Professional Documents
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RB November 2017
RB November 2017
RB November 2017
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Volume 8, Issue 41 November 2017
CONTENTS
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Next issue: January 2018 Five issues published in a calendar year
ME T RO E X CLU S I V E I N T ER VI E W
Having met with Sreedharan in June 2011, (he retired in He had full faith that the system, if handled with thought
Dec 2011), it was time to catch up and we were privileged and care, could deliver and he proved that it did.
to meet with Mangu Singh, MD DMRC. The place has
not changed much, the positive attitudes and the will to Developing skills
deliver quality is always reflected as one enters the im- Delhi Metro has truly created the skill sets in Indian
pressive Metro Building foyers. The security guys are engineers and construction managers so that now any
friendly and business like, even if I had arrived quite before Metro project in India can be delivered fully by Indian
the appointed time. personnel and companies. For the Phase 1 situation,
Indian engineers did not bring much direct experience
The vision and mutual respect is confirmed as Mangu in such projects but the need to develop skills was
Singh reveals that he joined Delhi Metro a few days after recognised and planned for. It was ensured that a
Sreedharan took charge on Nov. 4,1997. His orders for DMRC engineer was seconded with each person from
secondment from Indian Railways had been issued already the contracted General Consultant, sowing the seeds
but he had decided to join only if Sreedharan did. That of Indian ability. The forethought has now meant that
was the level of confidence that Sreedharan instilled in all key persons in Indian Metro projects can trace their
his team and the story is repeated so often: that Sreedharan success to stints in DMRC. At the international level,
would choose his team with care and then support them the Dhaka Metro is based on a DMRC assessment and
to the hilt. And while Sreedharan was a well-rounded its engineers are part of the international consulting
person, which qualities would stand out the most? His team too.
response was emphatic: he was a man of strong convic-
tions and stood by these through the toughest times. There is indeed a simple trick: if the Metro is visible with
These convictions were rooted in strong personal probity its 25-kV overhead power supply, as different from the
in times when personal integrity was not always normal. out-of-sight third rail, the initial report was by DMRC.
DELHI METRO
The new Metro policy specific packages, like on fare collec-
MASTER PLAN-2021 It was expected that the private sector tion in Kochi Metro, could be worked
would get into the intra-urban rail in and will reduce government invest-
Phase Km Cost (` Cr) Status ment needs. State funding of Metro
transport in a significant way, but
Phase-I 65.10 10.891 Completed
projects in Delhi Airport line, Hydera- projects is the right answer right now.
(1997 to 2005)
bad Metro and Mumbai have not set Singh points out that the public feel-
Phase-II * 124.19 21.121 Completed
(2005 to 2010)
a good road to follow. ing on PPP projects is also not right:
Phase-III 160.57 46.978 Under The hope of private sector invest- these are often viewed as giving away
Construction ment in Metros may have to be the family silver , an attitude that has
Phase-IV 103.94 DPR under consideration shelved for better times. The short hurt some highway projects. For such
of Delhi & Central Governments
conversation was revealing too. long-term investment contracts, the
Total 453.80 risks are not well defined and unless
*(including 22.1 km Airport Express Metro)
RB: has Hyderabad Metro suc- a workable model evolves, private
ceeded? funding will be at a low ebb.
Funding
Phase I: about 60% by JBIC/ JICA Japan, 28% by state and central Singh: Not yet. Cost control on learning
governments, land acquisition: 5%, 6% from property development
Phase II: 45.5% from Japan, 16.4% from the governments, Airport Has it failed? As DMRC has executed the succes-
line: 46% by concessionaire and 39% by the governments, 58% by
state governments for Gurgaon and Noida extensions
sive packages, have the construction
Phase III: JICA: 48.6%, 10% each by the two governments
Singh: Not yet. costs come down due to greater Indi-
The unspoken message was clear: In- an ability and better construction
In addition to its NCR projects, DM- dian Metros must be state funded and management? It would seem so as the
RC has provided various levels of con- executed. Expectedly Singh is averse per km costs on Phase 1 are about 15
sultancy reports for Vijayawada, to commenting on projects outside % higher than those for Phase 2. But
Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Nagpur, his control, but one can discern some a similar comparison with Phase 3 is
Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, underlying factors. First the cost of mistaken, may be due to higher inci-
Kochi, and Visakhapatnam Metros, capital and going with investment dence of tunnelling.
besides the now abandoned risks for private investors are too high
Kozhikode mono-rail project. One aspect that has appeared for this
right now and may be the expected experience is that the pre-tender de-
And would such varied project expe- high efficiencies of the private sector termination of the package sizes is a
rience be useful in the High-speed in such projects have proven to be big determining factor in competitive
line construction? It is a good sign non-existent and ephemeral. Singh bidding as well as the quoted process.
that the HSR management has al- does point out that DMRC delivery DMRC started with integrated large
ready depended on DMRC engineers and quality do affirm that government sized packages in Phase 1, perhaps
for starting the HSR project work. sector can produce benchmark out- based on the consultants advice. This
Delhi Metro will live through its own puts if the leadership is right and man- may not have been the best one, bur-
projects and some through the HSR agement has a freedom to decide. Pri- dening the packaging costs on the
link. vate participation in the form of bidder. DMRC instead opted for
more modest bid packages in Phase A FRC had been sought for in 2012 There is no doubt that Singh recog-
2 that seem to have depressed costs. but it was constituted only in 2016. nizes the problem. We pointed out
The fare revision now wil permit reg- that access from New Delhi Metro
We referred to a recent conference
ular debt servicing and necessary station to the Mainline station is non
where the issue of construction pack- Opex.
age sizes in the dedicated freight cor- -existent and passengers have to cross
ridors ware discussed, with a brief for DMRC does put by some amounts a few berms and merge with auto traf-
even larger packages, even though for a replacement fund but the cur- fic to gain access. This does not show
Metro and mainline construction rent level is modest. No deprecia- the existence of any plan.
packages have dissimilar needs and tion reserve is created as matter of Singh agrees that this is broadly true
constraints. Singh would opt for mod- rule and the governments will have and seems to blame IR apathy for this.
