Railway development in Karnataka

[engineer.akash]

The first PPP in railways started off in karnataka


Hassan-Mangalore Railway Line:

Gauge conversion of Hassan-Mangalore railway line is one of the first PPP railway project in India. A Special Purpose Vehicle: Hassan – Mangalore Railway Development Company has been set up by GoK and GoI for this project. The gauge conversion is over and the operation of goods train has begun since May 2006. After the completion of statutory inspection and certification by the Railway Safety Commissioner, this line will be opened for passenger services.

http://idd.kar.nic.in/hassan-manngalore.htm


check also Page No 13 point 6 K-Ride

http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/dow...ilways-182.pdf

[Krishnamoorthy K]

The PPP projects should be fully independent of GoI. Otherwise what is the use of spending 50% and leaving all control to GoI?

[sudheeshnairs]

Originally Posted by engineer.akash

when we can have 13 airports in our state out of which 5 are on PPP basis why not replicate the same in railways???

Why should it be? Why should Karnataka spend money from its coffers for Railway development, when most other states it is fully funded by IR? There are also instances were in some metro cities even for Mass Rapit Transit Systems, which is not much a revenue generating venture, full investment has been done by IR.

Good rail infrastructure is needed for the development of any place. The amount of energy you save, the efficiency, the capacity etc are beyond comparison. See, how will you transport petroleum products from Mangalore refinery to Bangalore? No wonder the prices of fuel are the highest in Karnataka, esp Bangalore. I have seen Akash commenting that since Volvos are there, no need for railways. Volvos are only a bonus, you should have the basic infrastructure in place.

Th onus lies in the the state/administration/people's representatives themselves. They have to stand for the requirements of the people.

[xetairex]

"The amount of energy you save, the efficiency, the capacity etc are beyond comparison. "

Zigackly.

Even if you use coal fired electricity to power your railways, you still come out ahead of gas powered/coal powered (hypothetical coal powered) vehicles in terms of sheer efficiency!

Seriously, people of Karnataka need to start thinking big when it comes to Railways. The major newspapers Deccan Herald, ToI (reallly crappy newspaper though, that one), Hindu etc need to be written to until they get off their lazy asses covering Salman/SRK/Yediyurappa /other trivial issues and instead pay some attention to important issues.

[xetairex]

I think the problem starts with the attitude of the people. Bangalore and Karnataka has always been an afterthought in the railway map of India. The golden quadrilateral or whatever they wish to call it (for railways, not roads, keep in mind) has allways been CHennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta. Everything else happened to be in the way of this quadrilateral or it's diagonals to get good connectivity.

Where is Bangalore in this picture? Nowhere. Should that change, yes, it should have changed, like 30 years ago.

It's got a lot to do with the attitude as well. Think small, you get small.

[shailesh_prabhakar]

Rs 25,000 crore worth concrete pillars and bridges to come up
Bangalore to be the ‘train city’ of 21 century
S Praveen Dhaneshkar,Bangalore,Nov 2,Deccan Herald News Service

Picture this! The new Namma Bangalore of the 21st century, a Rs 25,000 crore train City. Hard to believe? Read on.


A 42 km ‘Namma Metro’ will criss-cross the City on a Phase-1, East-West and North-South corridor in September 2012 at a cost exceeding Rs 8,158 crore. A high-speed train at a cost of Rs 5,767 crore will become a reality in 2011-12 to connect the BRV parade grounds to the Bengaluru International Airport on NH-7 on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. A 59 km monorail corridor has been identified to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore, on a public-private-partnership (PPP) within the next three years.

Is the government actually turning the once ‘Garden City’ into a ‘Train City’ of concrete pillars and bridges, where trains will rule the roost at a cost that could well exceed Rs 25,000 crore, all just for public transport. Not to mention the Detailed Project Report (DPR) being currently prepared by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for Phase-2 to extend the Namma Metro alignment to include Whitefield, the NICE corridor and Electronic City at costs of well beyond Rs 10,000 crore, taking into account the annual cost escalation of 4 percent.

As per information available with Deccan Herald, the detailed project report (DPR) for Phase-1 of the Bangalore Metro, prepared by DMRC has stated the project costed Rs 3,970 crore, as on April 2003. This, then shot up to Rs 4,989 crore in May 2003 and was again revised/updated to cost Rs 6,296 crore in April 2005. Then BMRCL again revised the estimated cost of completing the project to Rs 8,158 crore in early 2009. This is expected to go up further at 4 percent as per the funding structure. All, this when the powers that be could have implemented a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) on a 12.20 km route for the City as per a study done in 1982 at a cost of about Rs 239.15 crore.

