Eastern, Western Freight Corridors would be ready by 2019: MOSR

1 Apr, 2016  in Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp. Of India Ltd., Kolkata Eastern Corridor / Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp. Of India Ltd., Mumbai Western Corridor / DFCCIL / Headlines by rail

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Mirzapur: Union Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha today said that both the eastern and western freight corridors will be ready before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“Both the eastern and western freight corridors will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and work is in progress for the same,” Sinha told reporters here.

Expressing regret that rail projects in Uttar Pradesh were being “ignored” in the past several decades, Sinha, who is an MP from Ghazipur in the state, said that projects worth Rs 21,000 crore have been sanctioned in this fiscal.

He said that while the budget for national highways has grown six times since 1947, the same has not happened in Railways.

Despite being the “cheapest” mode of transport, Railways has lagged behind due to lack of investments…it needs more investments, he said.

Sinha said that Allahabad-Mirzapur section of the Indian Railways has many problems and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu was working towards resolving them.

Nomura Global Markets urges IR to move towards a more Commercial Approach

31 Mar, 2016  in Nomura Global Markets Research Institute / Rail Research and Consultancy Services by prominent Organisations by rail

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New Delhi: A reputed international market research organisation has advised Indian Railways to move towards a more commercial approach including phasing out of cross-subsidies between freight and passenger fares, between commercial and non-commercial lines and services and rightsizing the employee base.

The Japan based Nomura Global Markets Research Institute in its report has pointed that given the need to meet social objectives and in view of limited Government resources in India, a mix of socialist (public funding) and capitalist (private funding) models will likely be required.

Suggesting that Indian Railways learn lessons and experiences of other countries like United States, China and Japan to look for commercial or market based approach, the research report has mentioned that the current Railway Minister (Suresh Prabhu) has proven to be more proactive with several developmental issues and Nomura’s recommendations already being implemented.

The report has sharply criticized the inadequate investment over many decades which has led to railways reeling under severe capacity strains, hampering its services and making it uncompetitive but simultaneously given thumbs up to Prabhu’s approach in attracting investments, which according to the Japanese marketing team, is in “dire need for investments”.

“Political and social considerations have often dominated the economic considerations, amplifying the inefficiencies by cross-subsidising passenger services through higher freight rates. Over time, this has resulted in a vicious cycle of low investments and political interference, resulting in poor service quality and lower profits to plough back into investments. We believe to break this cycle, the government needs to step up investments in railway infrastructure,” says the Nomura report.

The Ministry of Railways had commissioned the organistaion for a research report for measures to re-invigorate Indian Railways. Appreciating Prabhu, Nomura has said that with an apolitical and reformist Railway Minister at the helm, a roadmap to revive IR’s efficiency, financials and spending was clearly in the offing.

“In our view, profitability achieved through these changes would generate the necessary funds for gradual capacity expansion, raise the efficiency of railways as a mode of transport (for logistic companies), lower logistics costs and have a multiplier effect on boosting manufacturing competitiveness and GDP growth. The government would need to continue to play a key role in providing services on less profitable routes from a social perspective,” it said.

Talking about several committees and various expert groups formed to address the challenges faced by IR over past decades, Nomura has said that a lot of these committees have time and again highlighted steps to bail out the IR but action has rarely been taken. Talking about the latest Bibek Debroy Committee, Nomura has pointed that most of his recommendations is already been done and on the right tracks.

The Nomura Global Research team has also appreciated the government’s move to empower the zonal railways to carry out projects which is departure from earlier projects were scrutinised by the Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance and CCEA even when financed by private parties.

Further it has also compared the fact over the past three decades, India’s road network has tripled, whereas the railway network (ie, total track length in route km) has grown by just 11 percent.

Railways – Engine for Growth over the Next Decade: Religare

31 Mar, 2016  in Rail Research and Consultancy Services by prominent Organisations / Religare by rail

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Religare has come out with its sector report on Capital Goods & Infrastrusture sector. According to the research firm,We believe IR has the potential to emerge as the next engine of growth in capital investments in India over the next decade!

Download Full Report Here: CapitalGoodsInfrastructure_PL

Mumbai: The central government has chosen railways as one of important driver for capital formation given the huge potential and multiplier impact it can have on the economy (~5x). Government has put together a plan to significantly step up investment in Indian Railways (IR).

It has planned an investment of over Rs 8.5 trillion over next five years, more than 3.5x over previous five years. In line with the plan, FY16 and FY17 saw allocation increase by 51% and 21% respectively.

