Deccan Herald today carried a news item titled "NGO dusts off commuter rail idea" with a NR map.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/122932/ngo-dusts-off-commuter-rail.html
...Sanjeev Dyamannavar of Praja, an NGO which is advocating the nearly-forgotten proposal made way back in 1983 by the Indian Railways, says that during his recent consultations with the State government and railway officials in Bangalore, he found that they were evincing cautious interest in the proposal.
The rail system, says Dyamannavar, is a critical solution for the commuter problems in the burgeoning metro, since it envisages multiple modes of transport for easy commuting, connecting places that can be reached in around an hour’s time from the City centre.
With the help of Prof Sitaram of the Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning at the Indian Institute of Science, Praja has prepared a detailed report outlining the routes, distances and requirements. The proposal contemplates 35 new stations and an approximate distance of 370 km and improving accessibility to the existing stations...
Interesting to note that it kind of supports PPP for this project
...Sources in the Railways say the prohibitive cost of implementing the project makes it suitable for a public-private-partnership venture, but approval might take time...
Sanjeev, great work for making the right noises and working hard to reach out to different people.
Comments
Congrats!
I love this article! No bulshitting, almost like a praja blog printed on the paper.
Great going CRS Team!
Well written
It struck me too that it was so well written it captured all the points we have been making for months on end. Good journalism by the reporter. Need to send her a thank you note.
Great work Sanjeev Dyamannavar
It feels good to see growing presence of Praja as an NGO. Great work!
Good article by Deccan Herald on Commuter Railu
Hope now authorities of State & SWR put more efforts to bring this project for Bangalore.
Thanks to journalist Nandini for bringing out this very much needed article for Commuter Rail.
Thanks to Prof. Sitarm / CiSTUP or supporting the Public Transport. Its Praja which has enabled Commuter Rail to come such long way since last one year.
And it is right in the middle
And it is right in the middle of the second page in DH Bangalore Print edition. Congratulations NammaRailu team!
Loved the article... a case for Op-Eds?
Wonder if it would be a good idea to write Op-Eds and get them published in different mainstream papers to garner some public support for this? For example, the Hindu has an Open Page where things get published. Do papers even accept Op Eds of this sort? That will be an ideal platform to bring up a lot of key points in one go and widely disseminate.
get them published in
get them published in different mainstream papers
We actually need to do this in Kannada. We have enough material now to do it. Last time people offered to help we werent ready with material. So calling for volunteers again.
Get Support voices from Industry associations..
Just like the Electronics city Industries body which came together for the hosur road flyover, is there / can we make them(whitefield industrial organization ???) ask for a 15 min interval passenger trains from city to Whitefield or beyond during rush hours , which will be a first step towards commuter trains and make media take up this ?
That will have so many supporters who commute on old madras road / whitefield and may get the attention of Railways / Ministers during this years budget.
current peak hour trains are
2 trains running in the morning (9:20 & 9:50 AJJ/BWT passengers)
2 down trains in the evening (5:50 PM, 7 - AJJ -SBC passenger, Bangalore Exp)
Thanks
Sajil T K
Liaison Officers needed
Just like the Electronics city Industries body which came together for the hosur road flyover, is there / can we make them(whitefield industrial organization ???)
We have BCIC representing the industry, participating so far more as a partner to deploy than as a user org.
We would like volunteers who can take the message to ELCIA, ORRCA etc. Please drop a comment if anybody can liaise. Namma Railu team will support with knowledge, presentations & other materials including attending meetings on this regard if organized
Good Report
The DH report is great! Sanjeev has been the moving force behind Namma Railu & the DH article portrays this accurately - congrats Sanjeev.
Sajil makes a good suggestion - involvement & support of industry associations in Whitefield /Hosur /Anekal /Dodballapur etc will benefit this demand.
Also, the kannada media must also be brought in to help the effort.
good going, thanks DH!
Very good report. Thank you Deccan Herald for carrying it.
Thank you Sanjeev for your sincere efforts on this project. As I type this comment, I know that you and Sathya are busy at yet another meeting with South Western Railway. Managing to do so much despite being busy (work/family), Namma Railu project is an example of quality public service from a couple of dedicated individuals like yourself.
@Naveen, IDS - you are right, we need to get kannada media to spread word on Commuter Rail. We can try reach TV9 perhaps to see if they can carry a report.
missionary zeal
Good work, Sanjeev. I notice a missionary zeal in the Namma Railu team to make it happen. InShahAllah, it should bear fruit soon. And yes, we need to get the likes of Vijay Karnataka to publish it too.
@ids - say we need to liaise with industry; not 'liaison officers needed'. You may find Niira Radia applying:))).
Any Volunteers for Kannada translation of NR Brochure?
SB,
You are right. Time to get across to Kannada news papers and audience.
Any volunteers who can help with translation of NR demand report and other brochures? If any pls leave a comment here?
-Syed
namma railu
ssheragu
nice to know that Praja is getting recognized;
But how does this Namma Railu complement Namma Metro or how it is different from Namma Metro
Furher since it is ground level, will Namma Railu take the responsibility of providing signal free underpasses or overhead bridges for motor vehicles and other forms of transport so that other modes of transport do not get held up and cause traffic jams
many thanks
Srinath Heragu
@sheragu - Information is available in Call to Action Report
@sheragu
All the answers to your questions are available in the Praja Report.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail - Call to Action - Reprint 2.pdf
-Syed
Namma Railu - Cost saving for IT companies ?
Hi Team Namma Railu !
