Urban patterns

Running successfully for a decade, the 10th Annual Metro Rail India Summit 2021 once again hit a home run when the on-ground event saw a housefull in keeping with pandemic protocols. The event took place at Sahara Star, Mumbai, on November 26. During the day-long event, metro rail operators, contractors, systems providers and consultants deliberated on important facets of the metro rail industry through panel discussions, presentations and delegate interactions.
Bibhor Srivastava, MD, ITP Media (India), welcomed the gathering in his opening address. This was followed by a virtual keynote address by SVR Srinivas, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, where he highlighted how the pandemic has impacted public transportation and ways the government is seeking to reimpose a trust among citizens. “Planning the metro is most important. The regional and development plan of the city must be given priority when planning a metro. Where should metros come up? One must know how the region will grow and the sectors that will grow. The execution becomes crucial and land acquisition and right of way are even more important. With too many stakeholders involved, it helps if they all work in cohesion. The huge capex required must be carefully thought out as, in the long run, it cannot be recovered through operational revenues. Technology plays an even more important role, especially in systems. The arrival of CBTC calls for an upgradation of skillsets. We are executing nearly 20km of lines worth Rs 1 lakh crore.”
Ashutosh Shukla, director, mobility segment, Schneider Electric, took the stage to applaud those engaged in constructing metros across the country and how tirelessly they worked even during the pandemic. “Civil sites might have stopped work temporarily, but design and planning continued to toil. Today, there is a sense of transparency in the way metros are built. Technology is making it happen,” he added.
Mike Muralidharan, COO, Bahwan Cybertek, seemed pleased to attend an event physically post lockdowns. Speaking about automation and its goal to delight people, he pointed out that while his company is working with multiple metro operators, one thing is sure: Metro rail will boost real estate value. “Planning must fit with all the pieces. Commuters should be happy with the experience. Transport asset management cannot function alone. It must integrate with SCADA. Countries that have been running metros for more than 15-20 years may find themselves unable to adopt new processes. We are at an advantage,” he said.
The stage was now set for the first panel discussion of the day. The Changing Landscape of urban mobility – the 3 S’s (Safety, Security and Speed) was moderated by Atul Joshi, CEO, Oyster Consulting & director, Titagarh Wagons. The panellists were Colonel Shubhodoy Mukherjee, CEO, Mumbai Metro One; Naresh Gurbani, Executive Director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corp; Ashutosh Shukla, Director, mobility segment, Schneider Electric; and AA Bhatt, Director (Systems), MMRCL.
Joshi asked Col Mukherjee to share his experience of how the metro system has improved mobility in Mumbai. Going back to the 80s, he said that his earliest memories of Mumbai has been that it is essentially a north-south city. “Over the years, this connectivity has improved. Building Metro Line 1 helped us realise how it encouraged service industry to come up. It has helped the city unlock the value of the corridor. These projects cannot be done by government financing. PPP needs to step in.”
Gurbani said that much of the physical work on the Nagpur metro started around 2015. With a total route of 38km and stations, they have completed 26 kms and commissioned 24 stations. The remaining will take place in December. The whole Phase I costing around Rs 8600 cr will be completed in six months time.
Shukla asked whether using BIM from the design phase to the construct phase offers value. There is a need to add more layers to BIM – time and cost. His company has a Cloud based system called 5D.
Bhatt said considering the humungous project they are building, there is always a concern of the rail line developing a crack. Both the lines are in two separate tunnels of 5.8 diameter. The dynamics of any train depends on rail and wheel interaction and that is important.
The discussion was followed by a presentation by Envision. Rama Raju, CEO, Envision, and Pankaj Jain, Sr Technical manager, IBM, spoke about how by 2050 India will have the second largest metro network in the world, excluding the inter-city transportation. It will reduce carbon emissions and help the city. He coaxed the operators to come together and put 0.001% of their money into an innovative fund and bring together ancilliaries and entrepreneurs to create an evolution.
Jain spoke about the innovative solutions and how they can offer some unique opportunities to metro rail companies seeking to see further progress.
