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Yes, sadly NE states were ignored and let alone fast trains, even a good BG network itself took some doing.
But in last 10 years, massive track gauge conversion and electrification of tracks upto Guwahati (expected to completed by 2018) has been taken. I've already mentioned how all NE state capitals are now being connected to Delhi through a direct BG line.
A small note on trains operating at slow speed. The reason for that is Railways operating responsibly and trying to protect elephants. A lot of railway lines from bengal to NE states pass through thick forests and these being habitat of Elephants, trains ply at very slow speed (sometimes less than 50 kph) should there be a requirement of sudden braking. This of course has bearing on overall average speed.
Elephants is true.. You know when floods are there One Horn Rhinos come on to roads.. Many times during Night Buses have to stop and wait till they get off the road...
 
@anant_s Are we still dependent upon ABB for IGBTs for WAP5s? Weren't they supposed to be built by BHEL/BTIL ?
BHEL is manufacturing them
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& now Medha Hyderabad too is manufacturing same for WAG 9 and WAP 5.
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Details of a 3 phase Electric locomotive layout used on IR
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Suresh Prabhu is the man



My favourite part is 23.00- where he states how sorry he feels for those that ride on the Mumbai suburban railways and wishes the steps he is taking now had happened decades ago. It's not often you hear a politcian (from any nation) speaking like this.


I don't have a bad word to say about the guy.



@noksss @PARIKRAMA @Ankit Kumar 002 @Levina @Parul @Star Wars @Joe Shearer @dadeechi @MilSpec @nair @Span @Koovie @Echo_419 @Water Car Engineer @acetophenol @danish_vij @arp2041 @Rajaraja Chola @SpArK @skyisthelimit @Sky lord @Bombaywalla
 
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Bypass at Katni

Talgo Trails Update

1. First Trial between Delhi n Mumbai was conducted.

2.Heavy Rains have caused track washout at Vapi-Bhilad section which affected Talgo trails. Latest news is that the track has been restored and active under a TSR.

3.Upto Ratlam Talgo behind WAP5 was running before time by 50 minutes.

4. Railway Minister tweeted this trail to be a success and has said that 3 more trails will be done.
 
Deepak Parekh, chairman of India's biggest home loan lender HDFC, was all praise for the way the Modi government has handled the economy in the last two years. 71-year-old Mr Parekh, who last year criticised the government for the lack of changes on the ground, said India has come a long way since then.

"Things are much better today, things are improving. The ease of doing business is improving. The government on its part has taken a number of steps to open up the economy. Recently, nine sectors have been opened up for FDI," he told NDTV in London.

The industry veteran said that there is "massive" confidence in India globally, considering the country is the fastest-growing major economy.

"The prime minister in last two years has developed this aura outside that India is on the go... We will even come to an 8 per cent GDP growth shortly," he said.

According to Mr Parekh, India's rapid economic growth will help attract foreign investments at a time when the world is "awash" with liquidity.

He acknowledged the fact that private capital spending in India continues to be low while praising the government's efforts to spend large sums in infrastructure development.

"The private sector is not putting money in new plants and facilities and government has taken this role. Private sector follows, you have to give some time," he said.

Mr Parekh sounded optimistic about corporate earnings, though a lot of companies disappointed the Street in the June quarter. Normal monsoon rains and the passage of Goods and Services Tax (GST) are two factors that could provide further boost to the economy, he added.

"GST (Bill) has been placed in parliament and there is consensus among political parties that GST is going to come through by April 17," he said.

According to Mr Parekh, weeding out "high-level" corruption is one of the biggest highlights of the Modi government.

"All big contracts and large procurements are being done by e-auctions and e-procurements," he said.

