Indian Government allots huge Budget for Railways

Source: Ministry of Railways, 1st February, 2023

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union budget 2022-23 to the parliament today. Budget has proposed record budgetary allocation of 29354 million USD (INR 2.4 Lakh Crore) 71% higher than previous budget of 17123 million USD (INR 1.4 Lakh Crore). These funds will be utilized in developing new tracks, coaches, trains, signaling and electrification, safety improvements and development to stations infrastructure.

From 2018 Railways budget is merged with Union Budget. Railways sector has witnessed unprecedented growth during last eight years.

    Source: Economic Survey 2022-23

Description	Average during 2009-14	Average during 2014-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23 (BE)
	(₹ crore)
NL, GC & Doubling	10,623	40,389	52,446	43,597	66,690	78,576
Rolling stock	16,029	20,878	37,339	32,627	41,406	39,853
Railway Electrification	884	3,258	7,145	6,148	6,961	7,700
Track renewals	4,958	7,186	9,391	13,523	14,082	13,335
ROB/RUB	916	3,178	3,522	4,139	4,222	8,750
Bridge Works	351	488	782	772	1,297	940
Other Plan Heads	12,219	23,801	37,440	54,375	55,609	96,646
Total Capex	45,980	99,178	1,48,064	1,55,181	1,90,267	2,45,800
Source: Ministry of Railways
Note: NL: New lines, GC: Gauge Conversion

The fast pace of infrastructure augmentation by Railways has been a result of substantial increase in allocation of funds and various steps being taken by the government. This includes delegation of powers at the field level which has helped in commissioning of doubling projects, close monitoring of the progress of projects at various levels, regular follow-up with State Governments and relevant authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and wildlife clearances and resolving other issues pertaining to the projects.

Surely this will boost investment from industry in the development of sector as this is going to offer huge opportunities to all the players.

Indian Railways : OPPORTUNITIES

Source:  Indolink linkedin post, 25 January 2023

As slogan of Indian Railways ” Lifeline of Nation” perfectly articulates, Indian Railways sector is vital component of country’s economy. It provides transportation for millions of people and goods on daily basis. The sector is undergoing modernization with focus on reducing cost, increasing efficiencies and improving passenger experience. Railways ministry has announced plans to invest heavily in the sector with objective of upgrading existing and building new infrastructure. with recent introduction of trains like “Vande Bharat Express” India is demonstrating its strengths under ambitious “Make in India” campaign.

These developments present multiple opportunities for investors and companies looking to capitalize on growth of Indian market. India is projected to account for 40% of the total Global share of rail activity by 2050

Ongoing growth of Indian Railways sector necessitates continuous Investments in areas such as track expansion, track upgradation, electrification, improvements in safety provisions, efficient operations and improvised passenger experience. In view of these needs, Indian railways has set capital expenditure push of approximately 325,000 million USD, 14% higher than previous financial year.
This opens up opportunities in several areas/projects such as:
Ø Building of railway tracks, wagons, trains, electrification, signaling.
Ø Operation and maintenance of trains and Railway lines.
Ø Development of high speed Rail corridors
Ø Railway digitization and automation, including the development of smart Railway systems, Data Analytics and artificial intelligence
Ø New products and logistics services for small farmers
Ø Integration of postal and Railways networks for movement of parcels.
Ø 15000 kms are being converted into automatic signaling.
Ø 37000 kms being fitted with “Kavach” domestically developed train collision avoidance system.
Ø Redevelopment of Railways stations through PPP model.
Ø Development of goods – sheds at small stations.

Railway awarded contract worth ₹12,461 crore for redevelopment of 32 Stations in 2022

Source:  urbantransportnews.com, 09 January 2023

New Delhi, India (Urban Transport News): The Government of India had
launched Railway Station Redevelopment Program to redevelop 400 railway
station across India at Rs 1 lakh crore through the Public Private
Partnership (PPP) mode.

The program focused on improving passenger amenities by leveraging real
estate available with railways to fund the development. So far, contract
worth Rs ₹12,461 crore have been awarded to various agencies for
redevelopment of 32 railways stations across the country on PPP mode.
Here is a list of railway stations for which redevelopment contract have
been awarded by the Indian Railways in 2022:-

 1. Chandigarh Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 462.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of
Chandigarh Railway Station under Northern Railways zone of Indian
Railways on November 16, 2022.

