Monorail DPR for Trivandrum and Kozhikode to be submitted for nod

[feathers]

Monorail DPR for Trivandrum and Kozhikode to be submitted for nod - The Hindu
Projects in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode

The revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Rs.5,581-crore monorail projects, an elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, will be submitted soon to the Union Ministry of Urban Development for approval.

This was decided at the seventh board meeting of Kerala Monorail Corporation Limited (KMCL), SPV set up to execute the MRTS, chaired by KMCL chairman and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the legislature complex here on Wednesday.

The board was informed that five companies - Bombardier Transportation, Hitachi, Afcons, Scumi, and Larsen and Toubro - dealing with the MRTS had expressed interest after tender norms to select an exclusive developer-contractor were revised by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the general consultant.

As per the revised norms, the rolling stock manufacturer need only be a technical partner. The supplier-credit norm had also been removed in the wake of a directive of the Urban Development Ministry.

The board had set up a committee comprising the Secretaries of Finance, Public Works, and Law, and managing directors of the KMCL and Kochi Metro Rail Limited to look into the amendments made in the DPR.

The board was told that global tenders had to be floated again treating the monorail projects as one as only a 36.4-km stretch would be covered in the first phase in both the cities.

A pre-bid meeting would be held in New Delhi on February 20 and April 15 had been fixed as the last date for submission of the global tenders. SBI Caps would carry out the financial appraisal of the project.

Minister for Public Works and vice-chairman of the KMCL V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said talks for making available funds for the ambitious project were on.

Nationalised banks - Central Bank, Federal Bank, SBI, SBT, Syndicate Bank- and HDFC had come forward to invest for the project, he added.

Industry Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty; Minister for Railways Aryadan Mohammed; Secretary, PWD, T.O. Sooraj; managing director of KMRL Elias George; and managing director of KMCL Harikesh P.C, attended the board meeting.

 

[tramp]

Is it a case of development overkill?

To me what a small state like Kerala needs is efficient intercity transport infrastructure like an elevated railway line and not showpiece Disneyland rides. What the state should strive is to adopt a hub and spokes kind of development with good road infrastructure inside the cities and efficient intercity rail fast rail links.

 

[feathers]

Pact for Kochi metro loan signed - The Hindu


It paves the way for implementing Phase 1 of Rs.5,170-crore project

A project agreement between the French Development Agency (AFD) and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL) for a euro 180-million long-term loan, which at present rate comes to about Rs.1,527 crore, was signed on Saturday, clearing the way for the implementation of the first phase of the Rs.5,170-crore Kochi Metro Rail project.

The agreement was signed by AFD chief executive officer Anne Paugam and KMRL managing director Elias George at a function in the KMRL office here on Saturday evening.

Minister for Electricity and Railways Aryadan Mohammed and French consul Philippe Janvier-Kamiyama were present on the occasion.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Paugam visited select locations where work on the Kochi Metro Rail was in progress. She visited the Vytilla Mobility Hub where Kochi Metro plans to have multi-modal transport integration. She also undertook a boat ride from Fort Kochi to Vytilla to explore the possibilities of water transport in the Kochi region.

Ms. Paugam followed the tour with discussions with the KMRL managing director and other functional directors of the company regarding the progress of the project and other future plans of KMRL for improving transportations systems in the city, particularly the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) and Transport Oriented Development.

 

[PredictablyMalicious]

Is it a case of development overkill?

You're literally not allowed to say that for the next 50 years considering how much India lags.

 

[rvjpheonix]

Is it a case of development overkill?

To me what a small state like Kerala needs is efficient intercity transport infrastructure like an elevated railway line and not showpiece Disneyland rides. What the state should strive is to adopt a hub and spokes kind of development with good road infrastructure inside the cities and efficient intercity rail fast rail links.

Tramp ji as far as i have seen kerala is a bit....err different from other states.Most of the places have high population densities and so there are many houses. These guys just dont cede their land, and we shouldn't expect them to getting the compensation they get.So I guess because a monorail by virtue of using less space is more feasible. Also I think it is better to invest more in mass transit systems than invest in making bigger and bigger roads. We should discourage the use of cars and other private vehicles and rather support public transport.

 

[anoop_mig25]

Is it a case of development overkill?

To me what a small state like Kerala needs is efficient intercity transport infrastructure like an elevated railway line and not showpiece Disneyland rides. What the state should strive is to adopt a hub and spokes kind of development with good road infrastructure inside the cities and efficient intercity rail fast rail links.

What is difference between elevated railway line and metro .

Second u can always have AC in elevated railway.

Thire one can always have huge capacity monorail

 

[peacecracker]

Is it a case of development overkill?

To me what a small state like Kerala needs is efficient intercity transport infrastructure like an elevated railway line and not showpiece Disneyland rides. What the state should strive is to adopt a hub and spokes kind of development with good road infrastructure inside the cities and efficient intercity rail fast rail links.

most of Kerala coast and midlands are urbanized/urbanizing. Land acquisition is a big problem in Kerala. elevated railways feasible? few years back a express highway from northern end to south was planned and now scrapped because LA is the problem. road widening itself is a trouble in most places.
building highways is a big hurdle here. it is not like barren flatlands all the way until one leaves a city until reaches another urban region that is common in other states. here, it is towns all the way across the state. in future, Kochi,Kozhikode,Thrissur,Kottayam,Kannur,Trivandrum,Kollam will be contested by other regions. even towns in low ranges(close to western ghats) like Thodupuzha and Pala and Malabar regions all are growing and these growth is not centred around neither state capital or Kochi or Kozhikode. I believe Kerala will altogether form a urban network.

while Kochi get the metro, cities like Kozhikode and Trivandrum may be content(as of now) with Monorail.