The bankruptcy law, the JAM trinity (Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Aadhaar and Mobile connectivity) and direct benefit transfer (DBT) are some other highlights of the Modi government, Mr Parekh said.



http://profit.ndtv.com/news/economy...nts-performance-1439176?pfrom=home-topstories
 
@anant_s bro, I'd love to see your analysis on the NCR's RRTS that is now being progressed by the Delhi govt.
I'll get a word from my brother who is in Gurgaon, on this.
New Delhi of all cities in world (& i mean even ahead of Beijing), needs to get a massive investment in clean public transport system, otherwise it will become a living hell (ie if it hasn't already). Kind of air quality is so poor, i pity elderly and children who have to brave all the pollution.
A number of companies have submitted plans for improving public transport which will not only cut down the time of commuting but also pollution from vehicles. the only trouble is with kind of relations state and central government have, it is really difficult to see anything more than acquisitions on each other.
Honestly speaking Delhi hasn't done much since Common wealth games, when huge focus on improving city meant bit of improvement in public transportation as well. But since then, nothing much has happened.

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A lot of industries are now coming towards South West side (beyond bhiwadi) and i've seen a lot of people having to travel on pathetic roads for work. Just hope RRTS improves this aspect at least.
 
I'll get a word from my brother who is in Gurgaon, on this.
New Delhi of all cities in world (& i mean even ahead of Beijing), needs to get a massive investment in clean public transport system, otherwise it will become a living hell (ie if it hasn't already). Kind of air quality is so poor, i pity elderly and children who have to brave all the pollution.
A number of companies have submitted plans for improving public transport which will not only cut down the time of commuting but also pollution from vehicles. the only trouble is with kind of relations state and central government have, it is really difficult to see anything more than acquisitions on each other.
Honestly speaking Delhi hasn't done much since Common wealth games, when huge focus on improving city meant bit of improvement in public transportation as well. But since then, nothing much has happened.
To be fair, the Delhi metro is growing quite rapidly (Phase 3 is almost complete, phase 4 is going to be started shortly and a phase 5 is being drawn up), the "Rupid metro" is being expanded in Gurgaon and they are looking at "driverless pods" also. Then the RRTS will be constructed to interlink all the NCR:

The NCR Planning Board initially identified eight corridors for the express rail network, where trains with rapid acceleration and braking would operate at a maximum speed of 180 km/h:

  • Delhi – Sonipat – Panipat (111 km);
  • Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut (90 km);
  • Delhi – Gurgaon – Rewari – Alwar (180 km);
  • Delhi – Hapur (57 km);
  • Delhi – Khurja (83 km);
  • Delhi – Ballabgarh – Palwal (60 km);
  • Delhi – Baghpat (56 km);
  • Delhi – Rohtak (70 km)

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...ingh-to-lead-delhi-regional-rail-project.html

A task force established by the Planning Commission subsequently prioritised the three routes to Alwar, Panipat and Meerut, which together have an estimated cost of Rs722bn.

The NCR will have quite extensive public transport in the not too distant future.
 
Delhi – Gurgaon – Rewari – Alwar (180 km);
This should be interesting and having far reaching consequences.
Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor will run roughly parallel to this sector and beyond. So we are looking at new townships, industrial parks and skill development institutes along with hospitality industry coming along. So in future a lot of population will move here and Rapid Rail system will be a necessity.
Conceptually Rail Rapid Transit System can be understood as a cross between extremely quick accelerating and fast sub-urban metro trains and long distance trains. These do not have start stop start cycle as frequent as Metro trains, but these cover longer distance (typically upto 250 kms).
The cities you have mentioned lie approximately 200-250 km radius of Delhi and here RRTS can help in reducing commute time from Delhi to those cities. The biggest advantage this system brings is de-congesting cities as, if people are connected to a large city through an efficient fast system (say 1-1.5 hour travel), they may actually live away from city. This keeps property prices in check, donot pose additional burden on existing public utilities (power, water, sanitation, education, telecom etc) and allow spread out development.
Let us hope Delhi implements this system quickly so that other metro cities too can emulate.
 

