[The human-made tragedy on Friday at the FOB connecting the Elphinstone and Parel railway stations in Mumbai, in which 22 lives have been lost as yet with many more injured, has triggered the hurried announcement of the decision to widen the FOB (ref.: < http://indiatoday.intoday.in/video/mumbai-stampede-elphinstone-railway-station-parel-station-piyush-goyal/1/1058464.html>), though it's a longstanding requirement and the project had been announced back in Feb. 2016 (see: < http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-stampede-no-tender-for-foot-over-bridge-widening-since-2016/articleshow/60886725.cms >).
This is, however, by no stretch an isolated incident. Let there be a campaign in favour of "#No Bullet Train", till railway infrastructues including old tracks, worn out bridges and safety systems are upgraded to ensure minimisation of loss of lives of ordinary passengers. Let's ask at an astronomical cost financially unviable bullet train for whose benefit? Here are a few facts about the Bullet Train. I. "The Bullet Train project is economically unviable, will not lead to a transfer of technology and serve only a minuscule proportion of rail passengers.": < http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/shooting-in-the-dark-bullet-train-japan-india-4856672/ >. II. <<Bullet Train Money Story : Assuming a ticket price equal to the average Mumbai-Ahmedabad airfare of Rs. 2,000 and that ticket prices will keep pace with inflation, the Railways will have to sell 55 crore tickets to recover it's investment. Currently, 15,000 tickets are sold on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector. Even if half of those passengers cough up the Rs. 2,000 @7,500 tickets a day, the Railways would need 70,000 days = 200 years to recover the capital cost. I haven't even added the operational expenses.>>: < https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/greenyouth/Ahmedabad-Mumbai$20Bullet$20Train$3A$20Three$20Articles$2FReports%7Csort:relevance/greenyouth/qffnCyNOpFA/mVDtxC_qAwAJ >. III. 'Bullet train will need 100 trips daily to be financially viable: IIM Ahmedabad study The paper has been jointly authored by faculty members G Raghuram, professor of the institute's Public Systems Group, and Prashanth Udayakumar.': < http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bullet-train-will-need-100-trips-daily-to-be-financially-viable-iim-ahmedabad-study/1/645171.html >. IV. "Over 50 years, the loan repayment value will be much higher based on the inflation differential, which is bound to persist between Japan and India.": < https://thewire.in/177815/mumbai-ahmedabad-bullet-train-many-things-not-free/ >. V. Out of estimated 1.08 lakh crore rupees, Japan will provide a loan of Rs. 88,000 crore. So, a whopping amount of Rs. 20,000 cr. will have to be mobilised internally, and *upfront*. ***The loan will also have to be repaid in due course.*** VI. And, even for upgradation loans can be obtained. >From the the WB, ADB or the BRICS Development Bank. VII. Evidently, the priorities need be set on the basis of far more rational and humane considerations. For whose benefit, the economically unviable and astronomically costing bullet train project??? Why the infrastructure upgradation, to ensure safety of common passengers, won't get the highest priority??? Why resource allocation won't be decided accordingly???] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/railways-didnt-act-despite-spate-of-warnings/articleshow/60888580.cms Railways didn’t act despite spate of warnings TNN | Updated: Sep 30, 2017, 02:59 IST HIGHLIGHTS Many had warned railway officials and the government about the perilous conditions but the warnings resulted in no action. The tweets had even tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as former and current railway ministers. (PTI photo)Railways didn’t act despite spate of warnings MUMBAI: "Had the authorities heeded my tweets and widened the foot overbridge (FOB) at Elphinstone station, Friday's tragedy could have been avoided," said cartoonist Manjul. His tweet in February this year had specifically warned of an impending disaster. "Pre-rush hour Parel station. The only staircase which people use to exit and enter the station. A major accident is waiting to happen." Like Manjul, there were many others who had warned railway officials and the government about the perilous conditions but the warnings resulted in no action. The tweets had even tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as former and current railway ministers Suresh Prabhu and Piyush Goyal. Just four days ago, journalist Santosh Andhale tweeted an image from the crowded Parel bridge. View image on Twitter View image on Twitter Follow Santosh Andhale @Santosh_Andhale Three day ago post it on FB and Twitter .. My fear turned true @calamur @waglenikhil @rajtoday @iyerkavi @rajivkhandekar @sardesairajdeep 12:37 PM - Sep 29, 2017 30 30 Replies 495 495 Retweets 300 300 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy Andhale's September 26 tweet, directed at the railway minister, said, "@PiyushGoyal sir pls do something related to this Parel bridge in Mumbai. Thanks @WesternRly. But Western Railway just passed the buck since the bridge comes on the Central line. It tweeted, "Matter fowarded to @Central_Railway pls." Other commuters had written to railway officials and local representatives over the years without much effect. Local resident Rajesh Bansode said he had written to the railways for the last seven years asking for the expansion of Elphinstone's FOB. "For the last seven years I have been writing to the railway authorities. Parel is another disaster waiting to happen as there is no exit at the Parel end. Elphinstone at least has two," he said. TOP COMMENT Dear Prime Minister We don't need bullet train anymore, we need safe local first.We are not intersted in making CST to CSMT or Elphinston to Prabhadevi, that may suffice your political needs but ... Read More Jainam Savani Local residents said they had been demanding alternate routes on Parel and Elphinstone stations for the speedy dispersal of passengers. It was particularly difficult to exit at rush hour, they said. "Following our requests, railway officials and elected representatives did visit the Parel-Elphinstone stations, but it was a customary visit and there was absolutely no follow-up action,'' said a prominent resident. Commuters said government was more concerned about installing WiFi at stations than passenger safety. "Our stations don't have basic amenities, while cabinet members were busy installing WiFi on stations. We don't need WiFi, we need more FOBs, at stations like Parel and Elphinstone,'' said a local resident. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
