Why high speed trains make more sense in India

Imagine Bhubaneswar-Kolkata in less than 2 hours,and not by flying! Also at fraction of an air ticket's cost. The answer is high speed rail. For all skeptics - Europe,Japan and China have trains averaging 200-250 kmph atleast. Our grand old Indian Railways,which is by the way is one of the largest rail networks serving 30 million passengers per day, is ages behind with most express trains having a meager average of 55 kmph. Ironically some have a suffix 'Superfast' and there's a fee chargeable for that too. In fact the fastest train, Bhopal Shatabdi has an average speed of 93 kmph which too is less considering high speed rail definitions. On a different part of the world, a modified train of TGV(France) has world record top speeds in excess of 574.8 kmph. Commercially, China's Maglev clocks 431 kmph in every run. There is good news for us - The idea of High speed rails which was conceived in the last century, is no more a distant reality. Six routes have been approved by the planning commission and a few more have been proposed. In the recent budget unveiling, sacked ex-railway minister Dinesh Tiwari announced that pre-feasibility studies on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune, Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna, Howrah-Haldia, Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai, Pune-Mumbai-Hyderabad and the Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam high-speed corridors have already been completed and study on Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur route will be taken up in the next financial year. The technology will be similar to the Japanese Shinkasen and French,that is the trains will run on rails and not magnetically levitated like China.

High-Speed Corridor	Route	Stations	Speed (kmph)	Length (km)	Further Extension	Status
East India
Howarah - Haldia High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Howrah-Haldia	TBD	250-300	135	TBD	Approved by Planning Commission
North India
Delhi - Patna High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Delhi-Agra-Kanpur-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna	TBD	200 - 350	991	Howrah	Approved by Planning Commission
Delhi - Amritsar High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar	TBD		450	TBD	Approved by Planning Commission
Delhi - Jodhpur High-Speed Passenger Corridor[15]	Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur	TBD		591	TBD	Proposed
South India
Chennai - Bangalore - Ernakulam High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Chennai-Bangalore-Ernakulam	TBD	350	649	Thiruvananthapuram[16]	Approved by Planning Commission
Hyderabad - Chennai High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai	TBD		664	Howrah(ViaVisakhapatnam)	Approved by Planning Commission
Thiruvananthapuram - Mangalore High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Thiruvananthapuram - Mangalore	9	300	585	Udupi
Bangalore - Mysore High-Speed Passenger Corridor[17]	Bangalore - Mysore	TBD	350	110	Not planned	Proposed
West India
Ahmedabad - Dwarka High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Ahmedabad - Rajkot - Jamnagar - Dwarka	TBD			TBD
Pune - Mumbai - Ahmedabad High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad	7	300 - 350	650	Bangalore (ViaHubballi-Dharwad)	Approved by Planning Commission
Rajkot - Veraval High-Speed Passenger Corridor	Rajkot - Junagadh - Veraval	TBD	350		TBD

Airlines have reason to fear most,they cannot remain 'King of good times' for all routes. High speed trains have speeds slower than airplanes but the process of checking in-out,reaching to and from the airports which are generally located outside the city, makes them very effective for routes lesser than approximately 650 km. That includes quite a part of India. Another advantage is cost - In China, a 2nd class high speed train ticket is roughly 25% of a flight ticket. The cost can be lowered here by clever packaging like the recent double decker coaches. As travel time is quite low in these trains,sleeper beds are not required and the air conditioning time is lowered too in comparison to traditional overnight trains. High speed trains are a lot more punctual and reliable than flights which always have a bad rapport with weather conditions. Safety is undoubtedly lower in air travel. Lack of complex security and navigation systems make trains much simpler and reliable. Air travel sickness is a deterrent to many too. Plus every city cant have an airport,but almost all can have cheaper train stations. This implies better connectivity and development of all regions. Further airplanes are not green. Apart from consuming huge amounts of petroleum,a huge part of their operating cost is wastage due to congestion, diversions due to bad weather. According to Eurostar, its London-Paris high speed train produces 90% less CO2 than a flight and also takes around 45 minutes less for a round trip. Unlike airplanes, trains can be powered by renewable energy and be 100% green.

