terminal. They are running Pratigya Express on the WDFC, private operators can use DFCs. All this will become 36 hours in 6 months.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 04 Jul 2023 21:50

Vsundar,

Thanks for tracking progress in minute detail.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 08 Jul 2023 18:58

Thank you very much Vsunder ji! We love reading your reports. Just appreciating your efforts.
thanks you
Sandeep

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 09 Jul 2023 08:03

This video shows clearly that the rail flyover over the Ambala---Kurukshetra---Delhi tracks and also over the GT Road/NH 44 on the Ambala bypass is finished. Track linking is over on both flyovers and also connects to the EDFC in the direction of Yamuna Nagar. So all that remains is track linking for about 2-3km adjacent to Ambala Cantt. yard. This is because of LA issues with CSD(Canteen Stores Department) of the Indian Army adjacent to Ambala Cantt. yard. That issue has been resolved and DFCCIL will pay the Army money for the land, build a new CSD building and a children's park. The CSD buildings that lie in the right of way of the EDFC have been demolished.

The video linked here is a month old and New Shambhu to Kalanour is scheduled to be completed end of August or mid September which will finish 179km package 2 between Ludhiana to New Pilkhani being executed by GMR construction. So I am confident this will be really done by September well before Dec 2023. In package 1, L&T
an 88km section remains to be commissioned out of which about 15km remains to be track linked. We are talking of about 20km of track linking to finish everything of the EDFC.
Hopefully by October 2023 EDFC is totally finished before the Dec 2023 deadline which is much delayed. WDFC as I have said JNPT to Vaitarna 120km is the big problem with Tata showing no urgency to finish, Dec 2024 is the new deadline who knows. Rest of 1506km of WDFC should be done by Dec 2023.

https://youtu.be/kT4ghhLPsjs

OHE work and track packing and ballast only remains between Ambala Cantt. and Shambhu. So only that 3km track linking and all done for Package 2, 179km Ludhiana to New Pilkhani UP. End is in sight of EDFC !!!

https://youtu.be/5i9OkcmkMiw

DFC tracks have no surface crossing with any IR tracks anywhere, only rail flyovers and spur lines to IR at some places. Also DFCs will be level crossing free which also benefits IR tracks if they are parallel to DFC tracks.

Thanks to all who find my posts useful.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 09 Jul 2023 09:27

The 97 km from Itarsi to Bhopal line tripling is fast nearing completion. Only a 23km ghat sections remains which was to open May 2023 but has been delayed. RVNL is the executing agency with 5 tunnels and 14 major bridges. The line passes through the Ratapani Tiger forest and there were severe restrictions on tunneling activities with zero deviations from the existing alignment. Due to active tunnels being close all tunneling stopped when a train was passing through a nearby tunnel and due to animals no activity was done at night. So work was slow. In April 90% of the work on the 23 km section was complete. RVNL has created a whole bunch of animal over passes to prevent animals like tigers straying on the tracks as this has caused deaths of tigers in the past. New ponds have been created where water is being pumped by solar powered pumps. 125km of the Bhopal to Bina line is all tripled and 70% of the Jhansi to Bina 153 km distance. The entire setcion Agra Cantt---Gwalior---Jhansi---Bina--Bhopal--Itarsi and Itarsi bypass is being tripled as it is a major North to South trunk route from Delhi to Chennai/Hyderbad and Delhi to Mumbai via Manmad. Here is the tripling in the Barkhera to Budni 23km ghat in the Vindhyas between Itarsi and Bhopal, which should be activated in a about 2 months, certainly they missed May deadline, the forest Ratapani tiger forest where also lies the famous Bhimbhetka prehistoric cave paintings which I have seen and are fabulous and date back 10,000 years like Altamira(Spain) and Lascaux(France). Those places humans are not allowed to see the paintings as breath is deteriorating them, but at Bhimbetka which is a UNESCO site you can go up close and nobody goes there, I was the only one there that day. Indians wanna see Dilli ka Lal Qila!! Then eat biryani de chevre.