 2. Gandhinagar (Jaipur) Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 178.00
crore has been awarded to M/s Brahmaputra Infrastructure Limited. JCC
for redevelopment of Gandhinagar Jaipur Railway Station under North
Western Railways zone of Indian Railways on August 21, 2022

 3. Udhna Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 212 crore has been awarded
to M/s Bridge & Roof Co. (India) Ltd for redevelopment of Udhna Railway
Station under Western Railways zone of Indian Railways on July 20, 2022

 4. Emakulam Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 300.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Bridge & Roof Company (India) Ltd. for redevelopment of
Emakulam Railway Station under Southern Railways zone of Indian Railways
on December 14, 2022.

 5. Chennai Egmore Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 734.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s DEC Infrastructure and Projects for redevelopment of
Chennai Egmore Railway Station under southern Railways zone of Indian
Railways on October 17, 2022.

 6. Kanniyakumari Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 50.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s Engineering Projects (India) Ltd. for redevelopment
of Kanniyakumari Railway Station under Southern Railways zone of Indian
Railways on November 23, 2022.

 7. Nagpur Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 487.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Girdhari Lal Constructions Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of
Nagpur Railway Station under Central Railways zone of Indian Railways on
October 17, 2022.

 8. Secunderabad Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 699.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s Girdhari Lal Constructions Pvt Ltd for redevelopment
of Secunderabad Railway Station under South Central Railways zone of
Indian Railways on October 27, 2022.

 9. Yesvantpur Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 380.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Girdhari Lal Constructions Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of
Yesvantpur Railway Station, Bengaluru under South Western Railways zone
of Indian Railways on October 18, 2022.

 10. Surat Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 878.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Girdhari Lal Constructions Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of
Surat Railway Station under Western Railways zone of Indian Railways on
October 19, 2022.

 11. Jaipur Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 177.45 crore has been
awarded to Girdhari Lal Constructions Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of
Jaipur Railway Station under North Western Railways zone of Indian
Railways on October 12, 2022.

 12. Gaya Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 249.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Kamladityya Construction for redevelopment of Gaya
Railway Station under East Central Railways zone of Indian Railways on
December 16, 2022.

 13. Bijwasan Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 271.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Kamladityya Construction Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of
Bijwasan Railway Station under Northern Railways zone of Indian Railways
on April 15, 2022.

 14. Ajni (Nagpur) Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 298.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s Keystone Infrastructure Globe Civil Services JV for
redevelopment of Ajni (Nagpur) Railway Station under Central Railways
zone of Indian Railways on November 21, 2002.

 15. Gwalior Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 462.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s KPC Projects Limited for redevelopment of Gwalior Railway
Station under North Central Railways zone of Indian Railways on November
14, 2022.

 16. Ayodhya Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 1,800.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s N.S. Associates Pvt. Ltd for redevelopment of Ayodhya
Railway Station under Northan Railways zone of Indian Railways.

 17. Gomtinagar Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 360.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s NBCC- BL Kashyap & Sons (JV) for redevelopment of
Gomtinagar Railway Station under North Easter Railways zone of Indian
Railways on June 1, 2021.

 18. Delhi Contonment Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 310.00 crore
has been awarded to M/s Ram Kripal Singh Construction Pvt Ltd for
redevelopment of Delhi Contonment. Railway Station under Northern
Railways zone of Indian Railways on December 16, 2022.

 19. New Jalpaiguri Railway Station:  Contract worth Rs 335.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s Ram Kripal Singh Construction Pvt Ltd for
redevelopment of New JalpaiguriRailway Station under NFR Railways zone
of Indian Railways on December 1, 2022.

 20. Muzaffarpur Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 426.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s Ram Kripal Singh Construction Pvt Ltd for
redevelopment of Muzaffarpur Railways Station under East Central
Railways zone of Indian Railways on July 29, 2022

 21. Ernakulam Town Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 299.95 crore
has been awarded to M/s Rank Project & Development Pvt. Ltd for
redevelopment of Ernakulam Town Railways Station under Southern Railways
zone of Indian Railways.

