My plan for upgradation and expansion of the Indian Railway network:
1. Build about 15,000 km of 200-250 kmph lines to cover the GQ and it's diagonals & link other major cities. About half of this will be by upgrading the existing lines and half as new lines. Total estimated..
...cost: About INR 5.0 lakh crore over a period of 7 to 10 yrs.
2. No more DFCs. Complete the ongoing Eastern and Western DFCs and use them (with some modifications) for carrying freight & slow passenger trains.
3. Drop all ongoing surveys and feasibility studies to build..
... Bullet Train lines. India does not need and will not be able to afford Bullet Train lines for at least next 15 yrs, by when improved technologies like Maglev are likely to be available for speed more than 250 kmph.
This plan also entails:
1. Massive upgradation of the...
.... freight trains stock to run all freight trains on the 200-250 kmph lines at 100-160 kmph.
2. An Extensive plan to skill IR's manpower for the higher speed O&M.
3. Extensive indigenisation to manufacture new rolling stock for 200-250 kmph, including tilting trains.
In a democracy, it is essential that there be a open public debate on major public spending & projects.
But, in our country even mega projects that could have far reaching implications for the socioeconomic activities in the courtry are decided without any public participation..
... What should be happening is that before decision is taken by the Govt to implement a scheme or project, all important details of the scheme/plan/DPR should be made public so that the knowledgeable citizens, members of the civil society, and people and businesses likely to...
...be affected by the plan/project can offer their views. The state and local governments should also be asked their views.
If this is done, the vast pool of knowledge, experience & information that might be available in the country can be effectively used for the public good.
... Over the last 30 yrs, the major economies of the world, including China, have promoted rail transport by raising speed and adding lines to reduce travel by car and airplanes. This was necessary to reduce air pollution, carbon emissions and diversion of land.
But, in India..
.. rail transport has suffered with no increase in speed and severe capacity constraints.
India, with its extremely high population density, low per capita income and long distances can not afford to neglect rlys.
Just top 2 to 3% of the people in India can afford travel by...
...car or airplane. Rest have no option but the excruciatingly slow trains.
India is among countries with worst economic inequality. This will worsen if mobility of the vast majority continues to be compromised so badly...
India must engage in a healthy public debate on this.
15,000 km of 200-250 kmph lines will cover the entire 9890 km of the GQ & 5,110 km additional lines to link to the GQ the cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangalore, Indore, Guwahati, Amritsar, Dehradun, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Patna, etc.
A few clarifications regarding terms used for high speed lines.
Globally following terms are used:
300-250 kmph: Dedicated High Speed Rail or just High Speed Rail
200-250 kmph: Classic High Speed Rail or Conventional High Speed Rail
160 to less than 200 kmph:Semi-High Speed
..In above, please read 300-250 kmph as 300-350 kmph: Globally following terms are used:
300-350 kmph: Dedicated High Speed Rail or just High Speed Rail
200-250 kmph: Classic High Speed Rail or Conventional High Speed Rail
160 kmph & above but < 200 kmph: Semi-High Speed
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The plan for a host of new Bullet Train lines like the line to Varanasi via Ayodhya & Semi Highspeed lines like the Kerala Silverline came crashing down as the idea of building these lines on SG - elevated on pillars - proved to be extremely costly: 10 to 15 times..
Will Rly Bd obtain safety clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety or a committee of its junior officers as it did for the Lumding-Silchar line in 2015?
Truly an engineering marvel in the distorted imagination of Rly Board!?
The..
..progress was 90% in 2018 - How many more yrs to complete work at Sumber, Sangaldan, Br 60, Anji Bridge, Tunnel 1 & 14 & the culvert at Bakkal?
Won't this line be like those multi-storied hotels of Joshimath - built on a sinking slope - that are being demolished right now?
This was the question which I examined while framing my proposal for changing the alignment of the Kashmir Rail Link project. This is also what I examined while dealing with the Railway's alignment for the line to Leh, Ladakh and the Char Dham lines, & also the plan..
..for Kerala Silverline.
For towns & cities like Joshimath, we need a separate building code for the Himalayas, & instead of building wide highways we should build a network of MG & NG railway lines, as in Switzerland, Australia etc.
I saved the country from 3 incredibly wrong & wasteful projects & two ruinous policies of building highspeed lines on Standard Gauge & DFCs. But 7 projects continue.
I was the first to raise the above issues & pursued them ceaselessly against all odds ..
..This endeavour is a work in progress because Rly Board may try to revive these projects & policies: Officially there is no clear announcement of their abrogation.
The 7 projects that continue are the projects to build the lines in the Himalayas in Kashmir, Uttarakhand & ..
..the North East.
The projects that have been shelved after my intervention are the projects to build the line to Leh in Ladakh, the Char Dham lines & the Kerala Silverline.
Although we are rid of lines on Standard Gauge & more DFCs, a lot remains to..
These reports are of serious concern because this line requires construction of about 110 km of tunnels at shallow depth in weak, highly crushed and folded rock strata..
..letter to the Minister of Railway, just 2 days before the above order was issued by Kerala Govt, the cause of this deceptive & fraudulent plan's existence is that Rly Bd granted In-principle Approval based on a thoroughly fabricated Feasibility Report..
..which KRDCL hurriedly submitted to Borad in June'2019 just 3 months after the Preliminary Feasibility Report (which was prepared under my guidance) stronly advising KRDCL against the plan was given to KRDCL