Railways to turn old coaches into clinics to help villagers Rlys to pave way for lighter, better aluminium coaches
director of NHSRCL.
A second NHSRCL official said that similar requests have been received from other villages, and that at several places, government buildings are not available for health units.
“Some containers have already been purchased while container-shaped railway coaches will be purchased later. The interiors will be changed as per the requirement of a polyclinic. A total four coaches will be procured and two-coach sets will be used to build a clinic. The construction of a concrete structure will take time and we want the land at the earliest. The coaches will be transported and converted,” said this person who asked not to be named.
Some of the villagers have also demanded drinking water, bore wells for ground water and renovation of schools.
“For drinking water, we will see if ground water is available, otherwise alternative arrangements will be made depending on the location. We will try to provide everything they are demanding. Some are also demanding solar lighting. Some district authorities may have also planned something, so we are consulting with them to avoid duplication,” Khare said.
The corporation is also open to sponsoring industrial training, if required, and will also create selfhelp groups to start poultry- or goat-farming.
The foundation stone for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinto Abe last year.
The 35 bullet trains with 10 coaches each, which will initially run on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, will have one business class coach and nine standard coaches each. The project has faced opposition from farmers whose land is being acquired, and been criticised for its cost (around ~1.1 lakh crore, of which around ~10,000 crore would be used in acquisition of land).
Delhi Metro’s first chief E Sreedharan recently said that bullet trains are for elites and India needs a safe rail system.
The land acquisition process is underway for the 508-km long corridor. RK Singh, former chairman of the Railway Board, said: “Land acquisition is a major headache for any infrastructure project in the country. Railway, especially has suffered a lot, first during the dedicated freight corridor and now with the bullet train. This is a big problem and the all the demands of land owners can’t be met as company has to strike a balance to the ensure it is financially viable.”
Raebareli’s Modern Coach Factory (MCF) could start making lighter and more durable aluminium coaches, for the first time in India, with better corrosion resistance as early as next fiscal year, officials aware of the development said.
The lighter weight carriages consume lesser energy compared to steel coaches and help increase train speeds. The Delhi Metro has used aluminium coaches and Indian Railways is keen on acquiring them as part of its modernisation drive.
Officials said the Railway Board is set to approve MCF’s project report for manufacturing the aluminium carriages.
They added that the Modern Coach Factory will have to bring the technology either from Europe or Japan. A global tender for it will be floated once Modern Coach Factory gets the go-ahead.
A railway delegation had recommended adoption of the technology to manufacture aluminium coaches in India after visiting coach factories in Europe earlier this year. Countries in Europe and Japan have been using aluminium coaches for at least 15 years.
“Aluminium coaches have the advantage of lesser weight and better corrosion resistance. Lesser weight results in savings in haulage costs and better acceleration/deceleration.
“Better corrosion resistance would result in lesser maintenance requirements in the workshops. They will also last longer than the traditional LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches,” said Modern Coach Factory general manager Rajesh Aggarwal.
The Railway Board had asked for a project report for manufacturing 500 aluminium coaches per annum. In its report, the MCF has proposed to build 250 coaches annually in the first phase.
“Since Indian Railway does not have the technology to manufacture these coaches, we will first have to bring it in. It will cost around₹150 crore. In the second phase, when the proposal is to manufacture 500 coaches per annum, additional ~62 crore will be required,” said a railway ministry official.
The official said the rate of return for this project is 25-30%. He added any railway project is considered commercially viable if the rate in above 15%. When the maintenance and manufacturing costs are lesser, the rate of return is higher.
“Many countries have adopted aluminium coaches as they are rusting free, can last longer; their cost of maintenance is also less. This is the right time to go for aluminium coaches,” said former Railway Board chairman RK Singh.
Modern Coach Factory has increased production exponentially to 368 coaches in the four months of 2018-19. This is almost equal to the coaches manufactured in first four months of last four years and almost double the number of carriages built in the same period last year.
Modern Coach Factory’s capacity of 1,000 coaches per annum is being increased to 2,000 with an investment of ~480 crore.
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