Land Acquisition for Metro UG Stretch - expect more delays?

Judging by the silence about TBMs & also news reports about whole roads being taken up for construction (eg. Vidhana Veedhi), I'm beginning to suspect that the UG sections are planned to be done by cut & cover method, which will create havoc for the public.

Why is it that there have been no press announcements about TBM machine imports ? They should have been here by now. And a delay has been announced - is this coincidence ?

UG EW Stretch - Proposed: 129, Possession Taken:0 (!), Demolished: 0 (!).

This is strange. Two of the properties that were to be acquired were the BRV Police Grounds and a corner of the Chinnaswamy stadium. The first has been fenced off and some excavation is on, while the second has also been taken possession of and demolition work looks to be about halfway through. Evidently, BMRC hasn't been updating its newsletters properly - the same figure seems to have been displayed for months now.

Excellent progress report. It is a pity that organizations still don't leverage websites to disseminate regular updates. A majority of the common and some serious queries can easily be addressed by a single source - a regularly updated site. That gives time for the staff to do their regular duties than answering questions.
Hopefully, lesson learnt on UG section for future phases. Did he talk about (potentially) slow progress at stations? How about seamless, painless connectivity to other modes, especially buses? Will transfers happen under the same roof?

Some information about TBM from an old artcile :

Excavation of tunnels for various projects (such as roads or rail tracks cut through mountains, underground Metros, etc.) is usually done with Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). Unlike the conventional method of excavation by drilling & blasting (D & B method), TBM technology for boring tunnels is more scientific, efficient & far more advanced.

TBMs can bore through hard rock, sand & almost any variety of soil or rock structure beneath the earth’s crust. The diameters of tunnels excavated through TBMs range from a mere 1 meter to 16 meters. Boring tunnels using TBM will also reduce the levels of disturbance to the adjacent /surrounding earth & ensures smooth tunnel walls. As a result, TBMs are much preferred & widely used in high density urban areas.

The front end of a TBM consists of a rotating cutter wheel. Behind the cutting wheel is a chamber where excavated soil is either mixed with slurry or discharged as it is. Akin to the movement of an earthworm, the TBM will brace against the tunnel walls and push itself forward. Tunneling in urban areas comes with the challenge of ensuring minimal disturbance to ground surface. However, techniques like Earth pressure balance and Bentonite slurry are preferred over conventional open face method due to much superior ground control.

Experts opine that the tunnel boring machine would do multiple tasks like drilling the tunnel, thrusting out muck & sealing inner walls of the tunnel with pre-cast concrete elements. The mud will be slightly slushy since the tunnel boring machine uses water while drilling. One machine can drill an average of 20 metres a day through normal soil & about 12 metres through rocky soil.

IMPACT FROM BANGALORE METRO :

1. Depth of borewell at Vidhana Soudha - 180 ft to 200 ft (Removal of casing and backfilling)

2. Depth of Borewell at GPO - 180ft to 200ft (OK for use)

3. Depth of the Borewell at Rajbhavan (Lawn) - 150 ft to 200 ft (Removal of casing and backfilling)

4. Excavated muck deposited inside will be transported to the outskirts of the city during night

5. Depth of the Borewell near K R Circle at the ACCE building 180 ft to 200 ft (Requires backfilling)

6. Depth of the Rainwater Harvesting Tank at Vidhana Soudha - 10 to 15 ft (Filled and replaced)

Water Consumption Pattern (Sampangi Ramanagar)

7. BWSSB Water Supply 64.03  (Million Litres per month)

8. Per capita water available 65.77 (Litres per day)

9. Ground water pumping 0.200 (MLD per Km2)

Rainwater Harvesting at Vidhana Soudha

10. Harvestable Surface Area - 5,800 square meters

11. Annual availability of Rainwater - 57,40,000  litres

12. Capacity of Underground Tank - 4,00,000 litres (Underground tank will be replaced with new tank on the same premises).

13. Total Number of Wells monitored - 472

14. Public Borewells - 183

15. Private Borewells - 152

16. Private Openwell - 98

17. Pumbing Affected - 110

Rajbhavan Gardens

Raj Bhavan garden, which once measured 92 acres has shrunk to a mere 16 acres and 4 guntas. The garden has rare plant species from various parts of the world besides a glass house and an artificial waterfall. Everyday, the staff use several litres of water to maintain the garden.

