State persuades Centre to study B’lore-Mysore HSRL

The State government, after a series of meetings with the Ministry of Railways, has impressed upon the Centre to conduct a pre-feasibility study for a high speed rail link (HSRL) between Bangalore and Mysore.

“Although the Centre has planned for six HSRLs in the country, we have convinced them to add the Bangalore-Mysore line to its list and to conduct a pre-feasibility study, after a lot of deliberation,” a senior official from the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD) said.

On the proposal sent by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) E Sreedharan, the official said the State government will write to him informing that the DMRC need not conduct the feasibility study, as the Centre has agreed to do the same.

Barring the Bangalore-Mysore line, the Centre has in the pipeline the implementation of regional high-speed rail projects connecting commercial, tourist and pilgrimage centres.

The corridors included are: Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Howrah-Haldia, Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram, Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna and Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai.

Elevated corridors

As these high-speed rail corridors will be built as elevated corridors, the habitation below will remain unaffected.

In a letter dated February 3, Sreedharan, Principal Adviser, DMRCL had proposed an HSRL between Mysore and Bangalore and had said that it was “ ...eminently justified.” With a speed potential of 350 kmph, the 110-km corridor can be traversed within less than 30 minutes.

According to sources, even the Centre’s HSRL proposes a similar speed.

Besides, the State government is also holding talks with the Kerala government for the extension of the planned HSRL line between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod, covering 560 km,  up to Udupi.

“They have realised that it is not business wise to just end the line at Kasargod. Though they have evinced interest to extend the line upto Mangalore, we have communicated to them to extend it further to Udupi,” the official said.

While Sreedharan had quoted Rs 50 lakh for the pre-feasibility study, Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), under the Ministry of Railways will be conducting the study for the Bangalore-Mysore link, as the Centre has agreed to it.

The study will highlight technical standards to be adopted, the route to be followed, estimated cost, ridership forecast and other aspects.

East Pier of BIAL along with the current expansion of the terminal

BBMP to rake in moolah with skywalks

If you think treading on a skywalk (foot over-bridge) will elevate your sense of joy, here is some good news. The BBMP plans to construct 14 skywalks across the city—in addition to the seven that are already there—to not only mitigate pedestrians’ woes but to help traffic police regulate jaywalkers on busy roads.

The BBMP floated tenders on February 18, inviting bidders for the construction of skywalks at various areas in the city on a design, build,own, operate and transfer (DBOOT) basis. The bidders would be authorised to maintain these skywalks for 20 years to recover the construction cost.

The selection of bidders is expected to be completed in 20 days. “We will select those who have the capacity to construct the skywalks and offer more revenue to the BBMP,’’said YM Ramachandramurthy,
joint commissioner (advertisement), BBMP. The BBMP secures `1.2lakh per year as rent from hoardings put up on each of the seven skywalks that were constructed around eight years ago.

The skywalk being built near Cauvery Bhavan on Kempe Gowda Road is expected to generate `9 lakh per
year as rent. However, according to sources, the BBMP is mulling over cancelling the contracts signed with those who are maintaining the seven skywalks.

“We want them to pay tax on the space used for advertisements,but they are not complying. Hence, the standing committee on taxation has recommended to cancel the contracts for the maintenance of these skywalks,’’ said a BBMP official.

However, observers said skywalks are a ploy to bolster the BBMP’s coffers. Meanwhile, there is a plea to provide elevators at select skywalks.“How many pedestrians use skywalks? The design and size of these skywalks have been ruining the city’s beauty. These are aimed at generating revenue for the advertisement agencies and the BBMP,’’ said Kathyayini Chamaraju, trustee, CIVIC, a city-based civil rights forum. Vinay Srinivas, a civil rights activist, said the BBMP should encourage people to walk on the footpaths and use bicycles. “It will be better if the authorities concerned provide pedestrian-operated signals instead of constructing skywalks

Cracks showing on Kadugodi overbridge

The 20-month-old bridge even has shrubs growing out of the gaps.Shoddy dividers make the drive a nightmare for motorists

The railway overbridge at Kadugodi junction in Whitefield was to have been completed in 15 months but it took almost four years.One would have expected that extra time to have been translated into better quality.But motorists travelling on the 640-metre bridge have a different story.In about 20 months since its opening in July 2010,the bridge is cracking at places and even has shrubs growing on it.
When South Western Railways began the project in November 2006,there was excitement for many reasons.It not only promised to cut down the commute to BIA by almost 20 km but also provided thousands of techies easier access to ITPL.
Another reason for the hoopla was the fact that it was going to be an engineering feat - 200 tonnes of specialised steel was being used to construct 42 metres of the bridge going over six electrified railway tracks,making it the longest steel girder in the country.
Thats one reason why the process took so long and also why it took almost two years before the safety clearance was through.
Despite that,quality seems to have suffered.When the stretch opened,there were a lot of accidents because there was no divider.Now the divider has become a problem because it is not a permanent structure.The stones are laid haphazardly and move even with the slightest nudge from vehicles.These dislodged stones then become a problem for other commuters.As if that is not enough,the shoddy patchwork on the potholes and the joints on the flyover are already in a shambles.It is a pain to drive on it, says Vinay Rao,who uses the stretch to drive to Hoskote every day.
Even if one blames the shoddy bitumen on the dense vehicular density (the estimated passenger car unit is about 7,000),motorists are at a loss when it comes to the cracks and shrubs appearing on the structure.
Velmani K,another techie who travels from Kadugodi to ITPL,says,The pedestrian underpass near the Sathya Sai Baba Ashram has gaping cracks,with shrubs sprouting from one of them.Who does these quality checks

ASK RAILWAYS,SAYS BBMP

When we contacted BBMP over the shoddy job,they were quick to point out that the density of traffic means the road keeps coming up for repair.
But the major issues with the construction are not our fault because it was the Railways that built the bridge.A two-year-old structure ideally should not start showing cracks.But the Railways are the only ones who can answer the question about quality, said a senior engineer with the BBMP.The engineering arm of the Railways remained tight-lipped over the matter.
When S Mani,DRM,was contacted,he first denied there were any cracks,but he,however,said he would look into the matter.
Traffic police say they have a real problem on their hands during peak hours.The stretch that falls under Whitefield police station limits has to be often manned by cops.The divider certainly causes problems during peak hours, said subinspector Dharmappa.

