World8115
October 6th, 2011, 05:21 PM
Rapid transit system to be a reality soon
The job to pave way for urban light transport magnetic pods on the lines of the one introduced around Heathrow Airport will start this month
Source: The Tribune, Chandigarh (http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111006/asrtrib.htm#1)
The much-awaited personal rapid transit system (PRTS) in the holy city is inching towards the reality. If the officials are to be believed, the job to pave way for ULTra (Urban Light Transport) magnetic pods, just on the lines of the one introduced around the Heathrow Airport, would start within this month. The PRTS in Amritsar will be the first of its kind in India.
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9407/atrb1.jpg
future perfect: An artist’s version of the new face of the city before and after the introduction of the Personal Rapid Transit System (PRTS).
A special committee, consisting of Amritsar Municipal Corporation Commissioner, Secretary of Local Bodies Wing and the MD, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), is going to hold talks with with the representatives of the lone bidder for the 30- month long woth Rs 1,600-crore project, jointly ventured by the two firms-ULTra Systems and the Fairwood Consultants on BoT basis. It has been learnt that small car manufacturers are also being taken into consideration to facilitate local manufacturing of the pod cars.
AMC Commissioner Dharampal Gupta said as per norms if only one bidding firm applies for any government project, then it becomes mandatory to negotiate with the firm by a special committee.
The authorities here have already identified seven locations for establishing PRTS stations. The seven stations would be Gol Bagh Railway Station, Deen Dayal market, the Kairon market, Galliara parking, the Golden Temple, Bus Stand and Mahan Singh Chowk.
Taking the Golden Temple as epicentre, as many as 210 laser-guided pods would start running on the elevated track between the Sikh holy shrine and the Bus stand. Gupta told that the first phase of the project on this route would be completed within 11 months period.
“We have done the local recce which revealed that more than 65 per cent of the daily commuters and tourists travel between the Bus stand and the Golden Temple route. That’s why, we primarily chose to introduce this system on this route,” he said.
A meeting on this was held recently with the officials of Punjab Infrastructure Regulatory Agency, a subsidy of Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB). “It has been deliberated that the execution of this first phase of the project would cost us about 198 crore. We have already done the soil testing at different points where the pillars for the guideway have to be installed,” he said.
On the bidding firms' fund raising plans, Gupta said the exact contours of financing would emerge only once we reach at some consensual point on account of financial concessions, as has to be extended by the state government.
Naresh Johar, a daily commuter from Rani Ka Bagh to Lawrence Road: Though the PRTS will let tourists reach their destination without a hassle but the system will bereft them to have the feel of the true character of Amritsar.
A daily commuter from Bagh Ramanand to a guest house near Golden TempleJagdish Singh: I welcome this new concept of transport, it will benefit tourists as well as residents. But I doubt if it would really be implemented.
What is PRTS?
The ULTra (Urban Light Transport) PRT System is basically a four to six-seater driverless battery-powered laser-guided vehicle with a central control system known as magnetic pod that uses rubber wheels running on an elevated guide way. It has been developed by a firm named ULTra.
The PRT is like a personal taxi, which is demand-responsive to a commuter. This will entail facilitating a non-stop journey within the track network with operational flexibility.
A pod will weigh about 800 kg with a cargo capacity of 500 kg and will run at a maximum speed of 40 km/hour on a 20-foot high track. Among its other features will be air-conditioning and bi-parting wide opening doors on both sides.
How it is operated
To operate a pod, waiting off-line at a station, a commuter will get access control using a swipe card and can key in destination on platform station.
Stations are located on side tracks that allows the PRT pods to bypass all stations en route to destination, thereby reducing travel time.
A commuter standing offline at a call point would get access control through a swipe card. He would key in his desired destination on the station itself, after which the pod would select the most economical route after accepting the fare of Rs 15 per head.
Special lifts and escalators would be installed at stations to get access to the pod positioned over the pillars.
How would it be implemented?
ULTra-Fairwood proposes to implement the project on a build operate transfer (BOT) basis so that the state government do not have to make any financial investments. For this, apart from the right to operate the system for a long-term (30-35 year) period, it requires to get rights to make elevated guideways, on which the pod cars can move besides land for building stations.
