1. The D Trivedi's fare hike was supposed to provide Rs. 5,500 crores each year

2. And after M Roy's roll back the railways will get only Rs. 200 crores each year :bash::bash::bash:

That means:

- The ongoing projects will keep on going till no end

- There will be accidents

- No security

- No hygiene

- No better trains

- No new tracks

- No modernization

we are doomed :bash::bash::bash::bash:

Yes, the PM should have taken a stance similar to the one he took while dealing with the Commies in UPA 1. Afterall, he had the support of the SP and the BSP.

No body cares for nation.

Rahul gandhi have taken it personally in UP, he want to eliminate SP.

If they gives signal to SP that they don't wanna hurt them and want a long term pact the govt. can get rid of mamta and even get back to power in next election. Like they have given free hand to DMK in TN or NC in Kashmir.

The govt. of kashmir will fall the day congress withdraw its supports, ideally congress should share the ministries and have a CM in turns like they have done in past with PDP but as Omar Abdullah is a personal friend of Rahul Gandhi they are giving free and unconditional support to it.

But in UP they have problems because of ego.

MMS got sleepless nights when a guy in UK was questioned on Terrorism. I am getting sleepless nights with the MMS and his fools derailing the country. :(

In Tamil Nadu, few of the rail network is severely choked waiting for electrification and doubling while the remaining are in middle of gauge conversion for decades. I hope rest of India is not in a bad mess.

^^ U cant blame UPA entirely - this time around - the sole culprit is Mamata Banerjee - she's running the country by virtual blackmail and threat of mid term polls and has UPA by the balls. Shes nuking every reform - and if UPA-II has to be criticized - I would start squarely by blaming her!

While the overwhelming mood of this forum is in favor of by now ex-RM Dinesh Trivedi and his bold steps, does anyone on this forum knows how is all this playing out on the various TV news channels. I personally detest these always shouting news channels and never watch them but looks like our ever populist minded politicos are quite influenced by the overall sentiment played out by these channels. And if that stupid didi is adamant on her senseless stand, I am guessing that these channels are not opposing her moves as such.

So what kind of stand these channels are taking on this whole saga.. can someone elucidate?

I believe most of India is in a mess as far as railways (or most of the infrastructure items to be honest) are concerned. The only question is how big is the mess - is it massive or super-massive... :ohno:

By that I mean most are super-massive messes and some are only massive.


In Tamil Nadu, few of the rail network is severely choked waiting for electrification and doubling while the remaining are in middle of gauge conversion for decades. I hope rest of India is not in a bad mess.

While the overwhelming mood of this forum is in favor of by now ex-RM Dinesh Trivedi and his bold steps, does anyone on this forum knows how is all this playing out on the various TV news channels. I personally detest these always shouting news channels and never watch them but looks like our ever populist minded politicos are quite influenced by the overall sentiment played out by these channels. And if that stupid didi is adamant on her senseless stand, I am guessing that these channels are not opposing her moves as such.

So what kind of stand these channels are taking on this whole saga.. can someone elucidate?

Most of the channels are only criticising the congress for bowing down. They aren't explicitly criticising the rollback. Nor did they explicitly appreciated the price hike. So you can say they've been neutral. But the print media has taken a very definite stand and was appreciative of the fare hike.

But generally people have been supportive of the farehike. I can guage that from the mood in my office and other public places - like conversations that go on at a chai tapri.

See - the people aren't fools. There's a place Anand(40 Kms) from Baroda and the train fare in Rs 6/-.:nuts: Going to the railway station if you're staying about 2 Kms from the Station in a rickshaw costs Rs 15/-.

So people understand that and they do realize that if railways gets more money - they can give better services. People have never had the problem paying if they got the services accordingly.

BTW - anybody has an idea about the Platform Ticket. Has that been rolled back too from Rs 5 to Rs 3 ??

NY Times (http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/a-conversation-with-former-railways-minister-dinesh-trivedi/?ref=india) Interview with former Railway Minister Trivedi.

Shobhan Saxena, TNN (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Playing-the-wrong-track/articleshow/12398999.cms)

Trains in France travel at 400 km/hr. In China, they move six cm above the ground. Ok, that's a tough order for India, but is the debate over fare hikes diverting attention from the pathetic state our railways are in?

Last year, as a bullet train - a trophy of China's technological prowess - fell from a bridge, killing 40, it sparked public furore. Thousands of people expressed their anger on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. "Wasn't this locomotive the most advanced type and put into use only after many tests? So how come the problems were discovered after they were put into operation? What a miracle," wrote one Weibo user, accusing the government of putting profit before safety. As a wave of public anger swept China, it recalled all 54 bullet trains. Between 2007 and 2011, as many as 177 rail accidents took place globally. Of these, 15% happened in India. In 2011 alone, India had 12 train accidents. In 2012, the Indian Railways has already recorded four accidents, the latest one this week. None of them led to an uproar here. No national outrage over social networking sites. Nor did it make the ministry of railways release the report of 28 committees it has set up on safety.

"They are making a big deal of the fare hike and not talking about the real issues like safety and comfortable travel. Nowhere in the world do so many people die in train accidents as in India," says a Rail Bhawan official, who didn't want to be named. "Every time a train derails or rams into a bus at an unmanned crossing, they order an inquiry and forget all about it. After all, it's mostly the poor who die like this and their life is cheap."

Urban or rural, India's train stations teem with migrant workers who go to big cities and towns to make a living. It's this class of people - left behind by the 'India growth story' - who are the biggest users of Indian railways. For most of them, there is nothing romantic about traveling in filthy trains with choked toilets, which often run late and keep derailing, killing hundreds every year. Even the middle-class' romance with trains is almost over. "It's because of safety concerns that I switched over to flights, though it's a big burden on my wallet," says Nita Swarup, a PR executive from Gurgaon. "If the trains are clean and safe, I would still prefer them."

This is also the reason for foreign tourists switching over to flights. According to Andy Cook, who recently arrived in India after traveling through China, train travel there has become as comfortable as flights. "I thought all trains in India are like the Palace on Wheels, but it's very disappointing ."

Few would argue against reforms in Indian Railways. Even railway unions have supported the hike in fares this time as they fear that lack of funds may endanger passenger safety. "We need money for safety mechanisms," says Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary of the All-India Railwaymen's Federation. "We carry 2 crore people on 18,000 trains daily. The needs can't be ignored."

While everybody agrees that the Railways needs reforms, there is no agreement on how to go about it. While some officials and experts are in love with the Chinese model (' Different tracks' ), the Planning Commission has been quietly pushing for more private participation. In fact, the government has already initiated multi-billion dollar projects, including a $90b freight corridor to connect Delhi and Mumbai.

Ironically, the drama around Dinesh Trivedi's railway budget, his subsequent resignation and the rollback of fares was played out in the name of aam admi. Railway officials blame various railway ministers for the mess. A Rail Bhawan official, blames the "bunch of jokers" that have been railway ministers in the past 20 years. According to R C Acharya, a former member of the Railway Board, unless the political class stops viewing the Railways as a platform for patronage disbursal, it can't be what it is supposed to be: the nation's lifeline . "Various ministers have used the Railways to win friends and influence people, the organisation be damned," says Acharya. "They keep adding new trains every year without considering the economic viability of new routes." In private, officials agree that turning the Railways around into a cash cow - privatizing it - is not a good idea. "If the government can spend Rs 2 lakh crore every year on defence , why can't it manage money for the Railways which keeps the largest chunk of India's traveling people connected to their jobs and families?"

India needs trains and the Railways need money. "Unlike the defence services, the Railways always remains at war, moving millions of passengers and over 3m tonnes of freight everyday over its 64,000 km of network, come hell or high water," says Acharya . If only the Railways could make train journeys safe for ordinary Indians.

Berth Pangs

Network

In 1947, India had 53,396 km of railway network China had only 27,000 km

Growth

In 2010, India's rail network was 64,000 km China's network then was 100,000 km

Pace Of Change

India's network is growing at 400 km per year China's is growing at 2,000 km per year

Speed

Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express takes 15 hours to traverse 1,380 km The bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai covers a distance of 1,460 km in five hours

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/3024/ddtrain.jpg

Two double-decker trains and a Shatabdi train are among 72 new express trains announced in the Rail Budget 2012-13.
Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express, Chennai-Bangalore AC double-decker Express and Habibganj-Indore AC double-decker Express trains were announced by Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi while presenting his maiden Railway Budget 2012-13.

:lol: it's so funny , when it comes to lokapl bill, MMS suddenly grows balls to defend the italian mafia, but when it comes to general public, he remains mum as usual, air india got bankrupt due to similar moronic policies and similar idiots, but still it didn't affect a large part of the population, as there are other options, railways is too on the brink of bankruptcy and for this, we have no alternatives... would be interesting to watch what the god mother and her chamchas do... :banana:

Shobhan Saxena, TNN (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Playing-the-wrong-track/articleshow/12398999.cms)

Trains in France travel at 400 km/hr. In China, they move six cm above the ground. Ok, that's a tough order for India, but is the debate over fare hikes diverting attention from the pathetic state our railways are in?

Last year, as a bullet train - a trophy of China's technological prowess - fell from a bridge, killing 40, it sparked public furore. Thousands of people expressed their anger on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. "Wasn't this locomotive the most advanced type and put into use only after many tests? So how come the problems were discovered after they were put into operation? What a miracle," wrote one Weibo user, accusing the government of putting profit before safety. As a wave of public anger swept China, it recalled all 54 bullet trains. Between 2007 and 2011, as many as 177 rail accidents took place globally. Of these, 15% happened in India. In 2011 alone, India had 12 train accidents. In 2012, the Indian Railways has already recorded four accidents, the latest one this week. None of them led to an uproar here. No national outrage over social networking sites. Nor did it make the ministry of railways release the report of 28 committees it has set up on safety.

"They are making a big deal of the fare hike and not talking about the real issues like safety and comfortable travel. Nowhere in the world do so many people die in train accidents as in India," says a Rail Bhawan official, who didn't want to be named. "Every time a train derails or rams into a bus at an unmanned crossing, they order an inquiry and forget all about it. After all, it's mostly the poor who die like this and their life is cheap."

Urban or rural, India's train stations teem with migrant workers who go to big cities and towns to make a living. It's this class of people - left behind by the 'India growth story' - who are the biggest users of Indian railways. For most of them, there is nothing romantic about traveling in filthy trains with choked toilets, which often run late and keep derailing, killing hundreds every year. Even the middle-class' romance with trains is almost over. "It's because of safety concerns that I switched over to flights, though it's a big burden on my wallet," says Nita Swarup, a PR executive from Gurgaon. "If the trains are clean and safe, I would still prefer them."

This is also the reason for foreign tourists switching over to flights. According to Andy Cook, who recently arrived in India after traveling through China, train travel there has become as comfortable as flights. "I thought all trains in India are like the Palace on Wheels, but it's very disappointing ."

Few would argue against reforms in Indian Railways. Even railway unions have supported the hike in fares this time as they fear that lack of funds may endanger passenger safety. "We need money for safety mechanisms," says Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary of the All-India Railwaymen's Federation. "We carry 2 crore people on 18,000 trains daily. The needs can't be ignored."

While everybody agrees that the Railways needs reforms, there is no agreement on how to go about it. While some officials and experts are in love with the Chinese model (' Different tracks' ), the Planning Commission has been quietly pushing for more private participation. In fact, the government has already initiated multi-billion dollar projects, including a $90b freight corridor to connect Delhi and Mumbai.

Ironically, the drama around Dinesh Trivedi's railway budget, his subsequent resignation and the rollback of fares was played out in the name of aam admi. Railway officials blame various railway ministers for the mess. A Rail Bhawan official, blames the "bunch of jokers" that have been railway ministers in the past 20 years. According to R C Acharya, a former member of the Railway Board, unless the political class stops viewing the Railways as a platform for patronage disbursal, it can't be what it is supposed to be: the nation's lifeline . "Various ministers have used the Railways to win friends and influence people, the organisation be damned," says Acharya. "They keep adding new trains every year without considering the economic viability of new routes." In private, officials agree that turning the Railways around into a cash cow - privatizing it - is not a good idea. "If the government can spend Rs 2 lakh crore every year on defence , why can't it manage money for the Railways which keeps the largest chunk of India's traveling people connected to their jobs and families?"

India needs trains and the Railways need money. "Unlike the defence services, the Railways always remains at war, moving millions of passengers and over 3m tonnes of freight everyday over its 64,000 km of network, come hell or high water," says Acharya . If only the Railways could make train journeys safe for ordinary Indians.

Berth Pangs

Network

In 1947, India had 53,396 km of railway network China had only 27,000 km

Growth

In 2010, India's rail network was 64,000 km China's network then was 100,000 km

Pace Of Change

India's network is growing at 400 km per year China's is growing at 2,000 km per year

Speed

Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express takes 15 hours to traverse 1,380 km The bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai covers a distance of 1,460 km in five hours
china's HSR is incurring an annual loss of 1.7 trillion dollars, India's is .....

Mamata is slowly becoming public enemy #1

She is comedian #1. "Rajasthan Happy?" "I cannot satisfy all, I cannot satisfy all of you..." " If you don't listen na I will cut. uska hai fir bhi chillata hai."

NqC8kFCE_Go

"Aapka nahi hai"

nwj7R3LbjdQ

NY Times (http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/a-conversation-with-former-railways-minister-dinesh-trivedi/?ref=india) Interview with former Railway Minister Trivedi.

Thanks for sharing. To the point, relevant, and just the correct answers by Mr. Trivedi. I only wish we could somehow get rid of that didi and get him back as the RM.

:ohno: Wishful thinking ... I know ... as it's not going to happen :( :ohno:

Thanks for sharing. To the point, relevant, and just the correct answers by Mr. Trivedi. I only wish we could somehow get rid of that didi and get him back as the RM.

:ohno: Wishful thinking ... I know ... as it's not going to happen :( :ohno:

Why are american jokers meddling in our affairs?? since when did they got so interested in our ministry?? Are we the next afganisthan? :lol: where the "liberal"
will come to rescue us from our dumb ministers:lol:

^^^

Mr. Kalki please spare us with your idiotic statements all the time. If NYtimes covers a report it does not mean US government is coming to India. just see how much International news we have in our media.

and We all know Chinese Railways is on loss due to HSR but please dont quote figures like $1.7 trillion annually.. that is more than India's total GDP !!!

We all hope Dinesh Trivedi could come back as RM but its the misfortune of our nation that ministers like him are kicked out because of a whimsical regional leader and a spineless PM who cannot defend his own cabinet members who do good work !!

She is comedian #1. "Rajasthan Happy?" "I cannot satisfy all, I cannot satisfy all of you..." " If you don't listen na I will cut. uska hai fir bhi chillata hai."

NqC8kFCE_Go

"Aapka nahi hai"

nwj7R3LbjdQ

Seriously, she is a comedian whose comedy we are forced to endure and suffer as the end result :(

Looks like Greater Mumbai area is expected to get more rail based connectivity ... about 180 kms!!

Clicky (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-22/news/31225246_1_harbour-line-rewas-port-jnpt) for the news.

Railway Budget 2012: Bad politics means bad economics which India can ill-afford considering the current situation
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railway-budget-2012-bad-politics-means-bad-economics-which-india-can-ill-afford-considering-the-current-situation/articleshow/12408769.cms?curpg=1))

Pradeep S Mehta

Sacking the then-railway minister Dinesh Trivedi after he presented a reformist rail budget is one of the darkest chapters in our recent chaotic economic history. One can understand the compulsions of coalition politics.

Just like Trivedi, former minister Suresh Prabhu was removed from his portfolio in the government led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His party supremo, Balasaheb Thackeray, had him dropped not for raising prices of urea, but for other reasons.

Agreed, Trivedi's case was different, though it may take a while to know the precise reasons for his ouster. Now, his successor Mukul Roy has announced a rollback in passenger fares, in spite of the Cabinet decision to support Trivedi's proposal to raise fares.

This idea was not radical because fares had not been raised over the last decade. After all, bad politics leads to bad economic outcomes, which the country can ill-afford in the current situation of an alarming fiscal deficit, obstinate inflation and unusual policy paralysis.

The argument that Trivedi raised passenger fares and that would adversely affect the poor is a specious one. As if railway fares are the only burden on the poor. If one compares it with rise in road transport costs during the same period, then the suggested increase is far lower.

He rightly argued that railway finances need to be buttressed because transport is a vital component for the overall economy. In their wisdom, even the railway workers unions supported him. If passenger fares are not raised, then freight rates will have to cover the gap, and the spiralling impact will lead to higher burden on the poor.

In fact, Trivedi raised the freight rate on goods including some essential commodities before he presented the budget. The increase would certainly impact the poor. If safety parameters are not to be improved, then again, it is the poor who will suffer the most.

People who are well-off usually use airlines to travel long distances or SUVs and cars or roadways buses to travel short-to-middle distances by road, and not Railways. In spite of the tatkal scheme, many still have to fork out extra money to get a confirmed seat.

Trivedi had also proposed a process to establish an independent tariff regulatory authority. This is an important reform measure that is overdue. Unfortunately, Roy has dropped this idea. What Trivedi also said in his budget speech was to establish an independent railway safety authority, among others, such as one to focus on unmanned railway crossings.

But both the functions can be promoted through the existing independent Commission on Railway Safety that works under the ministry of civil aviation at an arm's length. Surely, the commission does not suffer from the Air India syndrome.

If it is not functioning well, then it should be suitably strengthened. This is a better option than the irrational proposal to set up more bodies that would increase the cost burden. He praised the procurement system in a tongue-in-cheek manner and then said that eprocurement and e-auction systems will be used to curb huge leakages in the system. The losses are estimated in the region of Rs 6,000-10,000 crore. This is much more than Rs 4,000 crore the rollback in passenger fares would entail.