I am an keen follower of Namma Railu ...(sufferer of V2WC Bug ! - Vijayanagr to Whitefield Commuter)
May be people might have thought this but I would like bring following points. Hope it helps (Numbers are my Guess/ Apologies if they are incorrect )
- Majority of Whitefield companies are IT companies. With 70 % of staff travels by Bus / Bikes / CARs - Now a days everyone think of how to reduce the cost of doing Business. Lets present Namma Railu as cost effective mode of transport for the IT companies and its employees (We see daily 1000s of Busses running every day between Majestic to Whitefield )
- Lets tell how companies can save money by lobbying for Namma Railu. As said by many if we can gather support of IT companies It would be great idea !
- As 1st target if we can have some stall in front of ITPL or within ITPL / nearby IT complexes with a big banner which loudly says
"Fed up with BBCB Travel ? (Bike /Bus/Company Bus) Then Come here !
- Do you know Bangalore has Railway Track which covers 75 % of Bangalore including whitefiled ?
- Did you ever thought travelling from Majestic to Whitefiled with Maximum of 30 Mins !! without traffic /signal s
Yes there is an answer...We have a train track / we have trains!!! Just need a Zeal to make it happen..
Come support Us for Namma Railu!
I believe if marketing is strong we can sell anything. What we selling is a peaceful travel to Bangalorians who surely can buy it!
If we can gather some kind signature movement of 1lack people (Forgive me if this # is unrealistic) that’s a significant support of public which can be again conveyed to govt. thorough media / papers !
We know If there is public there will Publicity! If there is publicity there is a Business!
Just need to come with idea how to let people know about the idea of Namma Railu
Just thought came in between ..not sure if this can be done …lets get big banner May be some 50Mts or 100meters length white cloth and have signature of company employees who support Namma Railu …it looks fancy idea but if we are able get the media glare then that helps us to take forward. Intention is tell govt that how eager people are to have Namma railu!
Currently I am not India but really excited the idea of Namma railu as I suffered the pain of travelling for 2/3 hrs. I am ready to volunteer for any kind of when I am in Bangalore.
Thank You.
Narayan Vaster
@Narayan Vaster
Thanks for the input, Sane and logical voices like yours has to reach the government & politicos. We are doing this on behalf of people like you only.
For on ground campaigning we need volunteers so do reach out when you are back let us take this idea forward.
Great ideas
Narayan Vaster,
Greatly appreciate your support for the Namma Railu campaign. As IDS mentioned, we need many more volunteers to push this through - hope we can count on you when you get back here.
Any one has contact details of WEPPIA
@ Narayan Vaster,
Its good idea, if some one can co-ordinate for Whitefield.
Whitefield Export Promotion Park Industrial Association ( WEPPIA ) if we can talk to them throu' some contacts.
Does any one has contacts of WEPPIA???
MMTS
Petition by IT people of HiTech City in Hyderabad during 2008 for improvemnets :
http://bettermmtsforhyderabad.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/mmts4hyd/petition.html
Our Bangalore IT people should come out strongly for Commuter Rail and force State and Center to give approval for further progress.
Local Railway network to solve Bengaluru's traffic problem
This is on the same lines as Sanjeev's with more emphasis on its feasibility and lesser cost of implementation.
“Here is a suggestion to solve Bangalore's traffic problems and also crop up a series of improvements. Railways as mass rapid transport system can play a very big role in solving this problem.
NR has moved beyond, only GOK can make it happen!
Ravichandar,
Welcome to Praja. Glad to hear about your support for the commuter rail service in Bangalore. There are no 2 opinions on the immense economic, social and environments benefits that Commuter service brings.
These have been very well articulated in the 'Call to Action Report'. Would like to request you to go through the discussions, comments and Wiki on Namma Railu section on Praja @ http://praja.in/en/nammar....
Just to update you on Namma Railu - A Praja Campaign for Commuter Rail Service, the campaign has been progressing from one stage to another. So far it has seen the following:
Namma railu team consisting of IDS, Naveen and Sanjeev has been consistently working hard with missionary zeal to make CR in Bangalore a reality. Now they have reached a stage where they need mass public support and political willingness.
There are some ground realities that we need to acknowledge. There are railway lines, stations exists, but these are owned by railways. Per railways they are in use in full capacity for long distance and freight trains. To make room for CR trains, it needs additional tracks, platforms, stations in all directions. Railways has to upgrade its block signaling system. These certainly are doable, its only a cost and political approval issue.
What we really need is government of Karnataka's firm willingness and pressure on India Railways to implement the CR in Bengaluru ASAP. This is the biggest hurdle we need to overcome to make CR a reality in our life time.
Good show guys
Am glad Praja has got something so concrete so far !! Great going - lets hope something comes of it
Its hard to imagine such a big budget and project going at one go. Is it possible to scale this - maybe one line, low cost, like a proof of concept and we take in the lessons learnt to scale it up in few steps to a full scale implementation
I can liason with ORCAA, but I dont see much value at this point of time
Suhas
@Suhas
Welcome back, proof of concept is there in 4 metros & Hyderabad. 120 services daily are running in Hyderabad and everybody knows about Mumbai locals. It is no longer a concept to be proved.
namma railu
ssheragu
Hai Syed
I went thru' the report; can you tell me in which my concerns regarding signal free underpasses are addresssed
many thanks
Srinath Heragu
I went thru' the report;
I went thru' the report; can you tell me in which my concerns regarding signal free underpasses are addresssed
Page 20 Section 5.2,
"..Additionally, ROB’s & RUB’s need to be built along all lines to enable smooth access and uninterrupted service..."
Commuter Rail will benefit ORCAA areas.
@Suhas
Proof of Concept can be linked to the phase-1 of the Commuter Rail as prposed in the report where increase the frequency on some of the corridors and bring 14 pairs of existing passanger trains running to these suburbs like Bangarpet, Tumkur, Chikballpur, Hosur.
