Monday, December 26, 2011

To go underground or not is HSRL dilemma

Expenditure put at Rs 6,000 cr

To go underground or not If so,where and how long These are the questions that the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) is grappling with as it has got down to the brass tacks of implementing the proposed high speed railway link (HSRL) between Bangalore and the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA).
BMRC has been tasked with implementing the HSRL,which is expected to carry air travellers at speeds up to 155 kmph between the airport and MG Road with two intermediate stations at Hebbal and Yelahanka.
Within two months of being assigned the mission,BMRC has got the Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared by the Delhi Metro.The DPR has estimated the project to cost a whopping Rs6,000 crore.
The HSRL is intended to be an elevated line beginning at MG Road,move up to Raj Bhavan along Cubbon Road,enter Bellary Road and go along the highway up to BIA.
It will come up on the left side of the highway when going towards the airport.We will have to acquire land along the road for the project.Currently,we are looking into the feasibility of the project and decide where it should remain elevated and where it should go underground, said N Sivasailam,managing director,BMRC.
The track will also be laid off the service road.Currently,the only part of HSRL which is certain to be underground is when it approaches the BIA.
A senior BMRC official said that land would be required permanently for stations,while that used to lay the HSRL can be used as public thoroughfare once the project is completed.

ELEVATED ROAD HAS MADE PROVISIONS

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is also building an elevated six-lane expressway along Bellary Road.NHAI regional officer AK Mathur said that the elevated expressway had been designed keeping in mind that the HSRL will come only five meters away and run parallel to it.Mathur ruled out the elevated structures hindering each other in any way.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

KSRTC's Rs 1,500 cr project to take off in one year

GMR, Tata Realty, Gammon in fray for inter-modal terminal.





The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) ambitious plan for the country’s first inter-modal transport hub project is likely to takeoff within one year. The final bids for the Rs 1,500 crore project which was initiated two years back will happen by the end of this month.

The corporation which follows a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for developing bus terminals has decided to set up the new intermodal transport facility at Kempe Gowda Bus Terminal (Majestic Terminal).
According to senior government officials some of the leading players in the infrastructure and construction sectors like GMR Group, Tata Realty, Gammon Infra have expressed interest in the project.

The inter-modal transit centre would link the bus terminus with the proposed Bangalore Metro, and to long distance bus terminus and also to the railway station.

“This will be the first of its kind in the country and after a long drawn two years of various processes and stages of bidding, the final bids will happen at the end of the month, said Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation Managing Director Gaurav Gupta.

He also said: “There were lots of technical bids, EoIs and pre-bid queries for the financial bids twice. We have given a lot of information and clarification on issues like financial issues, commercial issues, revenue issues.”

The inter-modal transport hub will come at the 40 acres land available with KSRTC in Majestic. Once the bids for the project is done, it is estimated to start the work in 7-9 months for financial closure and the corporation expects to complete the projects within five years. It is also planning to set up new bus stations in Mangalore, Puttur, Hassan as a PPP model.

KSRTC a front runner in adopting technology is planning to track the long destination buses through GPS system. The corporation which runs about 7,700 fleets connects 110 various destination across the country including Pune, Mumbai, Thiruvanthapuram, Ernakulam among others.

“We are planning to track our long distances buses so that we can ensure the safety of the commuters. This will help us check various things like whether the driver is taking any deviation from the regular route, or making any stops at per-designated points or even over speeding can be tracked. We are at the final stages of the tender for the project,” Gupta added.

It has also introduced a paperless ticketing system for passengers who are booking journey ticket online. A passenger will receive an SMS on their phone while booking ticket and this can be used as a journey ticket with a valid id. KSRTC is also planning to send the vehicle number one or two hours before departure to passengers availing online booking facility.

“This facility will relieve passengers of the hassle of searching for buses. We always want to ensure comfort and safety of our users. That is a reason why we change our long distance buses every four years.,” he added.

The KSRTC is also targeting sales of around Rs 400 crore from the online booking facility.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

IRR to be taken up in PPP model

Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday, said the long-delayed Intermediate Ring Road (IRR) project planned in the Bangalore Metropolitan Area will be taken up under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The project, which aims to connect some of the emerging towns like Devanahalli, Ramanagar and Dobbespet, requires acquisition of large chunks of private land.

This, in turn, calls for huge amount of investment.

Hence, the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) has been finding it difficult to implement the project.

