ProUI

INDORE: After months of delay, survey work for metro rail service in Indore is all set to take off.

A team of representatives from joint venture firm comprising German firm LRTC (GmbH) and Mumbai-based Rohit Associates Architects & Engineers Pvt Ltd, which has got contract for preparing detailed project report (DPR) for Indore and Bhopal metro, will be in Indore on Thursday to initiative survey works.

Urban administration and development department of Madhya Pradesh government had signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the JV firm on May 5 for preparation of DPR.

Representatives of the company will interact with the officials of IMC and district administration following the survey.

Initially, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was supposed to prepare DPR for metro but it did not work out and the state had decided to issue global tender for DPR. The state government will be paying around Rs 10.50 lakh per kilometre for preparation of DPR. The firm will carry out techno-commercial and economic viability survey of metro, mono and light rail models. They will do the feasibility study for all three modes and analyze before preparation of DPR.

South Central Railway will divert Train No. 16351/16352 CST Mumbai-Nagercoil-CST Mumbai Balaji Express to run via Renigunta without touching Tirupati  with effect from the dates mentioned below:-

1)  Train No. 16351 CST Mumbai-Nagercoil Balaji Express will run via Renigunta without touching Tirupati with effect from 03rd September, 2013.

2) Train No. 16352 Nagercoil-CST Mumbai Balaji Express will run via Renigunta without touching Tirupati with effect from 05th September, 2013.

Katra : Locals from Katra, Agar, Reasi, Bakal, Gran Morh and Mari staged a protest at the Konkan Railway office Reasi. The protesters were demanding clearance of their liabilities pending with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd (AEPPL). Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd is an Andhra-based company engaged for construction of tunnels on the Katra-Dharam railway section, which has abandoned the project without clearing liabilities of over Rs 2.60 crore of local labourers, contractors and suppliers.Official sources said as per one list available with the district administration Reasi, the liability of Apex Encon is to the tune of Rs 2.60 crore. However, there may be many other such cases as all the aggrieved persons may not have been able to reach the administration.Apex Encon, which has moved out of the project without making payments to different stakeholders, misled the workers, labourers, contractors and suppliers by sending a letter dated July 14, 2013 to Deputy Chief Engineer (Tunnels) KRCL Reasi mentioning that the payments as per the list will have to be made by KRCL. However, the KRCL informed the District Development Commissioner that neither funds or security nor the bills and claims of Apex Encon were available with KRCL, sources said.Raj Kumar, sarpanch of Gran Morh, who was among the protesters, said, "We were happy with the start of rail project in our area. Many of us have taken loan from different financial institutions to get employed, but as Apex has left the project without clearing liabilities of local labourers, contractors and suppliers, this is a big blow to the local enterprises and people working with the company. We demand immediate clearance of our liabilities pending with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd."

In view of operational convenience for smooth running of trains, Railways have decided to change the days of service of Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Duronto Express and Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express from September of this year.

12281 Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Duronto Express scheduled to leave Bhubaneswar on Sundays has been changed to run on Wednesday’s w.e.f. 4th September 2013. In the return direction, 12282 New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Duronto Express scheduled to leave New Delhi on Mondays has been changed to run on Thursday w.e.f. 5th September 2013.

Similarly, 22871 Bhubaneswar-Tirupati Express scheduled to leave Bhubaneswar on Saturdays will run on Sunday w.e.f. 8th September 2013 and in the return direction, 22872 Tirupati-Bhubaneswar Express scheduled to leave Tirupati on Sundays will run on Monday w.e.f. 9th September 2013.

Katra : Locals from Katra, Agar, Reasi, Bakal, Gran Morh and Mari staged a protest at the Konkan Railway office Reasi. The protesters were demanding clearance of their liabilities pending with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd (AEPPL). Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd is an Andhra-based company engaged for construction of tunnels on the Katra-Dharam railway section, which has abandoned the project without clearing liabilities of over Rs 2.60 crore of local labourers, contractors and suppliers.Official sources said as per one list available with the district administration Reasi, the liability of Apex Encon is to the tune of Rs 2.60 crore. However, there may be many other such cases as all the aggrieved persons may not have been able to reach the administration.Apex Encon, which has moved out of the project without making payments to different stakeholders, misled the workers, labourers, contractors and suppliers by sending a letter dated July 14, 2013 to Deputy Chief Engineer (Tunnels) KRCL Reasi mentioning that the payments as per the list will have to be made by KRCL. However, the KRCL informed the District Development Commissioner that neither funds or security nor the bills and claims of Apex Encon were available with KRCL, sources said.Raj Kumar, sarpanch of Gran Morh, who was among the protesters, said, "We were happy with the start of rail project in our area. Many of us have taken loan from different financial institutions to get employed, but as Apex has left the project without clearing liabilities of local labourers, contractors and suppliers, this is a big blow to the local enterprises and people working with the company. We demand immediate clearance of our liabilities pending with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd."

1.Train No. 22871 Bhubaneswar-Tirupati weekly Express will depart Bhubaneswar on Sundays instead of Saturdays with effect from 08th September, 2013.

2.Train No. 22872 Tirupati-Bhubaneswar Express will depart Tirupati on Mondays instead of Sundays with effect from 09th September, 2013.

3.Train No. 12770 Secunderabad-Tirupati Seven Hills Bi-weekly Express will depart Secunderabad on Fridays instead of Saturdays with effect from 06th September, 2013. There is no change in departure on Tuesdays.

4.Train No. 12769 Tirupati-Secunderabad Bi-weekly Seven Hills Express will  depart Tirupati on  Mondays instead of  Sundays  with effect from 09th September, 2013. There is no change in departure on Fridays.