est construction packages for control- to stand in with large grants, when-
led costs. This of course burdens the ever the stock and structures call In the planning stages, IR had ini-
DMRC with need for greater coordi- for large scale replacements. At tially stressed that the Metro sta-
nation and control, but experience present provisions for tougher tion should not have any access on
would show good gains on projected maintenance schedules and re- the IR side as it would burden
costs. Bundling of the works to cover placements are adequate but large- them with extra passengers. Singh
various elements like civil construc- scale funding is not provisioned had insisted on an emergency exit
tion, electrification and signalling for. required and the current situation
should have a moderating influence The media has projected the dire state is that this exit is the main one that
on costs. of DMRC stations when it comes to passengers have to traverse for
Moderate package sizes should mod- road access. In most stations, it is park reaching main line services. Again,
erate project costs. as you wish and commuters have to no change is expected because
struggle though the chaos to get road each stake holder is individually
Recent media coverage connections, often the road travel cost helpless. DMRC cannot. IR will
DMRC has been in the media focus is higher than the Metro commute, not. End of the story.
on two aspects: fare revision and poor forcing some away from Metro travel.
road connections at most stations. As has been reported earlier in the
DMRC shuttle services at some sta-
The Delhi Metro Act lets constitution context of Hyderabad Metro, IR
tions do exist but the access and serv-
of fare revision Committee whenever has issued a policy directive that
ice quality are said to be unflattering.
decided on by the state and central Singh attributes this to a general apa- no Metro station or line can lie
governments; (a fixed periodicity is thy in enforcements as multiple agen- below an existing IR facility and
not mandated). The committee is a cies are involved. While some plans that any construction within 30 m
three member one, a sitting high court were part of the projects, non- of a station can be done only after
judge, a nominee of the state govern- enforcement has led to a current state IR certifies that it will not need the
ment and the Central government. where each agency, including DMRC, space ever in future. That is some-
The current committee (the fourth), feels helpless. That is an effective way thing that the IR executives are
the first since fare revision in 2009, of negating any improvements soon. unwilling to certify, ensuring that
included the Delhi state chief Secre- While the Metro services are world Metro access to main line plat-
tary and an added Secretary from the class after you enter a station, the cha- forms and stations is always haz-
Ministry of Urban affair, as needed os outside is typical of streets in an ardous. The East West Kolkata
under the Act. Even while DMRC has old Indian city. Not much seems to corridor plan at Howrah station
so far been able to service its debts be likely unless the concerned govern- seems to have predated these IR
from operating surpluses, the projec- ment takes charge for rectification. instructions and better connectiv-
tions for coming years wre not rosy. No hope yet. ity is planned.
IR high profile
Rajeev Jyoti, Chief Executive Railway Strategic Business Transit oriented development (TOD)
Group, L&T Limited, made important observations, adding A key feature of urban development must be TOD where a
for example that some efforts at standardizing various aspects Metro line can afford development of urban real estate for a
of the Metro systems, an exercise many in the government major revenue model. Recent media reports have commented
believe in, is a non-street as each project has its own vendors on the lack of road connectivity with existing Delhi Metro
and standardizing across these various platforms cannot work station and TOD has not been a high success so far. These
out. His experience with a rolling stock builder while executing aspects need fresh look for any further success on these models.
the first DMRC supplies showed that each vendor platform (Based on notes from the presentation by Rajeev Jyoti)
Media association
EVENTS
Rubber Pad
A special Railway Seminar, under IREE 2017, saw 29 presen- Rail R& D from Japan was also on show. Developments in
tations by Japanese companies, each with potential contribu- Japan have depended on the tests and research in the Railway
tion particularly to the High-Speed Link. Many companies Technical Research Institute RTRI that is now pursuing a
are now factoring in their plans for a Make in India shift. global outreach to increase the degree of recognition. Its
Indian HSR train- sets are likely from Kawasaki, who have impressive portfolio includes about 525 persons, with 193
laid out a four-phase plan for progressive migration for increas- Ph. Ds and research areas that cover Maglev systems (at
ing ex-India value addition. The HSR coach uses a double Yamanashi and Miyazaki). The large-scale test facilities that
skin shell built up from heavy extruded Aluminum sections, could be of interest to IR include a Wind Tunnel for 400 km/h
providing lighter weight and adequate strength. wind velocity, rolling stock test plant, large scale shaking table,
current collection test facility, ride control simulator and a
An MoU has also been signed with the Indian major PSU real scale vibration tester that allows a 5mx 7m shake table.
BHEL for progressive value addition. Kawasaki has so far
supplied above 4000 HSR coaches, including the 7000 T Of interest is that 0.35% of the annual transport revenue of
series (based on Shinkansen E7 series) for Taiwan and the the 6 passenger railway companies and .035 % of that of the
CRH 2 (based on E2-1000 series) for China. freight rail company are contributed to RTRI.
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show a potential problem earliest in the service cycle and Track monitoring
are the most helpful for leading to predictive maintenance. A clear advantage for on-board monitoring is that infer-
Perpetuum offers this technology for regular use, backed ences can be drawn about track conditions also, as a snap
by its current experience of monitoring more than 10,000 shot of vibration readings from many signals from the
assets, spread over 15 fleets in 5 countries and 3 continents. stock traversing a track segment. This is a bye product.
Their monitors have logged more than 100 m operating Track mounted detectors of course can be fewer in
hours, and currently collect >2 m data points per day. number, reducing complexity and costs.
Service reliability has been proven with >1billion miles IR has the options laid out and needs to accelerate its
sensor data base. These devices are self-powered and can decisions.
The optimal solution for such piping is the ferrule fitting Our design, engineering and manufacturing at Pune
that comes in single or double ferrule configurations. have a state-of-the-art R&D centre, which offers clients
Single ferrule fittings bite into the tube to create the joint, customized solutions based on analytical formulations,
while double ferrule fittings compress (or swage) the 3D Modelling and FEA. Fluid Controls is recognised
tube. by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research
as an In-House R&D Unit. Fluid Controls is approved
by CLW, DLW, DLMW, ICF, BEML, BHEL, Bom-
Type Screwed Single Ferrule Double Ferrule bardier Transportation, Alstom and GE
Transportation Sophie Moochawala, MD.