Experts also said that the governments of the day also turned a blind-eye to a good feasibility study done in 1983, by an organisation of the Indian Railways suggesting a suburban rail service on existing lines, a circular railway of 57.9 km on two corridors. In Phase-1, a 12.9 km rail link from Rajajinagar to Jayanagar and in Phase-2, a 11.2 km train connectivity from Hudson Circle to Krishnarajapura, that would have been completed at less than Rs 500 cr.

Mono Rail Corridors proposed under Swiss Challenge approach

*Majestic-Hudson Circle-Wilson Garden-Dairy Circle-Agaram Lake
*Wilson Garden-Banashankari-Mysore Road-Majestic
*Majestic-Rajajinagar-Basaveshwaranagar-Mahalakshmi Layout-Yeshwantpur-Malleshwaram-Sadashivanagar-Vasanthanagar-High Grounds
*Cantonment-Indiranagar-Domlur-Ejipura-Koramangala

Funding structure of Namma Metro

*Equity from Government of India and Karnataka:
15 percent each
*Subordinate Debt from GoI and GoK: 10 and 15 percent
*Loan from financial institutions: 45 percent of project cost

[xetairex]

Originally Posted by shailesh_prabhakar

Rs 25,000 crore worth concrete pillars and bridges to come up
Bangalore to be the ‘train city’ of 21 century
S Praveen Dhaneshkar,Bangalore,Nov 2,Deccan Herald News Service

Picture this! The new Namma Bangalore of the 21st century, a Rs 25,000 crore train City.

This is what I was asking in the other thread on this same board on the thread for HSRL for Bangalore airport. Why the rediculously high cost of rail links when overhead traction rail links normally cost so much less?

[Krishnamoorthy K]

BANGALORE: The consequence of the delay in acquisition of the required lands to lay new railway lines in Karnataka has been that the building works are yet to begin.

That means that the State Revenue Department is at fault for the eight new lines being in limbo.

Some of the prominent lines among these eight are Raichur-Munirabad, Kadur-Chikmagalur, Kadur-Sakaleshpur and Bangalore-Hassan.

The officials concerned in the revenue department aver that a government order to acquire the needed lands has been issued ‘long back’ and that the acquisition process has already been initiated.

The officials said that the respective district commissioners are to be held responsible since they have the power to acquire land worth upto Rs one crore.

However, as it is with all government projects, the acquisition process is quite time consuming since two notifications have to be issued and the deputy commissioners should listen to the obhections of the property owners.

Cases in point: two cases are pending in the courts against the acquisitions on Kadur-Chikmagalur route and three cases are pending with respect to Bangalore-Hassan line.

Some of the areas on Bangalore- Hassan and Raichur-Munirabad routes have been handed over to the railways and the remaining are under different stages of acquisition.

Infrastructure Development Department Secretary V Madhu and Revenue Secretary G S Narayanswamy are holding review meetings with the railway officials once in every two months to speed up the acquisition process.

South-Western Railways Chief Administrative Officer S Vijayakumar said: “The acquisition process is taking more time than it is supposed to.

The project costs will escalate if the work does not start within the stipulated time.

"For example, Hubli-Ankola line, which would have connected the entire Hubli region to the west coast, was supposed to cost Rs 400 crore according to the original estimates made in 1998 and now it is expected to cost Rs 1,200 crore.

"The Environment and Forest department is yet to give clearance to this project that would benefit the entire region though we have taken enough precautions to cause minimum damage to the forests in the region.” These are not optimistic signs whatsoever.

Source: EB

What about Special land units (SLU) similar to highway projects?

[Krishnamoorthy K]

BANGALORE: The Karnataka government has offered 1,000 acres of land to Japanese external trade body Jetro to set up an “eco-friendly” industrial park in Tumkur.

A joint committee comprising of Jetro and state government officers will be formed to monitor and pursue the project, senior director of Jetro, Daisuke Macsushima said after meeting with Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa.

Yeddyurappa said that the delegation had shown interest in setting up a bullet train network in Chennai- Bangalore-Mysore route, apart from developing an eco-friendly township and industrial parks.

“Other projects such as water supply and recycling system, commuter train network and infrastructure have been envisaged,” the CM said. “We want to extend the industrial corridor to Hubli and Belgaum,” he added.

Source: EB

Will the train go upto Mysuru airport?

I also want bullet trains between Mangaluru and Bengaluru.

[sudheeshnairs]

Bangalore- Chennai has good connectivity as of now as per Indian standards. Let BSY first focus on doubling and electrifying the Bangalore-Mysore route which is pending for years.