The poorly laid divider on the railway overbridge

A shrub grows out of a crack;(right) another crack in the retaining wall

City-Chennai bullet train inching closer

The Bullet Train, which is part of the High Speed Rail project connecting Bengaluru and Chennai with a link to Mysore, is inching closer to reality. In the coming budget, the central government is constituting a nine-member High Speed Rail Board to execute the project.

The Railway Ministry appointed consultants last year to take up the pre-feasibility study on the six proposed routes, including the Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram. The pre-feasibilty study will be tabled in Parliament and the final feasibility study will begin in April.

“A pre-feasibility study has been conducted on the six select corridors. In the Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram stretch, there is a plan to either include Mysore in the main route or to create a branch line to that city. A final decision will be taken only after the feasibility study,” said Vinay Kumar, Executive Director (Planning), Railway Board. These trains are capable of running up to 250 to 300 km per hour and will be extended to eight more corridors. “These projects will take over five years for completion, depending on how and when the work starts. We have had both Japanese and French companies showing interest in the project,” he added.

The project is expected to find the much-needed push once the bill on the formation of Board is cleared in Parliament. The board will have a chairman and eight members. “Bengaluru will get the Bullet Train. We have formulated a bill to form a special board only for the High Speed Rail project. Once that is cleared, the other works related to the project too will be hastened,” said K.H. Muniyappa, Union Minister of State for Railways. The six routes under the project are: Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar; Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad; Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai; Chennai-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram; Howrah-Haldia and Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi

Four traffic integration points planned

The proposed new North-South line between Gottigere-Nagavara under Namma Metro Phase II will offer greater connectivity as it will have two points of integration with metro lines and one point each with city bus service and the railways.

While the two metro integration points are proposed near Jayadeva Hospital and Mahatma Gandhi Road, the integration with BMTC bus-station is planned at Shivajinagar and with the railways at the Cantonment Railway Station.

Originating at Gottigere as an elevated corridor, the line passes through Hulimavu station and traverses on the median of Bannerghatta Road in front of IIMB, where the IIMB Station will be located.

The alignment

From IIMB, the line touches J.P. Nagar IV Phase, BTM Layout and crosses the flyover at Marenahalli at higher level near Jayadeva Hospital. The alignment crosses another proposed line between R.V. Road Terminal (of the North-South Corridor of Namma Metro Phase I) and Bommasandra here at a higher level. Both the stations on these lines will be interconnected.

Continuing as an elevated line, the alignment will go underground from the Fire Brigade area on Bannerghatta Road till Nagavara.

Mahatma Gandhi Road

The underground alignment passes by the side of Mico. Crossing Richmond Road at Vellara, it goes beneath Brigade Road. The Mahatma Gandhi Road underground station will be located close to the elevated station. The new underground and elevated stations will be connected through escalators and stairs.

The alignment then crosses Cubbon Road to reach Shivajinagar.

The Shivajinagar metro station is planned at Shivajinagar Stadium, which will have connectivity with the BMTC terminal. The alignment then moves below Queen's Road to reach the parking area in front of Cantonment Railway Station, where the Cantonment Station is planned. Both the metro and Railway stations will be integrated at this point.

Moving beneath the railway line, metro line goes to Millers Road, Nandidurg Road and traverses below Benson Town to reach Pottery Town open ground where the Pottery Town underground metro station is planned.

The alignment then moves below Tannery Road, crosses Salem Railway line and then Outer Ring Road to reach Nagavara.

Reach 3: Test tracks ready

While there are several legal hurdles causing a delay in work along Reach-3 line of the metro, the good news is that test tracks at Peenya depot are ready. It is expected that the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) will procure train sets for this Reach by March end or the beginning of April. 

During testing for Reach-1 trains at Byapanhalli depot test tracks, it was difficult to run trains at maximum speed as the tracks are just 900 meters long. Peenya depot has the additional advantage as the test tracks are about 1.2 km long and trains can be tested at high speeds of 90 km per hour. 

The BMRCL is procuring 12 trains for Reach 3 and 3A, 11 trains for Reach 3B. Each train has a carrying capacity of 1000 passengers. To start with, there may be about 8 trains deployed on the section, with a daily passenger uptake of about 40,000 and increasing to full capacity as and when the line is connected to central parts of the city in about 2 years.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Chief PRO of BMRCL, B.L. Yaswanth Chavan said, “The test tracks are completed at Peenya depot but we are yet to procure trains from BEML and these are likely to be delivered by next month. We have ordered 25 train sets for Reach-3 and the test run will follow as soon after we receive the train sets.” 

He emphasised that it is going to take quite some time for the completion of the main tracks along Reach-3 as there is a lot of work needs to be completed before trains can be tested on the main line. Reach 3, 3A and 3B is about 10 km long, passes through industrial, residential and commercial areas of the city. “We are focused on the opening of the Peenya northern line upto Peenya scheduled for December 2012. Issues of concern include litigation over acquisition of land for the construction of the sandal soap factory station which has been going on for over 3 years. Substantial construction work at the station is held up for want of this land ,” said a BMRCL official.