Hopefully, Roy will address this crucial issue. In the meanwhile, power rates in Bengal have been raised, along with those of powdered milk, while there is a proposal to raise tram fares too. All these will affect the poor adversely. Therefore, one cannot understand the brouhaha over raise in railway passenger fares.

Perhaps, there is more to the whole fiasco than what meets the eye. In conclusion, we have two points to ponder: why do we have a separate railways budget at all, when the railways are dependent upon the national kitty for financial support.

A separate rail budget is a legacy of the British Raj. Given the same logic, should we not have a separate defence budget that is critical for the country's security, whose annual expenditure is in the region of Rs 1,93,400 crore, while the railways budget is only around Rs 60,000 crore?

Granted, the defence budget is mainly expenditure with some scarce income generation, while the Railways has to function like a commercial enterprise, with social obligations.

A proposal to merge the railway budget with the Union Budget was mooted in the recent past by finance ministry mandarins, but the proposal was dropped after the news was leaked. The reason: status quoism and coalition politics. Railways, like any infrastructure ministry, has always been the fiefdom of a smaller partner, so that they can get a slice of the cake.

Coalition politics is now an established way for future governments at the Centre, and perhaps in few states. Hence, succumbing to arm-twisting by smaller partners will always remain. Should we not create a structure whereby the government never gets unstable, like the German system where a noconfidence motion has to be accompanied by a confidence motion in favour of another ruling alliance?

There, parties on the opposite sides have formed a government and ensured stability. This will at least ensure a full term for all MPs and hedge the central government from being blackmailed by smaller parties, to a large extent. Horse trading for forming a government will not disappear but there would be better stability.

(The author is secretary general of CUTS International)

Quite a well written piece!

Indian Railways to launch real-time train tracking via Google maps
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/Indian-Railways-to-launch-real-time-train-tracking-via-Google-maps/articleshow/12421606.cms))

Indian Railways may soon launch real-time tracking of trains on Google maps that can be accessed through mobile devices and PCs.

The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the technology arm of the Indian Railways, has developed a GPS-based solution with help of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which can provide exact location of a train with an accuracy of 10 metres, and latency of 2 minutes, on a real-time basis.

The GPS devices, which will cost around Rs 70,000-1,00,000 per train, would be fitted in about 100 trains, which may help avert collisions and prevent loss of lives. In affect, trains in future may know each other's location, and start breaking, in case of danger ahead.

The breaking distance of passenger trains is about 1 km, while for freight trains it is about 1.4 kms. Around 22 people have died this year due to train accidents, and last year around 120 people died. According to reports, in the last four years, around 15% of rail accidents took place in India.

"The government's focus is to reduce the number of accidents and installation of real-time monitoring service on all trains by the end of 2013, which would contribute in improving the monitoring," V A Chopra MD CRIS said.

Passengers may also be available to see real-time locations, as CRIS has integrated the GPS app with Google maps. ISRO's INSAT-3C satellite will aid in location of moving trains. The GPS system can give an accuracy of about 10 metres, with a lag of about 2 minutes.

However, CRIS aims to shorten the distance to about 3 metres, the average distance between two gauge lines, a critical factor that can prevent accidents if a train on another line is derailing.

Success of the GPS-based system may help Railways in running trains at high speed. The GPS application will also aid in better planning of train schedules, especially in bad weather.

Currently, scheduling is done manually. Station masters call the divisional headquarters and inform them once a train has left a particular station. "In future, the controller will only plan the running and scheduling of trains instead of co-ordinating with various other stations to confirm the status of the trains," said Chopra.

Indian Railways has about 77 control offices at over 6,000 stations. A pilot project has already started between Chennai and Tambaram railway stations, where about 364 suburban train services have been scheduled successfully with the GPS devices. CRIS plans to allocate around Rs 70 crore to the project.

The facility to track train movements will soon be available on Indianrailways. gov.in.

Last year, Indian Railways had announced the project Satellite Imaging for Rail Navigation (SIMRAN) jointly with IIT-Kanpur for a similar tracking portal, which is currently in pilot stage with several trains including Rajdhani and Shatabdi.

An exciting development here, but where will IR get the funds for all this?!

^^ This SIMRAN thing is pretty accurate. I tested it when I was travelling from Delhi to Howrah last year and I was quite impressed.

When we have a moronic Railways Mantriji Mukul of TMC, I don't see any point in discussing railways and its "advancement" when the fools in charge are bent on walking backwards.

Nevertheless, here is another system that could potentially save some money....

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/multimedia/dynamic/01035/BL28_LOG_TUBULAR_T_1035394f.jpg

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3251411.ece

Tubular Track has a patented technology for laying tracks without ballast (broken gravel). The rails are continuously supported on twin reinforced concrete beams laid on a specially designed formation. The beams are tied together with galvanised steel tie-bars, the ends of which encircle the beams. To insulate the system from shock when trains pass, rubber-bonded cork pads are placed at regular intervals between the rails and the beams. Tracks shifted just two millimetres after six years of installation. This despite tonnes of coal being transported on a daily basis

^^^

Mr. Kalki please spare us with your idiotic statements all the time. If NYtimes covers a report it does not mean US government is coming to India. just see how much International news we have in our media.

and We all know Chinese Railways is on loss due to HSR but please dont quote figures like $1.7 trillion annually.. that is more than India's total GDP !!!

We all hope Dinesh Trivedi could come back as RM but its the misfortune of our nation that ministers like him are kicked out because of a whimsical regional leader and a spineless PM who cannot defend his own cabinet members who do good work !!

Mr. jaadu, spare me onlee.... What US is and what it's not I know it very well, sometimes people lose the focus when lost in huge skyscraper cities :) maybe US asslicking has blinded you... I would recommend watching international samachar...

When we have a moronic Railways Mantriji Mukul of TMC, I don't see any point in discussing railways and its "advancement" when the fools in charge are bent on walking backwards.

Nevertheless, here is another system that could potentially save some money....

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/multimedia/dynamic/01035/BL28_LOG_TUBULAR_T_1035394f.jpg

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3251411.ece

If I am not wrong in a lot of railways stations we have tracks without the ballast gravel , do they use similar technology there ?

^^^^

Even I remember seeing tracks without ballast in a lot of stations. But I think, there had been sleepers in there. If so, I guess it's not the same technology.

BTW, this article is not written/edited properly. In the middle of it, it says "He declined to identify the Indian company" without any context. This would probably imply that some Indian company is working on this in a possible collaboration with the patent holder. But no reference about it. Also no mention has been made anywhere about the costs/benefit of this new technology especially as a comparison with the traditional method of doing it.

So all this leads to a possible conclusion that this company has got an paid article inserted in an Indian newspaper to highlight and promote it's patented technology!

^^ This SIMRAN thing is pretty accurate. I tested it when I was travelling from Delhi to Howrah last year and I was quite impressed.
SIMRAN is now online..Check Here (http://simran.in/)

^^

Funny that most of the languages available for translation are written in the respective language except for Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malyalam which are actually written in Hindi. :lol:

^^

Funny that most of the languages available for translation are written in the respective language except for Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malyalam which are actually written in Hindi. :lol:

Maybe they are still developing it..

Maybe they are still developing it..

You click the link of the respective languages mentioned, and there, the translation.

Tech check on track: Now, railway TTEs on board Rajdhani Express trains to get palmtops
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/tech-check-on-track-now-railway-ttes-on-board-rajdhani-express-trains-to-get-palmtops/articleshow/12501622.cms))

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: For cash- strapped government behemoth Indian Railways, this is big news. The ticket-checkers on board all the Rajdhani Express trains would soon be seen carrying hand-held computers, instead of the archaic reservation chart enabling them to allot seats to short distance passengers.

The decision comes after the success of the pilot project by the Delhi divisions in three Shatabdi trains for the past three years.

"We will be allotting palmtops soon. The success of the pilot project on the Ajmer-Delhi, Amritsar-Delhi and Dehradun-Delhi Shatabdis has helped us to take this decision,'' said S K Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway.

The palmtop will replace the long reservation list carried by the Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs). The palmtops, connected to the central server, will enable the TTE to update the status of passengers who turn up for the journey. It would reflect the status of available seats on a train across the railway network, which could be booked by any passenger willing to board it in at the next station. The system developed by Centre for Railway Information System and to work in tandem with SIMRAN (which tracks real time movement of trains), will help railways earn extra revenues, claim officials.

Eastern Railway CPRO Sameer Goswami said, "Till now, we have no circular from the railway board in this matter. We too will introduce palmtops as part of the national scheme once we get the necessary go ahead,.

Sources at Baroda House, the headquarters of Northern Railway, claim the process will stop the TTEs from charging arbitrarily for short distance bookings.

Hope this will help reduce or totally eliminate corrupt practices carried out by many of the TTEs while allocating any vacant berths!

Hope so.

By default, inside my mind, TTE resembles a Ticket Tampering Entity for a lot of the cases as it is today.


Hope this will help reduce or totally eliminate corrupt practices carried out by many of the TTEs while allocating any vacant berths!

With an aim of hauling heavier trains, railways is ready to roll out a newly-designed 5500 horse power (HP) diesel locomotive equipped with all modern features including 100 km per hour running speed.

Aptly named as " Bheem", the high horse power locomotive is currently undergoing safety trial. Manufactured at Diesel Locomotive Works at Varanasi, the prototype has cost about Rs 17 crore to the railways.

Railways have 4500 HP diesel locos for freight operation and with the induction of "Bheem", the carrying capacity will increase substantially," said a senior Railway Ministry official, adding "railways will manufacture 15 such locomotives in the current fiscal."

Railways have set a loading target of 1025 million tonnes for 2012-13, 55 MT more than the last fiscal.

Designed jointly by the Railways and EMD, a US-based company, the locomotive has a provision of toilet for crew, a first in railways.

"It has been been designed to set up new standards for crew comfort and safety. Among others the locomotive is fuel efficient as it is equipped with electronic fuel injection and emission control system. Besides it has heated ventilation air conditioning, collision protection system and an ergonomically designed driver seat," the official said.

The locomotive comes with a huge fuel capacity of 7500 litres to provide long runs without refuelling.

Source: Economic Times
Link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-newly-designed-5500-horse-power-diesel-locomotive-bheem-ready-to-roll-out/articleshow/12530650.cms

Integral Coach Factory rolled out record 1,511 coaches in 2011-12

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Perambur has stepped up production of railway coaches. In 2011-12, it rolled out 1,511 coaches, a record, against a target of 1,503 coaches. Encouraged, ICF has now set a target of 1,525 coaches for 2012-2013.

The production in 2011-12 comprised 405 EMUs, 716 conventional sleeper coaches, 162 air-conditioned coaches, 141 diesel electric multiple units (DEMU), 48 air conditioned metro coaches for Kolkata, 39 stainless steel DEMU coaches for export. AC/DC EMUs for the Mumbai suburban system and a first ever mobile emission test car to test emission levels of diesel locomotives were also produced.

ICF is gearing up to make stainless steel shells, high-speed bogies as part of its expansion plans. Nearly 700 modern coaches will be made in a new production unit.

Work on producing Linke Holfmann Bush-type of coaches will start soon; the railways announced in the budget that ICF-design coaches would not be used in the future.

A senior official said the factory could exceed target because production techniques were tweaked and employee management was improved.

After pioneering computerized production among railway factories, ICF recently introduced enterprise resource planning (ERP). "With ERP, the shop floor goings-on will be revealed to the management in a meaningful manner. It can also be used to identify cost effective solution for different technologies," said general manager Abhak K Khanna.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Integral-Coach-Factory-rolled-out-record-1511-coaches-in-2011-12/articleshow/12540007.cms

UK to scrap 38 obsolete India railway laws

LONDON: Thirty-eight pieces of legislation related to the construction and maintenance of the railways network in India during British rule - the first dated 1849 and the latest of 1942 - are set to be scrapped under a draft bill proposed by the law commission . The history of the 38 acts reflects the challenge of constructing and maintaining one of the largest railway networks in the world across vast distances in sub-continent . The acts have remained on the statute books, and have now been identified to be scrapped.

source: TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/UK-to-scrap-38-obsolete-India-railway-laws/articleshow/12540830.cms)

lol, it's time we get rid of many of our pre independence defunct colonial laws too.

^^ Interesting they were kept for so long.

An apt depiction of Ms. "We will not allow" Banerjee:
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554815_327608407292693_100001306102904_789562_142587276_n.jpg

UK to scrap 38 obsolete India railway laws

source: TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/UK-to-scrap-38-obsolete-India-railway-laws/articleshow/12540830.cms)

lol, it's time we get rid of many of our pre independence defunct colonial laws too.

While the intent is clear, it's funny the way TOI is reporting this from London with the heading "UK to scrap..." as if it's UK that is going to repeal these outdated laws in India, or that these are archaic Indian laws in UK that they are going to scrap.

Simply pathetic reporting.

Maybe India could sue for lack of maintenance all these years since it was UK law. ;)

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/eavesdropper/926323/0


Rail carpet
His unexpected elevation to Cabinet rank had visibly overwhelmed the new rail minister Mukul Roy, who traversed Ashoka Hall at Rashtrapati Bhavan where his swearing took place, at least twice to greet the sparse crowd gathered for the ceremony.

You broke, now make
Newly-inducted rail minister Roy has been known to have various small businesses and the joke in Kolkata about his new portfolio is that there could be nobody better to run the rail ministry, since one of his early enterprises had been to “break” railway wagons and sell them for scrap.
======================================================

Newly-inducted rail minister Roy has been known to have various small businesses and the joke in Kolkata about his new portfolio is that there could be nobody better to run the rail ministry, since one of his early enterprises had been to “break” railway wagons and sell them for scrap.


Finally we have started to allocate ministries according to their field expertise.
Mukul Roy - Union Railway minister
Raja Bhaiya - UP Prison minister

+1:lol:

another union railway minister for bengal shaping up..:)
===================================================
http://news.in.msn.com/exclusives/it/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6000793 07 Apr 2012
Following in the footsteps on his party leader Mamata Banerjee, Railway Minister Mukul Roy is fast becoming a minister inabsentia. Roy left for Kolkata on the very day that Parliament went into recess and will return when the West Bengal chief minister visits Delhi early next week.
===================================================

http://news.in.msn.com/exclusives/it/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5988871
Back to Didi days at Rail Bhawan
One wonders if Railway Minister Mukul Roy is serving the country or West Bengal. "Get ready to operate from Kolkata as in Didi's days (as railway minister). Roy is hardly in office," said a senior officer.Roy is more often seen in Kolkata overseeing rail projects in the state and attending to party matters.
===================================================

^^ WTF. Why do these retards take a job which they are not capable of in the first place. Looks like their childhood must have been effed up pretty bad. Don't these guys have an iota of common sense. Please quit the job ASAP and let other capable folks deal with the job of governing Indian Railways (you had one in D. Trivedi). Being a dog in the manger does not help you nor the nation. Do the decent thing and submit your resignation, you turds. If they don't we ought to deem these turds as anti-national scum and shoot the bastards.

I cant believe the total lack of leadership at the PM level. Everyone in India is waiting for a massive clean up of the cesspool called Indian Railways, yet the boffins go about with a don't care attitude.

^^
Including myself, am sure most people would share these sentiments. Not sure what we all can do here. Maybe start a 'Bring Trivedi Back' online petition to start with?!

@MxC ,

We obviously can't bring Trivedi back but atleats we can spread awareness so that news like this comes on the front page of major news papers of the country. May be we can facebook or tweet. I am doing that now.

^^ Interesting they were kept for so long.

An apt depiction of Ms. "We will not allow" Banerjee:
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554815_327608407292693_100001306102904_789562_1425872766_n.jpg

:lol::lol: kudos to the creator!

@MxC ,

We obviously can't bring Trivedi back but atleats we can spread awareness so that news like this comes on the front page of major news papers of the country. May be we can facebook or tweet. I am doing that now.

Why not do some research, collect the relevant links and update Mr Roy on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukul_Roy

WP is the first reference for people, and recording his actions there will make sure it stays online forever, and backing it up with facts from the media will only strengthen the case. Tweets and fb updates are of no use :)

भारतीय रेल की एक और सफलता, मालवा एक्सप्रेस को पहला फायदा

इंदौर। इंदौर-जम्मूतवी मालवा एक्सप्रेस को पश्चिम रेलवे की पहली बायो टॉयलेटयुक्त ट्रेन होने का गौरव मिला है। रक्षा अनुसंधान और विकास संगठन (डीआरडीओ) द्वारा विकसित यह रैक स्टेशन, ट्रैक और पर्यावरण को साफ-सुथरा रखने के लिए बनाया गया है। इस टॉयलेट के ये लाभ हैं।

हालांकि मालवा एक्सप्रेस के कुल चार रैक हैं और अभी एक रैक को बदला गया है। बायोटॉयलेट में एन एरोबिक बैक्टिरिया की अहम भूमिका होती है। ऐसे बैक्टिरिया शून्य से नीचे तापमान और 60 डिग्री सेंटीग्रेड तक जीवित रहते हैं। इनमें छह से आठ घंटे में अपनी संख्या दोगुना करने की क्षमता होती है। यह बैक्टिरिया जब मानव मल के संपर्क में आता है तो उसे कार्बन डाईऑक्साइड, मीथेन और तरल में डिकंपोज कर देता है। तरल वेस्ट का क्लोरीनीकरण कर विसर्जित कर दिया जाता है।

source (http://www.bhaskar.com/article/MP-IND-biotoilet-in-indian-rail-3095705.html?HF-39=)

Bio-Toilet in Indore-Jammu Tawi express

http://i3.dainikbhaskar.com/web2images/www.bhaskar.com/2012/04/11/images/in21_f.jpg

^^
Good development. BTW not sure if it's do with angle at which the photo is taken, but the box appeared to be too low to me.

