This thread will track the developments & discussions related to LRT project that was launched today.
KOLKATA: The West Bengal government and SREI Infrastructure Finance on Wednesday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up the country's
first light rail transit (LRT) system. A special purpose vehicle, christened Kolkata Mass Rapid Transit Pvt Ltd, has been formed to implement the proposed Rs 6,000 crore project.
To be executed in two phases, the project will be implemented by a consortium led by SREI Infrastructure and will include technology partner Amex International of Czech Republic and a state government undertaking, West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development.
"I have urged those executing the project to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) by this fiscal and begin construction latest by next year. We will take about four-to-five years to complete the project from the day we commence construction," said West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, addressing mediapersons during the MoU signing ceremony held in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Incidentally, the project will comprise two corridors -- Joka-Esplanade and Esplanade-Barrackpore links. The air conditioned LRT will connect the northern suburbs with the southern fringes of the city through the central business district and cover some 40 kms in just 90 minutes.
It will touch 37 stations including Taratala, Khidderpore, AJC Bose Road, Park Street, Esplanade, Sealdah, Shyambazar, Dunlop, Khardha, Titagarh and Barrackpore.
For starters, the train is projected to carry some 1.2 lakh passengers per month and subsequently, 4.8 lakh passengers per month.
Emphasising the need for such a system, SREI Infrastructure Finance chairman & managing director Hemant Kanoria said, "Road space in Kolkata has shrunk substantially rendering navigability of vehicles impossible. More so, since the number of vehicles have increased manifold over the years. This coupled with the regular inflow of people from districts is making commuting chaotic."
Given the anticipated vehicular growth in the future, and increasingly lower availability of road space and time constraints, construction of flyovers and elevated tracks would be the ideal solution, he pointed out.
"The proposed light rail transit system," Mr Bhattacharjee added, "will meet the East-West Metro at Sealdah to help office goers commuting from one end of the city to the other. Implementation of all three — the light rail transit system, the East-West Metro and the ring road to be built around Kolkata —
collectively will solve the city's transport problem in the near future."
here have some information about it:question: will the track be laid on a new pattern through the demolition of buildings or will it go on top of a road?
fred, thanks Yes, it should be another 'first' for the country to set a trend. The original design about three years back talked of a diversion from Esplanade to Salt lake and another to Panihati. I believe that could not get approved.Yes, this is great. Really great.
Good job, ArijeetB, I wanted to start the thread and you have beaten me to the job.
Hope it happens without the usual lemons coming into the way.:cheers:
Just like metro rail and mobile phones, Kolkata is again set to lead the way in India. Awesome.
Would be great to see it extended to Kalyani.
@ kolkatausa - I think tracks would be on top of roads along the center or along the sides.question: will the track be laid on a new pattern through the demolition of buildings or will it go on top of a road?
Actually she won't. Mamata was the pro-industrialization voice of WB until the government turned pro-industrialization. Mamata's agitation is for the sake of agitating the government and also to get votes. If Mamata comes to power, she will also follow a pro-industrialization policy but the idea of her coming to power is laughable. She is too ugly for politics. She should try her luck somewhere else...I am looking for a maid.I read somewhere that they will submit the feasabilty study for this project in Sept 2009 and construction will start only in 2010.
The route shown will go through some of the busiest and densest parts of Kolkata. How do they plan to build this without causing too much inconvenience is a question. If they need land, then it will be a major headache.
The self declared intellectuals of Bengal plus Miss Mamata will oppose for the sake of opposing. And if Mamata Bannerjee wins the up coming elections then she will probably scrap all development projects and ask people of Bengal to sow potato in the fields and sell garments on footpaths.
The state government seems to be in a foundation stone laying spree because of the elections. Hopefully most of the projects will not meet the same fate as many of the earlier projects.
Chill man. No one here to compete with Gurgaon etc. We would be happy if they make it. Whether it is before or after Gurgaon, it hardly makes any difference to us. And we will be proud if Gurgaon gets the first LRT in the country."First"? The privately funded DLF LRT in Gurgaon is way ahead of you. :bash:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=17870530#post17870530
source: Indian ExpressKolkata: While the state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the country’s first Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) in Kolkata, it’s not sure how it will raise funds for the Rs 4,500-crore project that will link the city’s southern suburbs and northern suburbs.
The MoU for the project was signed on Wednesday at a function that was attended by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The first proposal for monorail project was submitted in 1994-95 by the Mukund group but was rejected outright. A modified LRTS project was again mooted in 2004 and the state government announced that the project would come up in 4-5 years. The project, however, remained mothballed.
Though the foundation stone for the mega monorail project has been laid, the state government is still waiting for a detailed project report and funds.
S S Chakraborty, chairman, Consulting Engineering Services (India) Pvt Ltd, the consultancy firm for the project, admitted that the project had been hanging fire for want of funds. “Initially, we went for the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme for which we needed to proceed through the Union urban development ministry and the Planning Commission. We were asked to submit a mobility plan by the Planning Commission, which we did a few years ago. But we are yet to receive any response,” said Chakraborty.
