Indian Railways - Projects | News | Discussions [Archive] - Page 16

anidel

October 27th, 2011, 07:31 PM

World Bank offers India $975 mn loan for freight corridor

The World Bank has offered India a $975 million loan for developing a freight corridor that will help improve the movement of raw materials and finished goods between the northern and eastern parts of the country, an official statement said on Thursday.

The loan is for a dedicated rail line for freight called Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor-I developed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd.

This is part of India’s first dedicated freight corridor initiative - being built on two main routes - the Western and the Eastern Corridors.

These corridors will help India make a quantum leap in increasing the railways’ transportation capacity by building high-capacity, higher-speed dedicated freight corridors along the golden quadrilateral - the four rail routes that connect Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Currently, these routes account for just 16% of the railway network’s length, but carry more than 50% of India’s total rail freight.

The Department of Economic Affairs and Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd has singed an agreement with the World Bank for the project.

“Dedicated freight corridors will not only meet this growing freight demand, but also decongest the already saturated rail network and promote the shifting of freight transport from road to more efficient rail transport,” said Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs.

He said freight traffic in India was projected to grow over 7% annually and the development of the dedicated corridors would help in the easier movement of goods.

The eastern dedicated freight corridor project will ease congestion choking the railway system and reduce travel-time for passenger trains on the arterial Ludhiana-Delhi-Mughal Sarai railway route.

The World Bank financing for the project will cover a route length of 1,130 km out of a total corridor length of 1,839 km. The project is to be developed in three phases.

“The dedicated freight corridor programme will provide India the opportunity to create one of the world’s largest freight operations, adopting proven international technologies and approaches which can progressively be extended to other important freight routes throughout the network,” Roberto Zagha, the World Bank’s Country Director in India, said in a statement.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/Business/World-Bank-offers-India-975-mn-loan-for-freight-corridor/Article1-761901.aspx

sixsigma1978

October 27th, 2011, 09:15 PM

Trials over, Rlys ready to use ‘zero-discharge’ toilets
Indian Railways has just moved a lot closer to eliminating the century-old system of train-toilets discharging into the tracks. After completing a successful round of trials, the Chennai-Allappey/Trivandrum Express is now gearing up to get 56 ‘zero-discharge’ toilets.

The Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) is analysing the results of the trials before deployment, which could be any day, according to an official implementing the project in Chennai.

“The system is now ready after trials. We are preparing 14 coaches for deployment. Based on the data, more rakes will be prepared,” said a senior official of the Chennai Division in Southern Railway, which is executing the project. The design has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, along with the RDSO.

Since inception, these toilets have been promising to eliminate the problem of tracks getting soiled and the concrete carpeting beneath tracks caving in thanks to excessive soaking of discharge from toilets, apart from adding stench to the railway station’s environment.

In the new system, the toilets will empty into a central container, which will in turn be taken to a pit for composting of manure, to be sold commercially.
But that’s not all. The next stage of efficiency — aircraft-like ‘vacuum toilets’ — will also start trials by the end of this year.
“We have decided to try two Shatabdis for these toilets. The real usage of the zero-discharge toilets on the Chennai train will throw up enough data to finetune the system by then,” said an official at the Railway Board.

If things go as planned, the familiar, age-old toilets with open-discharge systems will be completely phased out by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan.

The Railways has been grappling with its toilets for ages. It has been trying bio-toilets that aim to eliminate stench with chemical treatment of the toilet load. Several designs, imported from Germany, as well as indigenous ones, have been in circulation through 164 bio-toilets in trains originating from Guwahati, Varanasi, Bundelkhand, Nizamuddin, Lucknow, Egmore in Chennai. This financial year the number of these toilets was supposed to have been up by 300 in six trains.

Source : Link (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/trials-over-rlys-ready-to-use-zerodischarge-toilets/863145/2)

MxC

October 28th, 2011, 11:30 AM

An interesting bug in the Railway Reservation system!

Western Railway computers overwhelmed by Diwali rush
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/western-railway-computers-overwhelmed-by-diwali-rush/articleshow/10460916.cms))

At the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2000, the Y2K bug was supposed to turn the world topsy-turvy by wiping out all computer data and freezing all electronic devices. The clock struck 12, and nothing happened. But on Saturday, more than a decade later, a similar virus attacked the Western Railway and its flagship train, the Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express.

If the problem back then was 1999, this time it was the number 999. The commotion surrounding the Rajdhani as it waited to depart from Mumbai Central's Platform No 1 was quite unusual, even for Diwali season.

Hundreds of passengers, who would have been upgraded from the waiting list to confirmed berths, were desperately trying to find out their reservation status. They dialled the enquiry at 139. They searched for updated charts normally posted at the train door, and on the platform, but found none.

When the Rajdhani left for Delhi, at 5:13, 33 minutes later than scheduled, they were left stranded at the station, not knowing whether they had berths on the train or not. The problem, it later turned out, was a curious one.

The online reservation system of the Indian Railways, managed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) allows only 999 e-tickets to be reserved per train. This number was considered a comfortable failsafe because the demand for online tickets had never exceeded 600, even at the busiest times. On Saturday, however, the Diwali rush pushed this demand to 999, and then into four digits. The moment the 1,000th ticket request was processed, the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) got confused, and promptly came crashing down.

"We could not foresee that e-tickets would ever reach 1,000. This number was beyond all our estimates when the software was created. Today, the moment 999 was breached, the program developed a bug and starting behaving abnormally. No further upgrades were possible on the chart after that," Ajit Jain, CRIS's General Manager (Western), told Mumbai Mirror.

"A special team of engineers has been constituted to look into the matter and find remedies," he added. The genesis of the problem, said a senior Railway official who asked not to be named, lay in how the chart preparation for the train, which normally begins at around 1:30 pm for a 4:40 train, did not start until after 3 pm. "As a result," he said, "a lot of people were booking berths online at the eleventh hour, until long after the system should have allowed them to. This drove the numbers into a hitherto uncharted territory."

By the time the Railways realised what was happening, there was about an hour to go for departure. CRIS was informed, but it was too late to fix the bug or try to retrieve corrupted data. The train was finally released with the manual (or skeleton) chart, updated at 8 pm on Friday.

"There was chaos," said Aman Acharya, a student with a ticket for Kota who could not board despite a quota berth because his name was not on the skeleton chart. "There were many who didn't know what to do."

Divyesh Thakur, another student, added: "No one was able to check the status on the helpline number or the website. It was a panic situation. The RPF came out to control the crowd."

Since almost 30-35 per cent changes on the chart take place on the last day due to late cancellations, initial estimates by the Railways indicate that a few hundred people may have been affected. "After investigations, we will decide on refunds, or other remedial action," an official said.

Gag Halfrunt

October 28th, 2011, 07:06 PM

If the aim is collision prevention then there are much cheaper methodologies and you don't need a European system which is a signals based system designed for trains running at 300 km / hr.
You'll be glad to hear that TPWS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_Protection_%26_Warning_System) is a "cheaper methodology". It was developed in the UK soon after railway privatisation as a basic way to stop trains running into each other without the expense of a pukka automatic train protection (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Train_Protection) system. Contrary to what the article posted earlier said, it's neither particularly advanced nor a European standard, just a cheap stopgap. :)

barrykul

October 29th, 2011, 06:51 AM

Collision detection systems can be handed over to IIT or some competent college like SRM or NIT. IITs lately are doing a good job solving specific problems/issues like the toilet problem in trains, Jugnu micro/nano satellite, etc. Even the train reservation system needs to be given to TCS or Wipro/Infosys or IITs. The IR cannot solve these problems since they are too entrenched in their babu routines and also their collective grey cells are rotting.

Recently the foreign ministry of India has made Indian passport issuance a pleasant experience (e.g Bluru), thanks to outsourcing the system to TCS. If IR can do the same Indians would enjoy a superb service at a reasonable price. Maybe Foreign Minister, H. M. Krishna can whisper a few good ideas into the political bosses/babudom manning IR. Indians deserve better service and treatment in the 21st century.

Bombay2Calcutta

October 31st, 2011, 04:12 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/10/31/Article//007/31_10_2011_007_026.jpg

MxC

October 31st, 2011, 06:10 AM

(self deleted)

visnaya

October 31st, 2011, 10:56 AM

Hello,
Can we get following information in any website or through ssc:

1. How many kilometer of railway line we have and how many Km is getting added this year
2. How many Goods and passenger trains we have and how many got added this year
3. How many Diesel Engine, electric Enginee we have and How many sleeper bogies are there and how many are getting added.

similar information

hemanth1987

October 31st, 2011, 01:24 PM

Bombay2Calcutta

October 31st, 2011, 11:05 PM

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/India-s-Track-3-Afghan-Iran-rail-link/Article1-763448.aspx)

India's Track 3: Afghan-Iran rail link

In a bold move to assert itself in the Af-Pak region and reduce Pakistan's room for manoeuvre, India is finalising a plan to construct a 900-km railway line that will connect Chabahar port in Iran, being built with Indian help, to the mineral-rich Hajigak region of Afghanistan.

Chabahar is just 72 km west of Pakistan's Gwadar port, being built with Chinese help.

When completed, this line will throw up both tantalising geo-political and economic opportunities for India as well as potential for bad blood with both friends and foes.
Here's why:

1.It will increase Indian leverage in Afghanistan and its strategic presence in the region. In the past, however, New Delhi has refuted Pakistani fears that India is encircling it.
2.It will give Afghanistan access to the sea, thus, reducing its dependence on Pakistan.
3.It will open opportunities for Indian companies to explore Afghanistan's mineral wealth, believed to be worth $1-3 trillion (Rs 50-150 lakh crore), for mutual benefit. Just consider: the entire Indian economy is valued at $1.2 trillion (Rs 60 lakh crore);
4.It will add to the economic rationale for Indian investment in Chabahar;
5.Once the entire network comprising of road, rail and port is in place, it can become a launching pad for greater economic and strategic involvement of India in the oil and mineral-rich Central Asia;
However, the greater cooperation with Iran in Chabahar (and, presumably, in other areas) will almost certainly upset the Americans, whose support is essential if India is to play a greater role in the region.

Based on a note prepared by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) on this subject, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai held a meeting on August 10 with representatives of the ministries of railways and mining, sources told Hindustan Times.

Indian ambassador to Afghanistan Gautam Mukhopadhyay was also present at the meeting.

"In order to coordinate the strategy for investment in Hajigak in the backdrop of the security, infrastructure, financial and regional challenges involved, there is a need to plan and craft our strategy to address these challenge," says a note the MEA had sent to the Railways.

Hajigak, 130 km west of Kabul in Bamiyan province, holds Afghanistan's largest iron ore deposits. Of the 22 companies shortlisted for the bid for these mines 14 are Indian, including a consortium led by the public sector Steel Authority of India Limited.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/images/HTPopups/011111/01_11_pg1a.jpg

_Mihir13

November 1st, 2011, 07:49 AM

@Bombay2Calcutta:

That is a good development and India should rigorously pursue it and not bow down under any kind of pressure.

MxC

November 1st, 2011, 08:32 AM

^^
Am I glad to read this news! It shows that our babus sitting in MEA are doing some serious strategizing. I fully support this initiative, and sincerely hope that our political class will have the necessary 'will' to seriously pursue this and take it logically forward.
:cheers:

Bombay2Calcutta

November 1st, 2011, 08:52 AM

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/mostnew-rail-routes-in-maharashtra-unviable/454019/
Most of new rail routes in Maharashtra unviable
Press Trust Of India / Mumbai/ Thane October 31, 2011, 0:24 IST

The Railway Ministry has found most of the projects in Maharashtra either uneconomical or unviable, according to an RTI reply.

According to the reply sought by local activist Om Prakash Varma, the long-pending Pune-Nashik rail network has been shelved and some other projects have been taken up on cost sharing basis by the Centre.

Except for Nagpur, Wardha and Wardha-Ballarshah 3rd Line, most of the projects were found to be financially unviable. The reply also states that the sanction of the railway line was done on the basis of National Transport Policy, besides criteria like strategic consideration, existence of mineral and natural resources, likely availability of traffic in future due to coming up of industries/power plants, development of alternative route to name a few.

The work on extension of 54.163 kms Baramati-Lonand line (between Daund-Baramati ) which was shelved in 1994 has been finally sanctioned in 1997. The Nashik-Kopagraon line of 92.60 kms was also shelved in 1996 and new BG line between Shirdi and Kopargaon and Puntamba was later sanctioned.

The Wardha –Pusad-Nanded line was sanctioned on cost sharing basis again with the state government, the reply stated. The updating of RECT survey work between Jalna and Khamgaon was finally sanctioned in 2010-11.

The 350 kms Manmad-Dhule line is still hanging fire with the survey report submitted to the Board way back in 2008 and 2009 still collecting dust and no decision has come through. The 265.90 kms Pune-Nashik line survey report was submitted to the government and the project was shelved in 2001 and again a report was submitted in 2010 and finally the project has been buried and shelved by the Board in June 2010.

The Dhule-Amalner railway line report has been submitted to the board in March 2011. The Wardha-Katol line the survey work has been sanctioned in 2010-11 after being shelved by the Board in 1978. The RECT survey of Khandwa-Nardana line has been shelved by the board In 2004 itself.

gentem

November 1st, 2011, 09:12 AM

Smooth Indian

November 1st, 2011, 10:32 AM

p2p4

November 1st, 2011, 10:52 AM

Dunno why the Indian Govt is so silent and giving it's ass to whip when Afghan President Hamid Karzai openly and very stoically told the world media that Afghanistan would stand by "BROTHER PAKISTAN" if it (Pakistan) was invaded by USA or INDIA .

I have not yet seen any, ANY form of retort by the Indian govt consequent to this statement.

And yet, we go all out to put our ass out there (with Indian lives of course) in the name of "assistance"

As it is, Pak is not happy (they will never be happy even if we give them an entire India to run !) and China is already present in Afghanistan with rare earth mineral mines already blasted and running with Chinese Han population.

Vicky007

November 1st, 2011, 05:56 PM

It is all a part of the great game. Pakistan thinks it has "unbeatable strategic locational advantage" and can whore itself as the gateway to the riches of land-locked Central Asia through its port at Karachi. India is trying to deflate/counter this by proposing an alternative route which is as viable if not more then Karachi.
Understandably the Puki's are upset about this.
As for Karzai's statement, he is just emitting hot gas for Puki consumption and it is his way of giving Jhor ka Jhatka dhire se to Pukistan after entering into that Strategic agreement with India.
Different Strokes with Different Folks....:)
Indian govt not giving any statements. Well what do you expect from a PM who if it was was upto him, would offer Kashmir on a silver platter to the Pukis. All this to get the Noble peace price. The Nation may be damned for all he cares.

sixsigma1978

November 1st, 2011, 07:43 PM

Interesting - Real Time GPS tracking of a select few (pilot) trains.
Shows its current real time position, train information (coach information from engine) etc.)

http://www.simran.in/

dayalbaba

November 2nd, 2011, 07:32 AM

MxC

November 2nd, 2011, 07:59 AM

Interesting - Real Time GPS tracking of a select few (pilot) trains.
Shows its current real time position, train information (coach information from engine) etc.)

http://www.simran.in/

Wonderful development. Though one can see lot of shortcomings in this, nevertheless an important initiative and a good one at that. As it says on the page, developed in cooperation with IIT, I trust it will only improve with time and feedbacks. And hoping that very soon all trains, including goods, will get covered by this!
:banana:

MxC

November 3rd, 2011, 08:45 AM

North Central Railway takes steps for railway employees to get SMS on signal failures
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/north-central-railway-takes-steps-for-railway-employees-to-get-sms-on-signal-failures/articleshow/10579926.cms))

ALLAHABAD: With the aid of communication technology, North Central Railway (NCR) has taken steps to provide instant information about signal failures to railway employees for prompt action. This would ensure better safety for train passengers. Through the system, SMSs can be sent to the signalling staff when a problem occurs.

NCR chief public relations officer Sandeep Mathur told TOI that data loggers attached to the signalling system record every event. The signal failures are also recorded in the data logger which sends information to the staff through SMS. The system is functional in the Agra division of NCR and would soon be implemented in the Allahabad and Jhansi divisions, Mathur said.

To communicate signal failures (exceptional reports) generated by data logger to concerned staff in a faster way, an SMS alert system has been implemented in Agra division to take leverage of already available data logger network system. The individual data loggers including RTUs (Remote Terminal Units) installed at stations//Level Crossing gates to log status of various signalling assets are networked to central place divisional headquarters at Agra.

Central monitoring unit at Agra is equipped with NMDL (data logger software) to record online station of station/RH/LC gate units. The NMDL software processes online data from network to generate exceptional occurrence and it will pop up an online fault screen having information regarding current exceptional occurrence.

The details of staff (name, designation, mobile number), responsible stations, type of exceptions for which alert SMS to be delivered are configured for every fault for each station in the network.

The data is configured in such a manner that a particular message of a station is sent to selected sectional senior section engineer, junior engineer (signalling) only without disturbing other sectional staff.

A list of fault logics are communicated through SMS alert. These may include signalling failures including- point not set against occupied line, failure of digital/analog axle counter, opening/closing of relay rooms, loose packing, Input 230V power supply total failure and IPS failure.

anujkb

November 3rd, 2011, 01:10 PM

Hard to believe that nashik-pune and nashik-kopargaon lines are unviable. I cannot trust the attitude of the railways on this.

nk-kopargaon is actually not required. can take just 2 hrs via MMR.

NK-PUNE is difficult. but it can reap great profits once done. all the wineyards, and all north bound trains from pune would go from here (incl. duronto). Rlys is very less devd in and around Pune. something which is the need of the hr.

Some yrs back major companies in and around alandi devachi region had proposed a loop line from khadki to New pune airport to ghorpadi (junction).

Further more, instead of pune nk Via junnar, Pune-rajgurunagar-kukdi bridge- taklidokeshwar- ANG (ahmednagar) would be more easy. itll be also too useful for pune-nasik travel (would be reduced by 2 hrs). Also what we need is extending electrification upto daund and running DMUs in the region right upto baramati

saurav_68

November 5th, 2011, 06:58 PM

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00814/20bgdpkBEML_GGR3JVO_814804e.jpg

Bombay2Calcutta

November 5th, 2011, 07:29 PM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/11/05/Article//013/05_11_2011_013_040.jpg

hemanth1987

November 7th, 2011, 07:04 AM

Rlys looks for pvt investment in high-speed projects
New Delhi, Nov 6, DHNS:

The Indian Railways is emphasising on the aspect of reduction in green house gases to attract private investment for its high speed rail projects.

Encouraged by the World Bank loan to the first phase of eastern dedicated freight corridor, the ministry has given momentum to different issues related to the high speed rail projects, including feasibility study of six high speed rail corridors it has identified for the project and the drafting of the National High Speed Rail Authority Bill.

Underlining railways’s efforts to attract private investment for high speed rail projects, which cost 100 crore per km, the Minister of State for Railways said the railways desire the public private partnership (PPP) mode for investment and execution, and draw on frontier technologies incorporating the highest standards of safety and service quality.
Addressing a high profile seminar organised last week in the national capital by Institution of Engineers, Muniyappa especially highlighted the eco-friendly nature of the project by saying that the high speed rail would reduce green house effect.

The railways has, obviously, been selling this aspect of the project to attract international financial institutions like the World Bank. The World Bank had emphasised the green aspect of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor while signing the loan for the project.
Railway Board member (electrical) Kulbhushan revealed the speed on some tracks would be increased from 150 km per hour to 200 km per hour after commissioning of dedicated freight corridors. These would be upgraded to run passenger trains and EMUs at 200 km per hour.

“A study is being carried out by the Government of Japan for upgrading speed of New Delhi-Mumbai route to 200 kmph. The other strategy is to develop green field high speed rail corridors with a speed potential of 250-350 km per hour on the identified six corridors,” said the Railway Board member.

The Railways has identified six high speed rail corridors between Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Patna (991 km), Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram (869km), Howrah-Vijaywada-Chennai (664km), Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad (650 km), Delhi Chandigarh-Amritsar (450 km) and Howrah-Haldia (135 km).

While a British consultant company has been hired for the longest route of Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Patna, a Spanish company is doing feasibility study for the Howrah-Haldia route. French company Systra has already submitted its report for Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. Consultants to study remaining three routes are to be appointed soon, said sources in the rail ministry.

The Railway Ministry is working on the draft bill for National High Speed Rail Authority with an increased momentum.

“The proposed bill will require opinions from ministries including Law Ministry, Urban Development Ministry and Planning Commission before it is sent for Cabinet’s approval,” said a ministry source.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/203053/rlys-looks-pvt-investment-high.html

Bombay2Calcutta

November 9th, 2011, 05:15 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/11/09/Article//006/09_11_2011_006_020.jpg

hemanth1987

November 9th, 2011, 07:02 AM

10 bombs found on Assam railway bridge
Silchar (Assam), Nov 9 (IANS)

A railway official Tuesday averted a possible tragedy when he found 10 crude bombs along with blasting devices from a railway bridge on the Lumding-Badarpur hill section in southern Assam, an official said.

"The 10 powerful bombs along with blasting devices were found at a railway bridge between Mahur and Phiding stations on Lumding-Badarpur hill section under the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)," NFR spokesman Nilanjan Deb told reporters.

"The bombs were found by railway trackman K.R. Das during a normal patrolling duty. Immediately, several trains scheduled to ply through this section were stopped, averting possible disasters," he said. Deb said Army soldiers, railway protection force personnel and railway officials have reached the site, 400 km south of Assam's main city Guwahati.

The bombs were removed and defused by the security personnel. The security forces have begun a search operation to nab the culprits. After a thorough search for a few hours, the railway track was declared fit for train movement and normal train services resumed in the afternoon, the spokesman said.

NFR has been running trains between Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and southern Assam and the rest of India via Guwahati through this vital hill section.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/203536/10-bombs-found-assam-railway.html

Bombay2Calcutta

November 10th, 2011, 05:54 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/11/09/Article//006/09_11_2011_006_020.jpg

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/11/10/Article//005/10_11_2011_005_012.jpg

hemanth1987

November 10th, 2011, 06:58 AM

Trains diverted on account of Doubling of Railway Line and Electrification Works between Kamalapuram & Muddanuru on Guntakal – Kadapa Section

In view of commissioning of Doubling of Railway Line and Rail Electrification between Kamalapuram and Muddanuru o*n Guntakal – Kadapa Section of South Central Railway, the following trains are diverted to run o*n alternative routes from 19thtill 26th November, 2011.

Train No.12797/12798 Kacheguda – Chittoor – Kacheguda Venkatadri Express will be diverted to run via Kazipet, Vijayawada, Gudur and Renigunta from 20th to 26th November, 2011 (seven days).

Train No.17651/17652 Kacheguda – Chennai Egmore – Kacheguda Express will be diverted to run via Kazipet, Vijayawada, Gudur and Renigunta from 20th to 26th November, 2011 (seven days).

Train No.16381/16382 Mumbai CST- Kanniyakumari- Mumbai CST Express will be diverted to run via Gooty, Dharmavaram, Bangalore City and Coimbatore from 19th to 25th November, 2011 (7 days).

Train No.16351 Mumbai CST – Nagarcoil Junction Balaji Express leaving Mumbai CST o*n 19th and 22nd November, 2011 will be diverted to run via Gooty, Dharmavaram, Pakala and Tirupati.

Train No.16352 Nagarcoil Junction - Mumbai CST Balaji Express leaving Nagarcoil Junction o*n 20th and 24th November, 2011 will be diverted to run via Tirupati, Pakala, Dharmavaram and Gooty .

Train No.57471/57472 Hubli – Tirupati – Hubli Passenger will be diverted to run via Gooty, Dharmavaram, Pakala and Tirupati from 20th to 26th November, 2011(seven days).

http://www.scr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&dcd=878&id=0,4,268

rupakd

November 10th, 2011, 07:36 AM

Trial run of fog-safe device

The fog-safe device, which will be installed in as many as 110 trains this winter, has been put for an advance trial. The Lucknow division of North Eastern Railways will install 133 fog-safe device in all the mail/express and goods trains passing on and through 280-kms long Lucknow-Gorakhpur route, as part of the advance trial, on the directions of railway board. The safety division officers will test the device during the day as well as the night.

The operation of trains get severely affected during winters due to fog all over the northern plains. Railway board has decided to install a fog-safe device in all the trains on the chosen sections to cut down the impact of fog on their run.

The device will alert the driver about the approaching signal and the driver can reduce the speed of the train after the pre-warning. The device had undergone trial on certain sections of North Central Railway and Northern Railway last winters. Railway board found the trial successful and, therefore, decided to go on an extended trial this winters.

The system of the device will be planned as per the route, when put to use on another route, it will not issue any warnings regarding the signal.

This is because the information regarding the signals on the route will be fed into the device. At 2 kms from each signal, it will issue a written prewarning to the driver. And, as soon as the train will reach 500 metres from the signal, it will announce the approaching signal number on the speaker. It will not inform the driver if the signal is red or green. The device has been designed on the specifications of RDSO by a Delhibased firm. TNN

rupakd

November 10th, 2011, 07:37 AM

KRCL-designed Anti-Collision technology shown to Trivedi

Panaji, Nov 9 (PTI) Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi got a first hand experience of the world-class Anti-Collision Device technology designed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) here a senior official said today. Trivedi was in Goa on Saturday where he was shown the ACD and Sky Bus Technology, which is currently in the trial stage. ACD, known as Raksha Kavach, has won 20 national and international patents in the countries like South Africa, USA, Russia, Singapore and China, said KRCL's Chief Public Relations Officer Siddheshwar Telugu. Telugu said the minister was satisfied and appreciated the sincere efforts so far put in by KRCL in developing this prestigious technology. "He has, however, expressed deep concern over the delays that have hampered the implementation of this ACD project," he said adding that the minister has suggested refining the technology further at the earliest in order to expeditiously implement the same over Indian Railways.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/krcldesigned-anticollision-technology-shown-to-trivedi/893268.html

saurav_68

November 10th, 2011, 09:29 PM

First phase of Dankuni factory completed

Jayanta Gupta TNN

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/TOIKM/2011/11/10/7/Img/Pc0070700.jpg
A view of the Dankuni unit

Kolkata: Mamata Banerjees dreams for the development of Dankuni seem to be finally coming true.The first phase of the diesel locomotive component factory at Dankuni has been completed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) in spite of several hurdles.Production is expected to begin by January.
Construction of the second phase should also be completed by March 2012 provided work starts by the end of November,an official said.Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi may visit the project on Sunday after which work on the second phase will begin.
This was a dream project of former railways minister Mamata Banerjee.Work on the project commenced in October,2010.In spite of several hurdles,we managed to complete work for the first phase in a year.This was possible through the professional approach that we adopted, a RVNL official said.
Completion of the project on time was quite a feat with two months being wasted due to a legal tussle.Cases had been lodged against the railway for violation of pollution norms.Even as this was being sorted out,hutments on the plot had to be removed and the occupants relocated.Encroachments still exist on the plot where the second phase of the factory is to be built.Construction cant start there till these encroachments can be removed.
Officials believe that the development process of Dankuni and the surroundings will start as soon as the factory starts production.The factory will manufacture components for diesel locomotives built at the Diesel Locomotive Works,Varanasi.The project was sanctioned in 2009-10.
The factory has two rainwater harvesting facilities and we have also planted nearly 800 saplings within the project area.All modern processes have been followed during construction.The plot on which both phases will come up has an area of 1,180 m x 100 m, the official said.
The implementing agency was selected among 10 bidders.Technical capabilities were first scrutinized before going through the financial bids.This was a modern approach that has seldom been adopted by any railway agency.
In December 2009,Mamata had announced her plans for the industrial development of Dankuni.
Apart from the diesel locomotive components manufacturing unit,another factory will be set up to supply spares to Chittaranjan Locomotive Works.If things go according to plan,the Dankuni factory will also sub-assemble locomotives for DLW.