^^ yeah... seems like they spent millions and decided to attach a dabba underneath in the end... after all, what is a dabba? it's a biggggg lota :P:lol:

भारतीय रेल की एक और सफलता, मालवा एक्सप्रेस को पहला फायदा



Bio-Toilet in Indore-Jammu Tawi express

http://i3.dainikbhaskar.com/web2images/www.bhaskar.com/2012/04/11/images/in21_f.jpg

^^ translation summary please :cheers:

this will create smell inside trains through the journey, instead of just at stations :ohno: with a/c waiting lounges being set up this smell thing is not an issue these days

And these railway folks were talking about designing better bogies that would sway less. Now we're going to have 4 such dabbas hanging in each compartment. :bash: Lets see.

^^ translation summary please :cheers:

this will create smell inside trains through the journey, instead of just at stations :ohno: with a/c waiting lounges being set up this smell thing is not an issue these days

just says those boxes contain bacteria which decompose the human waste and then its chlorinated. Its developed by DRDO. Would have to wait for their trials before passing any judgement.

An aeroplane model toilet should be the aim, not these kind of unaesthetic ones.

To all of us cribbing about these latest addition of dabba, had anyone really expected that IR will be doing/attaching something futuristic/modern looking to these prehistoric coaches?!
:nuts:

An aeroplane model toilet should be the aim, not these kind of unaesthetic ones.

Aeroplane modelwalla vaccum toilets cost thrice as much and not really suitable for village folk. I expect anything and everything to be thrown in there. Will have to wait and see whether it actually works without choking.

Personally as long as most people don't have toilet manners, I'm going to avoid toilets on trains as much as possible.

LED signals to enhance visibility at level crossings

Southern Railway will provide LED signals at level crossing gates and yards to ensure better visibility in all mainline signals and prevent mishaps, Southern Railway General Manager Deepak Krishan said on Thursday.

Addressing the 57 Railway Week Celebrations of Southern Railway, Mr. Krishan said LED installations had been completed at 296 stations so far, of which 90 LED signals were provided in 2011-12.

Southern Railway, conferred the national-level shield for safety-related works and train punctuality, also expects to shortly complete the installation of the Integrated Security System at 14 select stations, including Chennai Central. The integrated system was expected to bring about improvements in passenger safety and security through state-of-the-art surveillance, he said.

According to Mr. Krishan, while the tragedy at Arakkonam, where ten lives were lost when an EMU rammed a stationary train, was most unfortunate, what equally raises concern was the loss of lives and injuries due to negligence of road users, especially while crossing unmanned level crossings. Of the seven consequential accidents last year, four occurred at unmanned level crossings, he said.......

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3308492.ece

Railways plans escalators, lounges at 321 stations

The railways has decided to introduce a slew of measures, including setting up of executive lounges, at about 50 stations across the country and installation of escalators at 321 places. These steps are being taken with a view to facilitating hassle-free passenger boarding at those stations where rush of passengers is too high.

Patna Junction is likely to be one of the stations where such facilities would be provided in future. According to a Railway Board official, the proposed plan envisages setting up of executive lounges on the pattern of airport. It would be a new experiment for the railways to provide plush facilities at stations. The lounges would have seating arrangement, food and beverages to cater to the needs of passengers. The railways intends to provide wheelchairs at such lounges for senior citizens and physically challenged persons, he said.

The official said that the railways would set up executive lounges at New Delhi, Howrah, Mumbai and Bangalore in the first phase. Depending on response from the passengers, the railways would set up this facility at other stations phase-wise under the 'much improved passenger amenities scheme' at all major stations at the country level, he said.

According to sources, the railways would deploy trained staff at such executive lounges not only to take care of passengers' right from arrival at the lounge to their boarding trains, but they would also render value added service to them at nominal charges. Sources said that the railways has allocated Rs 1,102 crore for setting up executive lounges and other passenger amenity services in the 2012-2013 fiscal....

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Railways-plans-escalators-lounges-at-321-stations/articleshow/12643420.cms

An apt depiction of Ms. "We will not allow" Banerjee:
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554815_327608407292693_100001306102904_789562_1425872766_n.jpg


Is this the cartoon which caused the arrest of the West Bengal Professor???

^^
It's some other one showing some kind of exchange between Hitler didi and her shagird Mukul Roy, about something related to ouster of Dinesh Trivedi. This is what the news says.

Aeroplane modelwalla vaccum toilets cost thrice as much and not really suitable for village folk. I expect anything and everything to be thrown in there. Will have to wait and see whether it actually works without choking.

Personally as long as most people don't have toilet manners, I'm going to avoid toilets on trains as much as possible.

What do you mean not suitable? It's only with experience that one learns to use such toilets. They're aesthetically good, requires less space and cost should never be an issue.

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Development-safety-on-the-line-as-Roy-rewrites-budget/Article1-839729.aspx)
Development, safety on the line as Roy rewrites budget

Rail Bhawan officials are struggling with an impossible assignment set for them by railway minister Mukul Roy – rewriting this year’s budget proposals. At a meeting with members of the railway board early this week, Roy is understood to have directed officials to find ways to modify the budget’s “pink book”, which contains details of the works proposed to be undertaken by the public transporter during 2012-13. After reversing Trivedi’s passenger fare hike proposal and upturning several reformist plans, the new railway minister is still not content.
Roy is said to be particularly peeved that the “pink book” does not lay emphasis on the speedy execution of projects related to Bengal, and the lowering of allocation to the Kolkata Metro. The supplementary demands for grants will be discussed when Parliament’s budget session is re-convened on April 24.

At a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on railways last week, officials of the railway ministry were at a complete loss to explain how the shortfall of R6,500 crore — which came about due to the fare hike rollback – would be met. The next meeting has been scheduled for April 17.

For balancing the accounts, officials are working on effecting cuts in the allocations proposed under various heads, including staff welfare, passenger amenities and even passenger safety. The allocation for passenger safety works will be brought down from R2,000 crore to R1,300 crore, sources said, slowing down projects pertaining to the train protection and warning system and anti-collision devices. Projects aimed at laying new tracks and acquiring new coaches are also on the line.

Once presented, the railways budget becomes property of the Lok Sabha, and subsequent changes are not constitutionally permissible. “It’s never been done before. However, Roy has an easier option of moving an amendment enlisting a new expenditure statement of the budget,” a source said.

TOI (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-12/patna/31330356_1_indian-railways-danapur-division-railway-board)
Railways enters 159th year of its journey

PATNA: The Indian Railways stepped into 159th year of its journey in April this year. The wheels of railways had first moved on April 16, 1853, between Bombay (Mumbai) and Thane, a distance of about 34 km. Since then the railways has continuously gained momentum and achieved a landmark of being the largest rail network in the world.

Lord Dalhousie of the East India Company had first initiated the move to run the railway passenger train in the eastern region in 1844 under the supervision of R M Stephenson. About 100 km tracks were laid between Kolkata and Raj Mahal in West Bengal. However, the first train moved on April 16, 1853, in Maharastra with load combination of 14 coaches. About 400 passengers had then travelled by the train.

Encouraged by it, the East Indian Railway set in motion another train on August 15, 1854, between Howrah and Hooghly.

In 1869, the British government took over charge of the railways in the country from private agencies following recommendation by a committee headed by Sir Arkwarth. By the end of 1879, about 12,455 km railway tracks were laid in the country. The nationalization of the railways took place in 1924 in the country.

Rail link between Lakhisarai and Mughalsarai of the Eastern Railway falling under Danapur division was laid by the Britishers in 1862. But the Howrah-Khana-Kiul, which is now known as the Sahibganj loop line, was thrown open for the public in 1860. The importance of Danapur division had came into being in 1925 after linking of the Howrah-Delhi route via Patna.

The historic Koilwar bridge was built in 1924 and known as 'roller and rocker' rail bridge, covering a distance of about 1.8 km. This rail-cum-road bridge was built by the Britishers. Mahatma Gandhi had praised its construction when he visited Patna in 1931. During the freedom movement, Patna Junction remained a centre place for meeting of politicians.

The Jamalpur railway workshop, which was set up in 1862, is one of the oldest workshops of Indian Railways. Danapur and Jhajha used to be the largest loco sheds for steam locomotives. The Mughalsarai marshalling yard, which was under Danapur division till 1978, was a rare feat of the railways.

The Indian Railways first released its own postal stamp in 1907 and the railway budget was separated from general budget in 1925. Safety was not the priority for the railways then, but it chalked out a safety plan when the first train accident took place on January 25, 1869, at Bhorghat on Pune-Mumbai rail route. The Railway Board came into being on February 18, 1905, to monitor traffic in the country.

TOI (http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-ac-double-decker-train-to-run-shortly-on-jaipur-delhi-tracks-3113658.html)
AC double-decker train to run shortly on Jaipur-Delhi tracks

Jaipur: Rail passengers travelling between Jaipur and Delhi can finally have reasons to rejoice. After a long wait, the test-run of the elusive double-decker air-conditioned train has been started on Saturday between Jaipur and Delhi Sarai Rohilla.

According to North Western Railways (NWR) officials, the train left for Delhi from Jaipur at 8 am on Saturday with a proposed speed of 80 km/hr. It will depart for Jaipur from Delhi at 10.30 am on Sunday. Its expected time to reach Jaipur is 4.35 pm. The next day, the AC double-decker will leave Jaipur again for Delhi at 8.15 am with a proposed speed of 110 km/hr. The test-run will be finally over on April 17 with its departure from Delhi at 10.30 am to reach the destination at 3.35 pm.

The air-conditioned wagons for the train reached Jaipur on Wednesday evening and the NWR authorities will give the green signal to its maiden run after the test-run is over in few days.

The two AC double decker trains, one connecting Jaipur with Delhi and the other connecting Mumbai with Ahmedabad were announced by the then Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee during the 2011-12 Rail Budget.

The 13-coach train was to have specially-designed double-decker coaches, with 70 percent more occupancy than the Shatabdi Express. Not only is non-availability of specially-designed coaches blocking the start of Delhi-Jaipur AC double-decker, but similar crunch has affected the Jaipur-Agra Shatabdi Express.

What do you mean not suitable? It's only with experience that one learns to use such toilets. They're aesthetically good, requires less space and cost should never be an issue.

ask anybody flying out of India their experiences particularly on AI to Gulf. Cost is an issue for the Railways if it costs thrice as much. These can also be aesthetic if designed properly, but I would say practicality matters more than anything else, otherwise it is doomed to cause problems. Vacuum ones will get easily choked.

ask anybody flying out of India their experiences particularly on AI to Gulf. Cost is an issue for the Railways if it costs thrice as much. These can also be aesthetic if designed properly, but I would say practicality matters more than anything else, otherwise it is doomed to cause problems. Vacuum ones will get easily choked.

I have traveled to the Gulf but not on AI and it was good! So, what's special on AI Gulf flights?

Efftronics develops device to ensure safe passage of trains
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/efftronics-develops-device-to-ensure-safe-passage-of-trains/articleshow/12621071.cms))

VIJAYAWADA: A City-based private firm has developed and manufactured an instrument to ensure mishap-free and safe passage of trains between two railway stations.

The microcomputer-based electronic solid state block instrument, developed by technology designer Efftronics, has been tested in Vijayawada rail division.

During a press conference held yesterday, Efftronics general manager of G V Krishna Rao claimed that they have received an approval from Research Designs and Standards Organisation, Lucknow of the Indian Railways.

He said that before the field trials, the instrument was assessed by expert independent agencies and also by the Centre for Knowledge-Based Systems (CKBS), Jadavpur University and the Electronics Regional Test Laboratory in Kolkata.

Rao claimed that the system complies with the 'CENELEC' European rail safety standards.

The instrument was tested by the Indian Railways between Vijayawada-Gunadala and Pulla-Bhimadole railway stations for about 90 days, he said.

"An important feature of this device is reduction in the time of operation of the signalling system and it can be monitored remotely through network at a central place without the need to remain present at the station. It maintains the information to identify the cause of accident," Rao said.

The device costs between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 7 lakh, Rao said.


^^
Could not make out how is this different from the existing Train Protection and Warning System already in trial. And what is this CENELEC (http://www.cenelec.eu/aboutcenelec/whoweare/index.html) standard concerning rail safety about? Or is it just about some private company trying to promote it's products?!

Indian Railways to sign MoU with German Railways
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/indian-railways-to-sign-mou-with-german-railways/articleshow/12613694.cms))

Indian Railways is likely to sign an MoU with German Railways soon to pave the way for participation of companies based in that country in rail infrastructure development.

"Indian Railways and DBAG, German Railways had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation from 2006 to 2009. A fresh MoU between the two Railways is presently also under finalization," Railway Minister Mukul Roy said at a meeting with a visiting German delegation here today.

The delegation was headed by Peter Ramsauer, German Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development.

Roy said India and Germany have strong cooperation and friendship in the field of Railway transport.

Referring to the past association, he said the German companies have earlier been involved in the procurement of LHB coaches and signalling equipment among others.

Highlighting the focus areas as enshrined in the Railways Vision-2020 document prepared during former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee regime, Roy pointed out that the document has an ambitious plan on safety improvement, modernisation and capacity augmentation.

Roy hoped for active participation by German companies in Indian Railways' endeavours to achieve the goals of Vision-2020.

The major activities to be undertaken by railways include safety, Train Protection and Warning System, high speed, speed upgradation on existing network, station development, dedicated freight corridors, logistics parks and Public Private Partnership.

Loco factories to be built under public-private partnership mode

It is official now. Two locomotive factories proposed to be built at Marhaura (diesel) in Saran district and Madhepura (electric) in Bihar will now be built under public-private partnership (PPP) mode. Railway minister Mukul Roy made this clear recently during a meeting with the Railway Board officials.

According to a Board official, there was no question of these major projects getting shelved. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had already approved them in 2007. "It is good that the railways has taken a firm policy decision to go ahead with these two projects in Bihar," he said adding the railways would now shortlist bidders for these two factories through International Committee Bidding (ICB).

According to sources, the railways has taken the decision as it would require about 1,800 to 2,000 electric locomotives to haul both passenger and goods trains by 2015-2016. Besides, the railways is announcing several pairs of new passenger trains across the country almost every year in the railway budget. These locomotive factories located at Madhepura and Marhaura in Bihar would fulfill the needs of the railways, sources said.

"If everything is finalized as per railway requirements, efforts will be made to complete these factories in about 36 months from the date of agreement with private firms," a Board official added.

The railways has decided to set up the factory at Madhepura at an estimated cost of Rs 1,294 crore while the factory at Marhaura will be built at a cost of Rs 2,025 crore, sources said, adding the railways has already allocated some funds in the current fiscal for initial expenditure like acquiring land and construction of boundary walls.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Loco-factories-to-be-built-under-public-private-partnership-mode/articleshow/12698053.cms

Used the new look trainenquiry.com for the first time today ... Pretty impressive.

Used the new look http://trainenquiry.com for the first time today ... Pretty impressive.
It shows between which stations the train is running :cheers: flexible search by number/destination/name.. hope this works on mobile

It shows between which stations the train is running :cheers: flexible search by number/destination/name.. hope this works on mobile

And for once it was correct as well. The actual delay matched with what was shown.

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Duronto-opens-its-doors-to-free-passes/Article1-842693.aspx)

Duronto opens its doors to free passes

Free travel is becoming an acceptable norm in former railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s signature train — the non-stop Duronto.
Launched in 2010 during Banerjee’s tenure, the Duronto was the only Indian train that did not permit free rail travel. However, things changed after Banerjee


quit as the railway minister to take charge as the CM of West Bengal in May 2011.
At first, MPs inched their way into the Duronto on free tickets. Subsequently, members of various railways committees — including the passenger services committee and passenger amenities committee — also wangled their way in, followed by defence personnel travelling on railway warrants.

Following a recent order, duty pass holders were also permitted free travel on Duronto trains, and now, the 14-lakh strong workforce of the Indian Railways is clamouring for their slice of the pie.

The Railways provides three privilege passes to 14 lakh employees, and six for its 1,200-strong cadre of officers. These passes were allowed on all trains, except for the Duronto.

Interestingly, the issue cropped up after a public announcement by sacked railway minister Dinesh Trivedi in Chennai last November, when he announced that he would make privilege passes valid for Duronto trains as well. “But, despite that, the officials have not implemented the decision in full. They are awaiting Mamata’s nod. This is really odd,” said Shiv Gopal Mishra of the All India Railway Men Federation (AIRF).

Meanwhile, the cost of providing free passes to railway employees has been mounting steadily. The expenditure for providing a free travel pass to a single railway employee worked out to Rs. 3,311 in 2010, as against Rs. 429 in 2002.

http://www.nr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&dcd=2155&id=0,4,268

For the convenience of the rail passengers, German made state-of-the-art LHB coaches will be inducted in train no. 12494/12493 H.Nizamuddin- Bangalore Rajdhani Express train from 20.4.2012 from Bangalore.

rediff.com's images of Indian trains (http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-longest-train-journeys-in-india/20120419.htm) why do I feel that rediff.com is an anti-Indian website? When it comes to showing images of cities like shanghai, Chicago, or new York, it has the best of collections. But when it comes about showcasing Indian cities or even in this case, trains, this is all it can do?

http://www.nr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&dcd=2155&id=0,4,268

It'll be interesting to see what state-of-the-art means for IR. Will they be using their regular open toilets or toilets that go- woosh! with your excreta (y'know like the planes and stuff).

rediff.com's images of Indian trains (http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-longest-train-journeys-in-india/20120419.htm) why do I feel that rediff.com is an anti-Indian website? When it comes to showing images of cities like shanghai, Chicago, or new York, it has the best of collections. But when it comes about showcasing Indian cities or even in this case, trains, this is all it can do?

They're pro-Indian. They're just egging IR to perform better.

It'll be interesting to see what state-of-the-art means for IR. Will they be using their regular open toilets or toilets that go- woosh! with your excreta (y'know like the planes and stuff).



They're pro-Indian. They're just egging IR to perform better.