“We were told if we get the funds for the project under the JNNURM scheme, then funds for all other projects under it may dry up. So, we had to drop the idea,” said Chakraborty. “At present, some funds will come from the finance partners of the consortium for which they will collect the royalty for the next 30 years after the project is completed. Some amount of funds will be received from advertisements and rest of the funds will be given by the state government which is equivalent to viability gap funding,” he added.
The state had also urged for a viability gap funding for the project but was denied by the Centre, said a senior transport official.
The CES is not even sure what amount has to be funded by the state and whether it will be able to afford it.
A CES official said the LRTS project was delayed since the state government wanted to go slow on it as the funds for the East-West Metro Corridor project was also not arranged till then.
“It’s only after the Japan Bank for International Cooperation agreed to give loan for the East-West Metro Corridor project that we got the nod for proceeding with the LRTS project,” said the official.
There is a little scope of getting loans from the international banks for the project as the Asian Development Bank does not fund transport projects and the World Bank did not take any interest in it.
State transport secretary Sumantra Cowdhury refused to comment saying he is too busy.
Project report hurdle on light rail path
A STAFF REPORTER
The chief minister at the launch of the Light Rail Transit. A Telegraph picture
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s dream project for the city — the Light Rail Transit System — seems to be in limbo for want of a detailed project report.
Almost five months have passed since the chief minister launched the project, but Consulting Engineering Services (CES), which is supposed to carry out work for the report, is yet to get a letter from Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, the principal promoter of the project.
The document holds the key to the project because it will outline all relevant details, including the terms of reference and how the work will be executed.
“We are yet to receive a letter from Srei asking us to start work for the report,” said S.S. Chakraborty, the chairman-cum-managing director of CES.
The chief minister, while launching the project on February 18, had set a five-year deadline but the delay in preparing the report has left transport department officials wondering when work will finally start and when the 40km route from Joka to Barrackpore will be commissioned.
Senior officials of the state government have held a few meetings, including two in Delhi, to get the “stuck” project rolling, but that has not helped. Frustrated, the CES has shot off letters to chief secretary Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti seeking a way out.
Srei, however, maintains the project is on track. “Things are under control and there is nothing to be worried about,” said Braj Kishore, the vice-president of the company. “As for the letter (to CES on starting work for the project report), I wouldn’t comment.”
The company’s chairman-cum-managing director, Hemant Kanoria, couldn’t be contacted.
The Light Rail Transit, to run on elevated tracks across 37 stations, is set to be India’s first-of-its-kind mass transport system. A consortium led by Srei, in association with the West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Limited, has been awarded the contract to execute the Rs 6,000-crore project.
Realising the importance of the project in a city starved of road space, the chief minister had called for speedy execution.
“A Special Purpose Vehicle for the project has been created and we can’t wait. The detailed project report has to be completed by this year so real work can start from 2010,” the chief minister had said. Transport department officials said it was Srei’s responsibility to write to the CES seeking the report and foot the bill for the preparatory work. Experts said around Rs 5-6 crore would be required to prepare the report.
* The points the report would cover include:
* Survey report of the 40km stretch
* Location and type of stations to be built
* How to connect the route with that of the East-West Metro
* Passenger disposal system at the stations
Light rail system for swift commute
SANJAY MANDAL
Calcutta is poised to travel light — literally — as part of a modified version of the rapid-transit rail network promised in Mamata Banerjee’s budget.
The city’s first Light Rail Transit (LRT) system will connect Majherhat, Joka, Budge Budge, Garden Reach and Diamond Harbour in the south —a circular stretch of around 80km — to the Metro and suburban railway networks.
The original plan was to expand the Metro Railway network but a preliminary feasibility study indicated that an LRT system would be more suitable given the topography and availability of land. A light rail transit system generally has lower capacity than conventional trains. The rakes resemble modern trams but are much faster and quieter.
“The route survey is underway,” a Railway Board official told Metro from New Delhi.
Metro Railway, which is conducting the survey, will submit its report to the Railway Board.hno: “We hope to complete the task in two months,” a Metro official said.
The Majherhat-Joka stretch, which is around 8km, has already been surveyed.
The 80km route (see chart) will begin at Majherhat, touch Joka and reach Diamond Harbour before taking an about-turn to Budge Budge, from where it will head towards Garden Reach and Kidderpore. The route will culminate at Rabindra Sarobar after crossing Tolly’s Nullah, where there will be a passenger interchange with Metro and the suburban railway network of Eastern Railway’s Sealdah-Budge Budge section.
According to a railway official, the LRT project will not only ease traffic congestion on Diamond Harbour Road but also curb pollution.
He said the project cost of close to Rs 3,000 crore would have been higher had the route been included in the Metro rail network. “We would have also faced problems in setting up track connections and a maintenance depot for rakes.”