Sim City - Version - Mumbai!

This project really excites me. Am gonna keep a track of how the railway engineers tackle the numerous problems in their way.

DREAM MACHINE

The Idea Of Running A-C Trains On Elevated Tracks Is Not As Implausible As It Seems; But Finances May Be A Problem

Devraj Dasgupta | TNN

The idea floated in Lalu Prasad’s railway budget — about exploring the option of running air-conditioned trains on elevated Mumbai Central-Virar tracks — may sound too daunting an engineering challenge but experts say it can actually be made to work in Mumbai. What these experts — from both private and public sectors — are more worried about is the project’s financial viability.
The railway budget admitted that expansion of the existing suburban network would not be sufficient to handle Mumbai’s growing commuter traffic; so it proposed a pre-feasibility study for a 55-km elevated corridor for air-conditioned trains between Mumbai Central and Virar. RITES, a railway consultancy agency, will prepare the report.
RITES executive director D Swaroop refused to go into details of the study: “It is too early to say anything.’’ But a senior Delhi Rail Bhavan official said an elevated corridor above the existing tracks was actually a good idea as there would be no problems of removing encroachment and acquiring land. “But then such a project will have to pass over existing bridges, flyovers and railway signals and electrification equipment,’’ he said. So it will have to come up at a height of at least 18-20 metres above the existing tracks.
The budget proposes a public-private-partnership model and private players, therefore, will have to be given major concessions, say officials. “A typical PPP contract gives a private player the right to recover investment over a 30-year period. Indian Railways will have to either allow the private operator to charge high ticket rates or subsidise it with government funds,’’ the senior ministry official said. Air-conditioned services would have fewer patrons and higher running costs, forcing any operator to charge high ticket rates, he added.
But it is the cost of the project itself that has officials more worried. Every kilometre of the elevated corridor in Delhi Metro cost Rs 110 crore three years back, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson Anuj Dayal said. “This includes the cost of civil engineering, signal and telecommunication, electrification and even the trains,’’ he added. The first leg of Mumbai Metro, spanning the Andheri-Versova-Ghatkopar stretch, is going to cost almost Rs 196 crore per km of elevated track just seven metres above surface.
So a replication of the Mumbai model will make the 55-km project cost Rs 11,000 crore right now. The cost will obviously go up with time.
Engineering major Siemens director V Parulekar said advanced technology was there to run trains on high corridors. “Trains are running on elevated corridors in several cities of the world. The only difference in this case is the additional height as the corridor will have to come above the existing infrastructure and this will add to the cost,’’ he said. FROM THE BUDGET
The suburban services are the lifeline of Mumbai.... Even after the completion of (both phases of the) Mumbai Urban Transport Project, suburban services will not be able to meet the demand of the ever-increasing population. There is also a perceived need to introduce airconditioned services in Mumbai. Therefore, we have taken a decision to conduct a pre-feasibility study for the introduction of an elevated fully airconditioned metro service between Mumbai Central and Virar stations on Western Railway.
WHAT’S A PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY?
A pre-feasibility study is a preliminary study undertaken to find out whether it is possible to implement a project or not. This need not go into minute technical or financial details and is followed by the main feasibility study.
THE COST
A-C TRAINS ON ELEVATED TRACKS
Rs 196 crore is needed to construct every kilometre of elevated tracks and then run airconditioned trains on them (Mumbai Metro estimates); this estimate takes into account expenses for everything (from tracks to trains).
SURFACE TRACKS
Around Rs 3.5 crore is needed to construct every kilometre of tracks on the surface; but this estimate does not include the cost of procuring and running rakes. THE PLANS The railway ministry is exploring the possibility of running air-conditioned trains on an elevated track.
THE ROUTE
Mumbai Central to Virar
THE DISTANCE
55 km
OPTION I
Western Railway can construct new tracks which will not necessarily run above existing tracks on the surface
ADVANTAGE
Planners and engineers will not need to take into consideration any of the existing infrastructure that is already there; in other words, when they lay the new tracks, they will not have to bother about existing foot-overbridges, flyovers or wiring coming in the way.
DISADVANTAGE
But stretches where there is no existing railway infrastructure will, in all probability, have other commercial or residential structures. Owners or occupants of these structures almost always go to court whenever there is a move to displace them and litigations have been known to delay projects for decades. Rehabilitation is also a contentious issue.
VERDICT: NOT FEASIBLE
OPTION II
Engineers can build new tracks above the existing railway lines
ADVANTAGE
Very little non-railway land will be needed if the new tracks are built above the existing tracks. So, in one move, railways can do away with the problem of litigations and rehabilitating project-affected persons.
DISADVANTAGE
Planners and engineers will have to keep in mind the existing infrastructure — wiring, foot-overbridges and east-west flyovers — and build above them. Going more than one tier above the existing tracks will automatically raise costs.
VERDICT: COSTLY BUT PRACTICAL

