The Feasibility Report submitted by SYSTRA to KRDCL is fundamentally flawed and should be rejected

Kerala Highspeed Line: Has Railway Board still not learnt any lessons from its fiasco in Himalayas of starting construction of rail-lines in adverse terrain without a proper feasibility study?

Foreign companies are carrying out feasibility studies and paying for them. Surely, hoping for lucrative contracts in future, but no one ready to do feasibility study for raising speed on the existing trunk routes or new high-speed lines

The former Chief Engineer, Northern Railway, Alok Kumar Verma said, “the manufacturers of Bullet Train systems (ICE of Germany, TGV of France, Shinkansen of Japan etc) are carrying out feasibility studies and paying for them. Surely, hoping for lucrative contracts in future. But, no one ready to do feasibility study for raising speed on the existing trunk routes or new 200-250 kmph lines”.

Recently SYSTRA, consultancy company from France, engaged him as its chief consultant to carry out feasibility study for Thiruananthapuram – Kasargod new 200-250 kmph line. It did not bring experts from France!! he said.

Verma says, “My assessment is no foreign company is interested in imparting knowledge and share experience of building 200-250 kmph lines and upgrading existing lines. Their interest lies in Bullet Train lines as they can garner multi-billion dollar contracts for these super-costly systems”.

“In fact the Bullet Train technology is well set to becoming obsolete in about 10 years with Japan already building a 500 km (Tokyo to Osaka), 500 kmph Megleve line to replace the Bullet Train line very soon”, said Verma.

He said, “The blunt question for Railway Board is if China could build and upgrade total 12,000 km of trunk lines to 200-250 kmph in 1995-2010, why couldn’t Indian Railways? China could get technical knowhow and funding from foreign countries through ADB. Before China launched its program of building a network of Bullet Train lines in 2012, per capita income was about 3 times of India”.

“Why are 98% of people of India, who can not afford to travel by car or airplanes, being burdened with Bullet Train lines?” asked Verma. He says, “Generations will repay the loans. Railway Board can’t even wait and build one short line and run it for 2 to 3 years to assess financial viability of Bullet Train lines in this country? It is hurtling ahead and want to at once build 6 more lines besides Ahmedabad- Mumbai. Surely, Railway Board has not learnt any lessons from its fiasco in Himalayas”.

On above, a railfan Mahesh K. Rathi from Kolkata asked A. K. Verma- “as per your assessment how much would it cost to upgrade rail lines on trunk routes vs a viz bullet train corridors?”

Verma replied, “In INR 50,000 crore about 8,000 km (Quadrilateral+Delhi to Chennai) can be upgraded to 160 kmph. With INR 50,000 cr. more, it can be raised to 200 kmph. People want faster, safer travel and puncuality not grand stations. In past 20 years a lot spent on cosmetic works at stations”.

Another Twitter user Mr Siddharth asked to Mr Verma, “Sir, is the kerala high speed route possible? Just asking out of curiosity as I am from kerala”.

Verma replied him, “Report which was prepared by SYSTRA under my guidance said that the line must be built on BG and integrated with existing lines to reduce cost and increase traffic. But, under pressure from KRDCL, SYSTRA submitted another report, reduced cost, and removed earlier recommendations. So, the line as approved by Kerala Govt as a standalone line on Standard Gauge is based on a highly compromised and unprofessionally prepared feasibility report by SYSTRA under pressure of KRDCL. This line will be extremely costly, and financially totally unviable, Verma said.

Traffic projection has also been arbitrarily doubled. The second report submitted by SYSTRA is without any topographic geothecical and geological data (These three surveys are yet to start). The hastiness with which the State Govt is pushing the project would be disastrous. “I urge the State Govt not to take a final decision about construction nor start land acquisition till it gets from KRDCL a detailed feasibility report based on a proper alignment survey report that takes into account the topographic, geotechnical and geological ground data”, Verma said.

In reply of Verma’s above opinion, an official Twitter handle of KRDCL named “keralarail” posted an misleading imaged response without any authority’s signature as under-

Now a cold war started between Verma and KRDCL. In reply of above imaged matter Verma said, “SYSTRA and KRDCL should know that Google Earth satellite data can not be used for preparing a railway alignment with mostly embankments and cuttings in a hilly terrain. KRDCL has wasted money by collecting geotechnical and geological data on this fundamentally flawed alignment I have seen the Railway Board letter of December 19. It does not permit the line to be built on Standard Gauge.