There are these "go whoosh" kind of toilets in some of the Rajdhanis and Durontos (LHB coaches), but most of time they are left in such state by the passengers that you wish that there were the "dump staring on the tracks" kind of toilets instead.

There are these "go whoosh" kind of toilets in some of the Rajdhanis and Durontos (LHB coaches), but most of time they are left in such state by the passengers that you wish that there were the "dump staring on the tracks" kind of toilets instead.


Yeah, I know what you mean. I've sometimes wondered whether Indian passengers don't get Kamasutra and Toilet positions mixed up. I saw what toilets can become at the airport.

'Rlys is self-sufficient' (http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param=news/385684/LatestNews/31)

The railway ministry had constraints but was financially self- sufficient unlike other ministries that look for central aid, Railway Minister Mukul Roy said Monday.

"The news that is being spread in the media about the financial condition of railways is not right. If you see carefully, you will find that other ministries of the union government look to the central aid for functioning... It's true that sometimes the railways do face some constraints but at the end we are self-sufficient," Roy told reporters.

The Trinamool Congress leader, who took over the portfolio from his party colleague Dinesh Trivedi, said he was banking on his chief Mamata Banerjee's 'Vision 2020' for bringing back the golden age of the railways.

"Mamata Banerjee's tenure as railway minister is the golden age for Indian Railways. I am confident that by following the path of 'Vision 2020', railways will return to its golden age," he said.

The opposition, including the Left Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party, have alleged that the railways had become cash strapped under the stewardship of Mamata Banerjee.

^^ Nonsense.

Why can't they design WHOOSH squat toilets instead of western style WHOOSH sit up commode toilets? WhooshSquat toilets can be easily used by the village folks whereas in the 1st class compartments, the western ishtyle Whoosh-Situp ones can be installed

No? What say? Bheja fry?

There are these "go whoosh" kind of toilets in some of the Rajdhanis and Durontos (LHB coaches), but most of time they are left in such state by the passengers that you wish that there were the "dump staring on the tracks" kind of toilets instead.

^^^ Mukul Roy stmt..
Highly idiotic..rubbish. he just look at the operations cost..
what about the projects cost? why so many projects are not even completed in 15 yrs....

Railways’ plan to put TVs on Shatabdi goes off track

An ambitious plan to put televisions in all Delhi-bound Shatabdis is stuck in limbo. The plan, announced amid much fanfare last year, required the Delhi division of the northern railways to install 7-inch LCD screens at the back of seats in nine Shatabdis by the end of the last fiscal.
The service would cost passengers nothing extra.

“The contractor failed to provide the service and thereafter the tender was cancelled,” said a senior railway official, requesting anonymity. “Besides, the revenue model was nonviable.”

“The service provider was to share 20% of the profits earned by selling air space and other inventories. The service provider to failed to clinch a deal with DTH service providers. There was some problem with importing LCD sets from China as well,” the officer added.

The service operators were required to stream all general entertainment, news, sports, lifestyle, non-fiction and movies channels, besides providing value-added services such as hotel and cab bookings to travellers. The pilot run of the was successfully conducted on the Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi.

“Around 10,000 7-inch LCD TV screens were to be installed in both executive and chair cars of these trains. Two agencies were shortlisted for implementing and managing the project on a five-year contract,” the officer said.

To get the plan back on track, the Delhi division of northern railways is planning to float a new tender.

“A new tender with stricter conditions would be floated. The free television service may take another year to become a reality. The project still stands viable as the advertisers will get captive eyeballs,” the officer added.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Railways-plan-to-put-TVs-on-Shatabdi-goes-off-track/Article1-845181.aspx

Indian Railways Carry 969.78 Million Tonnes of Freight during Fiscal 2011-12 (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=23)

Indian Railways have carried 969.78 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during fiscal 2011-12. The freight carried shows an increase of 48.27 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 921.51 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 5.24 per cent.

During the month of March 2012, the revenue earning freight traffic carried by Indian Railways was 93.85 million tonnes. There is an increase of 5.01 million tonnes over the actual freight traffic of 88.84 million tonnes carried by the Indian Railways during the same period last year, showing an increase of 5.64 per cent.

Mum-A’bad AC double-decker train likely on tracks in June

Mumbai: A comfortable ride on a double-decker, air-conditioned train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad could be possible as early as June. The trial run of the first such rake on the route has started.
The Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) will continue the trial of the fully AC rake for a month and, if all goes well, it could be running between the two cities very soon after that.
The double-decker coaches will have 70% more passenger carrying capacity than that of Shatabdi chair cars, which seat 78 passengers. The chair car rake has stainless steel body, control discharge toilet system and high-speed design bogies with air springs for superior ride quality.
A senior official said: “The train will run six days a week, except Sunday. It has a seating capacity of 120 passengers per coach, of which 70 will be on the lower floor. It will have halts at Borivli, Bharuch, Surat, Anand and Vadodara.” ‘More comfort at lower level’
Mumbai: The new fully airconditioned, double-decker rake arrived from Ahmedabad at Mumbai Central on Tuesday. The superfast train was scheduled to run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad before February 2011 but could not because of design flaws. The design had to be modified after the trial on a similar Howrah-Dhanbad train revealed that the coaches grazed the platform surface at many stations.
Designed by the RDSO and manufactured at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, the width of the double-decker coaches on the Howrah-Dhanbad route is 3,123 mm. In the design modification, the railways decided to cut the width of the coaches to be used on other routes to 3,050 mm.
The train is being tried in speeds ranging from 80-100 kmph to 130 kmph. After the month-long oscillation and route trials, the readings will be submitted to the Commissioner of Railway Safety.
Western Railway already runs the Flying Ranee—double-decker services from Mumbai Central to Surat—but the coaches are not AC. A senior official said, “Unlike the Flying Ranee, the commuting experience on AC double-decker services will be more comfortable, especially for those sitting at the lower level as they will be shielded from pollution.”
WR runs 25 services between Mumbai and Ahmedabad; the new service will help ease the burden on the route further.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/04/25&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00105&ViewMode=HTML

First train with bio-toilets chugs into capital
New Delhi, April 23, 2012, DHNS (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/244377/first-train-bio-toilets-chugs.html):
It prevents corrosion of tracks due to open discharge
The Indore-Nizamuddin Inter-city Express has become the first train in the Northern Railway to have ‘bio-toilets’ replacing the conventional discharge toilets.

While the green toilets prevent discharge of faecal matter on the rail tracks and help in maintaining cleanliness, it also does away with manual scavenging and prevents corrosion of rail tracks due to open discharge.

“One rake of the train, fitted with bio-toilets in all its coaches, was pressed into service from April 13. Around 3,000 toilets in around 750 coaches are likely to be installed in different trains during the current financial year,” said Neeraj Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway.

Similar green toilets have been installed in at least eight other trains including Rajdhani and Duronto Express across the country. The new-age toilets have been designed by the Indian Railways in collaboration with the Defence Research & Development Establishment (DRDE).

“The new toilet will have a collection tank provided with anaerobic bacteria to decompose faecal matter completely and only a colourless, odour-less benign liquid that does not pollute the environment shall be released.

The tank has seven chambers and by the time the excreta traverses through the chambers and reaches the exit, it is fully decomposed. The resultant water passes through the chlorinate chamber to control its pH level and microbe content in it,” a railway official said.

The design of the toilet also takes care of choking of toilets as a tank inlet has been provided with a valve which can manually be operated to clear the choke. The railway officials said the toilets require least maintenance and the anaerobic bacteria are fed into the tank over a period of time.

Housekeeping service

To improve the house keeping services in trains, Delhi division has introduced the On-Board House Keeping Services (OBHS) on four Duronto and 11 Shatabdi Express trains. The service has also been extended to two mail express trains – Brahmaputra Mail and Magadh Express.

Under the scheme, 4-6 janitors (cleaning staff) led by a supervisor are deployed on every trip. They carry requisite cleaning agents and cleaning equipment in the form of kit to clean the toilets and the sitting area.

FE (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/pak-for-indian-help-to-rebuild-railways/941034/0)
Pak for Indian help to rebuild Railways

New Delhi: Eyeing help from India in rebuilding its nearly-defunct railway system, Pakistan Railway officials will hold the first technical meeting with their Indian counterparts here on Thursday.
Pakistan Railway Advisory and Consultative Service (PRACS), the subsidiary of Pakistan Railway entrusted with procuring foreign technology, has initiated the meeting with RITES, the PSU which is the export arm of Indian Railways, to spell out their specific needs in formal terms. RITES officials said they would approach the meeting “with an open mind”.

Pakistan requires 50 broad-gauge diesel locomotives to begin with and can go for a mix of buying new locos and taking a few old ones on lease. “The number will depend on the negotiations and the price we arrive at. Also, we have to see how many the Indian Railways is in a position to spare for lease,” said a senior Pakistan Railway official.

There are a number of technical issues the meeting seeks to enlist and eventually weed out before formalising an agreement, if the talks work out. But what is certain is that this time around India is far more positive in considering Pakistan’s proposal than it had been in the past primarily because the Ministry of External Affairs recently initiated a top-level dialogue with Indian Railways and reportedly assured all cooperation in facilitating cross-border movement of goods and technical officials.

This year India has signed a deal with Bangladesh to supply 10 diesel locomotives

TOI (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-24/allahabad/31391781_1_xigaze-indo-nepal-nyalam)
Links to Nepal, Bhutan top priority list of Railways

BAHRAICH: Railways is keeping a close watch on the railway network being developed by China near Nepal borders. China's decision to extend its railway network from Lhasa to Xigaze, the second largest city in Tibet, has caused concern to the Centre.

According to a senior Railway Board official, China has been carrying out track laying work from Lhasa to Xigaze. "It has proposed to extend the railway network all along Tibet-Nepal borders which could ultimately lead to its extension up to Kathmandu," he said. Xigaze is located about 280 km south west to Lhasa. Besides, China has been carrying out a feasibility study to lay new tracks at a stretch of about 400 km from Xigaze to Nyalam. The distance from Nyalam to Kathmandu is about 120 km only, sources said. The Railways is concerned about China's railway extension plan as it is likely to reduce Nepal's dependence on India. Extension of railway network up to Kathmandu could also help Nepal to import petroleum products directly from Beijing, sources said.

According to Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) MD V K Agrawal, Railways had earlier chalked out a comprehensive plan to provide rail links between Nepal and Bhutan. The RITES had also submitted a feasibility report in the matter. But the project could not kick off for one reason or the other, sources said.

A Board official admitted that Railways has taken a serious note of the fact that China has been building about 1,956 km long rail route connecting Qinghai province and Tibet across the Tibetan plateau.

Thus Railways has of late proposed to build six rail links with Nepal and three with Bhutan on a priority basis, he said. According to sources, the Indo-Nepal routes which are under survey now include six lines from Raxaul, Jogbani and Jayanagar in Bihar to Birgunj, Biratnagar and Bardibas in Nepal. Besides, the railways has proposed to link Nepal from Nautanwa and Nepalgunj Road(Bahraich) in Uttar Pradesh as well as from New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal to Kakarbhitta in Nepal, sources said, adding there is only one existing rail link (Jayanagar-Janakpur) between India and Nepal.

The proposed new railway link will help both the countries in improving their socio-economic conditions, said East Central Railway CPRO Dilip Kumar. It will also help in keeping a close vigil on the activities of extremists and subversive forces. It will give a boost to the economy of Nepal as various food items, including salt, milk and fertilisers could be easily transported to Nepal through the rail routes from India, sources said.

An Indian delegation recently held discussions and conducted on-the-spot assessments in Nepal as part of an Indo-Nepal project to develop a rail link at border points between the two countries. General manager of IRCON International Ltd, India, the consultant for the project, was also part of the delegation. As part of the meetings, a combined study team comprising both the delegations visited Janakpur for a field visit to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the earmarked area on the Nepalese side for the construction of Jayanagar-Bardibas rail link, which runs through Janakpur in southern Nepal. The team took note of the ongoing preparatory work in this regard and suggested ways to accelerate the pace of progress on the rail link.

The team also reviewed the progress made towards the expeditious execution of the two railway links - Jogbani (India)- Biratnagar(Nepal) link (17.65 km) and Jayanagar (India) - Bardibas (Nepal) link (68 km), which are to be covered under Phase I of the project.

Approval of Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) is a Major step taken Towards Train’s Safety: Chairman Railway Board (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx)

Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Vinay Mittal inaugurating two-day International Convention on “Modern train control for capacity and safety enhancement” said that in a breakthrough in dissemination of train movement related information, Indian Railways has successfully launched SIMRAN (Satellite Imaging for Rail Navigation) as a pilot project for 18 pairs of important trains which provide the precise location of the trains through interactive mode on mobile phones/laptops etc., thereby eliminating the need for face to face telephonic enquiry. This is proposed to be rolled out on all trains over the next 18 months.

Referring to Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), Shri Vinay Mittal said that with the approval of this system on a stretch of 3300 kilometres to cover the entire high density stations, a major step has been taken towards train’s safety. He further pointed out that provision of internet in running trains, extension of Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) over the entire Indian Railways route, IP based train control communication and replacement of overhead alignment with underground cables/OFCs, are the measures being taken to improve services to passengers, improve reliability of the communication system and improve safety and capability of the transport system.

Shri Vinay Mittal expressed his hope that the discussions during the Convention would throw up interesting technological options and the educated conglomeration of professionals would use every such opportunity to make Indian Railways more reliable, safer, grander Railways for the world to see. He also inaugurated an Exhibition on the sidelines of the convention devoted to the emerging advanced Signaling & Telecommunication technologies. A souvenir on “Safe Train Control” was released by him on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Member Electrical, Railway Board, Shri Kul Bhushan said that to enhance safety by reducing human dependence for verification of clearance of track, track circuiting at more than 850 locations has been provided during the last year and about 1500 additional locations are targeted for completion within next two years. He said that for metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Indian Railways are considering provisions of Communication Based Trains Control (CBTC) system for running trains at close headways of approximately two minutes to meet the increased commuter traffic requirements. He further said that this Convention will deliberate on various issues concerning Indian Railways so as to reap benefits from collective experience and practices of Railway Signal & Telecom Engineering global fraternity. He emphasized that Indian Railway is also working towards providing broadband based Internet and multimedia facilities and high quality train information displays and information boards at stations to improve the quality of passenger service. He pointed out the need to expedite that integrated IP based security system cum surveillance system covering major railway stations being implemented by S&T department.

In his welcome address Shri A.K.Misra Additional Member Railway Board and President IRSTE(India) said that Signaling and telecommunication Engineering in its entirety provides for a whole range of technologies to provide cost effective solutions in enhancing safety, increasing the line capacity and proving such useful information aids to passengers so as to make their journey rom start to finish a safe, comfortable and convenient one.

This International Convention is being jointly organised by The Institution Railway of Signal & Telecommunication Engineers (India) (IRSTE) and Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (London) (IRSE). More than 600 Delegates from India, US, Europe, Asia Pacific would be participating in the event. More than 40 Companies like Invensysy, , Thales, GE Transportation, Siemens, Ansaldo, Cisco, Hitachi, Motorola, GG Tronics, Efftronics, Sterlite amongst many from all across the world as well as from India would be exhibiting latest technologies in Railways. Experiences from World Railways like- Japanese Railways, SBB AG Swiss Railways, Banwerket Borlenge from Sweden, Canadian Railways, Australian Railways etc shall be discussed during the convention.

During the course of two days International Convention, deliberations are being held on various areas and topics pertaining to modern technologies available across the world, user perspective and their expectations. IRSTE(India), is a technical body set up under the auspices of Ministry of Railways for Sharing knowledge and experiences of various Railway Engineers connected with Signaling & Telecommunication. The Institution recognized by Railway Board came into existence in the year 1976. The aim of the Institution is to provide dissemination and sharing of technical knowledge relating to design, construction and maintenance of Signal & Telecommunication Engineering Systems amongst the persons associated with it. The institution promotes and encourages conferences, discussions; exhibitions for information and benefit of the members of the institution and also publish and circulates technical information to facilitate interchange and sharing of ideas. IRSTE(India), works closely with IRSE (London) which is a 100 year old international Organisation for railway Signal Engineers across the world, headquartered at London.

AKS/HK/NK/LK/TR
(Release ID :82699)

Warm food, cleaner toilets on Duronto

KOLKATA: Passengers travelling by South Eastern Railway trains from Howrah won't have any reasons to complain so far as distribution of food and cleanliness of toilets are concerned. Based on passenger feedback, South Eastern Railway (SER) has made several changes in the coaches to ensure that passengers are served warm food in a hygienic manner. The toilets have also been relined with a special layer of plastic to prevent water seepage. from seeping under the flooring.

"A few weeks ago, general manager A K Verma inspected two Durontos at Howrah station and spoke to passengers. Passengers pointed out that meal trays are sometimes kept on the floor next to the toilets before being served to passengers. Some passengers complained that the food is not warm. As the Durontos run non-stop, meals are picked up from Howrah or Tatanagar. By the time the trays reach passengers, the food gets cold. The GM also noticed that there are no hot cases in the Sleeper Class coaches. What followed was a series of discussions on how to improve the situation. The GM took personal initiative in sorting out the issues," said Soumitra Majumdar, CPRO, SER.

Three different designs of tables and racks were developed and these were fitted in all AC coaches. The meal trays will now be placed on them instead of the floor. Catering service tables have also been provided on all three rakes of the Yeshwantpur Duronto. Food serving trolleys, similar to the ones seen on aircraft, have also been provided. Each trolley can serve up to 32 meals at a time.

The Santragachi coaching maintenance depot has also modified the pantry cars on the Yeshwantpur Duronto to accommodate additional gas-fired oven hot cases.

"With this, we have increased the capacity of heating meals from 300 to 600 at a time. From now on, meals for 1,200 passengers can be heated in two cycles," an official said.

