Metro Rail News October 2017

October 2017 / Monthly / Vol. I / Issue 10 

A Symbroj Media Publication 

NEWS | PROJECT UPDATES | TENDERS | EVENTS | JOBS | INTERVIEW | ARTICLES 

Follow us at: 

www.metrorailnews.in

Advertise with 

METRO RAIL NEWS 

to reach out Rail & Metro fraternity 

A monthly magazine with focus on 

• Urban Mobility 

• Mass Rapid Transit Systems 

• Metro Railway Projects 

• High Speed Train Projects 

• Smart Public Transportation 

• Tender, Events and Jobs updates 

Book Your Advertisement NOW !!! 

To Book Your Advertisement 

Priyanka Sahu : +91 8076369858 

sales@metrorailnews.in 

For Bulk Purchase Orders 

Rajesh Maheshwari : +91 9650720167 

metrorailnews@gmail.com 

For Media & Press Release 

Narendra Kumar : +91 9990454505 

editor@metrorailnews.in 

A REVOLUTIONARY FLEXI TIME CAREER 

in one of the fastest growing sectors in India today !! 

BECOME A PART TIME 

METRO RAIL NEWS EDITIORIAL MEMBER 

Submit your willingness to editor@metrorailnews.in 

A perfect 

opportunity to 

start your own 

flexi hour 

home based 

job !!

CONTENTS 

09 News Highlights 12 Real time rain and fog removal 

from virtual videos technology 

(An innovative idea by IIT Kharagpur) 

16 Virtual Passenger Modelling for 

the future of Railway Stations 

(By INCONTROL Simulation Solutions) 

22 Need of advance 

technology for maintenance and 

monitoring of Rolling Stock 

(By Ali Siavashi, Rolling Stock Engineer) 

6 Editor’s Note 

7 Editorial Advisory Board 

20 

Metro Rail News Magazine Subscription Form 

4 

© METRO RAIL NEWS | OCTOBER 2017 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN

26 RPS: Can you realize an ATP 10 

times cheaper than the others…? 

(By Auto Drive Solutions) 

36 Is CBTC safer than 

Conventional Signalling 

(By CBTC Solutions Inc.) 

41 Exclusive Interview with Mr. 

Achal Khare, MD, National High 

Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. 

(By Vishwas Dass & Ms. Smriti Jain) 

49 Know your Union Housing and 

Urban Affairs Minister : Mr. Hardeep 

Singh Puri 

(By Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs) 

29 Metro Rail News Media Kit 2017-18 

52 Selection and Appointments 

53 Live Tender Notices 

56 Upcoming Events 

57 Metro Rail Current Job Openings 

© METRO RAIL NEWS | OCTOBER 2017 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN 

5

Editor’s Note 

Dear Readers, 

Wishing you happy and prosperous Diwali ! 

In India, the transportation sector alone accounts for more than one third of the country’s total crude oil 

consumption out of which more than 80 per cent is consumed by road transportation. This, hence, accounts for 

the transport to be smart, safe and green. 

It is observed that majority of the Indian population depends on public transport. However, public transport is an 

element of smart mobility and not the only element. In India’s context the term needs to be defined to include all 

modes of transport that can potentially enable ease of individual transport in rural and semi-urban areas as well 

as in urban megacities while attending to environmental concerns. Some implementations of Intelligent 

Transportation System Technologies prevalent already in the country that India has witnessed in various traffic 

addressing mechanisms, prove the country has massive potential for technology turnover. The measures included 

road intersection control, incident detection, road sensors, speed enforcement, toll revenue collection, vehicle 

weighing, radio frequency identification (RFID), individual vehicle management, infotainment, public transport 

information and vehicle tracking. 

As cities grow and expand, so will urban transportation systems – increasing traffic congestion, threatening 

safety, wasting commuter time and valuable fuel, and impacting the environment. Also cities are where traffic 

flows – cars, buses, taxis and metros epitomize city life. Therefore, the Government of India is focused on 

installation of high-tech solutions like in-vehicle technologies that consist of speed governors, GPS and CCTV 

cameras which will enhance security. Another reason for its need is that the mobility sector in India – in all facets 

and variations – is a sunrise industry and provides for excellent growth opportunities. 

On account of the mission of building 100 smart cities, it is recognized that infrastructure and investments are 

twin forces that make a city smart. Realizing the importance and growing potential of technology, the 

Government has unveiled investment plans totalling US $150 billion in highways and shipping sectors all over 

India by 2019. The Indian Government further has initiated an ambitious plan of introducing high-speed 

rail networks in the country and laid foundation of India’s first high speed bullet train project between Mumbai 

and Ahmedabad in last month. Other additions to the already working systems are red light violation detection, 

alcohol detectors, interceptors, automatic number plate recognition and driver assistance systems which will 

contribute greatly towards road safety. 

I would like to thank all the contributors and companies who are associated with the Metro Rail News. We highly 

appreciate your support and hope to continue our collaboration further. 

Mamta Shah 

Managing Editor 

Metro Rail News 

E-mail: editor@metrorailnews.in 

6 


EDITORIAL BOARD 

(October 2017) 

Vol. I / Issue 10 | October 2017 

Managing Editor 

Mamta Shah 

Group Editor 

Shashi Prabha 

Associate Editor 

Lallan Prasad 

Director Advertising 

Rajesh Maheshwari 

IFS (Retd.) Kishor Dudani 

Advocate, Ex. Dy. Secretary 

Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India 

New Delhi (India) 

Sunil Srivastava 

Member Governing Council 

Institute of Metro & Rail Technology 

Hyderabad (India) 

Director Technical 

N.K. Shah 

Circulation In-charge 

Priyanka Sahu 

Editorial & Business Office 

Metro Rail News | Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd. 

Plot# 64, Gyan Khand-I, Indirapuram 

Ghaziabad – 201014, INDIA 

Tel: +91 9990454505, 9650720167 

E-mail: editor@metrorailnews.in 

Web: www.metrorailnews.in 

© Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi 

Subscription Inland Overseas 

3 Years (12 Issues) ₹ 12600.00 $ 2250.00 

2 Years (24 issues) ₹ 8800.00 $ 1500.00 

1 Year (12 Issues) ₹ 4200.00 $ 750.00 

Percy Bernard Brooks 

Project Management Specialist 

Faiveley Transport Rail Technologies 

Bengaluru (India) 

Haru Imam 

Project Control Engineer 

Persons Corporation 

Saudi Arbia (UAE) 

Ved Mani Tiwari 

President & COO 

Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd. 

New Delhi (India) 

Yogesh Dandekar 

Sr. Manager – Industrial Design 

TATA Elxsi Limited 

Pune (India) 

None of the information contained in this publication may be 

copied, otherwise reproduced, repackaged, further transmitted, 

disseminated, redistributed, resold, stored for subsequent use for 

any such purpose, in whole or in part, in any form or manner or by 

means whatsoever, by any person without prior written permission 

from Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 

The Editorial Board may or may not concur with the views expressed 

by various authors in this publication. 

Printed, Published and Edited by Mamta Shah and printed by her at 

Friends Digital Color Solutions, G-8, 57, Manjusha Building, Nehru 

Place, New Delhi-110019 on behalf of Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd., Plot# 

64, Gyan Khand-I, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad – 201014 (U.P.) INDIA. 

Ismail Sariman 

MEP Construction Manager 

Louise Berger Egis Rail JV 

Qatar (UAE) 

Yadav Bharanidharan 

Consultant 

Riyadh Metro Rail Project 

Riyadh (UAE) 

Journalist, Md. Tariq Khan 

Special Correspondent 

Hindustan Times 

Lucknow (India) 

Sanjay Kumar Agrawal 

Dy. General Manager 

Metro One Operations Pvt. Ltd. 

Mumbai (India) 


7

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS 

NATIONAL 

SEP 1, 2017 • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) keen to invest $ 1.5 billion in 

infrastructure and metro rail projects in India. 

• Pune Metro: PMRDA appointed Deloitte as Transactional Advisor for Metro rail 

project. 

• Indian Railways planned to use infrared camera system to check derailment on 

high-speed sections. 

• Amaravati Metro: AMRC issued expression of interest (EOI) for preparation of DPR 

for Vijayawada Metro rail project. 

SEP 2, 2017 • Kochi Metro : DMRC started construction work between Mahraja’s College Ekm 

South. 

• National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) planned to start Delhi- 

Ghaziabad-Meerut Rapid Rail project work from March 2018. 

SEP 2, 2017 • Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro) started Nagpur metro trial run 

from Mihan Depot to South of Airport. 

• Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent charge) took charge of 

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. 


9

SEP 4, 2017 • Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) completed 1000 piles of Mumbai 

Metro-3 Package 1 from Cuffe Parade to Hutatma Chowk. 

SEP 5, 2017 • Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath and Union Home Minister Shri Raj Nath Singh 

flagged off the Lucknow Metro Rail Services between Transport Nagar and 

Charbagh Station. 

• Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) appointed French Firm EGIS Rail SA to 

review DPR of Jaipur Metro Phase-II project. 

• Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) appointed Architects for Kalbadevi- 

Girgaum rehabilitation. 

• Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) received first Tunnel Boring Machine 

(TBM) from Robbins Company (USA) for Metro-3 project. 

SEP 6, 2017 • Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) planned to link IT Parks in Phase-II metro 

projects. 

• Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) planned to recruit / deploy 60 more transgenders 

in metro rail support services. 

SEP 7, 2017 • Guwahati Metro: State Cabinet gave green signal for implementation of metro 

rail project in City. 

SEP 8, 2017 • Metro Rail News and Institute of Metro & Rail Technology (IMRT) signed 

Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) to work jointly for knowledge exchange 

and carry out research activity on metro rail development in India. 

• Vijayawada Metro: Metroman Dr. E. Sreedharan sought exemption from new 

Metro Rail Policy for light metro in City. 

• German Agency KfW ready to fund 12.5 million euro for Coimbatore Metro rail 

project. 

• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) shown less interest to fund Delhi 

Metro’s phase-IV project. 

• Telangana CM K Chandra Shekar Rao invited PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate 

Hyderabad Metro rail services in City. 

SEP 9, 2017 • Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) launches free internet wi-fi facility to 

‘GoSmart’ card users. 

• Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) signal trial runs in the second reach up to 

Maharaja’s College. 

SEP 10, 2017 • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) approved Rs.800 Crore for 

1.878km extra length of the corridor of East-West Metro Rail Project of Kolkata 

Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC). 

• Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) planned to adopt 

the technology of ‘driverless metro trains’ for Ahmedabad Metro rail project. 

SEP 11, 2017 • Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) planned to open its first section of Pink 

Line (Line #7) in December 2018. 

• Japanese firm Mitsui secured contract for supply of Head Hardened Rails for 

the track work of Ahmedabad Metro rail project. 

• Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Google Maps collaborated to show 

Delhi Metro network (route maps) on Google for commuters. 

10 


SEP 12, 2017 • Japan Railways appointed IIT alumni Sanjeev Sinha as an Advisor for 

Ahmedabad – Mumbai High Speed Bullet Train project of India. 

• Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) introduced passenger accident and 

public liability insurance cover for metro commuters. 

• Hon’ble Minister of State Urban Development Ranjit Patil Mumbai Metro-3 

project site at Azad Maidan. 

SEP 13, 2017 • Metro Rail News published new Metro Rail Policy 2017 for public approved by 

Government of India. 

• Metro Rail News launched Article Writing Contest for railway professionals, 

students and research associates. 

SEP 14, 2017 • PM Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe laid foundation of India’s first 

High Speed Bullet Train Project (Mumbai – Ahmedabad Corridor) 

• Japan Government agreed to give $ 19 billion loan on 1% rate of interest to 

Govt. of India for first High Speed Bullet Train project. 

SEP 16, 2017 • Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) received second Tunnel Boring 

Machine (TBM) for package 2 from Terratech to build 4 km tunnel between 

CSTM and Mumbai Central. 

• Bihar Government planned to Patna Metro Rail project in 2019. 

SEP 18, 2017 • Centre rejects Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Agra Metro Rail project 

• Union Urban Development Minister Harjeet Singh Puri released new Metro Rail 

Policy 2017 approved by Govt. of India. 

• Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd. (HMRL) planned to link metro pillars with Global 

Positioning System (GPS). 

• Metro Rail News signed Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) to organize Metro 

Rail Summits jointly in 2018. 

SEP 19, 2017 • UP Government planned to set up special purpose vehicle Uttar Pradesh Metro 

Rail Corporation (UPMRCL) for metro rail projects in the state. 

• CM Yogi Aditya Nath announced three new metro rail projects in Uttar Pradesh. 

• Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd. celebrated its first Foundation day and unveiled new 

logo for Metro Rail News in New Delhi. 

• Metro Rail News launched week end based part-time editorial project for 

Metro Rail Professionals. 

SEP 20, 2017 • Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) planned to upgrade ticketing technology 

to provide seamless journey to commuters. 

SEP 21, 2017 • Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) started tunneling work from 

Sachivalaya towards Hussainganj. 

• Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) lowered first Tunnel Boring Machine 

(TBM) to build Mumbai Metro-3 Underground Project. 

• UP Government approved revised DPR and funding pattern for Ghaziabad 

Metro Rail project. 

SEP 22, 2017 • Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL) planned to open Kochi Metro extension corridor 

for public on 3 rd October 2017. 

• Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) started full trial run of driverless metro 

trains between South Campus and Majlis Park. 


11

SEP 23, 2017 • Third Tunnel Boring Machin (TBM) for package 5 to build Mumbai Metro 

Underground Project passed factory acceptance tests. 

SEP 25, 2017 • Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) achieved tunneling five month ahead of deadline. 

• Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) made Hyderabad Metro ready to launch for 

revenue services in November 2017. 

SEP 27, 2017 • Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced to hike second phase metro 

fares from 10 th October 2017. 

• Delhi Government sent proposal of Delhi Metro’s Phase-IV project to Centre for 

approval. 

• Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) planned to construct two new metro 

stations at Bengaluru Airport. 

• Commissioner for Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) carried our inspection of Kochi 

Metro rail extension project. 

• Cabinet approved transfer of 1899 sqm AAI land to Lucknow Metro Rail 

Corporation (LMRC). 

• Sydney Metro received its 1 st of 22 ‘Make in India’ driverless metro trains from 

Alstom’s Sri City plant in Andhra Pradesh. 

SEP 28, 2017 • PMO sought detailed information on Hyderabad Metro Rail project before 

inaugural ceremony. 


13

Real time rain 

and fog removal 

from Videos 

- Dr. Sudipta Mukhopadhyay & Team 

IIT Kharagpur, India 

V 

isibility 

is necessary to drive. A good visibility is 

a guaranty for passenger’s safety. Reduction 

of visibility (owing to bad weather) causes the 

risk of accident. Car accidents are common 

during bad weather. It is estimated that about 

two million people die per year of car 

accidents across the world. Poor visibility is 

the biggest cause of accidents. On an average, 

there are over 60 lakh vehicle crashes each 

year. 24% of these crashes, approximately 15 

lakh are those crashes that occur in adverse 

weather conditions (i.e., rain, snow, and/or 

fog). In bad weather driving a vehicle is more 

difficult than normal weather condition. The 

main cause of road accidents is driver’s 

inability to recognize all visual information (i.e. 

road signs, traffic signs and other vehicles) 

they receive while driving. 

The technology, Real-time Rain and Fog 

Removal from Videos are proprietary 

algorithms that can remove the effect of rain 

and fog from videos in real time and display it 

on the windscreen of vehicles to increase the 

clarity of the view. In this technology, videos 

captured from the camera mounted in the 

vehicles are processed in real-time to remove 

the effect of rain and fog, and then this clear 

video can be displayed on the windscreen of 

the vehicles. This technology can also be 

used in various Advanced Driver assistance 

systems (ADAS) that assist the driver to 

navigate vehicle by providing road signs 

information. Global ADAS Market is a fast 

growing market and it is expected to garner 

$60.14 billion by 2020. 

14 


All the major car companies like Tesla etc. are now 

developing self-driving cars. These self driving cars 

collect information about road signs, other 

vehicles, pedestrians etc. They use various sensors 

to collect this information and image sensor 

(cameras) is one of the main sensor that is used. 

The image sensor can be rendered useless in the 

presence of rain and fog. So, our technology can 

also be used to remove the effect of rain and fog 

in real time from the captured videos by image 

sensors, so that correct information is collected by 

the sensor. 

The technology can also be used to enhance the 

safety of air, rail and ship transportation. Railways 

can be said to be the lifeline of India. On average, 

about 22 million people travel on trains everyday 

in India. In the presence of fog, as the visibility is 

reduced, the trains are often delayed so that 

accidents do not occur, ensuring the safety of the 

passengers. The proposed technology can be used 

to remove the effect of fog so that the trains are 

not delayed. The airways can also benefit from this 

technology as the presence of fog and rain results 

in the delaying of flights. 

In the proposed solution, time evolution properties 

of the consecutive video frames are analysed and 

the detection of regions affected by rain and fog 

along with their restoration is proposed. Unlike 

previous approaches of rain removal, the proposed 

algorithm does not assume the shape, size, direction 

and velocity of the raindrops and the intensity of 

rain, which makes it robust to different rain 

conditions. It is also able to distinguish moving 

objects from the rain regions in the video. This 

approach requires less number of frames for 

removal of rain and fog from videos, reducing the 

delay and execution time of the algorithm and thus 

providing better frame rates than other approaches. 

Instead of working on the colour components, the 

proposed algorithm works only on the intensity of 

component of the video, so in systems like DAS that 

does not need the videos to be displayed on a 

screen, we can work directly on monochrome videos 

rather than colour videos. Use of a single component 

(intensity) instead of three colour components 

further reduces the execution time of the algorithm. 

This technology is very useful for rail and metro 

systems to operate smoothly in winter and rainy 

seasons. 

Photo #1 : Before using device 

This research project was successfully carried 

out by a team of following engineers in IIT 

Kharagpur under supervision of Dr. Sudipta 

Mukhopadhyay, Associate Professor 

(Department of Electrical & Electronics 

Communications Engineering):- 

1. Mr. Harsh Vardhan Mall (M.Tech) 

2. Mr. Joshua Peter Ebenezer (B.Tech) 

Photo #2 : After using device 

3. Dr. (Ms.) Bijaylaxmi Das (PhD) 

4. Mr. Hariharan Raju (M.Tech 

5. Mr. Hardik Leuva (M.Tech) 

6. Mr. Manish Kumar Sharma (M.Tech) 

7. Ms. Bhamidipati Sridevi (M.Tech) 

8. Ms. Ashwini R.Patil (M.Tech) 

9. Mr. Nishant Gaurav (M.Tech) 

10. Dr. Abhishek Tripathi (PhD) 


15

Virtual passenger 

modelling for the 

future of railway 

stations 

- Marlies Wouters, Sr. Simulation Engineer 

INCONTROL Simulation Solutions 

How virtual passenger modelling prepares you for 

the future of railway stations? The rail industry is 

changing. The focus shifts from the most 

effective and efficient way of getting passengers 

from A to B, to the total seamless journey. The 

trend is that railway stations only function as a 

location for catching a train, but also leisure and 

business. Restaurants, shops and office buildings 

become an integrated part of the station. This is 

where the cohesion between travel, leisure and 

the city arises, as railway stations are a central 

point of social interaction for cities. Imagine 

picking up orders at the online-shopping point or 

meeting-up with a friend, drinking coffee at one 

of the shops. 

Urbanization and growing population numbers 

contribute to added stress on city- and rail 

infrastructures. The United Nations states that 

globally, the world population is likely to 

reach 9.7 billion citizens by 2050, approximately 

66% of the population will reside in cities. 

Utilizing the city infrastructure in a more 

efficient, intelligent and integrated manner 

seems to be the key. Yet, how will the rail sector 

anticipate towards a rising amount in 

passengers? 

it comes to this industry, the desires and 

expectations of passengers push towards 

innovation. Convenience, comfort, safety and 

reliability remain to be the vital elements for 

passengers to choose for travel by rail. In 

addition, rail is a sustainable and responsible 

means of transportation. Passenger 

expectations indicate limited waiting times, 

reliable time schedules and seamless journeys 

integrated with other modes of transport which 

16 


Virtual Modelling 

(Crowd of people walking through a metro stations) 

could be offered as a service, the so-called “Mobility as 

a Service”. Imagine planning journeys ahead, taking 

advantage of a combination of various transport 

modes like trains and a shared automated vehicle to 

cover the last mile from the central station to work. 

In order to cope with all the future changes involved, 

creating insight in the passenger journey is essential. 

Insights can either be created in the (re)design phase 

of the building but also during operations. This is 

where virtual modelling comes into play. Simulation 

provides one of the solutions as a modelling tool to 

create a virtual representation of reality. Developing a 

crowd model of enables the designer to create insight 

in the crowd flows of alternative designs. Visualizing 

processes, while dealing with uncertainty in an 

understandable way, allows to assess, compare and 

improve alternative designs, plans and policies 

without having to experiment in a real life situation. 

Data insights and analytics help to eventually shed 

light on the underlying problem areas while keeping 

customer experience, station capacity and the safety 

perspective in mind. 

Individual, custom information marks excellent 

customer service. To realize these expectations, 

insights need to be created and future possibilities 

must be addressed. For railway stations this means a 

removal of the thin line between railway function and 

community services. Passengers will not only commute 

but also dwell around the station environment. 

The British Rail Delivery Group has indicated 9 key 

principles for the future of railway stations. The 

principles are described as Increased customer focus, 

Intelligent use of technology, Seamless journey 

experience, Reflect local needs and opportunities, Safe 

and secure environment, Entrepreneurial spirit, 

Flexible and long term stewardship, Shared industry 

know-how and Optimized network. All of these 

principles have a significant impact on passenger flows 

and therefore the use of the station’s infrastructure. 

Industry innovations like pedestrian location tracking 

significantly support in the monitoring and analysis of 

passenger flows. But how can future changes of the 

railway station be achieved? Is the current station 

infrastructure capable of dealing with the ongoing 

growth of passengers number’s, technological 

innovations and change of use? 