Vibration No. Threads Good for static Yes, close tolerance
Resistance loosen with purposes & enhanced
Single and double ferrules (typical)
constant vibrations metallurgy, without
tube damage Single Ferrule
Standing from left: AK Jain, General Manager, Praveen Bansal, Executive Director BHEL, William Ainsworth, CEO Progress Rail, Atul Sobti, CMD BHEL,
Jim Umpleby CEO Caterpillar & Amitabh Mathur, Director IS&P.
Progress Rail USA has signed an MOU with the Indian PSU As we envision the future of rail and engage our customers
Bharat Heavy Electric (BHEL) where both will work for joint to better understand their needs, we could not have found a
development of modern technologies for rail sector, to use better partner in India than BHEL to deepen those relation-
their supply chains and explore possibilities for servicing rail ships, William Ainsworth, Progress Rail President, and CEO.
fleets. BHEL already supplies a major share of traction equip- We look forward to exploring business opportunities in India
ment for IR locos and EMU trainsets, while Progress Rail has and abroad together with Progress Rail, a world leader in
been active in the Indian market for 60 years through its EMD railway technologies- Praveen Bansal, Executive Director and
locos. Head Transportation Business, BHEL.
GE in IREE 2017.
Celebrating the arrival of the prototype
GE locomotive in India.
From left : Sumeet Banga, Nalin Jain, Dominique Malenfant,
Gopalakrishna M, Prajeesh Krishnankutty, Sandeep Selot,
Garret Fitzgerald
Current updated designs of Metro maintenance depots factor application . The swivel movements are motorized and preci-
in needs for quick rake turnarounds, high maintainability and sion controlled , with a jerk free but slow initial movement
minimal manpower use. Even as such designs are evolving for that is completed in about 40 seconds only.
better passenger comfort, energy efficiency and lower intervals
between trains, Metro coach depot designs are evolving too. The swivel arms can be mounted on structure columns or
For example, more and more equipment is being moved to suspend on stub columns, suspended from the depot roof .
coach roofs, with reduction of underfloor equipment in designs Integration with existing structures is possible , but additional
that permit low floor accessibility for passengers. engineering examination is required . A maximum span of 8
m between successive swivel arms has been tried though a 4.5
As metro train sets enter a covered depot with 25 kV overhead to 6 m span is more often used.
supply, the design should permit placement with its own
power and that needs an overhead supply that the power Indian applications
supply contact wire spreads along the length of the depot. Indian Metros have regularly used 25 kV supply ( the alternate
Attention to any roof mounted equipment can begin only design is for 700 V third rail ) and already three depots (
after suitable disconnections and earthing, eating valuable including two on Delhi Metro ) have installed such rigid
turnaround time. The earlier options of a tractor draw are catenary retractable contact wires in the covered depots .
even more time consuming and not the current option. Current applications include coordinated disconnection of
Retractable catenary the pantographs ,and earthing of the supply and interlocking
This issue has been addressed through the option of a retract- with other subsystems like overhead cranes before permitting
able catenary, developed initially by the Belgian /French staff access.
company Trainnance in cooperation with SNCF. The concept
And outdoor applications could be developed , like for elec-
is simple, just locate a rigidly held contact wire on cantilever
trified traction areas for oil tanker of mineral loading . These
arms that can swivel around in unison, clearing the overhead
space for quick attention. And the details are patiently ex- are options for the future but for now , applications for covered
plained by Samuel Dulheuer, Export Manager, Trainnance, installations are on offer from multiple vendors.
the many technical aspects of converting the basic concept Even as Metro applications are more common , application
into a reliable system emerge. Dulheuer indicates the need for high speed services is also now an option , a recent appli-
for perfect concert like movement of all the arms, the ability cation for the Turkish HSR depot at Ankara laying out a
to with stand any wind pressures and safety requirements successful design . The obvious aspect of incremental costs
while working with the high-tension supply. comes in ; Dulheuer assesses that the cost recovery is in the
The first Trainance -SNCF application dates to 1991 , with short-term gains , with intangibles like reduced rake occupation
the innovative design emerging from this firm . Since then the being valuable bonuses. The retractable rigid catenary in the
application has grown into an almost standard fitment , with train set depots for 25 kV overhead supply is well on the way
a few alternate vendors competing for the very specialised to becoming a standard fitment.
The Institute of Railway Technology (IRT), a part of the Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Taiwan, Indonesia and, of course,
Australian Monash University, may well be helping IR in Melbourne.
laying out a vision and the first paths for its much hoped-
Ravitharan is hopeful that IRT can contribute to much
for research initiative SRESTHA (Special Railway Estab-
needed railway research to resolve issues facing the rail
lishment for Strategic Technology and Holistic Advance-
sector in India. His insights into IR structure and current
ment). This, Dr VK Saraswat (Member, Niti Aayog) led
technologies should come in useful as SRESTHA evolves
effort, has already been nucleated with a base unit in
into a successful unit. IRT lists these in its key areas of
RDSO Lucknow but may be awaiting the full go-ahead
expertise:
sanctions for its detailed project report.
Track structure design and maintenance; wheel-rail
Monash is ranked in the top 1% universities worldwide
interface; rail welding; and track quality assessment.
and IRT, now 45 years old, was carved out as an inde-
pendent business unit in 2000. IRT, instrumental for l Multi-body dynamics simulation, longitudinal train
establishment of the collaborative research into railway dynamics and vehicle performance evaluation.
technologies, was Australias first railway Cooperative
l Testing facilities including laboratory and field testing
Research Centre (CRC) that brought the rail industry
- development of Phased Array Technology for the
and universities into result oriented research.
railways and to identify initiators of coupler, wheel, and
SRavitharan, Director of IRT presented a snap shot of weld failures.
IRTs projects and successes at IRC 2017. IRTs develop-
l Expert level professional training.
mental research stems out of its origins from the mining
giant BHPs Melbourne Research laboratories. IRT now Leading role in heavy haul
has a client base including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, FMG Ravitharan pointed out close IRT involvement in rail
and Vale (Brazil) besides the passenger sector in Hong operations, like its Instrumented Rail Vehicle (IRV)
Programme that began in 2001. IRV uses existing rolling
stock in normal service for track and vehicle condition
monitoring in real time, improve throughput while im-
proving safety and reduce risk. IRV monitors rolling stock
performance in both empty and loaded condition and
can provide a daily input on track condition. These IRVs
are designed to address the customers specific require-
ments and operate autonomously.