WORLD'S GREATEST SUBWAYS:

Moscow Metro
The 12 lines of the Moscow Metro clock in at 292.2 km of track, with 177 stations, serving around 7 million passengers per day.

Hong Kong's MTR

Hong Kong's MTR
Hong Kong's MTR runs on 211 km of rail with 150 stations, including 82 underground stations and 68 light rail stops. 3.76 million people use it on an average weekday

Madrid Subway Station
The Madrid Metro comprises 12 lines extending to 283 stations across 284 km of track, with a ridership of 3.4 million per day

Beijing Subway Station
Begun in the 1960s, the eight-line Beijing Subway comprises 200 km of track and 123 stations, with daily ridership averaging 3.565 million in 2009.

Paris Metro Station

Paris Metro Station
The second oldest subway system in the world (initally completed in 1900), the Paris Metro consists of 16 lines spreading over 214 km of track and 380 stations, with an average daily ridership of 4.5 million people.

New York Subway
The only subway open 24 hours a day, the New York City Subway is also one of the world's largest, with 468 stations extending across 1,056 km of revenue track. In 2008, the subway delivered over 6,432,700 rides per day.

Tokyo Metro
With 282 stations stretching across 14 lines and 204 km of track, the Tokyo Metro and Toei network together carry an average of nearly eight million passengers per day.

Ravi,

I'm not sure Metro routes can be done with public consultation since there are bound to be a lot of conflicting ideas, opinions & criticism, not to mention dozens of RWAs & other groups that will lobby for Metro within their own areas.

"How much democracy ?" would be an apt question her.

Routes based on studies would be much more reliable & will better justify them from the point of view of both, need as well as business.

Further, there is the question of feasibility, finances & minimizing disruption. For ph-1, only 12% of the total land requirement had been acquired from private parties & govt land had mostly been used along the routes & for depots. But, public's initial reaction had been un-cooperative. When handsome compensations were actually paid out in time, opposition began to simmer, though CMH traders are still to move out & accept compensations.

To plan routes similarly for ph-2, the authorities would have to review demands based on factors such as cost & land availability as well.

Thus, I believe that inviting public consultation for route finalization would open up a pandora's box since much of the public may be ignorant about these points, but might have very strong voices. Routes might then be based on the strongest voices & not based on actual needs, cost efficiencies, feasibility, etc.

Ravi,

It is true that in a not-so-mature society, selfish ideas may come with a lot of backing. But that needs to be managed by those well honed (and possibly well paid) PR guys. But not talking to stake holders? Is that the right way?

This question is understandable - very valid, desirable & logical too, since we are a democracy. In reality though, the report card for many such efforts is that they end up causing more delays, nothing more as we have been seeing time & again: eg. NICE is still locked up in court battles by just a single group of farmers, headed by Devegowda who has been successful in erecting obstacle after obstacle.

As regards Metro, it has had many "narrow escapes" so far because high compensations were doled out in time, though there is still the issue of CMH traders & agitation by the greens who had tried to thwart even the small land parcel at Lalbagh from being used, ignoring the many benefits that Metro can usher in.

Take BMLTA - isn't this an urgent need ? NUTP had recommended unified transport authority way back in 2006, following which the state govt had formally created the BMLTA. Now it's 2010, & public consultations are delaying the decision to accord the necessary powers to this authority - & I'm quite sure the debate will go on & on everywhere & without any end, if there are no interventions. I now feel that the govt should have just gone ahead & done what it wanted to in the first place.

If transparency is ensured, at least a few citizens, such as yourself, may be able to ask the right Qs

I'm certain that if I raise questions, people will brand me with "ulterior motives", "hidden agenda", etc. Who is the referee to decide which questions are right ? The referee himself, if there is one, might be questioned about his "agenda" ! Prof.Ashwin Mahesh (ABIDe), though not elected, has made contributions - Big10, for example, which has been succesful. However, as we have seen, frequent questions about his "legality" & "relevance" keep surfacing, time & again.

In short, people are short-sighted & do not wish to see more than necessary. They only look at it from where they stand & how it might disturb their own interests. Such focus will always be in conflict with most others' views. Whoever has the louder voice might prevail in the end, though this might not be the right result.

Since I understand the importance of studies for routes (loads, traffic, etc), I'm willing to give up my right to place any questions - there is hope that solutions will be in place much more speedily. If I claim my right to raise questions, I must also accept that there might be thousands, if not millions more who might wish to raise their own questions too.

