Rail Analysis India June Digital Magazine 2018 | Page 16

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to be launched in October 2018.The specifications of
the most advanced signaling system in the world viz.
Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) system,
which was introduced by Kochi Metro Rail first in the
country, is also being formulated jointly by BEL, C-DAC,
DMRC, STQC through MoHUA.
4. However, there are numerous other areas for which
indigenous standards need to be formulated.These are
layout of metro station,platforms, signage& displays, size
of tunnels, fire protection systems, disaster management
systems, environment friendly and waste management
systems, standards for solar panels at stations etc.
5. These indigenous standards will ensure that metro rail
sub systems for all new metro projects conform to the
prescribed standards thus incentivizing manufacturers to
plan for long term investments in the country and set up
manufacturing units. This will also bring down the cost of
the metro rail constructions and operation.
key points on Standardization and
Indigenization in Metro Rail Systems
Image Credit : Kelvyn Ornettte Sol Marte
Metro rail projects are playing a crucial role not only as a
transportation solution but as a means to transform cities.
Key Points :
1. 490 kms of metro lines are operational in 10 different
cities in the country. More than 600 kms of metro rail
projects are under construction in various cities. In the
coming years there will be robust growth in metro rail
sector. More than 350 kms of new construction will be
started in the next few years as more and more cities
are planning for expansion or new constructions of metro
6. For this purpose, a committee has been constituted
under the chairmanship of Sh. E. Sreedharan for
Standardization and Indigenization in Metro Rail with the
following members:
Article Source : PIB
rail. In addition to metro rail network, Regional Rapid
Transport System (RRTS) is also being introduced to
decongest Delhi & NCR. The first phase of RRTS consists
of 3 corridors, covering a total length of about 380 kms.
This transit system will connect Delhi with Sonepat, Alwar
and Meerut.
2. The Government of India is providing financial support
in the implementation of metro rail projects by way of
Equity and Subordinate Debt aswell as well as sovereign
guarantee for multilateral and bilateral loans. The
increasing trend of central government budget outlay
provided for metro rail projects in last four years is evidence
of the ever growing need for metro rail to decongest and
enhance mobility in our cities.The average budget outlay
of Govt. of India is likely to increase to about Rs 25,000
cr annually, apart from the investments envisaged by the
state governments, private partners and ULBs.
3. Various other steps have been taken for the systematic
and sustainable growth of metro rail projects in the
country. The standards for rolling stock and signaling
systems or the metro rail in India have been notified
in 2017 after concurrence from Railway Board. The
standards for rolling stock also fixes the standards of civil
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structures. The standards for electrical systems have
been concurred by the Railway Board recently and the
same will be notified soon.
Various new metro systems have already started
procurement of the systems as per the notified
standards.The detailed specifications for the Automatic
Fare Collection System and the complete eco-system
based on the Rupay standard has been prepared by
NPCI and C-DAC in collaboration with DMRC through a
research project sanctioned by MoHUA. BEL has been
tasked to manufacture the prototype of the gate trough
their ownfunds. Substantial expenditure has already
been incurred and the first indigenous gate based on
the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is likely
• Chairman Dr. E. Sreedharan
• Sh. H.S. Anand, (for Rolling Stock) Former Director,
Rolling Stock, DMRC
• Sh. Sameer Lohani, (for Rolling Stock) Executive Director
(Carriage), RDSO, Indian Railways
• Sh. D. K. Sinha, (for signalling) Director, Operations,
Kochi Metro Rail
• Sh. Jitendra Tyagi, (for Civil Engineering) MD, Dehradun
Metro, Uttrakhand
• Sh. Vipul Kumar, (Track & Civil Structure) Executive
Director, Track Modernisation, Railway Board
• Sh. Prashanth Rao (Automatic Fare Collection System)
Director Systems, Ahmedabad Metro
• Sh. Anoop Gupta (Traction, Power Supply, Ventilation)
Director, Electrical, DMRC
• Sh. Mukund Kumar Sinha, (Member Secretary) OSD
(UT) and Ex Officio Joint Secretary, MoHUA
7. The committee is expected to submit its report in 3 months.
After 3 months, based on specific task of standardization,
Dr. Sreedharan could co-opt the relevant expert members
for the task for a specified period of time.
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