What major conversations, conjectures, theories and plans are underway for future high-speed corridors and bullet trains in India? 4 Answers What major conversations, conjectures, theories and plans are underway for future high-speed corridors and bullet trains in India?
26 SEP, 2011
NEW DELHI: Railways is finalising a draft legislation for a project that envisages running trains with the speed of 300 kms per hour on some selected routes across the country.
The Bill is likely to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.
"We are in the process of setting up the National High Speed Rail Authority (NHSRA), an autonomous body,... more... to implement and monitor the high speed train project in the country and for this a legislation is required to set up the Authority," said a senior Railway Ministry official.
According to the proposed NHSRA Bill, 2011, the nine- member Authority will have a chairman and eight members. There will be four full-time members including Member Project, Member Finance, Member Engineering and Member Planning.
"Stakeholders of the high speed rail corridor project will also have four representatives as part-time members in the NHRSA," the official said.
The NHSRA is being proposed to be set up on the lines of the National Highway Authority and it would be under the Railways Ministry.
The selection of chairman and members of the NHSRA would be done by the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) with the approval of Appointment Committee of Cabinet.
The draft of the Bill is being sent to Law Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Finance Ministry and Planning Commission for their views. "The final draft of the NHSRA would be sent to the Cabinet for its approval before introducing it in Parliament," said the official.
Railways have identified six routes to conduct feasibility study for running high speed trains. Currently railways is awarding contracts to global consultants for conducting feasibility studies of the proposed routes.
State governments and financial institutions are stakeholders of the high speed rail corridor project.
According to an estimate, it will cost about Rs 100 crore to construct one km dedicated high speed corridor. As per the preliminary report, ridership revenues would be able to cover the operating cost of the project.
Railways plan to make the high speed rail corridor into a catalyst for India's economic growth, a stimulus for the development of satellite towns and reduction of migration to cities.
"We have chosen three foreign consultants to carry out studies in three corridors out of the six identified routes for conducting pre-feasibility studies for developing high speed rail corridors," the official said.
UK-based consultant Mott McDonald has been engaged to conduct the pre-feasibility study of the longest Delhi-Agra- Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna (991 km) route, while Spanish consultant Eneco has been hired to carry out studies in the shortest Howrah-Haldia (135 km) route.
"French consultant Systra, which has done the studies for Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad (650 km) route, submitted the report to the Railway Ministry and the report is being examined now," he said.
A consultant for study of Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar (450 km) route will be selected soon as the global bid is under finalisation.
While tenders for Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai have been invited and are under evaluation, bids for Chennai-Bangalore- Ernakulum will be invited shortly.
During the Rail Budget 2010, then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced construction of high speed passenger rail corridors. These projects will be executed through PPP mode.
Before they make another costly mistake, transportation planners should do some research. Imagine how communities would react to a train traveling 200 mph, supported on steel wheels screaming and screeching on steel tracks as it runs through North County and San Diego, on its way to Lindbergh Field.Noise pollution is just one problem. Because of their weight, speed, and moving parts, these trains require a high level of vehicle and track maintenance, and are subject to metal fatigue and wheel fracture. This obsolete technology precludes changes in grade levels exceeding 3 percent, necessitating high construction costs in mountainous and hilly terrain.About 50 years ago, under a contract with the federal Department of Transportation, Space Technology Laboratories (later TRW), conducted a study on High Speed Ground Transportation for the Northeast Corridor (Washington, New York, Boston). I managed the Passenger and Community Acceptance segment. The study required the system to: be competitive with... more... short-haul aircraft; operate in all weather conditions; have very high reliability, safety, and maintainability; appeal to passengers and communities; and be cost effective.We researched every known, proposed, or conjectured transportation media and technology, and arrived at the conclusion that magnetic-levitated, linear-induction-propelled systems met all the requirements. MAGLEVs are quiet; so vibration-free there are no ripples in a cup of coffee; fast, 350 mph; can climb 10 percent grades; cannot be derailed; are collision-proof; have low maintenance and are highly reliable, as there are no moving parts; have all-weather capability; are competitive with short-haul aircraft; and can be used to haul freight during low peak periods. Furthermore, they are elevated and can neither impede, nor be impeded by, ground traffic.In addition, the major components of the guide-way can be manufactured off-site and trucked in, thus reducing manufacturing and construction costs.Congressional funding for the DOT to develop the system was nixed by the vested interests of the airline, highway, automotive, trucking, and railroad industries, with the unfounded claim that the Northeast Corridor had sufficient capacity through 2010. In actuality, the corridor was
MUMBAI: For suburban commuters, the wait for trains that promise to ply at a maximum speed of 130 kmph seems to be getting longer. According to railway authorities, introduction of these trains would involve drastic changes in infrastructure.
The trial runs of an EMU rake fitted with modern bodies made at Intergral Coach Factory (ICF), which promise to clock a speed of 130 kmph, were carried out recently. The rakes, built at a cost of Rs 20 crore, assure a smoother ride as the bogies are fitted with bolster-less suspension that allow them to absorb vibrations in the coach.
A... more... senior Western Railway (WR) official said, "The speed limit on the suburban corridor between Churchgate and Borivli is 100 kmph. Even the Rajdhani Express, which is the fastest train in India, is not allowed to cross the speed limit between the two stations though it can achieve a top speed of 130-135 kmph."
To have trains running at higher speeds, WR will have to replace tracks, change the signaling equipment and make adjustment in the Over Head Equipment (OHE). "It is an expensive and time-consuming process. It is not likely to happen any time soon," he said.
The existing Siemens EMU rake with new bogies can attain a speed of 100 kmph. MRVC officials claimed that the bolster-less bogies have the potential of achieve a speed of 110 kmph on suburban tracks. Whereas the EMU rakes with bolster-less bogie bogies will be able to touch speed upto 130 kmph on Rajdhani tracks.
An important feature of the bolster-less bogies is the improved ride index of less than 3.0. This means that the new bogies will be more comfortable for the commuter, who will experience fewer jerks. Moreover, this technology will help curb the noise from the trains as these bogies have improved suspension.
The trail of this rake was carried out in between Borivli and Virar last month, where the train ran at a speed of 120 kmph. "Even if this rake is commissioned, it will not be allowed to cross 100 kmph, but the ride at existing speed limit will be less jerky for commuters," the official said.
During the past three and half year, 123 new EMU rakes having 1449 coaches have been received. With these new coaches, 418 additional services were introduced 944 trains have been converted from 9 cart to 12 car. With new rakes, 30 per cent additional passenger carrying capacity has been created. As a result, the overcrowding level has reduced by 20 per cent."
High-speed rail in India.
India has one of the largest rail networks in the world. As of 2011, India does not have any high-speed rail lines capable of supporting speeds of 200 km/h (124 mph) or more, and none is under construction or subject to definite plans, only of longer-term proposals.
Fast express trains such as the Shatabdi and Duronto are often referred to as "high-speed" trains by government officials and Indian media, and trains with speed of 250 to 350 km/h (155 to 217 mph) are often referred to as "bullet-trains". However,... more... periodically interest is expressed by the Government and media in introducing high-speed rail in India. Source : bit.ly/j3FcbP |