DyQ-jOU1coQ&feature

Bombay2Calcutta

November 13th, 2011, 12:05 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2011/11/12/article/009/12_11_2011_009_001.jpg

Euromast

November 13th, 2011, 09:16 PM

:banana2:get ready for world class rakes

Railways to sign MOU with SAIL for Kanchrapara coach unit soon

KOLKATA: The railways will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with the Steel Authority of India for setting up a modern coach-making unit at Kancharapara in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district, Railway Board member (mechanical) Sanjiv Handa said today.
''The draft MOU is ready. There has been convergence (of views). We expect the MOU to be signed soon,'' Handa told newsmen here.

According railway sources, the much needed Metro Railway coaches, along with Electro-Mechanical Units (EMU) and Modified EMU (MEMU) coaches will be manufactured at the proposed manufacturing units.

Link (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-to-sign-mou-with-sail-for-kanchrapara-coach-unit-soon/articleshow/10718430.cms)

MxC

November 14th, 2011, 06:01 AM

:banana2:get ready for world class rakes

Railways to sign MOU with SAIL for Kanchrapara coach unit soon

Link (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-to-sign-mou-with-sail-for-kanchrapara-coach-unit-soon/articleshow/10718430.cms)

Let us not get excited on prospect of a world class rakes coming anytime soon to IR. By now, we all know that our IR's definition of 'modern' is somewhat time warped!

Euromast

November 14th, 2011, 08:23 AM

please donot stop me now. World class, swanky, ultra modern:banana2:

World8115

November 14th, 2011, 01:50 PM

Thanks for posting the list of new trains B2C, I was looking for that :cheers:

And yes, state-of-the-art rakes for IR

:dance:

Bombay2Calcutta

November 14th, 2011, 06:52 PM

ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-to-set-up-new-body-to-improve-stations/articleshow/10695385.cms)
Railways to set up new body to improve stations

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways said Friday it will set up a separate Railway Stations Development Corporation to improve passenger facilities.

"A need was being felt to have a nodal agency with the required professional competence for undertaking such projects in a holistic manner," Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi told reporters here.

He said the railways planned to have shopping areas and restaurants in the station areas to boost revenue from its properties.

The minister said he has already written to the chief ministers of states and the mayors of cities to further develop the areas around railways stations to make access easy, both for the passengers and those who may visit the place for recreation.

To be created as a special purpose vehicle, the planned authority will have equity participation of Ircon International Ltd (IRCON), a public company under the ministry, and the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory authority under the railways.

The authority will redevelop railway stations and have a mechanism for constantly upgrading and maintaining the passenger amenities and facilities, said Trivedi.

The minister said the old plan of creating world class stations may be dovetailed with the new authority keeping in mind the short-term and long-term goals.

Officials said IRCON has vast national and international experience of infrastructure projects as well as development of commercial, institutional, industrial and residential properties, while the RLDA has the statutory mandate for commercial development of identified railway land and airspace for generation of revenues.

Bombay2Calcutta

November 14th, 2011, 07:07 PM

ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railway-minister-hints-at-fare-hike/articleshow/10695150.cms)
Railway minister hints at fare hike

NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said Friday fares may be revised "based on fuel costs" to improve the organisation's financial condition.

Trivedi told mediapersons here that the issue of fare hike was complex and needs public debate as 91 per cent of passengers belong to the general class.

"I am concerned about railways' financial condition. We cannot take the burden of fuel cost anymore," he said.

According to railway officials, the fuel cost component of a railway ticket amounts to about 30 per cent.

sidney_jec

November 15th, 2011, 02:30 AM

MxC

November 15th, 2011, 09:01 AM

PlaneMad

November 15th, 2011, 09:56 AM

India-China Rail Link????

Chanced across a FB group (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petition-for-a-railway-between-China-and-India/112702522143508?sk=info) supporting a direct rail link between India and China. I think it is an idea worth considering from a long term geo-political point of view.

What do you guys think about this?

I also remember sometimes back there was another news about a proposed rail and road links between India (via NE states) to Burma/Asean.

The cost of this entire link, the cost of running the trains in the section, time taken, security and safety issues, environmental impact..

I'm sure there arises a certain point where a railway line is no longer practical. If there were aircrafts at that time, the silk route would not have existed. But is the missing link only 50km like the fb page says?

sixsigma1978

November 15th, 2011, 05:14 PM

finally. phewww

Don't exhale yet! This is a populist congress - Given the enormity of its resurgent socialist tendencies : they'll mostly increase the rates of A/C 3rd 2nd and 1st and spare the general class - it won't be enough to
offset the financial crunch IR is facing! :ohno:

hobbes100

November 15th, 2011, 08:29 PM

Don't exhale yet! This is a populist congress - Given the enormity of its resurgent socialist tendencies : they'll mostly increase the rates of A/C 3rd 2nd and 1st and spare the general class - it won't be enough to
offset the financial crunch IR is facing! :ohno:

Nothing resurgent about Congress' socialist tendencies. They have always been socialist and will probably remain so (at least as long as Gandhi family remains at helm). Only period when they appeared to move away from it was during Manmohan Singh's term as FM during early 90's - but at that time their hand was forced due to the payment crisis and pressure from IMF and a non-Gandhi (Narsimha Rao) was in charge.

I have no hope for dramatic changes at railways until Congress is in power. NDA brought up the idea of corporatisation of railways as a first step towards reforms, so it can run as an independent entity, free from govt's interference and better manage its finances. But idea got hostile reception from opposition (Congress!) and powerful railway unions, and died an unceremonious death.

gentem

November 16th, 2011, 04:50 AM

The cost of this entire link, the cost of running the trains in the section, time taken, security and safety issues, environmental impact..

I'm sure there arises a certain point where a railway line is no longer practical. If there were aircrafts at that time, the silk route would not have existed. But is the missing link only 50km like the fb page says?

Silk route would not have existed if they knew vasco da gama's sea route, not aircrafts :cheers:

We can connect to china but they have standard gauge. And travel distance from east china where most production happens is more, so sea route is cheaper for goods transport.

barrykul

November 17th, 2011, 02:30 AM

The reports of actual Indian travelers on AC 1st/2nd coaches in IR express trains is rather sobering. Most of them are in very poor condition and the maintenance is awful. It is quite shocking to see the state of trains operating on the IR system. They are hardly washed / cleaned, shake violently during speed change, basic systems dont work, sanitation is poor.

e.g.
I A/C cabins & toilets were unclean and unworthy of being used. Besides, the compartment violently jerked (as though it was hitting the next compartment) every time the train stopped, slowed down or started.

While IR is justified in raising rates, they better step up their service. Even routine expected service is such a high hurdle for them to cross. What are the Freaking Minister and IR top babus doing. This is their job, to ensure proper service. they have to ride incognito and surprise the IR operation staff, yes fire the bums. They have to whip up the organization into operational shape. Status quo will not cut it anymore. For every IR train that is bad the Minister and IR Babus need to be collectively slapped.

dayalbaba

November 17th, 2011, 04:56 AM

somebody reads BRF. :D

murlee

November 17th, 2011, 06:54 PM

Railway stations authority to be developed on lines of AAI

The Centre is working on the formation of Railway Stations Authority of India on the lines of Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop modern railway stations across the country with advanced amenities, the Union Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, said here on Thursday.

“We have already announced constitution of a Railway Stations Authority of India on the lines of AAI to develop modern railway stations with all facilities.

“The drawing board is ready and once other formalities are over, its Chairman, Managing Director and other officials too would be announced,” Mr Trivedi told reporters here after inspecting the Habibganj railway station.

When asked whether he will make this announcement in the next rail budget, Mr Trivedi said there was no point in waiting until then.

“It is a continuous process and we are working on it. Rail budget is just a one-day affair while we have to continuously plan for this in remaining 364 days.” The Railways Minister arrived here this morning for a meeting with the Chief Minister, Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and other MPs to discuss ways for expansion of railway facilities in Madhya Pradesh.

To a question on plans to create world-class railway stations, he said the Ministry is working towards it.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article2636510.ece

murlee

November 17th, 2011, 06:55 PM

Looks like some work is finally being done to modernize the stations!!

sixsigma1978

November 17th, 2011, 09:17 PM

Hope so - we've seen many reports of these "IR going to develop World - Class stations" then disappearing. The same noise was heard for the High Speed rail - got fed up so I created a post with the count of those "High speed rail" proposals over the past decade that went nowhere. That list is becoming bigger and bigger.

When I hear statements like:
To a question on plans to create world-class railway stations, he said the Ministry is working towards it.

I simply take it with a pinch of salt. Because babus and politicians are never under a hammer for GIVING dates, timelines and initiating anything concrete- instead just keep talking about proposals and drawing boards - these reports can never be taken seriously!!!

Arul Murugan

November 18th, 2011, 05:39 AM

Looks like some work is finally being done to modernize the stations!!

this is final? we are hearing such final word from 2006 on station moderinzation.

MxC

November 18th, 2011, 05:40 AM

Looks like some work is finally being done to modernize the stations!!

Will you please consider changing your avatar pic?! It's a little too realistic for comfort :ohno:

gentem

November 18th, 2011, 06:26 AM

^^ feels like zapping the monitor :bash: :lol:

Railway stations authority to be developed on lines of AAI

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article2636510.ece

Good move by new minister :applause:

barrykul

November 18th, 2011, 07:50 AM

Railway stations authority to be developed on lines of AAI

Replacing one bureaucracy with another is a favorite pastime of GOI babus/Politicians. Whither change happens, that is another matter. Transforming the railway stations is not some major super duper plan process or mind boggling thing. You simply have to roll up your sleeves, delegate each division/sub division with a simple goal of change the station and fund the damn thing. At the lowest level each station is assigned one supervisor. He/She can thumb through the "Modern Railway Station Design Guide" and choose an appropriate design, one commensurate to the overall guidelines of Super duper IR/babu/politician and of course the budget. Or run a design contest by enlisting local architects, design houses or colleges. Submit the design to IR vetting council and please not the Planning commission of India (who will attach a list of objections that would bore the common man). On your marks, get set, fire the gun, and in 1 yr execution time frame we have brand new spanking Railway stations throughout India. Really that is all it takes. Maybe the major metro ones could take longer. But we have them mostly done in short order. Then the Indian Media can use phrases like "Swanky", "World Class", etc.

Now, reflect upon what Praful Patel accomplished quietly in his tenure as civil aviation minister of India. He wrote the book on how to transform Indian public transport infrastructure. Maybe the IR politico can borrow the book and learn everything in the next 1 month and make things happen.

MxC

November 18th, 2011, 08:29 AM

Came across the following info. If someone has actually used these complaint lines, would love to hear back how our IR responded to them!

"For complaints on Indian Railways keep this number and URL handy SMS complaint to 09717630982 or get onto http://www.customercare.indianrailways.gov.in/"

simpliCITY

November 18th, 2011, 09:14 AM

NEW DELHI: Commuters in cities that have population of more than 20 lakhs can look forward to more comfortable and safer rides, if state governments are willing to opt for modern Metro network for intra-city travel.

The Union urban development ministry has decided to consider the proposal for Metro in Tier II cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Indore, Nagpur, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kozhikode. The Metro fever is catching up in smaller cities, thanks largely to the success of Delhi Metro. Cities like Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Bhopal are making a case for Metro, even though they don't qualify because of the population cut-off.

Jaipur is likely to be the first Tier-II city to get the swanky mode of transportation as the state government has agreed to bear Rs 1,250 crore for the 9.25-km stretch under Stage I. However, the Rajasthan government has sought Centre's approval for viability gap funding for stage II - a 25.91-km stretch between Ambabari to Sitapura via SMS hospital - that is estimated to cost Rs 7,700 crore.

Kochi has also jumped on the bandwagon. The UD ministry will soon seek the Cabinet's nod for the project: a 25.3-km stretch, extending between Alwaye to Petta, to be built at a cost of Rs 4,722 crore.

Ludhiana, Pune, Lucknow and Ahmedabad have got detailed project report (DPR) for metro projects prepared from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), while DPRs for Indore, Bhopal and Chandigarh is being prepared.

The ministry seems keen to run Metro in Nagpur as UD minister Kamal Nath has written to Maharastra chief minister Ashok Chavan, asking him to get a DPR for the Orange City prepared.

Though Kanpur, Patna, Surat, Coimbatore and Kozhikode make the grade for Tier-II cities, they are lagging behind in availing of the Centre's offer. "If state governments come with the proposal for Metro Rail in cities with 20 lakh plus population, the ministry is ready to consider," Nath said.

The ministry has decided to bear 50% of the cost of the preparation of DPR for cities that come under the population cut-off bracket. Among the 19 cities, which have more than 20 lakh population as per Census 2011, Metro projects are under different stages of implementation in four -Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Metro is running in the National Capital since 2006 on different routes, while Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is implementing Phase III of the project.

Mumbai has taken up metro projects-Line 1 (11.07 km), Line 2 (31.87 km) - on PPP model at an estimated cost of Rs 10,016 crore. For Line-3 (20.4 km Colaba-Mahim/Bandra corridor), which will cost about Rs 12,015 crore, it has opted for the DMRC model, to be funded by both the Centre and the state.

Kolkata Metro, which is the first one in the country, has taken up a new 14.67-km east-west corridor that will be implemented by railways. Chennai is implementing a 45.05-km project on the DMRC model.

Bangalore has become first city in south to have Metro after a 7-km stretch was commissioned in October. The city has already got the DPR ready for Phase II - a 72-km stretch that will cost about Rs 25,000 crore. Metro rail project in Hyderabad, covering 71 km, is being implemented on PPP mode.

TIMES OF INDIA (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/12-cities-to-get-Metro-rail-soon/articleshow/10774944.cms)

rupakd

November 18th, 2011, 10:14 AM

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6941/200by.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/694/200by.jpg/)

A Survey would be done by Professional Japanese Consultancy Team to increase the Speed of the trains to 200kmph in the following sectors.
1)Howrah - New Delhi
2)Mumbai - New Delhi (survey is already going)
3)Mumbai - Howrah.
Presently only NewDelhi to Agra Cantt. can support train speeds upto 160kmph.
Railway Authorities are considering the fact to increase the speed upto 200kmph to reduce the Journey time drastically by 33% on the above mentioned sectors.

http://www.bartamanpatrika.com/content/national.htm

sadhaklal

November 18th, 2011, 03:27 PM

Good move by new minister :applause:

Although a good move by Dinesh Trivedi, no authority can turn Indian Railways into "world class" in the short-medium term. This is because there are too many poor people who depend on the railways for their livelihood (starting from the homeless to the chai-wala, samosa-wala, this-wala, that-wala, etc.). As long as these people are there, Indian Railways wont become "world class". These people (or at least their children) need to be gainfully employed in the formal sector. Unfortunately, most of the migrants from villages to cities end up working in the informal sector (usually as some 'wala'). So what's the solution?

The obvious one is to take a leaf out of China's book and steer our economy towards unskilled labour-intensive manufacturing. Unfortunately, India's growth has been in the service sector and hi-tech manufacturing. These are capital-intensive and skilled labour-intensive. What we need are more low-tech industries (toys, apparel, etc.) which are unskilled labour-intensive. Only such industries will absorb the tide of unskilled migrants into cities... Basically, we need to ensure that the sons and daughters of these 'walas' don't become 'walas'. Forcefully driving these informal workers out of the rail premises is not politically feasible (there are millions of them).

World8115

November 18th, 2011, 05:03 PM

Vivek Express covering country's longest rail route runs tomorrow

Source (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/vivek-express-covering-countrys-longest-rail-route-runs-tomorrow/articleshow/10781298.cms)
A new weekly train 'Vivek Express' covering the country's longest rail route from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kannyakumari in Tamil Nadu will be operating from tomorrow.

The train will be flagged off from Dibrugarh by Union Minister of State for Development of the North Eastern Region Paban Singh Ghatowar, NF Railway spokesman S Hajong said.

Covering the distance of 4286 km in 82.30 hours, the weekly train will leave Dibrugarh every Saturday at 11.45 pm and reach Kanniyakumari on Wednesday at 10.25 am.

In the return direction, it will leave Kannyakumari every Saturday at 2 pm and reach Dibrugarh on Wednesday at 3.30 am.

sgups

November 18th, 2011, 05:26 PM

dayalbaba

November 18th, 2011, 07:50 PM

no.

Bombay2Calcutta

November 19th, 2011, 07:42 AM

ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/indian-railways-to-undertake-149-million-project-in-sri-lanka/articleshow/10785733.cms)
Indian Railways to undertake $149 million project in Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways today entered into an agreement with Sri Lankan government for a USD 149 million reconstruction project of rail line between Pallai and Kankesanthurai in Northern Province of the island nation.

General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways, B A P Ariyaratne and Managing Director of Ircon, Mohan Tiwari, signed the agreement.

The project covering 56km will commence soon and is likely to be completed within two years.

Besides, Ircon is also executing other rail projects in Sri Lanka, including of restoration of 106 km-long Medawachchiya-Talaimannar section, 90 km-long Omanthai-Pallai section and supply and installation of signaling and telecommunication system on the entire railway network in the Northern Province.

Completion of these projects will provide an efficient rail transportation system covering the entire rail system from North to South in Sri Lanka.

Ircon has already completed the 42 km long Galle-Matara section of Coastal Railway in February this year where the trains are in operation.

Work on Kalutara-Galle section is slated to be completed by March 31, 2012.

Vicvin86

November 20th, 2011, 04:36 AM

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2642902.ece?homepage=true

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00841/train_new_841389f.jpg

They were passengers on the inaugural run of the Vivek Express, a new weekly train that now boasts the longest rail route in the country – 4,286 km all the way from Dibrugarh in upper Assam, to Kanyakumari at the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, that will be covered in 82.30 hours.

This train left in the morning, but the regular weekly service, which will begin on November 26, will leave at 11.45 p.m. every Saturday, reaching its destination at 10.25 a.m. on Wednesday.

simpliCITY

November 20th, 2011, 09:13 PM

Just wondering.. whats the point of this route? Won't this rake be better utilised somewhere else?

I Guess this will answer your doubt

Workers block cramped train
Siliguri, May 4: Over 1,000 migrant workers waiting for a Kerala-bound train blocked the tracks at the New Jalpaiguri Station for more than an hour this afternoon when they found that there was no space to accommodate them on the weekly express from Assam (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110505/jsp/siliguri/story_13940695.jsp).

Another Story here
http://i39.tinypic.com/e9gpxh.jpg
The Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101117/jsp/frontpage/story_13187352.jsp)

p2p4

November 21st, 2011, 01:51 AM

Indian Railways definition of MODERN = Mar Done !
Indian Railways definition of FARE HIKES = Fake Hires (thereby rising costs , therefore increase fares)

BTW - my wish for Indian railways stations : if anyone is listening, build stations that DO NOT copy the AAI way of adding zillion trusses on the roofs. (For reference, look at Srinagar and other airports built by AAI. It looks like they want the AA (triangular shaped object ) to be viewed for all.

(And no matter how 'swanky' [i am beginning to feel like spanking the butts of any journo if he/she uses this word again] the stations are built to be, the hour of the need everyday is to keep these stations clean both in the interiors and exteriors. Otherwise they may end up gathering dust like the ones built in Navi Mumbai)

rupakd

November 21st, 2011, 08:33 AM

Sops bleeding Rlys, losses may touch new high

With the pressure to increase passenger fares mounting on the Indian Railways in the next Rail Budget, the cash-strapped national transporter is staring at losses from its social service obligations scaling a new high by the end of the year.Without the rise in passenger fares, this loss already touched a highest-ever Rs 14,977 crore — the latest available figures with the Railway Ministry — for the financial year 2009-10. Figures for for 2010-11, which are still being compiled, are estimated to be up by a few more thousand crore rupees. But the challenge, as the ministry warms up to preparing for the next Rail Budget, is to afford this heavy financial burden as an outlay next year if the fares are not hiked.“The revised estimates of this loss for the financial year gone by is Rs 13,300 crore, but it will eventually increase by the end of the year after the compilation is complete because every year this loss increases by about Rs 3,000 crore. So the real challenge is next year,” said a senior railway official.While the total coaching loss on account of social service obligations is actually upwards of Rs 20,000 crore, the money spent on keeping the Government Railway Police (GRP) and such expenses are deducted from it as they are intrinsic.Simply put, this loss is money that practically vanishes from Railways’ accounts without fetching a penny.Those who have had the first-hand experience of managing these huge losses in Indian Railways, say a fare hike is the only way out.“Without hiking passenger fares, managing these losses will be very difficult because the cost of coaching operations have been mounting every year,” said Vinoo N Mathur, former Member (Traffic), Railway Board.“The premium on Tatkal tickets was one of the ways devised to somewhat offset this loss, but that was not enough. In any case, the unreserved and sleeper classes are the main contributors to this loss,” he said.Highly subsidised ticket fares for the suburban services is a major source of revenue leakage. The suburban trains in the three metros — Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai — alone cause a loss of Rs 2,214 crore.Certain commodities, like fruits and vegetables, organic manures, beedi leaves, bamboo, paper, cotton are also allowed to be carried on Railways at highly subsidised, even obsolete, rates.Whenever passenger fares have increased, this loss has dipped in the next financial year. After the last fare hike eight years ago, this loss saw a dip by almost Rs 100 crore.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Sops-bleeding-Rlys--losses-may-touch-new-high/878497/

MxC

November 21st, 2011, 10:05 AM

1-day advance tatkal plan from today
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/1-day-advance-tatkal-plan-from-today/articleshow/10813377.cms))

From 8 on Monday morning , the railways will start a new tatkal scheme under which tickets for any long-distance train can be booked only a day before journey, instead of the usual two days in advance.

The special plan has been launched to cater to urgent travel requirements of passengers who plan their journeies at a short notice. "Under the new tatkal scheme , one person can buy tickets for a maximum of four passengers at a go ," said Central Railway public relationsofficer V Chandrasekar.

Travellers can avail of the immediate reservation facility to buy ticketson a sleeper class , an air-conditioned chair class and AC three- as well as two-tier coachesin almost all mail /express trains , including special trains.

But they will have to produce one of the eight prescribed proofs of identity , including a voter's ID card , PAN card and passport.

With the new booking system, comes a new cancellation policy. Western Railway chief public relations officer Sharat Chandrayan said if any confirmed tatkal ticket-booked on Monday and onwards-was cancelled , no refund would be granted , except in cases of possible contingencies .

The existing rule of paying back 25% of the price of a tatkal ticket, cancelled 24 hours before the train's departure , is applicable only for tickets that have been booked before Monday .

Rules For Booking Tickets

A self-attested photocopy of the proof of identity of any one passenger should be attached to the requisition slip. The person's identity details will be updated in the system and printed on reserved tickets as well the reservation chart.

It won't be mandatory for a passenger to be present at a booking counter but the ID proof will have to be attached During the journey, the passenger, whose ID card number is printed on the ticket, will have to produce the original ID proof, which was shown to reserve a seat.

If not, even the others booked on the same number will be treated as travelling without a ticket and penalized If the person whose ID card number is printed on the ticket is not on the train, all the others booked under the same number will be treated as travelling without ticket.

For bookings done for more than one passenger, others can also give their ID-card numbers. Agents will not be allowed to buy tatkal tickets at counters between 8 am and 10 am on the opening day of tatkal advance booking period.

I think reducing the period to 1 day seems a bit too close for comfort. The reduction to no of passengers to 4 also seems unwarranted. And moreover the article only talks about compulsory ID copy for counter bookings... what about online bookings?

Any on-the-ground experiences with this new rule will be welcome!

Arul Murugan

November 21st, 2011, 10:14 AM

[. The suburban trains in the three metros — Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai — alone cause a loss of Rs 2,214 crore.Certain commodities, like fruits and vegetables, organic manures, beedi leaves, bamboo, paper, cotton are also allowed to be carried on Railways at highly subsidised, even obsolete, rates.Whenever passenger fares have increased, this loss has dipped in the next financial year. After the last fare hike eight years ago, this loss saw a dip by almost Rs 100 crore.[/COLOR]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Sops-bleeding-Rlys--losses-may-touch-new-high/878497/

* stop giving seasonal tickets at 1947 operation cost for these suburbans as well as in no. of passenger trains running across the country.

* charge for these three suburban should be on par with Delhi or Bengaluru metro fare. Then Mumbai suburban alone will spin lot of money for the railways.

* Hike passenger train fares by 15%, express train unreserved fares by 25%, sleeper class by 30%, upper class by 45%

IR will become cash rich in one year and with extra funds generated, lot of decade long gauge conversion, new line, double line (chennai-mumbai doubling is going on for more than 20years in different forms) can be completed as soon as possible!

invincibletiger

November 21st, 2011, 12:25 PM

* stop giving seasonal tickets at 1947 operation cost for these suburbans as well as in no. of passenger trains running across the country.

* charge for these three suburban should be on par with Delhi or Bengaluru metro fare. Then Mumbai suburban alone will spin lot of money for the railways.

* Hike passenger train fares by 15%, express train unreserved fares by 25%, sleeper class by 30%, upper class by 45%

IR will become cash rich in one year and with extra funds generated, lot of decade long gauge conversion, new line, double line (chennai-mumbai doubling is going on for more than 20years in different forms) can be completed as soon as possible!

AC-2 of long distance trains would go out of business. Even AC-3 also. Who would then pay 3500 for AC-3 journey of 34 hours (say Delhi-Bangalore) when with the same money you can do that in 3 hours in flight.

RajeshNair

November 21st, 2011, 08:55 PM

I saw a show called "around the world in 80 ways" in History channel here in US where they were showing the two guys who are part of show travelling in what looked like a 3rd class compartment of a MEMU train. They were claiming that they were travelling from delhi to calcutta. They were complaining about the train, the smell etc etc. I don't think they were telling the truth about the train. The gov should not allow these kind of idiots show our country in such bad light.
These morons go to some galli in old delhi and calcutta and and proclaim that this is how the cities in India look like.

dayalbaba

November 21st, 2011, 10:44 PM

the fare they paid for a sleeper coach seat would not be enough to pay for a roadside breakfast in US, so they got what they paid for, and more.

p.s. I don't support this govt shouldn't allow thing. we are what we are, unapologetic, unashamed, we will improve things on our own time, or not. what others say do not matter. we represent a sixth of humanity and what we say counts much more than some one time tourists.

hemanth1987

November 22nd, 2011, 06:56 AM

7 charred to death as fire breaks out in express train
Giridih (Jharkhand), Nov 22 (PTI)

At least seven persons, including children, were charred to death after fire broke out in two coaches of Howrah-Dehradun Express in Jharkhand's Giridih district in the wee hours today, officials said.

"Seven persons, including two children, were charred to death after fire broke out in an AC coach and then spread to another AC coach," Railway Protection Force Divisional Commandant Sashi Kumar told PTI over phone.

The fire, which broke out around 3 am in B-1 AC coach and then spread to spread to B-2 AC coach, was spotted in the coach between Gomo and Nimiaghat railway stations, he said.

In New Delhi, Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena confirmed that seven people, including a five-year-old girl, have died. Dhanbad DRM and a railway medical team have reached the site. Catering arrangements have been made for the stranded passengers.

According to railway officials, one of the two deceased was identified as Archita Kumari who hailed from Asansol in West Bengal. Both the coaches have been detached from the train, which left Howrah station last night.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and an inquiry has been ordered by Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS), a railway spokesman said in Delhi. Railway has set up a help line for relatives of the passengers. The helpline numbers are; 033-26413660, 033-26402243 and 032-62220518.

Train operation on the route have been restored around 7:50 am, officials said.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Dhanbad Division), Dayanand said the railway inspection team searched the two AC bogies and found seven bodies. "We have searched both the bogies and found seven bodies," he told PTI.

"We are examining the coaches to determine the cause behind the fire. We are also speaking to train passengers," Dayanand said. One of the dead has been identified as 25-year-old Anumita.