10 Timeless Lessons on Better Thinking

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.

Winston Churchill

Our thoughts can make or break our life. Use it well, and we will prosper. Use it badly, and we will suffer. Investing on your mind is perhaps the best investment you can make.

I believe we can learn a lot about it from the great minds of human civilization, so I read inspiring quotes from them and extracted some lessons on better thinking. Here are 10 timeless lessons I found:

1. Beware of your thoughts

Our best friends and our worst enemies are our thoughts. A thought can do us more good than a doctor or a banker or a faithful friend. It can also do us more harm than a brick.
Frank Crane

Our mind is a double-edged sword. If we fill it with positive thoughts, it will lead us to a productive and fruitful life. But, if we fill it with negative thoughts, it will lead us to a defeated, inferior life. So watch your thoughts and be careful not to let negative thoughts occupy your mind.

2. Go beyond mere reading

Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare.
Harriet Martineau

It’s easy to read, but it’s not easy to think about what we read and act upon it. That’s why very few people experience what the books’ authors write. If we want to be productive, we should go beyond just being readers to being thinkers and doers.

3. Think more

Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.
George Bernard Shaw

Most people do not make conscious effort to think more, but those who do will reap the fruit. While many people spend a lot of time for other aspects of their lives such as their occupation and hobbies, only a few people consciously spend time for thinking.

4. Think at higher level

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
Albert Einstein

We should improve our thinking ability so that we can think at a higher level. Only by thinking at higher level can we solve the problems we face. Again, doing so takes effort and one way to do so is mind exercise.

5. Be curious

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious
Albert Einstein

Curiosity is an essential ingredient of great thinking. It gives you a strong desire to know more than most people and makes the journey fun.

6. Be persistence

I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.
Albert Einstein

Thinking requires perseverance. More often than not, we can’t get the desired results as soon as we want it. The road to discovery is long, and only with persistence can we hope to reach the destination.

7. State problems the right way

The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.
Bertrand Russell

Many people recognize great thinkers through their ability to solve problems, but great thinkers are first of all good at formulating problems. It is their ability to formulate problems that allows them to find elegant solutions.

Here is an example from the book Patterns of Problem Solving:

Hammurabi in Babylon changed the course of history by asking the right question when dealing with the problem of water. Instead of asking how to get the people to the water, he asked how to get the water to the people. This led to canals. The rest is history.

8. Emphasize imagination

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein

Many people pursue knowledge, but great thinkers emphasize imagination. While knowledge allows us to make incremental improvements, imagination opens the way for fresh breakthroughs.

9. Use intuition

The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.
Albert Einstein

It might be surprising, but rational thinking is not always the best way to think; intuition often gives us better solution. I often experience this myself. After thinking rationally for some time and not finding a solution, I just leave the problem or sleep on it, and all of a sudden a solution leaps into my mind. Not only is this process less laborious, it often gives me ideas with higher quality.

10. Dare to be different

It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.
G.H. Hardy

Great thinkers dare to be different and therefore they think differently. Rather than just following what other people do, they move beyond it and go up to a whole new level. Look at your situation and ask yourself: what is the conventional wisdom for your situation? Then don’t do it, move beyond it instead. This is easier said than done, but that’s what the great thinkers do.

Einstein Says: Check Your Intellect at the Door...

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious,” Albert Einstein once said.

False modesty? Perhaps. But Einstein actually placed a premium on curiosity — not intellect. Why?

Because, he pointed out, “we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

In fact, he added, “the intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”

And so this is why, when it comes to problem-solving and innovation: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Knowledge is limited. Imagination is boundless.
So next time you sit down to it, check your intellect at the door!