Passengers had also complained that water seeps through the PVC skirting on the floor and walls in toilets during use and cleaning at maintenance stations. The PVC sheets get detached gradually, making the toilets look unclean.

SER has now taken a drive to paste a laminated plastic sheet on the skirtings to prevent seepage. Work on 300 toilets (in 75 coaches) has been completed.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Warm-food-cleaner-toilets-on-Duronto/articleshow/12916531.cms

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Railway-plans-super-AC-class-in-trains/articleshow/12929438.cms)

Railway plans super AC class in trains

PATNA: The railways is planning to introduce super AC class in trains. Though the proposal is at an initial stage of discussion, the super AC class will be cheaper than AC-1 but slightly costlier than AC-2, a Railway Board official said.

"If everything goes well as per the plan, railways intends to provide amenities like drop-down video screens and sub-pantries in all super AC class bogies of international standard," he said.

The board has written to the Railway Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala (Punjab), to develop a prototype super AC coach. The design and shape would be based on the latest technology. In the beginning, railways would manufacture about 25 such super AC coaches. It has also proposed to convert the equal number of existing AC-2 bogies into super AC coaches, he said, adding that the remodelling of each coach would likely to cost about Rs 18 lakh.

According to the official, there would be 44 berths in the proposed super AC coach.

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Railway-plans-super-AC-class-in-trains/articleshow/12929438.cms)

Railway plans super AC class in trains

PATNA: The railways is planning to introduce super AC class in trains. Though the proposal is at an initial stage of discussion, the super AC class will be cheaper than AC-1 but slightly costlier than AC-2, a Railway Board official said.

"If everything goes well as per the plan, railways intends to provide amenities like drop-down video screens and sub-pantries in all super AC class bogies of international standard," he said.

The board has written to the Railway Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala (Punjab), to develop a prototype super AC coach. The design and shape would be based on the latest technology. In the beginning, railways would manufacture about 25 such super AC coaches. It has also proposed to convert the equal number of existing AC-2 bogies into super AC coaches, he said, adding that the remodelling of each coach would likely to cost about Rs 18 lakh.

According to the official, there would be 44 berths in the proposed super AC coach.

and it will be 6m/h more faster than existing dabbas :lol: I wish they do something about speed than adding "latest technology" at 200km/h

1.4 lakh jobs in Railways next year, says Mukul Roy

The Railway Minister, Mr Mukul Roy, today said that 1.4 lakh people would be recruited in the Railways next year.

“In the coming year, 1,44,000 people will be employed in the Railways,” Mr Roy said after laying the foundation stone of a road over-bridge and foot over-bridge at Nalhati in Birbhum district.

More than 75,000 jobs were created in the Railways in the past six months and more people would be recruited, he said.

This road over bridge will be an example of joint venture between rail and the state government, Mr Roy said

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3367655.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

pagar dene ko paise hai kya

TMC aur uske gurge paise ki fikar nahin karte..centre se bhikh maang lenge...

English only please. :)

English only please. :)

They're talking in Hindi so that the world doesn't get to know of our shameful secrets :lol:

Hindi sikh le beta!

English only please. :)

kya bola?? abe angrez, hindi bol :lol:

sad - Im pretty darned sure TMC + CPI's destructive interfering policies at the center are largely responsible for aggravating UPA-II and UPA-I already existing incompetence when it comes to the economy or the railways in general!!

How can two political parties from a state thats an economic ruin because of their very self centered fishbowl policies get a decade long chance for ruining India?

http://newsonair.nic.in/news.asp?cat=National&id=NN4344

Railways get clearance from ISRO for Internet surfing in trains without using data card

May 1, 5:44 PM
The Railways have got the much-awaited clearance from space agency ISRO for using the satellite for surfing the Internet in trains without using data card. A senior Railway Ministry official said, the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO has given the clearance for using the frequency from KU band for using the satellite for Internet. It will be for the first time that Internet will be operational in moving trains through satellite.

Though Railways had proposed two years back to provide Internet in trains, the project could not take off for the want of ISRO clearance. As per the proposal, three rakes of Howrah Rajdhani will be uplinked with satellite for facilitating Internet in coaches on a pilot basis. Since it is a pilot project, the Internet service will not be charged from the passengers.

Railways have sanctioned 6.30 crore rupees for providing Internet facility in Howrah Rajdhani. Now custom-made antenna will be installed on the locomotives of the train and coaches will be linked through Wi-Fi connectivity.

To make the Internet operational, the passenger will get a password in his mobile phone after dialling a number given by the TTE.

http://newsonair.nic.in/news.asp?cat=National&id=NN4344

Railways get clearance from ISRO for Internet surfing in trains without using data card

May 1, 5:44 PM
The Railways have got the much-awaited clearance from space agency ISRO for using the satellite for surfing the Internet in trains without using data card. A senior Railway Ministry official said, the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO has given the clearance for using the frequency from KU band for using the satellite for Internet. It will be for the first time that Internet will be operational in moving trains through satellite.

Though Railways had proposed two years back to provide Internet in trains, the project could not take off for the want of ISRO clearance. As per the proposal, three rakes of Howrah Rajdhani will be uplinked with satellite for facilitating Internet in coaches on a pilot basis. Since it is a pilot project, the Internet service will not be charged from the passengers.

Railways have sanctioned 6.30 crore rupees for providing Internet facility in Howrah Rajdhani. Now custom-made antenna will be installed on the locomotives of the train and coaches will be linked through Wi-Fi connectivity.

To make the Internet operational, the passenger will get a password in his mobile phone after dialling a number given by the TTE.

Wow! Great!!! :)

Railways proposes new freight corridors

To augment rail transport capacity to meet the growing requirement of movement of freight traffic, the Indian Railways has decided to develop freight corridors along its busy trunk routes, said Union Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa. A press release from the Minister’s office stated that the freight corridors are being developed or implemented by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India, a special purpose vehicle and a wholly-owned PSU of the Ministry of Railways formed in October 2006.

The Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor Project is being monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). During the last review, it was decided to formulate a comprehensive integrated master plan for the development of the corridor with all related infrastructure. During the course of deliberations, the Andhra Government had requested for extension of the corridor up to Krishnapatnam Port and the Government of Karnataka had urged for extension up to Chitradurga, apart from Chennai and Bangalore sections, it said.

The Bangalore-Chennai Expressway of 258 km on National H ighway4 is a green field alignment and will be operated with a closed toll system. The alignment has been finalised, he said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/railways-proposes-new-freight-corridors/254113-60-115.html

Government allows use of MPLAD funds to build railway halt stations

Members of Parliament can now use funds provided under the MPLAD scheme for construction of railway halt stations.

"According to the modified guidelines, funds from MPLAD scheme...can be used for construction of railway halt station to facilitate the local community for easy access to railways and boarding or de-boarding from the train," Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation Srikant Kumar Jena said in a statement here.

Under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme, each MP has the choice to suggest to the district collector works to the tune of Rs 5 crore per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency.

The statement further stated that as per the new guidelines, if Railways are also contributing for such activities, the accounts of expenditure will be strictly maintained separately for both MPLADS and Railways to avoid any duplication in accounting.

A plaque (steel/metal) indicating the cost involved, contribution made from MPLADS/Railways, if any, commencement, completion and inauguration and the name of the MP sponsoring the work should be permanently erected, it added.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/government-allows-use-of-mplad-funds-to-build-railway-halt-stations/articleshow/12953322.cms

Platform ticket to cost Rs 5 from tomorrow (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-30/news/31508224_1_platform-ticket-railway-minister-train-fares)
PTI Apr 30, 2012, 08.06PM IST
NEW DELHI: Get ready to shell out Rs 5 instead of Rs 3 for entering railway platforms across the country as the increased platform ticket rate will come into effect from tomorrow.

The hike in platform ticket was announced in the Rail Budget in Parliament and accordingly the new rate of platform ticket would be Rs 5 instead of Rs 3, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The increased rate of platform tickets will be charged on tickets issued from May 1. A platform ticket is valid for two hours.

Proposals to increase train fares across the board along with platform ticket were announced by the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi in the budget.

Trivedi was sacked by Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee for proposing hike in train fares and subsequently, new Railway Minister Mukul Roy rolled back the hike proposal barring higher classes.

Increase in platform ticket price was, however, not rolled back.

Railways have given instruction to all zonal railways to print the revised tickets on top priority basis and ensure supply to all stations well in time.

Till that time, old stock of tickets may be used with rate corrected with stamp, said a circular issued by the Commercial department of railways.

Railways have also given instructions for the modification in software for issuing platform ticket with new rate through ticket vending machines at stations.
Hats off to Dinesh Trivedi :cheers: At least one thing he succeeded in hiking. It will save time to give change to people, easier to give rs 5 change than rs 3. Can anybody here confirm at railway station that it is rs. 5 now?

Platform ticket to cost Rs 5 from tomorrow (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-30/news/31508224_1_platform-ticket-railway-minister-train-fares)
PTI Apr 30, 2012, 08.06PM IST

Hats off to Dinesh Trivedi :cheers: At least one thing he succeeded in hiking. It will save time to give change to people, easier to give rs 5 change than rs 3. Can anybody here confirm at railway station that it is rs. 5 now?

Platform ticket rs. 5/-
Min. Journey ticket rs 4/-

So if I go at borivali station to receive or see off someone I need to pay 5/- where as if I go from borivali to malad I need to pay only 4/-

remember in first I am only using platform facility at borivali where as in later along with facilities at borivali, I also use train and I also use facilities at malad station. :banana: :banana::lol:

^^
So the lesson then here is that instead of a platform ticket, buy a journey ticket :nuts: :lol:

^^ for a journey ticket you have to stand in queue, but platform tickets vending machines are there. your argument holds good if your time has zero value :)

^^ for a journey ticket you have to stand in queue, but platform tickets vending machines are there. your argument holds good if your time has zero value :)

Platform tickets vending machine are working?? In SR 100% it is a failure machine!!!

Indian Railways Proposes PPP For Project Development
Logistic Week
(http://logisticsweek.com/rail/2012/05/indian-railways-proposes-ppp-for-project-development/)

A number of areas/projects have been earmarked for execution through Public Private Partnership. These include an elevated rail corridor (Churchgate-Virar), high speed corridors, redevelopment of stations, logistics parks, private freight terminals, leasing of wagons and other freight marketing schemes, port connectivity, dedicated freight corridors and loco and coach manufacturing units etc.

A draft policy for private participation in capacity augmentation and connectivity projects containing different models for different categories of such projects has been prepared. This covers (i) Non-Government Railway lines; (ii) Special Purpose Vehicle through Joint Venture; (iii) BoT (Build Operate Transfer); (iv) BoT- Annuity; (v) User funded lines to be used as multiple user lines; and (vi) capacity augmentation funded by customers. The draft policy also envisages greater participation of State Governments Railway Projects.

A system of regular monitoring of projects exists at various tiers of the Railway Administration to avoid cost and time overruns. All efforts are made on a continuous basis to complete the projects in time depending upon availability of resources.

Indian Railways Look Into Development Of Industrial Rail Corridors
Logistic Week (http://logisticsweek.com/infrastructure/2012/05/indian-railways-look-into-development-of-industrial-rail-corridors/)

The Indian Ministry of Railways have taken up development of Eastern (Dankuni-Ludhiana, 1839 kms.) and Western (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal to Tughlakabad/Dadri, 1499 kms.) Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC). Connectivity to ports and industrial clusters are also taken up in a need-based manner with participation of strategic stakeholders, wherever possible.

A Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) for construction of three rail corridors in Chhattisgarh, namely (i) Bhupdevpur-Gharghoda-Dharamjaygarh up to Korba, (ii) Surajpur-Parsa-Katghora-Korba and (iii) Gevra Road to Pendra Road has been signed on February 27, 2012 between Ministry of Railways and Government of Chhattisgarh.

Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has proposed to undertake a study for the comprehensive Regional Plan for the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor. In this context, Ministry of Railways has requested DIPP to examine the need of a dedicated rail corridor between Chennai and Bangalore.

Three above-mentioned rail corridors comprise a total length of 452 kms. and entail an estimated cost of Rs. 4,362 crore. The time-frame for implementation of the projects has been set as five years in the MoU.

Railways need Rs 15,460 crore for completion of 918 projects
The Economic Times
4 MAY, 2012 (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-need-rs-15460-crore-for-completion-of-918-projects/articleshow/12994001.cms)


NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways need a whopping Rs 15,460 crore for completion of 918 projects it has in hand, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki said during Question Hour that against the demand of about Rs 47,000 crore, the gross budgetary support for 2012-13 is only Rs 24,000 crore.

"The progress of the works (on these projects) is slow due to less allocation of gross budgetary support," he said.

Solanki said a suggestion has been made to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for constituting Prime Minister Rail Yojana so that the projects are completed.

"In fact, considering the large number of sanctioned projects, there is a huge requirement of funds. The major projects for expansion of rail network and capacity augmentation are of new lines, gauge conversion, doubling, workshops, metropolitan transport projects and electrification," he said.

He said there was no decision to set up a new corporation to speed up execution of various projects.

"However, Special Purpose Vehicles like Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd and Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation are already functioning for faster execution of projects entrusted to them," he said.

Railways have also proposed to set up a Rail Road Grade Separation Corporation for fast completion of road over/under bridges, he said.

Giving a break-up of the projects in progress, he said Rs 72,151 crore is needed for 129 new lines and another Rs 32,878 crore for doubling of 166 lines. 45 gauge conversion projects need Rs 19,200 crore, 53 electrification projects another Rs 3,211 crore and construction of 504 workshops including production units require Rs 17,535 crore. Besides, Rs 8,485 crore was needed for 21 metropolitan transport projects, he added.

Modernisation of Indian Railways
PTI, Ministry of Railways
04 May 2012 (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=83072)

Modernisation is an integral part of investment by Railways under various Plan heads. An outlay of Rs. 7.35 lakh crore has been proposed by the Ministry of Railways for the Twelfth Five Year Plan. The major objectives of the Twelfth Five Year Plan are improving safety, modernisation and capacity augmentation.

Modernisation is an ongoing exercise and many activities for augmentation of safety and capacity augmentation also result in modernisation. For financing these projects allocation of adequate Gross Budgetary Support as envisaged in the proposal of the Twelfth Five Year Plan, successful implementation of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and mobilization of internal resources through conventional and non-conventional means, would be necessary for which all out efforts are made.

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

Implementation of Anti Collision Devices in on Indian Railways
PTI, Ministry of Railways
04 May 2012 (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=83071)

Anti Collision Devices (ACD) has been provided as a pilot project covering 1736 Route Kilometers and 548 Locomotives on Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). Based on the experience of the NFR, the specifications and design configuration were revised and the system as evolved was tried on the electrified multiple lines automatic signalling section of the Southern Railway in 2010-11. Operational and technical problems noticed in Southern Railway trials are being looked into and a new ACD Version-II after successful validation and certification will undergo extensive conformity trials once again before implementation.

ACD works have been sanctioned on 5160 Route Kms. on Eastern, South Eastern, East Central and East Coast Railways during last three years and will be taken up for implementation with new ACD Version-II.

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

Smooth Movement of Foodgrains by Railways
PTI, Ministry of Railways
04 May 2012 (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=83073)

The Ministry of Railways is working in close coordination with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Food Cooperation of India (FCI) for smooth movement of foodgrains.

Indian Railways has given high priority (‘B’ priority) for movement of foodgrains as per Preferential Traffic Order. The movement of foodgrains is programmed traffic. The monthly programme is submitted by Food Corporation of India and accepted by the Zonal Railways. Loading and unloading is done by FCI. Efforts are made to ensure loading as per the programme given by FCI. However, loading is dependent upon the unloading and storage capacity of FCI at the destinations. South Central Railway has loaded 80 per cent of the given programme during the year 2011-12 because unloading has not been done within the stipulated time. In addition, “BCBFG” special type wagons are also being utilized for carrying bulk foodgrains.

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

Supervision of Quality of Food in Trains
PTI, Ministry of Railways
04 May 2012 (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=83074)

Vide the New Catering Policy 2010, the management of catering services has been shifted from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to the Zonal Railways. Thereby the supervision and monitoring has been strengthened by the Zonal Railways by deploying Railways personnel, who check quality and hygiene and take corrective action in a time-bound manner. Zonal Railways have set up a Catering Monitoring Cell at headquarters and division level, which works round the clock to redress the passenger grievances as quickly as possible.

The numbers of complaints reported on catering have reduced substantially, by about 43.9 per cent since April, 2011 to March 2012 in comparison to the corresponding period of last year. Surprise checks and routine inspections are conducted by Railway officials to check the quality, quantity etc. of food items. About 31339 inspections have been carried out during April 2011 and March 2012 by Zonal Railways at all levels.

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

Rlys to hold back container terminal access charge hike
BusinessLine
NEW DELHI, MAY 3: (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3380775.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home)

Container train operators (CTOs) – who have not built terminals and operate in the domestic segment - can breathe easy.

The Railway Ministry has decided to hold in abeyance its earlier proposal to increase terminal access charges for CTOs. The companies that focus on domestic segment include Arshiya Rail, Boxtrans, Innovative B2B, and Kribhco Rail Infrastructure Ltd, confirm multiple industry sources.

INVESTMENT

Terminals – where the CTOs load and unload cargo - require investments of about Rs 150 crore (for a typical 40 acre size of land), according to industry estimates.

On April 27, the Railway Ministry had proposed to increase the terminal access charges by 36 per cent.

On May 1, the Ministry decided to hold the proposed hike in abeyance.

SETTING UP RAIL-LINKED TERMINALS

Industry opinion is divided on whether the move will propel the container train operators to invest in setting up more terminals. As a part of the concession agreement with the Indian Railways, all container train operators (CTOs) were required to set up rail-linked terminals.

But the entrants have not invested as much in setting up terminals, which requires close to 12 times the capital investment in a rake.

There are six terminals built by the newer container train operators while Container Corporation of India (Concor) has a network of over 60 terminals.