The train, which left Howrah last night, is standing between Gomo and Parasnath, he said, adding it would leave for Dehradun shortly. Three senior railway officials have been rushed to the site.

Commissioner Railway safety, eastern circle, has been asked to conduct the inquiry into the accident and submit the report at the earliest.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/206548/7-charred-death-fire-breaks.html

barrykul

November 22nd, 2011, 09:27 AM

Sops bleeding Rlys, losses may touch new high

Nothing new or startling about this observation by IR and Desi Dork News Media. Fares have been low, service has been poor and railway stations and trains are mediocre. One glaring omission on the bleeding is the retinue of govt servants that are given freebies on the Railways. A lot of Govt employees are subsidized for travel, all the babus and their families are eligible for yearly travel concession on IR. This adds up since most of the 1st/2nd class coaches are filled by those high flying babu families traveling by train.

The only rational policy is to align the fares based on cost and a modest profit margin. Get rid of those policies that appease all sections because the IR cannot be run on that basis. The Govt can instead target low income people by direct subsidy from a separate account, not tied to the railway. Let the railway account operate as a business. The subsidy can be driven by National ID card (this will also hasten its adoption quickly). Those not needing a subsidy are left to pay a fair market value. This is the way forward.

hemanth1987

November 22nd, 2011, 10:06 AM

This is beeing done just to increase fares as told by Railway minister. They are planning for a big hike like more than 50% and more during more demand. So they have started to say that much loss in suburban, this much loss in pass and all other things from past one week. Till this month then how did railways do> It is nothiong but just to make a big hole in passengers pockets. Anyhow even if the fare is inctreased our projects will take atleast a decade to complete. Already they have started toll in almost all national highways and now state highways are planning for upgradation of all roads and impose toll on all state highways, then where is the money going which is obtained from Road tax imposed on purchase of new vehicals and tax collected on petrol.

Railways should increase fare from 20% to 40%, but looking at the articles in newspapers and above stating more loss, its only a tactics to increase fares by atleast 50to 70% or introduce the dynamic fares as stated by railway minister saying its in heavy loss.

MxC

November 22nd, 2011, 10:08 AM

Cash crunch hits Railways, advanced security system delayed
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/cash-crunch-hits-railways-advanced-security-system-delayed/articleshow/10802190.cms))

The cash crunch in Railways has hit the crucial Rs 344-crore security project involving installation of advanced surveillance system at sensitive stations across the country.

Despite a delay of over two years, Railways are yet to install the Internet Protocol (IP)-based CCTV cameras and vehicle scanners as part of the Integrated Security System at important stations including New Delhi, Nizamuddin and Old Delhi, according to a senior Northern Railways official.

Against the backdrop of growing security threats to trains, Railways had decided to implement the security system project at 195 stations in the country at a cost of Rs 344.31 crore to be managed by Railway Protection Force.

The public sector behemoth faces a revenue shortfall of about Rs 2000 crore till October as its earnings from the loadings of coal, iron ore and foodgrains have fallen due to various factors.

The Public Accounts Committee, in its report, has pointed out that Railways security mechanism was inadequate and surveillance at stations ineffective posing serious threat to the safety of passengers.

Railways' properties have in the recent past come under terror and Naxal attacks, prompting an urgent need for strengthening and upgrading the security system at stations.

MxC

November 22nd, 2011, 10:23 AM

Karnataka to get three new railway lines
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/karnataka-to-get-three-new-railway-lines-d-v-sadananda-gowda/articleshow/10816925.cms))

The Railway Ministry has approved three new railway lines in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said here today.

"Three new railway lines - Gadag-Wadi, Kengeri-Chamrajnagar and Srinivasapura-Madanapalled - have been approved (by the Railway Board)," he said delivering keynote address at Business Standard Infrastructure Round Table 2011 here.

About Rs 24,000 crore worth projects are being undertaken in the state, including 2,137 km of new railway line in Karnataka, Gowda said. "Gauge conversion and line doubling works also are being undertaken," he added.
...
...

And where exactly the money for these projects will be coming from!!!???

hemanth1987

November 22nd, 2011, 01:44 PM

aam admi

November 23rd, 2011, 09:16 AM

Planning Commission Member BK Chaturvedi said state governments should be allowed to take up railway works under PPP model.
"It is an excellent idea ... state governments should be allowed to adopt PPP model for taking up railway works ...this will improve railways income," said Chaturvedi.

He also hinted at including adoption of PPP model to raise the income of Railways in the ensuing 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017). There is a massive requirement for the Railways to expand as it has just added 11,000 Km odd railway line to 52,000 Km line existing prior to the Independence, he said.
"Hardly any expansion has taken place in the Railways," he added.
The expansion has taken place in line doubling and gauge conversion activities, Chaturvedi said.
Stressing the need for expanding PPP window to improve income in all sectors, he hoped far more private investments as against public investments in the 12th plan.
"In 1950s, private investments used to be 45% as against 55% public investments," he said.

fred_the_cute_guy

November 23rd, 2011, 01:55 PM

Dude that's an immortal classic by Jules Verne (for the original novel, check my signature site - head over to the Jules Verne section - Sudeshna and I own it).

And I LOVE the classic.

It was at a time when the Bombay-Calcutta railway track was incomplete around Allahabad. So they had to take a different mode of transport - trains didn't work out.

Read it, the book is really wonderful.

EDIT: The book was written in the nineteenth century if I remember it correctly. That was the British period. Also, the world of truth is way beyond what our Govt controls, so let's self-improve rather than censor or whatever.

I saw a show called "around the world in 80 ways" in History channel here in US where they were showing the two guys who are part of show travelling in what looked like a 3rd class compartment of a MEMU train. They were claiming that they were travelling from delhi to calcutta. They were complaining about the train, the smell etc etc. I don't think they were telling the truth about the train. The gov should not allow these kind of idiots show our country in such bad light.
These morons go to some galli in old delhi and calcutta and and proclaim that this is how the cities in India look like.

saptarsi

November 24th, 2011, 03:29 PM

sometimes back i read somewhere that all express/long distance trains will eventually be equipped with LHB coaches and such. can anybody shed any light on that?

_Mihir13

November 24th, 2011, 06:18 PM

A FILTH CREATING MACHINE.

Travelled in a Rajdhani for the first time. Ratnagiri to Vadodara

- Trivandrum Rajdhani.

It has recently been converted to LHB Rake. While the ride quality and sound suppression was awesome - i was shocked to see how these people handle the waste. They first collected it in a huge Trash can and whenever the attendents had time they just emptied the whole can on the tracks from the little space in between the
vestibules or some times emptied the whole can directly from the doors. and in the process - littering the steps to board the compartment with the wasted food. It was a pathetic site.

The way the food is packed - a sandwhich is wrapped in a plastic and on top of it a cardboard cover. Why do they need to pack it this way - just 1 plastic is enough. Tea could have been server in ceramic cups - that would save wastage. Every plastic tray has a paper on which the items are kept. Which is just not necessary.

The quality of the food is pathetic but that another story.

They menu was

Roti
Daal
Rice
Salad
Pickel
Curd
Gulab Jamun.

What i don't understand is - Why do they need to provide so many things. Just provide 1 or 2 items and maintain the quality. This would also create less wastage. They seems to have fancy ideas of providing a whole staple diet in a train. I don't think its necessary.

The breakfast too was pathetic.

Tea
Gulab Jamun ( WHo the hell wants a Gulab Jamun in breakfast).
1 packet of Nuts ( Full of citric acid).
4-5 Eclairs - Why these people waste money on such things.
Sandwhich.

I did some calculation:

Morning breakfast would generate 2 full cans of waste per bogies
and the same for afternoon breakfast.(Total 4 Containers)

Lunch and dinner would generate 3 cans each time.(Total 6 containers.)

So each bogie generates 10 containers of filth each day. Multiply
this with approx 13 bogies so we get 130 cans.

Is there a way we guys can team up and try and put some sense in the heads of these baboos?

Please give your feedback.

Thank you,
--
Mihir

World8115

November 24th, 2011, 07:47 PM

Moving goods by Rlys get costlier by 6.6% in Oct

Source: The Hindu BL (www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article2656847.ece)
Moving goods by railways continued to get expensive on an average. For October, rail transportation became costlier by an average of 6.62 per cent against the same month last year, registering the steepest hike this fiscal.

Simply put, to move one tonne cargo over a distance of one kilometre, freight customers have had to pay Railways an average of 6.62 per cent higher amount in October. This is revealed in the earnings per tonne kilometre data for October complied by the Railway Ministry.

The commodity segments that bore the steepest hikes include iron ore exports (52.97 per cent), container movement (13.55 per cent), cement (13.35 per cent) and mineral oil (8.24 per cent). Even foodgrain movement by trains became more expensive by 5.45 per cent.
RAIL LOADINGS DOWN

The Indian Railways recorded a dip in loadings for the second consecutive month in October. It moved 77.68 million tonnes of cargo in October, a drop of 1.27 per cent against 78.68 mt in the same period last fiscal.

During the period, the loadings have been lower for various commodities including coal for steel plants, pig iron and finished steel, iron ore for domestic containers.

The commodities in which Railways recorded growth in loadings include cement, foodgrains and mineral oil.

For both September and October, however, the actual rail throughput has not yet seen a dip. But, it recorded a below one per cent level growth.

Rail throughput is measured by net tonne kilometre, a parameter that reflects rail productivity in both loadings and distance terms.
FREIGHT EARNINGS UP

Despite lower loadings, rail freight earnings have gone up by 7.5 per cent due to hike in freight charges and the Railways hauling goods for longer distances. The rail freight earnings were Rs 5,590.62 crore in October.

The freight loading figures for October are marginally better than September, when the Railways recorded a dip of 1.82 per cent year-on-year.

The dip in loadings could be an indication of the slowdown in economic growth given that rail transportation is a derived demand - unless a large segment of rail users have shifted to road transportation.

adam_india

November 25th, 2011, 06:00 AM

A FILTH CREATING MACHINE.

Agree with you completely. Absolutely preposterous.

barrykul

November 25th, 2011, 07:25 AM

A FILTH CREATING MACHINE.

Please give your feedback.

Thank you,
--
Mihir

If these are true for Rajdhani, which is deemed A class type train, you can imagine what the rest would be like. For every item you point out there is an IR babu in charge. Do you think he/she does not know about these things? They damn well know, but there are many pigs (babus, contractors, politicos) like them feeding at the trough of corruption/shit and that is exactly the way it is operationalized. I am quite positive that there is a budget for trash collection, and the appropriate mechanism for trash disposal are duly vetted and signed of with budgets backing them. However in actual realization they are missing, since the contractor handed over the cash to these pigs. The list goes on. The food supply has eclairs, yes the IR pigs are eating 5 course meals behind your back. If you shake the tree of IR corruption you can fund the Indian Railways infra projects. The guys in freight operations were openly looting the system by overloading freight railroad cars. The former Railway minister Lalu just formalized the system of loot. On the passenger side there are various avenues for corruption including the tatkal system of reservation.

_Mihir13

November 25th, 2011, 08:21 AM

@BarryKul,

Yes agree with you on most things here. But i think an ordinary express train wouldn't be creating so much trash as this one. Most passengers carry their own food. Even the ones who don't - the ones who buy from the hoppers they don't create so much waste per person. And most of this is not bio-degradable. The only way for a Rajdhani to dispose it regularly i think would be to attach an extra Garbage Bogie.

And that would make it laughable. :P

Another thing is - there are passengers who don't eat certain things. For example - some ppl don't open the pickel/ketchup packets. They don't separate it and give it back or keep it. They just throw it. Same applies to even Rice or other packets too at times. This is criminal waste of food. We as citizens too have certain responsibilities.

I wonder if this will ever change.

aniketh87

November 25th, 2011, 01:41 PM

If these are true for Rajdhani, which is deemed A class type train, you can imagine what the rest would be like. For every item you point out there is an IR babu in charge. Do you think he/she does not know about these things? They damn well know, but there are many pigs (babus, contractors, politicos) like them feeding at the trough of corruption/shit and that is exactly the way it is operationalized. I am quite positive that there is a budget for trash collection, and the appropriate mechanism for trash disposal are duly vetted and signed of with budgets backing them. However in actual realization they are missing, since the contractor handed over the cash to these pigs. The list goes on. The food supply has eclairs, yes the IR pigs are eating 5 course meals behind your back. If you shake the tree of IR corruption you can fund the Indian Railways infra projects. The guys in freight operations were openly looting the system by overloading freight railroad cars. The former Railway minister Lalu just formalized the system of loot. On the passenger side there are various avenues for corruption including the tatkal system of reservation.

I agree with you totally..but we cannot blame just the babus(pigs)...I keep travelling b/w Hyd and bangalore ...what i usually see is even if they get food from their home ,they just throw the carry bags outside ....i see almost all the people doing the same .....first i think before blaming it on our babus we shld act like a civilized person.....

arun82

November 25th, 2011, 03:16 PM

I agree with you totally..but we cannot blame just the babus(pigs)...I keep travelling b/w Hyd and bangalore ...what i usually see is even if they get food from their home ,they just throw the carry bags outside ....i see almost all the people doing the same .....first i think before blaming it on our babus we shld act like a civilized person.....

+1 Many dont act as if they are humans when they are in a railway station

Where there is a IRCTC canteen in the platform there is a ton of garbage in the track even if there is a dustbin nearby as they have to walk 4 feet to throw the garbage in.

People spit, pee and shit in the track in the full view of the public,

When i went to delhi a old man took his grandson to the door and ask him to pee in the track from a running train after the little fellow was done the old man finished his act in the broad day lite.

This is the civilisation level of India and I am surprised that Railway is this much clean.

saurav_68

November 25th, 2011, 06:53 PM

http://www.rcfraebareli.com/UploadedPhotos/rcf_photos_63.JPG
Still screws are fitted with manual screw driver. That's why IR rakes screwed up so fast.When will IR change.
Pic from RCF Raebareli website.

kalkibhagwan

November 25th, 2011, 07:35 PM

+1 Many dont act as if they are humans when they are in a railway station

Where there is a IRCTC canteen in the platform there is a ton of garbage in the track even if there is a dustbin nearby as they have to walk 4 feet to throw the garbage in.

People spit, pee and shit in the track in the full view of the public,

When i went to delhi a old man took his grandson to the door and ask him to pee in the track from a running train after the little fellow was done the old man finished his act in the broad day lite.

This is the civilisation level of India and I am surprised that Railway is this much clean.

Its not only about civillised people... people in other countries break laws too... the real problem is the indian police that jusst fails to do anything to enforce the laws...

aniketh87

November 25th, 2011, 08:01 PM

Its not only about civillised people... people in other countries break laws too... the real problem is the indian police that just fails to do anything to enforce the laws...
u r rite but in other countries only few people are morons but in india its the other way ..i feel the reason which u r giving is an excuse....sorry bro no offence...and do u think police can stop people from throwing thrash in a moving train.........

sixsigma1978

November 25th, 2011, 08:10 PM

Its not only about civillised people... people in other countries break laws too... the real problem is the indian police that jusst fails to do anything to enforce the laws...

Man - Pissing in public, shitting on tracks and on the streets and spitting paan from buses , cars and on public property - is a phenomenon that's largely South Asia centric.

I've traveled b/w Nairobi and Mombasa by train - and it shamed me to see that the Kenyans had an insane obsession with cleanliness that puts us to open ridicule!! They've just as many poverty and corruption issues as us!!

You just have to travel on our trains, karnataka express, for example - starting from Gwalior to New Delhi railway station, all along especially near Agra - the sight of those early morning railway track shitters is shocking, and naturally disgusting!! Why they have to advertise themselves in full view of 1100+ people per train is beyond me - we're THAT brazen and indifferent!!
People from Jaipur, those infamous urine-waterfalls on the boundary walls near Ajmeri Gate - will probably agree with this. (you have to see that to believe it - hundreds of people pissing on the walls creating a river of urine that gushes everywhere). This in front of hundreds of tourists - both Indian and foreign!! The couple of paid toilets nearby - are lightly used!!!
:wtf:

We have big issues here - and this needs both a cultural mindset change (people) as well as effective policing and toilet infrastructure (government) to fix!!!

Astroboy81

November 25th, 2011, 08:45 PM

Ban gutkha throughout the country and eliminate the problem of dirty red stains and streaks on railway stations, corners, walls, etc

_Mihir13

November 26th, 2011, 07:08 AM

@Saurav68,

Manual is not the issue really speaking. Even that if they do honestly and with a sense of reponsibility - then there's nothing wrong in manual. Even with machine - if the don't hold the machine properly - the screw will be inserted inclined and would be as bad.

The workmanship of the Indian made LHB coaches is pathetic. Just take a look at the door and the window rubber biddings and you know - they are cutting corners everywhere. Even the door locks on teh top and bottom are welded poorly and the edges not properly grinded. They hurt.

The main thing here is - the Railways should not be in the business of manufacturing coaches in the first place. Their job is to run the railways and not manufacture coaches and locos. That should be directly sourced from private parties.

And we've no shortage of private industry in India that will not be able to supply us the required number of rolling stock. On the contrary - they'll be most happy to do the same and provide better quality at cheaper rates.

barrykul

November 26th, 2011, 07:51 AM

^^
Completely agree. The IR should stop making coaches. They are a shabby, rickety organization that produces shoddy stuff for a very long time. The coaches prior to LHB were poorly designed. If you are an industrial/mechanical engineer, you know that the coach was not balanced, since the accessories beneath were placed willy nilly with nary a clue about overall balance. They don't have modern stamp/forge shop for the outside sheet metal work. These steel slabs/sheets are hand welded and crudely finished. The paint job is an abomination. The aesthetics, the lesser said the better.

When they inducted LHB into the mix, they took the better suspension, frame from LHB, large windows but the interiors were stock IR designed junk. Even the roof top was retrofitted to the standard IR junk design.

Companies like Bombardier can make very good coaches. Even the PSU BEML can do a better job. IR stop making coaches and railway engines period.

invincibletiger

November 26th, 2011, 08:21 AM

aniketh87

November 26th, 2011, 08:30 AM

Its not always people's fault. Have you looked at the size of the waste bin in trains? It gets filled up in 2-3 hours. Now what else can a passenger do if the waste bin provided is not cleared at frequent intervals.
dont you think i have given it a thought....people get carry bags ..why dont they put all the trash in that bag and once they reach their destination they can throw it in the dustbin(@railway station)....and now dont tell its really difficult to do that.....

invincibletiger

November 26th, 2011, 11:38 AM

dont you think i have given it a thought....people get carry bags ..why dont they put all the trash in that bag and once they reach their destination they can throw it in the dustbin(@railway station)....and now dont tell its really difficult to do that.....

And where would you keep the trash bag, underneath the berth which is mostly packed with luggage ... Isn't that an open invitation to all the cockroaches and mice ... rotting leftover food, what better for them. Remember a lot of these journeys are 30+ hours. There can be 2 dinners, 1 lunch, breakfast etc ... That's a lot of trash.

gentem

November 26th, 2011, 12:10 PM

hemanth1987

November 26th, 2011, 12:18 PM

And where would you keep the trash bag, underneath the berth which is mostly packed with luggage ... Isn't that an open invitation to all the cockroaches and mice ... rotting leftover food, what better for them. Remember a lot of these journeys are 30+ hours. There can be 2 dinners, 1 lunch, breakfast etc ... That's a lot of trash.
In rajdhani trains the collected trash can be emptied at next station after all the trash is collected and the stoppage can be indicated as a technical halt.

azzi282

November 26th, 2011, 02:57 PM

GPS-based ‘Fog Safety Device’ to be installed in trains by month-end (http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/23290-gps-based-fog-safety-device-to-be-installed-in-trains-by-month-end.html)

Shortage of funds to procure GPS-based Fog Safety Device over the years has led to delay and cancellation of several trains, including the elite Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.
The device, which has missed several deadlines, has undergone extensive trials in various sections and has been customised as per the Railways’ specifications. However, after much deliberations, priority was given to the urgency of the need of device as several long distance trains stood cancelled and rescheduled for prolonged hours making it inconvenient for the passengers. About 400 such devices worth Rs 50,000 each have been procured and ready for operations from coming Wednesday. Training for loco drivers have been imparted to them for the use of this technology enabled though GPS and GIS.
A GPS-based technology, which will alert train drivers about an approaching signal during foggy weather conditions, will be installed in all passenger and freight trains in Delhi division from the end of this month. The ‘fog safety device’ will be fitted to the trains operating between Delhi and Ambala, to begin with, said Additional Divisional Railway Manager of Delhi Division Sudhir Garg.
“The device will only alert the driver about the approaching signal,” he said, adding, the device will be installed from November 30. The Delhi division handles roughly 300 passenger trains and about 200 freight trains per day. Garg said in the second phase, the technology will be deployed in the Delhi-Ghaziabad section.
Foggy conditions, which are being witnessed rather early this season, have significantly hampered train movement, throwing schedules haywire. During the week, scores of trains have been cancelled and hundreds have been rescheduled. Garg said they have also made some technical changes in the signalling system so that there are sufficient gaps between the trains to avoid any collision during poor visibility.
Meanwhile, despite the fog condition improving, rail passengers continued to face the brunt as 30 trains were cancelled in the last 24 hours and dozens other were severely affected. According to the Northern Railways, more than 50 trains were reported running late by five to thirty hours. The trains that were cancelled on Friday included the most sought-after trains like Patna Rajdhani, Bhubaneswar Rajdhani and Lucknow Shatabdi among others. Similarly, long distance trains — mostly bound to Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal — like Sampoorna Kranti Express, Vikramshila express, Jharkhand Samparka Kranti Express, Poorva Express were running late by several hours.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/23290-gps-based-fog-safety-device-to-be-installed-in-trains-by-month-end.html

saurav_68

November 26th, 2011, 04:19 PM

http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/attachments/lhb_coaches_lko_shatabdi.jpg-37475d1256293170
Original Alstom LHB coach.Look at the door style and Door lock which was the part of original German designe. Also notice the finish.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6vHwMso8V0Y/0.jpg
The change of door style,door lock and finishing in IR LHB dabba.

phaedrus

November 27th, 2011, 02:47 AM

:ohno:

_Mihir13

November 27th, 2011, 06:31 AM

Hum nahi sudherenge :(

Somebody rightly said - Nakal ke liye bhi akkal chahiye.

MxC

November 28th, 2011, 08:22 AM

Government to unveil special train to ferry fruits and flowers
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/government-to-unveil-special-train-to-ferry-fruits-and-flowers/articleshow/10899459.cms))

Having lost fruits and vegetables worth crores to poor infrastructure and transport, India will soon unveil a special insulated and ventilated train next month that ferries fruits and flowers from Mumbai to New Delhi and hauls vegetables on its way back.

The train is a joint initiative between the National Horticulture Board (NHB) and Container Corporation of India, or Concor, a Union government enterprise that provides inland transport and cargo-handling facilities. The train will link the Turbhe yard of Concor near the Vashi market in Mumbai via Nasik-Bhusawal to the New Azadpur market in New Delhi. On return journey, it touches Agra and Surat.

Bananas from Maharashtra and potatoes from Delhi will be the core cargo throughout the year. Seasonal produce such as pomegranates, grapes, flowers, carrots, peas and mangoes will also be carried by the train. Most fruits, vegetables and flowers are damaged during transport on ordinary freight trains, resulting in losses for growers, transporters and buyers alike.

The train will have insulated and ventilated freight containers designed by a company called Transafe and manufactured at its Kharagpur workshop in West Bengal. The design has been vetted by Central Institute of Postharvest Engineering Technology, Ludhiana.

The train will normally have 90 hi-cube containers of 20-feet length and a majority these containers will be insulated and ventilated. "Refrigerated containers may also be introduced on demand for transport of commodities like grapes, apples, strawberries, flowers, carrots and peas. The containers can also be moved on road by truck trolley and can be used for shipment by sea route. In that sense, the system is termed a multi-modal transport solution," said NHB MD Bijay Kumar.

All India Banana Growers' Association president Bhagwat Patil said, "The success of the train will depend upon the affordability of the freight charges."

NHB will create awareness about the facility before the likely launch of the train next month. The project cost is Rs 16 crore which is being shared by Concor and NHB on a 50:50 basis. Indian Railways will provide a locomotive and charge haulage charges to Concor. The system will be operated by Concor.

One rake of the train may carry about 1,000 tonne to 1,500 tonne of fruits and vegetables depending on the type of fruits and packaging. "Initially, the train will run once a week. Based on the response, the frequency can be increased. NHB will provide transport from farms to the warehouse and in introducing modern packaging," said Kumar.

sidney_jec

November 28th, 2011, 10:36 PM

Original Alstom LHB coach.Look at the door style and Door lock which was the part of original German designe. Also notice the finish.

The change of door style,door lock and finishing in IR LHB dabba.

I wonder why is Alstom letting the IR call them as LHB rakes. I think they have a reputation to keep and IR is certainly not helping

MxC

November 29th, 2011, 07:09 AM

Bombardier wins railway contract in India
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/bombardier-wins-railway-contract-in-india/articleshow/10907618.cms))

Bombardier Inc's train unit received a contract to make railway equipment for India's Mumbai Railway Vikas Corp ( MRVC).

The project, funded equally by the World Bank and the Government of India, is valued at about 11.2 billion Indian rupees ($214.42 million).

Under the contract, Bombardier Transportation will design, manufacture and test propulsion and control equipment for trains and other equipment including fans, compressors, passenger information systems and high voltage instruments.

Bombardier, one of the world's largest makers of railway equipment, said deliveries will start in the last quarter of 2012 and will be completed in the third quarter of 2014.

The order relates to a total of 72 commuter trains of 12 cars each, the company said.

The railway parts will be produced at the company's plant in Maneja, India, supported by its sites in Germany.

In September, Berlin-based Bombardier Transportation had received an order for 76 metro cars worth about $120 million from India's Delhi Metro Rail Corp, adding to its 114-vehicle contract announced last year.

Shares of Bombardier, which is also the world's No. 3 aircraft maker, have lost 55 percent of their value in the past nine months. They closed at C$3.77 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

kalkibhagwan

November 30th, 2011, 06:08 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/11/05/Article//013/05_11_2011_013_040.jpg

Why do these idiots compare everything with china?? :bash: we have much more to look upto than to keep compairing with those copycats

Patriot.

November 30th, 2011, 07:51 AM

MxC

November 30th, 2011, 09:36 AM

Railways tops slowcoach list
(Source: ToI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railways-tops-slowcoach-list/articleshow/10924200.cms))

Railways tops the list among infrastructure projects that missed the deadline, causing huge cost overruns to the exchequer. Among the 134 rail projects monitored by the government, 101 were facing delays leading to cost overrun to the tune of Rs 56,609.3 crore, an increase of 153.5%.

There are 26 projects running behind schedule - ranging from two to 213 months - leading to the rise in cost by Rs 20,575 crore. Of these 26 projects, 10 are running more than 60 months behind schedule.

Railways leads from the front, when it comes to the duration of delay. For instance, the Guna-Etawah-New Delhi new line is running 213 months (around 17 years) behind the completion target. Similarly, the Freight Operations Information System is 204 months behind the deadline, while the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line should have been completed 201 months ago.

Data collected by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation till July shows that roads and highway projects are behind railways, whose 123 projects are delayed and 11 are facing cost overrun.

Out of 558 central projects, worth Rs 150 crore, monitored, 241 are delayed, 140 are on schedule and seven are running ahead of deadline.

There were 114 projects, which were sanctioned without any commissioning date, while 54 projects that were sanctioned without completion date came out with commissioning timeframe later. The total original cost of these projects when they were sanctioned was Rs 630041.22 crore, but this was revised to Rs 755975.99 crore, leading to cost overrun of 20%.

