The Viramgam-Mahesana gauge conversion project - India's first railway project to be awarded on BOT basis - had a specific purpose: to involve the private sector in the upgradation and modernisation of the railways.
The Rs 100-crore contract was awarded to DS Construction Ltd after a competitive bidding process on December 27, 2002. The project started commercial operations in December 2004. The anticipated traffic on the railway line was about 10 freight trains and two passenger trains each way.
This project was implemented under BOT scheme on fixed semi-annual access charges. "It was annuity based and on guaranteed access charges receivable on half-yearly basis of 24 installments of approximately Rs 7.96 crore," says Subroto Chaudhury, Executive Director, DSCL. "It was the first successful BOT project of the Railways wherein the concessionaire was required to design, procure, execute and commission the project with their own investment. Since then, Indian Railways has implemented various gauge conversion projects along key routes."
The Viramgam-Mehsana GC project was part of the Railways' 'Project Unigauge' launched over a decade ago by undertaking conversion of meter gauge and narrow gauge tracks to broad gauge. The Railways was seeking to involve the private sector in financing the construction of railway projects on the BOT model as it would reduce dependence on budgetary allocations.
This being the first project undertaken on BOT basis by the Railways, there was considerable interest from all the concerned railway departments. "Various departments of the Railways involved in the pilot project ensured its smooth implementation. The success of this project has reduced dependence on the Railways to finance gauge conversion projects," Chaudhry says. Certain procedural delays such as getting inspections and approvals on time, ground survey and finalisation of detailed scope of work had little impact on the completion period.
The total length of the Viramgam-Mehsana railway link, including loops and sidings, is about 82 km. The rail link has 10 stations of which six are intermediate crossing stations and four are halt stations, including the meter gauge junction station at Katosan Road. There are some 80 bridges in this section of which five are major bridges and 75 are minor bridges. There are also 62 level crossings, 33 electrical crossings and 19 telephone crossings. The project also involved augmentation of power supply. The section also has three foot over-bridges each at Viramgam, Katosan Road and Mehsana.
The Viramgam-Mehsana rail link is strategically located on the railway lines linking the important ports of Gujarat, such as Kandla, Mundra and Okha, to north India. Before the conversion of this section, traffic from Okha and Kandla was moving north via Viramgam-Ahmedabad-Mehsana, all of 133 km. Even though the Viramgam-Mehsana section was just a 65-km route, it was constrained because it was meter gauge. Now its conversion to broad gauge has reduced the distance between the ports of Gujarat and the north and north-western states by about 70 km, and trains can avoid the congested Ahmedabad section.
DS Construction is currently implementing its second gauge conversion project, the Attur-Salem rail line, which is likely to be completed by July.