The CTOs, meanwhile, had built six terminals on February 6, and proposed to build another six terminals.

In a circular issued on May 1, the Indian Railways stated “The revised rates of terminal access charge is not to be given effect till further orders.”

“This move - of the proposed hike in terminal access charges being held in abeyance – will propel the container train operators to set up more terminals. It will also help improve their financial health by reducing their cost of operations,” said Mr R.C. Dubey, President, Association of Container Train Operators (ACTO).

However, another industry official from a container train company, pointed out the many operators who do not have enough traffic and thus do not operate many trains will not invest in newer terminals.

Rlys hygiene tip: Free phenyl for AC passengers

Buy an upper-class ticket and get a phenyl pouch free to clean the toilet before use. It’s the railways’ solution to a problem they have not been able to solve for decades.
“Some of our trains take up to 40 hours to complete a journey. Though efforts are made to clean the toilets at intermediate stations, there are regular complaints from passengers about hygiene. After all, the toilets are used by all passengers and one can’t ensure that everybody maintains the same standards of hygiene. As a pilot project, we have decided to start distributing phenyl pouches to those travelling in AC coaches. If they have any problem, they can mix the phenyl with water and sprinkle it around the toilet. This will not only sanitize the toilet but also remove any foul odour. Gradually, we shall extend this facility to all trains,” said A K Verma, general manager, SER.
According to officials, it was Verma’s brainwave to distribute phenyl pouches to passengers after complaints poured in on the Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Trichy and Yeshwantpur routes. If all passengers were to empty their pouches in the toilets, the level of cleanliness will go up automatically, an official reasoned.
Verma has also approached Railway Board to get Nagpur and Vijaywada converted to ‘clean train stations’. “Toilets are already cleaned at stations like Rourkela and Kharagpur. The two new stations will add to passenger amenities and ensure better hygiene. We have also received complaints from passengers that liquid soap dispensers in the toilets are sometimes empty. Our GM has instructed that soap paper strips be distributed among AC passengers. We shall start issuing them on select trains initially and then extend this service to all trains,” said Soumitra Majumdar, CPRO, SER.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2012/05/07&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00402&ViewMode=HTML

So now IR is outsourcing the cleaning part to the passengers :nuts: :bash:

Disabled people can soon book rail tickets online
Economic Times
8 May, 2012, 09.10AM (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/disabled-people-can-soon-book-rail-tickets-online/articleshow/13046017.cms)

NEW DELHI: Soon, differently abled people can book rail tickets online at concessional fares that they are entitled to. At present, differently abled people have to go to railway reservation counters to book tickets if they want to avail the fare concession given by railways.

"The railway board is ready with the plan to facilitate online ticket booking for its special passengers," a senior official said.

The plan is to issue identity cards with specific numbers to each differently abled person which will be built into the computerized passenger reservation system ( PRS) across the country. "This will ensure that differently abled persons can avail fare concession even while booking tickets online," the official said.

Under the proposal, the board plans to set up specific offices in zones and divisions where differently abled people can get their fare concession card made after producing a medical certificate.

Physically challenged people get fare concessions, have special reservation counters at railway stations and even special coaches on trains but cannot avail fare concessions while booking an e-ticket. They can book full fare tickets through the internet.
The move came after railway board received several complaints from differently abled passengers and social activists. The issue was also raised with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation ( IRCTC), the PSU handling online ticketing operations.

The railways' argument was that in purchase of concessional tickets, the physical document needed to be verified at the time of booking before extending the concession.

However, the railway board realized that e-ticket booking facility was much more essential for physically challenged persons than other passengers. Under the plan, the physical verification of the document will be done at the time of issuing identity card, an official said.

Idco, OMC to float SPV for common corridor in Angul-Talcher belt
Business Standard
Bhubaneswar May 08, 2012, 00:08 (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/idco-omc-to-float-spv-for-common-corridor-in-angul-talcher-belt/473671/)

The state’s nodal agency for land acquisition- Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (Idco) and mining PSU Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) will form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for developing a common corridor for rail, water and power in the coal rich Angul-Chhendipada-Talcher region.

“The SPV called Mahanadi Railways will be floated by Idco and OMC and it will be a public limited company. The government has already given its approval for the SPV,” said an official source.

So now IR is outsourcing the cleaning part to the passengers :nuts: :bash:

it is called crowd-sourcing..
actually it is not a bad idea. as part of your ticket, you get a couple of sachets to use and you clean up. over a long journey, that will certainly keep the toilet clean.

it is called crowd-sourcing..
actually it is not a bad idea. as part of your ticket, you get a couple of sachets to use and you clean up. over a long journey, that will certainly keep the toilet clean.

good idea.. but what about stations that smell foul? station master can mix phenyl with water and put on tracks :)

Railways earning increases by 18.79%
TNN | May 8, 2012, 10.05PM IST (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Railways-earning-increases-by-1879/articleshow/13054973.cms)

ALLAHABAD: The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during April 2012 were Rs 9658.02 crore as compared to Rs 8130.27 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 18.79%.

The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs 5595.69 crore during April 2011 to Rs 6916.39 crore during April 2012, showing an increase of 23.60%.

The total passenger revenue earnings in April 2012 were Rs 2384.61 crore compared to Rs 2214.54 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 7.68 per cent.

The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs 247.37 crore during April 2012 compared to Rs 223.34 crore during the same period last year, showing an increase of 10.76 per cent.

The total approximate number of passengers booked during April 2012 were 686.29 million compared to 657.59 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 4.36 per cent.

In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during April 2012 were 347.36 million and 338.93 million compared to 345.71 million and 278.43 million during the same period last year, an increase of 0.48 per cent and 8.67 per cent respectively.

Now RAC passengers to get bedrolls

Now train passengers in air-conditioned coaches having reservation against cancellation (RAC) will also get bedrolls. They will be made available in passenger trains across Central Railways.

Central Railway general manager Subodh Jain announced this after the issue was raised by Pravin Dabli, zonal railway users consultative committee (ZRUCC) member and others. RAC passengers are not entitled for bedrolls despite paying full fare.

Jain, who was on a routine inspection visit of the Nagpur division, told reporters, that Central Railway performance was quite good despite constraints. "We have managed to bring down our operating ratio," he said.

On the budget decision to increase frequency of Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express, Jain said getting power engine was a problem but assured the train would start running daily within a month.

Jain hoped that train movement from Nagpur would become more efficient once the route relay interlocking (RRI) system was in place. He said survey estimates for third line between Nagpur and Wardha were in final stages and it would take another two years to see physical progress.

Jain stated he was not satisfied with catering services at Nagpur and said certain things were going out of hand. "Still, we would improve the situation," he added. On integrated security system, Jain said tenders for Rs 38 crore project have been approved and a private firm has been shortlisted.

When asked about stoppages to trains in Ajni, Jain said stoppages need infrastructure. During his daylong visit, Jain renamed the Ajni Colony entry point 'Rail Boulevard' street. Generally, such a street is tree-lined and landscaped, but the one renamed by Jain is neither. He also visited water recycling plant at Ajni and Guard Line, and inspected the coach maintenance depot at the station yard.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Now-RAC-passengers-to-get-bedrolls/articleshow/13058200.cms

Derailed Metro projects block Rs 88,535cr of govt funds (http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/derailed-metro-projects-block-rs-88535crgovt-funds_702445.html)

Urban development minister Kamal Nath has a dream. He wants to set up a metro rail system in every city having more than 2 million people. Work has started in eight such cities and engineering firm Cititrans, which is involved in many of these projects, says more will follow.
“After 4 -5 years, more than 20 major cities in India will have metros,” said CEO Cititrans Umesh Pandey.
This, however, may be easier said than done. CNBC-TV18’s Animesh Das reports that Rs 88,435 crore is tied up in these eight metro rail projects, and that most of these projects have been delayed.
In the Rs 36,000 crore Mumbai metro project, phase I has been delayed till the year-end and work on phase-2, which has a mid-2013 deadline, has not yet begun.
The Rs 16,000 crore Hyderabad metro project now has a new contractor in L&T, and despite getting financial closure, the project will be done only by 2017.
Trial runs for the Rs 1,250 crore first phase of the Jaipur metro have been delayed by a year and phase-II, estimated at Rs 7,000 crore, is yet to be awarded. A decision on whether the PPP model should be followed has not been taken yet either.
Worst of all, the Pune metro is yet to get off the drawing board.
“Fundamentally the problem is money,’ explains director of the MMRDA GR Madan. Apart from that, he says that problems like underground utilities, land, the affected properties, affected people in the slum areas etc are problems which are more or less common in all cities.
Funding is also getting held up because many players are opting out of the PPP model.
It is estimated that around Rs 3.88 lakh crore will be needed to fund urban transport projects in the 12th plan, but the cash-strapped government can only provide around 40-50% of the funding. The rest has to come from banks and private companies willing to work on the build-operate-transfer model, and this is proving difficult.

Kapurthala gets order to make 693 ‘better’ coaches

The Indian Railway has decided to ensure a safer and more comfortable ride to passengers as the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala has received an order to manufacture 693 Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches. “LHB coaches offer better safety and do not overturn in case of a head-on collision,” said railway officials. RCF had manufactured 300 LHB coaches in the last financial year.

Sources at RCF said that the production of coaches had not exceeded 100 in the past three years, but the big orders from the railways speaks the intentions of the authorities towards a safer journey.

LHD coaches have superior features compared to conventional ones: They are more durable, have better safety standards, about 10-12 per cent more carrying capacity, high speed potential, superior riding comfort, aesthetic interiors and lower maintenance.

A senior RCF officer and secretary to the RCF general manager, Rajneesh Bansal said that earlier such coaches used to be fitted only in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains, “...but with the increased manufacturing these coaches can now be used in Express and mail trains.”

Sources said that LHB coaches cost around Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore less than manufacturing a conventional coach, “...this difference will reduce considerably with the bigger orders.”

LHB coaches were initially introduced in New Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express and subsequently in other Shatabdi and Rajdhani services. “The Indian Railways is planning to replace conventional coaches with the new LHB coaches gradually,” said RCF sources.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Kapurthala-gets-order-to-make-693--better--coaches/947364/

New bridge gets NMA clearance
Hindustan Times
New Delhi, May 10, 2012 (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/New-bridge-gets-NMA-clearance/Article1-853374.aspx)

The National Monument Authority (NMA) on Tuesday cleared the Northern Railways' proposal to replace the 150-year-old Loha Pul on the Yamuna — an essential connectivity for entire eastern India. This is also the first big-ticket infrastructure project cleared by the NMA. The proposal, pending since a decade, had faced a number of hurdles since its conceptualisation as the site is next to Salimgarh Fort, part of the Red Fort complex, a World Heritage Site.
Heritage authorities had stalled work for the piers in 2006 as the then alignment meant cutting across additional portion of the fort wall. Besides, an amendment in the archaeological act in 2010 banned any new construction within 100 metres of a protected monument.

The railways roped in Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage for study of cultural and heritage impact and the latter proposed the alternative alignment. According to its report, the new alignment joins the existing line before it touches the fort wall.

Terming it "essential" in public interest, the NMA meeting cleared the project on the condition that construction will happen beyond 100 metres of the protected wall.

"We also suggested to convert the Loha Pul into a showcase of 'industrial heritage' once the new bridge is ready," said a member, who attended the meeting. Railway officials said the wells constructed in 2006-07 are strong enough for the piers to be erected on it.

"The work is likely to take about 1 ½ to 2 years once the tenders are opened," said Dharm Singh, chief administrative officer (construction projects) of northern railways.

An official said whether or not the old bridge would be used for vehicular traffic later remains to be seen.

Kapurthala gets order to make 693 ‘better’ coaches

The Indian Railway has decided to ensure a safer and more comfortable ride to passengers as the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala has received an order to manufacture 693 Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches. “LHB coaches offer better safety and do not overturn in case of a head-on collision,” said railway officials. RCF had manufactured 300 LHB coaches in the last financial year.

Sources at RCF said that the production of coaches had not exceeded 100 in the past three years, but the big orders from the railways speaks the intentions of the authorities towards a safer journey.

LHD coaches have superior features compared to conventional ones: They are more durable, have better safety standards, about 10-12 per cent more carrying capacity, high speed potential, superior riding comfort, aesthetic interiors and lower maintenance.

A senior RCF officer and secretary to the RCF general manager, Rajneesh Bansal said that earlier such coaches used to be fitted only in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains, “...but with the increased manufacturing these coaches can now be used in Express and mail trains.”

Sources said that LHB coaches cost around Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore less than manufacturing a conventional coach, “...this difference will reduce considerably with the bigger orders.”

LHB coaches were initially introduced in New Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express and subsequently in other Shatabdi and Rajdhani services. “The Indian Railways is planning to replace conventional coaches with the new LHB coaches gradually,” said RCF sources.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Kapurthala-gets-order-to-make-693--better--coaches/947364/

less? seriously? if that was the difference, then why didn't we end up making all LHB coaches and also get so many other essential benefits?

less? seriously? if that was the difference, then why didn't we end up making all LHB coaches and also get so many other essential benefits?Bad reporting. It is the other way around.

less? seriously? if that was the difference, then why didn't we end up making all LHB coaches and also get so many other essential benefits?

Nice finding.....I think, LHB's are costlier than conventional ICF coaches....

Indian Railways To Upgrade E-Booking System; To Support 1 Million E-Ticket Bookings Per Day
May 11th, 2012 (http://www.medianama.com/2012/05/223-indian-railways-to-upgrade-e-booking-system-to-support-1-million-e-ticket-bookings-per-day/)

Railway Minister, Mukul Roy has sanctioned a new project worth Rs 55 crore to upgrade the Railways e-booking system, in the face of increased demand for e-booking, and problems of inaccessibility and slow systems, reports The Times of India. This announcement was made by the minister in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The minister claimed that this project will allow bookings of up to one million e-tickets every day.

That being said, we are not quite sure if the railway minister has allotted this fund to improve IRCTC’s e-booking facility or the new railway ticketing portal Indianrailways.gov.in from Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), announced in last year’s railway budget. It should however be noted that only 45% of railways ticketing happens through IRCTC, and the e-ticketing facility at Indianrailways.gov.in was disabled last July. The portal currently redirects users who intend to do e-ticketing to IRCTC website.

Other Developments

In March 2012, K. H. Muniyappa, the Minister of State for Railways, had informed the Parliament of India, that they were planning to provide Internet facility in three rakes (group of coaches or wagons) of Howrah Rajdhani Express on a pilot basis. The minister had then stated that the facility would work on a satellite based system and the Internet connection will be shared across railway coaches through Wi-Fi. Last week, Indian Railways had received clearance from Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for using KU band frequency from the satellite to provide Internet service. The service was estimated to cost Rs 6.30 crore for the Railway department and is expected to be rolled out by September 25, 2012.

Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the IT arm of Indian Railways had also partnered with ISRO to develop GPS-based devices for trains, which will provide real-time train tracking with an accuracy of 10 metres and latency of 2 mins. Interestingly, CRIS had also apparently integrated the GPS app into Google Maps, allowing passengers to view their current location on Google Maps in real time. CRIS had informed that these devices will be initially fitted in 100 trains, and that the railways intends to install these GPS device into all trains by the end of 2013. Indian Railways also has a similar project called Satellite Imaging for Rail Navigation (SIMRAN), which allowed users to track select trains like the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and a few other trains in real time, on the web portal Simran.in and on SMS.

Rlys for new system after problems in anti-collision device
ZEE News
Friday, May 11, 2012 (http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/rlys-for-new-system-after-problems-in-anti-collision-device_774675.html)

New Delhi: The Indian Railway is considering an alternative system after trial runs of the anti-collision device (ACD) brought to fore several operational and technical problems, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

ACD is a global positioning system (GPS) based device provided in the locomotive which continuously transmits position of loco to other locomotives in the vicinity and applies brakes in a collision-like situation.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki said a large number of operational and technical problems had been experienced in trials in southern and Northeast Frontier railways.

"ACD provided by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd and on trial in Northeast Frontier Railway also has operational problems and technical issues which are yet to be resolved," he said.

Rlys for new system after problems in anti-collision device
ZEE News
Friday, May 11, 2012 (http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/rlys-for-new-system-after-problems-in-anti-collision-device_774675.html)

New Delhi: The Indian Railway is considering an alternative system after trial runs of the anti-collision device (ACD) brought to fore several operational and technical problems, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

ACD is a global positioning system (GPS) based device provided in the locomotive which continuously transmits position of loco to other locomotives in the vicinity and applies brakes in a collision-like situation.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki said a large number of operational and technical problems had been experienced in trials in southern and Northeast Frontier railways.

"ACD provided by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd and on trial in Northeast Frontier Railway also has operational problems and technical issues which are yet to be resolved," he said.
There are so many constraints in the ACD that the Railway Ministry is thinking of going in for another system, he said, adding problems such as unwarranted braking have led the ministry to reconsider the project.

"It would be possible to proliferate this system on complicated and High Density Routes on other railways only after these issue are resolved comprehensively by KRCL," he said.

He said collision is the most critical of all rail accidents and new technologies to prevent them include ACD, Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), Vigilance Control Device (VDC) and Fog Safe Device (FSD).

To another question, Solanki said the Ministry of Railways has carried out technical feasibility study for an elevated rail corridor to be constructed between Churchgate and Virar in Mumbai.

"As the project is at preparatory stage, no time frame can be indicated," he said. When Jaya Bachchan (SP) asked where was land available in Mumbai for construction of an elevated rail corridor, the minister said "land is a problem of the state government."

Indian Railways was in discussions with the Maharashtra government on land acquisition and shifting of amenities for the Mumbai elevated rail corridor. Bachchan was not satisfied with the minister's reply and wondered if he wanted to build rail lines in sky.