According to statistics and programme implementation ministry's assessment, the main cause of delay for railway projects was lack of adequate funding for a large number of new lines, doubling of lines and gauge conversion. Delay in land acquisition was another major hurdle, said an official.

An official pointed out that in several cases the railway ministers were at fault since in their bid to appease their constituency they went about announcing projects without considering adequate funding and follow-up action. "Many projects were launched without proper survey and feasibility study," said another official.

hemanth1987

November 30th, 2011, 12:16 PM

On track, a locomotive designed to burn less oil

A diesel locomotive equipped for the first time in India with an electronic fuel injection system, an innovation developed by the Railways’ Lucknow-based Research Designs and Standards Organisation in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur, is expected to save between Rs 200 and Rs 450 crore annually in the fuel expenditure of Indian Railways.

After trials on RDSO’s research test beds in June and July, the locomotive was flagged off on a field trial in September. It is hauling a passenger train between Sultanpur and Lucknow and the results have been encouraging. After March 2012, when the trial is complete, EFI-fitted locomotives will go into production.

“With the electronic fuel injection system, we have stepped up from technology of mechanical fuel injection by a generation, and it is an important chapter in the history of locomotive technology development in India,” said Dr Avinash Kumar Agarwal, associate professor of mechanical engineering at IIT-Kanpur.

The diesel engine of a locomotive operates at nine notches for different speed levels, from the idle notch to the eighth that involves the highest speed. In the mechanical fuel injection system that is currently used, the fuel supply to the engine at each notch is provided at a predetermined quantity at a predetermined time, with no way of determining whether the conditions at that time are ideal for such an injection.

It is only at the eighth notch, Agarwal said, that fuel consumption in this system can be optimised. But at this notch, the train runs for approximately only ten per cent of the time. Hence the mechanical fuel injection system has only a limited effect on the overall fuel efficiency of the locomotive.

In the electronic system, on the other hand, a microprocessor calculates the exact amount of fuel required at each notch in real time after getting feedback from various sensors. The fuel pumps have also been changed from mechanical to electronic and these supply the exact amount of fuel at the right time at each notch.

Apart from being fuel efficient, EFI is also a green technology because it drastically cuts down the black smoke produced when excess fuel is not burnt in the engine. “Sixty to 70 per cent of soot emission is cut down,” said Agarwal.

Because the entire system is electronic, the problem of the engine running hot can also be tackled. “At certain times, the engine runs hot, and in the mechanical system the fuel supply is completely cut off which, in turn, shuts off the engine,” said Anirudh Gautam, executive director of RDSO’s Engine Development Directorate.

In the EFI system, the microprocessor is so programmed that the supply to certain cylinders in the engine is cut off if the engine runs hot; since the engine is not stopped, the time loss and engine-down time is cut down, he said.

RDSO had taken up the EFI system project two-and-a-half years ago. In May 2011 IIT-Kanpur was roped in, and within three-and-a-half months the EFI was developed and ready for trial. The entire system is indigenous and this is the first EFI system for the ALCO-DLW engine, the design for which India bought from American Locomotive Company over five decades ago.

“With this, India has become the fourth region in the world to have an electronic fuel injection system for locomotives, after the Americas, China and the EU,” said Agarwal. “Research and development for an EFI system in locomotives is limited because of low production of loco engines worldwide as compared to automotive engines. In our country, we already have 5,000 diesel locomotives on line and add 200 new ones every year.”

“Reports of field trials show that the system is giving fuel savings of 4.4 per cent,” said Gautam. The diesel bill of the Indian Railways is approximately Rs 10,000 crore per year. Savings between Rs 200 crore and Rs 450 crore are possible if the system is incorporated in all 5,000 diesel locomotives, he said. The target for a complete switch is the next five years.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/on-track-a-locomotive-designed-to-burn-less-oil/882063

MxC

December 1st, 2011, 08:22 AM

Govt rejects railways’ Rs 2,101cr loan plea
(Source: ToI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-rejects-railways-Rs-2101cr-loan-plea/articleshow/10937722.cms))

At a time when the government is willing to pump thousands of crores for the revival of national carrier Air India, the finance ministry has rejected railways' plea for a temporary loan of Rs 2,101 crore to fund its development works.

Turning down the loan request, the ministry has the asked state-run transporter, which is under acute financial stress, to meet its liabilities by raising resources.

Railways made the demand considering negative balances in its Capital Fund and the Development Fund used for maintaining ageing assets and creation of new ones.

"The finance ministry has not agreed to extend the loan and has advised the railways to meet this liability by raising resources suitably in the current year 2011-12," railways minister Dinesh Trivedi told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

This rebuff coincides with railways' resistance to hike passenger fare, including a nudge from the finance ministry that has asked for an upward revision in second class and sleeper tariffs.

The transporter managed an "excess" of Rs 1,405 crore after meeting its revenue sending-working expense, dividend and miscellaneous expenditure, but this was not enough to meet planned expenditure from Capital Fund and Development Fund.

The shortfall in transporter's internal finances was attributed to steep increase in employees' expenses and pension due to implementation of the sixth Pay Commission.

Arguing for government's fiscal intervention from general revenue, an official said the ordinary working expense of transporter has increase tremendously from Rs 41,033 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 73,650 crore in 2011-12 due to massive increase in employees' cost coupled with hike in expenses incurred for electricity and diesel.

Sources said the burden of the sixth Pay Commission is around Rs 73,000 crore, pointing out that the pension bill has increased from Rs 7,953 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 16,000 crore in 2011-12.

Despite fiscal constraints, it was argued that railways has been paying its dividend to the government on time and spending around Rs 23,000 crore every year in meeting government's social responsibilities like subsidizing passenger fare and local travel and giving fare concessions to targeted groups like students, senior citizens and patients.

Experts argued that the government must intervene to save railways by increasing gross budgetary support and funding socially desirable projects if it wants the state-run transporter to perform its social duties.

"If government is bailing out Air India which is not meeting any social obligations, then why this neglect for railways?" an expert asked.

MxC

December 1st, 2011, 09:23 AM

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIPU/2011/12/01/7/Img/Ar0070600.png
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIPU/2011/12/01/7/Img/Ar0070601.png

(Source: ToI ePaper, 1-Dec-11)

sidney_jec

December 1st, 2011, 08:33 PM

delete

MxC

December 2nd, 2011, 07:12 AM

Railways to introduce in-cab signalling system to fight fog
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-to-introduce-in-cab-signalling-system-to-fight-fog/articleshow/10946178.cms))

Railways has undertaken a pilot project for providing in-cab signalling system in 35 trains to ensure their safe movement in foggy conditions, the Lok Sabha was told today.

The in-cab signalling system, using Train Protection and Warning System, is operational in New Delhi-Agra section.

Besides, Railways has provided LED signals at 4472 stations to improve visibility as part of a series of steps being undertaken to facilitate smooth train operations while it is foggy, said Minister of State for Railway KH Muniayappa in a written reply today in the Lok Sabha.

Extended trials of fog safety devices are also in progress in fog prone areas, he said.

Railways has cancelled 28 trains for two months to ensure safety of passengers in foggy conditions.

rupakd

December 2nd, 2011, 07:28 AM

Privatise railways to break monopoly and encourage competition

Railway fares are set to be hiked. It will be said that fares are being hiked after eight years. Fact is that without anyone noticing it, railway fares have been hiked all these eight years, cleverly and indirectly. First, a majority of Express trains have been rechristened Superfast trains in the budgets and outside the budgets.

While there are only 229 pairs of Express trains, the number of Superfast trains is 265 pairs! This means Railways can charge Rs 8 for ordinary Second Class, Rs 20 for Sleeper Class, Rs 30 for 3A and 2A Classes and Rs 50 for First Class AC extra as Superfast surcharge. The speed norm is 55 kmph.

Trains running at 53 kmph were made Superfast by slightly increasing their speed. Second, a Special Railway Safety Fund was created in 2004 with Rs 17,000 crore, of whichRs 12,000 crore was contributed by the Centre and Rs 5,000 crore came from a safety surcharge levied on the fare. A surcharge was levied to provide for safe travel, which is the fundamental duty of Railways. It continued even after the target was achieved.

We campaigned against the unfair charge. Silently, in 2010, it was renamed Development Charge! Will anyone pay if a petty shopkeeper demands Rs 1 as development charge with every sale? Now, we pay a development charge of Rs 10 (within 500 km) and Rs 20 (above 500 km) for SL-Class travel, Rs 20 and Rs 40 for Chair car, Rs 30 andRs 60 for 3A, Rs 40 and Rs 80 for 2A and Rs 50 and Rs 100 for First-Class AC. Few travellers are aware of this as its only reference is tucked away in the railway timetable.

Third, Tatkal, projected to help last-minute travellers, actually penalises planned travellers by reducing the berths available to them as 25% berths are sold at a premium. For example, the Chennai-Dadar 12164 has 25% of the 3A berths and 30% of SL berths reserved for Tatkal passengers. And to boot, the percentage is not fixed and it can vary from train to train (RTI).

During festivals, berths get booked immediately on opening because availability of berths in general category is limited. The Tatkal fare is fixed at 30% of the basic fare for all classes except for Second Class sitting, for which it is 10%. It varies from Rs 75-100 for SL Class to Rs 200-300 for other classes.

Station-to-station charges have been provided to increase revenues. Fourth, by sleight of hand, a return-journey reservation charge of Rs 10 for SL and Rs 15 for 3A and 2A are being levied since December 2007. This means that if you book a Tiruchirappalli-Chennai ticket at Tiruchirappalli, the SL fare isRs 166 and for Chennai-Tiruchi, the fare is Rs 176. TNN

MxC

December 2nd, 2011, 08:52 AM

^^
Are these your personal views that you posted here, or are you quoting some article (no source has been linked in that case)

MxC

December 2nd, 2011, 01:15 PM

^^
Just discovered it's a guest opinion piece in ET by S PUSHPAVANAM. Here's the link (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/guest-writer/privatise-railways-to-break-monopoly-and-encourage-competition/articleshow/10952650.cms) to it. Infact, on this, there is more to above piece that got left out, and here it is:

If you book Nagpur-Delhi from Tiruchi, it is considered as return journey (booking from any station other than the originating station) and charged extra. Booking a return-journey ticket requires the same time, energy, cost and skills as booking a forward-journey ticket. The Railways offer no extra service but charge extra. Every means is used to fleece passengers.

Unlimited waitlisted tickets, say 400, are issued for a train of 762 berths and two unreserved carriages, an extra coach can accommodate only 72 passengers. Many waitlisted passengers travel in unreserved bogies in an emergency. This means they pay Rs 166 for a class of travel that should cost only Rs 91. It adds to Railways' coffers. The Railways should remove the impression that they are a sneaky organisation out to thrive by any means.

They should fix 75 kmph as the speed for Superfast trains and raise surcharge to Rs 25 per ticket, scrap return-journey reservation charge and development charges, and limit Tatkal to 10% and waitlist to 20% of the capacity. It's true the Railways need money: they need Rs 98,000 crore to execute projects that have already been sanctioned. They get a modest Rs 6,000 crore in the budget and Rs 9,000 crore from Planning Commission. There is a huge demand for new lines, extensions, doubling of tracks, gauge conversion and for electrification.

Money is also needed to install safety devices like GPS-guided signalling, trainactivated warning system, anti-collision devices and foolproof signalling. But they cannot misuse their monopoly status and fleece passengers. There is considerable scope for raising passenger fares as, in many places, it is less than half the bus fare for the same distance.

Season tickets, untouched for a decade, cannot remain a holy cow forever. Passengers may not mind an honest fare increase of 15% across the board if indirect fare hikes are scrapped. They should borrow from market as any company that requires capital would do. Most importantly, Railways cannot spend 58% on staff costs while the rest of the world employs onetenth of this strength.

The best option would be to break the monopoly and introduce competition. Competition always gives a consumer choice, variety, better quality and better price. Privatisation would ensure efficient use of resources, more accountability and safety as one accident would ruin their reputation while any number of accidents would not make a GM lose his job.

(The author is a consumer activist)

barrykul

December 5th, 2011, 08:21 AM

jaadu

December 5th, 2011, 10:41 PM

The thing is this kind of cooperation is beneficial to both the institues and the company. A lot of of the funding here in US universities is done in that way , especially in engineering !!
Back in IIT kgp we had SRIC ( Sponsored Research and Industrial COoperation) which brought in more than 100 crores of research funding from private companies every year. That was in 2008 and now I think it has been doubled. Its a great way to move forward !!!

Bombay2Calcutta

December 6th, 2011, 04:45 AM

Soon, track trains on your 3G phone
Watching your train approach the city railway station on the screen of your 3G mobile phone may sound like a scene from a sci-fi Hollywood movie, but it is going to become a reality in India soon.

The Northern Railways, which is still not able to provide time updates of trains to passengers, is testing a technology which will enable passengers to track trains on 3G mobile phones.

The plan is proposed to be implemented in 2012 and is currently undergoing trial runs.

“By just dialing a helpline number, passengers can watch live pictures of their trains moving towards the station. The technology will provide live feeds of trains,” said a senior railway officer who did not want to be named.

The technology will be of great help during foggy season when commuters have to wait for long hours for arrival or departure.

“Big screens will also be set up at the railway stations which will give the actual location of the trains. The technology would also help the passengers to know how much time their trains will take to reach that station,” said the officer.

The facility will also be available on the railways website. The technology will provide the speed at which the train is running and how much time it will take to reach the approaching station and its distance from the point along with the pictures.

“This is the next step of the existing SIMRAN technology through which we are currently providing real-time information of 12 trains through text messages and on website www.simran.in,” the officer said.

The technology, jointly developed by IIT-Kanpur and the Bangalore-based RDSO, would go a long way in reducing train accidents due to fog and unmanned crossing.

“The ambitious plan, if implemented properly, has the potential of changing the face of Indian railways. It will make railways safer and will cut the duration of average delays during foggy season,” the officer added.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/778316.aspx

Bombay2Calcutta

December 7th, 2011, 02:50 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2011/12/07/Article//006/07_12_2011_006_001.jpg

Bombay2Calcutta

December 7th, 2011, 02:52 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2011/12/07/Article//006/07_12_2011_006_006.jpg

Bombay2Calcutta

December 7th, 2011, 02:59 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/12/07/Article//007/07_12_2011_007_030.jpg

Bombay2Calcutta

December 7th, 2011, 03:14 AM

Clamour for early-morning train from Nashik to Mum

Abhilash Botekar TNN

Nashik: Members of NGO Rail Parishad plan to go on an indefinite hunger strike at the Nashik Road railway station from December 12 if their demands for a new early-morning train from Nashik to Mumbai are not met.
Office-goers travelling on the Panchavati Express, the only early-morning Nashik-Mumbai train at present, complained of the train getting delayed because of the Duranto Express, thereby causing them inconvenience. Bipin Gandhi, the NGO head, said, “We want the Railways to pay heed to our demands.”
Nashikites have been demanding an early-morning train to Mumbai, which would help office-goers reach CST by 10am. Their only option at present is the Panchavati Express, which leaves Nashik Road railway station at 7am and reaches CST by 10.40am under normal circumstances. But from the last seven months, the train has often been diverted to give way to the Duranto Express, which arrives from Kolkata. As a result, the train reaches Mumbai after the scheduled time.
“A new Nashik-Mumbai early-morning train by the name of Kusumagraj Express was sanctioned in the 2011-12 Railway Budget. Out of the 26 trains announced then, everything except the Nashik-Mumbai train has started,” Gandhi said. He claims that the hunger strike is an attempt to bring up the demands of the region before the authorities before the Railway budget is formulated. Claiming that all three members of parliament from Nashik — Sameer Bhujbal, Harishchandra Chavan and PratapSonawane — are backing him, Gandhi has given the authorities a December 12 deadlineto meet the NGO’s demands.

sixsigma1978

December 7th, 2011, 10:25 PM

sadhaklal

December 8th, 2011, 01:56 AM

Original Alstom LHB coach.Look at the door style and Door lock which was the part of original German designe. Also notice the finish.

The change of door style,door lock and finishing in IR LHB dabba.

The Chinese don't have originality but can at least make perfect copies once they get technology transfer. These IR engineers can't even make copies! :bash:Anyone who can't make a copy after getting tech transfer should be fired...

barrykul

December 8th, 2011, 06:20 AM

The Chinese don't have originality but can at least make perfect copies once they get technology transfer. These IR engineers can't even make copies! :bash:Anyone who can't make a copy after getting tech transfer should be fired...

No, it is not about capability. The blokes can create good stuff if they are given a free hand and some visionary leadership. The problem is with the cozy arrangement some IR babus have the existing vendor of the hand rails. They don't want to upset the applecart that feeds them.

You look at railway stations. They have the same corrugated roof, crude bare bone metal posts, scaffolding, etc. they are all identical. In other words the supplier has a cozy relationship with IR babus supplying the same cookie cutter boring insipid designs in bulk. The pigs at the trough don't want any stirring of their shitty meal ticket. Oh yeah, they will justify the arrangement with excuse # 357.

Time for the IR politico to break up the party. Sadly he/she is part of the meal ticket. They will continue to act stupid and foist the same shoddy stuff on the Indian Public. Rats.

_Mihir13

December 8th, 2011, 07:08 AM

Yes, Its all about money!!!

Another thing is - the design of the stations. Most stations in India don't have a ramp. In case of older stations its understandable to an extent. But what about new stations. Even these don't have a ramp. They still follow the same design patterns. Doubt if anybody is bothered about it. Now with most ppl having bags with wheels, wouldn't it be so much easier for them if the stations had ramps you could just walk on comfortably.

MxC

December 8th, 2011, 09:30 AM

Compensate for late running train: National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to Railways
(Sorurce: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/articlelist/2143499.cms))

Railways have been directed to pay Rs 2,000 as compensation to a senior citizen, who fell ill after being stranded post midnight at a station in Karnataka, by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

A bench presided by Anupam Dasgupta rejected the revision petition filed by South Western Railway against the judgement of Karnataka State Consumer Commission which had directed it to pay compensation of Rs 2,000 to Karnataka resident Balasaheb Bangi.

"The revision petition fails and is accordingly dismissed. Moreover, considering the facts and circumstances of this case and the quantum of relief awarded, consideration of the point of law urged by the learned counsel can be deferred to a better case," the NCDRC said.

Bangi, a senior citizen, told the consumer commission that he travelled from Bangalore to Hubli on October 20, 2009 by train which halted at Kadur station for two hours.

He said no one from the Railways clarified why the train had stopped and he reached Hubli past midnight.

"No public transport was available at the railway station at that late hour. It was drizzling and also chilly because of which he fell sick the next day and his return journey had to be postponed," the counsel for Bangi told the NCRDC.

On Bangi's complaint, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum of Dharwad had awarded a compensation of Rs 2,000 to him on May 28, 2010 for the "inconvenience and hardship" suffered by him.

The Railways had challenged the District commission order before the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Karntaka but the same was dismissed on September 9, 2010.

It's about time awards like these become a rule instead of exception to bring in some sense into the often whimsical functioning of the officials and utter disregard of travelling public's time. Though IMO, the damage awarded was way too less, should have been 10 times more at the very minimum.

MxC

December 8th, 2011, 09:34 AM

Japan to study Hyderabad-Chennai high speed rail route
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/japan-to-study-hyderabad-chennai-high-speed-rail-route/articleshow/11029442.cms))

Railways have selected a Japanese consortium to explore the possibility of running a bullet train on the Hyderabad-Chennai high speed rail corridor.

Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) and Oriental Consultancy along with Parsons Brinkhoff India has bagged the contract to conduct the pre-feasibility study on the proposed 664 km long Hyderabad-Vijaywada-Chennai route for running the high speed train, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

Japan's high speed trains Shinkansen operate at a speed of up to 300 km per hour and are known for their punctuality, comfort, safety and efficiency.

The consortium will submit the report in seven months. The study is expected to cost the railways about Rs 3.5 crore.

There were a total of 13 bidders including Korean, French, British and Spanish consultants in the race to bag the southern high speed rail project.

With the selection of the Japanese consortium, railways have undertaken study of four routes for running bullet trains.

Railways have roped in French firm Systra for Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad (650 km) route, while UK-based consultant Mott McDonald has been engaged to conduct the pre-feasibility study of the longest Delhi-Agra-Lucknow- Varanasi-Patna (991 km) route.

Spanish consultant Eneco has been hired to carry out studies in the shortest Howrah-Haldia (135 km) route.

Systra has submitted the report to the Railway Ministry, which is being examined now.

Selection for consultants for Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar (450 km) and Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Thiruvananthapuram (869 km) high speed rail corridor will be decided shortly.

Another 3.5 crore down the drain, as nothing is going to come out of these never ending HSR studies till the very structure of IR is changed by freeing them from the personal fiefdoms of our Railway Ministers and introducing the much needed corporatization, amongst other reforms.

MxC

December 8th, 2011, 09:38 AM

Hitachi plans rail car JV in India: Nikkei
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/hitachi-plans-rail-car-jv-in-india-nikkei/articleshow/11029687.cms))

Hitachi Ltd plans to sign a joint venture agreement with an Indian firm early next year to assemble rail cars, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported.

The conglomerate plans to export India-made rail cars to Southeast Asian nations, such as Thailand and Vietnam, where it now sells cars made at its Yamaguchi plant, the newspaper said.

To bank on opportunities in India, which is aggressively investing in railway infrastructure, Hitachi wants to wrap up partnership talks early next year and start building a factory as soon as possible, Nikkei said.

The company will also set up a manufacturing base in the UK and plans to build a joint venture factory in Brazil, the business daily reported.

Hitachi expects to boost railway-related sales to 320 billion yen in 2015 from 133.1 billion yen in 2010, with 60 percent of that sales coming from overseas over this period, Nikkei said.

No mention of possible sales to our IR! Probably they haven't yet paid grease money to the RM/IR babus as yet.

So deplorable is the condition of our IR coaches that any tech improvements from wherever source will be a welcome sight :ohno:

World8115

December 8th, 2011, 05:34 PM

New Production Units for Electric/Diesel Engines

Source: PIB (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=78285)
The project for setting up of electric locomotives manufacturing unit at Madhepura, Bihar was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in February 2007. The work was included in Rail Budget 2007-08. The Cabinet in its meeting held on February 18, 2010 approved the setting up of this manufacturing unit under Joint Venture, with partner selected through international competitive bidding for manufacturing 12000 HP electric locomotives.

Bidders have been short listed through International Competitive Bidding (ICB) after finalization of Request for Qualification (RFQ). Request for Proposal (RFP) issued to short listed bidders. RFP document being modified after due diligence of the proposal, as announced by the Minister of Railways in Budget Speech 2011-12.

Diesel locomotive unit at Marhowra, Bihar – Request for Qualification (RFQ) has been opened. Two firms have been shortlisted. RFP issued to short listed bidders. RFP document being modified after due diligence of the proposal, as announced during the Railway Budget 2011-12.

Total funds allocated for electric engine unit upto 2011-12 is Rs. 495.04 core (2007-08=0.5 crore, 2008-09=267 crore, 2009-10= 10 crore, 2010-11= 115 crore, 2011-12= 53.04 crore) and the total funds spent upto September 2011 is Rs. 58.51 crore. For diesel engine unit expenditure of Rs. 27.37 crore has been incurred so far.

Electric engine unit at Madhepura and diesel engine unit at Marhowra, are scheduled to be completed by the selected bidder within 36 months from the date of the agreement.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri K. H. Muniyappa in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

dayalbaba

December 9th, 2011, 04:51 AM

Originally Posted by sadhaklal View Post
The Chinese don't have originality but can at least make perfect copies once they get technology transfer. they do ? :lol:

p2p4

December 9th, 2011, 11:00 AM

they do ? :lol:
Copies are not originals so they do make em with whatever perfections they can afford.

That said, I have always said this - to the chagrin of many on Indian forums , the Chinese can give a lot better in terms of quality if you pay 'gold'. Pay them peanuts and you get trash . In trade fairs it is oft repeated confession of Chinese manufacturers to Indian baniya traders. YOU PAY BIG MONEY, I GIVE YOU QUALITY. YOU PAY ME SMALL MONEY I GIVE YOU NO QUALITY

Throw peanuts, you get monkeys :D

rov09

December 9th, 2011, 12:07 PM

murlee

December 9th, 2011, 03:58 PM

:lol: Once again...

World Class Station Projects through Private Investment

Fifty stations have been identified for development as world class stations in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode by leveraging the real estate potential of the land around and the air space above the stations as per the extant Government guidelines. Bidding process for world class stations in PPP mode can be initiated after Master Plan and Feasibility Report is prepared and in-principle approval of local bodies is obtained. Consultancy works for preparation of Master Plan and Feasibility Report had been taken up for New Delhi, Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (CST), Mumbai, Anand Vihar (Phase II), Chandigarh, Bijwasan, Kolkata, Porbandar, Surat, Ahmedabad, Sealdah and Chennai Central. For other stations, preliminary activities have been taken up by the Zonal Railways.

World class railway station projects are primarily envisaged through private investment and Government funds are required only for preparatory works such as consultancies for feasibility reports and advisory services, for which funds are allocated from time to time, as per requirement.

Work at site shall commence after award of concession to the concessionaire and financial closure by the concessionaire. After award of concession, completion of project is likely to take 5 to 6 years due to complexity of work and necessity to undertake the work while keeping the station operational.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Bharatsinh Solanki in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=78355

dayalbaba

December 9th, 2011, 07:33 PM

Copies are not originals so they do make em with whatever perfections they can afford.

That said, I have always said this - to the chagrin of many on Indian forums , the Chinese can give a lot better in terms of quality if you pay 'gold'. Pay them peanuts and you get trash . In trade fairs it is oft repeated confession of Chinese manufacturers to Indian baniya traders. YOU PAY BIG MONEY, I GIVE YOU QUALITY. YOU PAY ME SMALL MONEY I GIVE YOU NO QUALITY

Throw peanuts, you get monkeys :D

p^6, remember why the chinese HSR accident happened ? it's because they copied shinkaisen without truly understanding how it works. the chinese do many things well, but do not make perfect copies, not even for good money.

they will, one day, just like the japanese did but they don't right now.

kalkibhagwan

December 10th, 2011, 01:16 AM

p^6, remember why the chinese HSR accident happened ? it's because they copied shinkaisen without truly understanding how it works. the chinese do many things well, but do not make perfect copies, not even for good money.

they will, one day, just like the japanese did but they don't right now.

+1000000 by the way, came across this video about china's HSR and China's so-called innovation in general

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGXPgqnw98s

MxC

December 10th, 2011, 03:55 AM

:lol: Once again...

World Class Station Projects through Private Investment

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=78355

They will just keep on getting reports prepared, while on ground nothing is gonna happen :bash:

BTW, please once again consider changing your profile pic, it's quite creepy.

barrykul

December 10th, 2011, 08:53 AM

As long as India has old, visionless, corrupt leadership none of the railway projects are going to happen. Tis mere talk and PR. The nation is rapidly transforming. Indian youth are raring to contribute but they are being suppressed by old hags that cling onto power and adopt a dog in the manger attitude. The private sector is infinitely capable of single handedly transforming any sector given a free chance to do so. Mahindra city in the South, built Paranur railway station as a model some years ago. L&T can revamp the entire railway infrastructure in say 5 yrs, given the money they will build it cheaper, faster and better. There are tons of engineering graduates with bright ideas that can solve any Railway Engineering problem in double quick time. They are capable of creating a High Speed Railway system from scratch. The Tata Nano was created from a small young bunch. Yet the GOI is stubborn, mule like and foists asinine leaders in Railways. The IR board can safely be booted out and nothing would be amiss. Same goes for the Coach factories, the IR R&D design bureau, the countless absent railway station masters, etc. Stop the nonsense and act immediately, otherwise the IR would fast become a joke of an organization in the world.

