The Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has conducted detailed pre-feasibility studies for setting up Intermodal Stations at Nagpur and Varanasi, and the development of DPRs for this is in final stages of completion. Fifteen cities across the country have been prioritized for development of IMS of which Nagpur and Varanasi have been selected as pilot projects. Intermodal Stations are terminal infrastructure which integrate various transportation modes like rail, road, mass rapid transit system, bus rapid transit, inland waterways , autorickshaws, taxis and private vehicles etc, so that people can move from one mode to another seamlessly, with minimum use of automobiles. In most cities today, transport hubs like bus terminals, railway stations and others are located far from each other, so inter-modal transfers create pressure on the already congested roads. By bringing the different transport modes at one point, IMS will reduce congestion on roads and also vehicular pollution. IMS will also aid in city decongestion by encouraging the use of public transportation and by effectively using ring roads and National Highways for entry and evacuation of inter-city bus traffic. Intermodal Stations are being planned in an integrated manner along with road network development through new connecting roads, bridges,
flyovers etc. The stations will cater to passenger volumes for the next 30 years and will have world-class amenities like FOBs with travellators, subways, common waiting rooms, clean toilets and restrooms, integrated public information systems, modern fire-fighting and emergency response services, convenience stores, lifts and escalators, adequate circulation space and commercial establishments. Multiple benefits exist in developing inter-modal stations over standalone terminals: Aggregated footfall: Inter-modal stations witness higher footfall than disaggregated transport terminals Improved passenger experience: Facilities are better managed due to collaboration of multiple entities and commercial development is driven by aggregated footfalls. In addition, passengers do not need to spend time and money to transit between terminals. Sharing of resources: Shared infrastructure like FOBs, waiting rooms, concourses, public conveniences leads to reduced investment and land requirement. This lowers the investment requirements while increasing the overall synergies in the system Development of inter-modal stations will also give a boost to commercial development and economic activity in cities, which can significantly alter the socio-economic profile of the development area. The implementation and operation of the IMS will be done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) between Ministry of Road Transport & Highways through National Highways Authority of India, Ministry of Railways and respective State Governments. Members of the SPV will provide paid up capital or land as part of their equity contribution to the SPV. MoRTH / NHAI will fund the construction of the terminal infrastructure including railway infrastructure, ISBT, common areas (concourse, waiting rooms, and transport retail), parking and other station facilities. Indian Railways / State Government will provide the land for construction of the IMS. Construction and O&M will be bid out to a private concessionaire on a hybrid annuity model (HAM). The commercial development rights will be bid out on a PPP mode, post commencement of operations of the IMS. The returns from commercial development will be used to recover the construction costs.
Cabinet approves Silkyara Bend-Barkot Tunnel in Uttarkhand as part of ‘Chardham Mahamarg Pariyojana’
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the construction of 4.531 km long 2-Lane Bi-Directional Silkyara Bend - Barkot Tunnel with escape passage including approaches on Dharasu -Yamunotri section between Chainage 25.400 Km. and Chainage 51.000 Km in Uttarakhand. The project will be falling along NH-134 (old NH-94) in the State of Uttarakhand. The project will be built under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode. This is funded under NH (O) Scheme of Ministry of RT&H and forms part of ambitious Chardham Plan. The construction period of the project is 4 years. The civil construction cost of the project is estimated at Rs.
1119.69 crore, while the total project cost is Rs. 1383.78 crore, which is inclusive of the cost towards Land Acquisition & Rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities as well as Maintenance and Operation cost of tunnel for 4 years. The construction of this tunnel will provide all weather connectivity to Yamunotri, one of the dham on Chardham Yatra, encouraging regional socio-economic development, trade and tourism within the country. It will reduce the travel distance from Dharasu to Yamunotri by about 20 km and travel time by about an hour. The proposed tunnel will save number of trees that would have been required to be removed in the road improvement of 25.600 km, had the original alignment been followed. The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), through National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL), a wholly state owned company, formed in 2014 for development of highways in states on the international borders. The project aims at construction of 4.531 Km long two lane BiDirectional tunnel (along with 328m approach road) with escape passage on Dharasu –Yamunotri in the State of Uttarakhand.
Shri Nitin Gadkari releases India’s first ever Highway Capacity Manual
The Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari released India’s first ever Highway Capacity Manual in New Delhi today. The manual, known as Indo-HCM, has been developed by CSIR – CRRI on the basis of an extensive, country-wide study of the traffic characteristics on different categories of roads like single lane, two-lane, multi-lane urban roads, inter-urban highways and expressways and the associated intersections on these roads. The study involved seven academic institutions including IITs at Roorkee, Mumbai and Guwahati, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Engineering and Science and Technology, Shibpur, Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology, Surat and Anna University, Chennai. The manual lays down guidelines for when and how to expand or manage different types of roads and their intersections and the level of services to be put in place. It is designed to be a useful tool for guiding road engineers and policy makers in the country. It has been developed based on the unique nature and diversity of traffic on Indian roads. While countries like USA, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan developed their own Highway Capacity Manuals long time back, this is the first time that the manual has been developed in India. Speaking on the occasion Shri Nitin Gadkari expressed hope that the long awaited manual would help in the scientific planning and expansion of road infrastructure in the country. Calling upon the scientific fraternity, as well as the designers, policy makers and executioners of highways projects the Minister said that India urgently needs to catch up with the world’s best technology and practices being used in the sector so that we are able to build world class infrastructure that is safe, cost effective and environment friendly. Shri Gadkari also underscored the need to popularize the use of new material like fly-ash, plastic, oil slag and municipal waste in road construction, saying that scientists and the media should also play an active role in this regard. He also called upon researchers and engineers to expedite formulation of a good design for safe and effective speed breakers for Indian roads.