Commuter rail from Yesvantpur - Hebbal - Banswadi - Belandur - Hosur line covers most of it on Outer Ring Road and take pressure from Anekal / Chandpur / Sarjapur Road. This will help on reducing traffic and their is no need to do the road widening on ORR.
We need a support from ORCAA, if Suhas can liason with ORCAA and get support from them, it will give strength for this big project..
Hope to see support from ORCAA soon.
sanjeev
Movement seen in SWR?
If DH report is to believed, there are signs of Namma Railu getting pushed in this year's railway budget.
Source - Deccan Herald
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/124810/rlys-passenger-friendly-plan-track.html
"...Momentum has been gathering for a commuter rail system for Bangalore and its suburbs. With the officials also expressing cautious interest in the proposal, efforts are on to push for it in the railway budget coming up in February..."
Politicians should make some time for public cause
Our elected representatives of Bangalore & its suburbs should put pressure on central govt. to get the Commuter Rail project approved in the coming railway budget. They are too busy to save their skins, if they do good public work, then public will support them as case can be seen with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
Railway has in its possession nearly 90 acres of land at Biyyappanahalli, this should be used to for benefit of city and state govt should hand over further required land to Railways without further delay. If this is done along with Binny mill land should be provided to railways,
Then major portion of Bangalore roads need not be taken up for road wideneing, commuter rail can take the pressure off from road trafffic. Also nearby suburbs will get benefit of excellenet public transport connection to Bangalore city.
Involving politicians & Byeppanahalli land
1) I fully agree with Mr Sanjeev's view that at this stage elected representatives/ politians shud be Involved in these discussions. The group of MLA/MP's from Bangalore irrespective of Partyline be informed thru praja about the developments. But care shud taken to ensure we r not made to run around them
2) State govt has been asking railways to make B'halli as second terminus for Bng in view of congestion at city terminus. This was turned down by railways due to paucity of funds earlier & inadequate political pressure. In my opinion B' halli railway land can be effectively used for Namma Railu terminus/ centric
Pilot project and two questions
@IDS,
You are right, concept is proven. Let me rephrase that - I think what we should push for as a first step is a pilot project. All said and done this is a pretty complex task, involving many agencies, needs to be executed really well to utilise its full potential. Our (as in goverments, any goverments) track record in this kind of multi-departmental execution has not been good.
My thinking, and I may be wrong here, is that it may be easier to get a pilot project off the ground in terms of approval for funding, by-in from politicians etc. The biggest advantage is in terms of learning which can be reapplied as we scale. This is the way I think any big project should be undertaken.
I read through the report and I am happy we have gotten so far. I have two questions, I am not too clear about -
Q1. You mention the need for additional dedicated tracks for commuter rail ? Does therailway have land along all the corridors for this or is there land aquision involved.(for laying of the tracks - I understand for RUB/ROB you may need, but that is OK)
Q2. Is there a ballpark number on how much this would cost all inclusive ? For METRO for eg: it is around Rs 180 crore per km. It is important to get this number and have a figure of merit (how much it costs per passenger km) and compare with other modes of transport to push this further.
Sanjeev,
What exactly do you want from ORCAA ? - Can you spell it out explicitly ? I was once in touch but over the last year have not been involved. I will see if anything can be done
Suhas
@Suhas, If you refer the CTTP
@Suhas,
If you refer the CTTP 2007 report from RITES, cost of commtuer rail is around 15 crore per Km inclusive of station improvements, signalling excluding the rake cost.
Except in few places within ORR limits, SWR has in a possession of required land for doubling. In case of RUB / ROB's land need to be acquired with the help of BBMP, BDA & BMRDA. Tthis project need to be planned in complete with integration with other modes of transport like BMTC, METRO, HSRL & Mono Rail. Execution can be planned with pilot and can go in phases and frequency can be increased ove the period when ever the capacity is added either thru doubling / electrification / platforms.
I mean ORRCA, corrected myself :
Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA),
@suhas - Some answers
Train YH1 already exists which even with a single service is well patronized. YD1 to devanahalli also exists but is so badly timed that we cant even take it for one of our test rides. I dont know if you want to call these pilots. But I fail to understand the reasoning for pilot. What is the pilot expected to prove?
On the other hand if you want it rolled out in phases I agree, maybe start of by taking over the 14 trains already running, then introduce a few more along the YH1 & YD1 routes and & extend to Tumkur. Introduce a few on the DBP route. Of course phases are possible.
Q1. You mention the need for additional dedicated tracks for commuter rail ? Does therailway have land along all the corridors for this or is there land aquision involved.(for laying of the tracks - I understand for RUB/ROB you may need, but that is OK)
All railway tracks will have stones marking the extent of railway land. You can see it from your train window if you notice, we have done a physical observation along the YH1 route & find there is enough to quadruple in most sections and definitely double. It may be trickier along the Byappanahalli Bangarpet corridor but thats already double tracked. A technical committee needs to go into the exact availability along each segment and this is why a DPR needs to be done. But it can be said with comfort that along the alignment we have proposed land very much available.
Q2. Is there a ballpark number on how much this would cost all inclusive ? For METRO for eg: it is around Rs 180 crore per km. It is important to get this number and have a figure of merit (how much it costs per passenger km) and compare with other modes of transport to push this further
It is well known that the broad guage costs of laying on surface is around 8 crores per kilometer. This kind of costs gives you bandwidth to indluge on better rolling stock with doors, cycle carriages, better equipped stations etc. More than the cost its the benefit of getting 200+ kms of railway service to promote transit oriented development at a super low cost and in very quick time. How long would you have to wait and how much money on acquisition would you have to spend for 200+ kms of metro?
