A SYMBROJ MEDIA PUBLICATIONMETRO RAIL NEWSISSN 2582-2330 / Vol. VI / Issue 71

WWW.METRORAILNEWS.INNov.
2022

EDITION

Focus on Metro, Railway, HSR, RRTS & Allied Industries

EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW
Exclusive Interview withSanjay Risbood, CEO, Getzner India Pvt. Ltd.
including Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Lucknow, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, andthe international projects like Riyadh,
Mauritius, and Dhaka metros.
Apart from railways track superstructures,
Mr Risbood has led the entry of Getznerin the construction sector of India forvibration isolation of heavy machinefoundations in the power, steel, andcement industries.

Mr. Sanjay Risbood
CEOGetzner India Pvt. Ltd.

An alumnus of the prestigious Collegeof Engineering- Pune, Mr Risbood
brings with him vast experience of 35.
He has headed the sales department ofengineering industries and consulted
various organisations in management,sales and marketing.
Mr Risbood is also a Chairman of theRailway Sector Committee of EBG India.
European Business Group (EBG) is a joint
initiative of the European Commission
and The Indian Government recognises
European Business Community in India
as the premier industry advocacy group.
Here are the edited excerpts: –Metro Rail News conducted an email
interview with Sanjay Risbood,
CEO of Getzner India Pvt. Ltd. In theinterview, Sanjay Risbood talked about
vibration mitigation systems for urban
Railways.
Mr Sanjay Risbood, as a CEO and Resident
Director of Getzner India Pvt Ltd., heads.
Getzner’s operations in the Indian
subcontinent. Getzner is an Austriancompany – a leading provider of vibration
mitigation solutions for the track
superstructures of urban and mainline
railways.
Under the leadership of Mr Risbood,Getzner, in the last 12 years, hasprovided vibration mitigation solutions
to almost every metro project in India,

Q.1. What are the company’s significant
developments in vibration mitigation
systems for urban railways? Please
quote major orders on the book andproject accomplishments.
Our first project in India was in 2009
with MMOPL (Mumbai Metro), followed
by DMRC Phase II, where we installeda mass-spring system under a tightschedule just before the beginning of theCommonwealth games. From that point
onwards, we have been a part of almost
every metro project in India. Our vibration
mitigation systems are adopted on
DMRC Phase III, Delhi Airport extension
line, Lucknow Metro, Ahmedabad metro,
Bangalore metro, Mumbai metro, Kochi
Metro, Jaipur Metro, etc.

METRO RAIL NEWS -NOVEMBER 2022|

Some of the prestigious projects underprogress are NCRTC- RRTS (Delhi Meerut)
high-speed metro, Kanpur and Agrametro. While I am giving this interview,
my team is already working on the Pune
metro project to install our systems.
Apart from India, our systems areadopted at Dhaka Metro, Riyadh Metroand Mauritius metro projects whereL&T had been a track work and turnkey
contractor.
Our solutions are also a part of thefasteningsystems
ofrenowned
manufacturers like Vossloh, Schwihag,and Patil. We are also on the slab trackturn-out solutions from VAE VKN andVossloh Conifer. Different track systems
like Sonneville (LVT) in Mumbai line III,
Porr track slabs and Rheda from PCM RailOne across the world and in India use oursolutions.
In urban railways, Getzner is present on
more than just tracks. Getzner’s vibration
mitigation solutions are also used under
the floating floors of metro rolling stock
to prevent vibrations from entering thecoach floors from the wheel sets. All theleading coach manufacturers such as
Alstom, Bombardier, BEML, TitagarhFirema are using our solutions on therolling stocks manufactured by them for
Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai,
Pune, Jaipur, etc. projects.
Q.2. Do you think developing a vibration
mitigation system for IR is particularly
challenging as the national transporterin India is one of the world’s largest
in terms of passenger and freighttransportation?
Because of the challenges, the priorities infront of IR differ from the urban railways.
IR’s primary focus is safety, network
capacity enhancement, speeds like 160 200, upgrading the rolling stock (VandeBharat), Electrification, etc. Vibration