Indian railways advertises heavily on print, TV gets piddly amount
10 May 2012 11:08 pm (http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k12/may/maymam49.php)

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways spent approximately Rs 1.68 billion and Rs 42.9 million on advertising on the print and electronic media respectively during 2010-11.

Parliament was told today that the amount spent on print media by the Railways during 2008-09 and 2009-10 had been approximately Rs 2.09 billion and Rs 1.58 billion respectively, while the amount spent on electronic media during the same period had been approximately Rs 6.75 million and Rs 36.5 million respectively.

Indian Railways follows the advertising policy framed by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, in respect of selection of media and advertising rates for both print and electronic media.

Depending upon the requirements of dissemination of information and the availability of funds, Railways release their advertisements, according to Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa.

84 more railway stations to be upgraded this year: Govt
Economic Times
11 MAY, 2012, 07.19PM (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com//articleshow/13097078.cms)

NEW DELHI: After upgrading 73 railway stations under the 'Adarsh' scheme, Indian Railways has identified 84 more such locations which will be developed in the present financial year, government told the Rajya Sabha today.

In a written reply to the House, Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki said that "during Budget 2012-13, 84 more stations have been identified for development under the 'Adarsh' scheme.... Out of the 266 stations identified during 2011-12, 73 have been developed as per the norms."

Regarding development of world class railway stations, he said that the consultancy works for preparation of Master Plan and Feasibility Report had been taken up for New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai and Patna.

"Action has also been initiated for appointment of consultants for Secunderabad, Anand Vihar, Chandigarh, Bijwasan, Porbandar, Surat, Ahmedabad, Sealdah and Chennai Central. For other stations, preliminary activities have been taken up by the Zonal Railways," Solanki said.

Replying to a question on installation of escalators at busy stations, he said that a centralised order for provision of 100 escalators across Indian Railways has been placed.

"It has been proposed to install additional 221 escalators at various stations... It has also been proposed to commission 50 escalators during the current financial year and remaining escalators subsequently," Solank

Indian Railways spent Rs 15,767 cr in enhancing safety in last 3 years
Economic Times
11 MAY, 2012, 07.19PM (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/indian-railways-spent-rs-15767-cr-in-enhancing-safety-in-last-3-years/articleshow/13097323.cms)

NEW DELHI: Stressing that safety is accorded the highest priority by Indian Railways, the government today said that the Ministry has spent around Rs 15,767 crore in the last three years on some of the identified safety measures.

"During last three years, approximately Rs 15,767 crore have been spent on some of the identified safety-related works...Safety is accorded the highest priority by Railways and all possible steps are undertaken on a continual basis to prevent accidents and to enhance safety," Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki informed Rajya Sabha.

On steps taken to improve safety, he listed out the measures introduced by the Railways to prevent accidents.

"These include timely replacement of over-aged assets, adoption of technologies for upgradation and maintenance of track, rolling stock, signalling and interlocking systems, safety drives, greater emphasis on training of officials and inspections to monitor and educate staffs," Solanki said.

Railways has also introduced Auxiliary Warning Systems (AWS), Light Emitting Diode ( LED) Signals, Vigilance Control Devices (VCD), Train Protection and Warning Systems (TPWS) and Anti-Collision Devices (ACD) as measures to enhance safety of trains and passengers.

Solanki also tabled a report in the House on number of passengers who lost their lives in accidents last year.

In 2011-12, a total of 77 accidents were reported and 114 people lost their lives. The number of injured was 581.

Replying to a question on cases of loot, molestation and misbehaviour against women passengers reported in trains in 2011, Solanki tabled another report in the Upper House.

84 more railway stations to be upgraded this year: Govt
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com//articleshow/13097078.cms)A lot of the stations need more platforms, new extensions for their buildings, that's the biggest thing, stations are absolutely crowded like here in Pune. The size of the stations hasnt increased since they were first built! and that's over a 100 yrs ago! Just minor things like beautification won't do. They need a complete revamp and more importantly new stations need to be built. Trains get longer and longer with more bogies, but what about the station buildings themselves?

Why not build underground platforms for electric trains/locals like for the Metro, if space is an issue? Many countries have this.

There are many things that require immediate revamp in the IR. India for the past few decades has had leaders of IR who have no vision and feel no compulsion to improve the lot of Indian IR travel. The recent most is a dolt of the highest order. He is clueless and there is no hope of any meaningful change from a moron like him.

Many nations around the world have upgraded public travel by rail. They have clean and efficient trains, spic and span railway stations that look like airports and their people take pride in their public travel system. On the other hand Indian Railway is treated as a social experiment. The entire system has attained its lowest common denominator of operation. People with very little experience run such large organization. They are worried about poor people and their travel needs (though this merits some consideration by the Social Govt Bureaus, that is not the point of a growing economy like India). They don't care about running a business efficiently and/or constantly improving its service. Not convinced? just view a few pictures / videos of IR trains/railway stations and you know how backward IR really is.

There are many issues to conquer for a large country like India. But a start can be made. At least get the stations to some decent standard, change the platforms, coverings, amenities. This would get the public involved and they see change. You charge them accordingly. Next you set a target to create a brand new train using the enormous engineering/design talent of the nation. You increase the average travel speed thereby reducing time for travel. Then you think about greenfield lines and railway stations. That is how you progress and improve the entire system.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120513/bathinda.htm#4
Jyani seeks reopening of ‘golden rly track’ between India, Pak
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, May 12
The issue of re-opening the golden railway track between India and Pakistan through Fazilka for trade purposes was raised by the local ruling party leaders before the Union Minister Jairam Ramesh during his visit to Fazilka district on Friday.

Fazilka MLA and cabinet minister Surjit Kumar Jyani and other BJP leaders submitted a memorandum to the Union minister demanding revival of the golden rail track between Ludhiana and Karachi dry port via Fazilka for transporting goods.

The memorandum mentioned that the rail link was the most viable and the shortest route during the pre-partition days on which trade flourished as Ludhiana and Karachi were industrial hubs.

The British regime earned handsome revenue from the route; hence the name “golden track”, said Jyani.

All towns and small rural stations along the rail link also contributed to the international trade. Fazilka was one of the largest wool and cotton markets of the northern region during those days. Its trade activities extended up to erstwhile Burma (now Myanmar) and Liverpool in England through this route, he added.

“The neighbouring Rajasthan and Haryana would also be benefited with the opening of the track,” said Jyani.

The over 950 km-long rail track between Ludhiana and Karachi was set up by the East India Company. The Indian raw material was transported through the rail link to Europe, East Asia and the Gulf countries. With the partition of the country, the rail link was snapped.

“It has become necessary to re-open the golden track to improve the economy on the both sides of the border,” said the BJP minister.

Besides, Jyani demanded six-laning of the former national-highway No. 10 (popularly known as DHS (Delhi-Hisar-Sulemanki) road) from Fazilka to Delhi and commissioning of the newly-constructed Abohar-Fazilka rail line for the convenience of commuters.

He reiterated the demand of tax holidays for industries in the border districts of the state.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/uncomfortable-chair-cars-keep-youth-away-from-yuva-trains/948376/
Uncomfortable chair cars keep youth away from Yuva trains

New Delhi Introduced amid much fanfare in December 2009, Yuva trains meant for unemployed youth have failed to draw their target audience. Following low occupancy of seats reserved for youth, Railways have brought down the quota from 60 per cent to 20 per cent, since the end of March.
The two Yuva trains —Nizamuddin-Bandra Terminus and New Delhi-Howrah — despite running on routes with heavy rush throughout the year, have failed to draw reasonable occupancy. The reason for low occupancy is the uncomfortable 16-hour ride in chair cars.

According to official Railways estimates, the Nizamuddin to Bandra Terminus train which runs every Saturday has seen a booking percentage of 75 from April 2011 to March 2012 while its return journey was 88 per cent booked. In 53 trips from Nizamuddin to Bandra, the total berth potential was 43,044 seats, of which 32,117 seats were occupied. In its return trips, out of a total berth potential of 43,248 seats, 37,952 passengers took the train.

The other weekly Yuva train from New Delhi to Howrah has witnessed lower occupancy with trains running to Howrah recording a booked percentage of 81 and those on its return trip witnessing just 62 per cent booking.

The Nizamuddin to Bandra train stops at Mathura, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara and Surat stations. These were chosen carefully to ensure good ridership, but have failed to attract passengers.

Similarly, the New Delhi to Howrah train stops at stations like Kanpur, Allahabad, Mughalsarai, Dhanbad and Asansol. Former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had said these stations would connect youth from the ‘hinterlands’.

Records show that from December 2010 to May 2011, in the Nizamuddin to Bandra Terminus train, just 74 of 12,506 seats were taken by youth — a one per cent utilisation of quota. The New Delhi - Howrah train, 769 of 15,834 seats were occupied by youth — a utilisation of just five per cent.

“The occupancy figures for the youth quota continued to be dismal even in the fiscal year of 2011-12 and hence a policy change decision was taken to reduce the quota from 60 per cent to 20,” said a senior Railways official.

Bogie boost for Rajdhani & Shatabdi

Super safe at 180kmph, invulnerable to derailment and hi-tech air-conditioning for optimum comfort during summer and winter. The ultimate coach of reliability will soon be on track for Ranchi.

The South Eastern Railway (SER) authorities have received a go-ahead from the Railway Board to replace the 20-year-old conventional coaches of two elite trains with Linke Holfmann Bush (LHB) coaches, developed by a German firm of the same name, and now also manufactured at Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala, Punjab.

Divisional railway manager (DRM), Ranchi, Gajanan Mallya said the new RCF-manufactured LHB coaches will benefit 2,500-odd passengers of Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani Express and Ranchi-Howrah Shatabdi Express.

Mallya said the division had sought sanction for LHB coaches — each worth up to Rs 2 crore and the two elite trains have 22 bogies each — last year. “We have now been promised coaches for both Rajdhani and Shatabdi. The two trains will boast the new and safer bogies before the end of this financial year,” he added.

The LHB coaches are designed for an operating speed of up to 160kmph and tested up to 180kmph. They are 23.54 metres long and 3.24 metres wide, resulting in higher passenger capacity compared to conventional coaches.

These hi-tech bogies are “anti-telescopic”, which means they do not turn over even if the train derails or has a collision. The improved suspension system ensures more riding comfort, while the microprocessor controlled high-capacity AC system gives passengers season-wise optimum level of cooling as needed.

The Rajdhani is the main railway link to the national capital from the state capital. There are three trains scheduled on Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. From Delhi, the trains return on Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays.

There are also three other trains on the Ranchi-Delhi route, namely Jharkhand Swarnjayanti Express, Sampark Kranti Express and the Garib Rath. But, Rajdhani, owing to its schedule and comfortable journey, remains the most preferred train on this sector.

On the other hand, the Ranchi-Howrah Shatabdi Express runs six days a week (except Sundays). Apart from the Hatia-Howrah Express, which plies at night, Shatabadi is the other superfast train. The third link on this route is an intercity express.

Passengers have been complaining of run-down coaches in these trains for more than three years. Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay too had requested SER authorities to look into the matter.

On May 8, when SER general manager A.K. Verma visited Ranchi, members of various passenger associations and business outfits had urged replacement of decades-old Rajdhani coaches.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120514/jsp/jharkhand/story_15485712.jsp#.T7Cx91LSjCN

There are many things that require immediate revamp in the IR. India for the past few decades has had leaders of IR who have no vision and feel no compulsion to improve the lot of Indian IR travel. The recent most is a dolt of the highest order. He is clueless and there is no hope of any meaningful change from a moron like him.

Many nations around the world have upgraded public travel by rail. They have clean and efficient trains, spic and span railway stations that look like airports and their people take pride in their public travel system. On the other hand Indian Railway is treated as a social experiment. The entire system has attained its lowest common denominator of operation. People with very little experience run such large organization. They are worried about poor people and their travel needs (though this merits some consideration by the Social Govt Bureaus, that is not the point of a growing economy like India). They don't care about running a business efficiently and/or constantly improving its service. Not convinced? just view a few pictures / videos of IR trains/railway stations and you know how backward IR really is.

There are many issues to conquer for a large country like India. But a start can be made. At least get the stations to some decent standard, change the platforms, coverings, amenities. This would get the public involved and they see change. You charge them accordingly. Next you set a target to create a brand new train using the enormous engineering/design talent of the nation. You increase the average travel speed thereby reducing time for travel. Then you think about greenfield lines and railway stations. That is how you progress and improve the entire system.

I have been optimistic for improvement in IR for over a decade now. I have also followed all the development regarding new initiative in terms of policy and implementation. Sometimes we thought PPP model will bring in new technology and much needed finance but that was scuttled as IR babus fear of loosing control. It was expected that rationalization of fair will improve the condition of IR but politicians didn't allow this as a cheap populist policy. There were various other initiatives which gave a glimpse of hope for change but were not allowed to continue.
Now the public have forced policy makers to look for other ways which I feel is the way out of this big web called IR. MRTS has been taken over by MOUD. DMRC, BMRC, CMRL, KMRL, HM, KMRCL etc were created which have given much needed boost to MRTS. It was otherwise bleeding in the hands of IR, old Kolkata metro, Chennai MRTS is the example of IR utter failure in this field. Similarly DFC is created to provide efficient and fast goods transport throughout India. Once this is completed our dependence on inefficient IR will decrease. Passanger traffic is still at the mercy of IR which again is worst to say the least. Kerala HSR, I feel, have the capacity to create something independent of IR for efficient passenger traffic and can then be emulated by other states. IR HSR proposals will remain on papers only.
This way we see IR will be rendered irrelevant and that is the way out of this big wrangle called IR.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/uncomfortable-chair-cars-keep-youth-away-from-yuva-trains/948376/
Uncomfortable chair cars keep youth away from Yuva trains

New Delhi Introduced amid much fanfare in December 2009, Yuva trains meant for unemployed youth have failed to draw their target audience. Following low occupancy of seats reserved for youth, Railways have brought down the quota from 60 per cent to 20 per cent, since the end of March.

Introduction of YUVA trains was more of a political stunt - if you are travelling for an interview etc. from any of these locations to Delhi then does it make sense to wait for a train which is weekly?

Ideally IR should use this rakes to run AC ICEs like HWH-Varanasi or Varanasi - NDLS day time trains.

By the way are there 2 separate rakes for the 2 Yuva trains?

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Track-clear-for-revival-of-old-link/articleshow/13143467.cms?prtpage=1)
Track clear for revival of old link

SILCHAR: Union minister for railways Mukul Roy said revival of the old rail link between Mahisashan station near the India-Bangladesh border in Karimganj district of Assam and Kolkata, via Bangladesh, is under active consideration in both New Delhi and Dhaka.

In reply to a letter written by Lok Sabha member (Karimganj) Lalit Mohan Suklabaidya, the railway minister said the issue was discussed at the bipartite meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka in September last year. Both the countries agreed to reopen the rail route, he said.

"Following this, India's external affairs ministry sought a project report from the concerned ministry in Bangladesh. The report is awaited," said Roy in his letter to the Karimganj MP.

The MP, who belongs to Congress, in his letter to the railway minister had said that a rail link from Mahisashan station to Kolkata through Bangladesh was necessary for the sake of easy connectivity of south Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram with the rest of the country.

The current rail link in the area through Guwahati and North Bengal is not only time-consuming and costly, but also hazardous. The region's railway connectivity with Kolkata through Bangladesh, which existed before Partition, will prove much easier and economical, and will also improve the development prospects of this part of northeast, he added. Moreover, if this route is reopened, it will take only eight to 10 hours to reach Kolkata from Assam's Karimganj.

Sources said the rail route was open for traffic till the 70s. Mahisashan station under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is the Indian railhead near Bangladesh border. The railway track reaches up to Sahbazpur station in Sylhet division on the other side of the international border. The track is barred simply with an iron bar. If the two sides agree, simply removal of the bar will help resumption of movement of trains between Karimganj and Kolkata through Dhaka, the sources added.

Railways funds eroded 93%: CAG

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/railways-funds-eroded-93-cag/949699/

Railways should rationalise tariffs: CAG

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/05/15/370--Railways-should-rationalise-tariffs-CAG-.html

Railways to keep a tab on food quality

PATNA: Concerned at poor quality of meals served in the New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express (12240) on Friday night which caused illness to a few passengers, including an MP from Jharkhand, the railways has decided to chalk out a comprehensive plan to keep a tab on quality of food served to train passengers.

According to a Railway Board official, the railways took over charge of catering from the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) under the new catering policy introduced in the railways sometime back. Efforts are being made to provide quality meals and breakfast on all trains, including premier ones like Rajdhani Express, he said.

Expressing shock over the Friday incident, a senior official of the Board said that an internal inquiry is being held into the matter. "Appropriate action would be taken after completion of the inquiry," he said. According to him, the railways has directed each of its zones to set up a cell at its respective headquarter for strict monitoring of meals and other items supplied to passengers on trains and railway platforms. Besides, the railways has asked its officials belonging to commercial wing to print price of each item on the meal packets so that passengers do not face any hassles while paying for them. The railways has warned pantry car staff not to charge extra money from passengers, a Board official said, adding issuing of bill to passengers is a must now.

According to an East Central Railway (ECR) official, the railways has set up a team of commercial inspectors under each division of the zone to carry out surprise check of food quality. The ECR will provide initial training to these inspectors at Hajipur-based Hotel Management and Catering Institution.

These inspectors would be authorized to check premier trains like Rajdhani Express and Sampoorna Kranti Express to ensure supply of quality food to passengers. About 80 selected commercial inspectors have been trained so far at Hajipur, he said.

Medical fitness of each staff of the pantry car has now become mandatory for serving meals to passengers. Maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene has been attached extra importance. The railways is now insisting on maintaining quality, quantity and price (QQP) since it took over charge of catering from the IRCTC, a Board official said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Railways-to-keep-a-tab-on-food-quality/articleshow/13143285.cms

Railways should rationalize tariffs: CAG report (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railways-should-rationalize-tariffs-CAG-report/articleshow/13157146.cms)
Mahendra Kumar Singh, TNN | May 16, 2012, 01.09AM IST
NEW DELHI: Rejecting railway minister Mukul Roy's move to roll back hike in passenger fare, CAG said the way forward for the national transporter is to rationalize both passenger and freight tariffs to tide over the severe financial crunch.