The government, therefore, wants to throw the project open for private companies, he said in reply to a question by Ramalinga Reddy of the Congress in the Legislative Assembly. The project is planned to be implemented in four components: 89-km road between Dobbespet and Devanahalli at an estimated cost of Rs 1,110 crore, 80-km road between Devanahalli and Attibele at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore, 128-km road between Attibele and Ramanagar at an estimated cost of Rs 1,600 crore and 70-km road between Ramanagar and Dobbespet at an estimated cost of Rs 1,078 crore, the Chief Minister said.

The government has so far not initiated the process of land acquisition for the project, he added.

10 Lane Road Connecting Yelahanka to BIA







A road worth taking in Bengaluru

India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, will soon boast of a spanking new 7.2 km stretch of road, all the way from Queen’s Statue opposite the cricket stadium on MG Road to Byappanahalli. This will be among 20 roads in city that will get a major makeover.
Billed as the costliest road project, at Rs 6 crore per km, under a first-of-its kind Public Private Initiative (PPI) where the private party, the Bengaluru City Connect Foundation (BCCF), is loosening the purse-strings to provide world-class facilities for vehicles, pedestrians and utilities.
The BBMP and BMRCL are the other stakeholders. The blueprint will be ready towards the end of this month and the tender process will commence mid-January.
“The aim is to develop the road as one of the top class roads with street lamps, uniform carriageway, signages, parking facility and pedestrian facilities like subways and a skywalk,” said a BBMP official.
The State government will spend Rs 43.2 crore at the rate of Rs 6 crore per kilometre on the project. BCCF will prepare the blueprint and tender documents. The BMRCL has offered to share 50 per cent of the project cost.
A couple of years ago, the battered Vittal Mallya Road was given a whole new look under a PPP initiative involving BBMP, UB City and Prestige group. The project was executed by T.J. Naik and Company while Inbicus Engineers handled design and construction.
Crores of rupees will be spent to provide street furniture between Byappanahalli and Queen’s statue on M.G. Road stretching 7.2 km. The BMRCL spent Rs 1,225 crore on this corridor. The corridor, to be developed under tendersure initiative, will make it the costliest road in the city.
Tendersure is an initiative to provide specifications for planning and design of existing roads with all the necessary requirements like drains, lane markings and pedestrin and motorist requirements.
One-of-a-kind initiative
The Bengaluru City Connect Foundation, in association with government agencies has planned the first ever Public Private Initiative (PPI) which is different from the Public-Private Project. Under the PPP, the private player would look for financial gains for a fixed number of years. Under the PPI the private party only pitches in and does not expect monetary gains.
What you can expect:
* Each kilometre of road is expected to cost Rs 6cr
* Tendersure guidelines with all pedestrian and vehicle infrastructure will be upgraded
* Blueprint will be ready for BBMP by December-end
* Cities like Chennai and Pune have endorsed it already and it’s a success
Members of BCCF:
* V. Ravichander, chairman, Feedback Consulting
* Ramesh Ramanathan and Swathi Ramanathan, co-founders of Janaagraha
* Kiran Majumdar Shaw, founder and chairperson, Biocon
Roads to be upgraded as per tendersure guidelines
* St Marks’s Road – Residency Road to Cubbon Road – 1.5 km
* Commisarriate road – Mayo Hall to D’Souza Circle 1.0 km
* Cunningham Road – 1.6 km
* Magarth Road – Brigade Road to Hosmat Junction – 0.90 km
* Victoria Road – D’Souza Circle to Agaram Road - 0.75 km
* Museum Road- Vellara Junction to St. Mark’s Road – 1.20 km
* Kasturba Road 0.75 km
* Cubbon Road – 1.50 km
* Brigade Road – Cubbon Road to Vellara Junction – 1.30 kms
* Devanga Hostel Road – 0.50 kms
* Rajaram Mohan Roy Rd 1.10 kms
* Vittal Mallya Road– 0.60 km
* Brunton Road – 0.50 km
* Lalbagh Road – From Subbaiah Circle to Lalbagh – 1.08 km
* 1st Cross Road (Poornima Theatre road) - 0.50 km
* Armugam Mudaliar Road (Siddaiah Road) - 1.10 km
* Lalbagh Fort Road – From JC Road to KH Road - 1.20 km
* Nrupathunga Road – KR Circle to Hudson Circle - 0.90 kms
* Dr B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi – KR Circle upto Gopalagowda Circle – 0.45 km
* Kumarakrupa Road – Windsor Manor to Shivananda Circle 1.10 km

Hebbal-Yelahanka Elevated Expressway






Friday, December 9, 2011

High Speed airport rail link plan may be resurrected

BMRCL will issue a request for proposal to five shortlisted business groups once it gets the board’s approval and the necessary clearances

Bangalore: Aproposed high-speed rail link aimed at shortening travel time between Bangalore’s city centre and the airport to as little as 25 minutes may be resurrected with Bangalore Metro Rail Corp. Ltd (BMRCL) set to take up the matter at its board meeting later this month. 

