ProUI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the general consultant of the Monorail projects mooted for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, will get 3.25 per cent of the estimated total cost of Rs.5,581 crore as consultancy fee.A decision to this effect was taken at a board meeting of Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd (KMCL), the special purpose vehicle created to execute the elevated rail-based mass rapid transit system (MRTS), here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.The DMRC had demanded 3.5 per cent of the completion cost of the monorail project in Thiruvananthapuram (Rs.3,590 crore in 2019) and Rs.1,991 crore in Kozhikode. The government was willing to give only 3 per cent to the DMRC. At the board meeting, the DMRC, represented by its principal adviser E. Sreedharan, agreed for 3.25 per cent upon the intervention of Mr. Chandy.

The DMRC, which prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the projects in the two cities, had suggested a turn-key contractor for operation and maintenance of the project in the initial five years after commissioning.

Official sources told The Hindu that the performance guarantee clause, another bone of contention, mooted by the KMCL was also avoided as it was not acceptable to the DMRC.

The KMCL board also decided to go by the same conditions entered into with the DMRC for the Kochi Metro Rail project in the case of the monorail projects. The mobilisation advance will be 5 per cent and the payment will be on completing the milestones to be fixed as per the DPR. The meeting also did not accept the additional commitments put forward by the DMRC.

Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said the issues had been resolved and that the draft agreement will be put up before the Cabinet for clearance so that the agreement can be signed at the earliest.

As a General Consultant, the DMRC will be responsible for the design, preparation of the bid document, short-listing and selecting contractors, supervision, and quality certification.

Minister for Finance K.M. Mani; Minister for Transport Aryadan Mohammed, Minister for Health V.S. Sivakumar, Minister for Panchayat M.K. Muneeer and Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali, all board members, attended.

Additional Chief Secretary, Transport, Elias George; Secretary Public Works, T. O. Sooraj; Chief Operating Officer, Kerala Road Fund Board who is also the MD of the KMCL, who are also on the board, attended the meeting.

Official sources said the herculean task before the authorities will be on identifying the funding agency for the project. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has already evinced ‘keen interest’ to fund the project.

The authorities are looking into roping Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the financial institution and the main implementing agency for France’s official development assistance to developing countries and overseas territories.

The 22.2-km Monorail has been mooted from Techno city to Karamana in the capital and 14.2 km with 15 stations starting from the Government Medical College hostel area to Meenchantha in Kozhikode.


Mobilisation advance of 5 per cent

Funding agencies to be identified

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) will soon strike two technical tie-ups aimed at improving two core aspects of rail travel — safety of coaches and additional comfort features for passengers.The ICF’s proposed tie up with IIT-Madras seeks expert inputs on eight broad parameters of coach safety. The most important of these involve finding better fire retardant materials, upgrading emergency exits to make them more reliable yet easier to release and engaging dynamics and vibration analysis to improve train speeds.Simultaneously, the ICF looks at firming up an MoU with Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design (NID) on adding an aesthetic touch to the interiors as well as loading more passenger comforts into the coaches.“Both these MoUs will shortly be signed simultaneously as we expect to be able to take the outcomes to the production shop floor in a few months. The improvements will be attuned to the switch to the LHB platform of stainless steel coaches,” ICF General Manager Abhay K. Khanna told The Hindu .The technical collaboration has been aligned to the Rs. 2.52 crore modernisation and ramp-up plan under way at the ICF. While Phase-I of the expansion is scheduled to be ready by the end of June, the Phase-II is expected to be complete by December, Mr. Khanna said.

When the expansion is complete, the ICF will be ramping up its annual production capacity to 1,700 coaches.

The ICF has been engaged in a series of consultations with the IIT-M faculty for the past seven months to shortlist some of the safety-related areas where the collaboration could be synergetic.

One of the projects in this collaboration is “skin tensioning”, which is regarded as a challenging proposition in manufacture of the outer shells of coaches. The surface is prone to ripples due to exposure to welding heat and needs tautening for a smooth finish.

The ICF-IIT-M tie up will also explore energy efficiency methods such as use of solar energy, better utilisation of the energy dissipated during braking, installation of more energy-efficient apparatus and creative use of the power wasted during testing of power cars. The optimisation of air flow in AC coaches and the coach design for structural and interior furnishings are the other components of the collaboration.

Mr. Khanna also explored the “quality and safety” theme while addressing ICF employees at the recent 58th Railway Week Celebrations at ICF and 160th year of Indian Railways. “Quality and safety shall have to take the place of pride in what all we do. We are aware that the travelling public expect a safe and comfortable travel with aesthetic surroundings."

Mr. Khanna, who honoured employees with medals, merit certificates and cash awards, complimented staff for the ICF’s feat of achieving the highest ever production of 1620 coaches in 2012-13.