 

[tramp]

An elevated light railway does not need much acquisition as the track will rest on pillars along road medians. Yes, a region like the highly urbanized Kerala needs a rapid transit system connecting cities to support commuter traffic -- the success of which will be high frequency, rapid movement and capacity to move high volumes.

Quality connectivity will reduce the need for people to migrate to crowded cities worsening the problems attending intensive urbanization like in Mumbai and Kolkata.

What the state needs is the political will to carry out futuristic development projects instead of populist minded cosmetic proposals.

most of Kerala coast and midlands are urbanized/urbanizing. Land acquisition is a big problem in Kerala. elevated railways feasible? few years back a express highway from northern end to south was planned and now scrapped because LA is the problem. road widening itself is a trouble in most places.
building highways is a big hurdle here. it is not like barren flatlands all the way until one leaves a city until reaches another urban region that is common in other states. here, it is towns all the way across the state. in future, Kochi,Kozhikode,Thrissur,Kottayam,Kannur,Trivandrum,Kollam will be contested by other regions. even towns in low ranges(close to western ghats) like Thodupuzha and Pala and Malabar regions all are growing and these growth is not centred around neither state capital or Kochi or Kozhikode. I believe Kerala will altogether form a urban network.

while Kochi get the metro, cities like Kozhikode and Trivandrum may be content(as of now) with Monorail.

 

[feathers]

Anne Paugam, chief executive officer of the French development agency, at the Vyttila Mobility Hub on Saturday exploring the mutli-modal transport integration plan in connection with Kochi Metro. Photo: Thulasi Kakkat


French agency willing to collaborate in Kerala's urban development - The Hindu

Anne Paugam, chief executive officer of the French development agency AFD, said here on Saturday that the agency was willing to collaborate in the area of urban development in the State. She was speaking on the occasion of the signing of a project agreement between AFD and the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) for a Euro 180-million aid for Kochi Metro.

Earlier, Minister for Power and Railways Aryadan Mohammed appealed to the AFD for assistance in more infrastructure development projects of the State. He requested the AFD's support in the development of the power and transportation sectors of the State. Stating that the French loan was the biggest such aid extended to the State for an infrastructure project, the Minister hailed the signing of the agreement as a remarkable event.

Ms. Paugam expressed the hope that KMRL and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation would go for fair and competitive bidding that ensures a cost-effective and optimal execution of the project.

Ms. Paugam called for innovative, technically sound and environment friendly metro rail while hoping that the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority would provide easier access to the metro and improve the efficiency of the entire transportation system.

Stating that the metro would help reduce carbon emission by 44,000 tones annually, Ms. Paugam said the project would have a socio-economic-environmental impact. It would improve access to the city and thereby create more jobs for more people and add to the city's attraction as an economic hub.

She said that the signing of the pact had cleared the way for the funding of the first phase of the Kochi Metro project. The project would improve mobility in Kochi city while ensuring quality urban transport system and sustainable development of the larger metropolitan area.

The agreement was not just an important milestone for Kochi but for the AFD as well since it marked a significant contribution towards improving urban mobility in India, especially second tier cities. This, she said, was in tune with the mandate of the agency for facilitating green and inclusive growth.

Ms. Paugam said the agency had a taste for metro projects citing its association with the Bangalore metro rail project. She said that the AFD has substantial experience in urban mobility sector drawing on its association with the best practices in Brazil and China and now in India.

KMRL managing director Elias George expressed the hope for a long and constructive partnership with the AFD while observing that the association of the agency from France with one of the most advanced urban transport systems in the world would bring in valuable technical knowhow and expertise.

He said the assistance from the AFD had come as a blessing at a time when negotiations with some other funding agencies were getting nowhere.

 

[feathers]

Monorail to bypass heritage zone in Trivandrum - The Hindu


DMRC decides to spare centuries-old agraharam

The 240 families living in the centuries-old 'agraharam' at Valiyasala street can now sleep peacefully as it has been decided to spare the homesteads when the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) is laid from Technocity to Karamana in the capital.

The residents had been knocking at the doors of the executing agencies and the government after The Hindu revealed in a report that the elevated MRTS will cut across their homes.
Plea to government

They had petitioned the government and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the consultant for the project, to change the alignment of the MRTS so that the 250-metre Valiyasala Street would be spared from the alignment and retained as a heritage zone.

Following an inspection of the 'agraharam' by Principal Advisor, DMRC, E. Sreedharan recently, the DMRC decided to take the monorail through an alternative route. On Saturday, the DMRC communicated the decision to the Vyasa Residents Association (VRA) representing the local community.
NH widening

The DMRC has now asked the government and the Kerala Mono Rail Corporation Ltd., the Special Purpose Vehicle for the project, to get the 700-metre stretch of NH 66 from near the Thycaud Railway Over Bridge (ROB)-Choorakattupalayam to Killipalam junction widened to 21 metres so that the 'agraharam' can be bypassed. The DMRC has sought early completion of the widening.

The original alignment that cut across the street was chosen to avoid the ROB.

Official sources said the route now proposed by the DMRC would cut across the shunting neck at Thampanoor through an obligatory span to the end of the ROB's arm and from there proceed to Choorakattupalayam through the median to come up on the NH 66 at the Killipalam junction.