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

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 09 Jul 2023 21:25

Ambala has II corps (Kharga Corps) along with Western command HQ in Chandimandir (about 50 KM north). There are armored divisions/regiments located at Ambala, Patiala, Hisar and Chandimandir (also further north at Jalandhar, Amritsar and Pathankot) and good infrastructure here (Railways and Roads) is required for fast mobilization.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 10 Jul 2023 18:00

@SBajwa sir: There is a special spur line under construction from EDFC New Shambhu station. The main EDFC track gains height soon after New Shambhu and crosses over the IR Amritsar to Ambala track and changes alignment to be on the right away from Rajpura city where there would not be land. The spur line keeps going straight and enters Rajpura yard and turns left towards Patiala and Bathinda. This is a direct spur line which will be an EDFC feeder line. Bathinda is not only petrochemicals but also Strike corps and EDFC will allow movement East. Also Rajpura---Patiala---Bathinda is almost doubled maybe finished this financial year that is doubling.

The amount of infra work that is going on is on a gigantic scale, none of this gets mentioned on BRF. EDFC passes along the boundary walls of IAF Sarsawa and IAF Bamrauli Central Command on Prayagraj EDFC bypass. In addition from Saharanpur (EDFC splits here to go towards Khurja) the line to Moradabad and beyond after Shahajahanpur is almost doubled to Burhwal, one or two block sections left Shajahanpur to Buhwal. Burhwal to Gonda is being tripled. That means double and triple line all the way to Guwahati and Lumding through the chicken neck area near Jalpaiguri that is already doubled and electrified. With Sivok Rangpo moving fast, we will see a doubled line, in parts tripled to Sikkim and Nathu La which is only single near to Sikkim/Rangpo. Upto Rangiya the lines are doubled (Rangiya to Guwahati under doubling) and there one fork goes to Itanagar and Arunachal Pradesh.
These doublings have eliminated traffic bottlenecks around Lucknow by bypassing the city completely. Even Lucknow is seeing a major infra push with doubling being built around the city and re-routing freight on the city outskirts.

^^^^ You saw line tripling Bhopal to Itarsi. Sudarshan Corps HQ is at Bhopal and so is Armored Corps a bit up at Babina and Talbehat. Further up you have Mathura Cantt and Agra Cantt and Gwalior TACDE etc etc IAF Maharajpur. All this is being tripled lined all the way to Chennai. Tripling is over, Bina to Bhopal, Jhansi to Bina 70% and about 60% Jhansi to Agra Cantt. Mathura to Agra Cantt some LA lafda. Delhi to Mathura is quadrupled.

In addition a large number of road bridges and some rail cum road bridges are coming up across the Ganga in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand as the number of bridges are just too few. Once the bridges come up( some are done like at Ghazipur commissioned last month and at Munger) it will be very easy to cross towards Nepal, Sikkim by road at multiple points along the Ganga and make connectivity between North and South Bihar easy. Ditto for Brahmaputra, Bogibeel bridge is not the only one, another bridge coming up and also a tunnel under the Brahmaputra that will open near Tezpur so multiple Brahmaputra crossings.

Also back to Patiala, Bathinda: the Amritsar, Bathinda, Barmer, Jamnagar expressway that runs parallel to IB is fast finishing. Journey time wll be cut from 27 hours to 13 hours and IAF has also landed planes C 130s and Mirages on built portion of Expressway to test mobility. This is under Bharatmala Pariyojana. This connects three major refineries Bathinda, Barmer and Motabhai's Jamnagar, but also allows movement of army all along IB if trouble is imminent.

