TRACKING THE MEN BEHIND METRO

The city Metro was the second fastest in the country to start commercial operations. Its stretch is 5 km longer than Lucknow Metro, which was the fastest. So it is not a fair comparision. Nagpur Metro is a pioneer in many things like use of solar energy, rainwater harvesting, use of biodigesters, etc. Managing director Brijesh Dixit is not the only man behind its success. Right from the construction workers to the senior most officials, everybody has worked for its success. TOI spoke to some important Metro officers:
INCREASING WORK SPEED WOULD HAVE COMPROMISED SAFETY: Mahesh Kumar, Director (Project)

He is more than satisfied with the pace of work. “Our quality, safety and work speed is much higher than other Metros. I have worked for ten years in Bengaluru and Kochi Metros but this project working is far better.

Kumar further said, “If we had increased the speed any further it would have affected quality and compromised safety. Our staff would have developed fatigue, which would have ultimately slowed the work down.”

According to him there are four factors behind success of Nagpur Metro - good contractors, good technical engineers of general consultant, qualified and experienced engineers of the agency and proper planning.

On Lokmanya Nagar to Sitabuldi stretch, he said the agency would meet the target given to central government.

OUR COACHES ARE THE BEST, PUNE WILL BE BETTER: Sunil Mathur, Director (RS&S)

He feels that Nagpur Metro coaches are the best in the country. “Our quality and functionality have no match. The air-conditioning capacity has been designed as per needs of Nagpur. Power consumption is less. Our motors are of 250 KW compared to other Metros that have 200 KW motors. Our route maps are bigger. The display and associated sound can be programmed by us,” he said.

Mathur also said aesthetics of Nagpur coaches was the best due to their colour combination. “We have used vinyl wrapping required for the city climate. We are the first Metro do it,” he added.

He is confident Pune Metro coaches, to be manufactured at Sindi dry port, will be even better. “They will have more passenger amenities and higher CCTV capability. They will also have video streaming and higher maximum speed. They will be more handicapped friendly,” said Mathur.

FUNDS FLOW HAS NOT BEEN A PROBLEM SO FAR: S Sivamathan, Director (Finance)

According to him, MahaMetro has not faced funds crunch so far. “There have been no case when contractor bills could not be paid. If we did not get funds from state government we got it from Centre or foreign lenders,” he said.

However, the agency needs lot of funds in the coming two years. “We have asked for Rs 1,800 crore from Centre for 2019-20. State government has to provide us Rs 350 crore more. Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) have not paid us Rs 160 crore. We have sought this amount from state government. We also have to pay acquisition cost for central government and private land,” said Sivamathan.

27 COACHES WILL ARRIVE SOON: Janak Kumar Garg, Executive Director (RS&S)

He expressed satisfaction over the pace of delivery of coaches from China. “It took 18 months to develop our prototype, which is okay. So far China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) has delivered two coaches. Twenty-seven more are under construction and they will reach Nagpur in coming weeks,” said Garg.

On leasing coaches from Hyderabad Metro instead of Chennai, he said, “Chennai uses four coach trains. Our platforms are not that long and hence we chose Hyderabad.”

METRO SAMWADS CONNECTED US TO PEOPLE: Anil Kokate, General Manager (Administration)

He has been connected with interaction with Nagpurians through Metro Samwads. He feels these 105 interactions were 100% successful.

“We got to know the problems faced by people due to our work. We asked them about their expectations. People gave us many valuable suggestions on their own. These interactions ensured that people felt that the project was their own,” said Kokate.

The GM said now MahaMetro was asking people about the operation of Metro. “We are asking them about the feeder connectivity they need. This is very important for ridership,” he added.

EACH STATION HAS A DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURE: Devendra Ramtekkar, Senior Chief Project Manager (Reach I)

He said all the stations of Sitabuldi to Khapri stretch had different architecture. “We are not building run of the mill stations. Each station has a speciality. Some have themes. Ujwal Nagar has a tiger theme while Chhatrapati Square highlights Shivaji Maharaj. Khapri and New Airport have unique designs. Sitabuldi will have Crown of Nagpur at the top,” he added.

Ramtekkar assured to complete all the stations of this stretch within eight months. “Work is going on at full speed,” he said.

AT GRADE SECTION MAINTENANCE MECHANIZED: Naresh Gurbani, Chief Project Manager (Track)

He said that MahaMetro had purchased a tamping machine for maintaining the ballasted at grade track. “Mechanization will make maintenance of track easier and better,” he added.

Gurbani is satisfied with the speed of track laying. “The speed of the train will increase once the signalling system is in place. The second line will also become operational,” he said.