 22. Kollam Town Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 361.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s RITES- Sidharatha Civil Works JV for redevelopment
of Kollam Town Railways Station under Southern Railways zone of Indian
Railways on December 16, 2022.

 23. Charbagh Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 399.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s RPP Infra Projects Ltd. P&C Projects (JV) for
redevelopment of Charbagh Railways Station, Lucknow under Northern
Railways zone of Indian Railways on August 13, 2022.

 24. Nellore Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 102.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s SCL Infratech Ltd for redevelopment of Nellore Railways
Station under South Central Railways zone of Indian Railways on December
8, 2022.

 25. Puducherry Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 103.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s Shalimar Corp Limited for redevelopment of
Puducherry Railways Station under Southern Railways zone of Indian Railways.

 26. Jaisalmer Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 148.00 crore has
been awarded to M/s SKT-SGCCL JV for redevelopment of Jaisalmer Railways
Station under North Western Railways zone of Indian Railways on
September 18, 2002.

 27. Kota Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 203.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Universal Contractors & Engineers Pvt Ltd for
redevelopment of Kota Railways Station under West Central Railways zone
of Indian Railways on August 5, 2022.

 28. Tirupati Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 300.00 crore has been
awarded to M/s Varindera Construction Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of
Tirupati Railways Station under South Central Railways zone of Indian
Railways on May 30, 2022.

 29. Bangalore Cantonment Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 525.00
crore has been awarded to M/s Varindera Construction Pvt Ltd for
redevelopment of Bangalore Cantonment Railways Station under South
Western Railways zone of Indian Railways on December 12, 2022.

 30. Vishakhapatnam Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 339.00 Crore
has been awarded to M/s Braithwaite – Cognition Projects JV for
redevelopment of Vishakhapatnam Railways Station under East Coast
Railways zone of Indian Railways on September 14, 2002.

 31. Somnath Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 138.00 Crore has been
awarded to M/s Katira Construction Ltd. for redevelopment of Somnath
Railways Station under Western Railways zone of Indian Railways on July
1, 2022.

 32. Jodhpur Railways Station:  Contract worth Rs 475.00 Crore has been
awarded to a consortium comprising of M/s Vishal Infrastructure Ltd.,
M/s OJSC Euro and M/s Asian Construction Corporation Evrascon for
redevelopment of Jodhpur Railways Station under North Western Railways
zone of Indian Railways on September 29, 2022.

Indian Railways kickstarts a mega infra project to promote MSMEs

Source: Financial Express, 27 December 2022

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Indian Railways with the aim to promote MSME markets has undertaken a massive infrastructure project, Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) as per the information given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, ANI reported.

The DFC project comprises Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC – from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust – 1506 Km) and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC – from Ludhiana to Sonnagar -1337 Km) with a total cover span of 2,843 km route.

Out of the total route, almost 1,610 km (799 Km of EDFC and 811 Km of WDFC) was completed till October, 2022.

Similarly, a pilot project for ‘Joint Parcel Product’ (JPP) was launched on March 31, 2022 by Indian Railways in collaboration with India Post with the objective to target business-to-customer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) markets focusing on e-Commerce and MSME markets.

Under the project, first-mile and last-mile connectivity will be provided by the Department of Posts, and the intermediate connectivity from station to station shall be catered through Railways as per the statement released by the Ministry of Railways in April this year.

For the pilot run of this project, a Parcel Van was attached in Tapti Ganga Express (19045/46) between Surat and Varanasi.

Earlier in January this year, Indian Railways reduced its application fee from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 10,000 for MSMEs who are applying to be vendors with the Railways’ Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO).

Also Read: Over 80% of Stand-Up India loans sanctioned to women entrepreneurs: Govt data

Meanwhile, to provide logistics services in the remotest areas of the country, India’s postal system has integrated with the government’s e-commerce portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM). The integration will help last-mile (rural/village-level) government buyers, service providers, and sellers particularly women and tribal entrepreneurs, self-help groups, artisans and weavers in the public procurement process, FEAspire reported.

Gadkari launches 8 National Highway projects worth Rs 1,800 crore in Maharashtra’s Nashik

Source: Economic Times, 18 December 2022

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Sunday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 8 National Highway projects of 226 kms worth Rs 1,800 crore at Igatpuri, Nashik, Maharashtra.

