Indian Economy-News & Updates

[proud_indian]

Indian Railways to send 400 officers to train in bullet train tech

By Express News Service​

Published: 18th August 2016 08:56 PM
Last Updated: 18th August 2016 08:57 PM
​

NEW DELHI: With country’s first bullet train project scheduled for commissioning in 2023, Indian Railways plans to send 400 of its employees to Japan for training in engineering, operational and safety aspects related to the project.

These officials from various railway zones having expertise in different areas will be trained at the expense of Japanese government. The first section of the bullet train between Mumbai-Ahemdabad is being constructed in collaboration with Japan, which has offered an assistance of over Rs 79,000 crores for a period of 50 years.

“It is a completely new technology and we need to train our officials in various aspects so that we have manpower having knowledge of its process and engineering,” said a railway ministry official, adding this will be the highest number of officers being send by railways overseas for training.

Railway is expected to close loan negotiations with Japan by end of this year and work is expected to begin in 2018 to ensure its commissioning in time by 2023. The total cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 97,636 crores and to be implemented in a period of seven years.

“There are lot of work that needs to be done like we have to develop our own standards for high speed rail network and those needs to be vetted. We should also have a regulatory framework for the whole system. These are being jointly worked upon,” the official added.

It has been agreed upon to adopt Shinkansen Technology for Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR Project. The cooperation of Japan on this project will also be fixed on transfer of technology and ‘Make in India’.

Railway has formed a National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV), with a paid-up capital of Rs 500 crore for the project. Railways has already allotted Rs 200 crore for the SPV and Maharashtra and Gujarat will have equity of 25 percent each, while the Railways will have 50 per cent in the SPV.

A final feasibility report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) suggested that fare of the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad may be somewhere around one and half times more than the fare of the first AC of Rajdhani Express and it would be around Rs 2,800.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in parliament had said that the fare of Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail network will be affordable to people and less than the airfare between the two cities.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nat...llet-train-tech/2016/08/18/article3585895.ece

 

[Dandpatta]

Any members here who have a knack for designing logos? I am proposing we float ideas for a NEW Indian Railways Logo which should be a clean departure from the steam loco that adorns the current one. Come on guys, let the creativity and creative juices flow.

 

[Nilgiri]

Any members here who have a knack for designing logos? I am proposing we float ideas for a NEW Indian Railways Logo which should be a clean departure from the steam loco that adorns the current one. Come on guys, let the creativity and creative juices flow.

Sounds like a job for Mr. MS paint himself @Shravan#22580

 

[raj76]

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण,कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे
हरे राम हरे राम, राम राम हरे हरे
19-08-2016

‪#‎Economy‬:The road transport and highways ministry will soon issue a notification asking states to remove legal hurdles in the way of running of e-rickshaws, seen as best last mile connectivity solution. The ministry will ask states to make the registration and licensing process easier and swifter for e-rickshaws.

‪#‎Finance‬:The board of country's largest lender, State Bank of India, has approved the merger of its associate banks, along with Bhartiya Mahila Bank, with itself. SBI may break into world's top 50 banks list post merger

‪#‎Those‬ disclosing unaccounted wealth under the IDS will have the option of paying the tax on such income in cash, the income-tax deptt has clarified. The I-T deptt has also said tax authorities will not question the valuation reports of the accredited valuers.

‪#‎Mera‬ Bharat Mahaan:India shuttler PV Sindhu scripted history after she became the first Indian to enter the women's badminton singles finals at the Rio Olympics 2016.Sindhu is now assured of a silver medal.

भारत माता की जय

 

[AndrewJin]

@Ankit Kumar 002 @PARIKRAMA @anant_s
Sorry dude, I am not really familiar with locomotives....And it's basically one SOE builds then give to another SOE to run....Prices do not really matter here.

A collection

HXD1 is the newest electric locomotive in China.
Heavy haul

N3K is the newest diesel locomotive in China

 

[proud_indian]

 

[Nilgiri]

Arzanji is a great uploader. I have him on my sub list.

 

[proud_indian]

Arzanji is a great uploader. I have him on my sub list.

He sure is and now on my sub list too

 

[proud_indian]

Quality of ICF manufactured Bombardier rakes deteriorates further!

JULY 17, 20164 COMMENTS
The quality of rakes being turned out by ICF continues its free-fall. I had previously reported (link 1, link 2) the poor quality of Bombardier rakes in the linked posts. I had reported this to concerned authorities on Twitter & also registered a complaint on MRVC’s website including links to images clicked by me. MRVC had replied “There is RDSO specification of Epoxy cum Polyurethane painting system (two pack) for the exterior painting of Railway coaches. as per the RDSOs specification, ICF is doing exterior painting & Western Railway is maintaining the coaches. However, the complaint regarding dullness & fading of painting in MUTP PH-II EMU rakes has been advised to ICF by Western Railway to take necessary corrective action.” You can check the complaint & reply byvisiting this link. Please search for complaint number 7980.

I had complained in March 2016. ICF has been asked to take corrective action in the same month. However, the quality continues to deteriorate with every new rake. ICF has NOT ACTED on the feedback by WR/MRVC in these 4 months. The letter telling them to improve paint quality probably was thrown into dustbin, or relegated to a file in a dark corner of someone’s cabin at ICF. They blatantly continue manufacturing sub standard rakes. The quality of materials as well as workmanship – both are of very poor standards. Over the past 3 days, I traveled quite a bit on Western Railway. Here are some photos showing the poor workmanship & materials used by ICF.

