ProUI

PUNE: Citizen’s groupsand planners in the city have demanded that the state hear out their suggestions and objections before giving the final approval of the elevated Vanaz-Ramwadi metro plan.

Groups including National Society for Clean Cities, Parisar, PMP Pravasi Manch and Pedestrians First have written to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and state urban development department on Tuesday raising their objections against the metro project.

In their letter, activists have stated that while they are interested in a successful and useful mass transport system for Pune, any decision on the metro should be taken only after all its aspects are reviewed carefully.

“Metro is an irreversible long term commitment for the city and any decision proved wrong later would be absolutely disastrous for the city. If the state government is really serious about successful implementation of metro project in Pune, it should first appoint a committee and have a meaningful dialogue with all those who have given their submissions with objections and suggestions regarding the elevated Vanaz-Ramwadi Metro Plan,” the letter states, adding that the government should give serious consideration to the objections and suggestions submitted and suitably modify the metro plan accordingly before taking it up for final approval.

Activists and planners added that while the state is largely focused on the financial aspect of the Pune metro proposal, it has overlooked serious problems such as constructional feasibility, long-term utility and economic viability.

“The state government should explain merits and demerits and impact of elevated and underground metro to citizens. There are many technical issues involved such as the metro alignment that can pose serious problems at locations such as Paud phata junction, Deccan area, Sancheti chowk, river crossing. The curves along the route will also limit the speed, slowing down metro movement. Problems in crossing the entire span of Pune Railway station with very heavy rail traffic will hold up the work,” said town planning expert Pratap Rawal speaking to RailNews on Wednesday. Rawal is one of the signatories of the letter.

Activists point out that the work on the metro project will hit a roadblock if the concerns they are raising are not addressed. Ketan Gokhale, former managing director of Konkan Railway Corporation said that work on Vanaz-Ramwadi elevated metro as per the DMRC plan will get stalled midway due to various problems and may get indefinitely delayed. Thus timely completion and successful commissioning of Vanaz-Ramwadi elevated metro seems uncertain, he added.

They also said the state should look at examples of metros elsewhere before they launch the project in Pune. Sujit Patwardhan of Parisar said, “It is to be noted in this context that the Mumbai metro corridor 1 has been inordinately delayed mainly because of problems related to elevated metro on road. Hence, a decision has reportedly been taken that other approved Mumbai metro corridors shall be fully underground. Despite much wider roads and top priority accorded to the project since Mumbai is the state capital, the elevated project has encountered severe problems. The fate of elevated Metro in Pune with narrow roads and lower priority would definitely be worse.”

However the PMC and the state government have a different take on the matter. “The PMC had in the presence of DMRC officials conducted a day-long hearing in June 2010. The DMRC officials and the PMC have made every effort to clarify the objections raised by the NGOs. Now the project has to move forward,” said a civic official requesting anonymity.

Objections galore

Construction of pillars and setting up metro stations in congested areas with inadequate space will have severe practical problems
Metro alignment could pose serious problems at locations such as Paud phata junction, Deccan area, Sancheti chowk, river crossing. The curves along the route will also limit speeds slowing down Metro movement
Problems in crossing the entire span of Pune Railway station with very heavy rail traffic will hold up work
No clarity on the starting point near Vanaz as another project ‘Shivshrushti’ related to Chhatrapati Shivaji has already been sanctioned earlier at the same location
Metro passes within 100 metres of the 8th century protected monument Pataleshwar cave temple where construction is not allowed as per ‘Ancient Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Remains Act’
Traffic movement during construction on road will get seriously hampered due to blocked roads and absence of suitable alternative roads of required capacity for traffic diversion
Reduction in road width due to metro pillars and stations on road will pose problems for traffic movement even after metro completion and cause traffic congestion
STATE’S TAKE

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar recently said at a programme in the city: “The state government has considered the option of underground metro. While the underground metro is much better then elevated when we consider environmental impact, we also have to consider financial factors. Underground metro is unaffordable and we cannot defer public transport project anymore. Mass public transport is the need of the hour. We are taking steps to speed up metro project as per the DMRC project”

DMRC’s TAKE

Cost: An underground metro is unaffordable for any city, Pune included, as it would cost two-and-a-half times more than an elevated one. Metros are capital-intensive and building even a small stretch costs hundreds of crores of rupees
Technical feasibility: Wherever possible, planners prefer elevated metro to underground as engineering complexities, associated risks of cost, time overruns and operational cost are lesser. Lesser land acquisition required for elevated stretch
Security: Metros are usually high on the hit list of terrorists and any attack in the underground portion leading to derailment or collision is likely to cause five times more damage than on an elevated section.
According to E Sreedharan, an underground metro would also result in limited expansion as well as heavy subsidy on construction, both of which were not workable.

NEW DELHI: In order to have more participation of global players, Railways has invited fresh bids for the Mumbai elevated rail corridor project.