In efforts to sustainably turn around railways, focus is not only on investment, but also other long term structural reforms to bring in efficiency, accountability and transparency. While investment plan might sound ambitions, sound financial plan makes it more reliable.

While putting mammoth organization like railways on track is a tall task, over the past one year many creditable steps have been taken which is expected to start bear fruits. We believe IR has the potential to emerge as the next engine of growth in capital investments in India over the next decade.

Chennai Metro Rail to go Solar in 6 months

31 Mar, 2016  in Chennai Metro / Eco Friendly Rail Systems & Green Railway concept / Energy Efficiency Practices & Green Energy concepts in Rail Operations / Metro Rail Systems by rail

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The power panels will generate 1MW that will take care of 30 per cent of energy requirement

Chennai: In six months, Chennai Metro Rail may have its first solar power generation facilities with a production capacity of 1MW.

According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they have signed an agreement with a firm in this regard.

At first, the solar power panels will be installed on the rooftop of the shed in the depot at Koyambedu; then, they will explore the option of installing it in stations too, officials said.

This depot, which sprawls over 26 hectares, is being built at a cost of Rs. 198 crore; and it houses stabling lines, workshops, washing plants for trains and also the Operation Control Centre (OCC) from where all trains of Chennai Metro Rail can be controlled and monitored.

“Currently, we use about 40,000 units of electricity; if this solar power generation begins, it may be able to take about 30-40 per cent of the total energy consumption. We may be able to use it for various functions including running of escalators, lifts and other such purposes,” an official said.

Ramya Gopinath of Solar Mango, a solar energy consulting firm said aiding the supply of electricity with solar power is a great initiative for mass rapid transit.

“1MW may not be huge investment for a mass rapid transit like Chennai Metro Rail; but it is a good startWith 1MW, they can meet up to 30 per cent of the total energy requirement. But it will help to a great extent only if they eventually increase the production capacity. It will be better if they at least go up to 3 MW,” she said.

Delhi Metro Rail had exploited this resource to such an extent that they were given an award for the highest capacity installation of grid connected solar power plants on rooftops last year.

They have commissioned about 2,000 KWP of rooftops solar plants and also signed a power purchase agreement for another 7MW capacity.

In December, they signed an MoU with Solar Energy Corporation of India for production of 500MW for catering to its upcoming phase III project.

Similarly, Bangalore Metro Rail too has made plans to exploit solar energy potential in its station premises.

Railway Minister underlines need for Strategies to make India a ‘Superpower’

30 Mar, 2016  in Headlines / Union Minister of Railways by rail

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Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu delivering key-note address at the golden jubilee celebration of Srinivassa Sinai Dempo College of Commerce and Economics at Panaji on Tuesday in the presence of chairman of Dempo Charities Trust Srinivas Dempo, principal of the college Radhika Nayak and convenor of the event Nikhil Vernekar

Panaji: Observing that any country, to be a global player, should have a global influence, Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said that such an influence could come through areas such as politics, economy, military power or soft power, and India has huge potential to influence people through its soft power, which has been repeatedly displayed by the Indian Peacekeeping Force deployed in various countries.

“India, however needs to create building blocks, set up institutions and formulate strategies to be a superpower,” he added, pointing out that India is no more looked upon as a spoiler, but as an enabler; a player who drives the process, rather than stalls the process.

Prabhu, who was delivering a lecture at the two-day international conference on ‘Emergence of India as a global power: Challenges and opportunities’, in commemoration of the golden jubilee of the Srinivassa Sinai Dempo College of Commerce and Economics, in the city, further sharply retorted that in the last few years, India has become flavour of the season, with people speaking about India very favourably, except when we talk about ourselves in India.

Stating that economy is a very complex issue, Prabhu said that in China, to make the economy grow, some 50 leaders meet and decide about the same. “And then they have the ability to make sure that what the 50 people decide will happen everywhere, including the marketplace,” Prabhu quipped, pointing out, “Here in India, our economy is completely driven by the private sector, by the entrepreneurship, which make it difficult for few leaders to sit in New Delhi and decide about it.” He further observed that in India, all the policies have to be aligned to the market forces.

“Many of the programmes introduced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi are actually part of a much larger picture that must be seen in a proper perspective,” Prabhu observed, mentioning that economy must grow, and to make economy grow we have to change the profile of the economy. “The ‘Make in India’ programme has a potential to create many opportunities, besides creating demand for services and demand for agriculture,” he said, stating that if manufacturing drives the economy, then it becomes the engine of growth, and therefore is important.

