Category: Transport

Alstom bags contract worth 96.2 million euros for Bengaluru Metro’s new signalling system

The contract awarded to the French company covers training of Bengaluru Metro’s personnel and annual maintenance for five years.

Alstom has been awarded a contract to design, manufacture, supply, install, test and commission a fully automated communications-based train control signalling system for the Bengaluru Metro’s upcoming phase 2, Reach 6, 2A and 2B corridors.

The contract worth 96.2 million euros from Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) covers training of personnel and annual maintenance for five years, the company announced on Wednesday.

To enhance passenger safety, full-height platform screen doors will be installed at all underground stations on the Reach 6 corridor and the airport-line terminal, and half-height platform screen gates will be installed at one at-grade station in the 2B corridor.

The platform screen doors, to be installed on the metro’s corridors for the first time, could save significant energy by reducing air-conditioning needs and prevent suicide attempts.

This project aims to cater to the three major corridors of the Bengaluru metropolitan region, by linking the critical junction at Silk Board on Outer Ring Road (2A) to Kempegowda International Airport (2B) via KR Puram. Reach 6 will connect Bannerghatta Road to Nagavara with interchanges at MG Road (purple line which links to Whitefield), and yellow line at Jayadeva Hospital and the blue line at Nagavara.

The company will enable driverless operations across the metro’s combined line length of 80.39 km. This is expected to alleviate traffic congestion by minimising travel time by at least 50 per cent and reduce carbon emissions. The company’s rail cybersecurity solution will also address emerging cyber threats.

Alstom will also deploy its predictive maintenance tool, HealthHub, to enable real-time condition-based monitoring of the health of trains, infrastructure and signalling assets using advanced data analytics to predict the remaining useful life. This approach minimises operational downtime, maximises system availability and optimises lifecycle costs.

Alstom’s communications-based train control Urbalis solution will also offer the highest grade of automation, which is commonly known as the “driverless technology”, across 50 stations and three depots. The company’s Urbalis Vision platform will be set up at the integrated operation control centre in Baiyappanahalli. A backup control centre to be set up at Peenya will serve as a command centre to control and monitor all train operations.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA gets five Union ministers. Nirmala Sitharaman, HD Kumaraswamy, Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje & V Somanna

Though the saffron party members won from the coastal region, they are all first-time MPs and have not been included in the ministry.

As Karnataka has elected 19 National Democratic Alliance MPs, the highest from South India, it was on Sunday rewarded with five ministerial posts in the Modi 3.0 cabinet. Of the five ministers, including Rajya Sabha member Nirmala Sitharaman, two are women.

Apart from Nirmala, the four other ministers are Pralhad Joshi, JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy, Shobha Karandlaje and V Somanna. While Nirmala, Joshi and Kumaraswamy have cabinet rank, the other two are ministers of state. Interestingly, Kumaraswamy was among the first few MPs to take oath in New Delhi on Sunday evening.

Of the 293 NDA MPs, the state’s contribution of 19 MPs constituted over 6 per cent and the number of ministries too is above that mark, considering that the Modi cabinet has 72 ministers.

Even among these five ministers, the representation to the Old Mysore region is more. Kumaraswamy represents Mandya, Shobha Bangalore North and Somanna Tumkur. Joshi, who has been reinducted, is the only MP from North Karnataka. This could be because of the lacklustre performance of BJP in these parts. Though the saffron party members won from the coastal region, they are all first-time MPs and have not been included in the ministry.

Joshi, who has the Sangh Parivar background and is the fifth time MP, had served as Law and Parliamentary minister in the previous government. Shobha, the first-ever woman MP from Bengaluru, had served as a minister of state.

Somanna, who was with Congress and JDS, joined BJP in 2009 and has stayed with the party since then. After suffering a defeat from two constituencies in the last Assembly polls, he won the parliamentary polls this time from Tumkur. His loyalty to the party has paid off with a ministerial berth.

Kumaraswamy, who is JDS state president, became a chief minister for the first time in 2006, thanks to his party’s alliance with BJP. But as per the power-sharing agreement between the two parties then, he refused to transfer power to BJP’s BS Yediyurappa in 2007, ending the coalition. The fallout was ugly and the two parties had kept their distance since then. But the 2023 Assembly polls were a wake-up call to the regional party as it won mere 19 seats. Fearing a complete meltdown, the party tied up with BJP for the Lok Sabha polls and Kumaraswamy helped BJP get a good number of seats in the Old Mysuru region.