The new request for qualification (RFQ) document for the 60-km-long elevated rail corridor between Churchgate and Virar has been issued with significant changes in terms and conditions.

The project cost has been estimated at Rs.21,500 crore, an increase of Rs.500 crore from the earlier one.

“We have replaced the earlier RFQ document with a new one and the last date of submission is September 2,” said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project.

The official said earlier the elevated corridor was supposed to be a broad gauge line but now it has been decided for the standard gauge.

“So those players who could not participate in the bidding earlier can now participate…the aim of the new RFQ documents is to attract more global players in the changed circumstances,” he said.

There are total six bidders, including Reliance Infrastructure, Gammon, L&T, ILFS and GMR, who had already submitted the proposals as per the earlier document.

Though these six players have to again submit the proposals with new documents, they will be exempted from paying the mandatory Rs 10 lakh fee as the cost of the form.

Railways will be signing an agreement with Maharashtra government shortly for execution of the project.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in its recent review meeting of flagship infrastructure projects has asked the Railways to expedite the elevated corridor project.

MUMBAI: Dangerous stunts on running trains have made a comeback on the Harbour line, and the police are yet to take action despite having received complaints about the menace.

The stunts had almost stopped after nearly 100 boys were arrested in 2011, but a commuter noticed a group of boys performing them when he was on the train from Bandra to CST on Friday, Aug 2. The minors boarded the train in Bandra and began their attempts at daredevilry once the train had left Mahim. Two of them were in the first-class compartment, and three in the ladies compartment. They got off the train at stations and boarded it after it had gathered speed, perilously hung out of the door with their feet on the footboard of the compartment, and leaped up to slap poles along the network.

Commuters, who had begun discussing among themselves the risks the boys were taking, soon began openly admonishing the urchins. When that did not help, a commuter called the railway helpline (9833331111) when the train reached Wadala to inform the authorities about the problem, the train’s movement and its exact location.

However, nobody from either the Government Railway Police (GRP) or the Railway Protection Force (RPF) turned up at the subsequent stations. After an upset commuter caught hold of one of the kids at Sewri and warned him, the group of kids moved on to other compartments and continued their stunts all the way up to Masjid railway station. No policeman had come in to conduct checks till the train reached CST.

On Monday, Aug 5, commuters noted another group of boys engaged in similar dangerous acts. When a woman commuter scolded one of the boys at Cotton Green station, the boys apparently left the train, telling each other that they would take the next train.

Earlier video captured of stuntmen on Harbour Line:

Over an estimated 20 mn commuters traveling by rail every day in India will now be able to book tickets via their Airtel mobile phones. Telecom services provider Bharti Airtel has tied up with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) to offer railway bookings through its mobile wallet service - Airtel Money. With this, over an estimated 20 million commuters traveling by rail every day in India will now be able to book tickets via their Airtel mobile phones."Our integration with IRCTC for reserved ticketing is a step to empower our customers specifically beyond the urban footprint with the convenience of booking tickets without the need of holding a bank account or an Internet connection," Ramesh Menon, hub CEO (Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh), Bharti Airtel, said in a release. The service works across all mobile devices, does not involve any data or SMS charges, the release added.

KOLKATA: Commuters of Metro have a reason to smile. The Metro Railway will install nine more escalators in different stations and five of these will be in place before the Pujas.

Keeping in mind the additional rush that the authorities will have to handle during the festive season, it has decided to enhance amenities for commuters. Security will also be taken care of with the help of additional high-resolution cameras, a Metro official said.

“Metro presently has 68 escalators at its stations. We have plans to add nine more. Five of these will be in place before the Pujas. Mahatma Gandhi Road, Shyambazar and Sovabazar Sutanuti will get one each while two will be installed at Maidan. We are also in the process of introducing more drinking water facilities at all stations,” said Protyush Ghosh, Deputy General Manager (G), Metro Railway.

In order to enhance security, 602 additional high-resolution digital cameras with night vision capabilities, are being introduced at stations. These are in addition to the existing analogue cameras that are being converted into the digital format.

Metro Railway has witnessed a significant jump in the number of commuters in the last four months. Between April and July, 2013, nearly 6.64 crore commuters used the Metro as compared to 5.94 crore in the same period last year, a jump of 11.86%. Ghosh said if need arises, more ticket counters will be opened at various stations depending on the demand.

“This jump in the number of commuters has led to the need for better amenities. We expect the numbers to increase in the days to come. Metro general manager Radhey Shyam has taken initiative to provide better amenities to commuters. There used to be a heavy rush at the counters at Dum Dum station as this is where the interface exists with Eastern Railway. In the mornings, tens of thousands of people get of local trains at Dum Dum Jn and rush for the Metro. In the evenings, it is the other way around. Earlier, there used to be 16 counters open at Dum Dum. We are now keeping 18 counters open to ease the rush. If the need arises, we shall increase the number of counters at other stations, depending on the demand,” said Protyush Ghosh, deputy general manager (G), Metro Railway.

