Bangalore Namma Metro Updates

[suraj.shekar]

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/h...ome-topstories

Reliance Infrastructure-led Delhi Airport Metro Express will close down from Sunday for an unspecified period apparently due to technical problems and financial losses, a move that would affects hundreds of passengers who were relying on this corridor to reach the airport without any hassles.

The country's first Public-Private-Partnership Metro project has had a tumultuous journey in the past 16 months after it first began operations in February, 2011.

"The Delhi Metro has received a communication from the concessionaire on Friday evening that they intend to stop services from Sunday," Delhi Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal said.

However, he did not give any reason why the Reliance Infrastructure took the extreme step of closing down the Metro services for an unspecified period.

The Reliance Infra-led company has been suffering loses as it was not able to reach its intended targets in terms of profit and ridership. However, there was no word from the concessionaire.
Efforts made by PTI to reach Reliance Infra officials failed. It is understood that the company would come out with a public notice, specifying reasons for its step.

Dayal said the Delhi Metro would be asking them to intimate the date by which they would be resuming services after carrying out the rectifications required on the line.

The Line has also been encountering several technical problems and was not able to run trains at the promised speed of 120 kmph. While it was run at 105 kmph in the beginning, the speed was brought down to 90 kmph due to some technical issues a few months back.

The high-speed Metro corridor, the country's first Public-Private-Partnership Metro network, connects the city centre of Connaught Place with the swanky Terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in just 18 minutes.

The Airport Express Metro currently has a ridership of over 15,000 passengers a day and is popular among thousands of fliers who used the Metro to reach the airport and nearby areas without any hassles.

Not a good news...

Bit of number crunching to understand the financials:
With 15k ridership, total collection would be approx 15000xRs.80= Rs12 lakh per day.
For the 16 months it ran, total recovery = Rs 12 lakh x 16 months x 30 days = ~57.6 crore.
Poor chap. Forget about capital cost, he would not be recovering his operating cost also!

Sivasailam has said BMRC is breaking even on operational cost with ~25K per day ridership.
Revenue=25000xRs.15=3.75 lakh per day.

Numbers apart, the Bangalore planners better put their heads down & think properly on connectivity to BIA. Its a tricky decision as has been coming out from discussions on this forum also.
HSRL or metro is the 1st question, PPP implementation or otherwise is 2nd.
HSRL with PPP has faced both technical and financial viability problems in Delhi. BIA currently operates at 1/3rd or lesser capacity than IGIA and will not beat IGIA on capacity for life. So, we better think very objectively on the connectivity options

[mkaushik1991]

The minimum ticket rate for Delhi Airport Express must have been atleast around 250 as they re even checking in the baggage,Rs.80 is really cheap

[avinash2060]

Originally Posted by suraj.shekar

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/h...ome-topstories

Not a good news...

Bit of number crunching to understand the financials:
With 15k ridership, total collection would be approx 15000xRs.80= Rs12 lakh per day.
For the 16 months it ran, total recovery = Rs 12 lakh x 16 months x 30 days = ~57.6 crore.
Poor chap. Forget about capital cost, he would not be recovering his operating cost also!

Sivasailam has said BMRC is breaking even on operational cost with ~25K per day ridership.
Revenue=25000xRs.15=3.75 lakh per day.

Numbers apart, the Bangalore planners better put their heads down & think properly on connectivity to BIA. Its a tricky decision as has been coming out from discussions on this forum also.
HSRL or metro is the 1st question, PPP implementation or otherwise is 2nd.
HSRL with PPP has faced both technical and financial viability problems in Delhi. BIA currently operates at 1/3rd or lesser capacity than IGIA and will not beat IGIA on capacity for life. So, we better think very objectively on the connectivity options

this is a half baked story .There are some cracks in pillars that's why it's closed for few weeks

[avinash2060]

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) The popular Delhi Airport Metro Express Line – used by over 15,000 commuters daily – will be suspended for unspecified period after 11 p.m. Saturday owing to “major civil defect.”

“The Airport Metro Express Line has a major civil structure defect. Most of the piers of the line have developed cracks. It will take over couple of weeks for the line to be operational,” an informed source said Saturday.
Over 15,000 passengers commute daily on the 23-km line with six stations, which covers the distance between the New Delhi railway station and the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in 18 minutes.
“The airport metro services will be discontinued due to safety concerns. A thorough safety check will be carried out before the line gets operational,” the source added.
In a recent annual inspection, the Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium, which operates the line, has found that out of 250 of the 2,100 bearings (bearings are concrete structures on top of pillars on which girders rest) on the elevated corridors are “shaky”.
According to informed sources, a high-level meeting was held last week between the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Indian Railways regarding the civil defects in the high-speed metro line.
“The Reliance Infra-led consortium laid only the tracks and it was DMRC which built the structure. Thus, the responsibility for the defects lies with DMRC and the government and not the Reliance Infra which only operates the line,” the source added.
As per the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, on which the line was to be constructed and operated, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was to carry out the civil work and Reliance Infrastructure was to operate the line for 30 years and share the revenues.
DMRC in a statement said: “Metro Express Line intends to stop services from Sunday. We would be asking them to intimate the date by which they would be able to resume services after carrying out the rectifications required on the line.”
The country’s first Metro network based on a Public Private Partnership model, covers six stations — New Delhi railway station, Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aero City, IGI airport and Dwarka Sec-21.
Built at a cost of Rs.5,700 crore, the line is used by thousands of commuters – over 70 percent of them airport-bound.