(Illustration of a pedestrian facing three other subjects and 

trying to reach the destination point O₁. (PNAS/Moussaïd et al) 


17

(Detailed image of a simulation model of a train station made in the Pedestrian Dynamics software.) 

The evaluated scenarios help to reduce timeconsuming 

mistakes and overall cost while improving 

continuity and creating insight in safety. Simulation 

supports in answering the “What if” scenario involved 

and how a process will perform in the (near) future. 

With the use of simulation, the city- and rail 

infrastructure can be utilized in a more efficient, 

intelligent and integrated way. Assessing the entire 

infrastructure and pedestrian flows in and around the 

train station and surrounding areas is of importance. 

Bottlenecks in the infrastructure, timetables, flow and 

safety of passengers can be analyzed and pinpointed. 

Commercial attractive areas can be identified. The 

technology can be used to predict consequences of 

various incidents and other emergency situations. 

Surrounding areas of the station are influenced by 

incidents, so necessary changes in design, plans or 

policies might need to be identified in order to help 

the area perform better. Overall, simulation provides 

the possibility to increase throughput rates to 

accommodate rising passenger numbers, simulate 

morning and evening peak moments, calculate the 

‘social cost’ involved, increase overall revenue and 

improve customer experience. 

Implementation of Virtual Modelling 

Simulation as a virtual modelling tool enables to 

visualize crowd flow scenarios. The implementation 

can be realized by importing CAD drawings or BIM 

models in the software. The outcome reflects the 

geometry of the design. The ability to define input 

such as train schedules, train load, passenger demand 

and route preferences brings the design to life and 

simulates the passenger flows through the 3D model. 

(Example of a density map in Pedestrian Dynamics) 

18 


(Example of Generalized journey times per agent (in Pedestrian Dynamics®) 

Data generated in the simulation software provides 

the designer with quantitative statistics to assess 

the overall design of the railway station. Density 

maps analyze the crowdedness in the stations; 

which can be distinguished by various travel times 

to ensure passengers can get to their next 

destination in time. The so-called „social costs“ 

element determines the business case of the train 

station in terms of capital and resources. 

desires and expectations of passengers push towards 

innovations like intelligent use of technology, the 

seamless journey experience as well as ensuring safe 

and secure environments. Simulation, as a virtual 

modelling tool, creates the insight needed to meet 

the above mentioned innovations for all public 

transport passengers. 

Preparing for the future 

As indicated previously, the rail industry changes. 

Whether the future of the industry leads into more 

futuristic ways like the ‘Hyper Speed Vertical Train 

Hub’ as envisioned by Christopher Christophi and 

Lucus Mazarrasa or the proposed ‘Hyperloop’, 

anticipated as “the fifth mode of transport” by 

entrepreneur Elon Musk, no one really knows. 

One thing is for certain, the rail industry has to deal 

with current changes in the field of urbanization 

and growing population numbers. The increasing 

(High Speed Vertical Train Hub’ as envisioned by Christopher 

Christophi and Lucas Mazarrasa (Courtesy: eVolo) 


19

About the Author 

Marlies Wouters is a Senior Simulation Engineer, specialized in crowd 

simulation. She’s best known for her expert knowledge in modelling and 

analysis of public transport environments using Pedestrian Dynamics® 

software. Marlies has a twelve year career at INCONTROL Simulation 

Solutions, were she worked on many projects like Utrecht Central Station 

(250.000 travelers daily) and Metro Amsterdam. 

If you would like to further discuss the implementation of simulation as a virtual modeling tool in the 

field of rail, feel free to contact our simulation experts at siminfo@incontrolsim.com. 

Any further questions regarding INCONTROL Simulation Solutions, Pedestrian Dynamics® or its 

affiliated products? Requests can be send to siminfo@incontrolsim.com. More info at 

www.incontrolsim.com or www.pedestrian-dynamics.com 

Pedestrian Dynamics® 

Pedestrian Dynamics® is a 

comprehensive crowd 

simulation software 

application, designed for 

the creation and execution 

of large pedestrian 

simulation models in complex infrastructures. The 

software can be used to evaluate the performance 

and safety of environments in every phase of the 

life cycle; from design to operations. Pedestrian 

Dynamics® offers a rapid model building simulation 

environment which saves time and costs. Only a few 

activities are required to model pedestrian flows in 

complex operations. The software has been used 

widely in numerous large scale projects to simulate 

crowd flows in many critical infrastructure 

environments including stadiums, airports, public 

transport terminals, mega events and urban 

planning. The Pedestrian Dynamics® software is 

flexible, robust and easy to use. 

INCONTROL Simulation Solutions BV 

INCONTROL Simulation Solutions is the leading 

manufacturer of simulation software. The 

product portfolio contains of Enterprise 

Dynamics®, Pedestrian Dynamics® and 

TopVenue®. The core business is to bring 

simulation platforms and applications to the 

market for the Industry & Manufacturing-, 

Logistics-, Airports-, Rail- & Public Transport 

sector. INCONTROL’s simulation software 

enables users to test scenarios and visualize 

time, costs, resources, reliability, safety, risks and 

sustainability issues in a clear manner. 

20 


Subscribe 

METRO RAIL NEWS 

An exclusive monthly magazine which publish with 

focus on 

• Urban Mobility 

• Mass Rapid Transit Systems 

• Metro Railway Projects 

• High Speed Train Projects 

• Smart Public Transportation 

• Smart Cities 

• Tenders, Events and Jobs 

SUBSCRIPTION ANNUAL (DIGITAL) ANNUAL (PRINT) 

₹ 299.00 

₹ 1200.00 

₹ 3600.00 + ₹ 600.00 

₹ 4200.00 

Cover Price Subscription + Shipping Cost 

METRO RAIL NEWS SUBSCRIPTION FORM 

Please select your annual subscription option: 

₹ 4200.00 Print Edition (Inland) $750.00 Print Edition (Overseas) ₹ 1200.00 Digital Edition 

Subscriber details in CAPITAL letters- 

Full Name: _____________________________________________________ 

Designation: ____________________ 

Organisation: ____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Mailing Address: _________________________________________________________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________ 

State: ______________________ 

Office Phone: (STD/ISD) _________ __________________________ 

E-mail Id: _______________________________________ 

City: ___________________________ 

PIN Code: ___________________________ Country: _______________________ 

Mobile: _______________________________ 

_____________________________________________ 

Payment details 

Cheque/Bank Draft No. ____________________ Date: ________________ Bank: __________________________ 

NEFT/RTGS/Wire Transfer/Online Banking Ref. No. ______________ Date: _________________ 

PayTM payment at 9990454505 Ref. No. ______________ Date: _________________ 

Important instructions: 

1. Cheque/Bank Draft should be in favour of “SYMBROJ MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED” payable at New Delhi. 

2. Bank details for NEFT/RTGS/Wire Transfer/Online Banking 

Business Account No.: 135105000291 

Account Name: SYMBROJ MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED 

Bank Name: ICICI Bank Limited IFSC: ICIC0001351 Swift Code: ICICINBB007 

To subscribe online log on to 

https://www.metrorailnews.in/shopmetro 

E-mail: sales@metrorailnews.in 

Please send duly filled Subscription Form to: 

Metro Rail News | Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd., 

E-30A, First Floor, Jawahar Park, Khanpur, New Delhi-110062, India

Need of advance 

technology for 

maintenance and 

monitoring of Rolling 

Stock 

- Ali Siavashi, 

Rolling Stock Engineer 

Sydney (Australia) 

In Railway systems, the next level of intelligence 

that has to be incorporated into rolling stocks 

might be the online condition monitoring and 

predictive maintenance (OCMPM) of critical 

systems (e.g. propulsion and brake systems) 

and also an intelligent maintenance action 

recommender system (MARS) which efficiently 

indicates the most appropriate action to be 

taken at any time. Currently, most of the 

condition monitoring and health assessment 

exercises are conducted manually or semiautomated 

manner at predefined intervals. The 

interpretation of data is done by the operators 

in charge based on their knowledge and 

experience which is more likely to lead human 

errors. Moreover, the quantity and frequency of 

alarms or routine inspections can easily overwhelm 

the maintenance crews leading to ignorance of vital 

data or inspections. 

The information obtained by online condition 

monitoring (OCM) can be used to estimate the 

remaining useful life (RUL) of the critical systems and 

also the outcome of the predictive maintenance gives 

an accurate estimate of the likelihood of failure under 

a given operational condition. Maintenance action 

recommender system (MARS), on the other hand, 

would be an intelligent data filtering module that 

provides advice on which actions at what times and 

(even) how should be done considering the spare 

22 


e done considering the spare parts, technician 

staffing, daily-weekly-monthly services and so 

forth. As a result, it could be realistic to 

calculate a few-day window when maintenance 

is likely to be needed and define the best time 

to take the trains out of operation and maintain 

them with the lowest impact on their services 

and highest maintenance efficiency. 

This approach aims to develop OCMPM and 

provide MARS using low-cost, tiny sensor to 

create an IoT (Internet-of-Things) sensor 

platform for railway maintenance application 

and employing Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

The proposed project will have a fundamental 

impact on train maintenance planning. The 

ultimate goal is to deploy this maintenance 

approach to enable automation of maintenance 

management. In addition, this project 

undoubtedly would be one of the major steps 

towards the realization of autonomous and 

connected trains. 

Online Condition Monitoring (OCM) 

The online condition monitoring is a growing 

industrial trend which uses data gathered through 

various sensors to compare with known conditions. 

For example, in a train propulsion system, the 

traction motors are critical components which have 

to be monitored for any abnormalities. Apart from 

the basic speed, voltage and current 

measurements, vibration, acoustic noise, magnetic 

flux, stress and strain at certain locations help 

estimate the condition of the motor accurately. The 

comparison of these measurements against known 

thresholds help identify anomalies. Moreover, 

certain patterns of the collected data and their 

combinations give indications of degradation. By 

comparing those extracted information against 

degradation models the health of the motors can 

be assessed. This approach can be extended for 

other critical systems as well and a complete 

condition assessment system for trains can be 

developed. 

Standard EN 13306(CEN, 2001) defines Predictive 

Maintenance (PM) as condition based maintenance 

carried out following a forecast derived from the 

analysis and evaluation of significant parameters of 

the degradation of the item. According to the 

standard the approaches to maintenance can be 

categorised as presented in Figure 1. 

Fig. 1- Maintenance Strategies – based on EN 13306(CEN, 2001) 


23

Even though the concept of online condition 

monitoring (OCM) and preventive maintenance (PM) 

has been there for a long time it was not practical to 

implement in trains mainly due to the great deal of 

data handling involved in these work and the 

computational intelligence required. With 

development of the Industrial Internet-of-things 

(IIoT), machine learning, pattern recognition, and 

recommender systems technique this is no longer 

considered as a technological barrier. Therefore, 

online condition monitoring and predictive 

maintenance (OCMPM) has now been practically 

achievable. 