Ravitharan added that IRV deployment has had beneficial
by products like identification of maintenance effective-
ness, prediction of track deterioration, application of
appropriate speed restrictions, proactive maintenance
planning, development of better driving methods, wagon
structural assessments, calibration of bearing and wheel
temperature monitoring systems and even performance
evaluation of individual rolling stock components. Rio
IRT equipment (inset) pre-fixed on a typical Australian mining serpent train. Tinto has used IRV throughout its fleet since 2010.
All coaches are chair-car type be used. The trailer coach shall have be different from the regular seats on
(premium executive class & sec- roof mounted pantograph and the IR - where reclining is achieved by
ond class) and fully air- HVAC unit. the movement of the back rest. This
conditioned, including driving will avoid the intrusion of the seats
Improved Interiors
cabs. into the leg space.
The premium class will have rotating
l Carbody seats which can be aligned in the di- In a Chair Car, seats play a very major
With continuous window glasses rection of travel. In a 16 Car trainset, role in providing comfortable travel.
for contemporary modern look. there will be two executive class So, for the first prototype trainset,
coaches and 12 second class AC Chair ICF is planning to import seats being
The driving coach will have aero- cars and 2 second Class AC chair cars provided in the European high-speed
dynamic nose cone for reduced with the driving cab. trainsets. These seats not only provide
air drag and improved aesthetics. comfort for long distance travel but
l Modular toilets with bio-vacuum
All coaches with automatic plug system. Other added features are also tested for full passive safety, per
type sliding doors with sliding the toilet for challenged passengers GMRT 2100 Issue 5.
footstep. and space for wheel chair in the Each passenger will have a power
All coaches interconnected by driving coach. socket for mobile charging.
fully sealed gangways with flexi- l Modular luggage rack with glass A new bogie design
ble sidewalls. bottom An important feature in Train 18
Underslung Equipment l Plush interiors is the new bogie design with fully
The underframe is designed for bol- suspended traction motors that is
l Comfortable seating
ster less design bogies, where-in the being designed with contemporary
underframe directly rests on the air l Fully sealed gangway features:
springs. For the Train-18 project Dell-
l On-board infotainment system l Fit for 160 kph operation
ner semi-permanent couplers are be-
with Wi-Fi Streaming
ing used. These couplers using CBC l Fully suspended traction mo-
type draft gear with Semi-permanent The interiors including FRP panel- tors - where the motor weight
head will eliminate the jerks-typical ling, luggage rack, seats are being is not loaded on to the wheel
on IR locomotive hauled CBC cou- sourced from established players like directly, reducing the un-sprung
pler coaches. BFG, Saira Asia and FAINSA, mass, resulting in better ride
COMPIN. The interior lighting is comfort.
l Bolster less design with fabricat-
ed Y-type bogie frame.
l Air Springs in secondary sus-
pension and coil sping with
control arm in primary suspen-
sion for better stability.
l Vertical , lateral and YAW
dampers for jerk free ride.
End Pneumatic Aux. Reservoir TXFR Traction
Skid - NDE Converter Container skid Cooler 1 Transformer
l Wheel mounted disc brake sys-
tem for better reliability, space
utilization and less mainte-
nance.
l Stabilizer (anti-roll bar) mech-
anism for better passenger com-
Driver End (DE) fort.
Non- Driver End (NDE)
Fresh Water Middle TXFR End Pneumatic
Water Pump Pneumatic Cooler 2 Skid - DE The development of bogie has been
Tank Skid
carried out in a time frame of six
LED with direct light as well as dif- months on consultation with EC En-
The (DTCs will have CBC couplers gineering, Poland. This required ex-
fused lighting. Reading LED lights
and the in-between coaches will be tensive technical discussions also with
coupled with semi-permanent cou- are provided in the luggage rack.
Bonatrans (wheels and axles), Knorr
plers. The semi-permanent inter- Executive Class will have 52 seats with Bremse (brake disc and callipers),
coach couplers have been lowered to rotating seats. The seats will be GMT (metal bonded rubber items
provide a through passage from one aligned in the direction of train and air springs), & Koni and Zf
driving end to the other. Train-18 will movement. (dampers). This bogie design is likely
have one pantograph coach per basic to form the basic backbone for all new
unit (of 4 Cars): for operation of the Second Class seats will be reclining EMUs, DEMUs and trainsets to be
16-coach train, two pantographs will type with fixed backrest. These will manufactured on IR.
Train 18 is an ambitious project nationally established trainset manu- der shall supply the components, sub-
that will be designed and manufac- facturer. These will be to the contrac- assemblies, electrics, furnishing mate-
tured mostly by harnessing in- tors design and control. Such coaches rial etc. sourced from themselves or
house resources. It is expected that must be of energy-efficient and light- their vendors and assembly of the
the success of Train 18 will spur a weight construction and therefore be trainset car body, bogie, painting and
huge demand for more of these Aluminium-bodied. ICF has invited furnishing carried out at ICF. There
Best in Class & Made in India bids from eligible bidders for design, is an option to manufacture up to ten
products that will roll off at a much development, manufacturing, testing trainsets at successful bidders premis-
economical cost. and commissioning of aluminium car es and ship to ICF. However, the last
TRAIN 20 body train sets. The sanction covers four trainsets and spare coaches shall
acquiring 14 20-coach trainsets, 11 be assembled at ICF. Covered space
To further improve passenger with crane facility for manufacturing
spare coaches, a total 291 coaches.
through-put by way of higher acceler- and storage will be provided
ation/deceleration and reduction in The train set, aptly code-named by ICF.
turnaround time, IR plans to intro- Train-20, will be the first such IR
duce modern train sets with distrib- train, likely to be turned out in 2020. ICF expects the leading global coach
uted powering for passenger traffic. manufacturers to participate in this
The IR Board has transferred project Salient features: tender. Prime motivator is that
of acquisition of 15 trainsets at sanc- l Speed >= 160 kph Test speed though the tender is for291 coaches
tioned cost ` 2,500 Cr to ICF for im- 176 kph at present, the scope of the tender is
plementation. This project is driven l Aluminium car body so defined that the successful tenderer
by the corporate mission of providing l Air-conditioned chair cars and shall build a long-term relationship
semi-high-speed trains with service sleepers with ICF. IR shall certainly need
speed even above 160 km/h, with many train sets beyond those ten-
world-class technology and best in l 20 car-sleeper type coaches-IA, IIA dered for in coming years, and the
class passenger amenities. & IIIA. successful tenderer would be poised
l Under slung 3-phase propulsion to be an active partner in this expan-
IR's experience with earlier technolo- system sion of modern rolling stock.