Also Daund to Manmad is seeing doubling with large sections doubled. Ahmednagar is on that route and there is an Armored Corps there. Tracks are being upgraded to 25 tonne axle loads while DFCs are to international standards of 32 tonne axle loads with 0.5m blanketing mandatory on the DFCs to allow such heavy freight. In addition we have the Karnaprayag rail project and the 4 laning Chandigarh to Manali which is also almost over and improved roads to Tibet border through Joshimath better than the horrible ones I have traveled in the past.
Lastly the Bilaspur to Beri line is also reaching completion. Let us see if they push the line to Manali and then to Leh which will be a remarkable feat if achieved.

PS: I talk about the Munger Ganga bridge above. This is typical of the crap that happened. ABV announced in 2002. Nothing happened. Finally opened in 2016 by Modi. Shri Krishna Ganga Setu, google and check.

New bridge is coming across Ganga in Jharkhand at Sahibganj, road cum rail bridge and a beautiful cable stayed bridge KacchiDargah, Bidupur bridge on Patna ring road. There is even a rail bridge that was destroyed in the Bihar earthquake of 1935 and was rebuilt after 80+ years with endless governments promising it. It was over the Kosi river a violent river that changes its course and discharges huge volumes of water from Himalayas. 80 years to wait for a bridge wow!!

drnayar · Post by **drnayar** » 10 Jul 2023 18:25

https://urbantransportnews.com/news/ind ... from-japan

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is inviting bids to procure 24 exceptional E5 Series Shinkansen trainsets from Japan. India has launched a tender for the same.

E5 Series trainsets, it starts with the speed, which reaches up to 320 km/h. These trains ensure swift and efficient travel while seamlessly connecting destinations. The trainsets feature a sleek and aerodynamic design, which minimizes air resistance and noise levels. This enables a smoother and quieter ride for passengers. It is configurable in either 10-car or 12-car formations, thus capable of adapting to different passenger demands.

The interior possesses excellent comfort and space, with ample seating and legroom.

Companies are gearing up to submit their bids by the end of October.

A single Shinkansen trainset consists of 10 coaches and is capable of accommodating 690 passengers.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 13 Jul 2023 05:55

This interview is important with Srinivas of DFCCIL. Lot of things said esp. many questions are answered that are frequently asked. Let me just single out five points made

1. DPR of other freight corridors are being prepared and then to be submitted to the government.

2. Coal rakes on EDFC are taking 1.5 days to reach power plants as opposed to 4 days before. Completion of EDFC is end September(which I have said already) and fully functional end December, that is from September to Dec 2023 freight trials.

3. WDFC containers are taking 30 hours or less to Mundhra port and Gujarat ports from Delhi NCR instead of 72 hours before.

4. Private operators and DFC.

5. Power station which needs 25 day stock can reduce stock to 7 days using EDFC, example of the multiplier effect DFC is having.

Please watch this video.

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

Prem Kumar · Post by **Prem Kumar** » 13 Jul 2023 09:42

Vsunder Ji: earlier on July 3, you had mentioned that it took 50 hrs for containers to get from NCR to Gujarat Ports & Maersk was committing to 60 hrs. The latest post (from the interview) says 30 hrs

Which one is it?

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 13 Jul 2023 18:29

@ Prem Kumar: I had also said in the post you quote that times will drop. Let us take Pratigya Express and AP Maersk. It was indeed launched November 2022 and here is the announcement by them

https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/20 ... il-service

Note it clearly states two and a half days time=60 hours to Pipavav from Delhi NCR. No logistic carrier would like to incur a penalty by saying 30 hours say and the cargo reaches after 35 hours. So they will put some leeway in their schedule. Next there are a number of very large container terminals astride the WDFC. One such is at Kathuwas near Rewari, why is not possible that the cargo train stops there to pick up additional containers? This will add to the transit time. Next the train has to travel from the Internal Container depot at Sonipat to Rewari to hop onto the WDFC and this means traveling on IR and competing with passenger trains and traveling slowly. Once it reaches Mahesana on the WDFC it has to hop off and travel on IR to Pipavav. A part of this IR line to Pipavav port is single lined as it travels through the Gir forest area and GoI does not have permission to double the tracks. A feeder line at Mahesana from the WDFC to the line towards Pipavav avoiding surface crossing with the IR tracks out of Ahmedabad has been opened in recent days, so it will help. There is a video on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfvqiZ9rIU0

