The Hindu : 'A technically sound' project

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 17, 2003

National

National

'A technically sound' project

Vaishali Patange, Manager, Public Relations, Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd, writes: With reference to the report "Konkan Railway misleading Kerala on Sky bus project", Konkan Railway would like to clarify that the Sky Bus Metro is a re-engineering of existing technologies and hence cannot be technically unviable as quoted in the report. Even Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (who was the then Principal Scientific Adviser to the honourable Prime Minister of India) had called the project as "technically sound".

A panel of experts, comprising persons of very high repute like Padma Bhushan, Dr. Anil Kakodar (Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission & Secretary of Department of Atomic Energy), Padma Bhushan, Prof. P. Rama Rao (Vice-Chancellor of University of Hyderabad) and Sudhir Kumar (Commissioner of Railway Safety), has said in its report "Safety and reliability aspects bench-marked against the existing systems are enhanced in the Sky Bus systems. The system uses available proven technologies.

The technical feasibility of the Sky Bus project is already established. To prove that India has the capability to design and implement such a technology, a full-scale prototype of the project is ready at the Madgaon railway station over the Konkan Railway route.

The prototype is waiting to be shortly unveiled to the world by the honourable Prime Minister himself. The full-scale commercial prototype has been made by our own Indian engineers in just a span of three months.

What other proof does one need about the credibility of our Indian industry and engineers and the Konkan Railway's confidence in successfully implementing the project?

KRCL can deliver Sky Bus within two years and within Rs. 50 crores per km. Sky Bus Metro technology is an innovative engineering design incorporating existing proven technologies, and is, in fact, modified railway, improving its safety features, and as it costs only half to one-fourth of Metro Rail/LRT etc., it has become a threat to these proposals.

The Konkan Railway was invited by the Kerala Government to submit a DPR (Detailed Project Report) to implement the Sky Bus Metro in Kochi city and the State Cabinet has sent the proposal to the Centre for funds approval.

Once the funds are approved, an operational Sky Bus Metro will be a reality for all to see and use daily.

The Konkan Railway believes that India can do it.

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