KRDCL should know that according to Railway rules, preinvestment activities do not include land acquisition. Land acquisition can be done only after the work is sanctioned on the basis of a detailed feasibility report, including an alignment prepared on the basis of actual ground data or data of equivalent accuracy through aerial techniques.
KRDCL should not be defending the indefensible, Verma said.

Keralarail: “We have completed LiDAR survey and people in Kerala knows that. People with your experience should first show the magnanimity to verify before spreading falsehood”.

MKRathi replied to Keralarail, “If there is even a grain of truth in Mr Verma statements, why not admit it and make amends. After all its your State which stands to lose in a failed project. Everything shouldn’t be only about how to make money from govt spending as happens in North India. Keralites are diffrent”.

In this time Verma said, “It’s obvious that KRDCL is willfully defending the fundamentally flawed May’19 Feasibility Report of SYSTRA. For a course correction before further harm is done to this mega project, Railway Board should order a thorough and impartial comparative study of alignments for a line on Broad Gauge passing through the center of the main cities (as recommended in the Preliminary Feasibility Report of March’19) vi’s a vi’s alignment on Standard Gauge passing through the periphery of the cities (as proposed in the Final Feasibility Report of May’19).

Keralarail: “We have completed feasibility study and got approvals from both governments. DPR is expected to be completed in another one month. DPR will have the detailed micro level alignment unlike feasibility report. With in principle approval, we will be able to initiate many activities”.

Keralarail: “Procedures of land acquisition before that. Those activities which we can do simultaneously have to be completed simultaneously without doing in the conventional way of 1 by 1. @mkrathi2012 we got feasibility report approved in December and DPR will be ready by March. This is only possible because we initiated DPR activities from the next day of submission of feasibility report to Govt (in June). We are confident that we will reach the stage of actual land acquisition on the date of getting DPR approved. We needs to be dynamic than static”.

A. K. Verma: “As I said the Feasibility Report of SYSTRA is a sham. So, all subsequent approvals that KRDCL obtained, have no meaning, as the very basis of those approvals was wrong, Because the Feasibility Report is fundamentally flawed. Everything that follows in wrong and undesirable”.

Keralarail: “Please excuse us from responding to unsubstantiated allegation without any iota of proof”.

A. K. Verma: “You don’t want to see the proof which is there in my foregoing comments. And why are you shying from showing Railway Board’s approval for Standard Gauge, if you really have it?”

Keralarail: “Will you apologise & withdraw your false narrative if we show?”

A. K. Verma: “First, please show the letter. When and at what stage was this letter issued, if such a letter was issued”.

Keralarail: “Pleass don’t run away sir. Be firm. Will you apologise and withdraw your false narrative if we show?”

A. K. Verma: “Apologies for what? Should I apologise for saying that SYSTRA’s Feasibility Report is fundamentally flawed? You are unwilling to accept that! But surely you can show the Board’s approval for Standard Gauge”.

Keralarail: “Why should we show that document to you in twitter if you are not willing to take back atleast that allegation and apologise? All your allegations are like the standard gauge allegation only”.

A. K. Verma: “Prove me wrong by showing that you received Railway Board’s approval for Standard Gauge (SG) before ordering SYSTRA to submit the Feasibility Report adopting SG. But let me reiterate again, the basic mistake of KRDCL is in submitting a fundamentally flawed Feasibility Report to Board”.

Keralarail: “Shifting the goal post? Will Railway Board give approval before seeing the technical feasibility? If you don’t know, we have established technical feasibility and got written permission from Railway Board for SG. You need feasibility report to get approval and not vice versa”.

A. K. Verma: “KRDCL surely knows how to argue wrongly. You need Railway Board’s approval before ordering a Feasibility Report for a new line project. I remember that KRDCL submitted a Preliminary Feasibility Report in 2018, but Board did not give approval for Standard Gauge. I have a copy of your Preliminary Feasibility Report as well as your Feasibility Report. So, please be careful before you give your reply. I am now winding my deliberation with KRDCL. I have given enough material to show that the Feasibility Report submitted by SYSTRA to KRDCL is fundamentally flawed and should be rejected. I think now it is up to the State Govt and Railway Board to decide what they should do”.

Keralarail: “We have seen three points here.

• Standard Gauge- your point is absolutely false.

• Traffic study- we have done our own survey in addition to survey report of 2017 for HSR.

• Alignment- DPR will have detailed alignment based on LiDAR data.

Requests to stop baseless allegations”.

A. K. Verma: “Please shut up and don’t try to waste my time”.

And after above long deliberation, finally ‘Keralarail’ runaway from Warfield and shut his mouth. It means, they were misargumenting, misguiding and giving misleading information on social media. They didn’t provided and document, record or proved anything as per demand of Verma.

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