Our state of technology: young want but old refuse!
The first Skybus Prototype station with two coaches and station built by private contributions by Indian Industry and our railway engineers at ZERO cost to railway! Totally Rs 7 cr value of work done by private parties ..which put to shame Railway Board who ordered me not to speak about Skybus! Entire work completed in 90 days! A DO letter from me to CEOs of industries produced this contribution in kind. I am ever grateful to them.
BEML workers worked with me on the shop floor, and we concurrently made drawings and fabrication for the aluminium body coach which is on station side--not directly visible. What a spirit of workers and their zeal to do some thing new! That is India!
The coach you see directly in photo is the World's first glass reinforced with resin , strong as steel, world's largest fiber reinforced fabricated one, and the Goa small scale entrepreneur got international recognition!
This property remained as donation at Margao station by the private parties! A tribute to our country's hunger to do something new!
On October 15th 2003, while inaugurating the full scale prototype to public, MR from the public podium admitted Railways are ashamed and announced intention to sanction Rs 50 cr for 1.6 km test track . But Railway Board fought tooth and nail not to give sanction, delayed till Feb 2004 . Then starting from March 2004 following all railway rules we finished making the test track 1.6 km including cureves , station and another set of two coaches. Austrian Ambassador got impressed and supported. Austrian engineers worked for electric control systems for me!! Human interest in doing new things remarkable!
On 15th Sept 2004 Engineers Day I and my engineers powered and moved the Skybus for the first run! ( https://drive.google.com/file/
Yes , grateful to my country for this unique happiness we had all together ! We did celebrate and we were also on news channels live!
Now Just facts verified by CAG
Cost Rs 50 cr per 1.6 km . including world class stn and two coaches. and electrification and turn key basis with cctv and internet based monitoring for security inside coaches.
This amount was spent from KR earnings with sanction from President ( Minister for Railways duly cleared by Railway Board.)
Station
A Skybus Metro car at a station
Margao test
In 2004 the Konkan Railway carried out a test of Sky Bus in Margao, Goa with the help of Goa state government. On 25 September, one employee was killed and three injured in an accident, ending the trial.[4]The track ran 1.6 kilometre (1 mile) The test track was supposed to be extended to 10.5 km. Rajaram defended Sky Bus, stating that the accident was avoidable.[5]
The steepest gradient was 2%. The sharpest curve had a radius of 100m. The maximum radius of ve Capacity 250 per coach .Train set two . Frequency Every min in peak.
One can make it 4 train set.
RDSO BARC conducted osc trains for 70 kmph after restoring the system after the unfortunate accident.
Results published too.
National Geographic covered . Video clip attached. [ https://www.youtube.com/
ASCE published tech paper and forms proceedings . [ [3] Bondada, Murthy V. A. and Bojji, Rajaram, 2005, Potential of APMs as Line Haul Systems in Developing Nations: A Case Study—Sky Bus Metro Technology,., American Society of Civil
Engineers, Automated People Movers 2005, CD ROM, ISBN: 0-7844-0766-5, Stock #40766,]
US granted patents including 5 patents in India.
The PM Malaysia offered Rs 2000 cr for Skybus project in Hyderabad . ( http://skybus.blogspot.com/
The PM India refused the offer! What is there to be proud of our governance?
Only written order issued by CRB at first was I should not talk about Skybus.
One accident happened before certification because of over zealous and over confident operator running at higher speed and not braking in time on a sharp curve. One standing at open door fell down and hit and concrete base and died. All other persons inside the coach escaped unharmed. The accident proved also that the derailment cannot take place and no capsizing of coach. That is the main aim of Skybus rail--to make railway free from derailments and capsizing. A committee including IIT professor , who was designer for the coaches, made a report and accepted with reasons by competent authority, that is me. For details [ https://docs.google.com/
This concept was first presented in World forum at Bologna in Italy by me in 1989.
https://drive.google.com/file/
All the related info about Skybus available at
https://sites.google.com/site/
The system has speed potential same as any railway bogie running on standard railway tracks!
Actually it is rather a simple rearrangement of existing proven sub modules of railway only. The CG is lowered to the level of running rails. Physics of the system makes it protected against derailment and capsizing.
It is the IRSME, IRSEE , IRSSE and IRSE yougsters and staff who produced Skybus. Not Rajaram.
Given freedom our boys can be very creative. Our administrative system, ill informed , prejudiced fail to provide thw right environment for railway to grow is my contention. Unfortunate that to do any thing new, the main obstacl to fight is the superior persons sitting in Board! Not a single Board Member took interest to visit even!
Abdul Kalaam as President advised me in private audience in his study, one of quite a few, that he was frustrated that manmohan SIngh does not listen. Vajpayee time Abdul Kalaam and his fellow scientists had examined me in their capacity as Principal Scientific Advisor and gave reommendation Govt should support with Rs 500 cr this initiative to redefine metro technology. That is how Vajpayee announced sanction of Rs 500 cr in Goa but useful idiots that our eminent engineers are in the hands of import lobby used all tricks to delay, sabotage, create disinformation , blocked. Railway Board refused SPV with Goa govt who wanted the SKybus to be done in collaboration with KR.
SO much for our attitudes to technology. Our youger generations will doggedly keep inspecting, washing trains, packing tracks, look for safe retirement--- that is the role model we enforce!
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