Metro Rail News Online

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) , touted as the largest Metro project in the world to be implemented in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, has put to rest questions about its viability, clocking a daily ridership of two lakh per day, as against estimates of 60,000 passengers a day. The city’s response to the mass transit system has also raised the likelihood of the project breaking even in the next six-seven years. The L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd (L&TMRHL) , the concessionaire for Phase I of the project, expects to complete 66 km of the total 72-km elevated network by mid-2019 – there is some uncertainty at present about the leftover stretch, with talk doing the rounds that the Telangana government would like to execute it in place of the concessionaire. A 16-km stretch between Ameerpet and LB Nagar was operationalized late last month, completing Corridor One that extends from Miyapur to LB Nagar (29 km) . Says NNVS Reddy, MD, HMRL, ...

Vijayawada:  The Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) may continue to hope to avail financial assistance from the Union government for the proposed light metro project in Vijayawada , but going for Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the execution of the project seems inevitable. While the AMRC officials are preparing to present a strong case with the help of MPs in the ongoing Parliament session, which will resume on March 5, they are also exploring the feasibility of PPP mode. Sources said that AMRC managing director NP Ramakrishna Reddy has met Guntur MP Galla Jayadev and explained the status of the project. “Since the MPs are fighting for the implementation of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the MD met Jayadev so that the latter can argue in favour of the project in the Parliament session which will resume on March 5,” another official said. Even though the Vijayawada metro project was one of the major provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act (APRA), 2014, the...

Vijayawada:  The Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) may continue to hope to avail financial assistance from the Union government for the proposed light metro project in Vijayawada , but going for Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the execution of the project seems inevitable. While the AMRC officials are preparing to present a strong case with the help of MPs in the ongoing Parliament session, which will resume on March 5, they are also exploring the feasibility of PPP mode. Sources said that AMRC managing director NP Ramakrishna Reddy has met Guntur MP Galla Jayadev and explained the status of the project. “Since the MPs are fighting for the implementation of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the MD met Jayadev so that the latter can argue in favour of the project in the Parliament session which will resume on March 5,” another official said. Even though the Vijayawada metro project was one of the major provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act (APRA), 2014, the...

New Delhi: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has floated a tender to deploy 25 trains, each with six coaches, under lease, have come one step closer to reality, and the entity received 11 expressions of interest (EoI) of six possible financiers. and five possible manufacturers of rolling stock. They are willing to sign a tripartite agreement with DMRC to manufacture, finance and lease buses for a period of 30 years. This lease proposal is based on a new public-private partnership (PPP) model, which Indian Railways is testing for the first time. Invest India, created under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), analyzed metro systems around the world before recommending the hire of buses under the PPP model to the DMRC. These models to finance and hire trainers exist in Australia, the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. The advantage of the leasing model is that the DMRC will not have to make an initial capital investment or incur any maintenance costs during...

Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday that work on the metro railway project in Patna would be addressed soon and that the state government would submit a corresponding detailed project report (DPR) to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in the next four months. Opened the Station Road overpass, Nitish said that the State Minister of the Union (independent housing) for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, during his recent visit to the state capital, assured that the DPR for the Patna Metro would be cleared in a minimum time. The vehicular movement on the new flyover that connects the bridge over the Mithapur road and the Chiraiya bridge and bridge will start on Wednesday. CM Nitish Kumar “The central government has recently changed its policy for the development of Metro rail networks in the country, therefore we are obliged to change the DPR for the Patna Metro the state urban development department is finalizing the changes and we intend to present...

Hyderabad: L&T, the concessionaire of the first phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project, is not interested in starting the second phase of the project in which the Metro Rail will be linked to the Shamshabad airport. The concessionaire experience several problems with the government during the execution of the first phase. The another reason for not taking interest on further metro project could be lot of political interference in execution of this project as this project is being executed on PPP model. And now, there are even doubts about the viability of the project and, therefore, L&T is not interested in participating in the project. If L&T is not interested, the government will look for others to develop the link, probably through open tenders. A feasibility study of the 30.3 km Metro Metro link, which connects the Raidurg Metro station in Hyderabad with the Shamshabad airport, had been completed. The report is before the Chief Minister, who will make a final decisio...

New Delhi: Public Private Partnership (PPP) model represents a valuable instrument that stimulates infrastructure development in the country. India has witnessed considerable growth in PPPs in the last decade and emerged as one of the leading PPP markets in the world. In view of this, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organized the fifth edition of the India PPP Summit on 26th July 2017 at Federation House, New Delhi. Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Government of India was the Guest of Honor and gave the Inaugural address in the summit. The summit aimed at presenting the Report Card for PPP Projects and providing an opportunity to rebuild the trust deficit amongst the stakeholders. The summit discussed critical issues on existing policy framework and regulations concerning PPPs, fostering partnerships to invigorate PPPs and innovative financing solutions. It also provided an opportunity to el...

New Delhi: E Sreedharan , famously known as the Metro Man, has always been a vocal critic of PPP ( public-private-partnership ). Therefore, his reluctance in executing urban rail projects on PPP mode is not new and if facts are to be believed the 85-year-old’s fear is not misplaced either. Sreedharan in the past had said the construction of  Airport Express Metro would have incurred 20 per cent less expenditure had Delhi Metro built it. In the case of Airport Express, the entire civil structure was done by  Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), accounting for 60 per cent of the cost. He had said the other 40 per cent could also have been done by DMRC with the help of a loan from Japan. The project got delayed on several accounts and was finally salvaged by Sreedharan and launched in February 2011. In the airport line, DMRC invested 55 per cent of the cost (50 per cent of which was borrowed from Japan). Reliance Infrastructure, whi...

New Delhi: In a first, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will be leasing trains to cater to the growing rush of passengers.  Delhi Metro caters to 28 lakh passengers daily and the numbers are only growing. To meet the rush and run trains at increased frequency — particularly during peak hours — DMRC needs more trains. Till date, DMRC had only purchased trains — a time-consuming process that also needs substantial investment. The corporation is now exploring the possibility of taking trains on lease instead of purchasing them and the Inderlok-Mundka (line 5) corridor will be the first section where the leased trains will be deployed. DMRC is looking for companies that are capable of supplying trains and, if this new plan works, it will take more trains on lease for its other corridors. The leasing firm will also have to maintain the trains. DMRC will pay rental charges (on per hour basis) depending on the trains" availability. At first DM...

New Delhi: After a failed public-private partnership (PPP) model to execute metro rail projects in India, the government will spend Rs 2.5 lakh crore to implement metro rail projects in various Indian cities, said ratings agency ICRA. The spending will be over the next five years, eventually helping not only the stressed infrastructure companies to present stronger financial results, but also companies involved in manufacturing and supply of rolling stock, it said. The government of India has standardised specifications for rolling stock and signalling systems for metro rail so that "Make in India" can be promoted. A month ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the inauguration of Kochi Metro, had said, "A number of initiatives have been taken to enhance public transport in the cities. Foreign investment has been invited in this sector. Fifty cities in India are ready to implement metro rail projects." In fact, in April 2017, the Union government also issued a Na...