But you should still expect to be wrong, a lot:
“I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.” — Albert Einstein

Understanding the work of Nature [God]...

Animals, plants queue up for online Noah’s Ark

Jonathan Leake

London: Scientists are to release the first draft of an Encyclopedia of Life detailing everything known about all living organisms, from the aardvark to the zebu.
When complete the project will detail all 1.8m known plant and animal species. Each will have their own web page in an online archive that will include photographs, genetic information and distribution maps.
This week will see the release of the first 30,000 pages of the project, which will focus on fish, amphibia, large mammals and birds.
It is regarded by the scientists as a triumph but just a small percentage of the likely final total. “This is a great event,” said Robert May, a former president of the Royal Society who is an adviser to the project. “It will help us to sort out all the different species and create a single consistent database.” Scientists have long dreamt of creating a comprehensive encyclopedia listing all known life, but the volume of data accumulated over 250 years of research left everyone who tried it in despair.
However, the advent of Wikipedia and its revolutionary use of so-called “mash-up” software, to aggregate vast amounts of data from disparate sources, showed researchers how they could achieve their dream. The Natural History Museum of London, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington are just three of the many centres pouring data into the encyclopedia. About 2.5m pages of ancient academic journals, drawings and photographs have been scanned into computers ready for publication.
One possibility is that the finished encyclopedia could also include links to video clips taken from television programmes. This weekend the project won the approval of David Attenborough, the maker of programmes such as Life on Earth and the current Life in Cold Blood. “This is a hugely welcome project and long overdue,” he said.
The science of classifying the natural world began with Carl Linnaeus in 1735. He had promised a classification of every known living thing but by the time he reached his 13th and final edition in 1770 and his original 11 pages had expanded to 3,000, it was still incomplete. SUNDAY TIMES

Incredible Theory.....Amazing Possibilities...

‘Sun will vapourise Earth unless we change our orbit’

Astronomers Suggest Using Gravity Of Passing Asteroid To Nudge The World

New York: Astronomers at the University of Sussex claim to have calculated that the Sun will vapourise Earth in about 7.6 billion years unless our planet’s orbit is altered.
According to them, the Sun’s slow expansion will cause the temperature on the surface of the Earth to rise — oceans will evaporate and the atmosphere will become laden with water vapour, which is a very effective greenhouse gas.
Eventually, the oceans will boil dry and the water vapour will escape into space. In a billion years from now the Earth will be a very hot, dry and uninhabitable ball. The team previously calculated that the Earth would escape ultimate destruction, although be battered and burnt to a cinder. But they did not take into account the effect of the drag caused by the outer atmosphere of the dying Sun.
“We showed previously that, as the Sun expanded, it would lose mass in the form of a strong wind, much more powerful than the current solar wind. This would reduce the gravitational pull of the Sun on the Earth, allowing the Earth’s orbit to move outwards, ahead of the expanding Sun.
“If that were the only effect the Earth would indeed escape final destruction. However, the tenuous outer atmosphere of the Sun extends a long way beyond its visible surface, and it turns out the Earth would actually be orbiting within these very low density outer layers. “The drag caused by this low-density gas is enough to cause the Earth to drift inwards, and finally to be captured and vapourised by the Sun,” lead astronomer Dr Robert Smith was quoted by the ‘ScienceDaily’ as saying.
But, can anything be done to prevent this fate? By altering the orbit of our planet, according to Dr Smith.
He pointed to a remarkable scheme proposed by Santa Cruz University astronomers who suggest harnessing the gravitational effects of a close passage by a large asteroid to “nudge” the Earth’s orbit gradually outwards away from the encroaching Sun.
A suitable passage every 6,000 years or so would be enough to keep the Earth out of trouble and allow life to survive for at least five billion years, and possibly even to survive the Sun’s red giant phase.
“This sounds like science fiction. But it seems that the energy requirements are just about possible and the technology could be developed over the next few centuries,” Dr Smith said. However, it is a high-risk strategy — a slight miscalculation, and the asteroid could actually hit the Earth, with catastrophic consequences. “A safer solution may be to build a fleet of interplanetary ‘life rafts’ that could manoeuvre themselves always out of reach of the Sun, but close enough to use its energy,” he said. PTI

