India Developing, but still a long way to go

[patentneer]

If car, SUV and 'Red Beacon' pilot lights thereof; fetid, obnoxious and power obsessed Delhi can convert to Metro and even payback substantial profits, middle class, educated Bangalore metro's gonna be a hit. Notwithstanding the much better weather.

With core metro in place the municipality can even out-source newer lines to pvt. developers who can tightly integrate said newer lines with real-estate projects. The Metro guys can focus on mgmt. and leveraging the metro infra. re: add-on services like Wi-Fi, water supply, solar power, licensing etx.

Oh, off-topic; India's Modi must the luckiest PM in the $ 50 Billion savings in oil imports for 2015 alone while the climb in $ US means India's established IT-Software-BPO exports to US equal bigger bang for the buck. Lucky, or blessed; check:

India’s Economy Set To Takeoff In A Great Way- Credit Suisse

(c) youtube

 

[Ryuzaki]

College kids look at PSLV launch

 

[Inqhilab]

Gurgaon metro extension

Namma metro (Bangalore)

Hyderabad Metro

Kolkata Metro

Kochi Metro

Noida Metro

 

[Inqhilab]

Namma Metro

Vidhan soudha station before and after

 

[Abingdonboy]

@anant_s @Nilgiri I didn't realise all of the 800 Alstom trains for the (Western) DFC were to be double section units:

Anyway, deliveries will commence in 2018

 

[anant_s]

@anant_s @Nilgiri I didn't realise all of the 800 Alstom trains for the (Western) DFC were to be double section units:

Anyway, deliveries will commence in 2018

these PRIMA 2 units are for Eastern DFC and will be based at Saharanpur (UP).
Western DFC is getting Toshiba Hitachi Mitsubishi 9000 HP units, based at Rewari (Haryana).
The above order is largest in History of Alstom at around 3.5 Billion Euro.

 

[Ryuzaki]

these PRIMA 2 units are for Eastern DFC and will be based at Saharanpur (UP).
Western DFC is getting Toshiba Hitachi Mitsubishi 9000 HP units, based at Rewari (Haryana).
The above order is largest in History of Alstom at around 3.5 Billion Euro.

what is GE factory in Bihar for?

 

[anant_s]

what is GE factory in Bihar for?

3 Phase Diesels, rated at 4500 and 6000 HP. This is being setup at Marhaura (Sassan district).
GE will deliver 1000 locomotive (Evolution 4 series from this contract, 600: 4500HP and 400: 6000 HP).

How southern Railways is conserving water

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1051076504986352

Soon, treated water for cleaning tracks at Central

In a bid to conserve fresh water, the Southern Railway is expanding its basic infrastructure for treatment of grey water to clean the aprons along platforms at Chennai Central railway station.

Aprons are where the trains halt at the platforms for a long time and where a lot of waste, dirt and even human waste accumulates due to usage of toilets at stations.

At present, the railway administration uses fresh water supplied by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board to clean the apron areas. Clearing the soiled areas in the cement concrete apron areas also been a problem as a perfect mechanised disposal system is yet to be found.

To tackle this problem, the railway administration is planning to bring treated water from the Recycling Plant at the Train Care Centre, Basin Bridge, to all the platforms at Central station from where over 200 long-distance trains are operated.

“The Recycling Plant was established at Basin Bridge in January last year and we treat two lakh litres of water a day, against the installed capacity of 10 lakh litres a day. For cleaning about 300 coaches of over 20 trains, including Duronto and Shatabdi, we use about 2 lakh litres of water. We plan to increase the quantity of treated water so that it can be used to clean the aprons,” official sources told The Hindu.


According to these sources, main pipelines to transport the treated water have been laid and the branch pipes to take them to all the platforms have to be fixed. The work is likely to be completed in a few more months.

Of the 35 lakh litres of water Metrowater supplies them every day, most of it is used to fill the water tanks inside the coaches and also the drinking water tanks at Central. At the Train Care Centre in Basin Bridge, over 1,000 staff work round the clock in sweeping, scrubbing, mopping and drying the interiors and exteriors of the coaches to ensure they are clean before they are shunted to the platform.

