Rlys mull pvt finance options; tenders may begin in ‘14.
Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad would probably be the first rail line in the country to have a high-speed corridor, from the six being planned. The estimated construction cost is Rs 100 crore a km.
Tendering for creation of infrastructure for the corridor is expected to begin in 2014. French consultancy Systra recently gave a pre-feasibility report on the project to Indian Railways (IR). The latter are considering financial options for the entire project.
One is on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis, through a single private developer who will be responsible for construction, operations and maintenance.
There will be no interface risk on IR and all revenue risk can be transferred to the private developer. The option is unbundling the project into components. This may make it attractive to more companies from the perspective of affordability, in terms of size and risk allocation.
The estimated cost for the infrastructure might be around Rs 50,000 crore and another Rs 7,000 crore for rolling stock, averaging approximately Rs 100 crore per km.
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The estimated traffic projection is around 26.6 million passengers in 2021. This is expected to rise to 104 million passengers in 2041. The likely alignment is expected to include a tunnel of 18.3 km between Lonavala and Karjat. The initially planned alignment of Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad is expected to have intermediate stations at Navi Mumbai Airport, Surat and Vadodara, to get more traffic.
These high-speed rail routes are expected to be built as elevated corridors, in keeping with the pattern of habitation and the constraint of land. These tracks will be completely fenced, with no road crossings. IR’s plan to have trains at more than 300 km/hour on the six selected corridors: Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Howrah-Haldia, Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai, Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Kochi and Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna.
| PROJECT REPORT | |
| The corridors | Status of pre-feasibility studies |
| Pune-Mumbai- Ahmedabad (650 km approx) | French consultant M/S Systra submitted the final report. Right now, it is under examination by stake holders |
| Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna (991 km approx) | UK-based consultant Mott McDonald engaged to conduct the pre-feasibility study |
| Howrah-Haldia (135 km approx) | Spanish consultant Eneco engaged to conduct pre-feasibility study |
| Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai (664 km approx) | Tenders for the consultant for pre-feasibility study has been floated |
| Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam (649 km approx) | Tenders for the consultant for pre-feasibility study to be invited shortly |
| Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar (450 km approx) | Technical evaluation completed and financial bid under finalisation.Consultant to be engaged shortly |
The ministry of railways’ Vision 2020 in 2009 had envisaged the implementation of high-speed train projects to provide services at 250-350 kmph, and planned for corridors connecting commercial, tourist and pilgrimage hubs. “In most European countries, high-speed trains ply at 300-350 kmph. The concept varies according to the size of the country and the distance to be covered,” said an executive in a multinational company in the business. China has the world’s fastest high-speed train, at 574.8 kmph.
Despite India having the third largest rail network in the world, the country has no line capable of supporting speeds of 200 kmph or more. The Duronto and Rajdhanis are the fastest, with speed ranging from 110 to 130 kmph.
IR is upgrading the speed capacity of existing rolling stock to its limit (150-200 kmph) and also creating infrastructure for high-speed trains (250-300 kmph).
According to an IR official, “RDSO (Research Design and Standard Organisation) is also developing locomotives with output of 9,000 to 12,000 Hp, for hauling of 24-26 coach passenger trains to 160-200 kmph.” The coaches are also being improved to support 200 kmph, with stainless steel bodies and crash-worthy designs, incorporating passenger and crew protection, and fire-retardant materials.