Indore: 26 yrs have gone by but Survey of Indore-Khandwa gauge conversion project yet not completed

Railway have changed the final location survey 4 times-Deciding gradient (height) of track close to Choral Dam is proving difficult; Puts question mark on competence of officials

Indore (MP): On one hand, the Indian Railways is gearing to roll out Bullet Trains, an epitome of speed and modern technology, in the country, and on the other hand, it has been 26 years and the Railways has failed in finalising the final location survey of the 32 km long section of the Indore-Khandwa gauge conversion project.

In the four surveys undertaken so far, it has changed the gradient (slope) of the track every time, and now the fifth survey is underway.

Experts say that this proves the lack of foresightedness among the Railway officers.

The Railways took up the ambitious 117 km long Mhow-Khandwa section for gauge conversion, which is part of the 493 km long Delhi-Sikandarabaad section.

The then minister of state for Railways Suresh Kalmadi inaugurated the survey of Indore (Mhow)-Khandwa broad gauge section on January 30, 1996 along with renovation work of Indore railway station.

Out of 117 km long Mhow-Khandwa section survey of 32 km long ghat section between Mukhtyara-Balwada and Patalpani has to be done.

The Railways approved Rs 15.54 lakh for the initial engineering and traffic survey and for the final draft survey of the ghat and semi-ghat section of the project.

This terrain has hills of Vindhyanchal, Choral River, Choral Dam and dense forest and it is filled with tunnels, sharp up and down slopes and curves.

The meter gauge section has a gradient of 1:40 and 9.30 degrees curve. In the survey, the gradient was proposed at 1:100 in place of 1:40. Similarly, the curves had to be made easy at 4 degrees.

In the present budget, a sum of Rs 888 crores has been allocated to this project, but if Railways fails to make the necessary preparations, the entire amount will be lost.

Version-1. It is a matter of great anguish, and also puts a question mark on the foresightedness of the Railway officials, who really don’t care for the people or money the Railways is spending. -Nagesh Namjoshi, former member of Passenger Amenities Committee, Railway Board.

Version-2. I have asked railway officials to complete the final location survey of the project as soon as possible so that a large chunk of the budget amount can be used in it. -Shankar Lalwani, MP.

Progress at snail’s pace

1996: Minister of State for Railway Suresh Kalmadi inaugurate the survey of the GC Project.

2012: Survey gets completed after 16 years in 2012. The report is sent to Railway Board for sanctioning the alignment so that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project can be approved.

At that time Railways came to know that the backwater of the Choral Dam will affect the track in the proposed alignment. Thus Railway felt the need to change the gradient of the track.

2012 to 2016: Nothing happened.

2016-17: The survey recommended modifying the alignment.

2018-19: New alignment was finalized. But at the same time, an officer of the Operating Department of Western Railway said that a gradient of 1:150 was needed.

2019: 23 years after the first survey, the Railways wake-up to the fact that the earlier alignments and gradients are faulty.

2019: Survey was again conducted as per the need of 1:150 gradients. But in this survey, the length of the section expanded.

2019: Railway Board approved the DPR of the gauge conversion project as per 1:150 gradients.

2021-22: In September final location survey as per the DPR started, and it was to be completed by December 2021.

Now it appears it will be completed by May-June 2022 and then it will be sent to Railway Board for its final approval.

Courtesy: Free Press Journal

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