Breaking down the caste equation, two Brahmins (Joshi and Nirmala), two Vokkaligas (Kumaraswamy and Shobha) and one Lingayat (Somanna), have made it to the Modi ministry.

Sources from BJP said that though two Vokkaligas have been given the honour, only Shobha is originally from BJP. Asked why former chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar were not inducted, they said, “Since both are former CMs, they cannot be made ministers of state.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

SOUTH INDIA: AVIATION & TRAVEL HUB: Air India and BIAL sign agreement to make Bengaluru premier aviation hub of south India

Air India said that this partnership will stimulate the MRO ecosystem and is projected to generate over 1,200 new job opportunities for highly skilled individuals in the State.

Air India and the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) have entered into an agreement intended to develop Bengaluru as a premier aviation hub for southern India.

Air India (along with other Tata Group airlines—AIX and Vistara) and BIAL will collaborate to enhance international connectivity, operational efficiency, and passenger experience over the next five years.

This includes strengthening the group’s presence at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) through an enhanced network and establishing a dedicated domestic lounge for premium and frequent travellers of Tata Group airlines Air India and Vistara.

As part of this initiative, Air India has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Karnataka to establish comprehensive Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities at KIA.

Air India said that this partnership will stimulate the MRO ecosystem and is projected to generate over 1,200 new job opportunities for highly skilled individuals in the State.

“Airline-airport synergy is key to elevated customer experience and efficient operations, while Bengaluru is highly attractive as an origin and destination market as well as a connecting hub,” said Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO of Air India. “We are therefore delighted to be strengthening our relationship with BIAL with a view to developing a greater presence at the airport, expanding air connectivity as well as building a major MRO center. This partnership agreement is a significant milestone in the ongoing transformation of Air India,” he added.

Hari Marar, Managing Director and CEO, BIAL, said, “Given that over half of the international outbound travellers from Bengaluru and our catchment head to Europe, North America, Australia, and the Far East, our alliance with Air India represents a substantial leap towards this goal. We aim to capture a significant share of long-haul routes from the Airport over the next five years.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) achieves major milestone, First Aircraft of Tejas LA5033 of the Mk1A series takes to skies in Bengaluru

The first Aircraft LA5033 of the Tejas Mk1A series took to the skies from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Bengaluru on Thursday. It was a successful sortie with a flying time of 18 minutes, the HAL said in a statement.

“HAL achieved this significant production milestone with concurrent design and development amid major supply chain challenges in the global geo-political environment subsequent to the contract signature in February 2021. The flight was piloted by CTP, Group Captain K. K. Venugopal (Retd),” HAL stated.

A. Bharat Bhushan Babu, Principal Spokesperson, Ministry of Defence, said, “HAL achieves a significant production milestone with the successful test sortie of Tejas Mk1A aircraft today.

The Tejas Mk1A will have an advanced radar, electronic warfare and communication systems, additional combat capability and improved maintenance features,” he said.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / KARNATAKA : MANUFACTURING & AVIATION : MAKE IN INDIA : Airbus contracts Bengaluru based Dynamatic Technologies to make doors for A220 aircraft

Will double sourcing from India from a value of $750 mn to $1.5 bn.

French aerospace manufacturer Airbus on Thursday announced the awarding of a contract for the manufacturing and assembly of its A220 aircraft doors to Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies in what it called “one of the largest aerospace export contracts to India.”

Dynamatic will manufacture and assemble the cargo, passenger and service doors along with the over-wing emergency exit doors for the A220 family aircraft, which total to eight doors per aircraft.

The order signifies implementation of “complex assembling and integration of aerospace manufacturing, which will create downstream opportunities in the Indian aviation supply chain,” Airbus CEO Remi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia said at a press event.

Thursday’s contract is also among the orders that will enable Airbus to double its sourcing from India, which is valued at about $750 million every year. This is expected to rise to $1.5 billion over the next few years.

To a question on when Airbus plans a final assembly line for commercial aircraft given large orders from IndiGo and Air India, Mr. Maillard said Airbus provided more jobs and more value for India today than any Final Assembly Line (FAL) will achieve.

According to Dynamatic’s Udayant Malhoutra only 15% of value generated from manufacturing an aircraft comes from a FAL.

Airbus recently announced a FAL for H125 helicopter for the private sector and in 2022 announced a FAL for C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ELECTRIC SCOOTERS: Bengaluru-based EV start-up, River, raises $40 Million in oversubscribed Series B round

The deal was led by Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. Existing investors Al Futtaim Group, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures and Maniv Mobility also participated in the round.

