Emphasise on technologies for city’s growth

With the experience of delivering the first batch of new-age local trains under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), Siemens board of directors member Vijay Paranjape understands Mumbai’s growing public transport infrastructure requirements like very few can. He spoke to DNA about the city’s lifeline, how it can be upgraded with these trains and the needs that can enable Mumbai compete with world-class cities.

What should be done to modernise the overburdened suburban railway network? How many new-technology rakes can the existing system accommodate in a year?
The solution lies in bringing in more new-age trains on a fast-track basis which would provide substantial energy-saving means and better comfort to passengers. Partial progress is already achieved as introduction of new trains has reduced the number of passengers to 4,300 from 5,000 per train.

However, for a comfortable travel, the target of 3,000 passengers per train should be achieved. The existing system can accommodate about 60 new-age trains per year, and till the last month, Siemens delivered equipment for more than 5 trains per month.

Planners want Mumbai to compete with Shanghai and Singapore, but the city’s basic infrastructure is in bad shape. What is the long-term solution for all metros?  
Metro cities need to be competitive and sustainable as nearly 60% of their total population will be living in urban areas in about two decades. Competitiveness will be based on sustainability with a very solid foundation on three aspects — economic, social and environmental.

Here, transportation in a metro plays a vital role as it cuts across all three aspects. As transportation accounts for a large share of the entire energy consumption, the cost of transportation and ease of mobility define the economic productivity of a city. Since it also has the corresponding impact on the environment, the technology and the modal split in various transport verticals play a crucial role in determining competitiveness and sustainability factors of the cities.

Apart from transportation, other elements of a city’s infrastructure which need to be addressed include availability of water and its distribution, the conservation of energy and its resources and affordable housing etc. We must emphasise on incorporation of technologies for green buildings, water harvesting, integrated information on city services and intelligent traffic management systems which are the need of the hour.

There was a lot debate about your participation in the next phase of MUTP, which is worth almost Rs9,000 crore? 
We have already claimed that we have the right technology and ability to supply the propulsion electrics that cost about 15% of the upcoming MUTP. We have already built the expertise and supplied the systems from our Kalwa and Nashik factories for the ICF trains currently plying in the city, and hence, for future projects too, we have the advantage of lesser turnaround time, cost competitiveness and ground experience.

However, Siemens is exercising a “voluntary restraint” till December 31 from bidding or participating in bids financed or guaranteed by the World Bank Group, subject to certain conditions. The voluntary restraint is an outcome of a contractual agreement between Siemens AG and the World Bank Group, and is not a sanction and not a debarment. In view of this situation, Siemens will not be in a position to participate in the MUTP bid if the bid date is before December 31, 2010.