High-speed rail in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
India has one of the
largest rail networks
in the world but does not have any high-speed rail lines capable of
supporting speeds of 200 km/h (124 mph) or more. High-speed corridors
have been proposed but not implemented.
Currently, the fastest train in India is the
Bhopal Shatabdi, which has a top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph)
[1]
Current effort to increase speed to 160-180 km/h
For the first time in the history of
Indian Railways, it aims to raise the speed of passenger trains to 160–180 km/h on dedicated conventional tracks.
[2]
The railway minister said in 2012 that a combination of prudent
investment decisions in the areas of track and bridges, signalling,
doubling and train-sets is proposed to be adopted to enable train
running at speed of 160 kmph and above. The proposal would significantly
reduce travel time for passenger trains by 20-25%. Such infrastructure
would also enable Railways to run Shatabdi trains on long distance trunk
routes and between metros, he said in his speech.
[3]
- Approach to high-speed
Indian Railways' approach to high-speed is incremental improvement on
existing conventional lines for up to 160 km/h, with a forward vision
of speed above 200 km/h on new tracks with state-of-the-art technology,
such as
Shinkansen/
TGV/etc.
[2] While they do not define high-speed, Indian Railways' approach matches the high-speed definitions of the
Trans-European high-speed rail network, for upgraded lines and new lines built for high-speed.
- Dedicate tracks to passenger trains
Dedicate tracks on existing trunk lines to passenger trains, by building
separate corridors for freight trains,
and build separate tracks for busy suburban traffic in Mumbai and other
cities where traffic is equally busy. Without slower freight and
suburban traffic, fast-express trains can run at the speed limit of
rolling stock, the track or railroad switch, whichever is lowest among
those that apply.
[2]
Dedicated Freight Corridors
[2] [4]
- Upgrade tracks for 250–300 km/h
Upgrade the dedicated passenger tracks with heavier rails, and build
the tracks to a close tolerance geometry fit for 250–300 km/h.
High-speed tracks to be maintained and inspected using automation to
ensure required
track geometry. Perform more frequent inspection to ensure high confidence of safety at high-speed.
[2][5]
Design, manufacture and deploy railroad switches, with thick web
construction and movable crossings that permit 50 km/h to alleviate this
bottleneck to speed.
[2]
- Upgrade locomotives and coaches
Improve coaches, which can support 160 km/h, with stainless steel
bodies and crash-worthy designs, incorporating passenger and crew
protection, and fire-retardant materials. Equip coaches with
electro-pneumatic brake systems to enhance safe operations at
160–180 km/h.
[2]
Develop locomotives with output of 9000 to 12000 hp for hauling of 24-26 coach long passenger trains to 160–200 km/h.
[2]
Indian railways has asked
IIT Kharagpur
to conduct research to obtain the technological knowhow to increase the
maximum attainable speed to 200 km/h. The project, which will be
conducted in the Railway Research Centre of IIT Kharagpur, has four main
goals; improving speed, improving carrying capacity (heavy haul), use
of advanced material, advanced signalling and maintenance for better
safety. The research is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.
[6]
Proposal to introduce 250-350 km/h trains
History
One of the first proposals to intorduce high-speed trains in India was mooted in the mid-1980s by then Railway Minister
Madhavrao Scindia.
A high speed rail line between Delhi and Kanpur via Agra was proposed.
An internal study found the proposal unviable at that time due to the
high cost of construction and inability of travelling passengers to bear
much higher fares than what was for normal trains. The Railways instead
introduced Shatabdi trains which ran at 130 km/h.
[7]
The
Indian Ministry of Railways' white-paper Vision 2020
[2] submitted to
Indian Parliament on December 18, 2009
[8]
envisages the implementation of regional high-speed rail projects to
provide services at 250–350 km/h, and planning for corridors connecting
commercial, tourist and pilgrimage hubs. Six corridors have already been
identified for technical studies on setting up of high-speed rail
corridors:
Delhi-
Chandigarh-
Amritsar,
Pune-
Mumbai-
Ahmedabad,
Hyderabad-
Dornakal-
Vijayawada-
Chennai,
Howrah-
Haldia,
Chennai-
Bangalore-
Coimbatore-
Trivandrum,
Delhi-
Agra-
Lucknow-
Varanasi-
Patna.
These high-speed rail corridors will be built as elevated corridors in
keeping with the pattern of habitation and the constraint of land.
Indian Railway
set up a corporation called High Speed Rail Corporation of India Ltd
(HSRC) on 25 July 2012, that will exclusively deal with the proposed
ambitious high speed rail corridor projects. The corporation is a
subsidiary of
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL).