Interstate trains are already being used by commuters for short haul routes all we are asking it for it to be branded, enhanced & run as a short haul service so a reliable and comfortable service can be had at appropriate frequency & with different rolling stock. Also you dont need to compare with metro as the metro serves the BBMP area and this will serve the BMR region where Metro is not allowed to go by the railways because of jurisdictional constraints. HSRL is haiving trouble getting approved because it is going beyond BBMP limits. I would think the entire 200+ kms could be done for around 3000 crores if not less.
Feasibility in terms of cost is not an issue at all. Its a matter of willingness to find a way between IR/SWR & GoK. Especially considering everybody is hung up on comparing this with other forms like metro mono etc. Believe me, with our kind of population, even with all these systems in the next 20 years they will all run full to the brim. Just go to Japan & see. In tokyo all modes run full. for 12 million population the people movers there move 23 million at last count. 200% of the population. Metro + BMTC will carry at the most 50% of our population. Our density in BBMP area is high and the cost of labour is going to increase with high rentals and living costs. We need to spread it to BMR region and what better way than on a people mover like heacy rail? We have to learn lessons from China.
DPR should be the next thing to happen!
Suhas,
Good to see you back on Praja. Hope all your questions have been answered by IDS. The next thing to be happen in NR campaign is to get the DPR going. For which both GOK and railway needs to formally say yes. Praja and CiSTUP has even done the necessary ground work for DPR to start - i.e. TOR. We have talked to SWR and has oral OK from them. It is just a matter of kick starting the process for a DPR.
Pilot project and whats next step
Thanks IDS - your answers cover my question well - at this point that is about what we can find out as motivated citizens
By pilot project, I mean a route with all the bells and whistles you mention, like quality stations with easy interchange and parking wherever neccessary, dedicated double tracks with RUB/ROB, high frequency of service, last mile connectivity and feeder service, ease of information availability. As you may have already mentioned, these are essential to get good utilisation. I think that doing just one track/section first and then scaling will work better (call it phasing if you will)
@kbsyed
I am a little confused on the next step - if a DPR needs to be done by GOK and you are already talking to them, why do you want to rope in ORCAA or other such agencies.
Suhas
@suhas, who does it?
Suhas,
With respect to your assertion "I think that doing just one track/section first and then scaling will work better (call it phasing if you will)", the question to is, who will do it? Somebody has to take that initiative. As we understand, Railways Pro-actively should do it. But even then you need GOK co-operation and buying from them for integration with other transit modes. Therefore the BEST ENTITY to pursue this case would be GOK. GOK should have the vested interest to pusue with Railways vigorously. It needs to be pursued with Railway Board at Central level. SWR doesn't seems to have the powers for such projects.
If you read my comments @http://praja.in/en/projects/3110/announcement/namma-railu-news-again-time-deccan-herald#comment-26072, you will notice that NR efforts has reached a stage now where it is only a matter of political interest and decision to give the green signal.
Pls do read the MEMO that was submitted to Shri.Muniyappa, MoS Railways which lists the efforts so far in terms of time-line.
In order to bring the sufficient interest among our GOK &public representatives public demand and public pressure alone will work specially when it is done for public utility purposes sans any monetary considerations.
In that context any help from any quarter is welcome and hence the request for ORRCA support.
Let us talk this in detail over phone call or skype. IDS and Sanjeev would be the best resources locally.
-Syed
Namma Railu - Groups in Facebook \ Orkut \ twitter ?
Hi NR Team,
How about the idea of having groups in Facebook \ Orkut \ twitter ?. We all know these are the sites which are mostly used by people which can help us to spread the word about Namma Railu.
As tiny contribution I am planning to send a forward email to all of my contacts available in my gmail ID. I am sure if we send such forward email at least people will get to know in some or otherway.
if any one has good and standard content to share about Namma Railu in email please share that to me.
Thanks & regards
Narayan
@ suhas, feeders first
There is a local train launched an year ago from yelahanka to hosur. This has stops at Bellandur and Karmelaram railway stations. I think ORRCA should first ask for feeder services to ORR from both these railway stations.
And feeders from whitefield railway station at peak hours also required. This we need to contact ITPL or EPIP people. Or skywalk of whitefield railway station needs good footpath all the way till Kadugodi bus stop nearby.
FB/Twitter for Blogs
We all know these are the sites which are mostly used by people which can help us to spread the word about Namma Railu
There is a facebook share option in every blog at the bottom of the post. It shows up nicely on your page if you use it. If you are on Twitter, every blog is tweeted you only have to RT. Follow @praja_bangalore
Check out this DMU
Check out this DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8c7d5_BsB8&feature=player_embedded
Looks good to me.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
What is the way ahead
@kbsyed,
I have read through your MEMO - I must it has been extraordinary work you guys have done. But the task you have taken is extraordinarily challenging as well - it needs co-ordination across diverse departments and cooperation across the political spectrum. Assume magically that GOK is all aligned and CM himself goes with the file to Railway minister, what motivation would the central govt. have to approve it - why would they want this GOK govt. relected ?
Regarding your comment "the question to is, who will do it' I understand. I am coming from what is the best approach that NR can take to get this moving.. Let me ask the question to you - what is it that you are looking for - one big budget approval and one big programm that would at its completion have this complete infrastructure in place or are you targetting it incrementally, a flyover there, a feeder service there, some additional frequency of trains here and incrementally improve to whatever is possible
I get that you are looking at ORRCA at two levels - 1. Endorsement to the overall NR project 2. Improvements to the approach to the stations near ORR. Let me try and contact them next week. But be forewarned that they are not that cohesive or focussed, and probably may not be very usefull either.