gy transfer projects is that while these
enabled acquiring new technologies, l Automatic Doors The stress in this project is to build a
the know-why development and qual- Contract Methodology relationship with a world-class train
ity has not been at par with the Best- The tender stipulations require that builder, build/assemble the coaches
in-Class. To ensure that the trainsets the first trainset of 20 coaches shall at ICF without the need for a large-
are made to international quality be manufactured at successful bid- scale TOT. It should be possible for
standards and to make the project ders premises and dispatched to ICF. the successful bidder to enter into an
viable, it is planned to get these train- agreement with ICF to jointly manu-
sets manufactured at ICF by an inter- From 2nd trainset the successful bid- facture for Indian or overseas market.
The key ICF design/concept team is led by S Mani, General Manager, (3rd from left) and L C Trivedi, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer and includes
T Dilip Kumar, Design Mechanical, S Srinivas, Chief Design Engineer Mechanical, S P Vavre, Chief Electrical Design and Amitabh Singhal, Design Electrical.
A major project, that the Train 18 certainly is, needs a pillar letting ICF handle the project, generally independently. That
of wisdom and support, a champion sold on the cause, with is something unusual for IR management. But so is the Train
the skills to see the project through. Skill of visualizing the 18 project.
product contours, skill to set the project outline, skill to sell
The Train 20 project is a tough nut and, the way senior man-
the project at various levels of skepticism and risk-aversion
agement tenures are on IR, the project will see at least two
and skill to choose a team that can see the project through.
General Managers after Mani superannuates in end 2018.
And I believe that very few current senior executives in IR And that is biggest unknown for this ambitious project. We
would fit that bill. In S Mani, General Manager, ICF, the do hope that the IR and ICF leadership make the right choices
project has a champion who has all the skills needed to see so that IR 20 becomes a reality, a development that IR can
the project through. The IR Board also deserves kudos for really be proud of as it happensEditor
ing and 65% freight traffic, accounting taranjan Locomotive Works in March using train mounted equipment to
for 40 % of IRs total fuel bill. Railways 2018. speed up planning;
have started procuring power through IR is heading for full route electrifica- l 25kV rated voltage, 80mm mini-
Open Access and in current year the tion by 2022, that should reduce en- mum rail clearance and only specif-
electric traction bill is likely to be re- ergy bill from present level of ` 26000 ic track circuit frequency band res-
duced by ` 2500 Cr i.e. 25% reduc- Cr to about ` 16000 Cr with almost ervation to be filtered out in return
tion on annualized basis against FY full operation on electric traction. To current, to increase locomotive
2014-15. fast track the pace of electrification, power at a lower cost.
The future Ministry of Railway would be involv-
l Elimination of booster transform-
Mission 41K has been launched with ing PSUs like IRCON, RITES and
ers and return conductors to sim-
Power Grid Corporation. IR would
an aim to generate a cumulative sav- plify 25 kV single phase construc-
need to electrify at a pace of thirty km
ing of about ` 4100 Cr in electric trac- tion and reduce cost.
per day and reduce the cost of electri-
tion bill from 2015 to 2025 by procur-
fication by 30% by adopting efficient l Bonus for early completion and
ing power from Open Access. IR has mechanisms such as: penalty for cancellation of train
already reduced the electric traction blocks and delays.
bill by about ` 1200 Cr annually over l Mechanization of electrification us-
the last two years by procuring power ing cylindrical foundations for mast Full electrification could help in
under Open access. The bill is likely and premixed concreting with vi- achieving zero carbon footprint, par-
to reduce further, giving railways an brators to obtain void-free strong ticularly in metropolitan areas and
annual saving of about ` 3000 Cr by castings; substantial savings in traction energy
end of current FY. l Parceling of contracts for 500 to bill could help in improving bottom
1000 km route to enable mobiliza- line.
IR is developing a high-speed passen-
ger locomotive with speed potential tion of expensive machines for (Data adopted from presentations at IREE
quick compliance; International Conference on Green initiatives
of 200 kph and the first locomotive and Railway Electrification, Oct 2017 at New
is expected to be turned out by Chit- l Three-dimension survey of route Delhi.)
Dear editor
I have been a great admirer of Ashwani Lohani, having known when he was MD, State Tourism in Bhopal. An outstanding
him and his maverick work as Director, NRM when (in 1997) executive and a gentleman. Unfortunately, the Government
I was Additional Member (Tourism) in the IR Board and has put him a little late as IRs CEO, but better late than never.
later as General Manager, NF Railway when he was in Tourism
Ministry. Our contacts continued even after my retirement BMS Bisht, ex GM / NFR on email
Management System 2002). It is also tives and other related infrastructure carding diesel locomotive will mean
recommended that in case of serious and an OPEX saving of just ` 5578 IR will have to book significant write-
accidents disrupting routes or major Cr, there is a negative NPV situation off losses (say ` 3 Cr per diesel loco-
power breakdown, IR must maintain considering 100 years of cash flow. motive).
availability of diesel locos (1 diesel Low traffic density network
A SCOPE 1 type of cost estimation
loco for ~50 km of electrified track)
for electrification has often excluded Over 20,000 kms of IR network is in
for running rescue operations, imply-
OHE maintenance and additional re- remote locations where economics
ing ~1200 diesel locos for electrified
covery issues and disruptions caused of electrification is not favourable due
network. to low traffic density. Large portions
by overhead line breakdowns. The
Claim: Better Rate of Return balance sheet is alleged to be biased are in NER, NF in the North East,
Electrification of rail network involves and crooked. SWR in South, the West (Rajasthan
and Gujarat) and J&K. 19% of the
significant capital expenditure on high Trivia network has been electrified even if
initial cost on overhead electric cate- Railways across the world which the rate of return did not justify that.
nary, sub-stations, feeder stations, and are electrified e.g. Europe net- The large international border zone
may be diesel generator backup for works have higher operating ratios will drive need for diesel locos to man-
power failure. than profitable ones e.g. USA, age any war time operational needs
During the last three years electrifica- Canada which use diesel traction when grid may be shut down.
tion projects over 16,815 route kms The economic and financial assess- IR needs to address the equation once
at an estimated cost of ` 17,165 Cr ments of electrification show huge again, arriving at the best economic
have been included in the IR Budget. disparity as ~ 53% of the total price solutions. The presumptions that
Moving forward 33000 km more of (tax element) of diesel goes to gov- electric is the best has been proven
electrification would need invest- ernment exchequer; while comparing not to be based on rationale; percep-
ments towards infrastructure and fuel costs, one must also employ the tions need to be questioned and alter-
Electric locos. Considering overall true energy cost. The accelerated elec- natives examined. Considering the
CAPEX investment of ` 126780 Cr trification programme, despite finan- long-term implications, IR needs to
towards OHE, new electric locomo- cial indicators, would imply that dis- share a vision and the reasons.