We can only push for things when we know what is happening

What I meant was that if there are no bus halts at Metro stations, we will need to push for them.

BMTC is building TTMCs wherever they seem to have land since they need to utilize Jnnurm funds. BMRC is building stations as per approved DPR, which they state cannot be changed. Similarly, SWR will carry out extensions of railway tracks & build /extend stations wherever they have their own land. If a Monorail comes up, they will be told to build on certain given routes with specifics that similarly might not connect with other modes.

True. The SWR and BMTC using their respective lands is somewhat understandable (though definitely not justified) as they are different govt. agencies. BUT, what prevents the metro stations being integral to TTMCs (if that land is already available) or bus stops (not necessarily stations) within the footprint of metro stations? Both are run by the same state govt.

See earlier comment (summary below):
"
2) More important, do the mono (or maybe metro) routes compete with existing high-frequency BMTC bus routes and TTMCs? The metro/mono authorities need to be pressed to coordinate with using and maybe augmenting BMTC facilities unlike the first phase.

This is the important stage for prajagalu to participate - discuss it to death (with authorities and experts) for maybe a month, have another month for pre-resolving property/right-of-way/environment issues, set it in stone and finish the project on-time.

As an aside: Alignment should not be based on soil conditions alone (unless soils are poor for long stretches). It should primarily be based on traffic patterns and potential growth; of course needs to avoid politicians' lands and temples ;-)
"
and here:
"
2) was with respect to earlier discussions regarding lack of coordination. BMRC should be forced to interact with on-ground (read BMTC) reality - DMRC (from Delhi) couldn't be expected to nor did any local interaction (AFAIK) for Phase I. As mentioned above, it is much cheaper and very much flexible to augment feeder buses if roads permit than do a mono or metro. Once built, mono or metro cannot be withdrawn or the cost recovered due to dip or cycles in demand.
I reiterate - soil should not be the important factor in governing an alignment.
"

That is the reason for praja/public to vigorously participate in Phase 2. Without getting into technical details the govt. should look at the big picture and mandate (to DMRC or any other entity) that integration is one of the top priorities. Then cost, soil etc. If govt. won't /can't then praja/public should.

Now, they may appoint BMLTA as the authority when all important decisions & construction is either well underway or has already been completed. They will then try to modify things as & when complaints arise - & they sure will come up. This is assuming of course that BMLTA makes recommendations based on user needs, which seems doubtful going by present day responses to congestion.
Again, isn't praja going to nudge BMLTA? That seems be the whole philosophy of this platform, correct? ;-)
 

Again, isn't praja going to nudge BMLTA? That seems be the whole philosophy of this platform, correct? ;-)

N: You are right. Praja is possibly the best platform for ideas & information. However, Praja alone cannot nudge BMLTA since there are so many other platforms that have views that are diametrically opposite. Whilst we see the logic for a BMLTA, there are so many others that oppose it.

Earlier, I had a conversation with the head of one such citizen groups & his /their take on BMLTA was entirely contradictory. They questioned the very need for it when we already had a BMRDA. His opinion was that the BMRDA, being responsible for the whole metropolitan area, should have been mandated with this task instead of creation of a new BMLTA that will do nothing other than bleed tax payers further.

Public consultation for BMLTA is still on & no one knows how it will end, but I am of the opinion that not much good will come out of it - in the end, the govt will have the perfect excuse not to have accorded it with the necessary mandate due to "opposition by public". In some ways, public participation thus seems like shooting at one's own foot since we have not matured enough to accept certain newage realities & philosophies, but cling to our age-old ways.

Sanjay,

BMRC had initially been very open & engaging with the public - there wasn't any need for one to be present at each meeting since the press had been allowed to cover & report all happenings & developments very well. When requested, they had gladly entertained a meeting with praja members - MD & others had been present at the meeting (Click here for the meeting summary). What I have mentioned is a chronology of what transpired based on press reports at the time since I had been following them closely. They are also available on praja, but are probably not collated together.

After altercations such as the one with CMH traders, Hasiru-Usiru /ESG & many court cases including one questioning the need for Metro itself (despite the long history of so many study reports endorsing the need for some form of mass transit), they have now become very cautious in their dealings with the public & have chosen not to engage more than necessary, like most other govt bodies.

What brought about this change in the attitude of BMRC ? This is because the Indian public consists of a vast number of groups that are very selfish & refuse to see any sort of reason. Nothing can be negotiated with some groups, & they will persistently refuse to accept any solution other than the one that places their own interests highest - in short, no "give & take".

