Special train to Agra for Commonwealth Games participants

The Railways will run a special Shatabdi train from Delhi to Agra to enable participants and officials of the Commonwealth Games visit Taj Mahal and other monuments.

The train will leave New Delhi at 7:55am and reach Agra at 10.40am. In return direction, it will leave Agra at 5pm.

"On arrival at Agra, 20 buses arranged by the Railways will take the visitors to various tourist spots, including the Taj Mahal, in the city," Devesh Mishra, divisional manager, told reporters here.

The train, which will have 9 coaches including one reserved for physically handicapped, will run from Wednesday till the end of Games. Around 550 passengers are expected to travel on the train everyday, he said.

Mishra said security at the Agra cantonment station is being tightened and more infrastructure developed including enquiry counters, train indication and coach display boards and video enquiry system.

Fairy Queen planning special trips for Commonwealth Games

Gearing up for the Commonwealth Games, Railways are planning special trips of the Fairy Queen, the tourist train run by the oldest working engine in the world, during the mega event in October.

"We are planning special trips of Fairy Queen on October 9 and 10," a senior Northern Railway official said today.

Besides Fairy Queen, Railways are also planning to run special chartered trains to Agra and Jaipur for tourists during the Games. It is estimated that a good number of tourists including foreigners will come here during the October 3-14 mega sporting event. Fairy Queen, the prestigious tourist train hauled by the 150-year old steam engine, meanwhile, is scheduled to recommence its journey from October 23.

In order to facilitate foreign tourists, the International Tourist Bureau located at New Delhi Railway Station is being renovated to give it a new look and provide better aesthetics and facilities for tourists.

The foreign tourist quota has been increased and is being provided in all classes and in some of the important trains during the Games period.
Foreign tourists can also obtain Indrail Pass apart from reserved tickets in Indian rupees against encashment certificate and can travel whenever and in whichever train he or she likes within the validity period of the pass.

Two more counters will be added at the ITB and working hours will also be extended with the deployment of more staff during the Games, said the official. Apart from running special tourist trains, Indian Railway, the lead partner of Commonwealth Games, has undertaken a massive exercise of renovating New Delhi station, Nizamuddin station and Old Delhi station.

Delhi Metro line 5 has BOMBARDIER train op system

In a ceremony attended by local officials and dignitaries, Delhi Metro Line 5 opened today featuring the latest mass transit technology, CITYFLO 350 from Bombardier.

The opening section of Line 5, which runs from Mundka to Inderlok features 14 stations on 15,2 kilometres of fully elevated track and one depot at Mundka, which is controlled by the new generation (Release 4) BOMBARDIER EBI Lock 950 computer-based interlocking systems.

Bombardier Transportation was awarded the 30 million euro contract to supply its signalling and train control system for both lines 5 and 6 of Delhi Metro in October 2007. These routes combined cover 38,6 kilometres and represent more than 30% of the Delhi Metro phase II expansion, which extends the existing network to cover all major destinations in the East-West and North-South corridors of this important city and will transport around 4 million passengers every day.

For passengers using Delhi Metro, the new system will offer excellent safety levels, as well as short and constant headways and a smooth ride. It will also enable predictable and cost-effective operations due to reduced wear and tear on the vehicles.

BOMBARDIER CITYFLO 350 includes automatic train operation that automatically drives the trains from station to station as well as controlling the opening and closing the doors, leaving the driver free to simply supervise and press the departure button when leaving a station. The system also has an automatic turn-back feature that enables trains to reverse automatically at end stations.

The route from Mundka to Inderlok represents the first phase in the comprehensive development of Lines 5 and 6, which is due to be completed prior to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October 2010. The opening of a further 3, 3 km branch line of Line 5, from Ashok Park Main to Kirti Nagar, featuring two additional stations, is currently scheduled for later this year. Line 6 (20,2 km from Central Secretariat to Badarpur) including 16 stations, with 4 underground and 12 on elevated viaduct and one depot at Sarita Vihar is also due to open at this time.

In terms of rolling stock, Bombardier Transportation is also delivering new MOVIA metro cars for Lines 1, 2 and 3 of Delhi Metro. An initial order for 340 cars in 2007 was complemented by an option for a further 84 cars, placed in March 2008. A large proportion of the fleet is being produced at Bombardier’s new purpose-built site in Savli, Vadodara.

Anders Lindberg, President, Bombardier Transportation Rail Control Solutions, said: “This is a landmark project for Bombardier in India and we are pleased to have been able to bring our state of the art mass transit signalling and safety systems to this remarkable, expanding city, helping to reduce passengers’ journey times on the Metro and thereby also helping to alleviate pollution caused by more than 1 million cars used in New Delhi every day.”

Rajeev Jyoti, President & Managing Director, Bombardier Transportation India added: “Bombardier is continuing its excellent support to the railway systems in India. Building upon its long-standing relationship in India stretching over 35 years, Bombardier is bringing the most modern railway signalling technology to Delhi Metro, in both signalling and rolling stock, as well as investing in the local manufacturing capability.”

CITYFLO 350 is a system with onboard automatic train protection (ATP) and automatic train operation (ATO), with both ATP information and ATO status displayed in the driver’s cab. The track to train communication is achieved via audio frequency track circuits and the system is designed primarily for metro applications where only limited action is required from the train driver. CITYFLO 350 systems are already in operation throughout the world in such countries as Spain, Rumania, Iran, Turkey and Korea.

Bombardier Transportation’s Rail Control portfolio covers the whole range of BOMBARDIER CITYFLO mass transit solutions, from manual to fully automatic systems as well as communication-based systems. It also provides BOMBARDIER INTERFLO mainline solutions, from conventional systems to ERTMS level 2 systems. Bombardier solutions encompass a complete palette of wayside and onboard products.