River, a Bengaluru-based start-up building multi-utility electric scooters, has announced a $40 million (335 INR Crores) Series B led by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. The round also saw participation from existing investors Al-Futtaim Automotive, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures and Maniv Mobility.

This round takes the cumulative fund raised by the company to $68 Million (565 INR Crores) since its inception in March 2021. With this funding, the company plans to scale the distribution and service network across the country and invest further in R&D for future lineup of products.

“We are impressed by the progress that River has achieved in such a short span of time, especially with the strong focus on design and technology. We are excited about the conviction that Aravind and Vipin have for River and how Yamaha can support the company to achieve this”,said Hajime “Jim” Aota, Chief General Manager of New Business Development Centre, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

River started selling its first product Indie, the SUV of scooters in October 2023. Indie was fully designed and developed at the River R&D facility in Bengaluru and manufactured in the River Factory at Hoskote in the outskirts of Bengaluru. The first River store opened in Bangalore in January 2024.

“It’s been a pleasure to watch River grow since our first investment in 2023. Indie made a strong debut in the Indian market and stands out from anything that is out there. We also see strong potential for Indie in many international markets. We are excited about the next phase of growth for River both inside and outside India”, said Paul Willis, CEO of Al-Futtaim Automotive.

River is the first Indian investment of all its investors – Tel Aviv based Maniv Mobility, San Francisco based Trucks VC, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures and Dubai based conglomerate Al-Futtaim Automotive.

“The investment is a significant boost for our plan to build a Billion-dollar global utility-lifestyle brand by 2030. We have built a great base in R&D and manufacturing over the last two years and now, it’s time to grow,” said Aravind Mani, Co-founder and CEO of River.

“The collaboration with Yamaha will help us leverage the design and technology capability that we have built at River,”said Vipin George, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at River. “I learned to ride on a Yamaha motorcycle and have been amazed by the highest levels of performance that they stand for. And now, Yamaha investing in River is quite a surreal feeling. I’m excited about what the partnership can achieve,” he added.

River started selling its units in October 2023 and close to 200 vehicles have been sold till January 2024. The company which plans to expand its presence to 10 cities including in the next six months and 100 cities in the next two years, has seen a valuation increase of 15-20x in the last 2.5 years.

According to a release from the company the start-up plans to launch one more product by 2026.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

REGIONAL: KARNATAKA: TRAVEL & TOURISM: Bengaluru to function as Hub of Thomas Cook’s Charter Operations for South India

The travel firm’s maiden air charter service will be between Bengaluru and Bhutanese Capital Thimphu, a three-hour flight, starting in April 2024.

Thomas Cook (India) Limited, an omnichannel travel services company, has forayed into charter services to cater to the growing interest among customers in South India for holiday destinations in South Asian and European countries.

Bengaluru will function as the hub of Thomas Cook’s charter operations for South India and leisure/holidays tourists from across the region would be able to board the charter flights departing from the city, Romil Pant, executive vice-president & Business Head (Holidays), Thomas Cook, told The Hindu on Wednesday.

The travel firm’s maiden air charter service will be between Bengaluru and Bhutanese Capital Thimphu, a three-hour flight, starting in April 2024.

“We will hire a 126-seater airplane from Bhutan Airlines and will operate five charter flights every eight days starting from April 27. This is the first time we are entering into the chartering space and we may extend this service to connect other neighbouring countries, including Nepal and Sri Lanka and also some European destinations,” Mr Pant said.

Commenting on the rationale of starting the charter service from Bengaluru, he said Karnataka and Bengaluru were the company’s biggest markets in the country. For instance, the southern region solely contributed 45% of Thomas Cook’s total business in the country.

Currently, there is no direct flight to Bhutan from the southern region, only Delhi and Kolkata offer direct flights and land travel also takes a lot of time.

“South India is the largest contributor to the holidays business for us, overtaking the West and North India. Bengaluru and Karnatka has emerged as our number 1 source market for the leisure segment. Huge demand is coming from small cities including Mysuru, Udupi, and Hubballi too,” he added.

Commenting on travel trends in Bengaluru, Mr. Pant said the travel firm had witnessed a 60% increase in demand this year compared to 2019, the travel spend also increased by up to 30%, and average holiday duration has increased to seven days from three days compared to 2019 levels. The most favourite destinations for Bengalureans have been Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Mauritius, Singapore, Dubai, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, and Georgia while Andamans, Kashmir, North-East, Rajasthan, Kerala, Coorg, Chickmagaluru, Kabini, and Ooty are their favourite domestic getaways.