[9][10] It will handle tendering, pre-feasibility studies, awarding contracts and execution of the projects.
[11] The corporation will comprise of four members, all of whom will be railway officials.
[12]
All high-speed rail lines will be implemented through PPP mode on n a
Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.
[13]
Cost
In a feasibility study published in 1987,
RDSO and
JICA
estimated the construction cost to be Rs 49 million per km, for a line
dedicated to 250–300 km/h trains. In 2010, that 1987-estimated cost,
inflated at 10% a year, would be Rs 439 million per km (US$ 9.5
million/km).
[14] RITES is currently performing a feasibility study.
[15] It is being estimated that dedicated high speed corridor will cost about
100 crore per km.
According to news media, the costs for constructing such rail lines
in India are estimated to be Rs 700-1000 million per km (US$ 15-22
million/km). Therefore the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route of 500 km, will cost
Rs 370 billion (US$ 8.04 billion) to build and to make a profit,
passengers will have to be charged Rs 5 per km (US$ 0.11/km). Delhi to
Amritsar one-way, a distance of 450 km, will cost about Rs 2000
(US$ 43.48).
[16] At US$ 15-22 million per km, cost estimates are in line with US$ 18 million per km of the recently completed
Wu-Guang HSR line in
China.
Routes
Potential High Speed Rail lines
[2] [4]
In India, trains in the future with speed of 250–350 km/h, are
envisaged to run on elevated corridors, to prevent trespassing by
animals and people. This is an excellent way to isolate high-speed train
tracks. The
TGV tracks
are completely fenced in and has no road crossing them at the same
level. Wu-Guang’s 2-tracks line is laid, 468 km on bridges, 177 km in
tunnels, and 323 km on embankments. The 336 km
THSR tracks are 91% on bridges, flyover, or tunnels.
The current conventional lines between Amritsar-New Delhi, and
Ahmedabad-Mumbai runs through suburban and rural areas, which are flat,
therefore have no tunnel. Ahmedabad-Mumbai line runs near the coast
therefore have more bridges, and parts of it are in backwaters or
forest. The 1987 RDSO/JICA feasibility study found the Mumbai-Ahmedabad
line as most promising.
[14]
Maharashtra state government has proposed a link between
Mumbai and
Nagpur which will be good for development of the state railway. This project's cost is estimated
60,000
crore. The government also wants a corridor which will connect to
Navi Mumbai International Airport.
[17]
Potential ridership
As of July 2010, there are currently 49 train services on the 968 km
Wuhan-Guangzhou HSR line in China, with fares from US$ 70-115
(Rs 3220-5290), or US$ 0.07-0.12 per km (Rs 3.33-5.46/km). Amritsar-New
Delhi line has 22 daily services, with fares range from Rs 552-1434
(US$ 12-31). Ahmedabad-Mumbai has 32 daily services with fares from
Rs 514-1475 (US$ 11-32). On the 2 Indian lines travelling cost
Rs 1.14-3.19 per km (US$ 0.025-0.069/km).
Project execution
A separate entity, High Speed Rail Authority of India (HSRA), has
been set up to operationalise bullet trains in the country as part of
12th Five Year Plan (2012–17).
[20]
To put the construction in perspective, in the period 2005-09 Indian
Railways took on construction of 42 completely new conventional lines, a
total of 4060 km at a cost of Rs 167 billion (US$ 3.63 billion),
[21] or Rs 41 million per km (US$ 0.89 million/km).
[2]
A public-private-partnership mode of investment and execution is
envisaged for such expensive 250–350 km/h high-speed rail project.
[2]
Feasibility studies
The consultants for pre-feasibility study for four corridors are:
[22]
The state governments are ready to meet 50% cost of the consultancy.
While Japan has shown interest in India's high speed train, it is
funding 80% of the cost of construction of the 1,499 km-long
Western Dedicated Freight Corridor[23]
On 21 March 2011, the British firm
Mott MacDonald was asked to conduct a pre-feasibility study on the 993 km long Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna route. It cost the Railways
8.8 crore for the report.
[24]
The Indian Railways gave the go ahead for conducting a feasibility
study on the Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Kochi route. There was a plan
to either include Mysore in the main route or to create a branch line to
that city. With the Railways’ move, the Karnataka State government
decided not to commission a separate feasibility study on implementing a
high-speed train between Bangalore and Mysore.
[25] The pre-feasibility study will be tabled in Parliament and the final feasibility study will begin in April 2012.
[26]
During the 2012 Rail Budget speech, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi
announced that pre-feasibility studies on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune,
Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna, Howrah-Haldia,
Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai and the
Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Kochi high-speed corridors have already
been completed and study on Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur route will be
taken up in 2012-13.
[3]