Next the Dadri to Rewari greenfield 135km loop of WDFC that connects EDFC to WDFC has been opened in recent days. When it was opened only one track was opened. There is a tunnel here and a 100 feet deep cut through the Arravalli and it was a very serious challenged to build through it. Also this was needed to maintain a 1:200 ruling gradient design requirement on the WDFC. The second track was completed a few days ago. Srinivas says in his video above--"some minor works left". This is because of the deep cut which is necessitated by WDFC keeping the 1:200 gradient and passing under the KMP Expressway. The sides need substantial geo stabilization by shotcrete in the rocky portions and planting grass and shrubs where there is mud and/or rocks enclosed in netting on abutments. This work is nearly complete. Plus they are building a pump house of drain off monsoon rains.
They are running freight two or three times a day at slow speeds till the new tracks settle down and once they are deemed fit, freight can run at optimal speeds from Dadri and Tuglakabad container terminals to Rewari and the WDFC and Gujarat ports. All this is in the last month. So transit times will come down from the 50 I said a while back. Here take a look at this video which shows what has happened in the last month on the Dadri(EDFC) to Rewari(WDFC) connector. You can see some minor, finishing works still taking place. Video is 12 days old. All this when fully complete and operational will bring down transit time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlkXL_W7GWU

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 19 Jul 2023 18:27

I had already posted that this trial will happen June 30th with a notice from the Amar Ujjala Hindi newspaper ^^^. They finally did this 15 days late. The trial was over a 17km distance between New Kalanaur and New Pilkhani on the single lined Khurja to Ludhiana section of the EDFC. With this only 170km of EDFC left to open which will be done end of next month August or end of September. This newly opened section contains a new bridge over the Yamuna river, one of the major bridges on the Punjab section of the EDFC. The Yamuna forms the riparian border between Haryana and UP. Like further up the Ghaggar(the ancient Saraswati of the Indus valley civilization) which the EDFC also crosses just after Ambala towards Ludhiana forms the border between Haryana and Punjab states. You have seen that river, the Ghaggar, on the video I have posted above ^^^ a dry bed unlike the ancient descriptions of a huge Saraswati river. On the 170km portion, track linking is mostly complete with station works, OHE work etc taking place. Barely 10km of track linking is left around Saharanpur with buildings to be demolished in the right of way. EDFC will be the first to complete by end September and thereafter after a period of freight trials this 170km will be declared open for commercial use. The rest of the EDFC 1160km, is already declared open and freight moving on it since 2-3 months. Total length 1332km. The WB and Jharkhand portion has been curtailed from 500km to 350km due to politics and it will be some time if at all before it gets moving. The EDFC as envisaged now will end at Andal just inside the WB border. GoI has dropped plans to construct it to Dankuni due to the non-cooperative nature of the state government of WB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1avW5fDfF1M

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 20 Jul 2023 13:04

Indian Railways To Standardise Train Fleet With LHB And Vande Bharat Coaches For Greater Efficiency

https://swarajyamag.com/infrastructure/ ... efficiency

How did IR end up with 28 different types of Rake architecture....

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 21 Jul 2023 05:45

rajkumar wrote: ↑20 Jul 2023 13:04 Indian Railways To Standardise Train Fleet With LHB And Vande Bharat Coaches For Greater Efficiency

https://swarajyamag.com/infrastructure/ ... efficiency

How did IR end up with 28 different types of Rake architecture....

They didn't, the article is BS. For passenger operations, they have 2 basic types: LHB and ICF from a bogie/frame/shell PoV. Some additional sub-specialisations like AC, and non-AC, and the generator cars. Rest is all internal configuration depending on the coach class: first class, second class, unreserved, pantry car, mail car, etc. I count maybe 6-7 types and they can reduce it to 3-4 max by phasing out all ICF coaches. But they cannot standardize the internal configurations completely, i.e. have only 3AC coaches - they'll still need the pantry cars, generator cars, and other accommodation classes like general (unreserved) class, etc.