IR has now, per media reports, denied that such an effort will Tom Plellete, Global president, Caterpillar Group: what
be made and that the contract will be allowed to run its path any multinational company is looking for is regulatory certain-
in full. IR officials were quoted to say that GE can instead ty. While you recognize that there would be incremental
build electric locos and that should be a cake walk. Of course, challenge, it will not be so drastic it would leave you with
the official overlooked that GE has a huge brand presence and stranded investment. That is a concern in any country with
has not manufactured electric locos so far, though technically any multi-national. I cannot really say that it is a bigger concern
a shift is possible. in India than it is elsewhere.
One area of this dichotomy is the mistrust in IR data that Opening it to outsiders will not be of much help as knowl-
is indicative of the safety levels. For example, should edge of railway working is very important for discharge
deaths on the tracks be reported as part of IR statistics of statutory functions. Commissioners should however
(at present this is not a key statistic, and even the Mumbai be empowered to engage experts from different fields to
over bridge incident will not count). Bajpai goes over assist in the accident enquiries and their dependence on
both sides of the fence, those who have worked in IR are IR administration in these matters should be eliminated.
aware that IR safety data is subject to manipulation. If Role models
you take the IR statistics in the annual reports on face Bajpais IR career spanned many interesting positions
value, the accidents on IR per million train km will look and he has his role models too, whom he has admired
better than the comparative figures of advanced networks. and tried to emulate. He names few: AN Wanchoo for
The catch lies in definition of accidents. his uprightness and dedication, Gauri Shankar and A
The Railway Act has, under section 113, defined the type Mithal for their managerial capabilities and hands on
of accidents which should be reported by IR to the statu- approach, Hari Ram and ID Amin for their exceptional
tory Commissioner of Railway Safety, but IR does not leadership qualities and creativity and AK Banerji for
his individual brilliance and commitment to railways.
observe this in letter and spirit. This issue was taken up
by the Chief Commissioner (CCRS) with the IR Board A trend in IR accidents
and highlighted in annual reports also; the ground situa- Most IR accidents are repeat of similar ones in the past
tion has not changed much. IR has coined a new term and causes are repetitive in nature. Railway management
consequential train accidents for their convenience, tends to brush these aside often as human or material
which has no mention in Act, just to make the figures failure. Some action is taken against field staff for derelic-
look better than actual. Since we are given to comparing tion of duty but the accidents keep happening as the
with advanced countries we would do well to adopt their underlying weaknesses are not suitably addressed by the
definition and also to eliminate mis-representation. management.
A change in cadre We sought some examples.
The government has been in a way aware of the end to I am reminded of a spate of collisions on the Allahabad
improve upon the statutory oversight. Earlier the posts Division in the automatic signalling section in the 2009-
of commissioners were open only to IR civil engineers 10 foggy weather. IR management was explaining these
(IRSE). Justice Khannas Safety Review Committee away by blaming the train drivers only, but detailed en-
(2000) recommended that the entry should be opened quiry brought out the lacunae in their training and mon-
to all services involved in operation of train services. The itoring. The rules were being flouted with impunity as it
recommendation was accepted but has been implemented facilitated faster movement. Every station master and
only partially and now 4 posts out of nine are filled by section controller would have noticed the anomaly, but
other than IRSE personnel. no one tried to put an end to it. The rules also needed a
change to prevent such collisions, but been used. How far or low should the compel the Board and railways to do
the IR Board was being reluctant to responsibility for individual cases lie? the right thing. It is an uphill task and
change the rules in the beginning but Bajpai's approach reflects a systemic an unequal battle. Incidentally, CCRS
when I pursued relentlessly, good approach as he is a a strong believer had advised against introduction of
sense prevailed, and rule was modi- in systems approach and not on indi- rolling stock at a speed of 160kmph
fied. vidual action for improvement. Tak- giving cogent reasons but was over
ing up individuals at the top can at ruled by the Ministry.
There was another collision at And-
times help in gingering up an organi- My gut feeling is that IR has not
heri, Mumbai caused by an unsafe
zation that has become complacent permitted strengthening of CRS
provision in the Western Railway rule
but will not help beyond that. Real organization despite so many rec-
book which had crept in the name of
improvement will come from improv- ommendations of expert and par-
operating convenience. I had clearly
ing critical processes, better planning liamentary standing committees
brought this out in my enquiry report
and meticulous execution. However, as IR bosses find regulation incon-
and recommended that the rule be
if blame has to be apportioned then venient.
de-notified immediately on the West-
higher management cannot escape
ern and four other zonal railways Consider HSR where IR so far has
their fair share as the power to bring
where it had been included. The WR not spelt out their philosophy for
about a change in ground realities
administration and Rly Board were running high speed trains. They
mainly vests with them.
reluctant to implement the recom- have adopted an incremental ap-
mendation but finally acted after a The systemic flaws in statutory regu- proach of raising speed by 10 kph
preliminary report was given exten- lation are moles that Bajpai acknowl- at a time without any risk analysis
sive coverage in the local press. The edges. In his view the CRS is a rail and assessment. This is a flawed
Board dragged its sluggish feet much safety regulator. The IR Board refuses strategy. Board should realize that
longer and finally acted after a lapse to see it that way, instead treating the high speed should invariably ac-
of two years when I refused authori- CRS as an unavoidable nuisance, company with extremely elevated
zation of a new line unless the unsafe that comes in handy only at the time levels of reliability, otherwise a dis-
rule was changed. This reluctance of of serious accidents when public is aster is waiting to happen. Japanese
railway management to do the right informed that CRS will conduct an systems must be adopted lock
thing speaks volumes about their ap- impartial enquiry. Bajpai suspects that stock and barrel and any compro-
proach to safety. after the enquiry report is submitted, mise would be disastrous.