Now, an outside expert in railway board
August 2, 2016, 2:44 AM IST News Desk in TOI News | India | TOI

NEW DELHI: In a big move to overhaul colonial-era railway bureaucracy, the Modi government has decided to allow lateral entry of external talent for one senior position in the railway board, reorganise the top decision-making body on functional lines and rework the policy of appointments of GMs and DRMs to eliminate discretion.

The Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) decided to create a post of Advisor (resource mobilisation & development) which will be filled through lateral entry, aiming to accelerate the modernisation efforts to revamp the state-run transporter.

The ministerial panel, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also decided to reorganise the railway board on functional lines by creating post of member (infrastructure), member (rolling stock), member (traction).

At present, the board has members dealing with different departments such as engineering, traffic, mechanical, and staff apart from the financial commissioner.

Over the years, inter-services rivalry has often resulted in blocking of key projects, impacting the government’s efforts to upgrade decaying rail infrastructure.

While reserving the post of members for different railway services, the panel also decided to create post of DGs in railway board for three services — personnel, signal and telecom and stores —which don’t have representation as members.

In another move, the ACC has decided to discontinue entry of officers through the Special Class Railway Apprentice Examination (SCRA) in Indian Railway Services for mechanical engineers. Started in 1927, the SCRA involved selection to the undergraduate programme in mechanical engineering at the Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE) at Jamalpur.

Jamalpur graduates — being the youngest to enter railway service — have usually had a disproportionately high share of senior level posts as divisional railway managers (DRMs) and general managers (GMs).

The selection process for GMs and DRMs has also being changed drastically to eliminate discretion in top level appointments which were mired in controversy during the UPA regime due to alleged corrupt practices, highlighted by the arrest of railway board member Mahesh Kumar and delay in filling large number of vacancies.

The DRM posts will be distributed as per strength of railway services and posting will be based on service-wise seniority eliminating the possibility of pick and choose.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-news/now-an-outside-expert-in-railway-board/
 
Yes, sadly NE states were ignored and let alone fast trains, even a good BG network itself took some doing.
But in last 10 years, massive track gauge conversion and electrification of tracks upto Guwahati (expected to completed by 2018) has been taken. I've already mentioned how all NE state capitals are now being connected to Delhi through a direct BG line.
A small note on trains operating at slow speed. The reason for that is Railways operating responsibly and trying to protect elephants. A lot of railway lines from bengal to NE states pass through thick forests and these being habitat of Elephants, trains ply at very slow speed (sometimes less than 50 kph) should there be a requirement of sudden braking. This of course has bearing on overall average speed.

Tracks should have been built on pillars.
 
Tracks should have been built on pillars.
That is a solution, unfortunately it adds hugely to the cost. A more cost effective solution here is to do survey and find points on tracks where elephants pass cross the tracks. It is an established fact that Elephants move in hordes and have fixed pattern of movement (both in terms of time and location). So what Railways does is use methods like patrolling of these sectors, use of rail side warning signs for drivers and avoiding night time trains and above all clamp speed limits.
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here is a nice story on how these efforts are being put to reduce unfortunate casualties.
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With the growth of India’s economy, high-speed railways are increasingly cutting through prime elephant habitat, with fatal consequences: in the past ten years more than 100 elephants have been struck and killed by trains in India, and the toll keeps rising. 2010 was the worst on record, with at least 24 deaths recorded, while a spate of four collisions with trains claimed 16 elephant lives between 30th December 2012 and 4th February 2013, drawing renewed attention to this growing menace. Without preventive measures to protect elephants, their death toll will rise much further.


Fortunately, simple, but effective measures can be taken to significantly reduce the threat of trains striking elephants. These include the introduction of “go-slow” zones and warning signs in accident hotspots, the clearance of shrubbery around blind spots, workshops for train drivers, and running night patrols to alert drivers to elephants in the area. These were first introduced in 2002 in Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand State, through a pioneering project led by the Wildlife Trust of India, which eliminated elephant deaths for the next ten years. And so we’ve been working with them since 2008 to replicate this success.