Just as you say, I had also been a firm believer in negotiations for solutions, but unfortunately, it needs two reasonable parties to negotiate & arrive at a solution - not just one. In BMRC's case, I have seen how a well meaning institution was forced to adopt tactics that wrapped a veil around itself to ensure secrecy.

This is why I said that public engagement might not necesserily bring about the best for the city. Some hard, unpopular measures are also necessary, as the CMH rd example has shown.

I am not yet fully convinced that Indian people are by themselves flawed

I don't think all people can be 'flawed' in an entire nation. The struggle for survival with scarce resources is what is driving many groups of people to act as selfishly as they do without rising above & trying to see the overall benefits to society as a whole. Whilst we boast about our democracy in principle, the actual result is that we have produced some of the most inefficient systems, especially in vital infrastructure such as power, water or transport.

An important element in negotiation is trust. I think that is where anything involved with the government struggles

This is not confined to govt alone - crime is rampant, bribes are routine (who is paying bribes & encouraging it to flourish ?), as is the total disregard (in fact disrespect) for laws. How many pay income taxes ? People are quick to complain about the state of roads & repeatedly use this as an excuse not to pay. Such examples are also used to justify their contempt against govt. After all, govt is just a representation of what people are, nothing more, nothing less. If the govt is so bad, it's only a reflection of what we are ourselves. Wasn't the Carlton towers incident also about greed ?

 For the last two weeks, I have noticed that soil testing is still going on from banashankari to Konankunte cross. This is is very strange because  atleast the strech from banashankari to Jarganahalli was part of Metro reach 4-A.

1080m of Cut and Cover Tunnel. Almost a third of the length is cut and cover. Cost reduction exercise? Thought the idea of going underground was to avoid disruption in already busy areas. How can one manage cut & cover tunnels anywhere on this stretch?

C&C must be for the Swastik-Majestic stretch, where most of the alignment runs along Platform Road on vacant railway land. Also, C&C should be possible in the KBS area once BMRC takes it over from KSRTC. The TBMs will be for the congested Majestic - Chikpet - KR Market stretch.

Each team upto 5 members and atleast 2 trips per each TBM and 2 trips for the countries wherein the similar project which is under construction using TBM is in progress. International air travel cost shall be borne by BMRC

Classic case of wasteful expenditure. When similar projects using TBMs are under construction in India itself (Delhi/Kolkata metros and J&K railway project), why is there a necessity to go abroad and waste money? That too a minumum of 5 members per trip and 2 trips for each TBM!!!

With UG streatch yet  to get the green signal and High Court has stayed UG at Vidhansoudh,  we can expect the UG to be ready with current speed only after 3 years.

In over all Phase-1 of METRO  will be  complet operational after May'2014, as Citizens we will undergo the traffic curbs during this period,.

small  segments will be opened in next three years, but these will be use as joy ride by citizens and not as mass transport for next 3 years, hope authorities should realize how important is for completing Phase-1 and not just opening of  BYP-MG road streatch of METRO

sanjeev

L&T is implementing this station..and the pace of work is fast..only wish all tenders were with them..maybe by now we would have the Byp-MG road train running!!

Envy Hyd, as their metro is completely being done by L&T and will be ready by 2014..sure they will beat Blr again as they did with the airport!

 the ends of the elevated section before starting of U/G stretch can be connected by Buses probably with dedicated lanes and single fare system.

Wonderful suggestion. 

 But wonder what it would take to get this going

This is a call that BMRC should take. Of course it will not be as fast as the train but  will make people get used to the route & stops along the way if it ran on almost same alignment. Not sure what other benefits beyond this you can think of. If BMTC is not interested BMRC can apply for a contract carriage license & run the services themselves. 

dedicated lanes has not be implemented even on ORR or other wider roads & we are expecting them to be implemented as temporary connectors

You addressed the only thing not possible, single ticket & bus are possible. But need to quantify benefits of doing this.

Manish & others,

Of course they will have to run connecting buses like what Delhi is planning to do, especially since the UG work hasn't even commenced & is likely to take 2-3 years.

This has been the claim by BMRCL and the politicos (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article397838.ece) 

There have been lapses and delays..partly due to inexperience and inadequate monitoring..started off with Navyuga languishing on MG road and other delays in tendering..surprisingly what was on time was the slum rehabilitation program though it was not directly related to metro at all!