International scene few Board members bother to read
it. The IR action taken reports on IR often blames CRSs for delaying
Comparisons with US, UK, Austral- project work in delayed approvals to
CRS enquiry reports sometime take
ian, European accident investigators, plans. Should CRS shelve its respon-
many years, and recommendations
like the CRS, show that they never fix sibility for minor changes in IR lay-
are glossed over at times.
individual responsibilities, only point outs etc. Bajpai responds that if rail-
out systemic faults and operating In the Kalka mail accident at Sirathu ways can improve their systems and
companies must take individual ac- enquired into by CCRS, NC Railway processes to an extent that bloopers
tion or the local police acts. The ear- rejected its finding though they had that are pointed out frequently by
lier practice in the commission was effectively proclaimed that they had CRS are eliminated, it should be pos-
to name individuals considered re- no clue how 80 passengers got killed sible to do away with not only minor
sponsible. However, a few years ago in a train accident. As a corollary a sanctions but also perhaps new line
the procedure was modified and now repeat was waiting to happen any inspection. However, in the current
the cause is established, systemic flaws time. Rly Board had finally accepted state of working it is not desirable.
pointed out and no names are men- the finding after an inordinate delay
tioned in the enquiry report. Individ- of a few years. A non-compliant culture
ual responsibility is fixed by Railway It is said that IR track standards are
At cross purposes fit for 180 kph (IRs C&M Vol II
concerned; in case prosecution is pur-
sued by police, they are required to CCRS and IR have often been at op- Standard) but trains are not permit-
carry out their own investigation. This posite ends of technology changes ted to exceed 130 kph. Some experts
is in line with the best practices. like in the upgrade to freight loading say that this is due to IR tracks not
of wagons CC+8 or the 160 kph up- conforming to their own standards.
However, the major difference that grade. Bajpai would like such devel- Bajpai affirms that this maintenance
remains is that Western agencies have opments to be preceded with proper standard, originally prescribed for
a team of investigators who collect risk assessment and analysis. IR has raising speeds to 110 Kph, was
direct evidence from the site of acci- so far not evolved such a system. evolved many decades ago when PSC
dent while in our case commissioners sleepers and 60 kg rail with modern
must depend on evidence produced CCRS is designated as Principal Ad-
track fittings had not become the
by Railway. This needs to change. viser to the government on rail safety,
norm. Over the years IR has strength-
on the lines of scientific adviser to the
Recent upheavals ened the track structure by investing
government, but his advice is rarely
heavily but the maintenance toleranc-
In a recent case, a Board Member was sought and if inconvenient mostly
es have not been revised for the better.
asked to proceed on leave, and this ignored. I found CRSs are in a slightly
political expedience has sometimes better position and at times able to It is a pity that despite such up-
gradation of track structure no Rajd- analysis also leaves a lot to be desired. analysis and assessment should be
hani route even today can fully meet adopted. Hard wiring of rules should
When I went through the failure re-
the track tolerances laid down in this be expedited with fast implementa-
ports on many divisions, I found most
standard. Rail and weld failures are a tion of systems like TCAS. Training
failures were routinely classified as
frequent occurrence and even buck- and periodic certification of personnel
unavoidable to protect the staff or
ling of track has taken place. As a re- should be given due attention. It may
contractor. How does one prevent
sult, I was constrained to refuse sanc- be a promising idea to train our track
unavoidable failures? In some cases
tion of new trains on Rajdhani routes welding staff and supervisors in the
where welds had failed on new lines
on NCR, ER and ECR at speeds high- best training establishments in the
neither construction nor open line
er than 110 kph. These railways could world, training of managers only has
had bothered to find the cause. Most
not even demonstrate that they were not yielded desired results. Finally, a
track supervisors and engineers do
able to adhere to prescribed standards safety management standard must be
not follow up and take these in their
for running existing high-speed adopted as has been done in modern
stride as routine occurrences. This
trains. Railways to periodically evaluate re-
must change as each weld and rail
The technology dividend failure should be a potential disaster. sponse of management to safety in
The proportion of IR accidents attrib- In various enquiries deficiencies of actual working.
uted to human errors continues to be track maintenance have been brought The statutory role
high, despite technology induction. out but no serious attempt has been To exercise effective control over
Most upgrades are supposed to take made to improve maintenance. the construction and operation of
away the risk of human errors. Bajpai Ultrasonic testing of welds is not done the first railways in India, entrusted
attributes this as hard wiring of rules as per manual provisions. Even man- to private companies, Consulting
has not progressed beyond signalling ual provisions have been diluted with Engineers were appointed under
and interlocking. On top of it staff every reprint of the manual. Corro- the Government. Later when the
discipline, proper training and certifi- sion of rails is another weak area. Even Government undertook construc-
cation leave a lot to be desired. The the Manual is also vague here as it tion of railways, the Consulting
rules are relaxed for operating con- only lays down a limit of corrosion to Engineers were designated as Gov-
venience without examining worst plan replacement. Track supervisors ernment Inspectors. In 1883, their
case scenario. permit corroded rail in service with- position was statutorily recog-
Proper risk assessment is not done out any restriction at times till it nised. Later, the Railway Inspec-
while introducing changes. Prepared- breaks. Instructions for fitting joggled torate was placed under the Rail-
ness of staff to deal with failures of fishplates are flouted with impunity way Board (established in 1905).
signalling and interlocking is not al- as no one pays attention to it during
routine inspections. Section 181(3) of the Govern-
ways tested. As a result, to prevent
ment of India Act 1935 provided
detention staff sometimes adopt Maintenance blocks which should that functions for securing the safe-
shortcuts. There are unusually large be provided in working time table are ty, including the holding of inquir-
vacancies of running staff and most difficult to find. A thorough technical
drivers must remain away from home ies into the causes of accidents,
audit of track maintenance practices should be performed by an author-
stations for extended periods and are is required. IR should benchmark its
also required to do long hours. De- ity independent of the Federal
maintenance processes with better Railway Authority. Due to the out-
spite talking about ACD, TCAS and managed railways. Unless higher
train control systems for decades break of the War, this change did
management takes note of the ground not materialize, and the Inspector-
there is little to show on the ground. realities and takes corrective steps, to
Unless higher management is made ate continued to function under
improve underlying processes, no the Railway Board.