Union Minister of State Bharti Pawar, Member of Parliament Subhash Bhamre, Hemant Godse, MLAs and officials were present on the occasion.

According to an official release, with these highway projects transportation in the district will be accessible and safe, fuel and time will be saved, as well as pollution will be lessened.

“These projects will make it easier for agricultural and handicraft businesses to reach the local markets, help in connectivity of the rural areas with the cities more accessible, as well as new industries and new employment opportunities will be created through them,” the statement said.

Earlier on Friday, Gadkari said that before the end of 2024, road infrastructure will be equal to the standard of the USA.

Addressing the 95th FICCI Annual convention, the minister said that “We are making the World Standard Road infrastructure in the country and promising you that before the end of 2024, our road infrastructure will be equal to the standard of the USA, American standards.”

Addressing the issue of logistics cost he said that it is an effort to take up to 9 per cent by the end of 2024.

“Our logistics cost is a big problem. Presently, it comes to 16 per cent, but I am promising you that up to the end of 2024, we will take it to the single digit, up to 9 per cent”, he added.

Talking about the construction industry which consumes 40 per cent of Global resources, the minister said that we are trying to minimise the use of steel in construction work by adopting substitutes.

“We know that the construction industry not only contributes significantly to environmental pollution but also consumes 40 per cent of global materials and resources. We focus on reducing the cost of resources and improving the quality of construction. As we are aware that cement and steel are the major components for construction, so we are trying to minimise the use of steel in construction work by trying to adopt substitutes”, said the minister.

Odisha approves industrial projects worth nearly ₹2,000 crore, targets 5k jobs

Source: Hindustantimes, 08 October 2022

The Odisha government’s State Level Single Window Clearance Authority on Saturday approved ten industrial projects worth ₹1923.60 crore as part of its initiative to generate employment for over 5,170 people in the state.

The approval of big ticket projects took place during a meeting chaired by Odisha chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra in state capital Bhubaneswar, the government said in a statement.

The industrial projects cleared in the meeting hailed to sectors like power and renewable energy, chemicals, information technology, electronics system design and manufacturing, oil and gas, metal downstream, tourism, technical textiles and infrastructure.

The Odisha government said four of the approved projects are being set up in Khordha while the remaining six will be set up in Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Balasore, Keonjhar and Angul.

The single window clearance authority also approved the proposal of Luminous Power Technologies Private Limited to set up a manufacturing unit of new technology eco-friendly Batteries Fuel Cell, Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC batteries), and power storage and solar batteries in the Angul Aluminium Park with a proposed investment of ₹481 Crores generating employment for over 1,150 people in the state.

The committee gave nod to several other projects like the one by Silox India Pvt Limited to set up a chemical manufacturing unit in Paradeep Industrial Area, Happiest Minds Technologies proposal for a software development centre in Bhubaneswar, MGM Resorts Pvt Ltd’s 5-star hotel Hyatt Regency for a project in Puri among others, the government said in a statement.

The Odisha government said it is keen on ‘broad-basing’ the industrial outlook of the state along with bringing in investments in the employment intensive sectors. Stating that Odisha has remained a destination of choice for mineral and metallurgy sector, the government said the stable and progressive governance over the last two decades with factors like fast technology adoption and highly skilled workforce contributed to the development of Odisha as an industrial hub in eastern India.

New Delhi Railway Station to be a world-class station

Source: Metrorailnews, 03 September 2022

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Ministry of Railways has shared the proposed design of the to-be redeveloped New Delhi Railway Station on its Twitter handle. Indian Railways has been redeveloping major stations across India with ‘world-class’ amenities to give passengers an enhanced travel experience.

Indian Railways has not yet provided any information on the intended design, but based on its looks, the New Delhi Railway Station will be the biggest and most advanced station for train passengers in India.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) was previously issued by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) for the renovation of the Delhi Cantonment Railway Station, and the design for that RFP was uploaded on the Ministry of Railways’ social media accounts.

The Indian Railways has stated that 1,215 stations have already been built as Adarsh Stations to enhance passenger amenities. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the Model, Modern, and Adarsh Station Scheme are three schemes that the Ministry of Railways has devised for the enhancement and allure of stations on the Indian Railways.