Suhas
But the task you have taken
But the task you have taken is extraordinarily challenging as well...
Which is probably the same response most of us might have had, even 5 years back, if someone suggested that a govt transport agency (read BMTC) would be interested in an idea (Bus Day) from a bunch of citizens brainstorming over the internet (Praja). Admittedly, the number of stakeholders makes it more complex, but the reason most of us are here is because sitting around on our hands has only taken us thus far.
...why would they want this GOK govt. relected?
From a purely practical point of view, this is unlikely to happen under the current government given some of the time frames involved (although might be wrong here). Moreover, upon completion, it's usually the party in power that tends to appropriate the accolades for a completed project, regardless of the one that got it off the ground. I (still) vote for for looking at this glass as half-full.
----
TM
Challenges should not deter us!
Suhas,
Thanks for spending time to go through the documents. You are right. The task is challenging and needs lot of efforts to get everybody on the same page and see through the same vision.
The governments both at state and center should approve this project in total and as a consequence of that approval, following could happen:
This is how I am looking forward to but on same token I will welcome any other suggestions and approaches that could make NR an reality in near terms.
Hope I have answered your question.
-Syed
ORRCA Support!
Suhas,
To your question "...I get that you are looking at ORRCA at two levels - 1. Endorsement to the overall NR project 2. Improvements to the approach to the stations near ORR..."
Yes, we definitely need their support and from every possible quarters. More the support, more pressure.
Your questions has made me think louder on this need for support. Possibly we should do it comprehensively and in an organized way. I would appreciate all your help in this regard. We should identify ALL ORRCA like forums that would stand to gain from NR and reach out to them for their esteem support and help in every possible way. Let me know how we can model this.
-Syed
Implementing Agency for Namma Railu
It's all about political willingness!
If today's news papers inidcate anything, it will be the naked truth of how poltical willingness over rides everything. I am talking about HSRL getting all the approval from Central to state level. Many experts have expressed opposition to the project citing financial viability and the Cost-benefits. Even then state government is going ahead with the project and not only that they have convinced Union Govt to accord necessary approvals. This shows if there is political will nothing is impossible.
I wish GOK shows same interest for Namma Railu.
Political Will required for Namma Railu
I agree with Sayed, its political who decides what project to start.
When GoK doing so much lobby for HSRL with center and railways for this, it looks they made all efforts for HSRL at Delhi, small thing like they are not able to meet Railway Board at Delhi to get the simple approval for DPR.
What are the concessions will be given under the name of HSRL, like they did for BIAL???
In long run HSRL will not be viable project as already officla fares have gone up above RS 250/- at this time, imagine at the time of starting of the HSRL train fares will touch Rs 500???
Not too discourage: Options ?
@kbsyed, others
My idea was not to discourage on the challenges !, rather to get people thinking on how to gain further traction and make the project successful. I think it is pretty obvious this project makes economic sense, engineering sense and serves the greater public good, question is how to get it to make political sense -
One answer which devdas alluded too was to push for a nodal agency with GOK and Indian Railways both as partners - that sound like a very good idea because this agency will have a stake as well as a mandate to implement a CRS. Thus, if we know the direction, we can start talking to people with that context in mind.
Maybe we can learn from HSRL. HSRL does not make economic sense, yet for some reason it seems to be happening., what is causing it, or who is propelling it - maybe there a couple of folks who are really influential - in which case we need to target those folks - if we can figure out the reasons why HSRL is moving, we can use that to push for a much more sensible and high impact project such as CRS.
@kbsyed, I think what you are getting at is some sort of campaign in which we get endorsment by different agencies in Bangalore, maybe prominent citizens, political representatives - but before we embark on such a programm, we need to be clear how much it will really impact
Meanwhile I have written to ORRCA for a slot in their next meeting - lets see what comes out of it
Suhas
Letter to ORRCA
Guys, I wrote something I myself am not too happy with -
Can somebody draft a good mail - we can use that as a standards template when we write to various organsiations and individuals
I also realised somewhere we need a quick reference - like
370km
potentially touch 3 million people a day (or whatever)
35% of the Bangalore area(or whatever)
15 crore/km total 3000 crore
............
Anyway, here goest th eletter
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We all are aware of the terrible traffic situation that is there today., specially for folks living a little far away – it needs no discussion. The METRO will not do much, it will cover only a small fraction of the population (and ironically will not help ORRCA companies, since it comes nowhere near). More flyovers means more cars and more crowding – ….
Is there a solution ? there is – its a low cost, high impact solution. This is the CRS – commuter rail service. Bangalore has a large percentage covered with railway tracks – if this could be used to run a high frequency local service – it will create a quick, efficient, low cost, high volume alternative mode of transport. A detailed project report has gone in and listed at least 370km ! of dedicated tracks that can easily be run, covering a good portion of the city population.
For more information, see a nice write-up
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/122932/ngo-dusts-off-commuter-rail.html
How far has this project come ? See this MEMO to minister of state for railways
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/5270729370_53b244dbf5_b.jpg
At this stage, what the project really needs is the endorsement and support of various organizations and public citizens. This will create the necessary traction to get it moving. In this regard, the people behind this would like a 15 min slot in the next ORRCA meeting to talk and present about this project and what can ORRCA do to support this.
Please let me know and I can coordinate the meeting.
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Suhas
Thanks Suhas for the action on Commuter Rail
As Suhas mentioned, we need more support and key person either at Political Level or Public level who is well know personality.
Once the date, time & venue is decided for ORRCA meeting, we will make ourself available and present the Commuter Railu to them.
Mean while, trying to get support from Tumkur MP for this. Let see how it goes.
Sanjeev
if we can figure out the
if we can figure out the reasons why HSRL is moving, we can use that to push for a much more sensible and high impact project such as CRS.