JLIT

December 10th, 2011, 04:07 PM

Please join our petition for a railway between India and China! (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petition-for-a-railway-between-China-and-India/112702522143508?sk=wall)

The two nations are planning to build stations within miles of each other at Nathu La (Sikkim/Tibet). These tracks should be linked to form an international train service!

downunder1

December 10th, 2011, 08:26 PM

I booked 2 tickets online on IRCTC, each for 6 passengers. Tickets are confirmed.

Each ticket has a few of Senior citizens on them. I had requested for Lower berths as a preference, not sure why not a single lower berth for senior citizens was alloted during the booking. If the computer generated process is so random, why do they even have an option for a berth preference at the first place?

My question(s):

1) Is there an official way to ask/request for a change of berth(s) on confirmed tickets, given that there is more than one and half months for the travel. (I am only hoping for an answer that I want to hear, although I am sure I would have to beg people in the coach to help my senior citizen members)

2) As I said earlier, I booked 2 tickets. Although one after the other, My tickets are divided in two separate coaches (B1 and B3). I was surprised to come across this randomization, because I booked both tickets one after the other, and no other bookings were done (anywhere else) other than mine. I was sincerely hoping all the 12 passengers would be in the same coach. Oh well..

Smooth Indian

December 10th, 2011, 10:25 PM

anekho

December 11th, 2011, 12:27 PM

NHSRA planned for High Speed Rail Projects

The Ministry of Railways has decided to set up a National High Speed Rail Authority for planning, implementing and monitoring of High Speed Rail Projects in the country. The government has selected six corridors for conducting pre-feasibility studies to implement the projects.

The railway Ministry sources said that bids have been invited and many domestic as well as foreign firms have participated in them.

The corridors include Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai,Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram, Howrah-Haldia and Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna.

The source said that out of six corridors, consultants for four have been selected and studies are at various stages of progress.

Source (http://newsonair.nic.in/news.asp?cat=National&id=NN2167&bigger=bigger)

azzi282

December 11th, 2011, 05:46 PM

Rlys yet to give green light to signal systems

Technology will reduce operational time and enhance safety.
The railways is going slow with the implementation of modern signalling systems though they can almost double line capacity and throughput in one-tenth of investment in tracks.

The financially-troubled Indian Railways has not been able to keep pace with the fast increasing demand from passenger and freight traffic as most trunk routes do not have the line capacity for additional trains.

Railway officials say that lines on high density routes are almost choked. The sanctioned signalling works of Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) for 2,000 km of tracks — Mumbai-Ahmedabad; Delhi-Howrah; Delhi-Ambala; Agra-Bina sections — and many others are moving at a slow pace. These works, which were sanctioned over five years ago, are yet to be commissioned.

Of the 54,257 broad gauge route km of the Indian Railways, 18,606 km is double line and the rest is single line. Only about 2,020 km, inclusive of suburban network, is covered by Automatic Block Signalling, which forms about 10 per cent of the double line network. In comparison, China has 90 per cent of double-line sections with ABS.

According to a study done by Bharat Salhotra, general manager (finance and IT) of Dedicated Freight Corridors Corporation, modern signalling can improve line capacity and throughput. Salhotra, as Director of Long Range Decision Support System (LRDSS), did a study on signalling in the Ministry of Railways.

According to a senior railway official, “There is an urgent need to provide Automatic Block Signalling on all the double line sections and on the single line sections as well; investments on additional tracks can be postponed.”
This technology, if accompanied by Centralized Traffic Control, will reduce the operational time of signalling systems at stations by using computers and eliminating manual operation, reducing running time of trains. CTC can operate 20-25 stations or more so as to optimise track use.

In this system, the signalling systems of all stations are controlled from a remote control office through computers. In India, this system is present only in Delhi Metro, which is running metro operations with high throughput and safely. The running time will also be minimised. Systems such as Auxiliary Warning System (AWS), which warns the driver if he exceeds the speed limit, can further increase throughput.

Some countries in Europe use a combination of Cab Signalling and other technology, which automatically gives the driver a safe speed to proceed, and the locomotive automatically stops if the driver exceeds that limit.
ABS is being used by Mumbai suburban railway, which handles 1,300 trains on the central line and 1,100 trains on the western line daily. “The cost estimates for this technology is Rs 60 lakh for a route km for double line section against Rs 5-6 crore investment in building 1 km of the track. Against the construction time period of a stretch of track of eight-10 years, signalling would take two-three years. For implementing the system, the terminal capacity has to be suitably augmented too,” added the official.

If the railway management focuses on implementing the system, the works for automatic signalling can be executed in two-three years or earlier. Line capacity will get enhanced from two-2.7 trains an hour now to over five trains per hour, in each direction.
Usually, a rail line is divided into block sections between stations situated 15 to 20 km apart in the non-suburban sections, including the loop lines at the stations. Instead of conventional block working, which permits only one train at a time in the block section of 15-20 km, ABS splits the block section into smaller subsections of 1 to 2 km. Signals are automatically operated once the train occupies the track through track circuits or axle counters. Once that block subsection is clear, the next train is automatically given the signal to enter the subsection. Hence, line capacity is optimally used and a safe distance between trains is maintained.

The railway official said, “Right now, there is a lot of speed difference among the trains running on main trunk route. The implementation of ABS in the suburban sections provides high line capacity of 15-20 trains per hour as trains are running at almost the same speeds. But ABS execution in mixed traffic will be less than 15-20 trains per hour and can be six-10 trains per hour which is still more than double the existing capacityof two-2.7 trains per hour which is achieved by reduction of running time, thus providing better wagon and locomotive turnaround.”

In Sweden, with the provision of ABS and CTC in mixed traffic wherein the maximum permissible speed of freight trains is 100 kmph, passenger trains 130 kmph, intercity express trains 160 kmph and for superfast trains it is 200 kmph, the capacity of more than 10 trains per hour is achieved.

ABS is functional in the non-suburban sections of Indian Railways in Palwal-Mathura (81 km); Vadodara-Ahmedabad (100 km) sections. The Palwal-Mathura section, which is considered as the most congested trunk routes of the railway carries mixed traffic of varied speeds of 96-100 trains each way in 24 hours without any problems.

A senior railway official said, “There is an internal opposition in the railways against progress in signalling systems and introduction of ABS due to the fear that there will be a surplus of station staff. The operations team and engineering team fear that they will lose power if drastic improvements in signalling happen. The Fifth Pay Commission had recommended the post of Member, Signalling and Telecom, but it never took off.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/rlys-yet-to-give-green-light-to-signal-systems/458164/

kalkibhagwan

December 12th, 2011, 12:40 AM

I have a question, what exactly is dedicated freight corridor. What good will it do to IR? Will it increase the speed of our trains and will it bring in new dabbas

Arul Murugan

December 12th, 2011, 02:29 AM

^^

Existing main line freight traffic will be diverted via DFC. So more bullock carts can be added to existing main line.

When other countries are building PDL i.e passenger dedicated lines and converting existing lines for high freight usage and less intercity rail usage, our great IR babus are building DFC...

IMHO those two DFC could have been High speed PDL so that 80% of traffic on Punjab-Delhi, Delhi-Kanpur-Patna-Howrah, Delhi-Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Mumbai route could be transfered to this PDL.. and existing main lines could have been put for maximum freight utilization.:nuts:

Bombay2Calcutta

December 12th, 2011, 02:59 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/12/12/Article//007/12_12_2011_007_028.jpg

World8115

December 12th, 2011, 04:50 PM

The modified indianrailways.gov.in site:

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9237/indianrailways.jpg

phaedrus

December 12th, 2011, 07:11 PM

its taking ages to load

World8115

December 12th, 2011, 07:26 PM

^^ I think you are talking about official site (indianrail.gov.in) which is down today. Click here - http://indianrailways.gov.in/ for the website above

----------------------------------

Indian Railways Carry 618.00 Million Tonnes of Freight during April-November 2011

Source: PIB (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=23)
Indian Railways have carried 618.00 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during April-November 2011. The freight carried shows an increase of 24.56 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 593.44 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 4.14 per cent.

During the month of November 2011, the revenue earning freight traffic carried by Indian Railways was 81.08 million tonnes. There is an increase of 4.53 million tonnes over the actual freight traffic of 76.55 million tonnes carried by the Indian Railways during the month of November 2010, showing an increase of 5.92 per cent.

phaedrus

December 13th, 2011, 06:14 AM

^^ I think you are talking about official site (indianrail.gov.in) which is down today. Click here - http://indianrailways.gov.in/ for the website above

nope, was the same link. its fine now, must have been an aberration then.

sixsigma1978

December 13th, 2011, 09:25 PM

Looks nice!

rupakd

December 14th, 2011, 12:11 PM

Indian Railways set to put brakes on train accidents

To minimize the cases of accidents, the Indian Railways has taken a commendable step of installation of Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS). There is a comprehensive plan for installation of TPWS in the busy routes of Indian Railways which would be completed in three segments starting from the year 2012 to 2020.

This protection device would automatically apply brakes on a train if it crosses a signal or is over speeding. It automatically applies a train's brakes if it approaches a fitted signal at danger too fast or fails to stop at a signal set at danger. It also automatically applies the brakes if a train is travelling too fast on the approach to certain speed restrictions and buffer stops.

According to the plan, Indian Railways plan to deploy Train Protection & Warning System first on its Automatic Block Signalling Sections followed by other High Density Routes.

In the first phase, it would cover all dense Automatic Block Signaling sections of IR spread over eight Zonal Railways covering approx. 3300 Route Kilometers in two phases, with provision of approx. 2300 On Board equipment on EMUs, MEMUs, Locomotives & other vehicles, running on these sections. In the first phase, approx. 1500 RKMs would be covered while in the second phase approx. 1800 RKMs. The Time period is from 2012 to 2015

The segment two would cover entire A route of Indian Railways approx. 5024 RKMs (balance) with approx. 3400 On board equipment on EMUs, MEMUs, Locomotives & other vehicles running on the sections. The Time Period is from 2012 to 2016.

The Segment 3 would Cover entire 'B' route of IR approx. 10,800 RKMs with approx. 1100 On board equipment on EMUs, MEMUs, Locomotives & other vehicles running on the sections The Time Period is from 2013 to 2020.

However, the above figures/timelines are indicative. For ensuring economy in costs and sustained long term maintenance support, while initial part quantity may be imported to commence the projects, major quantities shall be manufactured in the country with suitable transfer-of-technology.

In the first phase, installation of TPWS would be undertaken on Railway on Mumbai Central-Virar-Vadodara-Ahmedabad Section of Western Railways. It would also be undertaken in the Ghaziabad-Tundla-Kanpur of North Central Railway extending over a length of 414 Route KMs . It would also be undertaken in Sealdah-Howrah- & Automatic Signalling sections on Howrah/Sealdah Divisions and Howrah-Kharagpur-Tatanagar.

It is pertinent to mention that a standard TPWS installation consists of an on-track transmitter placed adjacent to a signal and activated when the signal is at 'danger' point. Any train that tries to pass the signal will have its emergency brakes activated. If the train is travelling at speed, this may be too late to stop it before the point of collision, therefore a second transmitter may be placed on the approach to the signal that applies the brakes on trains going too fast to stop at a signal, and this is positioned to safely stop trains approaching at upto 75 mph (120 km/h).

One pair of electronic loops is placed 50-450 metres on the approach side of the stop signal. The distance separating the loops is used to control the speed of the train.

There is another pair of loops at the signal, also energised when the signal is at "danger". These are always placed immediately together and will stop a train that runs past the signal, regardless of its speed.

In a standard installation of TPWS, there are two pairs of loops (sometimes referred to as "grids" or "toast racks"). Both pairs consist of an 'arming' and a 'trigger' loop. If the signal associated with the TPWS is at "danger", the loops will be energised. If the signal is at "proceed", the loops will de-energise.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Indian-Railways-set-to-put-brakes-on-train-accidents/articleshow/11103405.cms

rupakd

December 14th, 2011, 12:17 PM

Train to Sikkim may chug through Patna

With railways expediting the work of laying new lines in Sikkim, Patna may have direct connectivity with the state in a few years' time, according to ECR CPRO Neeraj Ambastha. Direct rail connectivity of Sikkim through north Bengal would also benefit the people living in Bhutan. Tourism to and fro Sikkim would also get a fillip.

Railways is currently implementing an ambitious project to lay new lines in Sikkim. Civil work has been going on smoothly after it was kicked off during the then railway minister, Mamata Banerjee 's tenure last year.

Dwelling on its importance, a Railway Board official said that the whole project would now cost about Rs 1,335 crore. Railways intends to complete it in 2015 to cater to the needs of a large number of people, including tourists, he said, adding Sikkim is already listed on the map of Indian Railways.

According to a Board official, the distance to be covered under the new rail linking project is about 52.7km, between Sevoke in Siliguri and Rangpo in east Sikkim. This rail link is being completed on a priority basis during the first phase of work, he said.

Railways is also keen to complete the doubling of railway tracks between Changrabandha and Malbazar, work on which is presently going on in full swing. It would help Bhutan carry out freight movements easily, he said.

Railways is building five stations linking Siliguri with Sikkim. As many as 100 bridges and four manned level crossings would be built between these places. To lay tracks in such difficult terrains, railways has no option but to build 13 tunnels to extend rail link in Sikkim. The longest tunnel is said to be about 1,814-metre-long, a Board official said .

Indian Railway Construction Company Ltd has been carrying out work on this project. Completion of this project in time will open a new chapter for the Indian Railways in the northeast region, added a Board official

Incidentally, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is said to have shown keen interest in the railway project. He is also in favour of early completion of the project, sources said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Train-to-Sikkim-may-chug-through-Patna/articleshow/11101702.cms

MxC

December 14th, 2011, 06:48 PM

Bombay2Calcutta

December 14th, 2011, 06:54 PM

DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-to-london-by-rail-in-24-days_1625544)
Mumbai to London by rail in 24 days!
By Rajendra Aklekar | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

How about taking the rail route to London from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus?

You can actually use the railroad for a 24-day travel between the two global cities, though it will involve a changeover of trains at international borders, small boat journeys ferrying the train coaches and a lot of determination.

Dr John Stubbs, a UK-based senior lecturer, who had undertaken the journey in 2005 to examine the problematic nature of international travel and future prospects for such international rail travel in the 21st century, is now willing to give the route a second shot.

“I would dearly love to make a second trip, though as a UK passport holder, I am rather concerned about security issues in Pakistan,” he said.

Stubbs, a 59-year-old senior lecturer from the Department of Geography at the University of Derby, whose research interests in transportation studies include rail transport development related to the Middle East and Central Asia.

“The railway route to India goes through Europe, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. The entire journey from London to Mumbai took me 24 days. I actually travelled from my hometown of Derby, so I took 25 days.But the journey could potentially, at least, be done in slightly less time depending on train operating timetables,” Stubbs told DNA.

There was a gap between Bam and Zahedan in southern Iran, and Stubbs had undertaken a four-hour bus journey in 2005. But today, the missing rail link has been completed and freight trains are running, albeit irregularly between Istanbul and Islamabad.

“So, in principle, it is now possible to do the journey entirely by train, providing you exclude the ferry crossing of the Bosporus in Istanbul and the train-ferry across Lake Van in Eastern Turkey,” explained an excited Stubbs.

“Since 2005, train times in Europe have changed and the overnight Paris-Vienna (Orient Express) no longer operates. But you can still do the London-Istanbul journey today by taking a slightly different route.”

senthilkumark

December 15th, 2011, 08:58 AM

On October 15, the Union Government refused to fund Indian Railways with a temporary loan of Rs 2,100 crore to meet its planned expenditure. It would be worthwhile here to remember Mr Sharad Yadav's comment during the Budget speech in February 2011. He asked Ms Mamata Banerjee for an update regarding the progress of Rail Coach factories, promised in the previous Budget. While Ms Banerjee did not respond, the subtle message was not lost — most could not be set up because the Railways could not bring to the table Rs 8,000 crore, its share as per the PPP arrangement to set up these factories.

TACTICAL REVENUE

The amount of Rs 2,100 crore has to be seen in a historical perspective. The surplus that Indian Railways (IR) earned in the first year of its turnaround in the previous decade was as much as Rs 20,000 crore. The moot question, therefore, is if this turnaround was sustainable. In the following years, though Indian Railways did not hike passenger fares, it had come up with a variety of surcharges to effect an indirect hike. The jump in iron ore loading, reclassification of commodities, and the raising of the axle load had generated a one-time bulge in earnings for IR.

The gains were more than offset by the Pay Commission awards that inflated its wage bill. IR's turnaround was more an outcome of tactical revenue enhancement, and not of structural reform that would have aligned the organisation to market needs in terms of capacity and demand management. It is therefore no surprise that the IR, whose turnaround became a subject of B-school case studies, so soon went into the red again. The 2005 turnaround was a temporary postponement of the inevitable.

Last week, the Railway Minister also commented that a mere fare hike would not help, as the railways required approximately Rs 2-3 lakh crore for a complete overhaul — a figure that could be contested. It's a no-brainer that a funding of this order is unlikely to come from the Finance Ministry and most institutional donors. So, how does IR cross the chasm?

LEVERAGING HIGH INCOMES

The solution lies in the Theory of Constraints. As Dr Goldratt suggested, the trick lies in de-bottlenecking one constraint, and then moving to the next. The constraints to be alleviated must have significant impact on passenger as well as freight revenue.

India's non-PPP-adjusted per capita income is all set to increase from approximately $423 in 2002-03 to more than $1,000 in 2011. Most of those at the upper end of the pyramid (India's urban population) constitute approximately 27.8 per cent of its population, and reside in its 5,100 towns, and more than 380 urban agglomerates. It is this rise in per capita income and the growth of urban centres that helped the low-cost flying stimulus double the number of flyers from 13.32 million in 2002-03 to approximately 24 million in 2011.

Surely, the catchment area for the Railways is much larger than for the airlines, with more inter-city business travellers and tourists for all fast-mushrooming towns and cities that the airlines don't cover or cover but are certainly priced higher. It is fallacious to assume that the top 25 per cent of the Indian population would not want to pay for value-for-money service, and that such a service would not generate profits for IR.

The Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani, for example, grosses Rs 63 crore annually, and is a profitable service for IR. A permutation of the 380 urban agglomerates and the 5,100 towns can help us understand the vast potential of inter-city and business travel.

From 2002-03 to 2009-10, the revenue share of second-class passenger services (largely the subsidised ones) dropped from 86 per cent to 81 per cent. With suitable debottlenecking along key inter-city routes, IR should be able to tap the growing urban population and reduce the share of subsidised passenger services to less than 75 per cent of its overall passenger revenue, at least in tune with the share of the urban population that has vast disposable incomes. The passenger services that do not make a profit could seek to make the best of the available parcel capacity on the passenger trains.

PASSENGER AND FREIGHT

Though much-hyped, the parcel services have always been a poorly exploited revenue stream. A passenger train has approximately 16 tonnes of parcel-carrying capacity. One tonne of parcel yields approximately Rs 100 crore. With the ever-increasing number of passenger trains and bustling urban population, parcel services represent a potentially profitable revenue stream for the Indian Railways, which would directly contribute to the reduction of subsidy to a passenger service.

Alignment of fresh capacity with these market segments should provide approximately 30 per cent of passenger revenue from services that are profitable by themselves, while helping reduce the subsidy burden of several other loss-making services. Importantly, with growing disposable incomes, every second-class passenger service offers a vast market of value-added services that include catering, supply of bed rolls and linen, and support facilities at railway stations.

As IR may not have the wherewithal to invest in the entire golden quadrilateral, the key is to strategically debottleneck — i.e. debottleneck sections that lead to significant reduction in passenger losses, as well as lead to significant growth in freight revenue. Let's take the commodity cement as an example.

In 1993-94, IR's share of cement transported was approximately 65 per cent, which reduced to 41 per cent in 2003-04, and increased to 45 per cent in 2010. The net tonne kilometres of cement moved in 2010 were of the order of 46,538,067. In the month of October 2011 alone, IR transported 9.16 million tonnes of cement, generating a revenue of Rs 580 crore.

HIGH-SPEED CORRIDORS

The Secunderabad Division is among the top six loading divisions in Indian Railways, with the major originating loading coming from coal and cement. Capacity augmentation investments in the constrained cement hinterland could, therefore, be strategic, to not only recoup the lost market share in cement and other commodities, but also cater to the passenger traffic in fast-growing metros in that hinterland. In 2007, IR did promise to alleviate constraints in the cement hinterland, with a promise to augment line capacity in the Daund-Gulbaraga-Wadi-Guntakal section.

The augmented capacity would also serve to speed up inter-city travel, and boost capacity between the next generation metros — Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore — and create semi high-speed corridors between Mumbai – Bangalore, Mumbai – Chennai and Mumbai – Hyderabad. Mumbai – Bangalore is among the most-flown sectors in the country. The hope for numerous profit-making passenger services after de-bottlenecking is therefore real, in addition to the bounty of freight revenue.

After making declarations to that extent in 2007, as late as November 2011, IR had only invited tenders for the purpose of doubling and electrification of the entire stretch from Daund to Guntakal, and the current plan targets to complete the project by 2016. This is indeed a very relaxed target for a section that offers significant debottlenecking gains for IR.

The estimated expenditure on doubling this stretch is expected to be of the order of Rs 700 crore. If at all IR were to set aside only Rs 3,000 crore per annum for four such critical sections to be debottlenecked speedily, it would add significant revenue through enhanced line utilisation.

Enhanced throughput and alleviation of constraints hold the key to sustainable top line growth for IR. Last year, IR did promise to target 1,000 km of new railway lines every year. If only they were diligent and focused on sections to be strategically debottlenecked, financial salvation would lie within the precincts of the Rail Bhavan itself.

(The author is a Mumbai-based transport analyst.)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/article2714929.ece?homepage=true

MxC

December 15th, 2011, 08:12 PM

barrykul

December 15th, 2011, 08:26 PM

Some pages back there was a discussion on Railway safety devices. The discussion veered around getting accurate GPS signal and getting better than 5m resolution. Well today, Qualcomm announced that any device with a Snapdragon S2 or S3 processor is capable of accessing both satellite networks - GPS and Glonass. What this means is that accuracy is down to 2 meters - i.e. 6 ft. IITs/NITs can easily conjure up a device for the Indian Railways using Qualcomm chips and have a relatively cheap solution for railway safety. Will the Babus in IR wakeup and smell the coffee. E. Sreedharan once said that the biggest roadblock to development were Babus (IAS) not Politicians.

engineer.akash

December 16th, 2011, 06:50 PM

Replicating heritage

Mysore railway museum gets country’s first miniature trains

Sreekantswamy B, Mysore, December 15, DHNS:
http://www.deccanherald.com/images/editor_images1/2011/12/16/MYSORE-RAILWAY.jpg

The Mysore Railway Station will soon be getting five new trains. However, the service will be restricted to the station itself.

Don’t get confused. The South Western Railway (SWR), Mysore division, is shortly opening refurbished heritage gallery with five miniature trains.

The matter of pride here is Mysore will be the first city to boast of such a facility in the country. The miniature trains imported from the US will run on digital command control system along a track length of 600 metres, Dr Anup Dayanand Sadhu, senior divisional commercial manager, SWR, Mysore division, told Deccan Herald.

A model of a township, comprising Mysore city, Kodagu, mining areas and other prominent tourist attractions, is being recreated at the gallery. The miniature trains will run on tracks covering all these places.

Sri Ram Associates of Mysore have designed and executed the project on their own, at an estimated cost of Rs 15 lakh. They had been working on the model for the past six months. Railways have provided space in the heritage gallery that earlier had photographs pertaining to the evolution of Railways. Once the work is completed, Sri Ram Associates will be handing over the same to railways.

The model has miniature replicas of the Mysore Railway Station, Amba Vilas Palace, Hotel Lalita Mahal Palace, St Philomena’s Church, Doddagadiyara, K R Circle and Chamaraja Wadiyar Circle, Chamundi Hill with the temple at the top, Srirangapatna Railway Junction, footover bridges and tunnels among others. Tiny houses and also the prominent high-rise buildings in the vicinity of the Railway Station can also been seen in the form of models.

Mention must be made of the century-old Wesley Bridge, and KRS Dam in Srirangapatna taluk, which have also been recreated. The effect of flowing water will be made using imported rexin, the officer said.

As said earlier, it is a recreation of the railway system. The miniature trains will automatically run and stop according to the signals. The brass pole lamps will glow, lighting up the entire model and enhancing the beauty of the architectural wonder.

Chicago and Hamburg have similar miniature trains but on a much bigger scale. The Science and Technology Museum in Chicago has 500 miniature trains, while at Hamburg, it is even more, said Sadhu, recalling his visit to Chicago. The model is made using foam (for trees), plaster of paris (for stones and mounts), cardboards and other available materials.

The entry to the gallery situated on platform one is free for passengers who have tickets. For others, it will be through platform tickets.

Apart from professionals, five students from Chamaraja Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) have lent their expertise in making the model.

Sadhu said: “If all goes well, the gallery will be opened either by the end of the year or in January as a New Year gift.”

I love toys

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: :happy:

:banana2:

pkalein

December 17th, 2011, 08:15 PM

I love toys

hehe it was my dream when I was small in 3rd or 4th I wanted to have whole Mumbai Suburban Railway system as a toy

saw it somewhere with my uncle

rupakd

December 19th, 2011, 08:25 AM

Direct train service proposed to Kolkata

Bangladesh has proposed to launch a direct train service from its major southwestern port city of Khulna to Kolkata the capital of India’s West Bengal state.
According to the new proposal of the Bangladesh Railway, the present Benapole commuter train could shuttle between the capital of Kolkata and Khulna via Jessore and Bongaon.
If introduced, the local train will be the second Kolkata-bound passenger train from Bangladesh, officials said.
At present, Maitree Express has been running between Dhaka and Kolkata since April 14, 2008.
Earlier Dhaka-Kolkata passenger train service was suspended following the war between India and Pakistan in 1965.
“We have already sent the proposal to the Indian government in the first week of this month. But we’ve not got any response from the Indian authorities,” Mohammad Shahjahan, an additional director general (operation), said.
He said a new train service will help travellers to visit India and Bangladesh.
As part of the Bangladesh government’s drive for boosting regional connectivity, especially among the Saarc member-countries, Bangladesh Railway made the proposal to speed up the sub-regional co-operation initiatives with neighbouring India.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=476515&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24

_Mihir13

December 19th, 2011, 09:12 AM

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/Railways-on-the-track-to-corporatization-may-outsource-non-transport-work/articleshow/11164605.cms

This must be done ASAP. A sort of revolution will happen in railway services if the suggestions above are implemented at the earliest. Best part is - There are no political problems with implementing the same. No vote bank related issues, no price hike related issues.

skdubai

December 19th, 2011, 10:00 AM

+1... Finally!! I never saw the sense of the railways getting involved in activities like bottled water?!!?!?!?!? About time they got their priorities right!

MxC

December 19th, 2011, 07:40 PM

A big +1 to it!

I'm sure majority would agree that all this is long overdue!

Smooth Indian

December 19th, 2011, 08:52 PM

^^A big +1 from me too. It about time they get out of these secondary activities and focus on their primary goal.

senthilkumark

December 21st, 2011, 05:47 AM

anidel

December 21st, 2011, 06:50 PM

Now, produce identity cards to book any railway ticket :bash::bash::bash:

Move initiated to curb activities of anti-social elements, awaits approval from Railway Ministry

The next time you go to buy a general railway ticket for your desired destination, remember carrying a valid government identity proof such as PAN card or driving licence. For, the Indian Railways have decided to make ID cards mandatory for the purchase of any type of tickets, including platform tickets.

No lapses this time: The move will also help crackdown on touts
fleecing passengers at reservation counters. Representation Pic

This is being done to boost the security measures in the country. The decision was taken a few months ago and the proposal was sent to the Railway Board for approval. Owing to several instances of terrorists or anti-social elements travelling by trains or any other government transport facility, the Central Railway authorities sent a proposal to the Railway Ministry for approval.