Aim:
To significantly reduce the number of elephants killed by trains throughout India

Results:
After Uttarakhand, the next state to receive attention was Assam, but unlike the contained space of Rajaji National Park, the problem in Assam is spread over a vast area, with sites up to 700km apart, nine important habitat areas and 26 critical railway sections. We have therefore had to focus our attention on key areas and develop intervention measures that are site-specific. In order to do so much time has been invested researching issues related to elephant movement, critical track sections, surrounding habitat, and other contributing factors to accidents. Having been working there since 2009, the Elephant Family-WTI field team now has a thorough understanding of where, when and why elephants cross the rail tracks.

The following have all been carried out in Assam: the installation of 54 warning signs for train drivers, clearance of vegetation along the tracks, the strategic placing of posters on the issue in all priority areas to serve as a constant reminder to railway staff, and workshops for train drivers and other railway staff. Patrols along the tracks at night have continued to be one of the most effective measures for preventing accidents. Equipped with uniforms, reflective jackets, high-powered torches, raincoats and whistles etc, the patrol teams monitor the movement of elephants to drive them on when crossing the tracks and to alert any oncoming trains to bring them to a stop, thereby averting any potential accidents. Across six critical locations in Assam as many as 329 potential collisions between trains and elephants were averted in 2011, and a further 228 in 2012.

In India’s southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, surveys of the tracks were carried out in 2010, and effective implementation of similar measures began in 2011. Night patrols along the tracks got underway in June 2011 on one of particularly critical stretch where a young female elephant was killed in August 2010. These patrols are using colour-coded lights to alert oncoming train drivers to the presence of elephants, and by the end of the year five accidents had been prevented on this stretch. Unlike Assam, this southern region does not suffer from insurgencies, and the colour-coded lights can be used without presenting a security risk.

In another departure from the measures used in Assam and elsewhere, three tree huts have been constructed along the tracks to help in monitoring elephant movement, particularly during the rainy season. Posters have been placed in key locations and public announcements have been made at railway stations to draw railway staff and the public’s attention to the issue. Twenty-two warning signs are being installed to alert train drivers to accident hotspots. Workshops have been held with train drivers, guards and stationmasters to introduce them to the required measures, and coordination meetings are held regularly with railway and forest officials.

Elephant Family was grateful to receive significant support from the Nando Peretti Foundation towards this project.

http://elephant-family.org/saving-elephants-on-indias-railways
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Indian Railways’ IRCTC installs ‘Namma’ toilets at Katra station

In line with PM Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' vision, Indian Railways is installing 'Namma toilets' at various railway stations across the country. IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited) has installed two Namma toilets at the Katra Railway station in Jammu and Kashmir and these will be inaugurated by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. Namma toilets are basically maintenance-free stainless steel toilets. CII Foundation has signed an MOU with IRCTC for construction of 15 prefabricated Namma toilet blocks, in and around seven railway stations. These are Katra, Jammu, Mumbai, Vijaywada, Varanasi, Amritsar and Lucknow. (Photo by IRCTC)

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The toilets cost roughly Rs 17 lakh per block and take around four to five days to construct. The toilets are portable in nature, making them easy to fix anywhere with minimum use of space. (Photo by IRCTC)

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The block has eight units, comprising two male modules, one female module, one handicap module and four urinals. According to Railways, the Namma toilets are easy to clean. No use of acids or bleaches is required, says Indian Railways. (Photo by IRCTC)

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The advantage of these toilets is that they can be installed in areas where drainage system is not available. They have a septic tank with a bio-enzyme based treatment system. This system treats waste for harmful bacteria.

http://www.financialexpress.com/pho...lls-namma-toilets-at-katra-station-5-facts/5/
 
Redeveloping 400 stations: After some delay, plan chugs off from Rail Bhawan

Indian Railways is preparing to seek Cabinet approval to let foreign governments and public sector undertakings redevelop its stations in a fresh thrust to the flagship railway infrastructure project of the NDA government.