3.2 Internet-of-Things (IoT) 

With advancement of automation technology, 

automatic systems are being preferred over manual 

system. Internet-of-Things (IoT) is a growing network 

of everyday object, from industrial machine to 

consumer goods that can share information and 

complete tasks while you are busy with other 

activities. 

Sensor Networks (WSNs). Simply, the Internet-of- 

Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing 

devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, 

animals or people that are provided with unique 

identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a 

network without requiring human-to-human or 

human-to-computer interaction. A thing, in the IoT, 

can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm 

animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile 

that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire 

pressure is low, a train or its traction motors or any 

other natural or man-made object that can be 

assigned an IP address and provided with the ability 

to transfer data over a network. 

According to Cisco, Figure 2, expected penetration of 

connected objects by the year 2020 would be around 

50 billion things and back in 2008, there were 

already more objects connected to the internet than 

people. RFID is the key technology for making the 

objects uniquely identifiable, its reduced size and 

cost facilitate the integration of it with any object. 

Fig. 2- Expected penetration of connected objects by the year 2020 

The basic idea of IoT is autonomous exchange of 

useful information between invisibly embedded 

different uniquely identifiable real world devices 

around us, fuelled by the leading technologies like 

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and Wireless 

Solution Approach 

Three key steps of Condition-Based Maintenance 

(CBM) programs are: (1) data acquisition, (2) data 

processing, and (3) maintenance decision making, 

Figure 3. 

24 


Fig. 3- Three steps of Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) 

Since a critical failure or degradation of the trains 

during their operation can damage the belief of 

passengers on the railway service reliability and 

could potentially cause serious problems, it seems 

that precedence must be given to the maintenance 

enhancement for preventing this kind of failure or 

degradation. To this end, as can be seen in Figure 4, 

three sub-modules will be added to each step of 

CBM, namely IoT to the data acquisition step, 

machine learning and recommender system to the 

data processing and decision making steps, 

respectively. 

in railway transportation systems. Unscheduled 

maintenance, spare parts planning, shortage of 

qualified technicians, unavailability of workshop and 

tracks as well as train shunting are just some of 

everyday issues that a maintenance planner struggles 

to accomplish an on-time, safe, and accurate 

maintenance task. As a result, we are trying to adopt 

cutting-edge technologies to improve maintenance 

planning. 

The specific aims of this pilot project are: 

Fig. 4- Three steps of Proposed Maintenance Approach 

The proposed maintenance approach efficiently 

optimize train maintenance procedure through 

broadly gather data using low-cost IoT sensor 

platform, effectively process data using machine 

learning algorithms to elicit appropriate patterns, 

and practically make a decision by using 

recommender system. 

Approach Objectives 

Due to its nature, train maintenance, repair, and 

overhaul is one of the most demanding processes 

• Providing an effective and low-cost data gathering 

method using IoT 

• Realising train predictive maintenance and 

providing just-in-time maintenance 

• Eliminating unscheduled maintenance and 

Improving maintenance planning 

• Ensuring passengers satisfaction as well as 

passengers and maintenance staffs safety 

• Minimizing trains downtime as well as decreasing 

maintenance budgets 

• Establishing one of the pillars of intelligent and 

connected trains. 


25

- Jesus A. Del Castillo Igareda & Team 

Auto Drive Solutions , Madrid (Spain) 

RPS: Can you realize 

an ATP 10 times 

cheaper than the 

others...? 

A 

uto Drive Drive Solutions (ADS) has registered a 

disruptive Radar Positioning System (RPS) able 

to locate a train by using ultra-bandwidth 

radars. RPS brings to the railway industry a 

cheaper, safer and more-accurate technology 

than its competitors. RPS is composed of a 

small device installed on each train, whose 

dimensions are similar to a shoebox, and a 

minimum modification of the infrastructure 

which consists of attaching plastic parts, similar 

in size to tobacco boxes, in the sleepers of 

given kilometric points and stations. 

ADS will exploit its disruptive technology in the 

next years by marketing services to operators 

and railway signaling companies. 

Main services are: 

• Low-cost ATP systems 

• Efficient Speed Control 

• Target Braking. 

Efficient Speed Control involves the application 

of a pre-recorded acceleration to trains according 

to their position, optimizing the consumption 

pattern. Target Braking and enables controlled 

deceleration of trains as they arrive at their 

stations, allowing their stop at a precise point. 

ADS will develop in the near future low-cost CBTC 

systems based on RPS and his patented highaccuracy 

mm-wave radar cinemometer 

(±0.0025% expected error) that will allow the 

introduction of the moving block concept which 

26 


would double the capacity of current ERTMS2 

systems. 

ADS technology is called Radar Positioning 

System. RPS equipment consists of a highfrequency 

radar installed on the underbody of the 

train pointed to the ground and scanning 1 cm2 of 

surface. The radar, whose dimensions are similar 

to a shoebox, measures, at a rate of 150,000 

times per second, the distance to the surface with 

an accuracy of 100 µm. Thus, the radar obtains a 

detailed ground profile as the train moves 

through the railway infrastructure. Signal 

processing of the profile allows the sleeper 

detection, since they will protrude from ground 

level and present a smooth surface in contrast to 

the irregular profile of the ballast. By a simple 

count of the sleepers, it is possible to determine 

the position of the train with accuracy equivalent 

to the spacing between two consecutive sleepers. 

This technique suffers from the possible 

cumulative positioning error that occurs by false 

detections or loss detection sleepers. 

Grouping a set of 32 bits (32 different 

thicknesses), logical words are formed that are 

able to uniquely encode more than 4,000 million 

track segments. Once the radar has decoded a 

complete word, the position of the train can be 

associated to the encoded location. 

Since the scanned area interrogated by the radar 

is one square cm, the bit length may be just a cm 

long and thus the information can be compacted. 

RPS uses 16 types of plastic beacons, whose 

dimensions are similar to a tobacco box, to 

encode information. Each balise contains 4 bits of 

information, which are what limit the balise set to 

16 types, simplifying the installation and its 

maintenance. Appropriately combining these 

balises into sets, balise words of 8, 16, 24, 32 or 

64 bits can be formed. Two additional bits are 

added at the edges of each balise, corresponding 

to s tart and end bits, so the radar is able to 

detect the reading direction and reorder the bits 

if it is reading in reverse way. 

However, RPS solves this problem because its 

patented design includes reading information 

encoded in plastic balises installed in the railway 

infrastructure. The millimeter-wave radar signal 

penetrates all plastics, so the radar is able to 

measure the thickness of the balise. By 

associating certain thicknesses to certain logic 

levels, it is possible to encode information in the 

plastic that the radar can read. For example, it is 

possible to encode a 0 bit by installing a 2 cm 

thickness plastic laminate over a sleeper and 

encode a 1 bit by installing a 4 cm laminate. 


27

• Increasing the safety by setting speed-limit 

according to the position of the train 

• Reducing the energy costs up to 10% by applying 

efficient speed algorithms 

• Reducing the pollutant emissions, due to energy 

saving 

• Increasing the accuracy of the train stop at 

stations enabling the deployment of low-cost and 

reliable Platform Screen Doors. 

As shown in the figure, ADS has already tested the 

radar module in real scenarios achieving TRL6 

successfully thanks to the collaboration of Metro de 

Madrid and is currently under SIL4 (Safety Integrity 

Level) certification process. 

Most of the railway infrastructures in Europe have 

national signaling systems that hinder 

communications in the European marketplace. The 

European ERTMS standard in versions 1 and 2 solves 

this problem, ensuring interoperability and 

improving safety standards. However, the high cost 

of ERTMS 2 (more than 300,000 €/Km) has limited its 

deployment to the main corridors and high-speed 

lines. Spain with 15% of its updated network ERTMS 

2 is one of the countries with greater deployment 

but still needs another investment of 4,200 M € to 

complete its extension. ERTMS 2 deployment 

throughout the European network is unachieved 

because of its high cost. Furthermore, currently, 

experts are proposing deployment of ERTMS 2 in a 

limited lower-cost version for rural areas that 

RPS contributes to railway industry by developing 

more competitive rail networks: 

• Reducing significantly the costs of signalling 

systems providing very low-cost ATP systems 

• Increasing the traffic capacity by introducing the 

moving block concept 

• Increasing the security providing hacking-free 

signalling 

involves the undertaking of greater responsabilities 

by the driver. ERTMS versions 1 and 2 use blockcircuit 

segments technology to manage traffic, which 

clearly limits the ability of the lines. Circuit segments 

are delimited by Eurobalises, which are RFID tags. 

Most of them are pasive: A train borne transmitter 

excites the Eurobalise at crossing and some amount 

of energy is absorbed by the tag. The tag uses this 

energy to respond with a weak message that 

identifies it. 

28 


The Efficient Speed Control service involves the 

application of pre-recorded accelerations to the train 

according to its position, optimizing the consumption 

pattern. The system will work under the supervision of 

the national/ERTMS ATO / ATP (Automatic Train 

Operation / Automatic Train Protection) installed on 

the train. The command speed will always be less than 

the limit set by the ATO / ATP. This system provides a 

reduction of pollutant emissions and energy savings of 

over 10% in addition to preventing accidents due to 

inappropriate speed caused by a combination of 

technical failures, human errors or limitations of the 

signalling system. 

ERTMS 3 solves the track-circuit limitation by 

implementing the moving block concept and 

minimizing the signalling over the 

infrastructure. However, ERTMS 3 is still in 

conceptual phase, mainly due to the technical 

limitations of positioning trains accurately and 

reliably along the route without expensive 

track signalling equipments. ERSAT, RHINOS 

and STARS H2020 projects or 3INSAT ESA 

project try to resolve the on-board train 

localization (Location Determination System), 

combining on-board sensors (tachometer, 

accelerometers and doppler radar 

information) with GNSS systems. The paper 

Field Experience with GPS based Train Control 

System published by the International Union 

of Railways (UIC), calculates a residual risk of 

higher than 10 -5 /h based on operational 

experiences, which is near SIL 1 (Safety 

Integrity Level 1) and does not accomplish 

what the SIL4 requires for critical signalling 

systems. Furthermore, GNSS signals are 

vulnerable to interference due to being 

extremely weak when received on Earth’s 

surface. Therefore, even a low-power 

interference signal can easily disrupt the 

operation of commercial GNSS receivers 

within a range of several kilometers. 

ADS provides a disruptive positioning 

solution which solves in a reliable, safe, 

sustainable and low-cost manner the 

geolocation for railway industry. 


33

These benefits are easily achievable as long as the 

position of the train is precisely known. Although 

intuitively surpassing these limitations may seem 

easy to solve, the reality is very different. 