The article title makes more sense - there will be coaches based on only two platforms going forward: LHB and VB. There will be sub-specialisations within this, but if since VB itself is based on LHB tech, the base platform for passenger operations will become unified and consistent, reducing their logistics costs.

If one were discussing goods wagons, then there are many different types amounting to a dozen or more. I don't think that article was referrring to goods wagons, but that's where the mulitplicity of the types exist, and that's by design.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 22 Jul 2023 00:36

100% Contracts for all Civil work, tunnels and viaducts(465 km) awarded for the entire bullet train alignment. In Gujarat all contracts for track laying and linking have also been awarded. Track laying contract in MH remains to be awarded.

The last contract to be awarded was to L&T for a 135km section from Shilphata to Gujarat border with MH. This section is entirely in MH with a 4.3km in Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

465km viaduct+21km tunnels(9 km of this is under the sea). Total distance is 507km.

disha · Post by **disha** » 22 Jul 2023 04:43

^ Jai Ho. Many many thanks VSunder'ji for bringing us this cheerful news.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 23 Jul 2023 21:38

At the meeting between Haryana Chief Secretary Shri Sanjeev Kaushal and Haryana Govt.officials and officials of DFCCIL, it was announced that track linking is complete between New Shambhu and New Kalanaur, that is the portion of EDFC in Haryana. Only OHE work, signals and systems and station works going on according to the report. This portion will be opened by end August as stated at the meeting. This will complete the EDFC in Haryana which is 80km from New Shambhu to New Kalanaur. Punjab section of EDFC 82km is operational.

https://indiashippingnews.com/freight-r ... by-august/

This will also complete Package 2 by GMR between New Pilkhani and Ludhiana 179km.

All that remains to finish the EDFC is that a 90km section in Package 1 in Western UP from New Khatauli to New Pilkhani has to be operationalized. L&T is executing 222km Package 1 from Khurja to New Pilkhani and 134km of Package 1 is operational. In the remaining 90km section only a 14 km section remains to be track linked. Here are 2 videos shot 2 months apart of that 14km section. Video 2 is the same section at ground level and Video 1 the same 14km section via drone in a recent video. A drain is being laid in Saharanpur yard and some houses are obstructing the right of way for about 100-200m adjacent to Saharanpur yard. These are the obstructions that slowed work in that 14km section. In the old video the houses are marked for demolition, but not yet demolished in the drone video. Target for finishing 1330km of EDFC is late September 2023 which is very likely.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Two videos for Comparison

This is the last stretch of EDFC that will be completed about 14 km between Tapri and New Pilkhani via Saharanpur yard. L&T is the construction company. There are two obstacles, a drain in the right of way that seems to take forever to construct(I surmise local PWD doing that job), houses for about 100-200 m that constrict the right of way and need to be demolished. In Video 2 from ground level the houses were marked for demolition, video 1 shows that they are still there. Video 2 is older, 2 months old and taken from ground level. Video 1 is newer, same route but by drone shot. One span of a bridge over a canal is not fabricated in Video 2, but fabricated in the more recent Video 1. Second span has been dragged across the canal in the recent drone shots/Video 1. There is only one intermediate DFC station, New Saharanpur.
Blanketing work seems incomplete in large patches even in the most recent video, Video 1. It will take 3 weeks to a month using an NTC machine to lay track on this 15km section. Deadline is September end 2023 to finish all of the EDFC. 2 months separate the two videos. I had expected that the work should be near completion.