After a year of lull, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself as well as the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) have multiple times nudged the Railways to speed up the redevelopment of 400 stations in the country, Rail Bhawan has finally picked up the pace to sort things out after the Habibganj project in Bhopal was awarded to Bansal Pathways recently.

The work is now centered around tying up with various players in different models of engagements for redeveloping all the 400 stations. This is because it is being thought that Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC), which anchored the Habibganj station bidding process, may not have the wherewithal to do so for all the 400 stations.

So on the table now are models like award of work to foreign governments, special purpose vehicles with states, direct tie-ups with PSUs, “modified Swiss challenge” for its own zonal railways and more in Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s quest for partners in the mammoth exercise.

By August 15, Railways will appoint a strategic adviser, a consultancy firm, to carry out studies on feasibility and financial viability of all the stations up for redevelopment to give Railways a real idea about where each station stands as far as market value and commercial scope is concerned vis-à-vis the grand scheme of redevelopment. This will be the first such exercise in Indian Railways. Technical bids to select the firm was opened on Friday. In the fray are global consulting firms of repute.

The various models

Railways is already in talks with governments of Belgium, South Korea, France, Spain, the UK and China to offer either a station each or a cluster of stations as part of redevelopment through government-to-government contract.

Similarly, PSUs, either its own or others will be roped in, to take up a few stations too.

For instance, in cases of stations where commercial players may not be too interested to invest—typically signifying a rate of return of less than 10 per cent — PSUs and foreign governments might be better placed to participate.

Railways is also in the process of creating special purpose vehicles in joint ventures with governments of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra specifically for station development.

Modified Swiss challenge

Lastly, the zonal railways will get to redevelop some stations on their own by following the “modified Swiss challenge” methodology. In that, zones will approach the markets soliciting plans and financial models for developing a station. From the proposals it receives, it will select the best one. Then it will disclose that proposal to the open market again inviting anyone to better it. If no one betters it, the developer with the proposal gets the contract. If someone matches it, then the developer gets the first right to refuse. And if the market throws up a better offer, Railways is free to accept it. In the interest of transparency, each zonal railway will form a panel of experts to evaluate the proposal.

In the pipeline are more ideas like borrowing from the World Bank to develop stations on its own, without involving private developers. But that might come at a later stage, sources said.

“The strategic adviser will be engaged for an overall roadmap and execution of the whole plan. As it is, the next six-eight months timeline is set. After Habibganj, contracts for Surat and Gandhinagar will be awarded by this time. Since each station and each state is unique, we require a professional agency to tell us how best to go about adopting the various models for the 400 stations,” said a senior Railway ministry official.

The Habibganj deal

By November 2019, the first redeveloped station of Hahibganj will be ready. The developer Bansal Pathways will carry out financial closure by November this year. That means it will demonstrate to railways that it has tied up assured funding of Rs 450 crore for the project. Then the foundation stone will be laid signifying start of work. It will take three years to upgrade the station and five more years to build the entire commercial development of land and airspace.

In the Habibganj deal, Bansal has to give Railways a redeveloped station as per the transporter’s specifications for Rs 100 crore. After that, it can do commercial development worth Rs 350 crore. In the revenue sharing arrangement, Bansal gets to keep everything except proceeds from ticket sales. It gets advertising rights as well. Bansal will keep the commercial property for 45 years after which Railways will get back its ownership. The total commercial development of land and airspace to be undertaken would be around 11 lakh square feet.

But IRSDC is in the process of concluding preliminary work for stations like Surat and Gandhinagar. It has other stations like Delhi’s Bijwasan and Anand Vihar, Chandigarh, Shivajinagar (Pune), and SAS Nagar (Mohali). By next financial year, IRSDC will have some more stations in its kitty.


http://indianexpress.com/article/in...-delay-plan-chugs-off-building-india-2950517/
 

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