File Photo












BMRCL, which was given the mandate for the project in October, will issue a request for proposal (RFP) to five shortlisted business groups once the board approves the project and necessary clearances are obtained. An RFP contains details of a project and seeks proposals from potential bidders.
The five groups were shortlisted following a request for qualification (RFQ) in June 2010. An RFQ is a call for companies to outline their qualifications for executing a project.
Road congestion in Bangalore, the country’s information technology hub, forces travellers to spend up to two hours during peak hours to traverse the 35km distance from the city centre to the airport at Devanahalli. New Delhi is currently the only Indian city that has a high-speed rail link to the airport.
The five entities are Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Co. Ltd; L&T Transco Pvt. Ltd; Italian Thai Development Public Co. Ltd and Soma Enterprise Ltd; Pioneer Infratech Pvt. Ltd and Siemens Project Ventures GmbH; and Lanco Infratech Ltd and OHL Concessionaires SL.
“We will take it before the board after doing the due diligence,” BMRCL managing director N. Sivasailam said. “There will be a board meeting in December and we will be ready with our views on the subject”.
Sivasailam also said BMRCL had received a positive response from Bangalore International Airport Ltd and would take the airport operator on board for the high-speed rail link project.
The project remained stalled because the state government had to modify the holding structure of Bangalore Airport Rail Link Ltd (BARL)—the special purpose vehicle to implement the project—to be eligible for viability gap funding of up to Rs. 1,047 crore for the private-public-partnership project. The funding is offered to make economically essential projects commercially viable.
The Karnataka state government decided to hand over the mandate of the project to BMRCL, which is already a joint venture between the state and the Union government, which has a 25% stake in BMRCL.
First approved by the Karnataka government in 2007, the project proposed to design a 33km line between MG Road in central Bangalore to the international airport at Devanahalli outside the city limits. To be built at a cost of Rs. 5,767 crore, trains would run at a maximum speed of 160km per hour and cover the distance in 25 minutes.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Signal Free Outer Ring Road Cost Break up


Signal Free Corridor Which Links Yewsanthpur With Bellary Road kicks off


Sankey Tank Road all set for a makeover

The green stretch from Bhashyam Circle to Maramma Temple in Malleswaram, running along the Sankey Road, would change forever from Wednesday as the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is all set to start its road widening project.

 

Buoyed by the High Court verdict in favour of the project, the BBMP will be launching its road widening work which will result in the felling of a large number of trees lined up on the stretch for several decades.

It can be recalled that a widespread protest was held by the residents of Malleswaram against the BBMP’s decision. Some protestors approached the Karnataka High Court, but finally the litigants lost the legal battle. On Wednesday, Mayor Sharadamma, Deputy Mayor S Harish, MLA Ashwath Narayan and BBMP Commissioner M K Shankarlinge Gowda will attend the foundation stone laying ceremony to kickstart the project.

The BBMP on Tuesday cleared the shrubs and bushes along the stretch identified for widening. Speaking with Deccan Herald, Deputy Mayor S Harish reaffirmed the Palike’s resolve to finish work within 12 months and plant as many as 1,300 trees along the road.
Setting aside public fear that the beauty of Sankey Road and the Sankey Tank will be gone forever, the deputy mayor said, “People are making unnecessary fuss about the project.

The charge that the Sankey Tank will die is baseless. We will develop a tree-lane by planting at least 300 trees after the completion of the project. We will also plant at least 1,000 trees in the area,” he added.

Harish reminded that the Palike had reduced the proposed width of the road from 30 metres to 27 metres to protect trees.

“The width of the road from Bhashyam Circle to Maramma Temple will be 27 metres, while from Maramma Temple to Yeshwantpur, it will be 45 metres.”

The deputy mayor said the bund of the Sankey tank was not strong enough to bear the load of heavy vehicular movement.

In order to strengthen the tank bund, the Palike will construct a retaining wall and pack it with soil to prevent the vibration of the tank bund, Harish said.

In the meanwhile, people who fought a battle against the project said though they are reconciled to the High Court verdict, they would surely want the project to be finished within a year’s time.