In USA, the Federal Railroad Administration applies 

the Positive Train Control project (see 

https://youtu.be/houa8Pn5nyQ 

and 

https://youtu.be/bIX9wWlY_wg). PTC technology 

uses GPS satellite positioning and differential GPS 

stations along the infrastructure. There is some 

controversy as to whether PTC makes sense in the 

form mandated by Congress. Not only is the cost of 

nationwide PTC installation expected to be as much 

as US$6–22 billion, there are questions as to the 

reliability and maturity of the technology for all 

forms of mainline freight trains and high density 

environments. The PTC requirement could also 

impose startup barriers to new passenger rail or 

freight services that would trigger millions of dollars 

in additional PTC costs. In 2012, Siemens submitted 

the PCT / EP2012 / 057459 application that 

describes another technique for positioning trains 

by deploying an optical fiber along the tracks. Train 

vibrations interfere with the light traveling through 

the fiber and an OTDR (Optical Time Domain 

Reflectometer) equipment connected to the fiber 

determines the distance where the vibration has 

occurred. Still in 2016 this solution has many 

drawbacks that prevent it from becoming a standard 

rail signalling system in the medium term. 

The service Target Braking is mostly oriented to 

underground applications and allows a smooth 

deceleration of the train in stations until its stop 

at a precise point. To achieve this goal, a continuous 

encoded plastic ruler will be deployed in the tracks of 

each station. This service, in addition to providing 

greater comfort and safety to passengers, reduces 

wear of materials, improves energy efficiency and 

allows a reliable and low-cost solution for Platform 

Screens Doors (PSD) deployment. PSD increases the 

capacity and safety of people who are in the station. 

Just accounting for the London Underground, on 

average, a person dies every week by falling to the 

tracks. Besides the psychological and human impact 

that this implies, these events cause major 

disruptions of operation. The technique currently 

used to stop trains precisely consists in costly trials 

where the stop position is estimated depending on 

the speed of the train as it passes by a balise installed 

at the begining to the station. These tests are specific 

for each station, each train and determined load 

conditions. In addition, the system requires 

continuous calibration. Instead, Target Breaking 

provides a continuous position feedback to the 

braking system with 1 cm accuracy. 

Each of the two services includes the supply of 

equipment, installation thereof, its implementation 

and the remote monitoring and support. The service 

also includes the maintenance and repairing of 

possible equipment malfunctions. Once the service 

has started, the tasks of replacing the equipment will 

be carried out by the railway operator / signalling 

company itself, who will have enough spare 

equipment to deal with potential failures. ADS 

personnel monitoring the service remotely will 

detect service anomalies in real-time and request the 

appropriate substitution of equipment if needed. 

34 


The RPS technology is more economical, more 

precise and safer than the rest of positioning 

technologies:- 

• More economical (see the table 1). 

• More accurate because, without using odometry 

(systems that estimate the position of the train 

between balises by calculating train speed and 

detecting spins wheel), RPS technology allows 

locating the train with an accuracy of 50 cm 

(which is the gap between sleepers) along the 

complete trajectory, compared with the current 

technology whose ambiguity in the position is 

determined by the separation between balises 

whose values range from 400 meters in highspeed 

lines to tens of kilometers in conventional 

lines. When the train is over a RPS balise, the 

position accuracy is + -1 cm compared to +/-2m 

offered by Eurobalises. 

• More secure because RPS is not affected by 

electronic warfare systems because of the 

antenna’s high directivity, the inexistence of 

powerful sources at these frequencies that can 

be used as jammers and the Process Gain 

obtained thanks to the 28 GHz of transmitted 

bandwidth. On the other hand, the 4 MHz weak 

response transmitted by passive Eurobalises is 

very easy to interfere. 

Table #1: COST ATP BASED ON RPS vs ERTMS-1 

BASICs: BUDGET FOR 100 KMS OF TRACK AND 20 TRAINS OPERATING 

AUTOMATIC TRAIN PROTECTION BASED ON RPS TECHNOLOGY 

Item unit prize comments quantity total budget 

RPS-Radar module onboard $5.000,00 2 radars per train 40 $200.000,00 

Balise $45,00 estimated 20 balises per km 2000 $90.000,00 

Set up the balises and the 

signalling drawings. Technical 

assistance. Lump Sum $250.000,00 1 $250.000,00 

Onboard ATP system 20 $1.500.000,00 

BUDGET FOR 100 KM TRACK AND 20 TRAINS OPERATING THE LINE $2.040.000,00 

ERTMS 1 

Item unit prize comments quantity total budget 

Cost per km of ERTMS-1 

Signalling $981.750,00 100 $98.175.000,00 

BUDGET FOR 100 KM TRACK AND 20 TRAINS OPERATING THE LINE $98.175.000,00 

Auto Drive Solutions (ADS) has patented a disruptive positioning system 

called Radar Positioning System (RPS). A millimeter -wave radar reads 

information encoded in a plastic band that contains different one-centimeter 

segments of various thicknesses. The radar concentrates its energy over a 

square centimeter of the band, measuring the relative thickness of each 

segment. Each plastic segment is assigned with logic levels 1 or 0. 

For more information, please visit: 

AUTO DRIVE SOLUTIONS 

C/ CHILE 10, LOCAL 248 - EDIFICIO 92 

28290 LAS ROZAS (MADRID) – SPAIN 

E-mail: info@autodrive.solutions 

Web: www.autodrive.solutions 


35

- Naeem Ali, P. Eng, Director & Principal Consultant 

CBTC Solutions Inc., Toronto, Canada, 

Is CBTC Safer 

than 

Conventional 

Signalling? 

This article is based on a collaboration with Ali Edraki, VP of Transit & Rail Systems at 

Gannett Fleming, for a presentation we delivered at the 2016 Rail Safety Seminar in Orlando 

Florida. 

A special thanks to Sergio Mammoliti of Soter Solutions for providing valuable insights and 

for clarifying my thinking on this topic. After our discussion, he changed my perspective 

from "CBTC is safer than Conventional" to "CBTC is operational superior than Conventional." 

A special thanks to Daniel Sandu of Gannett Fleming for providing valuable insights and 

technical details about conventional signalling; without which I would not have been able to 

conduct a proper comparison. 

36 


The safety record for conventional signaling is 

beyond doubt; 140 years of improvements, handed 

down by thousands of engineers has ensured the 

safety of our urban transit infrastructure. 

However, transit authorities are switching to CBTC 

in increasing numbers and the primary motivation 

is due to the operational superiority, not safety, of 

a CBTC solution over a conventional one. 

CBTC shines because it pushes the operational 

envelope (shorter headways) while maintaining the 

proper level of safety. Whereas a conventional 

system is handcuffed operationally due to its 

inherent limitations (fixed block signalling 

philosophy). 

This article will compare the key safety and 

operational characteristics between a CBTC and 

conventional system. By the end, it will be clear 

why transit authorities are selecting CBTC for it 

operational benefits. 

Speed Supervision – Speed is not monitored in a 

conventionally signaled system other than to rely 

on the driver to follow the speed limit for the block. 

Cabs signalling has become popular over the last 

few decades, but it has a limited number of speed 

transitions (usually 3 or 4) permitted for a block. 

However, CBTC monitors speed continuously and if 

the train exceeds the permitted speed, the train 

borne unit will either emergency brake or service 

brake the train. 

Train Localization – A conventional system utilizes 

track circuits to detect the location of a train. The 

location resolution is based on the size of the block; 

either the block is occupied or unoccupied. CBTC 

localizes the train through a two-way train to 

wayside communication link that transmits the 

exact position with a resolution in centimeters. 

Both methods are safe but CBTC is more efficient 

from an operational perspective. 

Comparison of Safety Characteristics 

The safety capabilities of a CBTC solution over a 

conventional one is not as great as some may 

believe. CBTC does provide additional safety 

protections but a conventional system is safe but it 

relies on a human to follow the rules. 

The table below lists the basic safety 

characteristics expected of any signalling system. 

Safety Feature Conventional CBTC 

Speed supervision Limited Yes 

Train localization Yes Yes 

Safe Train Separation Yes Yes 

Rollback Protection Limited Yes 

Parted Consist Protection Yes Yes 

Train Door interlocks Yes Yes 

Departure Interlocks Yes Yes 

Route interlocks Yes Yes 

Protection against passing a signal at danger Yes Yes 

Broken Rail detection Yes No 

Protection Against Human Error No Yes 

Hint: Red – Advantage for CBTC Signalling Blue - Advantage for conventional Signalling Black - Neutral 


37

Safe Train Separation – Conventional signalling 

operates on the principal of a one block (or two 

signals) separation between trains. If there is a 

failure, the one block guarantees the train will 

emergency brake to a stop before the next train. 

A CBTC system keeps a minimum safety distance 

between trains. If there is an emergency brake 

condition, the minimum safety distance ensures 

there is enough room to stop a train before the 

next train. Both methods are safe but 

operationally, CBTC is more efficient. 

Rollback Protection – A conventional system has 

partial rollback protection; A) If a train is stopped 

at a station and rolls back, the train will not 

prevent rollback. B) A train on an uphill grade 

commanding effort from the propulsion unit 

detects rollback, will increase effort from the 

propulsion unit to prevent rollback. C) Newer 

trains determine travel direction based on the 

active cab. If the train moves in the opposite 

direction, the train will emergency brake. In 

CBTC, if a train moves in the opposite direction 

of the route set under the train, emergency 

brakes are applied. If the train moves when no 

route is set, emergency brakes are applied. CBTC 

provides better rollback protection. 

Train Door Interlocks – by definition, the basic interlocks 

that must be performed are: A) Train is aligned within an 

acceptable tolerance. B) There is a platform on the side 

where the train doors will open. C) Train is stopped. 

D)The train is prevented from moving. A CBTC and 

conventional system implement these basic interlocks 

but a conventional system relies on the driver to make 

the right decision (decision to open doors and which 

side). Whereas in a CBTC system the human element is 

removed. 

Departure Interlocks – For a conventional and CBTC 

system, the train will not depart if the train or platform 

doors are open. 

Route Interlocks – A conventional and CBTC system both 

have approach and routing locking concepts but 

approach it from different angles. Both methods are safe 

but CBTC allows for greater throughput through the 

interlocking than a conventional system. 

Parted Consist Protection – If a train breaks 

apart, a conventional system will use block 

occupancy to track the train and the apply 

emergency brakes. A CBTC system will create a 

protection envelope around the train. Neither 

approach is better than the other. 

Protection against Passing a Signal at Danger – A 

conventional system has trip stops or devices that 

emergency brake a train if a signal is passed at danger. 

CBTC does not have trip stops but if a train passes its 

permitted stopping point, the train borne unit will 

emergency brake the train. 

Broken Rail Detection – This is one area where a 

conventional system has an advantage over CBTC. 

Conventional uses track circuits to detect a broken rail. 

CBTC does not have this ability unless a secondary 

broken rail detection system is utilized. 

38 


Protection against Human Error – A general principal 

within the safety community is, the less human 

interaction, the safer it is. A conventional signalling 

system depends on the operator to follow the rules of 

the railroad. If an operator violates a safety critical 

procedure (speed limit around a curve for example), 

safety is compromised. Whereas a CBTC system is 

automated and the human element is removed or 

reduced significantly. 

Comparison of Operational Characteristics 

Out of the 11 safety features discussed above, 3 favor 

CBTC, 1 favors conventional and the rest are neutral. 

But when comparing the operational characteristics, 

CBTC has the overwhelming advantage. 