We then moved on to the second panel discussion ‘Mass Transit & Mobility: How to Fastrack the Metro Projects and Ensure Economic Viability’. Moderated by Vishal Kotecha, Director – Infrastructure & Project Finance, India Ratings & Research (Fitch Group), the panellists comprised Raman Kapil, Vice President & BU Head – Metros & Tunnels, Tata Projects; Devendra Dutta Mishra, ED (Rolling Stock), Maha Metro (Pune); MP Naidu, Former Project Director, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad); Anuj Goel, Head (AFC), Mumbai Metro One; and Nalinaksh S. Vyas, Chairman, Technology Mission for Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways. Kotecha asked the panellists to speak about the sustainability initiatives that metro operators are taking.
Naidu said that there are many aspects to sustainability from project execution to sourcing of equipment to operations and maintenance. From the construction point of view, one needs to build green stations. Overlapping of routes happens when the planning is not thorough.
Vyas pointed out the need for lighter versions of metros especially in Tier-2 cities. However, buses and other modes should co-exist and cannot be replaced by metros.
Kapil said that they have eight metro projects in hand across eight cities. Lucknow metro was their first metro project and quick decisions enabled them to complete the project before time. Mishra wants metros to adopt technology to the full wgile offering passengers a seamless experience. Transport systems should be like mobile phones where everything is in sync. Goel said that technology is made for customers to use and it should be user-friendly. A customer’s attitude changes when he boards a metro and that is because of the environment created.
It was time for the last panel discussion of the day – The Future of Metro & High-Speed Rail Network in India. Moderated by Amit Kumar, Associate Director, KPMG in India, the panellists were Kumar Keshav, MD, Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation; Pramod Ahuja, Director (Works), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA); Sudhir Chiplunkar, COO, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad); DK Sharma, MD, Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation (MMMOCL); Ashutosh Shukla, Director- Mobility Segment, Schneider Electric; and Rajneesh Tomar, Executive Director, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO).
Kumar began by saying that with the urban population expected to increase by 50% by 2050, demand for mobility is bound to rise. He asked the panellists to list out ways future mobility can be improved.
Keshav said that a peculiar thing about cities is that it is near impossible to widen roads. About 20% of 2-wheelers and 50% of cars are in the big cities. The government wants to build metros in cities that have a population of more than two lakh people.
Ahuja predicted that metro has a bright future in India. Covid brought in and new challenges and new normals are being set. With WFH and hybrid working models, demand transportation is declining. Some companies have innovatively brought commuters back. Electric vehicles are getting popular and is highly economical too.
Chiplunkar raised the point that metro rail policy was introduced in 2017. It was preceded by Urban Transport Policy of 2014. The metro rail policy was based on the realisation that urbanisation is the need of the hour and that brings with the need for a good mass transit system.
Sharma said that Mumbai has one line of 11km and pre covid had a ridership of 5 lakh per day. Fare box revenue becomes challenging because one cannot increase fares. So cities must be made pedestrian-friendly and feeder services must be encouraged.
Shukla stressed that metros should think of achieving operational efficiency and sustainability. The pandemic compelled people to adopt digitisation. Electrical energy costs are around 25-30% and one needs to taper it. Training operators through simulation will also help maintain safety measures. It is necessary to know where we stand in terms of carbon footprint. Sustainability goals are everywhere, but how are we workling towards it? Metros are moving in that direction.
Tomar said that the Vande Bharat story is a good one. This is one of the shining examples of Make in India. The whole rake which is a semi high-speed rake that runs at 160kmph is self propelled and right from design to commissioning was executed under the eye of Indian Railways. Earlier, India imported rakes, but now we have handful of manufacturers. India has also exported rakes to Australia and Canada. New policies are incentivising the industry be it in terms of procurement, manufacturing, etc.
Each of the panel discussions had questions from the audience that were answered in detail. The event ended with networking and most of the panellists and delegates stayed on for the Construction Week India Awards.