To sum up, High speed trains are :
Greener
Faster (for routes < 650 km)
Safer
Cheaper
Punctual
Development of regions

Still there is a lot of work to be done. There are no existing tracks that can support speeds above 200 kmph. The tracks have to be raised above roads or be fenced throughout. High speed trains may not completely replace the traditional so called 'Superfast' ones. General and sleeper classes will still be cheaper. High speed trains cannot have non air conditoned coaches as they have to be air sealed due to aerodynamics. Airplanes will vanish from small routes like Bhubaneswar-Kolkata or Mumbai-Pune but they will operate long distances. Even so there will be many people who would not mind spending 15 hours from Jammu to Kanyakumari(The longest route in India which currently takes 71 hours) at a fraction of the cost. It would be safe to assume that high speed trains would begin with co-existance, leading to slow upgradation and certainly in a long long time,will dominate the entire Indian Railways network.

*TBD - To be Determined

Aerodynamic - Designed to offer the least resistance to fluid(air in this case) flow

Cuttack

If only Dahibara could become Mac Donalds

If only Durga Devi could become PVR/INOX

If only the road contractors could be jailed

If only the great canal could be covered and bridged to two lane roads

If only Ring road could lead to Nariman Point

If only Mission road could have a University

If only Silver Filigree souks could be established

If only Festivals could have devotional songs and no loudspeakers

If only Naraj could have parks

If only Mahanadi's water sports could be known

If only city roads could become uni directional

If only Badambadi could be more civilized

If only Bhubaneswar could remember her twin

If only I could ever stop loving you.

How Great Britain (Top Gear) sees us!

Top Gear,the most famous and widely acclaimed motorshow on this planet,aired their Christmas Special India episode on 28th December,2011. What is pretty surprising is that our country is repeatedly being referred to as an 'economic superpower' by Top Gear's host,Jeremy Clarkson. He,as fans would know,is infamous for his blunt critical views,sometimes even fanatical. Though gallantly portrayed, the other disbelieving inference is the distressed economic condition of Great Britain which was apparently the theme of the episode. This was the country that has ruled not just us but quite a portion of the world in history. I am sure Bhagat Singh and Subash Chandra Bose would be having a pleasant smile in heaven. The three British iconic cars(Rolls Royce,Mini and Jaguar) they were driving, are no longer owned by British companies. This is evidence to their troubled economy and the fact that Jag is owned by our very own Tata says something about our economy.

The host of praises did not end there.As their journey started from Bombay and ended in the Him-ma-layas traversing through Jaipur and Delhi,Jeremy was kind enough to note that the Dabbawallas of Mumbai have an incredible efficiency of 99.996 % without the help of any modern technology. He even described the hills as 'like Switzerland,only better'! He was surprisingly humble enough to describe the Great Britain as a small island nation.Lord Ganesh in place of the 'Spirit of Ecstasy' of the Rolls Royce was a gesture of appreciation of our culture by James May. All these are a refreshing change to the 'Bhuka Nanga India' perception of our country.

So why is most of our country deprived of the 'Superpower' status? Is Anna right,or the fact that we are questioning it is indeed the real issue - our attitude problem. Skepticism and being hypercritical are too set in our ways. For example,the Tata Nano is the biggest victim of something wonderfully ours being killed by us. Top Gear showed that the world's cheapest car emerged triumphant among the Ambassador and the Auto-rickshaw.The former - a half century old beloved mammoth and the later - a bare bone tuk-tuk(as the world knows) that failed to go uphill which ironically is often compared to the Nano. Sadly both of them are highly accepted by our society,while the technically superior Nano is mocked upon here.This car in London would be exempt of the congestion charge because of its less than 100g/CO2 green ways. We are so eager to bash a new product that we fail to see how brilliant it is and that the company has given effort to upgrade it to an even better product, is not on our mouths. Gandhi,Anna or the Nano way,all of us have to step up to the new image of our country so that next time the Big 3 come here,Jeremy wont have to point out the alarming death rates of our erratic roads.

Electric cars are not just green,they can be fun and practical too!

Imagine:

1. Freedom from Gasoline
Owning an electric car means not having to visit petrol pumps ever nor worrying about global oil prices.Powering the car is as easy as plugging in a mobile phone charger. That too anywhere be it home garage or office or shopping malls or quick charging points.Running costs are extremely low. Operating costs of a Nissan Leaf is lower than a rupee per km,while it is around 5 rupees in average for a gasoline car.

2. Fewer trips to A.S.S(After Sales Service)
The electric car has no engine oil,spark plugs,air/oil filter,radiator,carb/EFI,turbocharger,clutch,silencer and catalytic converters/DPFs.In fact the electric motor has only one moving part.This means long service intervals that would require only a few check ups with meters and occasional brake pad changes. Lesser parts also means low service bill and greener too. This also translates to higher resale values as except for batteries,hardly anything needs replacement.