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
mitigation is not their top priority, as IR
and DFCC mainly operate on open tracks
outside the city limits. However, when
IR starts operating at higher speeds,
the corridors running in and out of thecities will need to be equipped withvibration mitigation solutions to avoid
any concerns for the citizens staying in
the vicinity of the railway tracks. In future,in the cities, the main line corridors
also may run underground. Therefore,
adopting vibration mitigation systems on
the IR tracks will become necessary.
Having said this, it is also important to notethat IR’s foremost priority is track quality
improvement, reducing the maintenancerequirements, increasing rack availability
for the traffic and reducing the overall
life cycle cost (LCC) of the track assets.
And I am glad to mention that Getzner
is already working with IR and DFCC with
our high-quality elastic solutions like
Under Sleeper Pads, Under Ballast Mats
to achieve the high initial track qualitythat requires far less maintenance. Thesesolutions are already in use on advanced
railway systems from Europe and heavy
haul lines in Brazil, Australia etc. and areunder trial at various locations at IR andDFCC.
Q.3. What is ‘structure-borne noise’, acommon term that we generally comeacross while talking about noise andvibration caused by the running oftrains on wheels?
Structure-borne noise is caused byvibrations transmitted via solid or liquidbodies. Imagine a heavy train runningnear a condominium: the wheels
transfer vibrations to the rail track
and transmit them to the surrounding
grounds and buildings. You can often
feel the vibrations inside the house,
and if windows or tableware start toshake, you can even hear it as secondary
airborne noise. So very often, the effectof vibrations is noise. Therefore, vibration
isolation prevents structure-borne noise,
has less harm to building structures andcauses less noise pollution.
Q.4. In what ways Getzner is helping
urban transport planners to provide
sustainabletransportation
andurbanisation solutions for approx. 2.5
billion new citizens who are expected
to join cities globally by 2050?
In India, migration to urban areas is afact today and will remain a reality in
24 | Page

future also. We have no choice but toadapt to mass rapid transit systems forconvenient, affordable and environmentfriendly movements of people. The
urban transport systems, especially themetro, while helping people to moveefficiently, should not create problems
for the citizens staying or businesses,hospitals, or schools established aroundthe corridors. In these cases, the primarycause of concern is getting disturbed by
the vibrations and structure-borne noise.
If urban planners and metro companies
do not consider this aspect, the people
will not support such projects. If proper
measures for mitigation are taken,disruptions, rework, and litigations will beavoided.

In transportation, only thinking of railbased transit in isolation will not work.
One has to think of the entire spectrum of
efficient bus services, concepts like trams(LRT), last-mile connectivity, enoughparking space, corridors connecting
different corners of the city, interchange
points, etc. The entire public transportsystem will be successful if it’s plannedwith a broader long-term view.

This is precisely where Getzner is helping
the metro companies and contractors.
We not only supply our solutions but
work with metro companies from a very
early stage of the project and try to sharewith them the best practices in the NV
assessment of the corridors, predictions,selection of the suitable mitigation
systems considering their boundary
conditions, supply, installation training
and supervision, measurements etc. Overthe last five decades, Getzner has worked
with different track systems, consultants,speeds, and underground and elevatedcorridors and has gathered valuable
expertise, experience and knowledge.
Getting this on the table helps metrocompanies get a holistic picture of
the vibration mitigation aspects, andthey can make the themed decision for
adopting sustainable solutions for theirproject.

Q.6. You have a long experience
with innovative vibration isolation
solutions for rail, construction, andindustry sectors for nearly five anda half decades. How do you see theIndian market in this context? What are
your long-term goals in unity with theMake in India & Aatmnirbhar Bharat
campaign?

Q.5. What, in your opinion, is morechallenging – providing sustainabletransport solutions or ensuring better
urbanisation options for citizens? Do
you think a well-developed urban railtransit system is the best solution for asustainable and clean transport systemfor cities?
Ensuring better urbanisation options
for the citizens is more challenging
than merely providing sustainabletransportation solutions. Transportation
solutions are part of the whole “betterurbanisation” puzzle. Better urbanisation
is a far-reaching concept that includes
many parameters like housing, energy,sanitation,health,environment,transportation, education, trade, andindustry.

