Indian Railways Construction Company (IRCON), has appointed UK based engineering and development consultancy firm Mott MacDonald to conduct pre-feasibility studies for a proposed high speed rail service between Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna.
The cost for construction of the high speed rail corridors is valued at more than Rs 1,100 billion (£15 billion) and Mott MacDonald is due to submit the report by the end of 2011.
The public transport sector in the country is growing at the rate of 10% every year, but the development of the country’s public transport infrastructure has lagged behind.
Indian Railways have also planned to develop more high speed corridors to connect commercial, tourist and pilgrimage hubs in India.
The new services will help public transport services to relieve traffic congestion and pollution on the roads. They will also bring faster, more time efficient journeys which can be provided by the new high speed rail systems using bullet trains capable of travelling up to 30okm per hour.
The consultancy firm will identify key issues for development of the project on a public-private partnership basis, which will include reviewing all technical aspects of the project.
Mott MacDonald will also look at the corridor infrastructure development in relation to alignment with existing facilities as well as any environmental impacts and assessment of high speed rail technology.
The contract also involves analysis of operational and business requirements including forecasting preliminary service ridership figures, estimating capital required costs and benefits analysis and implementation schedules.
Gaurav Srivastava, Mott MacDonald’s project director said:
“High speed rail would position India for future growth and economic development and spur tourism.
“There is an untapped, potentially huge market in India for premium transport services, which combine speed, safety and comfort.
“Rail specialists, Michael de Voil and Jean-Pierre Quinaut, are involved in the delivery of this important assignment.”