http://www.citybengaluru.com/airport...d-from-sunday/
going by your figure bangalore metro might have ridership of max 80000 inclusive of all four reaches we have pumped in close to 9000 crores
80000 * INR 25=20 lakhs/day for 9000 Crore Investment

[Master of Disguise]

Guys relax delhi airport metro has been closed due to some technical up gradation and some other work..is not due to financials...

@ Suraj....Ridership is not the only revenue....they earn revenue's through commercials at stations and advertisements as well...which makes up for huge numbers here in Delhi...

[mkaushik1991]

Originally Posted by avinash2060

this is a half baked story .There are some cracks in pillars that's why it's closed for few weeks

Also the residents and tenants near track felt very strong vibrations in their houses and offices that's the reason for his closure.

[Abhishek901]

Originally Posted by mkaushik1991

The minimum ticket rate for Delhi Airport Express must have been atleast around 250 as they re even checking in the baggage,Rs.80 is really cheap

That would have made it even less popular

[Master of Disguise]

Originally Posted by mkaushik1991

Also the residents and tenants near track felt very strong vibrations in their houses and offices that's the reason for his closure.

What???? This for sure cannot be the reason....It passes thru the ridge area for most of the time....also, there are no residences alongs its run on from Rajinder Nagar to Airport....

[vamsi]

Originally Posted by Abhishek901

That would have made it even less popular

Anything less than 300 is unviable. It is bound to be closed. 80Rs for such high class service is a loot on the provider. No one can survive.

[suraj.shekar]

Reason for suspension of airport metro is declared ‘officially’ now. As usual, media are trying to probe more and publishing half-known things.
However, its also true that there have been differences between DMRC & Reliance on some aspects. There has been news around it in the past. Not the right place to debate it.

@Master: Agreed. Even after adding non-passenger revenue, how close are DAME to their operating cost? Not to their acceptable comfort level for sure. If the airport express line had integrated to metro mainline at 2-3 more places, would ridership have improved for DAME? May be yes; May be not much- we don’t know. Again not the right place to debate.

Only intent is to say that –
a. Bangalore/BMRC & DMRC should understand the airport traveller better. Objective: Maximize passenger footfall & revenue
b. Explore additional options for viable operations (HSRL reduces band for ad-revenue due to lesser no. of stations)

From Bangalore’s context, its relevant because-
1. Rail link to BIA is still on drawing board. No one wants an empty train running to BIA & a white elephant for the Private partner. Fact is IGIA is 3-4 times of BIA on passenger movement. If HSRL to such a high density airport is not getting reasonable revenue (passenger+non-passenger) to sustain operations, then will Bangalore which is exploring similar connectivity option with double the distance(=double investment) & 1/3rd of target market size succeed with the same format? [Not impossible but as of now-"NO"]
2. PPP for rolling stock, O&M is considered for 1 line in Ph-2. Good chance to understand its pros & cons thru Del & Hyd metro experiences.

[anil29]

Delhi airport metro likely to resume services in August, says Government
Reported by Sonal Mehrotra, Edited by Abhinav Bhatt (With PTI inputs) | Updated: July 07, 2012 18:50 IST










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New Delhi: A day after suspending operations for an indefinite period at the Delhi Airport Metro Express, due to safety issues, the government today assured the public that it will be reopened once necessary repairs are complete.

"The Reliance Infrastructure reported that there are some defects in the civil structure. There are problems with the bearing which is the interface between the pillar and girder. Repairs have to be done below the girders and it is in odd kind of locations," said Sudhir Krishna, Secretary, Urban Development.

The 23-kilometre-long Delhi Airport Metro Express is one of the country's fastest metro corridors where trains run at speeds of 105 kilometres per hour. The line is barely 16 months old.



Reliance Infra operates and maintains the corridor, but the civil structure was built by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Over 10 percent of the bearings, that's about 230 out of 2100, need repair.