3. Performance
This is the answer to petroheads who have been predominately skeptical about power in electric cars.Electric motors offer higher torque than diesel engines too.The availability of 100% torque at 0 rpm ensures unimaginable 0-60 figures and more usable power. Our own crude electric Reva is reported to out do some sedans when the lights turn green. Coupled with it is the lower centre of gravity due to heavy batteries on the floor which aids handling.

4. Zero tailpipe emissions
No heat,CO2, SO2, NO2 or any other pollutants emitted. Even if the source of electricity is dirty coal,electric cars are still 25% greener and leave our cities smog free. With increasing number of solar,wind,hydro and nuclear power plants,electric cars will be carbon neutral.

5. No Idling/starting issues
Electric motors consume no power on idling unlike gasoline engines. Idling at traffic stops leads to wastage of fuel.A normal gasoline car consumes about 100ml of fuel in 5 minutes of idling. Starting an electric car is as simple as turning on a switch. It requires no cranking.

6. Cold starts are a passe'.
Independence from air and temperature in electric cars ensures a 'ready to use' attitude in all weather conditions.

7. Convenience
Be it charging or starting,electric cars are a lot easier to operate that gasoline cars.Absence of a lot of parts promise fewer breakdowns. Air conditioners and other gadgets can be independently used irrespective of whether the motor is running or not. Even braking requires lesser effort due to regenerative braking. The power delivery being smooth and jerk free ensures a comfortable ride.Electric cars are noiseless too,just a barely audible hum is generated.

8. Regenerative Braking
A lot of power is wasted during braking or moving downhill since the engine doesn't loose speed as quickly as the car. This energy can be stored in batteries while braking. In fact braking adds up range in an electric car.

9. Efficient
Availability of 100% torque at all times,absence of energy wastage at idling and regenerative braking makes electric cars very efficient. Clogged filters,old engine oil can cause loss of efficiency in gasoline cars by a factor of 20. Since electric cars do not have these parts, their efficiency hardly ever falls. The new Tesla Model S doesn't have axles too. The motors are attached directly to the wheels and hence there is hardly any loss of power in transmission.

10. Safer
Absence of bulky engines on the front help in having better crumple zones.The heavy battery on the floor ensures a rigid cabin.

Yet we aren't seeing many of them on roads.Reasons : Expensive and Limited Range.
For example,the Nissan Leaf takes around 7 hours to charge its expensive lithium ion battery from zero on a normal 240 V supply. Optional 480 V supply can do 80% in 30 minutes,but at the cost of reducing battery life. Even though it comes with a million mile warranty on the battery pack,it is still expensive at 30 grands of US dollars. Nissan promises a range of 160 km (of sedate driving) on a full charge. While the range is good enough for everyday office commutes and in city travelling, charging stations have to be made for inter city touring. Limited range has lead to a phenomenon named 'Range Anxiety' which can be addressed by hybrids like the Toyota Prius or the Chevy Volt.Hybrids have limited pure electric range coupled with gasoline generators which can be tanked up like normal cars. Hybrids are more like a transition phase.Even though they have the goodness of electric cars,they are heavy and unnecessarily complicated. Their pure electric range can instill confidence in electric car technology in skeptics and this can drive down the cost too.
The Tesla Model S looks far more promising with ranges of range from 220 km to 480km choices.It is priced similar to the BMW 5 Series and claims to handle better than the German king.Apart from 5 adults,it can seat two children in the boot.The front bonnet is also a storage space along with the boot. More crumple zones in the front due to absence of engine and rigid cabin due to heavy battery on floor makes it safer than any other sedan. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors is not afraid to say 'The Model S is not the best electric car, it's the best car of any kind.'
It might be fanatical to say that some people don't want the electric car to come up because it has the potential to put off big oil companies and A.S.S out of business.Even automotive consumables like lubes and filters are a billion dollar industry.Introducing a Carbon economy and Green Fanaticism could be the answer to such conspiracies which they exist.Tax credits (7500$ in the US) have certainly helped matters,still a lot more funding is required. Proper charging infrastructure and improved technology are required. The future looks promising with big players like BMW entering electric car technology.Toyota believes solid state battery could achieve ranges of 1000 km per charge and Nissan is looking at developing a rapid 10 minute charger. With high oil prices and depleting,polluting hydrocarbons,the day is not far before the sweet music of V8s are only to be found in museums.