Bangalore Namma Metro Updates

[suraj.shekar]

Hi,
Just had some thoughts on the May12 newsletter. It has some missing links which stops us from having a complete picture of overall phase1. Some problem areas are not addressed and also some good things adding to the progress are omitted from the letter. Tried to list them down so that we get the correct picture.

Starting with the positives mentioned in newsletter:
1. Commitment to build soap factory station against all odds. Banking on L&T & their track record. Hope they come out with their best and here’s wishing them all the best!
2. Chikpet station picking up pace
3. Arrival of train set for Reach 3

Dark areas in newsletter: [Will be great if our fellow SSC mates can fill in based on their day-to-day observations]
1. Apr-12 newsletter had explained fully about hurdles from railways and that issues were being addressed on priority. May 12 edition doesn’t even utter a word about Railways. They’ve become friends huh? Issue resolution on platform road could have been mentioned. No mention about whether work has commenced on site or not.
2. Malleshwaram span – One more critical bottleneck with SWR for R3 but latest status not known. How are they addressing the issue?
3. One TBM had arrived for NS line in Chennai port in March itself. No update on where is it now
4. Swastik station- Though built by Mantri and seems to be progressing well, I think BMRC should update the progress of this station
5. Peenya depot – No mention of this at all. ‘Strike2’ had updated that there is significant and visible progress here. Wish BMRC reported it formally.
6. Deepanjalinagar station (R2) – BIG CONCERN. Nothing has happened here for a long time. Even concourse pier arms are not ready. What is the reason? Is there any litigation here?
7. West ramp- NEVER EVER have I read anything about this. Is there any construction going on? Haven’t seen any updates on this thread either.
8. KR Market station – Some litigation by National Travels (No. 1 fraud travel operator) was pointed out in Apr letter.
9. Progress on track laying work & Third rail– Work going on in R3, R4 & R2 but not reported.
10. May 12 newsletter also mentions about Diversion works in tank bund road. Where exactly and why is this done?

[Mahesh Nanjunda]

Originally Posted by n_mohan

Hi guys was just wondering how deep are the namma metro tunnels and when drilling these tunnels what happens to the borewell pipes that are there all over bangalore. Thanks in anticipation.

Tunnels are at a depth of 12m (20 m at Majestic which will have a double-decker interchange) Borewells/wells are closed before tunneling.

[nandan_ks]

Originally Posted by suraj.shekar

Hi,
Just had some thoughts on the May12 newsletter. It has some missing links which stops us from having a complete picture of overall phase1. Some problem areas are not addressed and also some good things adding to the progress are omitted from the letter. Tried to list them down so that we get the correct picture.

Starting with the positives mentioned in newsletter:
1. Commitment to build soap factory station against all odds. Banking on L&T & their track record. Hope they come out with their best and here’s wishing them all the best!
2. Chikpet station picking up pace
3. Arrival of train set for Reach 3

Dark areas in newsletter: [Will be great if our fellow SSC mates can fill in based on their day-to-day observations]
1. Apr-12 newsletter had explained fully about hurdles from railways and that issues were being addressed on priority. May 12 edition doesn’t even utter a word about Railways. They’ve become friends huh? Issue resolution on platform road could have been mentioned. No mention about whether work has commenced on site or not.
2. Malleshwaram span – One more critical bottleneck with SWR for R3 but latest status not known. How are they addressing the issue?
3. One TBM had arrived for NS line in Chennai port in March itself. No update on where is it now
4. Swastik station- Though built by Mantri and seems to be progressing well, I think BMRC should update the progress of this station
5. Peenya depot – No mention of this at all. ‘Strike2’ had updated that there is significant and visible progress here. Wish BMRC reported it formally.
6. Deepanjalinagar station (R2) – BIG CONCERN. Nothing has happened here for a long time. Even concourse pier arms are not ready. What is the reason? Is there any litigation here?
7. West ramp- NEVER EVER have I read anything about this. Is there any construction going on? Haven’t seen any updates on this thread either.
8. KR Market station – Some litigation by National Travels (No. 1 fraud travel operator) was pointed out in Apr letter.
9. Progress on track laying work & Third rail– Work going on in R3, R4 & R2 but not reported.
10. May 12 newsletter also mentions about Diversion works in tank bund road. Where exactly and why is this done?

6. Is it still the same state??? As Strike 2 mentioned, the Road over Drain might open in about a month's time and once that is opened they might close this road and start construction. Not sure though.