Reliance Infra says the defects first surfaced during the annual inspection in May 2012 by the operator, Delhi Airport Metro Express, a subsidiary of Reliance Infra. The operator then reported the defects to the DMRC, the Government of India and the Government of Delhi early in June 2012.

Following the serious concerns raised by the operator regarding safety, speeds on the corridor were reduced to 25 kilometres per hour. The DMRC admitted the defects in the civil structures and has agreed to carry out necessary rectifications.

A committee comprising officials from the Indian Railways, Delhi Metro and Reliance Infrastructure is already going into the nature of defects and would submit a report within the next 10 days.

For a project that cost nearly Rs. 6000 crore, and used daily by thousands of commuters travelling to and from the capital's international airport, the inconvenience is huge.

"There was no prior announcement, but today they informed that they are closing, I am shocked," said a dejected commuter.

"I come from Dwarka to Shivaji stadium line. It had been very easy for me, but now it's going to be difficult," said another.

A suspension of two months that could well be further delayed for inspections and clearances once the repair is done means the impact on the image of India's flagship mass transit system is equally huge.



For NDTV Updates,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/d...om=home-cities

[World8115]

Why is every1 posting Delhi Airport line updates in B'luru metro thread

[infra desperados]

EXACTLY//

[gurupr29]

Source : DH

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...-not-poor.html

Housing projects for the poor need not be poor housing, N Sivasailam, Managing Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), said on Saturday.

Sivasailam, who was conferred a ‘Vocational Excellency Award’ by the Rotary Club of Bangalore, said there were excellent opportunities in the field of housing in the coming years.

Commenting on Rotary Bangalore’s theme for the year 2012-13, ‘Housing for poor’, he said it was a welcome move and the project, in association with Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation, would go a long way in helping the needy.

Rotary Bangalore plans to build 200 houses for the poor in Pavagada, Tumkur district, this year.

Sivasailam, who has experience working with the State’s Housing Department, said better housing would go a long way in improving the living conditions of the poor.

“Even in BMRCL, I have seen this working. After we rehabilitated two slums in Bangalore, bad habits among residents there such as drinking came down drastically.

More children from these families are going to school and criminal activities too have come down,” he added.

As part of the programme, various office-bearers for the Rotary Club of Bangalore (Highgrounds) for the year 2012-13 were installed.

[gurupr29]

Source : Tehelka
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main53....CORRUPTION.asp

Dwarakanath, along with VRS Natarajan, allegedly caused BEML a loss of Rs 160 crore in the Bangalore metro coaches' deal

Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) closes in on former Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) chairman VRS Natarajan for his role in the Tatra truck scam, the newly appointed chairman P Dwarakanath is now facing allegations of manipulating a contract to supply rail coaches for the Bangalore Metro. According to BEML shareholder and RTI activist KS Periyaswamy — whose activism led to the suspension of VRS Natarajan — P Dwarakanth and Natarjan accepted a bribe of Rs 40 crore to favour Mitsubishi Corporation, Rotem and Melco. This has caused a loss of Rs 160 crore to BEML, said Periyaswamy.

Bangalore Metro was a long standing demand of Bangalorean’s to ease city’s congested traffic. The state government mulled over this issue for two decades, and in 2006 set the ball rolling for the project. In 2008, the Bangalore Metro Corporation put out a tender for the supply of 150 rail coaches.

Among the companies that had applied, BEML was selected as it had made the lowest bid. The Public Sector Unit (PSU) BEML, along with multinational corporations (MNCs) Mitsubishi Corporation, Korean rolling stock major Rotem and Japan based Melco as part of a consortium, bagged the order for Rs 1,832.53 crores. During the time of the tendering, as part of the deal, BEML was to share 24.5% (Rs 448.96 crores) whereas the other three MNCs were supposed to share among themselves 75.5% (Rs 1,383.57 crores).

However, when the deal was in its final phase, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) re-negotiated and reduced the amount to Rs 1,672.52 crores. BEML readily accepted to settle for the new amount, even if it meant a huge reduction of close to Rs 200 crores from its earliest order. Apart from that, P Dwarakanth who was then Director of (Rail and Metro) BEML, even reduced the percentage share of BEML from the consortium.

From its earlier 24.5 percent, BEML's share percentage was reduced to 19.4% (Rs 318.44 crores), whereas the share of the MNCs went up to 81.5% (Rs 1,354.07 crores). By this change in share percentage, BEML lost out Rs 91 crores. And by the total change of supply order, BEML incurred a loss of close to Rs 160 crores.

“Why did BEML settle for a lower price after its tender was accepted as it was the lowest bidder? Why did it reduce its share percentage and give it to the MNCs,” asks 59-year-old Periyaswamy, who has written to the President and Defence Minister demanding a CBI probe in to this issue.