The Metro Railway is also keen to improve the quality of signage in the stations. New bright signage has been introduced at the Noapara and Maidan stations. This will be extended to five more stations. These are Jatin Das Park, Masterda Surya Sen, Belgachia, Rabindra Sadan and Sovabazar Sutanuti. These stations will look much brighter before the Pujas and will resemble any major international airport, another official said.

Though there is no indication that the Ministry of Railways will go in for a fare hike just now, Metro officials are happy with the revenue collected in the last four months. Between April and July this year, passenger earnings went up to Rs 34.60 crore as compared to Rs 30.60 crore in the previous year. There has also been a 65.50% increase in revenue from commercial publicity.

Kanpur Farukhabad track to be connected directly to LKO via Mandhana & Bithoor

LUDHIANA: The Union minister for information and broadcasting ManishTewari has written to the Railway minister MalikarjunKharge seeking his personal intervention about the completion of the foot-bridge at the Ludhiana railway station.In his letter Tewari wrote to Kharge that the work had been started on the foot-bridge at his initiative a few years ago. However, midway the railways stopped the work for unexplained reasons.Seeking enquiry into the abandoning of work on the foot-bridge, he said, "the matter may kindly be got enquired as why the foot over bride had to be abandoned and how much money was spent on it before being abandoned". He asked as why was the project cancelled and whether any penalty has been fixed and what action had been taken in this regard.Emphasizing the need for early completion of the foot-bridge, Tewari pointed out, "Ludhiana is one of the important cities in Punjab with a lot of railway traffic". The new foot-bridge is urgently needed as the existing one is quite narrow, he added.

The work of the foot over-bridge has been hanging fire for a past long time and this bridge could provide a lot of relief to the residents who have to manage through the narrow bridge that exists presently.

LUDHIANA: The Union minister for information and broadcasting ManishTewari has written to the Railway minister MalikarjunKharge seeking his personal intervention about the completion of the foot-bridge at the Ludhiana railway station.In his letter Tewari wrote to Kharge that the work had been started on the foot-bridge at his initiative a few years ago. However, midway the railways stopped the work for unexplained reasons.Seeking enquiry into the abandoning of work on the foot-bridge, he said, "the matter may kindly be got enquired as why the foot over bride had to be abandoned and how much money was spent on it before being abandoned". He asked as why was the project cancelled and whether any penalty has been fixed and what action had been taken in this regard.Emphasizing the need for early completion of the foot-bridge, Tewari pointed out, "Ludhiana is one of the important cities in Punjab with a lot of railway traffic". The new foot-bridge is urgently needed as the existing one is quite narrow, he added.

The work of the foot over-bridge has been hanging fire for a past long time and this bridge could provide a lot of relief to the residents who have to manage through the narrow bridge that exists presently.

For the convenience of the rail passengers, Northern Railway has decided to extend the train No. 14732/14731 Delhi Jn.- Bhatinda- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express upto Fazilka from 09.08.2013 from both the directions as per the under mentioned programme:

The 14732 Delhi Jn.- Fazilka Daily Intercity Express Train will depart from Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 02.15 p.m. to reach Fazilka at 01.05 a.m. the next day. In the return direction, the 14731 Fazilka- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express Train will depart from Fazilka at 02.00 a.m. to reach Delhi Jn. at 12.45 p .m. the same day.

The 14732/14731 Delhi Jn.- Bhatinda- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express Train will stop at Goniana, Gangsar Jaito, Kot Kapura, Bariwala, Muktsar and Lakhewali stations enroute in both the directions o­n extended portion.

Extension of Run of Delhi Jn.– Shamli- Delhi Jn. passenger Train upto Haridwar

The 74023/74022 DelhiJn.– Shamli- DelhiJn. passenger train which was extended to run to & from Haridwar, will continue to run upto Haridwar till 13.08.2013 with immediate effect. The other features like route, timings, composition, stoppages etc. will remain as unchanged.

The Kerala Railway Police (KRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) will prepare an action plan to ensure the safety of women passengers on trains and create legal awareness to curb such cases.

A field report comprising suggestions and recommendations of women’s organisation leaders will be submitted to top Railway Police officials within a couple of weeks. District-level opinion-gathering meetings will be arranged for the purpose and the recommendations will be sent to the Chief of Kerala Railway Police in Thiruvananthapuram.

“We have received directives from senior officers to prepare the report at the earliest. We will forward it within a week,” said KRP Sub-Inspector P. Muraleedharan. He said the new action plan would focus more on creating awareness among women passengers of how to act legally to curb crimes, including misbehaviour and sexual harassment by fellow passengers or officials on trains.

Leaflets distributed

KRP and RPF officials jointly distributed over 400 leaflets on Monday to sensitise women on legal ways to combat sexual harassment and various other atrocities reported during train journeys. City Police Commissioner G. Sparjan Kumar inaugurated the distribution campaign at the Kozhikode railway station.