Originally Posted by nandan_ks

image hosted on flickr

IMG_6354 by Nandan's CAMnota, on Flickr

7. The West ramp is under construction. Last time when I passed through that stretch [about a month back] the foundation works were going on.

Here's a old pic.

Originally Posted by nandan_ks

Complete coverage of Reach 2, few First and exclusive updates from Reach 2

image hosted on flickr

Reach 2 Starts from here by Nandan's CAMnota, on Flickr

[gentem]

TV9 update: They have demolished that soap factory petitioner'b building yesterday wednesday They said he hasnt filed case in high court again yet, and 3 week high court stay came to end on tuesday itself.

[vinblr]

Looks like suddenly steeped ramp?? Or is the photography angle that is making it to look like it?

Originally Posted by nandan_ks

7. The West ramp is under construction. Last time when I passed through that stretch [about a month back] the foundation works were going on.

Here's a old pic.

[mkaushik1991]

I wonder if the whole phase 1 will be completed by 2014 as said by BMRCL.i seriously doubt it.

Why didn't they start the tunnelling process in 2007 along with elevated line by this time atleast 65%of the work would have been completed.
Hope they finish Bangalore metro before chennai metro.
The work on chennai metro has been going at a rapid pace.

[devendra1]

why the compitition between cities. Let them finish work on Both the cities fast, does'nt matter which city completes first

[prabhu007]

Originally Posted by mkaushik1991

I wonder if the whole phase 1 will be completed by 2014 as said by BMRCL.i seriously doubt it.

Why didn't they start the tunnelling process in 2007 along with elevated line by this time atleast 65%of the work would have been completed.
Hope they finish Bangalore metro before chennai metro.
The work on chennai metro has been going at a rapid pace.

Kaushik, works on elevated corridors require less preparation when compared to UG. In elevated corridors they need to test soil, route finalization, LA and other technical aspects. These can be completed within a year's time and works shall commence.

Whereas in UG sections they need to understand the soil pattern at every 100 metres or so, decide on the appropriate TBM, place orders/tenders and then only the actual TBMs are built and tested. All these things take a minimum of 2 years at best. Then remains the challenging part - shipping/assembling TBM and building TBM launching pits accordingly. This itself takes more than 12 months. Then starts the actuall tunneling part.

You compared NM with CM. It is like comparing apples and oranges. The soil pattern, cityscape, type of TBM used, water table, etc are all different. And note that CM hasn't started actual tunnelling yet, while the elevated portions are 70% done already (close to 3 years since works began). So I would say NM is on the right track.

Kindly understand that our guys are doing exceptionally well to access these technologies and implement such behemoths of projects in both cities. Let's appreciate them. If they take a little more time than DMRC it's okay. They are doing it for the first time and they will learn. We have various phases to go and we can analyze their performances later. No offence meant.

[doc.aneesh]

+1

[mkaushik1991]

Thanks prabhu

[blrsri]

Originally Posted by prabhu007

Kaushik, works on elevated corridors require less preparation when compared to UG. In elevated corridors they need to test soil, route finalization, LA and other technical aspects. These can be completed within a year's time and works shall commence.

Whereas in UG sections they need to understand the soil pattern at every 100 metres or so, decide on the appropriate TBM, place orders/tenders and then only the actual TBMs are built and tested. All these things take a minimum of 2 years at best. Then remains the challenging part - shipping/assembling TBM and building TBM launching pits accordingly. This itself takes more than 12 months. Then starts the actuall tunneling part.

BMRCL screwed up the tendering process for UG which delayed everything..their high handedness also has led to further delays in the whole program management working with IR and other institutions..

[nandan_ks]

well the tendering process was delayed because of the cost involved. And by splitting up the tender package, they have saved considerably, but seems like all that savings will be pocketed by "Babasaheb"

[vinblr]

Hi,

Awaiting reply from you....... For my earlier query

[nandan_ks]

Oh I missed it, its because of the angle from where I took that pic.

Well, the slope is not sudden but gradual. You can see the slope spans over 4 viaducts.
The terrain there is uneven as well , you can see the car in the pic going downhill.

[boeingdude]

Originally Posted by rmkrish

ATP does not prevent sharing of metro trains. nothing does apart from a lack of physical contact.

use of ATP is something that metro operators adapt to on-the-go. ATP involves track<->train transmission of signaling and associated speed limits. On-board equipment will check the train's actual speed against the allowed speed and will slow/stop the train if section of the line is entered at more than the allowed speed.

I know what I'm talking about as I work closely with these subsystems. if you don't agree then give me a valid explanation about why trains can't be operated on different lines with proper sources.