Operational Features 

Conventional 

CBTC 

Maximize Throughput No Yes 

Equipment & Maintenance 

Significant/ Limited/ 

High Low 

Automatic Speed 

Regulation (Ride Quality) No Yes 

Bi-Directional Operations No Yes 

Reduced wear and tear of 

train propulsion and 

braking system No Yes 

Energy optimization No Yes 

Interoperability Yes No 

Automatic recovery from 

perturbations Limited Yes 

Hint: 

Red – Advantage for CBTC Signalling 

Blue - Advantage for conventional Signalling 

Black - Neutral 

Maximize Throughput – Throughput is the primary 

reason why CBTC is selected by transit authorities. 

Its ability to reduce headways is unmatched by any 

conventional signalling technology available on the 

market today. 

Equipment & Maintenance – A track littered with 

signals, trip stops, track circuits, associated cables 

and row upon row of relay racks in the equipment 

rooms makes for a daunting maintenance program 

in any conventional system. The requirements for 

corrective and preventive maintenance are high and 

access to the track is difficult; maintenance is 

conducted during the wee hours of night when 

the system is closed to passengers traffic. 

Equipment in a CBTC system is significantly 

lower and therefore the space required in the 

equipment rooms and along the track is also 

low. Resulting in a reduced maintenance 

program (unless it’s a conventional system with 

a CBTC overlay). More important, the need to 

access the track is reduced. 

Automatic Speed Regulation (Ride Quality) – 

Uniform ride quality from one train to the next 

is a staple of a CBTC system. A CBTC train will 

travel at the same speed and brake at the same 

rate at the same point on the track every time. 

The acceleration and braking is gradual and jerk 

is reduced or eliminated when departing or 

arriving at a station. In a conventional system, 

the passengers are left at the mercy of the 

driver. The driver may accelerate suddenly or 

brake hard, drive in excess or slower than the 

posted speed. The ride quality will differ from 

one driver to the next. 

Bi-Directional Operations – A conventional 

system is designed for maximum efficiency in 

the normal running direction. Due to cost and 

complexity, the reverse running direction is not 

optimized and headways are large. Recovery 

options in an emergency situation are also 

limited. However, in a CBTC system there is no 

concept of normal or reverse running; the 

design is optimized for both directions. Only the 

civil design of the track limits the efficiency of 

the system (the placement and orientation of 

cross overs and curves). 

Reduced wear and tear of train propulsion and 

braking system – A CBTC systems ability to 

regulate speed and acceleration reduces the 

stress placed on the braking and propulsion 

unit when compared to a human driver in a 

conventional system. A CBTC train operates 

within the design limits of the braking and 

propulsion unit maximizing its life while 

reducing maintenance costs. 


39

Energy Optimization – this is the ability of a 

signalling system to regulate energy utilization 

during operation. CBTC optimizes energy usage 

by controlling trains acceleration (energy 

consumption spikes when a train accelerates) and 

allow trains to coast when travelling between 

stations (the propulsion unit is disabled reducing 

energy consumption). A conventional system 

does not have this capability. 

Interoperability – This is CBTC’s weakest point. A 

conventional system is not wedded to any single 

supplier. Parts can be procured from multiple 

suppliers which are interchangeable. Whereas, 

once a CBTC supplier is selected, Transit 

Authorities are at the mercy of that supplier. 

Meaning, if a system has an Alstom CBTC system 

installed, a Bombardier or Ansaldo train 

controller cannot be used in that system. 

Standards have not been established to allow 

interoperability between suppliers (NYCT’s I 2 S 

interoperability specification is the lone 

exception). This will change over the coming 

years as CENELEC, IEEE, AREMA define standards 

and Transit Authorities force suppliers to comply. 

Automatic recovery from Perturbations – CBTC’s 

bidirectional capability is the magic behind 

recovery from perturbations and its built-in safety 

shines in these scenarios. When an operator in a 

conventional system operates the system outside 

of its normal operating conditions, mistakes 

happen due to human error. In a CBTC application 

everything is automated, including recovery 

scenarios. In high congestion scenarios, CBTC 

excels because it manages the situation as part of 

its normal functionality (conflict avoidance zones, 

route optimization, adjusting station dwells and 

max speed limits, etc.) whereas a human might be 

overwhelmed with information overload. 

Conclusions 

Many assume a CBTC system is safer than a 

conventional system but this is a 

misunderstanding. CBTC does offer some safety 

advantages but a conventional system is safe; and 

140 years of proven operations demonstrate this. 

But a conventional system cannot match the 

operational advantages of a CBTC system. 

About the Author 

Naeem Ali is CBTC specialist working with CBTC technologies 

for 15+ years. He has deployed 7 CBTC projects around world 

including Jacksonville Monorail, Newark Airport People 

Mover, Las Vegas Monorail, Busan Gimhae Monorail in South 

Korea, Makkah Metro in Saudi Arabia, Singapore NSEW and 

he is currently providing CBTC consulting services to Toronto 

Transit Commission (TTC) YUS line. 

Naeem works as an independent consultant providing CBTC 

expertise. You can follow his blog at www.CBTCSolutions.ca 

40 


Exclusive Interview 

with Achal Khare, 

MD, NHSRCL 

Mr. Achal Khare, Managing Director, National High 

Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), is a man 

with big responsibility of realizing India’s dream of 

running a high speed bullet train. In conversation 

with Media, Khare lists various challenges before 

the NHSRCL the executing agency of the 

Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed rail (HSR) project 

and the road map for the development and 

implementation of HSR projects in India. During 

conversation he also highlights the importance of 

the project and why one can’t compare it to 

Hyperloop. 

What are the major challenges ahead in 

introducing India’s first bullet train on the 

Ahmedabad-Mumbai route? 

Construction of a 7-km undersea tunnel, which 

would pass under the mangrove areas and a 

flamingo sanctuary in Mumbai region, is one of the 

biggest technical challenges. It would have 

disturbed the mangroves and ecological balance if 

we had chosen the elevated corridor. 

Another challenge is the construction of high-speed 


41

ail stations at locations where Indian Railway 

stations – Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati – 

already exist. There is a plan to connect bullet train 

stations with these three Indian Railway stations. It is 

a big challenge to carry out construction work of the 

high-speed stations and platforms at the height of 14- 

15 metres at these crowded railway stations, having a 

huge number of trains and passenger footfall. 

Usually, the high-speed alignments are at 11-12 

metre height from the ground. If there is a metro or 

road over bridge, then the height of the high-speed 

station would be further increased. In Sabarmati, 

there is a road over bridge close to the proposed 

station and the metro is also coming up. So, the 

height of the Sabarmati high-speed station will be 20- 

21 metres. 

In Vadodara, both sides are densely inhabited due to 

which limited working space is available. The same is 

the case with Ahmedabad and Sabarmati where the 

Indian Railways has got expansion plans 

and we will have to plan high-speed alignment 

keeping in view that the said stations’ plan is not 

disturbed. 

Mumbai would have one underground station at 

Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) close to the Mithi river 

and we have to cross the river for doing excavation 

for the tunnel. The undersea tunnel will have a large 

diameter of around 12.5 metres, having two tracks in 

a single tube while the metros have tunnels of a 6.5- 

metre diameter and one track in a single tube. 

Since, Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed train is a 

mega project, it requires huge manpower and 

training them is certainly a challenge. The highspeed 

Shinkansen system is completely a new 

technology and we are yet to fully understand it. 

Acquiring technological knowledge and imparting 

training to staff are extremely crucial. We need to 

have well-trained human resource. A total of 300 

officials are planned to be trained in Japan and 10 of 

them have already left for a 15-day training course. 

42 


As per the estimation by the Japanese, the 

project requires around 4,000 personnel under 

several categories such as locomotive drivers, 

guards, station staff, operation control centre 

staff, maintenance personnel, signal 

maintainers and electrical staff. There will be a 

big depot at Sabarmati for periodic overhaul of 

the trains, while a small depot at Thane will be 

built for weekly and monthly maintenance. 

Around 20,000-25,000 persons would be 

required for construction of the project. 

When exactly will the construction of 

Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed train take 

off? 

The work of the training institute in Vadodara 

has already kicked off and would be completed 

by December 2020. It is the first thing to be 

completed – for training the manpower. Most 

of the other works such as laying viaducts [a 

long elevated roadway consisting of a series of 

short spans supported on arches or piers] 

would start by September 2018. 

Is it true that Japan’s financial aid to India is a tied 

loan? Will Indian companies get enough 

opportunities to participate in the high-speed rail 

project? Kindly elaborate on the ‘Make in India’ 

factor. 

The loan from Japan is not a tied loan. It is a special 

loan. Japan has a tied loan system but for the 

Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed train project, that is 

not the case. It is being misconstrued by many. Out of 

the 508-km length of the project, a 450-km stretch is 

open to Indian contractors without any condition on 

them to form a joint venture with the Japanese firms 

for civil construction. 

The estimated cost of civil construction of the project 

is around 50-60 percent of the total project cost. 

Whenever expertise is available within India, the work 

will be done by Indian companies only. 

The 21-km tunnelling work would be done by 

Japanese companies as they have the expertise, but it 

does not mean that the entire cost of tunnel work 

would go to Japan. For instance, tunnel boring 


43

equipment is manufactured by a German 

company in Chennai. If they get the order, they 

may manufacture in India, which should be seen 

as ‘Make in India’. In tunnel work, most of the 

material like raw material, reinforcement and 

steel bars will be produced in India. 

In Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati, where 

high-speed stations would be built, we are trying 

to rope in a prime contractor from Japan to 

prepare design and planning of the sub packages 

and award them to Indian companies. Again, the 

technical skills come from Japan initially and 

then the Indian companies will gradually learn. 

Whatever technology is not available in India has 

been assigned to Japan. Signalling, rolling stocks 

and electrical side, among others, will be entirely 

done by Japanese companies. NHSRCL will do 

competitive biddings amongst Japanese 

companies to get the technology which India 

does not have. Efforts will be made to have joint 

ventures with Japanese companies or transfer of 

technology to do manufacturing in India. 

The department of industrial policy and 

promotion (DIPP) is the nodal agency which is 

discussing issues like having JVs with Japanese 

companies and transfer of technology. 

I feel that displacement would not be an issue because 

the project is mostly on elevated tracks. NHSRCL will 

discuss with the affected people to get their feedback 

and understand what they need from the government. 

The matter in Palghar is more critical. 

Tell us about the footfall required and the fare 

structure for the viability, and also the speed of the 

bullet train. 

Based on different surveys, the estimated ridership will 

be around 40,000 passengers per day. By 2053, around 

1.86 lakh people will be travelling by bullet train every 

day. In the initial phase, there will be 35 trips each way 

between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. 

Fare will definitely be lower than the flights and it 

cannot be compared with the existing fare of the Indian 

Railways. India’s bullet train fare will be competitive 

enough compared to its competitors globally. The fare 

will be around 1.5 times of the AC first class fare of an 

express train. For example, if an Ahmedabad-Mumbai 

flight costs around Rs 4,000, the one side trip of the 

bullet train would cost around Rs 3,000. In fact, the 

low-cost airlines will face competition from the bullet 

train in the coming years. The global experience has 

been that the airlines have phased out and not the 

bullet trains. 