Officials said that on an average, a rake takes six hours to clean, but it takes little time for it to get dirty. “It just takes one or two passengers to make the coaches dirty. If passengers treat trains as their mobile homes, they will be a lot more cleaner,” they said.

@Abingdonboy @PARIKRAMA @Rain Man @AndrewJin @nair @MilSpec

 

[Ryuzaki]

Riverfront Development in Lucknow

September 2015

Now

Source : m_1973 from SSC

 

[anant_s]

7 Reasons Why Suresh Prabhu Is The Best Thing To Have Happened To Indian Railways In Over Three Decades

The Railway Ministry in India has always been given step-motherly treatment. For every government in the past 30 years, Railways has been one big ministry which has been thrown to the allies to run and that is why it has remained one of the major clogs in India’s infrastructural development. But the Modi government is changing that with Suresh Prabhu at the helm. Taking on after his predecessors including Pawan Kumar Bansal, Dinesh Trivedi, Mamata Baneerjee and Lalu Prasad Yadav, Suresh Prabhu has already done great work in untying the knots of this big organization. Couple this with some path-breaking initiatives like faster trains and emphasis on clean stations and trains, and we have one of the most consequential Railway Ministers in a long time in Suresh Prabhu. Here’s why we think he is the best thing to have happened to Indian Railways in over three decades.

1. Because, Unlike His Predecessors, He Is An Honest Politician

© BCCL

Suresh Prabhu is widely known as one of the most ethical ministers in the Modi government. He has earlier been a minister on behalf of Shiv Sena in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet and it’s common knowledge that he was removed from that post when he refused to adhere to the demands of the party HQs in Mumbai, considering it unethical on his behalf. He is a nationalist with high morals who works for the country without any bias.

2. Worried That The Bullet Trains Are Just Hogwash? This Man Has A Plan And It Works!

© BCCL

Many of us are skeptical that the bullet trains are wishful thinking which will pinch the pockets of the common man once operational because its economies aren’t strong (i.e. the return on investment is too low). But Suresh Prabhu is no Lalu Prasad Yadav and that is why he has been entrusted by the PM to handle Indian Railways. The funds for the bullet train project will come from Japan as the Railway Ministry was able to secure a soft loan of Rs. 1 Lakh crore at an interest rate as low as 0.1 percent for 50 years. If that isn’t a good bargain, I don’t know what is!

3. He Has His Ear To The Ground And His Nose To The Grindstone

© BCCL

Many of the schemes under him for Indian Railways have been to benefit the common man. Be it the e-catering services, the introduction of the Go-India smart card, the mobile security app for women or the next generation e-ticketing system which can now book 7200 online tickets instead of 2000, Suresh Prabhu is the most consequential Railways minister India has seen in almost three decades.

4. Because He Is Revamping ‘Babudom’ And Making Railways More Efficient

© BCCL

Railways is finally restructuring its operations on business lines, meaning that the Railway Minister is making the organization leaner by overhauling rail bureaucracy and placing checks to improve the decaying infrastructure.

5. He Is Not Afraid To Travel By A Local Train And Experience What A Common Man Needs Most

© BCCL

He is a no-frills minister. Suresh Prabhu can travel by a local or take a train to CST spontaneously just to figure out areas which need most improvement in Indian railways. We may have seen better politicians in-charge of ministries but we haven’t seen a better administrator with a strong grip on his job like Suresh Prabhu.