“If one has to compare Indian Railways with the Chinese railways, then one must compare Indian investment with Chinese investment in the particular sector,” Prabhu said, adding that if we have to get the end results from our railways, then we need to invest in railway infrastructure. “And the Indian government has started such an investment for the first time,” Prabhu mentioned, informing that the government has stepped up investment in its railways significantly, besides modernising it, working on signalling, redeveloping the railway stations, and so on. “We have invested Rs 1,20,000 crore in railways, three times the amount invested by the previous government,” he noted.

Prabhu also observed that ‘Digital India’ programme will complement the global digital revolution, just as the digital revolution is set to sweep the world. “We may be late starters in creating digital connectivity and other related issues, but we will use digital platform to dispense services, to carry out businesses, for the governance, and even handling railway related complaints on real-time basis,” he maintained, stating that creativity would come only when there are challenges, and India provides this perfect scenario.

Chairman of Dempo Charities Trust Srinivas Dempo, in his opening remarks expressed pride over the fact that the Prime Minister has handpicked Suresh Prabhu and Manohar Parrikar, both with Goan background for achieving high economic rate of growth through railway engine of growth and defence engine of growth. He also stated that China bulldozes issues to get its infrastructure in place, while India shows that democracy is not equalled with inequality and sluggishness in the system.

A trustee of the Trust Pallavi Dempo, college principal Radhika Naik, vice principal Harip Khanapuri and convenor of the event Nikhil Varerkar were present on the occasion.

The audience along with the students of the college later participated in an interaction with Prabhu.

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Indian Railways completes Digitization of Land Records

29 Mar, 2016  in Digital India, Information Technology, Communication Systems, Digital Media in Indian Railways / Headlines / Indian Railways / Land & Amenities / Rail Land Development Authority, New Delhi by rail

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Mapping of all fixed assets including land on GIS of Indian Railways also started

New Delhi: Indian Railways has completed most of the work related to digitization of land record i.e. maintaining land data (details of acquisition/area/usages and land plans) in digital form, for this purpose a web based application called Land Management Module integrated with Track Management System (TMS) of Indian Railways has been developed.

Indian Railways have also digitized details of vacant plots of land measuring more than one acre to chalk out the blue print for monetization of its vacant land.

Indian Railway has also started mapping of all fixed Railway assets including land on Geographical Information System (GIS) of Bhuvan Satellite Imagery of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) integrated with Track Management System (TMS) of Indian Railways. This system would provide the status of Railway land whether encroached or not and thus would be helpful in tackling the menace of encroachment.

Pilot of GIS mapping of IR network and land parcel has already been started on Delhi division of Northern railway. After successful implementation of the same, it will be extended to whole Indian Railways network.

Aiming at commercial exploitation of surplus land, the Railways has undertaken digitisation of records related to vacant plots owned by it across the country. Land which is not required for operational purposes in the foreseeable future is being identified by all railways zones as vacant land, said a senior Railway Ministry official. Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land which can be exploited commercially.

Feasibility Study on 6 of 9-Semi-High-Speed sections announced in 2014 yet take off

29 Mar, 2016  in High Speed Rail & Bullet Trains / Indian Railways / Northern Railway, Delhi Division by rail

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New Delhi: Mission Raftaar was one of the seven missions announced by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech this year, but work on six of nine semi-high-speed sections announced in 2014 are yet take off with no money left in the hi ministry’s kitty.

The Delhi-Agra Gatiman Express is awaiting flagging-off after it received the go-ahead from the Commission of Railway Safety.

A feasibility study is being done on the Delhi-Chandigarh section by French railways SNCF, and a Chinese company is expected to submit by April a report on the Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai section.

There has been no progress on the rest of the sections – Delhi-Kanpur, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Ahemdabad, Chennai- Hyderabad and Nagpur-Secunderabad.

This when Railways has the expertise, locomotives and coaches to increase the speed up to 160 kmph.“The assessment done by Railways for completing these nine sections pegged the amount at Rs.15,000 crore. We have the knowledge and need no outside expertise to increase the speed but there have been no orders from the top to take up the task.

No funds have been allocated for the projects except these three,” said a ministry source.

Another officer said that the maximum speed the Railways is now able to operate trains at is 130 kmph and that there is only one train – the New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabadi Express – that runs at 150 kmph. “When we are talking of bullet trains of over 300 kmph speed and an investment of nearly 1 lakh crore, we should also focus on an incremental increase in the speed of other trains,” he said.