Video 1(Drone video Recent 14km New Tapri to New Pilkhani)

https://youtu.be/el2zsreTkis

Video 2(Same section 14km from Ground level) Two month old video

https://youtu.be/YmlTbJcaNvE

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 30 Jul 2023 20:50

The Beginning of the End of the EDFC

NTC Machines (New Track Construction) working to finish the last 8 km of track linking between Saharanpur and New Pilkhani. NTC machines are beyond Saharanpur yard so less than 8km left to fnish the EDFC completely and track bed on the last 8km is ready and blanketed in the video waiting for NTC machines to complete the job, so by mid August all EDFC track linking will be done. L&T construction, package 1 on the last 14km portion. Notice a diesel shunter WGS6 is already on the linked tracks adjacent to Saharanpur yard. The Amar Ujjala newspaper had already stated that on July 16th they had closed LCs at Saharanpur to facilitate laying of this very track by NTC machines. NTC machines can lay 1.5-2km of track every day in an 8 hour shift. The track geometry is very precise using this machine. If need be, if operated on a 16 hour shift more track can be put down.

https://youtu.be/Mcc-AWekr2k

Between Saharanpur and Deoband track linking is complete. Only status on Deoband, Muzzafarnagar greenfield bypass not displayed on the video, but logic states it must be done to operate an NTC machine as in video below. Mobile flash butt welding truck is also seen to weld rail in the video below

https://youtu.be/SC7dyT4zAP0

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Amar Ujjala article that I did not post earlier from July 16th indicating that track laying had commenced on the last 14km section to finish EDFC. Paper Mill Phatak is closed for track laying in Saharanpur. This is LC at 1:40 in the old video I had posted, drone video of the 14km section in previous post.
https://www.amarujala.com/uttar-pradesh ... 2023-07-16

hgupta · Post by **hgupta** » 31 Jul 2023 14:21

I have a question due to the fact that I haven't been to India in a while.

How clean are the railway facilities overall? What about the tracks? Have they cleaned up the garbage and litter? or is it still pervasive and people still litter and leave garbage out on the tracks?

Have Swacch Bharat made any discernible difference on the railway facilities and is it being sustained on a long term basis, namely increased maintenance upkeep & expansion of upkeep?

Dumal · Post by **Dumal** » 31 Jul 2023 17:49

hgupta wrote: ↑31 Jul 2023 14:21 How clean are the railway facilities overall? What about the tracks? Have they cleaned up the garbage and litter? or is it still pervasive and people still litter and leave garbage out on the tracks?

On this point, unfortunately there has been no change and litter only continues to pile up more and more. The only positive is that trains like the current Vande Bharat and Shatabdi have completely sealed windows, and so passengers on those cannot add to the litter. Obviously, nearer large terminals and junctions there's a greater load of garbage.

I was thinking about how perhaps a diesel powered self-propelled maintenance unit can be allocated to slowly traverse the tracks to clean up. If the unit can be built-in with a powerful vaccum cleaner whose nozzle is wide enough and can be held out upto 10 feet from the tracks and a compressed storage for the collected waste, the permanent way team can run it slowly and clear up a whole section in a few months.

The collected garbage can be recycled mostly for plastic but that may only be a small incentive.

Ashokk · Post by **Ashokk** » 31 Jul 2023 18:23

Dumal wrote: ↑31 Jul 2023 17:49 I was thinking about how perhaps a diesel powered self-propelled maintenance unit can be allocated to slowly traverse the tracks to clean up. If the unit can be built-in with a powerful vaccum cleaner whose nozzle is wide enough and can be held out upto 10 feet from the tracks and a compressed storage for the collected waste, the permanent way team can run it slowly and clear up a whole section in a few months.

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 31 Jul 2023 19:09

Sleeper-Edition Vande Bharat: Russian Major TMH Signs Agreement With RVNL For Manufacturing 120 Trains

https://swarajyamag.com/infrastructure/ ... 120-trains

Good to see that they have sorted this out.

Dumal · Post by **Dumal** » 31 Jul 2023 19:28

Ashokk wrote: ↑31 Jul 2023 18:23 Video

Interesting. Looks like it only picks up stuff from within a foot of the tracks. Perhaps something more can be done in a future iteration