The “Adarsh” Station Scheme has identified 1253 stations for development, of which 1,215 have already been completed. , it is expected that the other stations will be constructed under the Adarsh Station Scheme by the financial year 2022-2023.

The Minister also announced the commencement of a brand-new plan for “Major Upgradation of Railway Stations.” So far, 52 stations have been selected for upgrade.

CMRL floats PSD Tender for Chennai Metro Phase-II

Source: MetrorailNews, 02 September 2022

CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has floated bids for Design, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, Testing, and Commissioning of the Platform screen Door for CMRL Phase-II, Corridor-4.

The work includes Design, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, Testing, and Commissioning of Platform Screen Doors for CMRL Phase II, Corridor 4

Tender Details
The tender Reference Number is CMRL/PH_II/SYS/C4_ASA10/2022.

Tender ID is 2022_CMMDB_689376_1

Bid Submission Start Date and Time is 15th September 2022 at 15:00 hrs. Indian Standard Time.
The Last Date and Time of submission/uploading of the Bid is 22nd September 2022 up to 13:00 hrs. Indian Standard Time.
The date and Time of opening of the Bid (Technical Bid) are 23rd September 2022 at 15:00 hrs. Indian Standard Time.

Bid Valid for 180 days.

The time period to complete the work is 2245 days.

Digital logistics initiative to boost services: Commerce and industry ministry

Source: Economic Times, 01 September 2022

The commerce and industry ministry on Wednesday said it is developing a dashboard to help the industry flag issues or give suggestions to the government on matters related to logistics services. The dashboard is expected to be launched for all authorised industry associations soon, it said.

To streamline inter-ministerial coordination of service-related issues in logistics, an institutional mechanism, such as the Network Planning Group under PM GatiShakti, is also under consideration, the ministry added.

“Such endeavours are expected to give a significant boost to India’s logistics efficiency,” it said.

It also said that the creation of a user-interactive dashboard will allow authorised user associations to log in and lodge issues or suggestions for the government to track and resolve them in a transparent manner.

It will not only allow the division to address issues related to a single ministry/ department but also multiple ministries/departments.

A user demonstration of the system was organised recently. In that, the prototype of the system and its benefits were discussed.

“The initiative is expected to help in the identification of procedural issues that lead to lower efficiency in logistics and higher logistics costs,” the ministry said.

The user interaction dashboard is part of several initiatives being developed by the logistics division of the ministry to address the technology, services, and human resource-related aspects of logistics efficiency in the country.

First prototype train of Mumbai Metro 3 trial run to begin soon; Racks dispatched from Alstom plant at Sri City

Source: Financial Express, 18 July 2022

The much-awaited trial run of the underground Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ) is going to start soon. The first two cars of a prototype train are to be dispatched from the Alstom trains fabricating plant situated in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. The new Maharashtra government has taken the decision to relocate the Metro 3 car shed from Aarey Colony to Kanjurmarg overturning the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA regime’s decision. The Urban Development department has initiated proceedings to remove the stay on construction of Metro-3 car shed in Aarey, as per sources.

The cars of the Metro prototype trains, which were prepared for almost a year, were not brought to the city because of the inaccessibility to the Metro car shed. It is now set to reach Mumbai within the next 8-12 days.

As per MMRCL Official, the Mumbai Metro Line-3 project, the two cars that are part of a prototype Metro train, have a total of 8 metro cars, were loaded in the trailers on Sunday from Alstom’s manufacturing facility. It will be dispatched to Mumbai at any moment.

The process will take around 8 to 12 days for the trailers to reach Mumbai then they will be assembled at the temporary facility centre (temporary Metro car shed) at Aarey. Then, the trial run can begin among Marol and Maroshi as expected. He further added that all parts of the prototype trains are likely to reach Mumbai around August 15 after which the testing of the Metro can be started. The train will be tested on various parameters including speed, emergency break, oscillation, distance during 10,000km test runs etc. The trial could go on for over three-six months, he added.

Due to the delays in the project, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) is now planning to complete the first phase by January 2024 and the second in one-and-a-half years provided the issue surrounding the construction of the Metro car shed is now resolved. The second phase of the project from Colaba to BKC is expected to be completed by mid-2025.