6. Suresh Prabhu Is Social Media Friendly And Helps People Instantly

© BCCL

Where have you seen a union minister going out of his way to help commuters with a single tweet? This is exactly what the Railway minister did in this case where he helped a commuter avoid all the hassle after she lost her bag in the train. With such detail to his methods, Suresh Prabhu is surely transforming the way Railway services are provided with a consumer first approach.

https://twitter.com/x/status/725898671582113792

7. And He’s Actually Qualified To Work In The Government

Suresh Prabhu is a chartered accountant by profession and also holds a law degree. What will shock most of you is that even at the age of 61 he hasn’t limited his knowledge or zeal to learn, no matter that he’s a minister in the world’s largest democracy. He is currently pursuing two PhD programs in climate change and economics from Germany and Mumbai.

http://www.mensxp.com/special-featu...to-indian-railways-in-over-three-decades.html

 

[Ryuzaki]

Navi Mumbai metro rail

cc: KB335ci2 from SSC

 

[Abingdonboy]

these PRIMA 2 units are for Eastern DFC and will be based at Saharanpur (UP).
Western DFC is getting Toshiba Hitachi Mitsubishi 9000 HP units, based at Rewari (Haryana).

I actually knew that, huge brain fade on my part @anant_s

The above order is largest in History of Alstom at around 3.5 Billion Euro.

Indeed and the IR will have 75% of the double-section Alstom Prima II ever produced.

3 Phase Diesels, rated at 4500 and 6000 HP. This is being setup at Marhaura (Sassan district).
GE will deliver 1000 locomotive (Evolution 4 series from this contract, 600: 4500HP and 400: 6000 HP).

I'm a bit confused on this order however. I knew GE were competiting against Alstom for the 12,000 HP freight train order for the Eastern DFC that Alstom have won but where do these 4500/6000 HP GE trains fit into the IR? Don't some of the current WAPs have similar HP ratings? I have no doubt these GE trains are world class and have considerable technology upgrades over any existing IR locos but in what are will they be employed, they won't be used in the DFCs (Eastern or Western*)?

*as you have pointed out the Western DFC is going to use 9000HP locos from Hitachi Mitsubishi


+ @anant_s I know they have only just been sanctioned but what trains do you think will be ordered for the 3 other DFCs? No doubt they will be either GE or Alstom and served from the existing factories in Bihar (both GE and Alstom will be doing so). The Eastern DFC required 12000 HP locos whilst the Western DFC will be served by 9000HP locos, so what are likely to be the requirements of the locos for these new DFCs?


++ one further question (sorry ) 800 Prima-II have been ordered for the Eastern DFC but only 200 locos have been ordered for the Western DFC, does this suggest the capacity of the Eastern DFC is 4 times that of the Western? Or that a great deal of those 12000HP Prima-2 will also serve on the "regular" lines in "regular" freight duties?


Either way, the IR is undergoing a MASSIVE transformation as we speak and, in fairness, both the UPA and NDA deserve credit for this (the UPA for the ideas but the NDA for the implementation).

How southern Railways is conserving water


Soon, treated water for cleaning tracks at Central

Simply awesome to see such intiatives being taken, it needs to be done on both a local and grander scale in every area possible. I hope India is up to the task of embracing "sustainable growth".

Suresh Prabhu is a chartered accountant by profession and also holds a law degree. What will shock most of you is that even at the age of 61 he hasn’t limited his knowledge or zeal to learn, no matter that he’s a minister in the world’s largest democracy. He is currently pursuing two PhD programs in climate change and economics from Germany and Mumbai.

The man's a total freak!!

@Levina @Parul @PARIKRAMA @MilSpec @Nilgiri @Spectre @ranjeet @Star Wars

 

[anant_s]

I'm a bit confused on this order however. I knew GE were competiting against Alstom for the 12,000 HP freight train order for the Eastern DFC that Alstom have won but where do these 4500/6000 HP GE trains fit into the IR? Don't some of the current WAPs have similar HP ratings? I have no doubt these GE trains are world class and have considerable technology upgrades over any existing IR locos but in what are will they be employed, they won't be used in the DFCs (Eastern or Western*)?