Not just HSRL, MMTS the Hyderabad version of our commuter rail is running 120+ services a day also happened because of one man, Chandrababu Naidu. Off the record I have heard all it takes is for somebody to put this as a priority & get it done.
Namma Railu Foldable BrochureI have got the 2 pager of Namma railu translated in Kannada, its hand written so will scan & put it up. Need somebody who can redraft it using Kannada font in MS Word so that images can be embedded.
This is what Bengaluru CRS requests!
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service requests:
160 possible number of services per day routes
376 kms of distance
1,50,000 carrying capacity per day
45,00,000 total no. of people served in catchment areas
Meeting with ORRCA fixed
Thursday, 10th Feb, 3:00pm,
This is their regular meeting which you guys can have a 15min slot. So probably 2 or max 3 people is sufficient - dont need too many people.
Can somebody make a 10-12 slide presentation - also let me know who will be presenting. If you can put the presentation early, I would (and maybe others too) can review it.
Suhas
No: of people per day is not impressive
@IDS,
Maybe you have discussed it at lenghth and I am jetting in late, but
=> the CRS would be extremely usefull for people staying/commuting to the outskirts of , like whitefield, peenya, airport, electronic city etc. Its not just to decongest bangalore, it will help allievate the traffic situation as is today - [Just want to make sure we get the message right , this is what will interest folks most]
=> 1.5 lakhs does not sound a very high number. BMTC carries 4.3 million people, almost 30 times the number. Somethings wrong somewhere - I think we should also take into account outer Bangalore (as in the above mail). What is limiting this number as per your analysis ?
The Call to action already has the one pager quick reference, sorry I did not check it before.
Also, you mention somebody has to make it priority, is that somebody CM himself or is there somebody else who can be influential ??
Suhas
@Suhas BMTC Vs CRS
BMTC carries 4.3 million people
BMTC does not do 160 services a day they do many times that number with more to 4000 buses. The frequency being requested for commuter rail is one every hour approximately for starts. You will notice Mumbai commuter trains today run with less than 5 min headway and carry many more people. For that kind of headway we will need dedicated tracks for commuter rail. When we get to such headways Bengaluru commuter rail will also carry that kind traffic. For that to happen we need transit oriented development to occur over long periods along the CRS corridor & zoning policies to encourage the same.
ORRCA
Thursday, 10th Feb, 3:00pm,
Should work for me, 15 mins is not sufficient. Even beraucrats & politicians give more time to listen. Beneficiary organizations should be able spend more time. They have to take this up tomorrow with authorities, and if they dont understand, they cant ask it right. If its less than 30 mins we shouldnt do it.
ORRCA meeting
We should impress ORRCA with Namma Railu and which all big companies are part of this OARRCA, can you let us know.
Date & time is Ok for me, what about venu???
ORCAA meeting
@IDS,
Sorry, cannot dictate on how much time they should spend. I think you need to get a clear view of what the organisation can do and cannot do as well - I am not sure they will be able to or want to "take up this with the authorities" - I was trying to set the expectation right in one of the earlier mails - but you have to meet them to get the correct picture.
More Importantly, this need not be the endall, if it is works you can have a much longer discussions/explanations with a smaller set of people, they can invite some of you in their next meetings with the authorities - my take is if its not too much a burden on your time to at least take a shot.
Let me know if its a go or I should cancel it - if its a go, who will be attending.
Suhas
What is the CRS max potential today ?
@ IDS,
Forget the longterm transit oriented development - suppose we were to lay dedicated tracks and have whatever headways that is required today, how many people will take the commuter rail ?
Suhas
TOD
Forget the longterm transit oriented development
Suhas, cannot forget, this is long term TOD only, there is no other reason for a train to these places. There is no other way to look at this. A study of how many people will take today is meaningless, whatever it may reveal.
best way to kill CRS
Best way to kill CRS (and we have seen this in our meetings with some of the officials too) is to talk in terms of ridership numbers possible TODAY. CRS can realistically re-shape our city, the promise is in potential to better manage bangalore's growth at VERY reasonable costs.
The question of "rider numbers today" has to be answered with an 8-10 year business case. A promising long term plan that requires only as much starting investment as perhaps 20 new flyovers has to be HIGHER in priority than things like High Speed Rail.
If the govt is not convinced of the potential, it just needs to test waters by floating out an RFI for a PPP (CRS, with some real estate promise over or around far flung stations in 60 km radius of Bangalore today) and we will see how it goes.
CRS Numbers Speaks for themselves!
SB, Suhas, IDS
Here are some numbers extrapolated for Namma Railu based on HLB report on Socio Economic Benefits of Wisconsin Transit System. Numbers are rationalized in Indian Context. This is NR Data.
CRS can easily take 3.2 Lakh daily ridership!
@suhas, IDS
Figure of 1.5 Lakh CRS ridership perday given in 'Call To Action' report is based on 6-Car rakes running 160 services.
Carrying Capacity of 6-Car Rake = 975
Total Ridership = Carrying Capcity X No. of Services (Trips)
= 975 X 160
= 1,50,000
If Wikipedia info is to be believed in context of Mumbai Local Train Service, It uses a 9-Car rakes which has a carrying capacity of 1700. But about 5000 people travel in that 9-car rake. That is 555 passengers per rake.
Even @1700 carrying capacity, 6-car rake will carry 1133.
@5000 carrying capacity, 6-car rake will carry 3333. But that would be like packing sardines. Therefore a figure of 2000 ridership per 6-car rake would look OPTIMUM.
Keeping the same # of services of 160, Bengaluru CRS has potential to carry 2 times the projected ridership based on 2000 ridership on a 6-car rake.