http://www.a2zscholarships.com

STUDY HELP

Students start website to end scholarship woes

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: This is a world away from the cliched picture of raucous boys turning engineering college hostels upside down. Here, they are quietly huddled over a computer search engine. Every hit leads to a loud hurray—for this information could change someone’s life.
This is part of an initiative by students of the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), who have put together a directory of scholarships on offer from around the world. Named www.A2Zscholarships.com, the website is has been put together by over 200 students, mostly hostelites at the Matunga-based engineering institute. Currently, the site provides details on almost 500 scholarships for various disciplines.
The site went online early this month and in a span of 21 days, it has already benefited 2,200 students. “From the smallest scholarship to the large ones, this website has been designed so that no deserving student is bereft of education because of lack of finances,’’ said final year civil engineering student Mukund Chandak. This 21-year-old from Nandgaon has benefited from the Ratan Tata scholarship, among many others.
Similarly, many from the rural areas of Maharashtra have managed to carry on with their education because of the largesse from various trusts. “There is so much talent in the hinterland but no one travels beyond the cities. This website will provide information to all these left-out people on resources available from round the world,’’ added another student.
The site’s interface has been designed by a third year student, Rameez Pojee. It allows a student to fill up information about the course s/he desires to pursue, the cost of education, family’s annual income and the marks scored by the student. Once the form is submitted online, a list of trusts that would be willing to help the student pops up.
“There are many trusts that provide a helping hand to the needy students. But at present, there is no way for students to know how to contact these trusts,’’ he added.
Students plan to regularly update this site and currently information of 1,500 more scholarships is being collected. There are no marks set aside for this project nor is this a mandatory activity for these engineering students. But the future engineers are already thinking hard and searching for solutions—those that will touch lives.
toireporter@timesgroup.com

State of High School Education in India...

My View:

Few articles concern me more than ones talking about the success rate? What is success anyway? Is success just mugging up answers and then vomiting them out in examinations? And who gave them the right to say a student is a failure if he or she dislikes this idiotic method of learning by rote. I agree that many schools today are adopting the best methodologies for teaching. But at the end of the day, all students have to do is to mug up pages after pages to pass at the examination, leave alone securing a position in the elite 90+ club [see maa, i am one of the best muggers].

If a student fails, isn't that the failure of the system, failure of the teachers and their teaching methods? Surely it can't be that hard to enthuse a student towards self-learning!

Maharashtra Lags Way Behind - TOI

Hemali Chhapia | TNN

Mumbai: If class X students from across the country were to take a common exam, who would perform the best? Believe it or not, students from Bihar’s madrasa board would stand high, next only to students of the ICSE board in Delhi.
Comparing the performance of educational boards across India, the Human Resource Development (HRD)
ministry has recently released a report on student performance in various states in class X. The results have the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination in Delhi topping with the highest pass percentage of 94.3%, followed by the Bihar state Madrasa Board with a success rate of 91.4%. The Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi stands at third place with an overall pass percentage of 86.4%. Maharashtra is way down at 57.6%.
The report released last month compares 2005 data across the country. Madhav Chavan, founder of educational non-profit Pratham, pointed out that the findings contradict the “stereotype that madrasas are religious training schools’’. It vindicates “the historical view’’ that a voluntary process of education which involves progressive elements in a society coming forward to educate the backward sections often results in a successful model for formal education, he said.
Unlike other boards which have a large student base, both the ICSE and madrasa boards have lower student populations taking the exam. States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal have lakhs of students sitting for the class X exam. Peggy Mohan, a linguist and a former professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, pointed out that the madrasa board, being run on a smaller scale, was probably more flexible than such “regimented state boards’’.
However, some experts countered that boards handling lakhs of students see a diverse mix whose results may vary on the basis of several factors. Basanti Roy, divisional secretary of Mumbai, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, said of the 15 lakh students who took the class X exam in the state, a large population came from the rural hinterland which lacked good teachers. The state board thus enjoyed higher success rates in smaller, urban pockets. Albeit, the argument is thin when seen in a broader light. UP, for instance, had the maximum number of students taking the class X exam—over 25 lakh; yet its success rate stands at 68.3%, way above Maharashtra’s.