METRO RAIL NEWS -NOVEMBER 2022|

Gustavo Petro, a Mayor of Bogotá, once
said, “A developed country is not a place
where the poor have cars. It’s wherethe rich use public transportation”. The
measure of the success of any public
transport system can’t be described inbetter words than this.

Afast-growingeconomy,
rapid
urbanisation,
expandingrail-based
urban transit systems, ever-expanding
and modernising railway infrastructure
and the stable investment-friendly
government are the key drivers for theentry, growth and success of Getzner’s
solutions in any market. And in India, wesee that happening. So, we are confident
about our growth here and strongly
believe in the success story of India. With
all the conducive environment around,
we see enormous opportunity for oursolutions in the central line railway, heavy
haul, high speed, urban railway, rollingstock, building acoustics and industrialfoundations.
We are already thinking of amanufacturing facility in India under the“make in India” policy of the government.
Q.7. How are you planning to help
IR in its modernisation efforts withsome major key players already in themarket? Seeing the rugged terrains anddemographics IR operates, do you haveany class apart customised solution inyour category which gives you an edge
over other companies? Please mention.
The government of India, through its “GatiShakti” initiative and the vision document“National Rail Plan” (NRP), is focusing onW W W. M E T R O R A I L N E W S . I N

the expansion and modernisation of the Indian Railway network. The primeobjectives are• Increasing the speed on the essential routes to 160-180-200 KMPH.
• Shifting the significant share of freight movement to railways (Target 45%). Develop Dedicated Freight Corridors, and feeder routes – (By increasing
speed and lowering operational costs)• Increasing the capacity and reliability of the whole network.
• Track Infrastructure’s focus is capacity creation and expansion. Significant
capital expenditure in creating track infrastructure (DFC, HSR and Core
Track Infrastructure). This planned expenditure accounts for 60 ~ 66 % ofinvestments till 2031 and further up to 2051
However, more than capacity creation will be needed. The enhanced
capacity should be available for the train traffic to run. This means thatthe tracks should not need frequent maintenance, block closures formaintenance should reduce, and no speed restrictions should be required.
One of the fundamental aspects of achieving the above objective isintroducing the designed elasticity into the ballasted tracks. Getzner’sflexible solutions have been used successfully for decades on modern
railway systems across Europe on mainline, high-speed ballasted tracks
and heavy haul tracks in Brazil, China, and Australia.
On IR and DFCC, Getzner’s Under sleeper pads are already under trials
with encouraging results. Getzner’s experts continuously interact with IR
and DFCC officials about good practices, track specifications, component
design, solutions for maintenance-prone areas, etc. We are glad to mention
that the railway board, RDSO, is taking various initiatives to adopt thedesigns and specifications to build/upgrade tracks with initial high quality,
use of suitable quality track components, adoption of proven technologies
used on advanced railway systems (USP/UBM), adoption of international
standards, etc.
“Indian railways” is such a massive market that there is a place for many
players capable of supplying products with the required quality, long terms
sustained performance and a reasonable price. So Getzner is not worried
about existing players or the upcoming competition. Our high quality,service, technical expertise, experience, and the quest for innovation makeus stand apart from other players. Also, our commitment to “Make in India”
by adopting these technologies by IR will go a long way in making ourfootprint bigger in the railway sector of India.
Q.8. What would be your message to our readers? Any views for MRN?
On the background of the phenomenal and remarkable pace and natureof changes coming in IR over the past few years, I can only say that we,
as Indians, should have a strong faith in India’s growth story, especiallythat of railways and metros. There are ample opportunities for excellent
quality, innovative products and solutions are proven on the modern railwaysystems. Adopting new technologies may take longer than one wants, but it
will happen. Days are not far off for IR to use high-quality, reliable, “made inIndia” products and solutions that meet international standards.
Congratulations to MRN on publishing a magazine in such a niche sector.
Your initiative will go a long way in bringing the decision-makers, suppliers,industry experts, academicians, and policymakers on one platform forsustainable development.

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