LiDAR Survey for Delhi – Varanasi High Speed Rail Corridor

The Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Survey has commenced on January 10 for Delhi-Varanasi High-Speed Rail (DVHSR) Corridor from Greater Noida. To begin the LIDAR survey, a helicopter fitted with Aerial LiDAR and imagery sensors took the first flight and recorded the data related to the ground survey.

Key Points

• The proposed plan of the Delhi-Varanasi High-Speed Rail Corridor will link Delhi with major cities like Agra, Mathura, Lucknow, Etawah, Prayagraj, Raebareli, Varanasi Bhadohi, and Ayodhya.
• The main corridor of around 800 km from Delhi to Varanasi will also be connected to Ayodhya. The High-Speed Rail (HSR) route will also link the upcoming international airport at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh.
• As per the Railway Ministry, the ground survey is an important activity for any linear infrastructure project to find the correct details related to areas near the alignment.
• This LIDAR technique will use a combination of GPS data, Laser data, flight parameters, and actual images to provide correct survey data.
• Approximately 350 secondary control points and 86 master control points have been established and these coordinates are being used for flying the aircraft on Delhi-Varanasi HSR corridor alignment, in accordance with the 9 standard benchmarks set by the Survey of India.
• Also, the LiDAR survey is using 60-megapixel cameras for capturing clear pictures of the structures, trees, and other minute ground details.

Background

The Delhi Varanasi High-Speed Rail Corridor project report was submitted on October 29, 2020, to the Ministry of Railways.

National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited has been given the responsibility to prepare the Detailed Project Reports for seven High-Speed Rail Corridors. The ground survey of the corridors will be using LiDAR survey techniques.