accountable for all the above, im- amount of money can improve safety.
provement will be slow. The Pacific Locomotive Commit-
The long road to safety tee, headed by the Chief Inspect-
With the improvement in track struc-
For Bajpai, there is no effortless way ing Officer of the British Railways,
ture and rolling stock, derailments
as he adds that top management suggested as such.
should have come down drastically.
should take ownership, mere lip serv-
Bajpai explains there are two chief The principle of separation of the
ice will not do. Systems thinking
types of derailments: discontinuity in Railway Inspectorate from the
should pervade all through the organ-
the track because rail or weld failure Railway Board was endorsed in
ization and the habit of working in
and obstruction caused by a failed 1940 by the Central Legislature.
silos should stop. Technical audit of
rolling stock component. Many rail Accordingly, the Railway Inspec-
critical processes should be undertak-
welds are failing in service pointing torate was placed under the admin-
en in a big way.
to inadequate control over the weld- istrative control of the Department
ing process. The AT weld on German It would be a promising idea to of Posts and Air in May 1941.
Railways do not even require to be benchmark processes with modern
tested but AT welds on IR need fre- railways which have achieved better The Railway Inspectorate was re-
quent periodic testing and even then, results. Failure analysis should be put designated as the Commission of
failures cannot be eliminated. Failure on a sound footing. Concept of risk Railway Safety in 1961.
% smoke oapacity
230.0 24.0
commented that automotive technology has now pro-
gressed from carbureted engines to multi-point fuel
190.00 12.00
injection system, made possible by advances in electronics
and controls, design, and development of wet components
150.00 0.00 etc.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Engine Nortch Most diesels are presently equipped with Mechanical
Fuel Injection wherein the pressurization of fuel takes
Mechanical CReDI Mechanical CReDI
place through mechanical fuel injection pump actuated
through engine driven camshaft. Pressurised fuel, deliv-
Test results on CReDI fitted engines at the Engine Development Laboratory in RDSO,
Lucknow - show significant gains.
ered to injectors fitted on each power assembly through
high pressure pipes and injection quantity is controlled
by the engine governor through an actuator and control
linkage. A limitation is that start of injection is optimized
13653 WDM2, official date of birth August 20, 2014 was
for rated power and is nearly fixed for all engine notches.
a unique diesel loco from its commissioning till it was This leads to inefficient combustion at part load operation.
joined by its tribal siblings 14635, 14626, 14657, and The CReDI provides flexibility to vary the start of injection
14700 in March-August this year. These 5 Moula Ali at individual notches and modulate injection pressures
(Hyderabad) based locos walk greener with lower emis- independent of engine speeds. Quantity of fuel injected
sions as these are fitted with experimental Common Rail per stroke is controlled electronically through solenoids
Electronic Direct Injection CReDI, developed by RDSO mounted on injectors.
with participation for the electronics controls from a
major Indian company MEDHA. Whereas direct fuel-injection systems must build up pres-
sure anew for each injection cycle, the CReDI maintains
These locos have shown significant improvements in constant pressure in the common rail. The engine's elec-
the specific (per hp delivered) diesel consumption and tronic timing regulates injection pressure according to
emissions, recording lesser consumption particularly engine speed and load. The electronic control unit (ECU)
at the part load operation, common on rail service. modifies injection pressure precisely and as needed, based
This is achieved as the fuel injection takes place at on data obtained from sensors on the cam and crankshafts.
much higher pressure and the start of the injection in In other words, compression and injection occur inde-
the diesel cycle can be varied optimally, something pendently of each other, saving fuel and lowering emis-
that traditional injectors cannot do. The engines run sions.
cleaner, shown by the lower smoke opacity over the The primary function of CReDI system is to electronically
entire power range of the engine. control the fuel injection in each cylinder by controlling
S K Singh
Excutive Director
(Engine Typical CReDI
Development) (a 4 cyl engine)
RDSO Lucknow
1. Engine
2. Injectors
3. Fuel tank
4. High Pressure pump
5. Common Rail
6. ECU
7. Battery
8. Throttle
9. Speed sensor
1700
Mechanical Mechanical
10
850 CReDI CReDI
0 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
the solenoid valve of electronic injec- engine speed and actual engine speed, EMD 16-710 G3B engines (used in
tor to maintain different engine Digital PID is used to control fuel to IRs WDG4 locos) that are also
speeds based on the notch positions. be injected and to maintain a constant equipped with mechanical Injectors.
The Engine Control Unit ECU re- engine RPM. Several user settable The prototype system was again test-
ceives the cylinder position from the parameters are provided for each in- ed on a 16 cylinder 710 G3B engine
position sensors mounted on cam dividual function to fine tune the at RDSO and has since been fitted on
shaft and based on this signal, the overall system. A Secondary function 70384 based at Kazipet since June
sequence of cylinder firing starts and of CReDI is to generate load regula-
this year. System monitoring for op-
ends. ECU controls the injection be- tion signal and interface with locomo-
tive control. Naturally suitable safety timization about fuel consumption
gin, quantity and timings based on
the load on engine to maintain steady controls are built in and a fault diag- and emissions profile is in progress.
state engine rpm. Based on the notch nostic system continuously monitors It took three years for the 13553 to
position and load on engine, ECU the health of various peripherals. welcome its siblings, as the system
varies the common rail pressure by parameters were tweaked for optimal
In the first phase, RDSO, developed results and a similar effort for the
controlling the suction throttle valve CReDI system for Alco locomotive.
of HPP. Position sensor signals are 70384 is now on. IR may well become
also used to determine the actual en- First time ever on EMD engines the largest rail operator of CReDI
gine speed by ECU. Based on desired RDSO has also developed CReDI for equipped locos in coming years.
The recent issue of Rail Business magazine is fabulous and can challenge any international
magazine in its contents.
I loved reading every page of it. Kudos. DEAR EDITOR
S Dasarathy, ex-Member, IR Board on email.