According to the railway officials, any valid government ID proof will have to be produced at the ticket counter before buying a ticket. The decision will be implemented in the country in a few months once the Railway Board in New Delhi issues and circulates a formal order notifying all railway divisions across the country.

Central Railway public relations officer, Y K Singh , said that even platform tickets would be sold only after producing relevant identity cards. "This will curtail free movement of potential anti-social elements making it difficult for them to operate," he said.

Crackdown on touts
The public relations officer added that one of the reasons behind the decision was to crackdown on touts operating at reservation counters. "People are constantly harassed by agents and the new rules will keep a check on their proliferation," Singh added.

At present, only long distance reservations tickets require ID cards, which are checked at the counter during reservation and by the Travelling Ticket Examiner after boarding the train.

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/dec/211211-pune-Now-produce-identity-cards-to-book-any-railway-ticket.htm

What the hell????? :bash::bash:

How it will help??? or stop touts???????

As govt. says one has to produce ID card at the counter in simple words one just have to show his ID card before ticket purchase.

As it a known fact that touts work with the help of railway staff this move will be of no use :ohno:

They are not saying that one has to attach a photocopy merely showing at ticket window will not help.

But it will surely make the queues at the ticket counter much longer :bash:

anidel

December 21st, 2011, 06:52 PM

Railway revenue earnings climb by 24.91%

http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/storyShow.php?fileR=20111221144358200&dir=2011/12/21

sidney_jec

December 21st, 2011, 07:01 PM

Now, produce identity cards to book any railway ticket :bash::bash::bash:

Unless we have a rule we can't whine about the ineffectiveness in the absence of it.

AutobotDelhi

December 22nd, 2011, 03:04 AM

It's a good move. Let's wait and watch whether this curbs the tout-booking or not. It's true that railway booking clerks work with the connivance of the touts/agents. But let this rule pan out. And this is the general practice in the developed world (definitely in the US).

rupakd

December 22nd, 2011, 07:21 AM

Coming soon: Trains of steel, speed

Trains in the country will sport new interiors, have more passenger comfort, will be faster and will be easier to maintain as the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai gears up to make stainless steel coaches using German technology in a new plant being set up in Perambur.

This is part of a long-term plan to phase out existing coaches that are made using 55-year-old designs and replace them with variants of German Linke Hofmann Busche (LHB) coaches that can run up to 200 kmph.

The railway ministry has sanctioned Rs 249.58 crore to ICF for the purpose. "Preliminary works to establish a new plant near one of our units has started. The new plant will be attached to the existing factory," said ICF chief mechanical engineer Hemant Kumar.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Coming-soon-Trains-of-steel-speed/articleshow/11200726.cms

mangalore mania

December 22nd, 2011, 11:47 AM

I had booked a tatkal ticket from Mangalore to Bangalore, At the time of booking in the counter i had to produce my ID proof and he had taken a photocopy of it, The ID number was also written on my ticket, but at the time of journey The ticket checker dint even borther to verify.. Whats the use of so long procedures

Bombay2Calcutta

December 25th, 2011, 04:35 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/12/25/Article//006/25_12_2011_006_002.jpg

rupakd

December 26th, 2011, 09:16 AM

Rajdhani train breaks 145kmph speed barrier

Here’s a reason to cheer about train speed in India. Trials on Rajdhani and Express trains have clocked 145kmph. The trials are now on in Mumbai’s backyard, between Virar-Dahanu and Surat stations.

The Research and Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research arm of Indian Railways that has been conducting speed trials and tests, has now reported success of ‘oscillation and swing trials’ of these passenger trains.

“The oscillation and swing trials that were undertaken in the secondary stage with self-generating air-conditioned chair car coaches of Rajdhani, like Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) and normal Express train coaches fitted with air springs, have successfully clocked 145kmph between Virar and Surat stations,” an RDSO official said.

LHB are the swanky, German technology coaches in trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi.

The speed came close to that clocked by the fastest train in India, the Bhopal Shatabdi — a Shatabdi Express train with a maximum speed of 160kmph and an average speed of 93kmph, excluding stops.

The new-age local train wasn’t far behind — with a speed of 130kmph during field tests. The trials were conducted between Virar and Dahanu Road stations, said a senior RDSO official.

The ‘feat’ has now been listed as one of the major “achievements” of the RDSO.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_rajdhani-train-breaks-145kmph-speed-barrier_1630101

_Mihir13

December 26th, 2011, 09:57 AM

The average speed of all the trains from/to the Bombay Suburban area to/from the Northern region - passing through Vadodara(BRC) will increase once the entire WR region of Bombay is converter to AC traction as LOCO change will not be required at BRC.

Currently all locos going in-to Bombay have to be Dual AC/DC locos. Part of the Bombay region has already been converted. I don't know the status of the remaining region. I think they've converted upto Vile Parle - not sure though. But lets hope they convert the remain portion asap. That will save 20 mins of Loco change time at BRC.

kalkibhagwan

December 29th, 2011, 05:58 AM

FRESH BLUEPRINT FOR AC LOCALS ON ANVIL

Air-conditioned local trains for the city are back in talks, with the railways research wing at Lucknow preparing a new blueprint for such trains for the Western Railway tracks.

In a bid to catch up with the Metro railways being planned across the country, the railways is in tearing hurry to freeze plans for these special locals, railway officials said.

Confirming the railways’ decision to go ahead with the ambitious project, a senior official said the air-conditioned trains were likely not just in Mumbai but in all the major cities, as part of Indian Railways Vision 2020 programme. In 2007, the railways had planned to run AC trains as a pilot between Churchgate and Borivli on a public-private partnership, but scrapped it following opposition.

In the 2008 rail budget, the then railway minister Lalu Prasad had stated the possibility of introducing AC suburban trains for the city in the 11th Five Year plan by 2012.

It is learnt that top officials of the Research Design and Standards Organisation in Lucknow are already working on the “tough task” of designing AC trains for Mumbai. The Western Railway had also internally prepared one such coach at its Mahalaxmi workshop and taken trials a few years ago. The plan for Mumbai had been earlier rejected as air-conditioned trains required closed doors, which was not possible in the dense crush load that the city’s trains ferry.

Another idea proposed comprised air-curtains to separate the cold air from the warm, but that too did not click. An air-curtain is a ventilation device used for separating two spaces from each other, a downward-facing fan with a powerful jet to help keep outside air out.

The city’s railway think-tank, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, too, had taken up the AC locals plans, but it did not take off due to technicalities. Now, with plans to revive the idea, the railways have taken to chalking out a new blueprint.

As local trains could not be fitted with air-conditioners, it was then decided to install forced ventilation blowers in trains. The “forced ventilation’’ technique was to aid in decrease of carbon dioxide levels in packed trains.

expect it when you become a grandfather of someone... [the chances of blackhole eating up the earth is more than the chances of this happening]

_Mihir13

December 29th, 2011, 06:59 AM

FRESH BLUEPRINT FOR AC LOCALS ON ANVIL

expect it when you become a grandfather of someone... [the chances of blackhole eating up the earth is more than the chances of this happening]

Do we even need to spend money on such A/c trains - when there are more important projects pending in the country? Like doubling of crucial lines, guage conversion, connecting north east.

Why not spend money on researching on better quality tracks and freight wagons, better non A/c rail wagons, better waste disposal techniques, better signaling systems, better controlled discharge toilets.

We need to get our priorities straight. Work more towards helping the common man than spend money A/c trains for the rich.

Bombay2Calcutta

December 29th, 2011, 08:03 AM

Automatic control to make train travel safer

Jayanta Gupta TNN

Kolkata: Come 2012 and train travel to and from Howrah, both under the Eastern and South Eastern Railway, will get safer. The Central Organisation for Railway Safety Systems (CORSS) has selected 326 km under Eastern Railway and 250 km under SER for introduction of the train protection and warning system (TPWS). Once this system is introduced, trains will automatically come to a stop if the driver overshoots a red signal. This will help reduce accidents.
“It has now been planned to introduce a cost-effective TPWS to mitigate the risk of signal passing at danger (SPAD) by motormen and drivers. SPAD is a primary cause for accidents and the TPWS will aid drivers and motormen in keeping a lookout for red signals. 326 km in the Sealdah-Howrah-Khana and automatic signalling sections in the Howrah and Sealdah divisions are in Phase I (Segment I) of the programme. The Howrah-Kharagpur-Tatanagar section of South Eastern Railway will also be undertaken in the Phase I. For this, 125 onboard equipment will be required for ER and 250 for SER,” an official said.
The TPWS is a system comprising of a unit which is launched in the locomotive. It is this unit that captures signals from signal posts. It doesn’t react if the signal is green or orange and if the driver is proceeding within speed limit.
However, if the signal is red and the driver fails to slow down sufficiently, an alarm will immediately sound inside the cabin. If the driver fails to take corrective action despite the alert bell, the system will automatically apply the brakes and bring the train to a stop. There are plans to introduce system in both locomotives of long-distance trains and suburban locals.
“The system incorporates several features. It has to first calculate the distance from the signal and then correlate it with the speed to decide whether the train is at risk. If the train crosses the danger mark at speeds between 5-10 km per hour, the TPWS will apply the service brake to bring the train to a stop. The service brake command will be withdrawn once the speed of the train is reduced to a manageable level. If the train is moving at a greater speed than 10 km per hour, the system will apply the emergency brakes and not withdraw its command till the speed is reduced or the train comes to a complete stop. These actions will be logged automatically for future reference,” the official added.
Only in certain cases, will the driver or motorman have powers to override the system. This can be done in the case of some manual signals and the system can be overridden only if the train is stationary.
According to officials, the system has already been tried in the Mumbai suburban and some other sections. The results have also been excellent. They say that once the entire Indian Railway network gets covered by the TPWS by 2020, accidents due to human error will get reduced to a great extent.

MxC

December 29th, 2011, 08:29 AM

Railways puts bullet train project on fast track
(Source: ToI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railways-puts-bullet-train-project-on-fast-track/articleshow/11285881.cms))

Railways' ambitious project of running bullet trains in six select corridors has been fast tracked as the state-run transporter is ready with the Cabinet note for setting up of a high speed rail authority.

Railways' top brass are also in intense negotiations with the visiting Japanese delegation, seeking their cooperation for introduction of a high speed train that can run at 300km per hour.

The authority will be empowered to decide on whether a particular corridor project will be implemented on PPP or non-PPP mode based on pre-feasibility study. Sources said that the authority will have the power to decide on ownership and management of each high-speed corridor. Besides, it will take a final call on project packaging, such as operator, fixed infrastructure and rolling stock.

Railways has selected six corridors for conducting feasibility study for running high speed trains. The transporter has completed the pre-feasibility study for the 650 km Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor. It has selected a Japanese consortium to explore the feasibility of running a bullet train on the proposed Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai high speed corridor.

The consultants for the pre-feasibility study of Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna and Howrah-Haldia corridors have been appointed and they are expected to submit reports soon, said an official.

Tenders for the study of Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram corridor are under finalization. The state governments are ready to meet 50% cost of the consultancy. While Japan has shown interest in India's high speed train, it is funding 80% of the cost of construction of the 1,499 km-long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.

Railways believes that Japan, which runs the high speed train Shinkansen, can show India the way as both nations face a similar situation as far as population density and station-to-station distances are concerned.

It is being estimated that dedicated high speed corridor will cost about Rs 100 crore per km.

I'm still not hopeful of traveling on one of these in India anytime before 10-15 years from now.

aniketh87

December 29th, 2011, 03:51 PM

^^+1:)

kalkibhagwan

December 29th, 2011, 07:59 PM

Railways moots PPP model for infrastructure

ALLAHABAD: Railways has proposed to seek the cooperation of the private sector for developing rail infrastructure in the country. For this purpose, railways has framed public-private participation investment models for existing as well as new projects. It has also drafted policy for private participation in rail connectivity and capacity augmentation projects.

The policy aims at enabling the state governments in playing a proactive role in development and implementation of rail projects. The state government would benefit from the project as timely development of rail infrastructure, which is significant for economic development, would reduce congestion on the roads.

Indian Railways has proposed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model for the operation of sanctioned railway projects. It is generally applicable for sanctioned bankable new line and gauge conversion projects having identifiable stakeholders either as user of the line or utilities such as ports, mines, exporters, plants and the state governments. SPV will operate on common carrier principle for public transportation of goods and passengers.

Project development will be done by Indian Railways or its public sector undertaking through consulting firms to establish project cost, land requirement, project design and other project component requirements, and project bankability.

Land acquisition will be done either by Indian Railways at the SPV's cost or by the SPV itself as mutually decided. Ownership of the land will vest with the Railways. Land will be given to the SPV on annual token lease of one rupee for the entire concession period.

Financial participation will be through equity participation in the SPV. The SPV will be a joint venture with Railways as a partner with IR or its PSU holding a minimum of 26% equity shares.

Revenue from the operation on the project line will be collected by Indian Railways through its commercial staff. Revenue stream of the SPV would be established through revenue apportionment from freight operation for the project line length.

The project construction will be done by the SPV. The SPV may, however, choose to entrust construction to Indian Railways or its agencies by entering into a construction agreement. Maintenance of the project line could be done either by the SPV or by IR through an O&M agreement. In case the maintenance is undertaken by the SPV, supervision/certification shall be done by Indian Railways on payment of supervision/certification charges by the SPV.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-28/allahabad/30564883_1_spv-special-purpose-vehicle-gauge-conversion-projects

kalkibhagwan

December 29th, 2011, 08:02 PM

Indian Railways, Now Tracked by Satellites

Bangalore: The Railways are soon shifting to a satellite-based tracking system to get the exact time information regarding the movement of train. The pilot project implemented on Chennai section is soon to be completed. It will be in production from next year.

P Bala Bhaskar Rao, VP (Operations) of Hyderabad-based Avantel Limited, "We will commence installation of the Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) system from the next week covering 107 locomotives that run on the Chennai section. The installation of the technology will be completed by February of next year,"as quoted by Business Standard.

India's first certified indigenous MSS system for defense and aerospace applications has been developed by Avantel and the first 12 unit of system including four spare systems is to be delivered to Boeing Company under a contract worth about $ 2.2 million. Supplied by the American aircraft company to Indian defense forces, these MSS systems would be fitted on 8 P-8I Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft.

The Boeing Aerospace in compliance with Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) standards produced the MSS system for the P-8I. According to the company, it has been qualified by the Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification (Cemilac).

Rao said that the system involving the technology is same for the aircraft and Indian Railways. The MSS-based tracking system is planned to be implemented in the Railways across the country once its pilots demonstrate its efficiency.

The first phase of the Real Train Information System, based on the satellite imaging for rail navigation has been opened by the Railway. It has been mutually developed by the Research Design and Standards Organization and IIT-Kanpur. Despite the fact that the locomotives are fitted with GPS equipment, the system runs on Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication technology that is used in mobile phones.

After the implementation of new system the movement and location of each train will be tracked on a realtime basis. Rao said, "Once the system is in place several value-added services like providing passengers with accurate information on train arrival time among others will be developed around it,"
Avantel has also come up with ultra high frequency (UHF) communication systems and products, and it will be delivered to Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) under a contract for 25-crore in the next six months.

The Indian army extensively uses the MSS system mainly on the Navy warships and Cost Guard vessels. The MSS system for defence applications are developed from various platforms like submarines, torpedoes, ground-based vehicles, ships, and aircraft.

Founded in 1995, Aventel had started developing Type-C terminals for one-way messaging following a technology transfer agreement with Isro in 2000. A turnover of Rs 24.5 crore was recorded for the BSE-listed company in 2001 and revenue of 26 crore is expected for the present year. Its share closed up at 58.25 whereas its 52-month price stood at 69.5 and 41 respectively.

rupakd

December 30th, 2011, 08:38 AM

On a slow track

India’s top railway wagon makers, Titagarh Wagons and Texmaco Rail and Engineering, are likely to be hit by order delay from Indian Railways this financial year. However, despite the shrinking order book, both stocks are trading at high valuations. Titagarh, the country’s largest private wagon manufacturer, has outperformed the Sensex over the past one-month and three-month periods. On the contrary, Texmaco Rail, the second largest player, has underperformed the markets in both periods.

The current valuations of both stocks appear rich. Titagarh and Texmaco Rail are trading at 10 times and 13 times FY12 earnings estimates, respectively. However, analysts feel these valuations are unjustified. Given the lack of revenue visibility, outlook on both companies remains muted.

At a cost of Rs 4,000 crore, Indian Railways was to procure 15,715 wagons from private manufacturers this financial year. Of this, Texmaco Rail was allotted the maximum wagons (3,539), the rest being distributed among eight other companies (including Titagarh). Even as the share of each wagon maker is announced earlier, allocations are completed by September-October each year. This year, however, they are expected to be completed in the March 2012 quarter. Experts believe these orders are unlikely to be released for the next three-four months, given the overall slowdown in Indian economy.

http://business-standard.com/india/news/muted-outlook-/460184/

rupakd

December 30th, 2011, 08:40 AM

Dhubri-Bengal rail link soon

Train service is expected to commence soon on the newly laid railway track from Dhubri district in Assam to New Cooch Behar railway station in North Bengal.

A senior officer of the Alipurduar railway division said, "The official inspection and trial and run were done to satisfaction. We are now waiting for the final nod from the higher railway authorities to introduce the new train service on this route."

The divisional railway manager at Alipurduar railway junction, R.N. Singh, said the track from Golokganj in Dhubri district to New Cooch Behar was completed on a war footing a few months ago and they were waiting for the green signal from the higher authorities to start the train service on this route.

"All the work, including the trial run, has been completed but this is not enough. It requires manpower to run a train on a new route. The service will be introduced soon, but when I cannot say," Singh said.

A railway source said the new train was likely to be a DMU (diesel multiple unit), like the one that runs between New Cooch Behar and Malda at present.

He also said that the actual route of the train was likely to be longer 'from Dhubri to Siliguri, via Golokganj and New Cooch Behar railway stations. The train is likely to be introduced tentatively from January, but the date and timing are yet to be finalised, he added.

There was a railway service from Dhubri to Cooch Behar via Golokganj junction about five decades ago. The Assam Line Railway Service, as it was known, also connected East Pakistan even after Partition till the early seventies. But the route has remained dysfunctional for almost five decades now. The Bangladesh War and subsequent collapse of the twin-track (road and rail) bridge over the Gangadhar near Golokganj town during the seventies totally cut off Dhubri's railway communication with Bengal.

The joint convener of New Moinaguri-Jogighopa BG Railway Line Demand Committee, Tazmul Haque, said a delegation of the committee had called on Union railway minister Dinesh Trivedi in New Delhi on December 8 with various demands, including immediate introduction of a train on the Dhubri-New Cooch Behar route and accelerating work on the new Gouripur-Jogighopa BG railway track. "The minister assured us that the work would be implemented speedily and the new train service would be introduced at the earliest," Haque added.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/dhubri-bengal-rail-soon-000000744.html

irutavias

January 1st, 2012, 08:01 AM

Railways puts bullet train project on fast track
(Source: ToI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railways-puts-bullet-train-project-on-fast-track/articleshow/11285881.cms))

I'm still not hopeful of traveling on one of these in India anytime before 10-15 years from now.

Brief but interesting video in Japanese (english) media about the Indian high-speed rail opportunity. Highlights potential high-speed corridors across India (2:12)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/movie/feature201112282110.html

Bombay2Calcutta

January 2nd, 2012, 09:06 AM

Now, a new body for Mumbai station's upkeep
Published: Monday, Jan 2, 2012, 8:00 IST
By Rajendra Aklekar | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_now-a-new-body-for-mumbai-station-s-upkeep_1632332)

Now, a Railway Station Development Corporation! The ministry of railways, run by the Trinamool Congress, has decided that there is money to be made from the humble railway station, and will set up a full-fledged corporation to develop stations into multi-functional complexes.

The basic aim of this corporation is to develop more and more passenger-related amenities at stations. “The ministry has plans to redevelop a large number of railway stations in a holistic manner,” said a senior railway official.

“A nodal agency with the required professional competence and a proper policy in place will be the best solution for such a massive national project. The special purpose vehicle will have the participation of Ircon International Ltd and the rail land development authority (RLDA),” he stated.

While Ircon International Ltd — registered as Indian Railway Construction Company Limited, a wholly owned entity of the ministry of railways — is an engineering and construction company specialising in transport infrastructure, the RLDA has been formed for the commercial development of identified railway land and airspace for revenue generation.

The official said as of now, stations were developed under various budget heads and names like Model Station, Adarsh Station and World Class Station, of which the Adarsh Station scheme has been popular with a number of smaller stations.

‘’All these efforts will now be consolidated under one body,’’ the official added.

MxC

January 2nd, 2012, 01:57 PM

MxC

January 4th, 2012, 02:50 PM

Security helpline to come up for train passengers
(Source: ToI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Security-helpline-to-come-up-for-train-passengers/articleshow/11362954.cms))

A nationwide railway helpline number - 135- to help passengers seeking security assistance during train journeys is in the offing.

The All-India Passenger Security Helpline can be used all over the country round-the-clock.

"All necessary preparations for launching the helpline for security assistance are being made to launch the first of its kind all-India service," a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project said.

The helpline will be managed by the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

"There will be a control room near the Daya Basti here to receive complaints round-the-clock. The control room building is ready now," said the official, adding "a passenger can make any security-related complaint using the number."

RPF will provide necessary training to about 250 staff for the call centre job. "There will be about 30 RPF personnel deployed at the control room to receive the complaints and do the needful," the official said.

Networking of all RPF units and other modalities are being worked out to launch the helpline.

"Networking of security control rooms and important posts has been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 4.41 crores for speedy collection and dissemination of crime related information," he said.

Noting that railways is becoming a soft target of sabotage and terrorism, the official said, "Security of passengers is of paramount importance for railways and we would like all passengers to travel fearlessly".

Railways are also planning to amend railway property law to empower RPF in dealing with passenger-related offences.

Necessary amendments in the Railway Property (unlawful possession) Act to further empower RPF officers to conduct inquiry on receipt of information and widen the ambit of its penal sections is passed in Rajya Sabha and now it will be sent to Lok Sabha for consideration.

"The amendments will empower the RPF to deal with passenger-related offences," he said, adding "RPF will have to play a vital role in coordination with other police forces and intelligence agencies to deter disruptive elements and ensure smooth, safe and secure movement of railways as well as passengers."

Good initiative, provided RPF will immediately take action on calls, especially when report is of a crime in progress/just about to happen. Also this no should be tollfree.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 5th, 2012, 02:32 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2012/01/05/Article//005/05_01_2012_005_020.jpg

MxC

January 5th, 2012, 07:26 AM

^^
The night ban has continued for too long... about time it gets revoked.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 6th, 2012, 01:47 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2012/01/06/Article//001/06_01_2012_001_041.jpg

_Mihir13

January 6th, 2012, 07:34 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2012/01/06/Article//001/06_01_2012_001_041.jpg

Its a good thing to do. This lady must be taught a lesson. The railways has already lost this whole decade under the congress rule. How much more should we allow these people to milk this cow for their vote bank politics. My wild guess is - they haven't been able to complete even 25% of rail infrastructure development that they've been promising in each of the consecutive budgets.

Check this out in today's Business-Standard:
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/no-fare-hike-as-trivedis-rail-budget-to-bear-didi-stamp/460942/

Even this year they've not going to hike fares. Don't they just get it. They are doing more harm to this same common man - they think they are trying to protect. There's another wonderful report in BS today:

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/new-trains-every-year-rlys-chugobsolete-model-in-india/460920/

As the economy grows more and more freight should be hauled by the railways. This would make roads less congested, maintenance of roads will be cheaper, we'll have cleaner air and most importantly - freight transportation will be faster. It'll also help combat inflation. But here in india - as per the above report - 53% of the freight is transported by Roads where as in China its just 25% and US - 44%.

With people like Mamta and the Congress party - the railway revival is a distant dream.

gentem

January 6th, 2012, 08:54 AM

^^ this budget they have no elections ahead. so fare hike can be made. they can increase the price of tatkal tickets at least, tatkal tickets can be 25% costlier than normal bookings. This will make for uniform patronage.

_Mihir13

January 6th, 2012, 08:59 AM

@Gentem: Tatkal constitutes a very miniscule % of railways earning. The situation is so bad taht only an across the board hike will make a noticeable difference. And across the board also means the General Un-reserved class.

Also a price hike alone will not do. A lot of major policy changes are necessary - like outsourcing of Rail Coach manufacturing, the Catering Services, the Linen services etc. The list is long.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 6th, 2012, 05:09 PM

http://business-standard.com/india/news/another-friendship-train-likely/460921/
Another friendship train likely

Probal Basak / Kolkata January 06, 2012, 0:24 IST

Indian Railways is mulling to run a Maitree (friendship) Express between Kolkata and Khulna, a city in the southwestern part of Bangladesh, after a proposal from the neighbour. Khulna is considered to be a major trade centre. The seaport of Mongla is on its outskirts.

“Last month, Indian Railways received a proposal from Bangladesh railway containing details like proposed route. The final decision will be taken at an inter-governmental railway review meeting, ” said an official.

According to the proposal, the Kolkata-Khulna train will run through Bangaon in North 24 Paraganas district of West Bengal and Bangladesh’s Jessore district. The proposal was understood to be mooted for the first time by Bangladesh during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit in September last year.

Chandralekha Mukherjee, executive director (information and publicity), Indian Railways, said, “There is some talks about such a train, though I am not aware of the details. A meeting is scheduled to take place in the second week of January, where the matter is likely to be discussed.”

If the proposal materialises, this will be the second passenger train linking the two countries after Bangladesh attained freedom in 1971. Earlier, three trains — East Bengal Express, East Bengal Mail and Barisal Express — used to run between India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The railway link was suspended in 1965 after India and Pakistan went to war. The Barisal Express connected Kolkata and Khulna.

After 43 long years, the biweekly Maitree Express linking Kolkata and Bangladeshi capital Dhaka was flagged off on April 14, 2008, by then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The train runs even now.

Although the train has witnessed an increase in number of passengers in recent times, it does not seem to be a desired option for many because of the long hours it takes to complete the border crossing formalities.

“The total capacity of the train is 275. It used to carry about 40 passengers when it started. Now average booking is 50 per cent,” a spokesperson of the Eastern Railway said. The journey time in the train for a distance of about 538 km (120 km in India, 418 km in Bangladesh) from Kolkata to Dhaka is about 11 hours, including four hours for completing customs and immigration formalities on either sides of the border.

The two sides are examining the possibility of carrying out customs and immigration procedures on board to reduce travel time. Apart from Bangladesh, India has rail connectivity with Pakistan — the Delhi-Lahore Samjhauta Express and the Jodhpur-Karachi Thar Express.

gentem

January 7th, 2012, 10:29 AM

IRCTC launches mobile ticketing website

Booking rail tickets has now
become more easy. Indian
Railways Catering and Tourism
Corporation( IRCTC) has come
up with a new way that lets
passengers book tickets through
mobile phones anywhere,
anytime.
Passengers, who wish to book
rail tickets, can go to the mobile
website of the Indian Railways -
https: //www. irctc.co .in/
mobile . The IRCTC mobile
website is said to be convenient
and easy to use, and can be
accessed from any browser
enabled mobile having basic
GPRS activated on phone. With
just a few clicks, users can book
tickets using their mobile
phones.
The website offers various
features. People can book
tickets by providing source and
destination, check booking
history and cancel tickets.
Payment can be made using
credit or debit card. Users can
use their existing IRCTC user id
and password to login to the
website.
There are already three apps -
PAYMATE, ngpay and ATOM -
which allow users to buy rail
tickets using their mobile
phones, and the launch of
IRCTC mobile website is an
addition to the already existing
mobile ticketing apps.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/irctc-launches-mobile-ticketing-website/217424-11.html

x post

Bombay2Calcutta

January 7th, 2012, 07:38 PM

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_state-luxury-trains-among-worlds-best_1634435
Maharastra: State luxury trains among world’s best

Mumbai’s Deccan Odyssey and the Maharaja’s Express have found themselves among world’s best 25 trains in a list compiled by a US-based global rail travel society for being some of the “most luxurious” with courteous staff and best cuisine.