Thanks for the clarification, thats exactly the impression I had too. Some person here mentioned there is no physical links between the two lines in Phase1. I haven't looked at the detailed plans or track layouts but I would be very surprised if there was no link between the two lines. So looks like BMRC made a conscious decision to color code the trains. I wonder what the thought process was.

Thanks.

[suraj.shekar]

6. Is it still the same state??? As Strike 2 mentioned, the Road over Drain might open in about a month's time and once that is opened they might close this road and start construction. Not sure though.

Thanks Nandan avre.. When I last saw abt 2 months back, it was like this only.. 2 or 3 pier arms (that too only concourse level) were being cast but very few men at site.. Work completion is not more than 15%.
But I dont think that opening of the "new" link road is a hurdle.. Bcos pier arms cud've been cast without blocking the road (like the 2 or 3 already casted)... Girder launching probably will have reqd more road space.. Somehow suspect there is a LA issue

7. The West ramp is under construction. Last time when I passed through that stretch [about a month back] the foundation works were going on.
Here's a old pic.

I had seen this photo tour earlier. Good one.. The ramp shown is the Simplex part which is completed. Progress further down from here (CEC-Soma area) till the tunnel entry point was not known courtesy BMRC.. thanks to you
But overall reach 2 contractors have been a bit disappointing. Simplex still has many segments to be launched from Magadi rd station to tollgate station, Ahluwalia and Punj Lloyd both have been slow on stations.

2 questions still bugging. Can u or strike2 help? -
1. Whats with this tank bund road diversion? Is it the one between Rly station & Kempegowda terminus or the binny mill/leprosy hospital side (Old Mysooru road)??
2. Pocket track andre enu swami? Yelli baratte adu? Is it like a shunt line for EW corridor similar to the one being built behind to KR road station?

[BKumar]

I saw a lot of comments on colors on this forum.

Color coding of lines existed from as long as London underground, New York metro, Hong Kong etc.... and most of the places the first line of metro gets the color purple (I have not researched if there is any thing associated with it or is it coincidence). Mostly all have used the bluish purple, but Namma metro has gone for maroonish purple.

Otherwise, world wide metro lines are color coded.

[strike2]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Mahalakshmi station- Roof completed colour and shape exactly like pic above

[mangalore mania]

Is Namma Metro a pillar of strength?
DNA
Saturday, May 12, 2012,

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) is allegedly using filtered sand for construction of metro bridges across the city despite the state government’s ban on use of filtered sand, alleged a city based social activist who has filed a complaint with the Lokayukta seeking a probe to check the quality of the sand used by BMRCL.

Along with his complaint, filed on May 2, Sadakhath Pasha, a resident of Ramnagar town, submitted documents collected through Right to Information (RTI) and requested Lokayukta to seek purchase vouchers to ascertain from where the sand is brought by BMRCL for construction.

Pasha told DNA that the state government banned sand mining in river bed areas, including Mysore, Chamrajnagar and Ramnagar districts since 2008 to crack down on the sand mafia in the region.
Though district administrations of Hassan and Mandya passed tenders, transport permits have not been evoked to stop sand transportation to other districts, according to RTI information obtained by Pasha. But, BMRCL continues to get hundreds of truck loads of sand from unknown destinations, he said.

In March 23, 2012, Pasha requested BMRCL to clarify if it is using filtered sand. “But no response has come from BMTCL so far,” he said. “This shows that BMRCL is using substandard sand which can not only endanger the structure, but lead to accidents and loss of human lives,” he said. On April 24, 2012, Pasha also moved the Karnataka Information Commission against BMRCL for denying information and a case is pending.

Pasha also requested Lokayukta officials to ensure checks by the Central Public Works Department to ascertain the sand’s quality.
Traffic expert MN Srihari said: “BMRCL, which is spending tax payers money, should be transparent and tell the truth instead of hiding facts.”

UA Vasanth Rao, general manager (finance), BMRCL, said: “BMRCL goes by the standards set by the authorities concerned. Why will we use low quality sand? We follow various checks and balances.” He refused to divulge the source of the sand BMRCL is using for the construction.

Engineers sell construction materials
Pasha also alleged that BMRCL engineers are selling construction material in the black market to make a fast buck. Many contractors in and around the city are buying cement, iron and bricks from the metro at throwaway prices, he said.

[mkaushik1991]

I just needed an info, presently Namma metro is using 2 tbm's and another 2 will be put int work within next 2 months.But Delhi metro had used 11 tbmsand chennai metro has ordered 6 tbms .so depending on what factors is the number of tbms decided?