Same case with Mangalore-Bangalore line. As of now the train crawls in the Ghats, esp Sakleshpur area.

‘Bullet Trains’ or the highspeed trains with a speed of about 250-350 kmph requires totally new alignment and heavy investment. The ticket rates should be closer to the air fares to make it economically feasible to construct and run.

Most times, the focus of these business delegations/meetings would be different. Here also JETRO is been promised 1000 acres of land, along with that they would have made a comment about Bullet trains too which gets more sensational value.

[engineer.akash]

Krishnamoorthy the distance between Mysore railway station and the mysore airport located in nanjangud is about 18 kms. The idea of extending the proposed chennai-mysore train to the mysore airport is not worthy in my opinion....rather we can have a 4 laned road connecting the station to the airport..................

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Banglore: A delegation of industrialists from Japan who met chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Wednesday has rekindled the hopes of Bangaloreans to have super fast bullet train connectivity to Chennai. The delegation has presented a proposal to replicate the bullet train project between Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai.

The Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) delegation headed by Matsushima Daisuke expressed its readiness to develop the project on the lines of Japan's renowned bullet trains.

Expressing his happiness about the proposal Yeddyurappa assured that appropriate decision would be taken after discussing the issue at a high level meeting of infrastructure department.

Japan has also shown interest in developing industrial hubs along the state's coastal area, collaborating in drinking water projects and providing environment-friendly technologies in various sectors.

Setting up an exclusive Japan Industrial Park near Tumkur is another prominent proposal presented by the delegation. The project would need about 1000 acres of land. "The proposal is a result of my recent visit to Japan where industrialists of that country came up with plans to make investments to the tune of Rs5000 crore in Karanataka," said medium and large industries minister Murugesh Nirani, who was present at the occasion. The proposed park would be reserved exclusively for industries from Japan to set up their units, he said.

Assuring full support for Japanese industries to flourish in the state ,Yeddyurappa said that out of the over 840 Japanese companies functioning in India, 107 were operating in Karnataka. There were about 440 expatriate Japanese families in Bangalore, the second highest in India after Delhi.

Source: DNA

I think they are serious.

Bangalore is providing employment for Japanese also?

[engineer.akash]

[engineer.akash]

‘Give us land, will finish track doubling fast’

Staff Reporter

Muniyappa asks State Government to hand over 120 hectares of land in Ramanagara and Mandya districts




— Photo K. Murali Kumar

More facilities: Union Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa (right) with Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Shobha Karandlaje at the newly built Kengeri Railway Station in Bangalore on Friday.

BANGALORE: Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa on Friday said early completion of the track doubling work between Bangalore and Mysore would depend on the expeditious handing over of required land in Ramanagara and Mandya districts by the State Government.

“The earlier they (State Government) hand over the land, the earlier we (Railways) will finish the project,” Mr. Muniyappa said after inaugurating the renovated “model station” building of Kengeri Railway Station here. Mr. Muniyappa said 120 hectares of land was required in these two districts for line doubling and there was enormous delay in acquisition.

“I have instructed officials to take up construction of bridges so that the work moves fast on the stretch,” the Minister said. He was responding to Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Shobha Karandlaje’s plea to speed up the doubling work to accelerate development activities in and around Mysore.

Since construction of bridges took more time than laying tracks, the work had been taken up even before the lands have been handed over the Railways, the Minister noted. Stating that the United Progressive Alliance Government accorded top priority to common man’s travel, Mr. Muniyappa said various railway projects worth Rs. 1,026 crore sanctioned in the 2009-10 Railway budget for Karnataka would be completed by 2010-11.

The Minister assured to bring in more projects to the State.

Of the 10 model stations sanctioned for South Western Railway (SWR), six have been inaugurated. Two stations — Tumkur and Hindupur — will shortly be inaugurated, Mr. Muniyappa said. Similarly, the newly sanctioned trains will be flagged off in a phased manner soon by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Minister added.

Speaking to presspersons later, Mr. Muniyappa said there were plans to extend the Mumbai-Karwar train up to Mangalore. Also, the Yeshwanthpur–Salem-Kannur Express would be extended up to Mangalore, he said while justifying the extension of Yeshwanthpur-Mangalore express to Kannur and termed the same as a national integration move.
Demand

Speaking at the inauguration, Bangalore North Lok Sabha Member D.B. Chandre Gowda Ms. Karandlaje put forth several demands of the residents of Kengeri, which they represent in the Parliament and the Legislative Assembly.

The demands included construction of Rail Under Bridges (RUBs) and stoppage of all trains at Kengeri.

Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), South Western Railway S. Vijayakumaran, Divisional Railway Manager Akhil Agarwal, Additional DRM Ravi Valluri and other officials were present on the occasion.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/07/stor...0750280400.htm

[Krishnamoorthy K]

some more information

Model rly station opens at Kengeri

Kengeri has been upgraded to a model station at a cost of Rs 80 lakh. The make-over includes improved circulating and concourse area, parking space and installation of ATMs. It is one among the ten model stations planned for Karnataka. “Tumkur and Hindupur model stations will be inaugurated within one or two months,” he said.

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Shobha Karandlaje, speaking on the occasion, said all trains except Shatabdi can give a stoppage at Kengeri as it will not cause any additional expense.

“An underbridge between Kengeri and its satellite town will help in easing the traffic in a big way. Besides, steps should be taken to supply Cauvery water at railway stations to solve water crisis. Railway stations should be well developed and connectivity to Ramnagaram, Mandya, Srirangapatna, Mysore and Madikeri should be improved to develop them into tourist hotspots,” she said.

Track doubling

Muniyappa told reporters that the doubling work between Ramnagaram and Mysore will be completed within three years.

He said the State government has to hand over 300 acres of land to facilitate its completion. “The project cost works out to Rs 500 crore, of which the State will contribute Rs 320 crore and the Centre would fund the rest,” he said.

Steps will be taken to have a stoppage for the Tippu Express (Bangalore and Mysore) along with three to four more trains at Kengeri. We have also written to the Railway Board seeking permission for the Mangalore-bound train to halt at Kengeri, he added.

He said, a Railway Under Bridge (RUB) will come up at the Kengeri-Ring Road intersection for which BBMP will contribute Rs 11 crore. Besides, Rs 8 crore has been sanctioned for constructing an RUB at Durgapalya.

On the proposed new track between Hubli and Ankola, Muniyappa said, he had held two rounds of talks with Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh. “We have been asked to realign the track and are working it out,” he said.

Bullet train

Muniyappa said that no final decision has been taken by the Railway Board with regard to the introduction of a bullet train between Chennai and Mysore via Bangalore. “It needs different tracks and the speed of the train should touch 300 kms/hour. We have to think of the cost involved and whether we can afford it,” he said.

The eight trains announced in the budget for the State will be flagged off by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee shortly, he said.

A sum of Rs 1,026 crore has been sanctioned for different railway projects in the State, he added.

If Japanese companies are investing on bullet train then they should be worried about cost effectiveness and so railway minister can focus on other projects.

How much time is needed to work on realignment of Hubli-Ankola?

[engineer.akash]

Originally Posted by Krishnamoorthy K

some more information

Model rly station opens at Kengeri



If Japanese companies are investing on bullet train then they should be worried about cost effectiveness and so railway minister can focus on other projects.

How much time is needed to work on realignment of Hubli-Ankola?

Krishnamoorthy Hubli-ankola is by far the most toughest alignment for the engineers to work out, it must wade through thick jungles where the terrain is a challenge to lay tracks,it calls for lot of earth filling and cutting exercise......

If the doubling between Mysore and Bangalore needs three more years to materialize then I feel BMIC will sit in the hall of fame before the double tracking.

Mr Ashok kheny has promised to construct the corridor within two years.So if we assume the pending court case to get cleared in half a years time,then probably the BMIC will lead.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Akash, I asked only how much time needed for completing the realignment plan of Hubbali-Ankola line. Definitely it may as tough as Mangaluru -Hasana line and may require a long duration to complete construction work.

How many railway lines are planned between Bengaluru and Mysuru? Doubling existing one, BMIC and then bullet train?

[engineer.akash]

I feel its not worth having so many routes, spending money unnecessarily on only two cities.I feel the bullet train should have been from Bangalore to Belgaum......They need to plan a industrial corridor from bangalore to belgaum.
Yeddi did a great job by pushing the Japanese industrial park to Tumkur on the NH4.

[Arul Murugan]

Originally Posted by Krishnamoorthy K

/bangalore/report_mysore-banglore-chennai-may-be-a-bullet-ride

I think they are serious.

Bangalore is providing employment for Japanese also?

First let SR and SWR should the Shatabdi express between the two metros in 4hours... then let us talk about bullet trains.

Chennai-Bangalore expressway would will be done faster than those bullet train!! So let TN and Karnataka gvt work on that expressway instead of those impossible bullet trains for our condition.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Yes. Train running around 100 kmph is also fine.

What I wish is these types of tracks should be laid for all the corridors which I had posted earlier. Mostly we should have separate tracks for goods train along these corridors?

I prefer mass transportation system like train over thousands and thousands of cars running over expressways. Even buses running at 100 kmph on expressways should be alright.