Total Ridership = Carrying Capcity X No. of Services (Trips)
= 2000 X 160
= 3,20,000
Note: For this 3.2 Lakh ridership, we need 1.1 lakh car trips. That means roads will be decongested of 1.1 Lakh car trips. So much less fuel spent, less pollution and less fatalities.
CRS ridership numbers
@SB, IDS: OK, good points and accepted - that the HSRL needs to be scrapped is a no brainer.
However, I am trying to question the numbers themselves, not the justification. Have you or somebody grossly understimated the utility of CRS within Bangalore (or Greater Bangalore or Outer Bangalore) whatever you want to call it. To be more precise, the region within Neelmangala/Jalhalli, International Airport, Whitefield, Bellandur/Sarjapur, Kengeri - this should have significant ridership even today. If the CRS is well integrated with the METRO and the bus service, it can significantly augement all those going to Whitefiled or International Airport etc from within the city as well as other outskirts of the city.
@KBS, I am trying to get the numbers from a "how many people will use" perspective and not from a "how many people can use" viewpoint - ie if we are not limited by infrastructure - eg: we can run 30 trains/hr if we had too, but only along those lines which are marked in the CRS map. BTW, some good stats - you should incoporate that into the document
Suhas
CRS Numbers!
Suhas,
First of all proposed Namma Railu is not a competitor for Namma Metro, HSRL, BMTC, KSRTC or Monorail. It is to be positioned as another excellent Mass transit system at people's disposal. Nobody is suggesting for HSRL to be scrapped or otherwise. All that SB/IDS/Naveen/sanjeev are arguing is when HSRL with all the opposition is still in reckoning and why CRS with all the benefits that it brings to table is not been pursued.
Let me repeat, CRS is not a competitor to other choices of mass transit in Bengaluru.
During the round table event on NR at CiSTUP, one of the bureacrat very rightly commented that "If there is a will, there is a DPR. If there is no will, then there is a feasibility Study".
Praja's NR team has spoken to scores of Bureaucrats, Railway Officials, urban Planners, Aam Aadmi and few politicians. Each one of them has endorsed the proposal and they are all for it. Only people whom we haven't been able to reach is who matters most. GOK CM, Railway Board Chairman and the Union Railway Minister. The team has made several attempts to reach out to each one of them. The efforts are still being made.
For the numbers you are looking for, we might have to do a scientific survey to get the data right and model the ridership. DPR could address that if it is really needed.
Another way is to look at the official data of BMTC, KSRTC and Passenger trains run on those corridors and routes. But not sure whether BMTC/KSRTC/Railways can provide those numbers.
I fully agree with you on CRS numbers. The numbers given so far are on lower side of carrying capacity, # of services that can be operated etc, which all are based on initial launch of the service with minimum infrastructure requirements. As the various comparative ridership studies sugeests, CRS if implemented right, would certainly beat those numbers by atleast 300% in all aspects.
Even with the current numbers shown, CRS beats every other alternative of daily commute choice.
I have been trying to get some samples of such study/report for Namma Metro, MMST Hyderabad, Mumbai Rail Vikas, MRTS Chennai, HSRL, Monorail etc., but can't find it over the internet. Can you help us on this?
Lets talk over the phone and see how we could pursue other options apart from what is already being done by IDS/Sanjeev/Naveen.
Pls send me an email at kbsyed61@thotmail.com with your contact number.
-Syed
contacting important people
Contact with Railway Board Chairman!
Menon Sir,
Your are right. Indirectly through BCIC, the CR proposal has been submitted to Railway Board as part of their railway budget wish list.
Regarding SWR being bottleneck is not true in real sense. We must understand that SWR is nothing but operational wing of the IR. They are happy in running long distance trains and are reluctant for major re-haul in signaling system and increase in platforms.
All the big players in BJP like Ananthkumar, Rajeev chandrashekar have been sounded off. But due to internal political compulsions, not much has progressed from their bastions.
Since CRS is targeted at Bengaluru and teh adjacent towns, GOK support and co-operation is a must for smooth implementation and operation.
All being said and done, In India, specially in infrastructure sector, all that matters is political willingness and approval. MMTS Hyderabad, Bengaluru HSRL are best examples of that culture.
Could you pls help with an appointment with Railway Board Chairman? That would be wonderful.
Contact with Railway Board Chairman!
syed saab,
Will get this thing of setting up meeting with chairman in motion.I guess the team is sure that this is the right time for this contact, cos won't be able to make the meeting happen again.
Will need time , at least until davos is over, but will keep group posted.
vmenon
Thank You Mr Menon for your efforts
@Menon
setting up meeting with chairman in motion will be good move, looking forward for positive things on this front soon.
We have ,made our best efforts so far to reach to MoS K H Muniyyapa with request in writting to him to take up the issue with Railway Board.
Similarly we approached Mr Ananth Kumar to take up this issue with CM / GoK and Railway Minister, but he does not have time for state & his area, also political equation at state level r not good.
We have approached Rajiv Chandrashekar & Law Minister Veerappa Moily. Now we have approached Mr G S Basavaraj Mp Tumkur. Lets see how he will take up the issue at Center.
We have written mails to CM / GoK every two weeks about this project and mentioned to him nothing happening from state & Center. Only he forward mail to other Depts and he is busy in saving his skin.
Other MPs Bangalore North, Bangalore Central and Bangalore Rural are not concerned about the development issues.
As we have seen, CM & MoS have time to discuss this issue at stage during Functions and do not come to gether for meeting on Railway Projects of Karnataka
Its unfortunate sorry state that 28 MLA's representing Bangalore & its suburbs are not raising theri voise for this project which will have more benefit then any other Transport projects for Bangalore.
so who will meet rai8lway board chairman?