South Central Railway will divert Train No. 16351/16352 CST Mumbai-Nagercoil-CST Mumbai Balaji Express to run via Renigunta without touching Tirupati  with effect from the dates mentioned below:-

1)  Train No. 16351 CST Mumbai-Nagercoil Balaji Express will run via Renigunta without touching Tirupati with effect from 03rd September, 2013.

2) Train No. 16352 Nagercoil-CST Mumbai Balaji Express will run via Renigunta without touching Tirupati with effect from 05th September, 2013.

LUCKNOW: The first phase of North-South (N-S) corridor of Lucknow metro rail from Amausi airport to Munshipulia would commence over the next six months and its completion is estimated by March 2018, announced the high level committee headed by chief secretary, Jawed Usmani in a meeting held on Thursday with the principal secretaries of finance, housing and urban development, transport, home and planning department.
Though each corridor would take about 5-6 years to complete, senior officials predicted that the first train may start plying anytime after 2016, essentially on the N-S corridor which is proposed to be completed by 2018.Likewise, the East-West (E-W) corridor from Lucknow railway station at Charbagh to Vasantkunj on Hardoi Road would start after a gap of about one year and be complete by March 2019. The North-South Corridor would run on 22.878 kms with three underground and 19 elevated stations while the East-West Corridor will cover 11.098 kms with seven underground and five elevated stations.
An official said, "Normally, about 5-6 kms of metro stretch is taken in every phase which takes about 3-4 years to complete as it involves a lot of formalities." Officials said till the time next phase starts, metro feeder services would be given to passengers of the left out areas on that route and their feeder fare would be inbuilt in the metro fair.
The committee revealed a comprehensive blueprint of the mass rapid transit project which is planned keeping in mind 28 years of traffic forecast up till 2041. It is estimated that both corridors extending up to 42 kms including the loop links (alternative routes) would easily help about 4 lakh passengers commute daily.
A significant move in the direction was that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation submitted the revised DPR (detailed project report) to the committee which would now discuss it in detail and forward it for cabinet approval. The committee gave a green signal to the construction of the North-South Corridor.
The metro tracks would be designed to sustain a maximum speed of up to 80 kmph. However, the scheduled speed for metro on N-S Corridor would be 34 kmph and for E-W Corridor would be 32 kmph. Total estimated completion cost (including cost escalation factor and Central taxes) for N-S Corridor would be Rs 6,757 crore and for E-W Corridor would be Rs 5,396 crore. Hence, the total estimated project cost is Rs 12,153 crore.
The fare collection system would be automatic through smart cards and POM. Metro rail would have two maintenance facilities-at Transport Nagar for N-S Corridor and at Vasnat Kunj Depot for E-W Corridor.
To execute the project, an SPV (special purpose vehicle) - 'Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation' is to be formed regarding which a proposal of memorandum of association and article of association was floated. A committee has been formed under the chairmanship of principal secretary of finance to review the proposal and submit its report to the high level committee over next 15 days.
The committee also approved conducting a techno-feasibility study of about 42 kms of the first phase of the project including the loop links (alternative corridors) namely Gomtinagar link, Tulsidas Marg, Subhash Marg, Mill Road and Ring Metro line by DMRC based on its terms of reference.
It has formed a high-level committee comprising principal secretaries of all related departments to inspect a proposed site at 32 battalion of PAC to create the depot for N-S corridor and give its approval in the next 15 days.
Also, the options of financial assistance through alternative resources presented by the sub-committee formed under the chairmanship of housing secretary and chairman of metro cell Rajiv Agarwal were discussed at the meeting. It was decided that approval would be sought from the departments concerned and submitted to the high-level committee.
The sub-committee proposed that the stamp duty of all properties lying within 500 metre of metro track on both sides shall be increased by 1% to avail necessary funding for metro's operation. Also, UP Bridge corporation has been deployed to carry out geo-tech exploration of the project at a later stage.

Sonepat: A gang of thieves stole a high-tension wire of around 400 m over the Ambala-Delhi railway track between Gannaur and the Rajlu Garhi railway station in the wee hours today.The wire was reportedly stolen around 3am, leading to disruption in train traffic for around six hours. Several trains, including six passenger trains, were delayed causing great inconvenience to daily commuters to Delhi. A team of railway engineers from Ambala reached the spot and started the restoration work. The rail traffic was back on the track by around 8am.A case against unidentified persons was registered at the Gannaur Railway police post.

Katra : Locals from Katra, Agar, Reasi, Bakal, Gran Morh and Mari staged a protest at the Konkan Railway office Reasi. The protesters were demanding clearance of their liabilities pending with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd (AEPPL). Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd is an Andhra-based company engaged for construction of tunnels on the Katra-Dharam railway section, which has abandoned the project without clearing liabilities of over Rs 2.60 crore of local labourers, contractors and suppliers.Official sources said as per one list available with the district administration Reasi, the liability of Apex Encon is to the tune of Rs 2.60 crore. However, there may be many other such cases as all the aggrieved persons may not have been able to reach the administration.Apex Encon, which has moved out of the project without making payments to different stakeholders, misled the workers, labourers, contractors and suppliers by sending a letter dated July 14, 2013 to Deputy Chief Engineer (Tunnels) KRCL Reasi mentioning that the payments as per the list will have to be made by KRCL. However, the KRCL informed the District Development Commissioner that neither funds or security nor the bills and claims of Apex Encon were available with KRCL, sources said.Raj Kumar, sarpanch of Gran Morh, who was among the protesters, said, "We were happy with the start of rail project in our area. Many of us have taken loan from different financial institutions to get employed, but as Apex has left the project without clearing liabilities of local labourers, contractors and suppliers, this is a big blow to the local enterprises and people working with the company. We demand immediate clearance of our liabilities pending with Apex Encon Projects Pvt Ltd."