Writes To Centre To Sanction City Railway Network Rajiv Shah | TNN Gandhinagar: A realization has dawned on Gujarat government that the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) is not enough to fulfil the mobility plans of mega-city Ahmedabad. A dormant plan for a Regional Rail System (RRS) is now being revived to provide additional transportation infrastructure for the city which is growing by leaps and bounds. The RRS plan was shelved after Delhi Rail Metro Corporation Ltd prepared a feasibility report for Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) in August 2005. An official, who is monitoring the city's infrastructure needs, told TOI, "Till now, the thinking was that BRTS was enough but this was also because it was a less costly proposition. But, considering the large number of projects coming up in and around Ahmedabad, the government is planning for more public transport facilities.' The state government has written to Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) Ltd and Indian Railways to modify the 2005 plan to suit the changing face of Ahmedabad, especially on the western side. The idea is to have a rail project for Ahmedabad which would supplement the BRTS. The 2005 report had proposed three tracks, all starting at Ahmedabad railway station. The first track was from Kankariya to Barajedi, the second from Saraspur to Kalol and the third from Saraspur to Naroda. But, that plan is now being revised as the city is set to expand to new western areas where big projects like a new international airport, Dholera port Gujarat International Finance Tech-city (GIFT) etc are coming up, which will require transport infrastructure. The Ahmedabad-Botad meter-gauge rail line running alongside Ashram Road is being converted into broad-gauge and could be integrated into the new plans. The cost of the RRS project could be quite prohibitive though. While the 2005 proposal put the expenditure at Rs 1,200 crore, this could go much higher, looking at cost escalation and the fact that the plan will have to be extended to the western fringes. In comparison, the entire BRTS project is valued at Rs 1,000 crore. Five firms to make BRTS bid Paul John | TNN Five companies will soon bid for the operation and maintenance of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). The bidding will take place in a couple of days. Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) has sought clarification from five individual bidders on technical details that were not furnished along with their bid documents earlier. This includes specifications like seating arrangement, interior design of the buses and engine configuration. One of the bidders had demanded time for furnishing these details. Once the technical bids are decided upon, AJL will list operators for the financial bids and name of the chosen operator will be declared by AJL in a week's time after the bidding process. The five bidders include Pankaj Gandhi, Shri Maruti travels, Leher associates, Cargo Motors and a consortium of Gujarat State Export Corporation and Punjab Travels. A Delhi-based firm and Mumbai-based Anthony Garage chose to drop out of the race earlier. "The competition is tough,' said one of the operators whom TOI talked to earlier, given the available flexibility offered in terms of bus floor height and fuel technology. While manufacturers fear that with reduction in floor height, the cost of individual buses will soar, AJL officials say that they need to develop the best possible combination of floor height and cheap fuel technology. Besides, this is the annual maintenance contract that each of the operators has to enter into with the manufacturers. The period for such contract has been brought down from 12 years to seven by AJL after discussions with the interested operators. A major aspect would be the rates of the AMC. Bumpy road for tender process Kumar Manish | TNN Just a few days from now, the operator for running the ambitious Bus Rapid Transit System BRTS) in Ahmedabad would be declared. The special purpose vehicle of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), AJL will announce the final name by the end of this week. Before the finalization of bus operators, the tenders for BRTS were modified, cancelled and final bid meetings were postponed on quite a number of occasions owing to various reasons. The tendering process, according to AMC officials, was delayed by more than two months owing to demands placed by bus manufacturers. The tenders for the operations and maintenance of BRTS were first announced in early March and the last date of submission of tenders were on March 18. But then the dates for submission of tenders were moved to April 7, after certain bus manufacturers demanded time for meeting the technical specifications. BRTS tenders met its first roadblock on April 29, as the final bidding process at the AMC remaining inconclusive. Reason