Before trying to chase this , fixing meeting with railways chairman,just some ponderings, so excuse me if off the mark.
Assuming we can get a time /place to meet railways chairman, would it be just a praja delegation making a presentation of sorts, or would we/could we visualise a 'contingent" from bangalore which includes say chief secretary., or anyone form SWR??
If we have , in our many meetings , some voices in GOK , then could it be that kind of delegation , organised by praja.
need some broad pointers here before, trying to organise a meeting .
essentially
-who the meeting is for ( as above)
-what will the meeting cover
regards, vmenon
CM and GOK are the important stakeholders in CRS theatre!
Menon Sir,
First of all, pls accept my gratitude for your offer to get an appointment with Railway Board Chairman.
After going through your latest comment, I had a brief consultation with NR team. After hearing to them I am having a second thought on this meeting. I am not saying we should abandon this idea of meeting Railway Board Chair, but lets hold on to it for some time. As I had mentioned, the CRS Call to action report has been submitted to the Railway Board Chair, Mr. Vivek Sahi through BCIC. I was told even the Mamta Bannerjee has been given a copy of this report,.
The recent meeting with Tumkur MP has also given enough indications that for the CRS project to move forward, the buck stops with Karnataka CM. Lately we have been getting these signals from the politicians and as well as babus.
Therefore I concur with NR team that the next step for us would be to get an appointment with CM, ASAP. Very importantly, GOK should officially request railways for CRS. Only CM can order such request to railways.
Can somebody help the NR team in getting an audience with our CM?
Once we have covered the base with CM and successful in having him make an official request to railways, we will be well place to interact directly with railway board and Delhi based political figures for expediting the implementation.
This is my humble submission to you. I will go with what ever the NR team on ground decides.
FYI, today the NR team is scheduled to meet an important functionary of Indian Democracy who happens to hail from Bengaluru city. Lets wait for the update from that meeting.
Once again, thanks for all your support and help.
-Syed
CM/GOK meet
I agree absolutely, which is why I had asked ,softly ,if this was the right time.
Now , it looks like the team has been having trouble getting CM on board /let alone speak. Let me pitch in here too.Met someone last night on this, who believed ( as does the team), that no contact should be made in Delhi until CM/GOK somewhat on board.And has agreed to try fix meeting with CM.
Only condition, is that a document has to go in first.And while the document can have every bit of tech attachment, the summary must be "yeddi friendly",
While the team would be trying to meet CM thro other channels , might not be a bad idea to try another one also.We dont know at this time which approach will work.
Also , think if in future ,urban develpment ministry, now with kamal nath as minister, is one of the angles to push the project.It actually might be a GOK/railways/Urban dev combination that could work .
vmenon
meetings with Railway board
... have to be a "bangalore contingent" meeting Railway Board like Mr Menon says above. As "Praja", we should keep to meeting individuals to get them on board and join the "bangalore contingent" that would eventually "push" at formal levels like Railway Board or MoUD.
CRS numbers @kbs
I dont know where you interpreted my post as saying CRS should compete with other mass transit alternatives. The word 'augument' meant 'augment' - sorry for the typo. It means will support, expand, make more effective the other mass transit systems. Was saying the same thing you have written
Regarding the numbers, I think you make a lot of sense - that these are just base level numbers - there is a need to conduct a more detailed study to estimate ridership - and you have suggested some ways - sorry cannot help other than comment once you have the numbers :)
The only difference in opinion is I think this is the more important part of the CRS, rather than the long term TOD that is being envisaged
Suhas
@Suhas, pls clarify?
Suhas,
Could you pls clarify what you meant by "this is the more important" in your comments?
I am still trying to understand the notion of implementing projects sans any TOD vision in place?
Do you still need the ORRCA meeting
Guys,
Please let me know if you need to be there at ORRCA meeting - in my view you have gone way ahead of what ORRCA can do ! but neverthless, its open if you want to meet - please confirm
Sanjeev, KBS - have replied to your message with my contact - once again my email is srkulhalli@yahoo.com
Suhas
ORRCA
In my view, we will need ORRCA to bat for the Yeswantpur-Hosur segment (current YH1 route) which runs behind all the ORRCA campuses. They may not need to get a buy into the TOD vision etc which may be beyond their interest & time but can place a simple request with GoK for an hourly train on this segment serving their catchment as a part of the broader commuter rail initiative. This request does not need extensive presentations and is a simple one to communicate.
ORRCA meeting, we will make it
@ Suhas,
Thanks for arranging meet with ORRCA membars. We need make more public aware those who are major stake holders like ORRCA for success of the Commuter Rail.
We 3-4 people will make it for the meeting with presentation. Kndly let us know where is venue and time.
Also which companies are part of ORRCA association ??
Still long way to go for Commuter Rail as Syed mentioned above.
ORRCA meeting
So Sanjeev,
Can you give your contact details. I will let you about Venue and exact time once I get the info.
I think it helps to give the context, even if you are looking for their support for only one line. In that sense it may help to have a general presentation and then come to your specifics. Nothing very elaborate but a quick overview but its upto you
ORRCA companies - I am not very sure, but most of the companies in the technology parks along ORR, like RMZ ecospace, Intel etc are members
Suhas
ORRCA meeting schedule
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Sure, it is confirmed. You can join us at 3 Infotech, Opposite Intel, 3I office located on top of passport office by 3.30pm.
It would be a pleasure to know the details. Kindly keep the entire presentation for around 10 minutes
Suhas
ORRCA meeting cancelled
Due to some last minute schedule change in the governing council members of ORRCA, the meeting has been postponed. Will let you know the new date/time as and when I get it
Suhas