20 SPECIAL TRAINS BETWEEN LOKMANYA TILAK TERMINUS AND ALLAHABAD

Central Railway has decided to run 20 Special trains between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Allahabad to clear the extra rush of Passengers during summer rush. The details are as under –04116 Special train will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 15.50 hrs o­n every Thursday from 25.4.2013 to 27.6.2013 (10 trips) and will arrive Allahabad at 21.50 hrs next day.04115 Special train will leave Allahabad at 10.20 hrs o­n every Wednesday from 24.4.2013 to 26.6.2013 (10 trips) and will arrive Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 14.50 hrs next day.

HALTS: Kalyan, Igatpuri, Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Khandwa, Itarsi, Habibganj, Bhopal, Bina, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Orai, Pokhrayan, Kanpur and Fatehpur.

COMPOSITION: o­ne AC-2 tier, o­ne AC-3 tier, 9 Sleeper class, 4 General Second class and 2 General second class cum guard’s brake vans.

RESERVATION: Bookings for Train No. 04116 open from 21.4.2013.

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Consequent to the implementation of the hi-tech Integrated Security Scheme (ISS) at Tiruchi Junction recently, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) authorities have made some internal adjustments for the management of the new security measure.As per the original scheme of things, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) of the RPF was entrusted with the responsibility of wholly managing the ISS, which has four key components — Closed Circuit Television Surveillance System with Internet Protocol based cameras, Access Control, Personal Baggage Screening System, and Bomb Detection and Disposal System.Conscious of the crucial role of the BDDS that remains in a state of readiness to act in times of emergency, the authorities had now made some adjustments for managing the state-of-the-art ISS.Accordingly, the task of monitoring the movements in the platforms and station premises through the surveillance camera-based CCTV system, had now been entrusted with the RPF Tiruchi post situated adjacent to the junction.In addition to managing the CCTV component, personnel at the Tiruchi have been instructed to manage the personal baggage screening system.

The BDDS, which had been divested of the responsibility of managing the ISS, would now concentrate on the bomb detection and disposal.

The range of anti-sabotage equipment supplied under the ISS including bomb suits and bomb suppression blankets would be maintained by the BDDS.

The latest adjustment was aimed at keeping the BDDS for the stated purpose it had been constituted — for bomb detection and disposal — and not to deviate from its original duty, say RPF officers here. Since the services of BDDS personnel would be required, any moment to deal with emergency situation, they had been taken out from the task of watching the movements from the CCTV system.

Instead, personnel of the Tiruchi post would be posted in the centralised control room from where they would monitor the movements taking place in the platforms and station premises through the CCTV system.

The five monitors installed inside the control room are connected with the 29 surveillance cameras deployed at strategic points in the Junction to cover the platforms, subway, circulating, and booking areas besides the outer areas to enable the personnel watch the movements round-the-clock.

Adjustment

The latest adjustment for ISS management would soon be put in place following a direction from the RPF headquarters from Chennai to all divisions falling within the Southern Railway zone, say the officers.

Tiruchi is the sixth major station in the Southern Railway zone to be brought under the scope of the ISS that was conceived by the railway administration in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008. Additional strength is expected to be deputed to the Tiruchi post by drawing manpower from other places to manage the CCTV and baggage screening systems round-the-clock, said an officer.

The BDDS that was carrying out random checks at different stations falling within the limits of Tiruchi Division has now been instructed to conduct anti-sabotage checks on a daily basis at chosen stations following a directive from the zonal headquarters, say RPF sources.

Meanwhile, measures were put in place to install under vehicle scanners, also given under the ISS, at Tiruchi Junction. The scanners would be installed at the main entrance and at the Kallukuzhi entrance of the station.

R. RAJARAM writes that the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad will now focus on its core duties

To clear the extra rush, the railways will run a one-way special train between Mysore and Howrah on Thursday. According to a release from South Western Railway, Bangalore Division, Mysore–Howrah one-way Express (06209) will leave Mysore on Thursday at 10 p.m. and reach Bangalore City at 12.30 a.m. of Friday, and leave Bangalore City at 1 a.m. to reach Howrah at 11.30 p.m. on Saturday. It will run from Mysore via Krishnarajapuram, Bangarpet, Jolarpettai, Katpadi, Tirupati, Renugunta, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Visakhapatanam, Vizianagaram, Palasa, Brahmapur, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur. The train will have a composition of 19 general second class coaches, two sleeper class coaches and two second class – cum luggage vans.

BANGALORE: To clear the extra rush, the railways will have a one-way special train to ply between Mysore-Howrah on Thursday.

Train number 06209 Mysore-Howrah One Way Express Special will leave Mysore on Thursday (April 18) at 10pm, and reach Bangalore City on April 19 at 00.30am. Further, the train will leave Bangalore City on April 19 at 1am and reach Howrah on Saturday (April 20) at 11.30 pm.

The train will ply from Mysore via KR Puram, Bangarpet, Jolarpettai, Katpadi, Tirupati, Renigunta, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajamundari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Palasa, Brahmapur, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur and then stop at Howrah.

It will have 19 general second-class coaches, 2 sleeper-class coaches and 2 second class-cum-luggage van.