Its high time they buckle up and start with full steam..also govt being a major contributor for the funds has to get more stringent in monitoring!

Metro is in deep doo doo 

Deccan Chronicle has learnt that unless Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), changes the track structure and dimension with immediate effect, the relevant certification authority will withhold a clearance certificate and throw a spanner in the works.

“We are facing a big question: Can we afford to change the entire structure after spending thousands of crores? We followed the Delhi Metro structure since the latter was our consultant. The Railway Board has given clearance to Delhi Metro but now objecting to Bangalore Metro's structure itself. This is really intriguing,” sources said.

source

Fact of the day: With 16 local servces, that are already running, rolled into the Comuter Rail umbrella, commuter rail service can get rolling even before the TBM's can get on the ground.

This is the sort of reporting I hate.  What is this mysterious track change and dimension change?  Is this some kind of meter gauge versus broad gauge question?  Did the reporter try to get a quote from the Railway board or RDSO? Was this issue raised earlier - why or why not?

Very, very irritating reporting.

How can they build the track without the correct curvature in the first place ! Its quite shocking - though this being Karnataka, anything can happen.  They will `swalpa adjust' them, perhaps.

Ramesh

From all this discussion and IDS post, this seems to be an issue of the right "banking" of the rails, so to speak. 210 mm is certainly not the radious of the curve. The number should depend on the design speed and the turning radius of the track.

I think this sort of discussion and back and forth is expected in a safety inspection.  If an engineering and safety review goes by without some questions being raised, then we have an  issue of people not doing their jobs.  Worst case, the speed limits will be lower at the turns, or they have to raise the track.

Seriously, they should take their time and sort out all these concerns and only launch the Metro when all the systems and stations are in place.  Else it becomes like the various soft launches we see.  The Whitefiled TTMC was inaugurated months ago, but  even few weeks back, the entrance was taped off.   It is not like a connection from Benninganahalli to Cricket Stadium is a pressing need.,

No metro rail project in the country has done what Namma Metro officials are attempting to do. In the telephone conversation with us, they said that the SOD has been designed in such a way because the rolling stock (coaches) is of high standard. They maintain that there won't be trouble if the coaches run as per the present SOD. We have been struggling to get certain information from BMRCL. Now, a clarification on the SOD from BMRCL is awaited

Source

Hi Srinidhi,

The cost of construction is not based on kms, it is based on the tender.  Whoever quotes less, after scrutinizing the approximate cost for each kms, the tender will be awarded by the BMRC.  In the first case (UG2- EW) the strech most of the properties comes under the government control, GPO, Vidhana Soudha, Civil Court, Majestic etc, so compensation cost would be less.  But whereas in UG1-NS) is all private properties, so the compensation itself costs more. 

Further the contractors' who quotes for the tender, depends on the equipments and other infrastructure they alerady own or items to be procured.

In UG-EW the contractors' would have quoted including the costing for TBM's, whereas the UG- NS, I understand that the contractors already owns TBMs.   Further to clarify you that, UG-EW is not 3.92 kms, it is 4.5 kms, the stretch starts from Anil Kumble Circle to Magadi Road and comprises of 4 stations.  In UG-NS section it is only 2 stations.  So comparitively the UG1-NS is costlier than UG2-EW.

Another news is the first TBM in UG2-EW will starts its operation most probably from the 3rd week of May 2011.

Regards,

Umesh.S

Metro UG section will only be ready in 4 years. Estimated losses are 65 lakhs a day which is about a 1000 crores in 4 years.  The currrent operating segment is a toy train.

It is clear what the focus of BMRCL should be.  Try and figure out ways to extend the range of the metro to get more ridership and increase revenue What could it be?

Option 1: Speed up phase II work and extend this line to ITPL.

Option 2: Use buses to bridge the segment between the elevated sections

Option 3: Look at partial commissioning of the underground segments.  For example, if the current metro line could even go up to Majestic and then turn around, that is a plus.

The N-S segment could probavly have another set of toy trains running?

Ideally BMRCL should identify options and work towards that plan.

The delay is not really by the contractors now..its more to do with approvals from railways and other orgs..moreover they have not yet awarded the tender for the station at majestic yet..

Btw there was news recently that the all UG tunnel tenders have now been awarded..

Curious to know what did BMRCL gain by splitting up the tenders..an exercise they did when they found that the costs were way too high when they came out with one tender for entire UG work..

Did they at all save anything? The delay in the tender process itself might have eaten away the expected savings..