It is not the first time that Periyaswamy has exposed such irregularities in BEML. In November 2002, Periyaswamy an employee of BEML, had written to the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Defence demanding a probe into the supply order for Tatra trucks. In 2007, he had brought forth the illegal export of iron ore by BEML to the tune of Rs 118 crores. Investigating officer P Shailaja of CBI Hyderabad had found Natarajan liable under criminal law. Natarajan misusing his official position and getting undue favours worth several crores from BEMLemployment co-operative society was also brought forth by Periyaswamy.

In 2009, Periyaswamy had raised the issue of loss to BEML in the metro coaches’ deal in the annual general meeting (AGM). “The reply I got was amusing,” says Periyaswamy. According to the AGM report (a copy of which is with Tehelka), the decision to re-negotiate was taken considering “the long term prospects of the project... the revenue in the long run would be reasonable.” However, Periyaswamy alleges that in metro coaches’ deal, more than Rs 40 crores was given to Natarajan, Dwarakanath and M Pitchiah, Director of Finance, BEML. “I don’t have proof but CBI would be able to establish it,” he says. Both Natarajan and Dwarakanath were unavailable for comment.

[anidel]

Originally Posted by suraj.shekar

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/h...ome-topstories

Not a good news...

Bit of number crunching to understand the financials:
With 15k ridership, total collection would be approx 15000xRs.80= Rs12 lakh per day.
For the 16 months it ran, total recovery = Rs 12 lakh x 16 months x 30 days = ~57.6 crore.
Poor chap. Forget about capital cost, he would not be recovering his operating cost also!

Sivasailam has said BMRC is breaking even on operational cost with ~25K per day ridership.
Revenue=25000xRs.15=3.75 lakh per day.

Numbers apart, the Bangalore planners better put their heads down & think properly on connectivity to BIA. Its a tricky decision as has been coming out from discussions on this forum also.
HSRL or metro is the 1st question, PPP implementation or otherwise is 2nd.
HSRL with PPP has faced both technical and financial viability problems in Delhi. BIA currently operates at 1/3rd or lesser capacity than IGIA and will not beat IGIA on capacity for life. So, we better think very objectively on the connectivity options

1. Reliance is not poor at all and its the most cunning compnay in India.

2. Its their fault and they have to bear it.

3. Govt. should impose heavy penalty on Reliance for:

a.) Endangering the life of thousands of Indians and Foreigners who have traveled on this unsafe shoddy structure.

b.) And for not following agreement by running trains lower then the desired speed.

4. The DMRC/Indian Railway should also be punished for allowing this unsafe metro to run.

Why they have approved the shoddy structure?

5. Otherwise other companies in other cities will also build cheap and weak metro infrastructure and it will endanger the life of general public.

[mkaushik1991]

Originally Posted by anidel

1. Reliance is not poor at all and its the most cunning compnay in India.

2. Its their fault and they have to bear it.

3. Govt. should impose heavy penalty on Reliance for:

a.) Endangering the life of thousands of Indians and Foreigners who have traveled on this unsafe shoddy structure.

b.) And for not following agreement by running trains lower then the desired speed.

4. The DMRC/Indian Railway should also be punished for allowing this unsafe metro to run.

Why they have approved the shoddy structure?

5. Otherwise other companies in other cities will also build cheap and weak metro infrastructure and it will endanger the life of general public.

For ur kind info,the civil works(which have problems) are constructed by DMRC not Reliance.So it's Sreedharan and his team who have to be blamed and the great CRS of IR which gave the safety certificate .

[raghussc]

Originally Posted by anidel

1. Reliance is not poor at all and its the most cunning compnay in India.

2. Its their fault and they have to bear it.

3. Govt. should impose heavy penalty on Reliance for:

a.) Endangering the life of thousands of Indians and Foreigners who have traveled on this unsafe shoddy structure.

b.) And for not following agreement by running trains lower then the desired speed.

4. The DMRC/Indian Railway should also be punished for allowing this unsafe metro to run.

Why they have approved the shoddy structure?

5. Otherwise other companies in other cities will also build cheap and weak metro infrastructure and it will endanger the life of general public.

Only point no. 4 is the valid one ... DMRC has to be punished twice ... Once for being the one who built the line .. Second for approving n certifying ... Where r u Mangu Singh?

[mkaushik1991]

Originally Posted by raghussc

Only point no. 4 is the valid one ... DMRC has to be punished twice ... Once for being the one who built the line .. Second for approving n certifying ... Where r u Mangu Singh?

Sreedharan was the head of DMRC when this was constructed ,Mangu Singh occupied the post after this happened .

[raghussc]

Originally Posted by mkaushik1991

Sreedharan was the head of DMRC when this was constructed ,Mangu Singh occupied the post after this happened .

Whoever heads the organization will have to assume the responsibility, isn't it how it works ?