“India has some of the best trains; the list has quite a few from the sub-continent,” Eleanor Flagler Hardy, president of the Society of International Railway Travelers said.

A joint venture of MTDC and Indian Railways, Deccan Odyssey was launched in 2009. It traverses Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Goa, Vasco, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Nashik. It has been short-listed for its chartered trips covering some iconic landmarks, including Unesco world heritage sites — Taj Mahal, Agra fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Jantar Mantar observatory, Ajanta & Ellora Caves, and CST.

“The Deccan Odyssey’s cars, built in 2003, have been upgraded with new carpet and bedspreads recently, according to our ground suppliers. These improvements, which we had recommended last year, bring this train up to ‘luxury’ status, because its staff, service, amenities and food were already superb,” says a member of the society.

The Maharaja’s Express (Mumbai-Delhi as well as the one that travels within Delhi) is another latest entrant in the list. It is operated by Royale Indian Rail Tours Ltd, and organises an eight-day tour that covers cities with rich royal history, such as Vadodara, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jaipur and Jodhpur. The tour offers meals at top-notch five-star properties, such as the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur. The train also operates a seven-day classical India tour of northern states.

“All cabins have large windows, LCD televisions, wi-fi access, individual temperature control and full en-suite bathroom. There is one presidential suite which comprises a full train car — the largest suite available on any train in the world,” the member says.
From India, the other trains in the list are Palace on Wheels and the steam-driven Darjeeling Himalayan Toy Train.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 8th, 2012, 03:03 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2012/01/08/Article//004/08_01_2012_004_004.jpg

MxC

January 8th, 2012, 06:04 PM

New Railways policy for increased participation of private sector
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/new-railways-policy-for-increased-participation-of-private-sector/articleshow/11410383.cms))

Facing a resource constraint, Railways has come up with a new draft policy which seeks increased private participation for rail connectivity and opens the doors for foreign direct investors for expanding its network.

The cash-strapped public transporter has proposed six PPP models for project execution that include creating railway connectivity on private land and forming special purpose vehicles (SPV) for new line and gauge conversion.

The policy has also sought to attract the state government in playing a proactive role in development and implementation of rail projects in their respective states, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

He said the draft policy aims to open opportunity for returns from investment in rail projects and ensure timely availability of rail infrastructure to the beneficiaries such as port, industry and states.

Local bodies, ports, large import and export companies, co-operative societies, infrastructure and logistics providers too have been invited for increasing the rail network.

The official said overseas corporate bodies and foreign direct investors can also participate in asset creation pending clearances by Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

"Once finalised, the policy would replace both R3i and R2Ci policies" he said, admitting these policies could not achieve the desired objectives.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 8th, 2012, 09:51 PM

Indian assistance of US$ 382.37 million to restore Sri Lanka's Northern Railway Service
Sat, Jan 7, 2012, 01:46 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk (http://www.colombopage.com/archive_11B/Jan07_1325924201CH.php), Sri Lanka.

Jan 07, Colombo: The Government of India has agreed to provide a loan of US$ 382.37 million for the restoration of Northern Railway Service, the government announced Friday.

Sri Lanka's cabinet has granted approval to a proposal put forward by the President, in his capacity as a Minister of Finance and Planning to enter into a credit agreement with the Export-Import Bank of India to obtain this credit facility.

Of the total credit line, US$ 149.3 million will be utilized for the reconstruction of the 56-kilometer Pallai- Kankesanthurai Railway Line destroyed by the Tamil Tiger rebels during the war.

Another US$ 86.52 million will be allocated for setting up of signaling and telecommunication systems for the Northern Railway Line and US$ 146.51 million will be utilized for other contracts that may be mutually agreed upon by the two Governments.

Under an agreement signed by the two countries last August, India will supply and install a Signaling and Telecommunication system for the railway network in the Northern Province.

The signaling work involves provision of centralized control panel, interlocking color light system with electrically operated points and track detection system. All the level crossings will be interlocked with new signaling system, which would ensure safety at level crossings.

The telecommunication work involves provision of optical fiber communication system throughout the section. In addition, public address system, etc., shall also be provided at major stations.

The loan provided by the Indian government at concessional terms is a part of the Indian Line of Credit of US$ 800 million. The credit line carries an interest rate of LIBOR plus 0.5 % with LIBOR capped at 3% with a repayment period of 20 years with a five year moratorium.

The work on reconstruction of the railway network in the North, including on the Pallai-Kankesanthurai segment, is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

The restoration of rail network will give a boost to connectivity and economic development in Sri Lanka.

rupakd

January 9th, 2012, 10:59 AM

Railways may need Rs 10,000 cr investment to tidy up things

If you are one of the world's largest transport networks, even a small issue can scale up into a mega problem.

That is the dilemma facing Indian Railways , as it looks to bring its passenger coach toilets into the current century – and clean up thousands of kilometres of dirty tracks.

It's not just the scale of the problem – the Railways operates more than 40,000 passenger coaches – but the cost is proving to be a bigger obstacle. For, introducing hygiene on rail tracks could cost the Railways anything up to Rs 10,000 crore.

Arranging such huge funds will be a tall order for the national transporter, which has not been able to increase passenger tariffs significantly for over eight years now, despite a bleeding passenger business.

The estimated cost for converting the current toilets, which are little more than a hole in the coach floor, could swallow 40 per cent of the Railways' annual passenger revenues.

And, if they go the airline way and use the Western option, the cost would be Rs 25-30 lakh/coach; an Indian version may cost Rs 3-4 lakh/coach.
RLYS-DRDO MODEL

Even the most affordable model of the Indian Railways and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), by using bio-digesters, would cost about Rs 75,000-1,00,000/unit, according to official estimates.

In this model, a special strain of bacteria is used to biodegrade human waste into harmless and odourless products. The model is under trial in Gwalior-Varanasi Bundelkhand Express for a year, and the Railways plans to adopt 2,500 such units in 2012-13.
VACUUM DISCHARGE

A costlier option is the vacuum toilet model – used in aircraft and trains in developed countries. It costs about Rs 25-30 lakh/coach.

The process involves collecting waste in a retention tank and discharging it at a terminal station later. The model is emerging as a standard in countries such as Germany. The Indian Railways envisages the use of this model in high-end trains such as Shatabdi.
IIT-KANPUR-RDSO MODEL

Another model under trial is developed by IIT-Kanpur and Research Development and Standards Organisation, the Lucknow-based research arm of the Indian Railways. This model uses a mix of recycling the waste and evacuation. Its cost — at about Rs 10 lakh/coach — is higher than the Railways-DRDO model.

So, even as the Railways figures out ways to undertake this Herculean task, there are niggling problems such as passenger coaches with toilets that directly discharge waste onto the tracks, which apart from dirtying the tracks and stations, corrode track fittings, too. Passengers throwing garbage and plastic waste, including bottles, in toilets is another problem for the Railways, that handle about 800 crore passengers annually

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article2785833.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

rupakd

January 9th, 2012, 11:02 AM

Rail connectivity policy not investor friendly: Naveen

The policy for rail connectivity to coal and iron ore mines (R2CI policy) is not adequately investor friendly and may not achieve the desired outcome of building a self-sustainable and workable PPP (public private partnership) initiative in the coal and iron ore sectors, feels Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Patnaik has written to the Railways minister, requesting the ministry to come out with a suitable policy amenable to attract private sector investment in development of such dedicated rail corridors by suitably amending the present policy.

The existing R2CI policy has two models- capital cost model and special purpose vehicle (SPV) model.

While applicants may choose and indicate preference for one of the models, Ministry of Railways reserves the right to decide which model is applicable and the decision of the ministry will be final.

Under the capital cost model, the cost of construction has to be fully borne by the applicants who may be a single entity or a joint venture entity.

After construction, the ownership of the line would be taken up by Railways at nil cost.

In case of SPV model, land has to be acquired by the SPV at its cost but ownership of the land will be transferred to the Indian Railways.

Apart some suggesting changes in the RC21 policy, Patnaik has proposed two dedicated rail corridors in the Angul-Talcher and Nayagarh-Banspani belts linking coal and iron ore mines respectively.

To ensure seamless flow of traffic and facilitate easier access between industrial areas, mining areas and ports, he has urged that construction work should commence on the Burhamura-Chakulia, Gunupur-Theruveli and Banspani-Barbil lines.

http://www.businessstandard.com/india/news/rail-connectivity-policy-not-investor-friendly-naveen/460273/

_Mihir13

January 9th, 2012, 12:42 PM

Hi All Rail Fans,

Found this link on the Site of RDSO. Some very interesting articles on the R&D work carried out by the RDSO.

http://www.rdso.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,4,275,280

rupakd

January 10th, 2012, 08:50 AM

Trivedi sends SOS, seeks money for Railways

With the government turning down his repeated request to bail out Indian Railways, Minister Dinesh Trivedi has sought a corpus fund on the lines of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to take care of select projects.

A “sick railways will hurt the country’s GDP growth aspirations”, Trivedi has written in a letter to the finance ministry, adding that the national transporter might be staring at a deficit budget.

Confirming that he had appealed to the government, Trivedi told The Indian Express: “I’ve said the government must realise that a healthy Railways can add another 2 per cent to the country’s GDP growth. I have proposed that there be an NRHM-like mechanism to infuse funds because we are at a crossroads and all available scope for generating funds internally, by utilising lands etc, to tide over the immediate crisis has been exhausted.”

The letter comes at a time when relations between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress are at rock bottom.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/trivedi-sends-sos-seeks-money-for-railways/897895/0

Bombay2Calcutta

January 11th, 2012, 05:45 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/01/11/Article//005/11_01_2012_005_003.jpg

Bombay2Calcutta

January 12th, 2012, 01:49 AM

TELEGRAPH (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120112/jsp/frontpage/story_14994757.jsp)
Night ban lifted from Tata section
PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Jan. 11: The ban on movement of passenger trains at night on the Tatanagar-Kharagpur section of South Eastern Railway (SER) will be lifted with effect from tomorrow following a decision taken by the Railway Board late this evening.

The section is of significance as it is part of the Howrah-Mumbai main route.

The restrictions came into effect after the Jnaneswari Express tragedy near Jhargram on May 28, which left 150 dead. Ever since, the night ban on the section has been extended 115 times.

According to the last railway circular, the ban was in effect till January 13. However, the Railway Board came up with a fresh bulletin this evening, announcing the lifting of the ban from tomorrow.

Divisional railway manager of Chakradharpur Achal Khare confirmed the development. “The Railway Board has issued a bulletin announcing the lifting of the ban from tomorrow. It will take two or three days to restore normal night services on the section,” Khare told The Telegraph.

Assistant general manager of South Eastern Railway Pramod Kumar too confirmed the withdrawal of the night train ban. “An order has been issued by the Railway Board but I am yet to see it as I am travelling,” he said over phone.

Sources in New Delhi said to start with, night movement of four trains would be regularised tomorrow. The trains include Howrah-Ahmedabad Express, Puri-bound Purushottam Superfast Express, Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express and Howrah-Hatia Express.

Ever since the ban was imposed, the Ahmedabad Express used to leave Howrah at a rescheduled time of midnight. The train was made to halt at Kharagpur due to the ban and it used to resume its journey in the morning.

Similarly, the Purushottam Express would halt for the night at Tatanagar before resuming its journey in the morning. The Utkal Express and Howrah-Hatia Express were running on diverted routes. With the lifting of the ban, both trains will run on their original routes.

The ban was originally clamped on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar, Kharagpur-Adra and Chakradharpur-Rourkela sections of South Eastern Railway.

In the third week of December, the night ban was lifted on the Chakradharpur-Rourkela section.

On December 10, a decision was taken by the Railway Board to lift the night train ban from the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section but following some intelligence inputs from Bengal, the ban was reimposed.

The night ban affected as many as 18 trains and 40,000 passengers daily.

MxC

January 12th, 2012, 08:26 AM

Night ban lifted from Tata section
(Source (http://in.news.yahoo.com/night-ban-lifted-tata-section-222638606.html))

The ban on movement of passenger trains at night on the Tatanagar-Kharagpur section of South Eastern Railway (SER) will be lifted with effect from tomorrow following a decision taken by the Railway Board late this evening.

The section is of significance as it is part of the Howrah-Mumbai main route.

The restrictions came into effect after the Jnaneswari Express tragedy near Jhargram on May 28, which left 150 dead. Ever since, the night ban on the section has been extended 115 times.

According to the last railway circular, the ban was in effect till January 13. However, the Railway Board came up with a fresh bulletin this evening, announcing the lifting of the ban from tomorrow.

Divisional railway manager of Chakradharpur Achal Khare confirmed the development. "The Railway Board has issued a bulletin announcing the lifting of the ban from tomorrow. It will take two or three days to restore normal night services on the section," Khare told The Telegraph.

Assistant general manager of South Eastern Railway Pramod Kumar too confirmed the withdrawal of the night train ban. "An order has been issued by the Railway Board but I am yet to see it as I am travelling," he said over phone.

Sources in New Delhi said to start with, night movement of four trains would be regularised tomorrow. The trains include Howrah-Ahmedabad Express, Puri-bound Purushottam Superfast Express, Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express and Howrah-Hatia Express.

Ever since the ban was imposed, the Ahmedabad Express used to leave Howrah at a rescheduled time of midnight. The train was made to halt at Kharagpur due to the ban and it used to resume its journey in the morning.
Similarly, the Purushottam Express would halt for the night at Tatanagar before resuming its journey in the morning. The Utkal Express and Howrah-Hatia Express were running on diverted routes. With the lifting of the ban, both trains will run on their original routes.

The ban was originally clamped on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar, Kharagpur-Adra and Chakradharpur-Rourkela sections of South Eastern Railway.
In the third week of December, the night ban was lifted on the Chakradharpur-Rourkela section.

On December 10, a decision was taken by the Railway Board to lift the night train ban from the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section but following some intelligence inputs from Bengal, the ban was reimposed.
The night ban affected as many as 18 trains and 40,000 passengers daily.

Atlast!!!

rupakd

January 13th, 2012, 08:02 AM

It’s a longer wait for Mum-Ahd double-decker AC train ride

The wait for the superfast double-decker air-conditioned train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is going to get longer as the railways will not be able to introduce this service in this financial year as promised in the railway budget for the financial year 2011-2012.

The first double-decker AC train between Howrah and Dhanbad was flagged off from Howrah station on October 1, 2011. An announcement was made in the 2011-12 railway budget that this service will be introduced on the Pune-Ahmedabad and Jaipur-Delhi routes.

A senior railway official said, "The design of the coaches is undergoing modification. When the train was introduced on the Howrah-Dhanbad route, the maximum moving dimension of the train infringed with the platforms at many stations. So the platforms had to be modified and trains are now running five times a week on the Howrah-Dhanbad route. It has 9 coaches, including 7 AC double-decker chair cars and two generator cars.

According to the plan, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad train was originally scheduled to run before February 2012. The official said, "The width of the original coach was as per the permissible limit. But after the experience on Howrah-Dhanbad route, it has been decided to reduce changes in the design of the coach so that a similar problem does not occur on other routes."

The train has been designed by Research Development and Standards Organisation (RDSO). It was manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala. The width of the double-decker coach on the Howrah-Dhanbad route is 3,123 MM. The railways has decided to reduce the width on coaches to be used on other routes to 3,050 MM.

The carrying capacity of the double-decker coach is 128 passengers-almost 70% higher than that of the Shatabdi chair car coach, which can accommodate 78 passengers.

The official said, "Once the coaches are redesigned, trial runs of the rake will be carried out. Thereafter, an approval of the chief commissioner of railway safety will have to be obtained. This process is time-consuming and hence, there is no chances of this service running in this financial year."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Its-a-longer-wait-for-Mum-Ahd-double-decker-AC-train-ride/articleshow/11469245.cms

Bombay2Calcutta

January 14th, 2012, 05:36 AM

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2012/01/14/Article//004/14_01_2012_004_042.jpg

Bombay2Calcutta

January 14th, 2012, 05:48 AM

aniketh87

January 14th, 2012, 06:34 AM

^^ it would be a good idea to do that as it will be free from the clutches of those ministers who always concentrate on developing their own constituency ,neglecting the other important routes.....

barrykul

January 14th, 2012, 09:07 AM

Free rlys from political clutches: Trivedi

Mahendra Kumar Singh TNN

New Delhi: Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi on Friday admitted that the functioning of the national transporter is excessively ministeroriented, a system that needs to be done away with to overhaul and modernize its infrastructure. He argued that the railways should be delinked from political interventions to infuse more professionalism.
Trivedi emphasized that a sound political will is needed to rebuild the entire rail network that is saddled with obsolete technology and is dependent too much on human intervention. He pleaded for continuity in railway policies and programmes, irrespective of the individual heading the ministry. “The problem is when the railway minister changes, system changes. We have to maintain the continuity and ensure consistency for the overall interest of the railways,” the minister said, batting for a national railway policy that should be followed by the transporter, irrespective of who is the political head.
“It is important...whether in matters of transfer, providing stoppages at stations, for new lines. All MPs... (have their wish list). I don’t criticize that because they have to think about the people, but we should understand we have to give railways a professional model,” he told reporters.
The minister admitted the need for a complete overhaul of the railway infrastructure and rebuilding the system with modern technology to ensure high level of safety. The revamp, he suggested, could be on the lines of the aviation sector.

Enough of the bhashans, Mr Trivedi. Time to act and execute, you have the "Baton" or "Com" control in Navy speak. Start the process and let it roll. Endless speech, blame etc aint going to cut it in the 21st century. Other nations are blazing ahead whilst IR is stuck in a rut. Old trains, old railways, old stations, old time tables, lousy average speeds etc. etc. You want to revamp stations ask Praful Patel who is still in the same govt as you. All major cities need a complete and thorough makeover of their railway stations (currently they look like world war II bombed buildings). They ought to look like the New Delhi Airport, massive, modern and expandable. Get the private sector to build and operate them for say the next 30 yrs. No timbuktu politico can change the terms of such contracts. Next invite Bombardier/Shinkansen/TGV to come up with a modern Indian oriented high speed railway train, high average speed train, a commuter train, etc. Yes, involve the IR RDSO (for whatever they are worth), IITs, NITs etc. In 3-4yrs we should see modern railway stations, modern railway trains, HSR, etc. Allow the IR to absorb this infusion of new ideas, new technology and replicate for the rest of the nation.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 15th, 2012, 03:35 AM

Navbharat times (http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/11489898.cms)
रेलवे स्टेशन के टीवी सेटों में अचानक चलने लगी ब्लू फिल्म :lol::lol:

भुवनेश्वर।। एक चौंकाने वाली घटना में शनिवार को भुवनेश्वर रेलवे स्टेशन पर लगे 24 टेलिविजन सेटों में 10 मिनट तक एक अश्लील फिल्म चलती रही। इस सिलसिले में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है।

रेलवे पुलिस फोर्स के इंस्पेक्टर वरुण बेहरा ने बताया, ' यह घटना दिन में साढ़े तीन बजे घटी। प्लेटफॉर्म, वेटिंग रूम और रिजर्वेशन सेंटर्स पर लगे सभी टीवी सेटों में एकाएक अश्लील फिल्म की एक क्लिप चलने लगी। यह करीब 10 मिनट तक चलती रही।'

उन्होंने बताया कि टेलिविजन ऑपरेटर को तुरंत गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया। एक प्राइवेट इंस्टिट्यूट के कर्मचारी 21 साल के आशुतोष स्वेन ने अपना जुर्म कबूल कर लिया है।

बेहरा ने बताया कि स्वेन ने अपने मोबाइल से अश्लील क्लिप को रेलवे टेलिविजन सर्वर के मुख्य चैनल में डाल दिया था।

http://zeenews.india.com/news/orissa/porn-film-in-bhubaneswar-railway-station_752630.html
Porn film in Bhubaneswar Railway station!

Orissa Bhubaneswar: In a shocking incident, as many as 24 television sets in the Railway station here showed an obscene film for about 10 minutes for which one person was arrested on Saturday, police said.

"The incident occurred at around 3.30 pm when obscene video clippings ran for about 10 minutes in all TV sets simultaneously at platforms, waiting rooms and reservation counters," Baruna Behera, inspector of Railway Protection Force (RPF) said adding that the television operator was immediately arrested.

Asutosh Swain (21) of a private organisation, confessed to the crime, the RPF inspector said adding that he uploaded certain obscene scenes from his mobile phone to the main channel of railway television server.

“The Railways have ordered an inquiry into the incident and sealed the control room at the station from where a private organisation was operating the television service," a senior official of the East Coast Railway Zone told agency.

Sources said the Railways had outsourced television operation to a private organisation since last four months. "The televisions in platform used to be very useful for the passengers as it telecast news, information, train timings and others. However, today's incident has come as a big shock for all of us," the official said.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 16th, 2012, 02:47 AM

TOI
Bangladesh to open new rail link to Bhutan, Nepal via India

PATNA: In a major decision, Bangladesh has decided to open Chilahati-Haldibari rail link latest by December 2012 for easier connectivity with Bhutan and Nepal through India. This route is likely to be the fifth route agreed upon as transit points between these two neighbouring countries.

According to a Railway Board official, Hashimara station in India is hardly 182-km away from Bangladesh's Chilahati station. Incidentally, Hashimara station is located on Bhutan border as well. Passengers can reach Hashimara in about three hours through the proposed Chilahati-Haldibari route, he said. According to him, Jogbani station in India is located only 40-km away from Haldibari and about 52-km away from Bangladesh's Chilahati.

The proposed rail link could facilitate passengers from Jogbani bordering Nepal to pass through New Jalpaiguri and Katihar route as well, he said.

Incidentally, the two countries already have four other railway transit points between them: Rahanpur (Chapainawabganj)-Singhabad, Birol (Dinajpur)-Radhikapur, Darsana (Kushtia)-Gede and Kulaura (Moulvibazar)-Mahishashan.

The opening of the rail link between Chilahati and Haldibari will be a revival of old rail link which was operational till 1965, sources said and added the transit route connecting India and Bangladesh was abandoned following the Indo-Pak war in 1965.

According to the Board official, railway ministry has asked the Bangladesh rail authority to provide a detailed plan so that the new rail link could be thrown open in the larger interest of people of both the countries. Railways has also sought the time frame in which Bangladesh wants to complete the work of opening the new rail link with India, he said.

According to sources, Bangladesh railways will have to construct about 7.5-km new rail lines from Chilahati to reach the border while Indian Railways will have to build 4.5-km new track from its border to Haldibari station.

It may be recalled that both the countries had inked a pact last year during Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's visit to the country for opening new rail links with Bangladesh for cultural exchange and various activities between the two countries, sources said.

Though the joint declaration between the two countries did not mention this particular route, they later realized that opening of this route would facilitate movement of people from both the countries as well trade and commerce, sources said and added the proposed route would revive easy regional connectivity among members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( Saarc).

kesi0072011

January 16th, 2012, 10:50 PM

Here is the list of Best and Worst performing Railway Zones as per the records of INDIAN RAILWAYS ANNUAL STATISTICAL STATEMENTS 2009-10, ranked based on Profit/loss.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/38/hq2i.png/

Northern railway and SCR are top two zones earnings wise (8768 cr, and 8392 cr) respectively, while East Coast railway zone has maximum profit. Unfortunately number of new projects and planned outlay is not based on profits or revenues, with worst performing regions getting more than what they deserve.Some of the worst performing zones have highest network density (eg. West Bengal has network density close to 50, while it is 38 kms. in Bihar; 35.5 kms. in UP; 32 kms. in Tamil Nadu. States which deserve more new lines (with their current Railway network density in parenthesis) are Himachal Pradesh (5.1), followed by Uttarakhand (6.4), Chhattisgarh (8.6), Orissa (14.6), Karnataka (15.5), Madhya Pradesh (15.9), Rajasthan (17), Maharashtra (17.9), Goa (18.6) and Andhra Pradesh (18.9)..

States Highlighted in Bold have relatively large geographical area and are very rich in minerals and ores and hence need more new lines, especially tribal areas of Chhattisgarh (Dantewada, Bastar districts), and sorrounding areas in Orissa and northern Telengana and Coal belt areas in AP.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 17th, 2012, 02:23 AM

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Jnaneswari-Exp-resumes-night-journey-from-Howrah/Article1-798103.aspx)
Jnaneswari Exp resumes night journey from Howrah

Nearly two years after night running of the train was suspended on the route, Mumbai-bound Jnaneshwari Express has resumed its nocturnal journey from Howrah, railway officials said here on Monday.

The train left Howrah station on schedule at 10.55 pm on Sunday evening after more than 19 months as the ban on night movement of the train between Kharagpur and Tatanagar was lifted recently by the railways, the officials said.

This was the same train that was targeted by Maoists on the wee hours of May 28, 2010 between the two stations killing 148 passengers, prompting railways to impose an immediate ban on night movment of the train on the route.

Jnaneshwari along with several other trains was rescheduled following this and continued to run on revised timings, posing inconvenience to passengers.

Till the report was filed, the train was running almost on time and would reach Mumbai in the early hours tomorrow after a gap of 19 months.

Strangely, one could still see the mangled coaches of the ill-fated rake lying adjacent to the rail tracks near Jhargram where the accident, considered one of the worst tragedies in the annals of rail history, had taken place.

However, Railways had kept the scheduled departure of the train after 19 months a low key affair fearing any mischievious attempts from rogue elements resulting in the occasion largely going unnoticed.

mountaincloud

January 17th, 2012, 06:04 AM

You want to revamp stations ask Praful Patel who is still in the same govt as you.

Railway stations need to be modernized all over the country but why ask our resident Nagpur ka Badshah? To replicate the situation at Air India to Indian Railways?

barrykul

January 17th, 2012, 08:37 AM

Railway stations need to be modernized all over the country but why ask our resident Nagpur ka Badshah? To replicate the situation at Air India to Indian Railways?

Seriously, Air India was way too hopeless even before Praful's time. India has had a string of Civil Aviation minister who were a joke with nary a clue to create infra or how to run airlines. The Con Grass Govt has thwarted any move to restructure the blood sucking airline called Air India. Too many vested interests, politicos taking freebies, entire IAS babu clan and other assorted GOI babus on 1st class freebies, coiffured elderly maams as tenured air hostesses, ..very big list.. Praful tried his best but could not do much. At least he pushed through infra development of airports, which none of the other clueless politicos did anything to change a brick. For IR we are talking about change in infra.
Yes, there are two pending monstrous issues for civil aviation. 1. Air India sale 2. Restructuring AAI and firing the fat, lazy Afsaars and workers.

JhonJ

January 17th, 2012, 03:14 PM

Finance says no to 'unviable' railway projects

The finance ministry has put a spanner in railways minister Dinesh Trivedi’s proposal, to incorporate five projects involving the construction of 453.73 km of rail tracks at a cost of Rs 2,197.41 crore in the upcoming rail budget in March.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTEditImages/Images/14-01-pg10a.jpg

The finance ministry’s reservations are that, four of the five projects pitched by Trivedi have a negative or a low Rate of Return (ROR) and are, therefore, not financially viable.

The finance ministry’s view is that — rather than announcing a slew of fresh projects — the railways minister must focus on completing the long-pending projects and prioritise investments in important areas.

At its meeting on December 30 last, the expanded board on railways cleared proposals for construction of a 30 km new line from Hansdiha to Godda in Jharkhand at a cost of Rs 267.09 crore and the 68.61 km Rohtak-Meham-Hansi link in Haryana at a cost of Rs 406.87 crore. The two projects have a ROR of minus 13.25 and minus 5.60 respectively. RORs provide the ratio of each rupee earned against an expenditure of Rs 100.