Dr Meenakshi Bharath, who had vehemently opposed the project, said any delay after the stipulated time to execute the work and lackadaisical attitude in planting saplings will be treated as contempt of court. In such a condition, the litigants will be compelled to drag the civic body to the court, she warned.

Facelift

* About 1.5 km road from Bhashyam Circle to Maramma Circle to be widened
* Project cost is Rs eight crore
* Close to 200 trees will be felled
* Palike has to execute the work in 12 months
* Palike intends to widen the stretch to 27 metres
* Project is to have a signal-free corridor from Sankey Road to Yeshwantpur

Saturday, December 3, 2011

HSRL AWAITS APPROVAL ON CONSORTIUM

The BMRC chief stated that the mandate for high speed rail link (HSRL) to BIA has been given by the Centre.Selection of the consortium,which will undertake the work,has been done by BMRC.It has to be approved by central departments,including urban development ministry and railways.
In the next meeting with the Centre,we hope to get approvals on the selection of consortium.The speed would be around 160kmph and will link MG Road to Devanahalli through Hebbal and Yelahanka, said Sivasailam.

Metro gets two more clearances from rlys

Only after the state and central governments intervened,did BMRC get two of the six pending clearances from the railways,said BMRC chief N Sivasailam on Saturday.
He was speaking at a gathering of industrialists at Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI) when he gave some insights about Metro project.
The chief minister had already written to me and the matter has been taken up with the railway minister on the six issues,which are awaiting clearances.Of the six,the 66-metre-long construction across the Srirampuram station near Okalipuram has been okayed by the railway.We are hoping to get clearance for the skywalk across Byappanahalli station in another five days, said Sivasailam.
He thanked commuters for showcasing great spirit and welcoming the Metro.People have waited in a kmlong queue and didnt show any signs of indiscipline.Commuters even wrote to us and we try to address some of the suggestions immediately, he said.
He explained that the physical progression of the entire project stands at 47.63% at present.The next stretch will be the northern line from Peenya to Malleswaram.
Construction of Peenya depot is at good pace and we have already finished the testing track.This track is longer than the one at Byappanahalli.Trains for testing are expected to arrive by December-end, he added.
He said BMRC has called upon autorickshaw unions in the city for last mile connectivity but added that the union will have to take a call on the matter.Metro smart cards can also be used for travelling by autos, he confirmed.

CENTRAL COLLEGE IS 1ST UNDERGROUND STN


NSivasailam,managing director,BMRC,said the Central College will be the first underground station in Bangalore.
The first tunnel boring machine for this section will reach us by February and we should be able to start tunneling by March, he added.

HSRL AWAITS APPROVAL ON CONSORTIUM

The BMRC chief stated that the mandate for high speed rail link (HSRL) to BIA has been given by the Centre.Selection of the consortium,which will undertake the work,has been done by BMRC.It has to be approved by central departments,including urban development ministry and railways.
In the next meeting with the Centre,we hope to get approvals on the selection of consortium.The speed would be around 160kmph and will link MG Road to Devanahalli through Hebbal and Yelahanka, said Sivasailam.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Metro trials at Peenya to begin by Dec end

BMRCL is still waiting railway's nod to carry out underground work for Reach 2

The Metro test track at Peenya is almost ready. "The trials will begin at least by the third week of December," said N Sivasailam, managing director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). At the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), he said, "The tracks will receive trains at least by the third week of December, and we will begin testing then. Trains will be able to go much faster at a speed of at least 90 km/ hour considering that it runs for a 1.2 km stretch."
He added that the BMRCL's current focus is on Reach 3 of the Metro, considering that there will be a depot at Peenya, and this stretch needs to be completed soon.
On the underground works for the Metro, he said, "A tunnel is being dug at the Mysore Bank circle. We hope to reach the Central College Campus by early next month."
Work on the North South line will commence in March, he added. "The tunnel-boring machine for the North South corridor will arrive in February, after which we will start the work," he said.
BMRCL is waiting for permission from the railways for the MG Colony and the STC area, which will require underground work for Reach 2, "We have taken up the issue with the chief minister," he said.
MoU with auto rickshaws
The BMRCL is in talks with the auto rickshaw unions on providing feeder services for the Metro. "It is possible to make Metro cards available in autos. Although the response from the unions is positive, they have to take the final call. We cannot force them into anything," he said.
Feeders to Whitefield
The feeder services of the BMTC will be important when the entire network of the Metro is completed, said Sivasailam. He pointed out that BMTC's service link from SV Road to ITPL will be helpful for people in the IT corridor. He added that the BMTC is also looking at common ticketing for both Metro