“We are very bullish on Bengaluru and Karnataka and we are investing deeply in this high potential market and are expanding our footprint here. We expect to see a business uptick of 30% from Karnataka in 2024,” Mr. Pant added.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: CITY PUBLIC TRANSPORT-MAJOR MILESTONE: Bengaluru’s Namma Metro Clocks 100 Crore Foot Falls ever since its inception

Bengaluru’s Namma Metro Achieves Major Milestone with 100 Crore Footfalls.

Bengaluru’s Namma Metro clocked more than 100 crore foot falls from 2012 when it was first launched, said Bengaluru Metro Transport Corporation (BMRCL) in an announcement. This is said to be a major milestone for the key public transport system of the IT Capital.

The first metro line in Bengaluru was launched in the year 2012 and was between Baiyappanahalli and MG Road. The 6.7 kilometers metro on the Purple Line was widely used by the public, with an average daily ridership of 33,152 passengers during the first year.

BMRCL later extended metro lines to most parts of the city in phases. In 2016-17, the Majestic metro station was opened on the Purple line, and it turned out to be one of the busiest metro stations in the city, connecting areas like Mysuru Road, Jayanagar and Baiyappanahalli. The average daily ridership then crossed 1 lakh passengers.

Bengaluru’s Namma Metro has 65 stations with an operational network of 74 kilometres.

In December 2023 alone, Bengaluru’s Namma Metro recorded two crore footfalls. This is said to be the highest monthly ridership for Namma Metro, ever since it was launched, and it also saw a spike in average daily ridership.

Making Purple Line fully operational in October last year by connecting Whitefield to Bengaluru South and Bengaluru Central was a game changer for BMRCL.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally dedicated the full operations of Bengaluru metro’s Purple Line to the people of the IT capital by inaugurating two pending stretches, Baiyappanahalli – KR Puram and Kengeri – Challaghatta, on October 20. The Purple Line operations started on October 9 without much fanfare or an inaugural event.

During the launch of Purple Line, BMRCL expected the increase in ridership would be at least between 70,000 and 1 lakh people, but it has only risen to roughly 60,000 passengers per day.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: AVIATION : MANUFACTURING – MAKE IN INDIA: PM Narendra Modi inaugurates in Bengaluru Largest Aerospace Engineering Facility of Boeing outside the United States

The state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center (BIETC) is built with an investment of ₹1,600 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center (BIETC) campus in Bengaluru along with the Boeing Sukanya Program, on January 19.

The state-of-the-art BIETC is built with an investment of ₹1,600 crore. It is located in a 43-acre campus, and is the American aerospace major’s largest such investment outside the U.S.

Boeing said that the BIETC will become a cornerstone for partnering with India on next generation products and services for the global aerospace and defence industry.

The Prime Minister also launched the Boeing Sukanya Program that aims to support the entry of more girl children from across India into the country’s growing aviation sector.

The program will provide opportunities for girls and women from across India to learn critical skills in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, and train for jobs in the aviation sector.

For young girls, the program will create STEM labs at 150 planned locations to help spark interest in STEM careers. It will also provide scholarships to women who are training to be pilots. Investments will support flight training curriculum, obtaining certifications, funding for simulator trainings, and career development programs.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: Bengaluru BEATS Delhi, Becomes Top Indian City With Highest Number Of Private Cars

Bengaluru has overtaken Delhi to become the Indian city with the highest number of private cars.

Bengaluru, the Silicon City of India, is famous for its food and friendly people, but it is also infamous for its kilometer-long traffic jams. According to recent data from the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2023, Bengaluru has surpassed the national capital to become the Indian city with the highest number of private cars. Delhi has a total of 79.5 lakh vehicles, with 20.7 lakh being private cars, according to TOI’s report. In recent years, Delhi’s transport department has decided to deregister and scrap overaged vehicles, citing the surging pollution levels in the city.

Reasons Behind Bengaluru’s Traffic

The biggest reasons for frequent traffic congestion in Bengaluru are rain and festivals due to which the city has secured the second position in the global traffic congestion ranking in 2022. The commuters here took an average of 20 minutes and 10 seconds to cover only 10 km distance with an average speed of 18 kmph. These reports were collected by Dutch location technology specialist TomTom, who disclosed the impact of traffic snarls on the daily lives of Bengaluru people.

People Of Bengaluru Living With Traffic

Notably, in 2022, people in Bengaluru spent a massive amount of time navigating through traffic, wasting a total of 260 hours which is equal to 10 days of driving, with 134 hours attributed to congestion-related delays.


The figures showcased the massive impact of traffic congestion on the daily lives of residents.

source/content: india.com (headline edited)