How much land is required? JICA’s feasibility 

report mentions that Valsad and Plaghar have 

high tribal population. How will the NHSRCL 

carry out the resettlement of the affected 

families? 

According to the initial estimates, around 900- 

1,000 hectares of land would be required for the 

project and 1,100 families are likely to get 

affected. A social impact assessment consultant 

has been assigned to conduct field inspections 

and assess the exact number of families to be 

rehabilitated or resettled. 

Yes, it is a matter of concern that there is a 

significant population of scheduled tribes in 

Valsad (Gujarat) and Palghar (Maharashtra) but 

The design speed of the high-speed train is 350 kmph, 

while the maximum operating speed is 320 kmph. The 

rolling stock and tracks would be designed to run at a 

speed of 350 kmph but we will not run the train with 

maximum design speed. Usually, we keep the operating 

speed 10 percent lower than the design speed. 

44 


A recent IIM Ahmedabad report claimed that 

the bullet train will have to ferry around 1.18 

lakh passengers per day or do 100 trips a day 

between Ahmedabad and Mumbai to make it 

financially viable. Your views? 

Financial viability is something which different 

people take in different prospects. We should be 

able to run the system on our own without 

seeking any grant from any source. Another 

aspect of viability is from the economic 

perspective. Infrastructure projects should not 

be looked purely from the profitability point of 

view. In any infrastructure project, it is very 

difficult to earn profits in its initial phase. 

Currently, it takes eight hours to reach Mumbai 

from Ahmedabad. If people cover this distance 

within two hours, they can utilise the remaining 

six hours for some productive work. 

People all over the world resisted the first-time 

projects and as soon as they start using them, it 

becomes a necessity. 

The project will definitely generate operating 

profit and would not need money to run the 

system on yearly basis, but it will not be able to 

support the depreciation. It will be able to 

support the 0.1% interest on loan and the 

operating cost. 

What plans do you have for getting 

uninterrupted electricity supply for the bullet 

train? 

Getting uninterrupted electricity supply for the 

high-speed network is another challenge. A study 

is being conducted by the NHSRCL to understand 

the best way of tapping electricity. There are 

five-six power distributers with whom the talks 

are going on. We will have the figures of the 

exact amount of electricity required for the highspeed 

train in the next three months. Once the 

statistics are with us, we will accordingly 

approach the distribution companies. The 

Shinkansen system requires the least power 

consumption per seat compared with any other 

high-speed trains globally. 

There are reports that Maharashtra has some 

reservations on the proposed high-speed station at 

Bandra Kurla Complex. 

It’s not a bone of contention between the 

Maharashtra government and the NHSRCL. The BKC 

in Mumbai has two sides: one is an exhibition ground 

and the other is the G block. The Maharashtra 

government has asked us to examine the G block first 

and if it suits our requirement, the NHSRCL will build 

the high-speed station there; otherwise the 

exhibition ground area would be chosen. 

Investigations are going on to find a suitable location 

in BKC. 

According to media reports, the Shinkansen 

technology of the bullet train was a flop in Taiwan. 

What makes you sure that it will be a hit in India? 

The loan interest and depreciation cost were the 

major reasons behind the poor show of the bullet 

train in Taiwan. It is not that people are not accepting 

the bullet train in Taiwan. I would not say the 

Shinkansen system has failed in Taiwan. Ridership is 

increasing gradually. The bullet train started in 2007- 

08 in Taiwan and at that time the ridership was 

around 40,000 and by 2014 it went up to 1.40 lakh 

per day. The air traffic in the same sector is reducing 

in Taiwan. 

The project came up in Taiwan on public-private 

partnership (PPP) basis, which is not the case with 

India. Taiwan’s loan was a commercial loan and 

India’s interest on the Japanese loan is very nominal. 

Besides, India will have to pay interest 15 years after 

receiving the loan, which gives us enough time. If 

Taiwan takes out depreciation, even now its bullet 

train will become profitable. 

If the bullet train was not acceptable to Taiwanese 

people, how come the traffic increased? Air traffic in 

Taiwan in a certain section has almost come down to 

half. 

Many believe that the loan given by Japan to India 

is not a soft loan. Please elaborate. 

In all likelihood, if Japanese Yen becomes strong 


45

[appreciates] then India will have to pay more. 

But, will the sanctioned amount of loan remain 

the same after 50 years? If we simply take 

escalation of 4-5 percent into account, which 

usually happens in India, the project cost of Rs 

1.10 lakh crore will become Rs 1.30 lakh crore in 

terms of net present value in the next 50 years. 

What are the engineering challenges? Can India 

absorb 100% of the technology? 

There are challenges other than the under-sea 

tunnel. We are working in Indian Railways 

territory in Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. 

We have to work in a very limited area, with train 

operations on the existing track. Above that we 

have to build the high-speed network. For 

example, at Sabarmati, we have to build highspeed 

train over the rail overbridge and the 

metro network. There are technical challenges 

which we are confident we will find solution to 

with the help of our Japanese colleagues. 

What are the roll-out milestones? 

Immediately, the training institute will come up in 

December 2020. It is an integral part of this project 

because we have to train people for absorption of 

technology and skills. About 4,000 people will be 

trained before we commission the project. We will 

start the land acquisition shortly and the 

construction will continue even as the institute 

comes up. 

Why did India choose Japanese technology? 

Many deliberations were done. The Committee on 

Innovative Collaboration under the aegis of NITI 

Aayog has examined this. In a nutshell for common 

man’s absorption – Japan was the first to develop 

bullet train in 1964. It has a track record of zero 

fatalities and accidents. The train’s punctuality (delay 

record) is less than a minute. That takes care of 

passengers’ needs. Also, the kind of funding Japan is 

giving, probably no other country had offered it. 

(Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe In Ahmedabad, India) 

46 


METRO RAIL NEWS | September 2017 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN 

Will existing Indian railway system benefit 

from the learning of this safety 

technology? 

You cannot put the technology from one 

place (project) to the other. But the overall 

work culture can be translated on Indian 

Railways. So, yes it will definitely benefit the 

existing India railway system also. 

Hyperloop will be tested in Amravati. What 

is the longevity of a bullet train project? 

Will it get outdated in the next few years? 

There is no commercial service available for 

Hyperloop as of now. Once it is put to 

commercial service, then only we can talk 

about it. But the bullet train technology has 

been serving Japan for the last 52 years. It is 

a proven technology. With Hyperloop, I 

can’t comment. 

(The entire interview was taken by Mr. 

Vishwas Dass and Ms. Smriti Jain) 

How India benefits from bullet train 

1. High-speed connectivity - The bullet train running 

between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will cover the 

distance of 508 km within two to three hours. The 

project is supposed to connect bustling economic 

corridors in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. 

This will facilitate economic growth. Smaller cities 

along the way can also be connected with high-speed 

transit facility to these economic centres through the 

bullet train network. 

2. Employment - The bullet train project will bring 

speed and employment, PM Modi said during its 

inauguration. The bullet train project is expected to 

create 4,000 direct job opportunities, along with 

20,000 indirect jobs. 20,000 construction workers will 

also be employed during the set up period of 

Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train. 

3. Urban expansion - New bullet train stations set to 

come up along the route will attract urban growth. 

This will again shift the pressure of urbanisation from 

the existing urban centres. 

4. Open new avenues - When completed, the 

Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project will present 

as a favourable destination for high-speed train 

technologies, attracting other parties working in the 

field. 

About the Project 

NHSRCL is implementing the project of high speed train 

corridor between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The total length 

of proposed High Speed Railway Corridor works out to be 508.17km. The route of Mumbai Ahmedabad 

High Speed Rail will be passing through two states, Maharashtra and Gujarat and one Union Territory, 

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, of the Union of India. 

The proposed corridor lies in Western Railway zone. It shall start from Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai 

and will end near Sabarmati Railway Station in Ahmedabad. Out of 508.17km, 155.642 km of the 

proposed alignment falls in Maharastra, 350.530 km in Gujarat and 2 km in UT of Dadra and Nagar 

Haveli. 

The High Speed Corridor of Mumbai-Ahmedabad has been proposed with 12 Stations i.e. Mumbai, 

Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch,Vadodara, Anand/Nadia, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati, 

all near major traffic points. Two depots are proposed on either ends of the corridor one near Thane 

and one near Sabarmati Rail Depot. 

48 


Know your Union 

Housing and Urban 

Affairs Minister 

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of State 

(Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Housing and 

Urban Affairs was born in Delhi on 15 February 1952. 

He did his BA (Hons) History from Hindu College, 

University of Delhi and was placed first in order of 

Merit in 1971 and completed his MA(History) 1973 in 

the First Division. He was Prime Minister of the Hindu 

College Parliament and was also a keen debater. He 

also taught at St. Stephens College, Delhi. 

He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1974. During a 

career spanning 39 years, served in senior positions at 

the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence, held 

ambassadorial level posts in the United Kingdom, 

Brazil and served as Permanent Representative of 

India to the United Nations both in Geneva and New 

York. He had earlier served in India’s Missions in 

Tokyo, and Colombo. 

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri has extensive experience in 

multilateral diplomacy. He served on three occasions 

as a member of India’s delegation to the 

GATT/United Nations in Geneva including as 

Ambassador and Permanent Representative from 

2002 to 2005. He has had a long association with 

and specialization in trade policy related matters and 

served on several Dispute Settlement Panels of the 

GATT and WTO. 

He was President of the United Nations Security 

Council in August 2011 and November 2012 and 

Chairman of the United Nations Security Council 

Counter-Terrorism Committee in 2011-2012. 

He retired from the Indian Foreign Service on 28 

February, 2013 and joined the International Peace 

Institute (IPI), New York, a non-profit think tank with 


49

Media Partner

headquarters in New York and offices in Vienna 

and Manama. He was Senior Adviser from June to 

December 2013. He was Vice-President of the IPI 

and Secretary General of the Independent 

Commission on Multilateralism (ICM). He left the 

IPI on 31 March 2016. 

He has authored ‘Perilous Interventions’ – The 

Security Council and The Politics of Chaos, which 

was published by Harper Collins in September 

2016. He has delivered numerous lectures at 

important fora and also published a large number 

of articles and papers. He delivered a public lecture 

on ‘India and the Western Liberal Democratic 

Order’ at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library 

on 23 rd January 2017. He also authored India’s 

Trade Policy Dilemma and the Role of Domestic 

Reform, published by Carnegie India in February, 

2017. 

He was appointed President of the Governing Body 

and Chairman of the Governing Council of the 

Research and Information Systems for Developing 

Countries (RIS). He is a visiting faculty of the 

Graduate Institute in Geneva. 

He was inducted in the Union Cabinet on 3 

September, 2017 and took over as Minister of State 

(Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing 

and Urban Affairs on 4 September,2017. 

