Dear Friends,
Mumbai Suburban Railways, World Class Metro & RTI - Part II
Information Accessed under RTI Reveals that
A Comprehensive Study was done in 2005
By MTR Corporation, Hong Kong
On Behalf of Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation
At the cost of 1.5 Crore
For Augmenting the capacity Of the entire
Mumbai Suburban Railway (Central, Western & Harbor)
from 1.4 to 2.25 times
Brief re-visit to Part - I
Every day lakhs of Mumbaikars commute inhumanly in overcrowded trains, for example almost 4700 passengers travel against the rated capacity of 1800 passengers in a 9 car rake (similarly in 12 / 15 car rakes). To alleviate this problem, the passenger carrying capacity of the Mumbai Suburban Railway needs to be increased.
Following are some of the ways to do that:
- Expand Horizontally,
- Expand Vertically
- Tweak & Optimize existing Infrastructure
Q: So is there a Scope for augmenting the capacity of Mumbai Suburban Railway by optimizing the use of existing tracks & basic infrastructure?
Ans: Yes Very Much, as per the information accessed under RTI, Please read further .....
RTI reveals that to examine the above mentioned possibility, an excellent & comprehensive block by block detailed study of various aspects of Mumbai Suburban Railway was carried out by MTR Corp. Hong Kong on behalf of Mumbai Vikas Rail Corporation (MRVC).
The study report is quite meticulous, elaborate and runs into 175 pages.
Findings of the report suggest that the capacity of Mumbai Suburban Railway can be substantially augmented by using the latest international Automatic Train Control System which is much more flexible and can be overlayed on decades old traditional existing colour light system without major changes on the signaling system infrastructure and if implemented it can regulate train performance to an accuracy of within ± 10 seconds to timetable, and substantially augment the MSR passenger capacity.
- Costs Involved:
(The cost involved would be just around 10 to 15% of the total capital costs required for a new World Class Metro rail rapid transit system)
The data for the Capital investment has been collected from the various suppliers like Siemens, Alstom and Alcatel and an estimated average has been worked out for the Capital costs keeping in view the technical and topographical conditions of the existing Mumbai Suburban system.The analysis has been carried out using capital cost estimates at 2004 prices.
Description
Western
Central
Harbor
Total
(Rs. In Crores)
Cost for
Head Way Improvement
544.14
506.15
270.76
1352.55
Cost of New Train Rakes
867.6
981.2
778.2
2627.1
Test Tracks, Workshops etc
315
1411.74
1487.35
1048.96
3979.65
- The report enlists quite a few shortcomings of the present Mumbai Suburban Railway which can be upgraded to the international standards, these are briefly described below:
- Rolling stock (Trains) with better acceleration & braking capabilities so that it reduces the amount of time a train occupies the station while entering and exiting it, and the next train can come in faster ;
- In-Cabin Signaling: Providing information inside the Motorman's cabin with signal aspect, target speed, train current speed and equipment status and records as well as high level diagnostic information.
- Purposely built crossovers with reduced curvatures for speeding up trains turning back from terminals and need to cross over from say a UP track to a DOWN track, (presently the speed varies from 15 to 30 kmph, whereas international standard is 40kmph).
- Increasing the distance between buffer and train stop point at terminals so that trains can approach the terminals faster so that trains can enter the terminals faster and quickly clear the way for exiting trains,
- Closed & dedicated railway corridor with no level crossing & human trespassing,
- Implementing platform sequence or automatic route setting at terminals to speed up train operations,
- Implement Global Train Regulation Capability & Remote Control System for better train management and to avoid bunching of trains resulting in unequal distribution of passengers,
- Raising track levels & providing closed environment to avoid flooding during monsoons etc.
- RTI also reveals that MTR Corporation, Hong Kong's Report has been hailed by all the Concerned Government Authorities:
The report has been hailed by all the concerned authorities i.e. Planning Commission, Railway Board, Various concerned Departments of Indian Railways & Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, and a further detailed study has been initiated for the ultimate implementation of the recommendations made therein.
Questions:
- And so what is the Present Status of MTR Corp. Hong Kong's 2005 Report, which can transform the Mumbai Suburban Railway into a World Class Metro at just 1/5 th of the cost of a New Metro Railway?
- Whether RTI affects the efficacy and efficiency of decision making process of a (any) government as contended recently by some respected members of the present government,
Is it that RTI helps in highlighting the efficacy and efficiency of decision making process in a (any) government by accessing information about it and thus enhance it?
Continued in Part - III
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