The doubling projects cleared by the expanded board includes the 104.44 km link from Dhasa to Jetalsar at a cost of Rs 376.59 crore and the 170.48 km connectivity from Ahmedabad to Botad at a cost of Rs 567.18 crore — both in Gujarat, which have a ROR of 5.83 and 2.61 respectively.

Of the projects pitched, the 80 km long third line from Bhadrak to Nergundi in Andhra Pradesh (costing Rs 558.68 crores) has the best ROR figures: At 26.55.

At a meeting last week with officials of the ministries of finance, program implementation, planning commission, railways officials were asked to explain why the five projects being pitched were to be regarded as top priority works. “The railways are still struggling to find convincing answers,” top ministry sources said.

Five projects were cleared at the meeting of the expanded board for railways on December 30.

The 381 projects involving the construction of 41,171 km tracks at an astronomical cost of Rs 2,59,466 crore were pending til April 2011, official papers show.

At a series of inter-ministerial meetings the railways have been advised to keep “populist schemes” out of Trivedi’s upcoming budget speech.

“The focus, ought to be on prioritising the investment needs of the railways in areas such as the dedicated freight corridors, high speed rolling stock ...,” railways officials have been advised.

Source:http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Finance-says-no-to-unviable-railway-projects/Article1-796813.aspx

JhonJ

January 17th, 2012, 03:22 PM

Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi hints at revision in railway fares

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi on Friday hinted at a possible revision in passenger fare, arguing there is clear-cut case for the move.

"There is definite case to re-look at the fares which has not been touched for eight years," the minister said. He, however, emphasized the poor should be kept in mind. This may point to an increase in fares for those travelling in AC coaches while sparing the aam aadmi. But, Trivedi did not elaborate.

Earlier on Friday, a news agency had quoted Trivedi as saying that raising fares was the solution to raise funds. "We have to think of the poor," he was quoted as saying. By evening, however, the position seemed to have changed although it appeared to be at odds with the position taken by Trivedi's political master - West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who has refused to play ball with the UPA on several issues on the grounds that it would not wash with the poor. For instance, Banerjee had opposed the fuel price hike, which was later rolled back, as well as FDI in multi-brand retail.

Trivedi had earlier suggested a shift to dynamic fare pricing to raise internal resources. "We are considering dynamic pricing policy for passenger fare. We have done it in freight tariff," he had said at the economic editor's conference in October. Subsequently, the proposal was not pursued as it did not have Banerjee's blessings.

The UPA's top brass is heavily banking on the state-run transporter's growth since it is inextricably linked to the economy and also in light of the global slowdown. But, finance ministry has recently rejected railways' plea for about Rs 2,000-crore loan to meet the shortfall in its earnings.

The ministry had asked railways to rationalize its fare structure to raise its resources. It is also not very sympathetic to transporter's demand for funding special scheme to implement pending socially desirable projects.

Railways' employees unions too warned Trivedi that the state-run transporter could go the Air India way if fares were not rationalized. Bidding to the populist pressure, railways is losing about Rs 16,000 crore annually on account of subsidizing passenger fare.

Source:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-14/india/30627265_1_passenger-fare-freight-tariff-dinesh-trivedi

JhonJ

January 17th, 2012, 03:27 PM

Naveen leaves for Delhi on 6-day visit

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik left for Dehli on Thursday on a six-day visit.
�He is scheduled to meet Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi and hold discussions on railway projects in the State. The State has been complaining that it is getting raw deal despite huge revenue earning by the Railways.� �
�Demanding a package for the State in the forthcoming Railway Budget, the Chief Minister in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month said the State deserves a sizeable part of the revenue generated by the Railways from the State towards infrastructure development.
�In two separate letters to the Prime Minister and Dinesh Trivedi, the Chief Minister said that while the gross revenue earning of the Indian Railways from the State was over Rs 7,500 crore, the budgetary support to the State from the Centre is negligible.
�An Assembly committee headed by Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat met the Railway Minister in Delhi last month demanding an allocation of Rs 2,345 crore for Odisha in the Union Budget.
�The Minister had assured the delegation that he would visit Odisha with a high level official team to discuss with the Chief Minister before finalising the 2012-13 Railway Budget. However, the Chief Minister preferred to meet the Union Minister before the finalisation of he Railway budget.
�The State Government had last year demanded Rs 2,085 crore and received only Rs 1,168 crore, which was inadequate to meet the requirement. Apart from budget inadequacy, many of the projects were languishing due to slow pace of land acquisition.
�The Chief Minister is likely to meet Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja and request her for more financial support for taking up� housing projects for the urban poor. He is scheduled to be back on January 17.

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/naveen-leaves-for-delhi-on-6day-visit/220536-60-117.html

rupakd

January 18th, 2012, 07:28 AM

aniketh87

January 18th, 2012, 04:05 PM

^^ yes you are rite .....

Vicvin86

January 19th, 2012, 04:21 AM

http://elocos.railnet.gov.in/CLW/Allotment.htm

MxC

January 19th, 2012, 01:11 PM

ID proof to be a must for AC rail travel from February
(Source: ToI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ID-proof-to-be-a-must-for-AC-rail-travel-from-February/articleshow/11543826.cms))

Aiming to check misuse of rail tickets, the railways has made it mandatory for all passengers travelling in AC classes to carry an identity proof with them during the journey. The decision will be implemented in all trains across the country from February 15, according to a circular issued by the Railway Board.

As of now, only passengers travelling on Tatkal tickets and e-tickets have to carry original identity proof during the journey. If more than one passenger is travelling on one ticket, any one passenger in a group is required to carry the original ID proof.

"The move is aimed to prevent cases of travelling on transferred tickets," a railway official said, adding that this will check black marketing of rail tickets. Those failing to produce original ID proof will be treated as travelling without ticket and will be charged accordingly, the official said.

The acceptable ID proofs include voter ID issued by Election Commission, PAN card, passport, driving license, Photo ID card having serial number issued by central/state government, nationalized bank passbook with photo, credit card issued by banks with laminated photos, student ID card with photo or Aadhaar card, the official said.

The decision comes in the backdrop of railways finding increasing cases of misuse of tickets like transfer of tickets, black marketing and involvement of touts. During 2010-11, 63,854 such cases were detected and 2,480 people were apprehended. In 2008-09, 20,240 cases of ticket transfer were reported and 2,521 were apprehended, an official said.

Zonal railways have been instructed to publicize the decision to prevent any inconvenience to the public. Also, necessary instructions have been issued to all officials concerned, particularly ticket checking staff. The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has been asked to make necessary changes in the software so as to incorporate the message in rail tickets for the benefit of passengers.

A good and long overdue move IMO. Hope this helps in curbing the tout menace and increases general availability of seats to genuine passengers.

rupakd

January 19th, 2012, 01:48 PM

Railways revise RFP for locomotive plants in Bihar

After a delay of more than four years, Railways have finally resolved the contentious issues of technology transfer, price variation clause and maintenance provision for setting up two mega locomotive plants at Madhepura and Marhora in Bihar.

The request for proposal (RFP) for setting up Rs 1,000 crore electric locomotive plant in Madhepura and Rs 1,200 crore diesel locomotive plant in Marhora has been revised addressing the contentious issues that were delaying the project, said a senior Railway official involved in the project.

A Cabinet note is being moved seeking the comprehensive approval of the all changes made in the RFP.

In order to reduce the financial commitment based on the tenders, Railways have decided to cut down the long term outsourcing of maintenance of locomotives to private entity to a small scale.

"Now the maintenance will be outsourced for a limited number of locos for the purpose of benchmarking," the official said.

Earlier, maintenance was fully outsourced for all manufactured locomotives for a 15-year period. According to the revised provision, it has been reduced to 500 locomotives for nine to 13 years only.

While Marhora plant is expected to produce 1,000 diesel locomotives, Madhepura plant will manufacture 800 electric locomotives over the period of 10 years.

"The new provisions for transfer of technology and price variation clause (PVC) are aimed at protecting railway interest in a more transparent manner," he said.

A consultative meeting with the shortlisted bidders were held to convey the proposed changes. "Bidders are in general agreement with the changes as the revised RFP is now more equitable for Railways as well as bidders," the official said.

The Railway officials are hopeful of showing some progress on the project before the upcoming budget.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-revise-rfp-for-locomotive-plants-in-bihar/articleshow/11552419.cms

rupakd

January 19th, 2012, 01:56 PM

Column : Fast train to oblivion

Operating ratio, the ready reckoner of financial health of an organisation, of Indian Railways was just over 95% last year, inching closer to 100%, and may overtake this by the time Dinesh Trivedi takes the floor of the house to present his annual Rail Budget for 2012-13. For the first time in its over 157-year history, the 1.4-million strong behemoth headed by him would be in the unenviable situation of having to spend more than it earned. Some would call it bankruptcy but, with the government ever ready to pick up the tab, it is only a passing phase. Or is it?
Indian Railways earns only 30 paise for carrying a passenger for a km, while it gets nearly 100 paise for carrying one tonne of freight for each km. Hence, a 24-coach passenger train carrying around 1,500 passengers will earn R450 while a 4,500 tonne 54 BOXN wagon train carrying freight will earn R4,500 per km—a ten-fold increase, which, in a nutshell, is the comparative economics of passenger and freight business.
Hiking the passenger tariff to keep up with inflation had been a routine exercise over the decades, which, sadly, successive rail ministers over the last 8 years have studiously avoided. This populist measure, against all sane advice tendered by Railway Board mandarins, has proved to be highly detrimental to Railways’ financial health and is now seriously hampering its growth. It has already cost the Railways about R65,000 crore in losses over the last 5 years and it is expected to incur a further loss of R20,000 crore for 2010-11.
To add to the mounting losses, rail ministers have been extremely liberal with announcing new trains, and extended the runs of existing ones—almost 200 every year—which, over the last decade, has added a whopping 2,000 new trains, taking the total to 11,000 passenger trains at last count. Striving to leave their unique imprint of management input, Nitish Kumar began with the introduction of his own brand of Rajdhanis called Sampark Kranti. Not to be outdone, Lalu Prasad came up with a string of Garib Raths,
all air-conditioned chair cars, and the latest in the series has been Mamata’s Duronto, a non-stop variety of long distance trains. All have successively managed to crowd out the freight trains, reducing their average speed to less than 150 km a day!
Called the nation’s economic lifeline, transporting millions of people and freight in a fast, safe and economic way, Indian Railways is basically a transport utility whose unit for business is a ‘train load’. In 2008-09, Railways’ total expenditure was about R64,839 crore, during which around 11,000 passenger and 6,000 freight, a total of 17,000 trains, originated every day, costing just over R3.8 crore to run each train. Interestingly, during the same period, the Railways earned R53,434 crore from freight and R21,931 crore from the passenger business, or R8.9 crore from a freight train and just R1.9 crore from each passenger carrying train.
For the rail infrastructure (track and operating system etc), it is immaterial whether the train being run on it is a fast passenger carrying train or a goods train, as they both occupy valuable line capacity, affecting the throughput. Hence, it makes ample business sense to run more freight trains than passenger trains, a simple formula that the US railroads have been following for decades since they have never had access to Federal handouts!
According to Amit Mitra’s “Indian Railways’ Vision 2020 & White Paper”, tabled by Mamata Banerjee on the floor of the Lok Sabha last year, of a total of 286 projects in the pipeline costing about R80,000 crore, only 126 doubling works are essential, and the 109 new lines as well as 51 gauge conversion works can wait till a thorough review is carried out.
Moreover in spite of JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) funding, a special grant for the dedicated freight corridor would be required for 2011-12 and beyond. The Indian Railway Finance Corporation is frantically trying to generate over R20,000 crore as market borrowings, and a similar amount needs to be made available to complete some of the urgently required ongoing projects for enhancing section capacity.
The government is already short of cash for scores of its infrastructure and other developmental projects, and may not be willing to come to the Railways’ rescue beyond a token grant from its exchequer, which may not be able to fill the gap. A hike in passenger fares appears to be inescapable, which, with the state elections being over by the time Dinesh Trivedi gets to deliver his maiden Rail Budget some time in the first week of March, may become a distinct possibility.
The fabled “goose that laid golden eggs” may have been killed in an instant, but the slow bleeding indulged in by the political masters for over a decade may soon place the giant infrastructure entity in a terminal decline unless corrective measures are initiated on top priority, and soon.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/column-fast-train-to-oblivion/901177/

dreadathecontrols

January 21st, 2012, 08:58 AM

TWK90

January 24th, 2012, 02:51 AM

Note : This is an overseas construction project, being done by IRCON International(Indian Railways)

This is an update of a railway project being done by IRCON, in my country, Malaysia. This is the Seremban-Gemas electrified double tracking project, 94 km long.

I'll start with this.

This is the modified wiring train from IRCON International.

http://i.imgur.com/TUQ7Y.jpg

Stations being built.

Seremban

http://i.imgur.com/A2xZh.jpg

Senawang

http://i.imgur.com/JXWMy.jpg

Sungai Gadut

http://i.imgur.com/B7NxU.jpg

Rembau

http://i.imgur.com/5x89Z.jpg

Tampin/Pulau Sebang

http://i.imgur.com/m3yVw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rPHs6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tr5Az.jpg

Batang Melaka

http://i.imgur.com/RLWsh.jpg

Gemas

http://i.imgur.com/AGvIS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CZDIz.jpg

Track and building of overhead wires

http://i.imgur.com/gbyx7.jpg

mihir1310

January 24th, 2012, 05:06 AM

^^ Thanks!!

rupakd

January 24th, 2012, 09:11 AM

Indian Railways need many kinds of modernisation, not just fare hikes

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Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Prime Minister, has reportedly recommended raising passenger fares and linking rail tariffs to inflation from next year. The first part is wholly welcome, the second, not so much. Fares and freight must reflect costs and productivity, which are affected by competition, managerial efficiency and investment in technology and modernisation. Frequent revisions of fare and freight are warranted, not removing pricing freedom by fixed linkage to an index like the wholesale price index.

The fuel part of the Railways' costs needs to be fully passed on, but it is entirely possible that system-wide efficiency improvements could help reduce other elements of cost, so that the final required change in fare/freight might be quite different from any change in the general price index. Passenger fares are heavily subsidised and have not been raised for eight years, forcing the Railways to draw down heavily from reserves meant to replace aged assets.

Such a compromise on safety is unacceptable. The Railways should make large-scale investments to modernise and improve service quality. It should spend more money on track renewals and new rolling stock, invest in electrification and computerised signalling systems, especially for high-speed operations. Investments can be stepped up only when finances are robust. A crucial reform, therefore , is to end the practice of freight and upper-class passengers subsidising lower-class passengers. The Pitroda panel has done well to suggest reforms on multiple fronts.

One, enhance freight revenues and cut operating costs. Surely, keeping freight rates untouched will not help the Railways garner a larger share in movement of goods. So, it has to break new ground to compete with road freight. Running freight trains to a predictable time schedule is not rocket science but has been treated like the holy grail by successive railway ministers. Huge investments and revenues are possible in moving cargo, including ore and coal, to and from ports. Rope in the private sector in augmenting rolling stock and yards, commercialise land and air space. The main thing is to get going on a proactive agenda of reform.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/indian-railways-need-many-kinds-of-modernisation/articleshow/11611451.cms

rupakd

January 24th, 2012, 09:12 AM

Ajmer-Pushkar rail link opened

The holy town of Pushkar became part of the railway map on Monday when the first train from here chugged on its way to Ajmer. Union railway minister Dinesh Trivedi flagged off the train at a glittering ceremony attended by a huge gathering.

"The track between Pushkar to Merta City of Nagaur district is also important and I will ensure its development," the minister said. Trivedi pointed out that the expansion to Merta City will also help people to visit the land of Meera Bai.

Addressing a meeting at the flagging off of the first train, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that investments in Rajasthan will increase as there is a network of roads and railways even to remote places.

"This will change the image of Rajasthan as proper infrastructure is coming up here," he said.

Union minister of state for IT and communications Sachin Pilot requested the railway minister to provide new trains in the route.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Ajmer-Pushkar-rail-link-opened/articleshow/11609577.cms

MxC

January 24th, 2012, 11:37 AM

Satellite-based tracking system to give accurate information on trains
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/satellite-based-tracking-system-to-give-accurate-information-on-trains/articleshow/11603656.cms))

Concerned at incorrect information often being given to passengers at most of the railway inquiry counters across the country, the railways has decided to launch a satellite-based tracking system to get accurate information on movement of passenger trains in each zone of the railways to further improve passenger amenities.

A Railway Board official said a new technology has been developed by the railways which is under trial these days. The trial has proved to be successful so far.

"The new technology is based on mobile satellite service (MSS). The railways intends to implement it under a pilot project in a month or two," he said. He said the MSS technology is the same as the one being used for aircraft and defence services.

The MSS-based tracking system will be implemented by the railways across the country after the pilot trial demonstrates its efficacy, he said.

According to sources, the railways had introduced the Real Train Information System in the first phase. It was based on the satellite imaging for rail navigation. It was developed and launched under the joint venture of the Research Design and Standards Organization, Lucknow, and IIT Kanpur.

However, of late, it has been proved that information being transmitted under this system about train movement is not up to the mark at most of the places, sources said.

"Once the new system gets going, several value-added services like accurate information about passenger train movement will be available to passengers at each major station," the Board official said, adding the new system is based on ultra high frequency communication system.

Sources claimed the Indian Navy is using the MSS system mainly on its warships and Coast Guard vessels to get accurate information about the movement of ships in sea. Besides, the MSS system for defence applications has been developed to assist naval wings like submarines, torpedoes, ground-based vehicles, ships and aircraft in any emergency, sources said.

A railway official of the ECR said the technology would prove quite handy during foggy weather conditions. The Delhi-Patna-Howrah mainline route remains badly affected due to foggy weather conditions for about three months during the winter. Passengers would get exact information about train movement, particularly of long-distance mail and express trains, he added.

Any idea what is this MSS technology?

MxC

January 24th, 2012, 11:40 AM

Sam Pitroda to submit railways modernisation blue print soon
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/sam-pitroda-to-submit-railways-modernisation-blue-print-soon/articleshow/11605657.cms))

A high-level committee set up to suggest a blue print for modernisation of cash-strapped railways will submit its report shortly, said its chief Sam Pitroda while dismissing report of having recommended 25 per cent hike in passenger fares linking it to inflation.

Pitroda said the panel would submit its recommendations in the "next couple of weeks" as it has been "working intensively hard for over 90 days" to prepare the report.

Railways had constituted the expert committee last September on modernization under the chairmanship of Pitroda to recommend modernisation of the public transporter with a focus on track, signalling, rolling stock, stations and terminals, for improving efficiency and safety.

"We have not finalised the document or submitted the report. As far as I am concerned, we do not have a draft of the report yet, we are working on it," Pitroda told reporters here today.

Asked whether the committee has made any presentation before the Plan panel, Pitroda said, "We do not have any presentation. We (the committee) are talking, we have talked about track modernisation, signalling, PPP, stations etc."

When queried if it is feasible to link rail fares with inflation, he retorted, saying, "I do not comment on it until the report is done".

He also refuted suggestions that the committee made a presentation in this regard before the Planning Commission.

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had earlier this month hinted at a possible fare hike, saying, "There is definite case to re-look at the fares which have not been touched for eight years".

Planning Commission as well as Parliamentary Panel on Railways have suggested rationalisation of rail fares which have remained untouched despite increase in input costs.

The other members of the expert committee include Chairman HDFC Ltd Deepak Parekh, former SBI chairman M S Verma, Prof of Raghuram of IIM-Ahmedabad, MD of IDFC Rajiv Lal, and chairman of Feedback Infrastructure Services Vinayak Chatterjee.

anidel

January 24th, 2012, 06:46 PM

@ TWK90

Thanks for ur post.

anidel

January 24th, 2012, 06:52 PM

MxC

January 25th, 2012, 08:30 AM

Its same as we have GPS in our car or sarkjari buses in Delhi under DTC tracks its buses with GPS.

Soon we will have our own:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS-aided_geo-augmented_navigation.

That's funny :) If so, why can't they use simple English and just call it GPS!

MxC

January 25th, 2012, 02:48 PM

Railways to procure high-speed trains that will reduce travel time by half on Delhi-Mumbai corridor
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-to-procure-high-speed-trains-that-will-reduce-travel-time-by-half-on-delhi-mumbai-corridor/articleshow/11627100.cms))

Going ahead with its ambitious high-speed train proposal, Railways have joined hands with Japan to begin the ground work to reduce travel time by half on the Delhi-Mumbai corridor.

Railways will procure a new set of trains with electric locomotives to run on the existing Delhi-Mumbai track.

"The pre-feasibility study for running train at a maximum speed of 160-200 km per hour is being carried out by Japan on the existing Delhi-Mumbai route and they (Japan) will submit the report next month," said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project named Golden Rail Corridor.

Currently, Mumbai Rajdhanis run at an average speed of 100 km per hour and take about 15 hours to reach the destination.

"Our aim is to reduce the travel time by almost half between Delhi-Mumbai and for this we have to procure train sets to run at higher speed on the existing track," the official said.

Train sets are like EMU trains consisting of self-propelled electric locomotive and 10 to 12 modern coaches.

"Since our existing locomotives are not designed to run on 200 km speed we have to go for the train set in the Golden Rail Corridor," he said, adding "We have to strengthen the track, bridges and modernise the signalling system before increasing the speed to 200 km per hour."

There will be a new fare structure for the high-speed train for the Golden Rail Corridor.

Asked how the existing track will take the load of new trains, he said, "All the freight trains will be shifted from Mumbai-Delhi route after the commissioning of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. So, we will utilise the additional capacity of the existing track for the train sets."

The Western DFC is likley to be commissioned by 2016-17.

Hard to believe all this could actually happen in our IR!

anidel

January 26th, 2012, 03:02 PM

Bombay2Calcutta

January 26th, 2012, 04:46 PM

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/First-double-decker-train-in-2-months/articleshow/11634605.cms)
First double-decker train in 2 months

NEW DELHI: The first double-decker train, to be introduced between Delhi and Jaipur, will be finally running on the tracks within the next two months before presentation of the railway budget.

The train that was to make its maiden journey in July last year was delayed by several months after the Howrah-Dhanbad prototype being run by the eastern railway faced technical snags. This train, though, is now running without a hitch prompting northern railway to take the plunge.

"We are planning a trial run from February after which we plan to start operations from March,'' said S K Sharma, CPRO (northern railway).

Sources said the railway safety commissioner is yet to give a go-ahead.

The trial run of the new coaches from Kapurthala is also yet to begin. S K Budhalakoti, general manager, northern railway, said, "The date of inauguration of the train will be announced shortly. It will definitely run before March 31, 2012." Having only AC chair-cars, the train will leave Delhi at 5.35pm and reach Jaipur by 10.05pm, stopping at Gurgaon and Delhi Cantonment. On its way back, it will depart from Jaipur at 6am.Tourists and businesspersons are expected to benefit from this service, the sources said.

Railway sources said the prototype of the country's first AC double-decker passenger coach carries 70% more people than conventional coaches. Double-decker coaches, which will have 128 seats, are expected to be introduced in Yuva and Shatabdi class by the end of this year after undergoing extensive trials.

The futuristic high-speed, stainless steel AC coaches would be introduced to cater to the heavy rush of commuters in high-density corridors offering AC travel at a low cost. A totally new coach design capable of running at a speed of 160 km/hr was developed by RCF engineers in tandem with Research Design and Standard Organization (RDSO) and Kapurthala rail coach factory within just nine months.

Double-decker coaches, which only have seating arrangements, will be about one to one-and-a-half feet taller than conventional ones and ten inches higher from the ground level. Designed with new-age features including sliding doors, the coach rolled out by railway coach factory, Kapurthala, has been provided with enough space for passengers to sit comfortably.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 26th, 2012, 04:51 PM

How Dinesh Trivedi plans to revamp Indian Railways (http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-budget-2012-railway-how-dinesh-trivedi-plans-to-revamp-indian-railways/20120125.htm)

Bombay2Calcutta

January 26th, 2012, 05:50 PM

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/R-day-honour-for-Punjab-Mail/articleshow/11633874.cms)
R-day honour for Punjab Mail

MUMBAI: Punjab Mail-the first train to complete 100 years on the broad gauge network-is the chosen theme of the Indian Railways tableau at this year's Republic Day Parade in New Delhi.

The tableau will depict the past and present of the Indian Railways. A railway official said, "A modern train juxtaposed with the older version which used to be pulled by the steam engine will be part of the tableau. It will be flanked by two miniature older versions of the Punjab Mail."

Railway employees of Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala, along with their family will perform Bhangra dance in front of the tableau to celebrate the spirit of the train.

Based on the cost estimates paper of 1911 and a record of a complaint registered by a commuter in October 1912 about the train's late arrival to Delhi, the railways concluded that the Punjab Mail commenced in 1911. The 100 years of the train were commemorated on June 1, 2011.

At its inception, the service was known at Punjab Limited but was later rechristened Punjab Mail. "The word 'mail' is associated with it as the train carried the Viceroy's mail to Delhi (the capital during the British Raj) from Mumbai .

During the British rule, the train travelled 2496 km and passed through Itarsi, Agra, Delhi, Amritsar and Lahore before terminating at the Peshawar cantonment.

A senior CR official said, "In the early days, Punjab Mail was the preferred train of the British officials when they travelled to the north and western parts of India from Mumbai. They would disembark in Mumbai after completing a two-week steamer voyage from Southampton, before boarding the train."

In the early days, the main patrons of the train were upper class Englishmen, but the Railways decided introduce a third class compartment for lower classes in the 930s. A couple of years before independence, the authorities also decided to introduce an air-conditioned coach in this premier train that covers 1930 km from CST to to Ferozepur city in Punjab, bordering Pakistan in 34 hours

The 24-coach train has a combination of ordinary sleeper and air-conditioned coaches. The Punjab Mail is truly the pride of the Indian Railways.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 26th, 2012, 06:04 PM

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2834500.ece

Indian Railways would be launching a special train named ‘Damba Diwa Vandana’, to take Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims from Chennai to all the major Buddhist sites in India. This train will operate from next month.

Bombay2Calcutta

January 26th, 2012, 06:08 PM

Indian Railways to blame itself for the Fairy Queen saga

ET (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-01-24/news/30659461_1_fairy-queen-indian-railways-comeback)

The Indian Railways has only itself to blame that the Fairy Queen is now a hollow vestige of its former steamy self. If she had been given her proper due as the prima donna - and we know how much divas matter here in every sphere, from politics to Bollywood - she would never have come to such a pathetic pass, bereft of the very brassiness and smouldering charm that made her the cynosure of her times.

As the ultimate example of how locos could be cute as well as competent, she was destined to make that triumphant comeback from nearly a century of retirement to the huzzahs of millions of admirers. But those charged with the security of the Fairy Queen should have been alive to the danger of pilferers, given her renewed fame coupled with age and vulnerability.

Instead, much like the elderly who fall prey to criminals even though they are registered with their local police stations (for extra vigilance), the Fairy Queen was vandalised right in her own yard. It had to happen, since cannibalising old vehicles is a fact of life in India, with legions of old Ambassadors, Fiats and other autosaurs living on, at least in (spare)part somewhere.

Ironically, if Fairy Queen is ever to get back on track, her resuscitators will also have to resort to cannibalism considering she has outlived both her original makers as well as those who used to manufacture those little parts that kept her chugging along.

The lack of availability of vital parts has naturally made the prognosis for her recovery not so good. Nevertheless, neither the Fairy Queen nor her contemporaries in various rail sheds in India should be left to gather rust. The Railways could at least consider appealing to millions of train enthusiasts around the world to chip in with suggestions on how she can stage a second comeback.