Contact for registration and sponsorship details: 

Terrapinn Holdings Ltd 

Wren House, 43 Hatton Garden, 

London, EC1N 8EL 

Tel: +44 (0)20 7092 1000 

Fax: +44 (0)87 1233 9263 

enquiry.uk@terrapinn.com 

For more details log on to https://www.terrapinn.com/conference/rail-festival 


51

SELECTION AND APPOINTMENTS 

Shri Piyush Goyal 

Union Minister of Railways and Coal 

Mr. Piyush Goyal took charge of Union Minister of Railways and Coal, Govt. of India on 

3 rd September, 2017. Before taking charge of Ministry of Railways, he was Minister of 

State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy in the 

Government of India. He has had a strong academic record - all-India second rank 

holder Chartered Accountant and second rank holder in Law in Mumbai University. 

Shri Ashwani Lohani 

Chairman, Railway Board 

Air India CMD Mr. Ashwani appointed as Chairman Railway Board after the 

resignation of Shri Ashok Kumar Mittal after two train derailments in four days in 

Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Lohani is a mechanical engineer from the 1980 batch of the Indian 

Railway Services, has been seen as a doer, always leading by example. 

Shri Sanjeev Sinha 

Advisor, Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed Bullet Train 

Sanjeev Sinha, former Tata executive in Tokyo and the first IITian from Barmer, 

Rajasthan, has been appointed as adviser for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed 

Rail project by Japan Railways. 

52 


LIVE TENDER NOTICES 

Company Name & 

Location 

Description of Work 

Tender Cost 

(INR) 

Closing 

Date 

Delhi Metro Rail 

Corporation Ltd, New 

Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 

NIT for the scope “Supply, Installation, Testing & 

Commissioning Of E&M, Fire Detection, Fire 

Suppression, EOT Crane, Compressor And VAC System 

for extension work in Najafgarh Depot of Delhi MRTS 

Project Phase- III, Contract CE-22 

NIT for Five Year Comprehensive Annual Maintenance 

Contract (CAMC) of Environmental Control Systems 

(Electrical, Mechanical, RO Plant & BMS) for 09 

Underground Metro Stations of Line-2 (i.e. Udyog 

Bhawan, Race Course, Jor Bagh, INA, AIIMS, Green 

Park, Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar & Saket ) and 04 

Underground Metro Stations of Line-6 (i.e. Central 

Secretariat, Khan Market, Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium 

& Jangpura ) of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. 

NIT for replacement of Split ACs with VRV/VRF units at 

05Metro Stations (Pragati Maidan, Indraprastha, 

R.K.Ashram and Jhandewalan and Karol Bagh) of Line-3 

NIT for Construction and development of Parking at 

stations and miscellaneous works at Noida-Greater 

Noida Metro Corridor and Depot. 

NIT for “Contract CE/UD/T-47: Supply, installation, 

testing & commissioning for shifting / modification of 

balance work of Electrical Utilities, 11kV & LT Lines, 

Substations, Street Light Poles etc. infringing various 

sections of Delhi MRTS Phase-III. 

9.27 Crore 09.10.2017 

10.10.2017 





53

Company Name & 

Location 

Description of Work 

Tender Cost 

(INR) 

Closing Date 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 

Mumbai Metro Rail 

Corporation Ltd., 

Mumbai, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 



Delhi, India 

NIT for combining of Station Control Rooms at AZU, 

NSHP, LJPN, KDDM, WC, JPW, HKS,KJMD and BCGN 

stations of DMRC. 

Inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Implementation 

of EMV and RUPAY based Open Loop Ticketing in DMRC 

including Comprehensive Maintenance of AFC system of 

Phase I, II, and III stations. 

NIT for ”Design, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, 

Testing and Commissioning of E&M works comprising of 

Electrical Sub Stations with HT and LT works, Ventilation 

and Air Conditioning Systems (VAC), Fire Detection 

Systems, Fire Suppression (Fire Fighting) Systems, 

Building Management System (BMS), EOT cranes, Air- 

Compressors including compressed air piping works and 

Plumbing Pumps for the Depot Buildings including OCC 

and at grade Aarey Station for “Mumbai Metro Line -3” 

NIT for Licensing of operation, maintenance and Event 

management of Prakriti Metro park at Shastri Park, Near 

Shastri Park Metro Station. 

NIT for the work “Miscellaneous maintenance 

facilitation works at Najafgarh Metro Depot”. 

NIT for the work of “ Independent Safety Assessment 

Services For Train Control & Signalling System of Noida 

City Center - Noida Electronic City corridor.” 

NIT for the work, "Replacement of MS Water Pipe Line 

of Cooling Tower in Airport Express Line". 

NIT for the work, "Refilling of Argonite Gas cylinders 

(300 Bar, 80 Ltr ) In Airport Line". 

NIT for the work “Providing of Caution and Speed 

Restriction Sign Boards at Najafgarh, Dwarka and 

Khyber Pass Depots”. 

NIT for the work “Architectural Finishing, Plumbing, 

Sanitary, Drainage, Water and Sewage Treatment, 

External Development, Electrical & Mechanical Works, 

Fire Fighting & Mechanical Ventilation Works at 

Residential Block near Okhla NSIC Metro Station of Delhi 

MRTS Phase-III.” 


NIL 10.11.2017 









54 


METRO RAIL NEWS | September 2017 | WWW.METRORAILNEWS.IN 

Official Media Partner

UPCOMING EVENTS 

Event Date Event Name Location 

Oct. 7-8, 2017 IC-TRAM 2017 NEW DELHI, India 

Oct. 10-12, 2017 InnoRail 2017 BUDAPEST, Hungary 

Oct. 11-13, 2017 International Rail Conference 2017 NEW DELHI, India 

Oct. 11-13, 2017 12 th IREE 2017 NEW DELHI, India 

Oct. 11-13, 2017 3 rd Urban Mass Transit Expo 2017 NEW DELHI, India 

Nov. 4-5, 2017 Urban Mobility India Conference & Expo 2017 HYDERABAD, India 

Nov. 13-15, 2017 World Rail Festival 2017 AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands 

Nov. 20, 2017 FICCI Smart Mobility Conference NEW DELHI, India 

Nov. 30, 2017 GMS Rail Expansion Summit 2017 NAIROBI, Kenya 

Dec. 7-8, 2017 2 nd Annual Future Rail India Summit 2017 NEW DELHI, India 

Dec. 15-16, 2017 UITP India Seminar on Metro Rail Projects 2017 NEW DELHI, India 

56 


Metro Rail Job Openings 

Organization & Location Position Name Last Date 

RITES Ltd., Gurgaon, 

India 

• Assistant Manager (E&S) – 01 post 

• Assistant Manager (Logistics) – 01 post 

• Assistant Manager (Mechanical) – 10 post 

• Engineer (Mechanical) – 25 posts 

• Assistant Manager (Electrical) – 05 posts 

• Engineer (Electrical) – 10 posts 

• Dy. General Manager (Company Secretary) – 01 post 

• Assistant Manager (Company Secretary) – 02 posts 

• Dy. General Manager (Civil) – 02 posts 

• Manager (Civil) – 02 posts 

• Dy. General Manager (Electrical) – 02 posts 

• Manager (Electrical) – 02 posts 

• Dy. General Manager (S&T) – 02 posts 

• Manager (S&T) – 02 posts 

• Engineer (Mechanical) – 08 posts 

• Engineer (Electrical) – 13 posts 



57

Organization & Location Position Name Last Date 

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation 

Ltd., New Delhi, India 



Kochi Metro Rail Ltd., Kochi, 

India 

IRCON International Limited, 

New Delhi, India 

Indian Port Rail Corporation, 

Mumbai, India 

Indian Railway Stations 

Development Corporation 




Maharashtra Metro Rail 

Corporation Ltd., Nagpur 

• Claim Commissioner – 01 post 

• Dy. General Manager (Finance) – 01 post 

• Assistant Manager (Finance) – 01 post 

• Account Assistants – 03 posts 

• Senior Section Engineers (Rolling Stock) – 10 posts 



• DGM (Finance) – 1 post 27.10.2017 

• General Manager (Operation & Maint.) – 1 post 

• Junior Architect – 1 post 

• Auto CAD Operator – 1 post 

• Document Controller – 1 post 

• Horticulturist – 1 post 

• Transport Assistant – 1 post 

• Transport Coordinator – 1 post 

• Office Maintainer – 1 post 

• Tool Crib cum Attendant – 1 post 

• Liaison Assistant – 2 post 

• Work Engineer (Civil) – 88 posts 

• Site Supervisor (Civil) – 33 posts 

• Site Supervisor (S&T) – 22 posts 

• Work Engineer (Mechanical) – 3 posts 

• AGM/JGM/DGM (Project) – 6 posts 

• AGM/JGM/DGM (S&T) – 1 post 

• Manager/Asstt. Manager (HR) – 1 post 

• Site Engineer (Civil) – 1 post 

• Civil Engineer – 2 posts 

• Electrical Engineer – 1 post 





• DGM (Electrical/Utility Division) – 1 post 06.11.2017 

• Station Controller/Train Operators – 62 posts 

• Section Engineer (Electrical) – 5 posts 

• Section Engineer (Electronics) – 4 posts 

• Section Engineer (Mechanical) – 1 post 

• Junior Engineer (Electrical) – 18 posts 

• Junior Engineer (Electronics) – 16 posts 

• Junior Engineer (Mechanical) – 4 posts 

• Junior Engineer (Civil) – 5 posts 

• Technician (Electrical) – 34 posts 

• Technician (Civil) – 32 posts 

• Technician (Electronics) – 25 posts 


58 


Special Edition 

on Govt. of India’s new 

Metro Rail Policy 

2017 

Highlights of September 2017 Edition: 

• Round up on Metro Rail News of August 2017 

• India’s new Metro Rail Policy 2017 

• Lucknow Metro: A new DIGNITY for Uttar Pradesh 

• Build Safe Braking Model: Safe Separation 

• Mumbai Metro: Windfall for EPC, Systems and Rolling Stock sectors 

• The Real IoT : Internet of Trains 

• Live Tenders and Contracts 

• Upcoming Events/Conferences 

• Current Job Openings in Metro rail sector 

• Many more… 

Metro Rail News | Symbroj Media Pvt. Ltd. 

Corp. Office: Plot #64, Gyan Khand-I, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad - 201014 (U.P.) India 

Regd. Office: E-30A, First Floor, Jawahar Park, Khanpur, New Delhi – 110062 India 

E-mail: info@symbroj.com | Web: www.symbroj.com 

Advertising Contact: +91 807 636 9858, 965 072 0167 | E-mail: sales@metrorailnews.in 

Press/Media Contact: +91 999 045 4505, 798 743 5773 | E-mail: editor@metrorailnews.in 

Follow us at:

ADMISSION OPEN ! 

For One Year Full – Time 

Post Graduate Programme 

in 

Metro & Rail Technology 

For admission query, please contact: 

Institute of Metro & Rail Technology 

1st Floor, 160 Patny Square, Patny Nagar, Secunderabad-500003, Telangana, INDIA 

Tel: +91 40 2790 3311 |E-mail: info@imrtindia.edu.in | Web: www.imrtindia.edu.in

Metro Rail News October 2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?