The State government’s delay in responding to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s proposal to construct a flyover at Edapally was shrouded in mystery, P. Rajeev, MP, said. The DMRC had submitted a design to build a four-lane flyover here which would also integrate Kochi Metro’s pillars. The agency had estimated Rs 86.70 crore as the project cost against National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) estimate of about Rs. 700 crore, Mr Rajeev said.The DMRC had also promised to construct the flyover having metro pillars at the centre, in 18 months. Only 0.57 hectares of land has to be acquired for the flyover and only 12 buildings will be affected.

No Geethu, no problem. In their opening match in the 28th RMBT 2013, Southern Railway had little trouble dismantling the Maharashtra attack even in the absence of their iconic franchise face Geethu Anna Jose. Also not needed was Anitha Pauldurai, the other superstar in the side, who was content in cheering her team from the sidelines. In a clinical exhibition of highly efficient team play, SR had 5 players scoring 10 points or more, all of whom shot in excess of 55% from the field. This absurdly high field goal percentage was a result of a mammoth 52 to 24 point difference in the paint stemming from excellent ball movement and a size advantage under the basket. Maharashtra was no match for such a united force of extremely skilled, match fit and selfless individuals.  Matters were made worse as their linchpin, the ageless Manisha Dange, had a poor shooting night, despite top scoring for her team with 21 points. She was 1 of 8 from distance and 8 of 22 (36%) from the field. Maharashtra will need to find a way to beat SR when they face them again on 19th April in their final league encounter. Earlier in this tournament, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh had split their head-to-head games, but Chattisgarh hold a crucial 1 point advantage in victory margin (they had beaten Maharashtra by 11 points and lost the second game by 10).

KEY PERFORMANCES

Manisha Dange: In what was possibly her least efficient game, she was still the best player for Maharashtra. The veteran international top scored for her side with 21 points, along with 8 rebounds and a block.

HIGHLIGHT PLAYS

Trading Blocks: Early in the second quarter, SR’s Neena M (12) blocked Manisha Dange on her drive to the basket from the right hand corner. On the next possession, Dange returned the favour, rejecting no 11 Appoorva Muralinath’s scoring attempt.

MOMENTUM SHIFTS

00:00. Maharashtra never held the lead in this game. It was SR all the way from the opening whistle. The dominance was so thorough that SR led by 34 points at one stage, which was almost equal to the points scored by the entire Maharashtra team in the first three quarters combined.

Quotes of the Game

“My chapter is now almost closed. We were always depending on me or Geethu. I wanted to give juniors some experience.”

- Anitha Pauldurai, Southern Railway, the experienced international star on why she sat out of this game, signaling the arrival of the new breed of SR players.

“India’s top players join Southern Railway. Apart from Geethu and Anitha, we have 3 other players who are either on the national squad or have been part of the India training camp.”

- Raneesa R, SR’s Coach for the last 8 years, on her team’s dominance in national events

THUMBS UP

The versatility of Southern Railway Players. Every miss of Maharashtra was immediately met with a counter offensive by Southern Railway.  Southern is a well rounded team— a basketball equivalent of the “total football” concept evolved by the celebrated 70s Dutch teams. Each player on the side could rebound, shoot, run the break, post up or take the outside shot. This led to a highly fluidic attack. It was like trying to stop water from entering a drowning boat. For every leak Maharashtra plugged, two others sprung up.

THUMBS DOWN

6:30 minutes. That’s the time it took for Maharashtra to score their opening bucket. They even had a sequence of 4 back-to-back air balls in these initial minutes.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

In attendance in the stands was the entire Chattisgarh women’s team, obviously praying for a SR victory and also to gauge the quality of the SR players.

Playing by the ear! All 5 Southern Railway starters forgot to remove their earrings before tip off. A surprising, rookie type omission. Too much team spirit is also not good.

Matunga Railway colony (north end) old foot over bridge has been closed for repairing work upto 15.06.2013. The repairing work is carried out during night.



माटुंगा रेलवे पैदल ऊपरी पुलमरम्मतहेतु अस्थायी रूप से बंद

माटुंगा रेलवे कॉलोनी (उत्तरी छोर) स्थित पैदल ऊपरी पुल 15 जून, 2013 तकमरम्मतकार्यहेतुबंदरहेगा।मरम्मतकाकार्यरात्रिकेदौरानकियाजायेगा।



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20 SPECIAL TRAINS BETWEEN LOKMANYA TILAK TERMINUS AND ALLAHABAD

Central Railway has decided to run 20 Special trains between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Allahabad to clear the extra rush of Passengers during summer rush. The details are as under –

04116 Special train will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 15.50 hrs o­n every Thursday from 25.4.2013 to 27.6.2013 (10 trips) and will arrive Allahabad at 21.50 hrs next day.

04115 Special train will leave Allahabad at 10.20 hrs o­n every Wednesday from 24.4.2013 to 26.6.2013 (10 trips) and will arri