GE is setting up a Diesel locomotive factory against Alstom's Electric loco plant.
Before i get into anything else, i should point out at what future we are looking at.
IR is planning to double its current freight carrying capacity in next decade. Now what this means is newer lines and increasing throughput by increasing speed and capacity of existing trains. Now we already know of new lines like DFC but for trains we need higher capacity locomotives. Also the new lines allow higher axle load so we can have heavier capacity wagons.
Till now our loco fleet is predominantly run on older DC motor Tap changing locomotives like WAG 5 and WAG 7 with recent influx of WAG 9. Horsepower is usually limited with Tap changer locomotives (~6000 HP mark). However with newer IGBT based 3 phase locos we can go upto as high as 9000 HP and with twin units upto 16000 HP.
The locos chosen for DFC have axle load limit of 26 ton against 22 ton limit now and with higher HP they'll pull trains nearly 1.5 times heavier than existing ones and at much higher speeds. So we will have a capacity where a load can be moved much quickly between 2 points or in other words more load can be moved in a given duration of time and hence higher throughout.
The capacity augmentation is being done on both traction modes viz electric and diesel.
If i can use the words, IR is making perhaps it most significant departure from locomotive technology which essentially is of 60s vintage.

DFC but only 200 locos have been ordered for the Western DFC, does this suggest the capacity of the Eastern DFC is 4 times that of the Western? Or that a great deal of those 12000HP Prima-2 will also serve on the "regular" lines in "regular" freight duties?

No.
More locomotives will come for WDFC, but initially owing to higher mineral movement, traffic on EDFC is higher and hence higher HP for EDFC.

what trains do you think will be ordered for the 3 other DFCs? No doubt they will be either GE or Alstom and served from the existing factories in Bihar (both GE and Alstom will be doing so). The Eastern DFC required 12000 HP locos whilst the Western DFC will be served by 9000HP locos, so what are likely to be the requirements of the locos for these new DFCs?

Traction hasn't been decided, but essentially these two locomotives (Alstom and GE) will work on proposed DFCs too. I have also heard, GE locomotives will also work on non DFC lines too in future.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Now what this means is newer lines and increasing throughput by increasing speed and capacity of existing trains. Now we already know of new lines like DFC but for trains we need higher capacity locomotives. Also the new lines allow higher axle load so we can have heavier capacity wagons.
Till now our loco fleet is predominantly run on older DC motor Tap changing locomotives like WAG 5 and WAG 7 with recent influx of WAG 9. Horsepower is usually limited with Tap changer locomotives (~6000 HP mark). However with newer IGBT based 3 phase locos we can go upto as high as 9000 HP and with twin units upto 16000 HP.
The locos chosen for DFC have axle load limit of 26 ton against 22 ton limit now and with higher HP they'll pull trains nearly 1.5 times heavier than existing ones and at much higher speeds. So we will have a capacity where a load can be moved much quickly between 2 points or in other words more load can be moved in a given duration of time and hence higher throughout.
The capacity augmentation is being done on both traction modes viz electric and diesel.
If i can use the words, IR is making perhaps it most significant departure from locomotive technology which essentially is of 60s vintage.

Simply awesome! Many, many thanks for such a comprehensive reply @anant_s , you're the man

IR is planning to double its current freight carrying capacity in next decade

No doubt about it this is great to hear considering the mess the IR has been in for decades now. However, I do have doubts whether this is sufficent to meet the demand a decade from now. Assuming an average GDP growth rate of 7-8% (and thus a 70-80% larger GDP) in that period and that we already know the IR is already operating above capacity a 100% increase may not be anywhere near enough.

More locomotives will come for WDFC, but initially owing to higher mineral movement, traffic on EDFC is higher and hence higher HP for EDFC.

This is what I had thought @anant_s

+ any ideas which trains will be ordered to meet the true demands of the WDFC? More Japanese locos?

I have also heard, GE locomotives will also work on non DFC lines too in future.

But the Alstoms will remain limited to the DFCs only?

 

[haviZsultan]

Riverfront Development in Lucknow

September 2015

Now

Source : m_1973 from SSC

This is a good development. But development also needs to take place in slums and more poverty stricken neighborhoods in Lucknow