Cracks in interior panelling of 5116 B. Age of coach: less than 5 months​

Cracks in interior panelling of 5116 B. Age of coach: less than 5 months​

Cracks in interior panelling of 5116 B. Age of coach: less than 5 months​

Sub standard material used near door. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

High variation in shades of white. Also note poor finishing of roof. There are dents all over. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

Various shades of white & violet. Beyond description in words.​

Shade of white is different on the 2 coaches in pic. Age of rake: 2 weeks​

 

[proud_indian]

Shade of white changes on the left of window. Some variation in violet shade too. Age of rake: 2 weeks​

Various shades of violet on top strip and HT compartment door. Shade of white changes on the left of window. Age of rake: 2 weeks​

Patchwork done with different shade of white below violet strip on top. Age of rake: 2 weeks​

Different shades of white in the box where “First class” is written. Bottom half of the text “WESTERN RAILWAY” is outside violet strip. Age of rake: 2 weeks​

Shabby Patchwork done on violet paint below window!​

Variation in shade of violet. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

Variation in shade of violet. Shade of band around door is different from that below window. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

Variation in shade of violet. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

Stripes denoting first class peeled off! Age of rake: 1 year​

 

[proud_indian]

Paint peeling off from a door​

Dents at regular intervals, as if coach was hit with hammer. Also, excess residue left after welding is not removed.​

The coat of paint is so thin that you can see dark spots of whatever lies beneath the paint​

Sub standard material used near door. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

Poor painting above window – shade of white changes. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

Varying shades of white! Age of rake: less than 2 months​

 

[Nilgiri]

Quality of ICF manufactured Bombardier rakes deteriorates further!

JULY 17, 20164 COMMENTS
The quality of rakes being turned out by ICF continues its free-fall. I had previously reported (link 1, link 2) the poor quality of Bombardier rakes in the linked posts. I had reported this to concerned authorities on Twitter & also registered a complaint on MRVC’s website including links to images clicked by me. MRVC had replied “There is RDSO specification of Epoxy cum Polyurethane painting system (two pack) for the exterior painting of Railway coaches. as per the RDSOs specification, ICF is doing exterior painting & Western Railway is maintaining the coaches. However, the complaint regarding dullness & fading of painting in MUTP PH-II EMU rakes has been advised to ICF by Western Railway to take necessary corrective action.” You can check the complaint & reply byvisiting this link. Please search for complaint number 7980.

I had complained in March 2016. ICF has been asked to take corrective action in the same month. However, the quality continues to deteriorate with every new rake. ICF has NOT ACTED on the feedback by WR/MRVC in these 4 months. The letter telling them to improve paint quality probably was thrown into dustbin, or relegated to a file in a dark corner of someone’s cabin at ICF. They blatantly continue manufacturing sub standard rakes. The quality of materials as well as workmanship – both are of very poor standards. Over the past 3 days, I traveled quite a bit on Western Railway. Here are some photos showing the poor workmanship & materials used by ICF.

Cracks in interior panelling of 5116 B. Age of coach: less than 5 months​

Cracks in interior panelling of 5116 B. Age of coach: less than 5 months​

Cracks in interior panelling of 5116 B. Age of coach: less than 5 months​

Sub standard material used near door. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

High variation in shades of white. Also note poor finishing of roof. There are dents all over. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

Various shades of white & violet. Beyond description in words.​

Shade of white is different on the 2 coaches in pic. Age of rake: 2 weeks​

@anant_s any comments?

 

[proud_indian]

Mismatch of violet colour above door. Age of rake: less than 2 months​

“I I” sign indicating second class is missing​

Cracked panel in 5141 B. This coach is not even 3 months old
​

This same panel seemed very weak. It could be pushed inside without applying any force. A video showing it:
I am really angered by what I saw in these 3 days. There were more defects which I couldn’t capture on camera. Defects like unnecessary cuts in interior panels, shoddy fitment of panels, shoddy fitting of window beading are so common that it is pointless to click them

It is clear that there is absolutely no quality control at ICF. Their only motto is to keep on turning out coaches, don’t look at even basic levels of quality. Interiors panels cracking in 2 month is simply criminal. “Ye gunah nahi, ye toh paap hai” to quote a line from Marathi movie “Katyar Kaljat Ghusali”. These rakes are supposed to last 25 years. I have to say that Siemens rakes were a lot better than this. WR & CR workshops can do a far better work of painting rakes. So much for a world class manufacturing facility supposedly using advanced PU paint.

What is more shocking is that ICF has played deaf ears to feedback from WR & MRVC. They have chosen to conveniently IGNORE the shortcomings pointed out by WR. Even after WR advised ICF, the quality continues to plummet. How shameless can they be? MRVC has absolutely no control over ICF. Why didn’t MRVC issue an ultimatum to ICF to improve quality? No one is answerable in the whole system. Complaints evoke standard responses like “ICF has been advised”, “ICF follows standards set by RDSO” etc. Is there anyone to check whether standards are really followed? Is there any unbiased quality audit? If these are standards set by RDSO, then it is high time to review them, because they are horrible.

I am really disappointed with ICF’s work. This is what happens when you have monopoly. ICF can get away with anything they do, as they have no competition! Unfortunately, the damage is already done. More than 60% of the rakes are already manufactured. Nothing can be done about them now.

All we can do is hope some miracle will happen and things will improve sometime in the future.

https://mrvcmania.wordpress.com/

@anant_s any comments?

You posted what I was going to?

Such mediocre workmanship ?
@Nilgiri your thoughts

 

[Nilgiri]

You posted what I was going to?

Such mediocre workmanship ?
@Nilgiri your thoughts

Its pretty bad given its been just 2 months.

There has to be transparent auditing of procedures at ICF, this is they problem when you have govt owned production facilities.....and the client is also effectively the supplier.

 

[proud_indian]

Its pretty bad given its been just 2 months.

There has to be transparent auditing of procedures at ICF, this is they problem when you have govt owned production facilities.....and the client is also effectively the supplier.

and those were supposed to last 35+ years !