The job to pave way for urban light transport magnetic pods on the lines of the one introduced around Heathrow Airport will start this month
Source: The Tribune, Chandigarh (http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111006/asrtrib.htm#1)
The much-awaited personal rapid transit system (PRTS) in the holy city is inching towards the reality. If the officials are to be believed, the job to pave way for ULTra (Urban Light Transport) magnetic pods, just on the lines of the one introduced around the Heathrow Airport, would start within this month. The PRTS in Amritsar will be the first of its kind in India.
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9407/atrb1.jpg
future perfect: An artist’s version of the new face of the city before and after the introduction of the Personal Rapid Transit System (PRTS).
A special committee, consisting of Amritsar Municipal Corporation Commissioner, Secretary of Local Bodies Wing and the MD, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), is going to hold talks with with the representatives of the lone bidder for the 30- month long woth Rs 1,600-crore project, jointly ventured by the two firms-ULTra Systems and the Fairwood Consultants on BoT basis. It has been learnt that small car manufacturers are also being taken into consideration to facilitate local manufacturing of the pod cars.
AMC Commissioner Dharampal Gupta said as per norms if only one bidding firm applies for any government project, then it becomes mandatory to negotiate with the firm by a special committee.
The authorities here have already identified seven locations for establishing PRTS stations. The seven stations would be Gol Bagh Railway Station, Deen Dayal market, the Kairon market, Galliara parking, the Golden Temple, Bus Stand and Mahan Singh Chowk.
Taking the Golden Temple as epicentre, as many as 210 laser-guided pods would start running on the elevated track between the Sikh holy shrine and the Bus stand. Gupta told that the first phase of the project on this route would be completed within 11 months period.
“We have done the local recce which revealed that more than 65 per cent of the daily commuters and tourists travel between the Bus stand and the Golden Temple route. That’s why, we primarily chose to introduce this system on this route,” he said.
A meeting on this was held recently with the officials of Punjab Infrastructure Regulatory Agency, a subsidy of Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB). “It has been deliberated that the execution of this first phase of the project would cost us about 198 crore. We have already done the soil testing at different points where the pillars for the guideway have to be installed,” he said.
On the bidding firms' fund raising plans, Gupta said the exact contours of financing would emerge only once we reach at some consensual point on account of financial concessions, as has to be extended by the state government.
Naresh Johar, a daily commuter from Rani Ka Bagh to Lawrence Road: Though the PRTS will let tourists reach their destination without a hassle but the system will bereft them to have the feel of the true character of Amritsar.
A daily commuter from Bagh Ramanand to a guest house near Golden TempleJagdish Singh: I welcome this new concept of transport, it will benefit tourists as well as residents. But I doubt if it would really be implemented.
What is PRTS?
The ULTra (Urban Light Transport) PRT System is basically a four to six-seater driverless battery-powered laser-guided vehicle with a central control system known as magnetic pod that uses rubber wheels running on an elevated guide way. It has been developed by a firm named ULTra.
The PRT is like a personal taxi, which is demand-responsive to a commuter. This will entail facilitating a non-stop journey within the track network with operational flexibility.
A pod will weigh about 800 kg with a cargo capacity of 500 kg and will run at a maximum speed of 40 km/hour on a 20-foot high track. Among its other features will be air-conditioning and bi-parting wide opening doors on both sides.
How it is operated
To operate a pod, waiting off-line at a station, a commuter will get access control using a swipe card and can key in destination on platform station.
Stations are located on side tracks that allows the PRT pods to bypass all stations en route to destination, thereby reducing travel time.
A commuter standing offline at a call point would get access control through a swipe card. He would key in his desired destination on the station itself, after which the pod would select the most economical route after accepting the fare of Rs 15 per head.
Special lifts and escalators would be installed at stations to get access to the pod positioned over the pillars.
How would it be implemented?
ULTra-Fairwood proposes to implement the project on a build operate transfer (BOT) basis so that the state government do not have to make any financial investments. For this, apart from the right to operate the system for a long-term (30-35 year) period, it requires to get rights to make elevated guideways, on which the pod cars can move besides land for building stations.