The government auditor observed that railways is in the red, and has not been able to meet the escalating cost of operating passenger and other services.

It asked railways to explore alternate sources of financing, noting that "their accumulated funds have eroded by 93%".

It was highlighted by the auditor that there is heavy cross-subsidization from freight services to passenger services and percentage of freight earnings used to subsidize the losses on passenger and other coaching services ranged between 15.80% and 34.32% from 2007-08 to 2009-10.

The CAG's latest report on railways tabled in Parliament on Tuesday said "It is essential that railways increases its market share in bulk commodities where it has an inherent competitive advantage."

The auditor also asked the transporter to wind up unviable and loss-making projects. "It is important for the railways to review all capital works in progress and take expeditious decision with regard to closure of projects especially non-remunerative lines, where there is road connectivity and where the progress with the projects is no longer as valid. There is a need to focus more on viable projects," said the report.

The report expressed concern over the increasing dependency of the railways on the gross budgetary support due to shrinkage of internal resources. Improper maintenance of land records, failure in safeguarding title of railway land and non-execution of agreements with licensees are factors leading to huge outstanding yet to be recovered by the railways as licence fees, the CAG has highlighted.

Observing "tardy" progress in identifying vacant land for commercial use, it noted that only 3% of the total vacant land had so far been handed over to Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA).

CAG has found the performance of railways in safeguarding its ownership of land and ensuring proper maintenance of land records unsatisfactory.

"Though in a number of cases railway land was allowed to be occupied by the PSUs and other government departments and private parties, Railways had failed to take effective action to execute licence agreements and recover the licence fee from the licencees," the report said.

Besides, it has also observed that delay in sanctioning and completing the new rail bridge work over the Sone river resulted in heavy detention to goods trains leading to avoidable revenue loss of Rs 284.20 crore.

CAG has observed irregular benefit of concessional tariff by railway staff to exporters of iron ore without obtaining the prescribed documents and ensuring that all the conditions had been complied with which resulted in undue benefit of Rs 1795.51 crore to the consignors.
They are screwing freight users thanks to monopoly :bash: 10-15% cross subsidy is ok, not more than that. Unviable lines taken for political benefit will run one train per day and loss to environment too

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7194147694_05761fe65f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78252829@N06/7194147694/)
DSC01405 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78252829@N06/7194147694/) by Junior Engineer (http://www.flickr.com/people/78252829@N06/), on Flickr

This pic is of WDM 3A. It shows 5000 lts capacity.
Is it same or does it vary for other series?

Can any one tell whether entire discharge toilets will be phased out by 2020 and replaced by green toilets??? when will this happen..or only some trains will have green toilets...

Can any one tell whether entire discharge toilets will be phased out by 2020 and replaced by green toilets??? when will this happen..or only some trains will have green toilets...

The toilets, which will function on vacuum technology, would be installed in Rajdhani and Shatabdi express trains as per the plan of the railways while biological (bacteria) based toilets would be installed in other trains, he said.

Read this article (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/green-toilets-to-be-introduced-in-trains/942300/), it might answer your queschun

North Central Railway modernising signalling system on the Kanpur-Ghaziabad section

In its continuous tryst to march along with latest technological innovations, the North Central Railway (NCR) is presently executing a project of 'Modernization of Signalling & Telecommunication System on Kanpur-Ghaziabad section' of its Allahabad division. This work of signal wizardry would help in better movement of the train ensuring safety of the passengers.

The project consists of provision of State of the Art Solid State Interlocking at 47 stations, Automatic block signaling using Solid State Interlocking on 47 block sections, ISDN exchange network, Mobile Train Radio Communication over 755 route kilometres on Ghaziabad-Kanpur-Mugalsarai section and Centralized Traffic Control at Tundla. The communication will also enable inter-train communication on the section and also communication between driver/guard to controllers. All this will result in improvement in safety, reliability and enhanced line capacity on one of the busiest sections of Indian Railways.

The Centralized Traffic Control will control the train operation on the entire Ghaziabad-Kanpur section. A panorama screen displaying entire section will be provided in building which will indicate online position of each train on the section.

The controllers will be provided with computers for operation of the signaling system on the section. Automatic features provided on main line signals will now enable the controllers to run trains without any operation.

All signalling operations will now be done by controllers through by click of mouse on the VDU (Visual Display Unit). The indications of all signalling gears under control of particular controller, including that of the automatic section, are available on VDU provided with controller station master and the panorama screen.With availability of Mobile Train Radio Communication, it will be possible for CTC controller to talk to any train, any station and any Level Crossing Gate on the section. Major portion of signaling under the project has been competed on Kanpur- Aligarh section. The telecommunication portion of the work has also picked up and now being executed at fast pace. Approximately 60% of the project has been completed so far.

The cost of this project is approximately 82 million Euros (approximately Rs 490 crore) and is being funded by KfW (German Development Bank) of Germany. A three-member KfW Mission 2012 is on a visit to Indian Railways to assess the present status of the project and also to meet Ministry of Railway officials for further planning from May 14 to 18. This exercise is undertaken by KfW bank every year. A meeting was held on May 14 in New Delhi in the office of IRPMU between IRPMU team headed by Kundan Chaudhary, chief administrative officer and KfW Bank Mission headed by Michael Wenzel, divisional chief, Transport & Communication, Asia.

KfW mission undertook the inspection on May 15 of Aligarh-Ghaziabad section where this project is being implemented integrating the recently commissioned Third line, Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) at Tundla and the work already commissioned on Kanpur-Aligarh section.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/North-Central-Railway-modernising-signalling-system-on-the-Kanpur-Ghaziabad-section/articleshow/13240490.cms

^^ that wont reduce the delays due to fog

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Jalandhar/More-comfortable-journeys-on-double-decker-train-in-the-offing/SP-Article1-857816.aspx)
More comfortable journeys on double-decker train in the offing

More comfortable journey for passengers travelling on the new coaches of double- decker train is in the offing as many changes have been incorporated in them, including the number of seats that have been reduced to 120 from 128 after their redesigning at Rail Coach Factory here.

Several crucial changes have been made by RCF engineers based on the feedback received from passengers and railway officials who travelled on the first double-decker train operating between Howrah and Dhanbad stations since October 2011.

Senior RCF PRO Virender Kumar Vij said that 17 newly-designed coaches were rolled out from the factory on March 31 and had undergone field trials on the Delhi-Jaipur track.

"Basically, we have reduced the width of coaches by 80mms as there was some operational problem with the previous coaches as platforms were extended at some stations due to repair or other reasons. By reducing the coach width, this problem has been sorted out," he said claiming that "this is the optimised standard design prepared by RCF officials".

Apart from reduction in the number of seats, reclining chairs have been installed. Also, half of the seats would now be in one direction and others in opposite direction, with a snack table in the centre, added Vij.

Interiors of the coaches have been worked upon to improve aesthetic aspect.

Another rake is ready to be rolled out in the first week of June to be run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. By the end of this year, two more rakes for Southern Railway (Chennai to Bangalore) and for West Central Railway (Habibganj to Indore) would be rolled out from RCF, he added.

"Senior railways officials are highly impressed with the newly designed coaches and it is expected that these coaches will replace the existing Shatabdi coaches all over the country in the near future," he said

Mum-New Delhi Rajdhani turns 40
Manthan K Mehta TNN

Mumbai: The Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express celebrated a quiet birthday on May 17, forty years after it made its inaugural journey from then Bombay Central to the national capital in 1972.
The first Rajdhani Express was introduced three years earlier in 1969 between Howrah and New Delhi and was the first fully air-conditioned train.
Chief public relations officer of WR Sharat Chandrayan said, “May 17 marks a red-letter day in the history of Indian Railways as this premier train was introduced on this day to connect the country’s commercial capital with its political capital.”
Such is the demand for tickets on Rajdhani Express that its reservation chart is prepared only 15 minutes before departure.
In the early days, the train took 19 hours and 5 minutes to cover the distance between Mumbai Central and New Delhi as against the 15 hours and 50 minutes it takes today; the return journey (New Delhi to Mumbai Central) takes 16 hours and five minutes.
The Rajdhani has undergone a sea change over the years to maintain its numero uno position. A railway official said, “When the train was introduced, it was hauled by a single WDM–2 diesel locomotive and WAP alternating current locos for electric traction. For some years, a double-headed engine was also used to maintain speed.”
As the traction was electrified continuously on this route, diesel engines were used between Mumbai and Vadodara. This necessitated a change of locos. Dual traction AC-DC W-CAM 2P locos were introduced in 1993, which made the hauling of train on electrical traction possible up to Mumbai Central.
Chandrayan said, “The speed improved due to electrification and change in traction technology, besides the doubling of lines on this route.”
WR is planning to further reduce the running time after the conversion of traction from DC to AC between Churchgate and Virar. Till 1988, when the Bhopal Shatabdi Express made its debut at 140 kmph, the Rajdhani was the fastest train with a speed of 115-120 kmph.

A REMARKABLE JOURNEY
Departure | 4.40pm from Mumbai Central Arrival | 8.30am at New Delhi Distance | 1,384 km Duration |15 hours and 50 minutes; 16 hours and 5 minutes (return journey) Speed | 135kmph
Halts |Surat, Vadodara junction, Ratlam and Kota Junction Composition | 19 coaches (1 First Class AC, 4 AC 2-tier, 10 AC 3-tier. 2 pantry cars, 2 luggagecum-generator coaches)

“The reason of the accident is yet to be ascertained but prima facie it seems that the driver of Hampi Express overshot the signal,” the spokesperson said, adding senior railway officials have rushed to the spot.
This is the most repeated response of IR on most accidents. In todays time of automation, why the automatic/train protection/ACD is used to avoid such incidents. Its high time we should call the bluff of IR babus. Enough is enough!!!

The loco of hampi express wdp 4 has a visibilty problem the cnn ibn has confirmed it so far. if loco pilot is driving the loco in MU Mode (driving LHF (Long Hood First) with the driver cab at the back).
there are 2 protrutions that would hinder your view; one being the Dynamic braking grid and the radiator grill at the end, many a times you could miss a signal due to poor visiblity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwkQQ36B9Fg&feature=player_embedded

Recently there was a story in CNN-IBN highlighting this major issue.What i say is that it is not a design issue as this loco is designed as per US standards, We are using it in other way :(


What i could suggest is that railway can implement turn-table as it was used for steam engines to reverse or use Wye placement tracks so that we can reverse and change the direction.

Or please change the design of loco with new standards.

“The reason of the accident is yet to be ascertained but prima facie it seems that the driver of Hampi Express overshot the signal,” the spokesperson said, adding senior railway officials have rushed to the spot.
This is the most repeated response of IR on most accidents. In todays time of automation, why the automatic/train protection/ACD is used to avoid such incidents. Its high time we should call the bluff of IR babus. Enough is enough!!!

it is easy to make for automatic braking to halt if a signal is broken by a train. but you know what, nobody cares 25 lives once in a while, not even ssc forummers. i made separate thread of accidents and safety but nobody posts updates to that thread :ohno: all forummers here are busy glorifying our killer transport. life and limbs are considered cheap here in india

Bhopal railway station to have escalator (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Bhopal-railway-station-to-have-escalator/articleshow/13403056.cms)
TNN | May 23, 2012, 05.37AM IST

BHOPAL: If you have a back pain or face problem to climb stairs, there is good news for you in the store as West Central Railway (WCR) has decided to set up an escalator and a travelator at the Bhopal railway station and Habibganj station.

"We have decided to install an escalator on platform number one side of the main station and travelator at platform no 5 side at Habibang," Bhopal senior divisional commercial manager (SDCM) Mandip Singh Bhatia told TOI.

He said these moving walkways would be installed with an estimated cost of around Rs 1.5 crore in three months.

Bhatia said around 50,000 passengers undertake their journey by roughly 120 trains originating or passes from the Bhopal station daily. Similarly, about 25,000 passengers undertake take journey from Habibganj station from where more than 50 trains originate or pass daily. Large number of people might be coming to these two stations to receive or see off their relatives boarding trains, he said.

"We have taken the people friendly decision keeping in view oldies, patients and others facing stair climbing problem," he added.

all big stations need escalators at platform 1 :cheers:

Indian Railways, ITDC to improve tourism services jointly (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/travel/indian-railways-itdc-to-improve-tourism-services-jointly/articleshow/13449175.cms)

NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways and the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) joined hands Thursday to improve tourism services offered by the two entities, drawing maximum advantage from each other's large customer base, expertise and network of facilities.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to this effect has been signed between the ITDC and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, according to a statement.

Among the popular services offered by the IRCTC are the Bharat Darshan tourist trains, Mahaparinirvan Express (Buddhist circuit special train) and educational tours for school children.

The ITDC has carved a niche in the production of packaged drinking water ( Rail Neer), e-tickets, cab rental services, online hotel booking services, budget hotels and online air ticketing. The company has been operating travel services under the Ashok Travels & Tours (ATT) brand.

E-ticket cancellations fetch railways Rs 750 crore (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/E-ticket-cancellations-fetch-railways-Rs-750-crore/articleshow/13418793.cms)

MUMBAI: An integral part of a family holiday or business trip is proper planning, and most Indian travellers usually book their train tickets weeks, if not months, in advance. But the best laid plans can go awry and often do. The Indian Railways understands this principle well-it is what has, after all, enriched the government organization substantially over the years.

Between 2005 and 2011, the Railways earned a neat Rs 750 crore (almost equivalent to its annual profit) on account of cancellations of e-tickets alone. (Its earnings from e-tickets from 2005 to April 2012 were Rs 30,094 crore.) RTI activist Manoranjan Roy, who procured this information, says that the railways must do away with cancellation charges. "Indian Railways now has several avenues for generating revenue," he points out. "It must stop burdening the common man with cancellation charges."

In 2011, between March and December, the railways earned Rs 198 crore from cancellation charges of e-tickets. Ever since it began in 2005, e-ticketing has ballooned to make up about 40% of all rail ticket sales. Railway officials say that the convenience that booking and cancelling an e-ticket offers has seen more passengers making advance bookings that very often result in cancellations. In fact, one out of every three e-tickets sold is cancelled.

If a confirmed ticket is cancelled more than 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, the penalty is Rs 70 for an AC first-class ticket, Rs 60 for AC Tier-2, AC Tier-3 and AC chair car, Rs 40 for sleeper class and Rs 20 for a second-class ticket. In fact, even if a wait-listed ticket is not confirmed, the Railways go on to deduct Rs 20 before refunding the remaining sum.

Popular trains have long waiting lists of 700 or 800. "Close to 95% of the wait-listed tickets do not get confirmed and automatically stand cancelled," explains a rail officer. "Hence, what ordinarily happens is that most passengers book themselves on more than one train; others with flexible travel dates book tickets on different days if they are on the waiting list."

Clearly, somebody's attempts to stay on top of the chaotic train travel in India can be somebody else's huge gain.

E-way to big bucks

Year -------- Tickets sold (lakh) ------ Ticket sale income (Rs crore)------- Revenue from cancellation charges (Rs crore)

2005-06 ----25 ---------- 317 ------- 2.85

2006-07 ----68 ---------- 678 ------- 5.79

2007-08 ---- 189 ------- 1,700 ------ 15.61

2008-09 ---- 440 ------ 3883 -------- 99.42

2009-10 ---- 719 ------ 6011 -------- 190.63

2010-11 ---- 969 ------ 8007 -------- 235.37

2011-12 ----1,161 ----- 9498 -------- 198.80*

(* Cancellation figures up to December 2011)

^^ Recently they hiked cancellation charges from Rs. 20 to Rs. 40. There should be no cancellation charges if a ticket is cancelled 1 week before :cheers:

The IR should consider raising fares instead of gimmicks like cancellation fee revenue, which is a pittance compared to the operation. When you have an adamant dolt like the IR Mantriji who hijacked a sane proposal by D. Trivedi to fix IR financially what can you hope for.

Low fares is ruining the system. The intended social experiment of low fares, is being extended to all and sundry. Those who can pay end up in the freebie column, which a gross distortion. If subsidies are needed, provide them by Unique Identity scheme and target them appropriately. The rest of the country can be spared from these shenanigans. Better fare structure brings in revenue. And revenue is needed to fix a whole host of issues, starting with safety, modern day efficient coaches and train engines, better clean and efficient service levels, non-discharging toilets, modern airport like railway stations for tier 1, 2, 3 cities and so on.

Gosh we have complete nut cases manning the IR and its future. When will the torture end.

E-ticket cancellations fetch railways Rs 750 crore (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/E-ticket-cancellations-fetch-railways-Rs-750-crore/articleshow/13418793.cms)

Do away with cancellation charges to "ease the burden on common man"? Yeah, right - shows the ill-effects of excessive activism. :bash:

1st Electric Engine-hauled Train Reaches Kanyakumari (http://t.co/0e0wDczt):cheers:
Train No: 16526 Bangalore-Kanyakumari Island Express on Thursday became the first electric locomotive-hauled train to reach Kanyakumari. The train that left the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station at 3.30 p.m. covered the 87-km route without any hitches and reached Kanyakumari at 6.05 p.m.

Railway sources said the train reached Kanyakumari ahead of the scheduled arrival time though its departure from Thiruvananthapuram was delayed by 15 minutes. Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agrawal and senior officials oversaw the operations in Kanyakumari.

Railways decision to operate electric locomotive-hauled trains on the route came a day after the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Bangalore, S.K. Mittal gave the nod for the electrified Thiruvananthapuram – Kanyakumari railway line.

Railways will be able to run electric-locomotive hauled trains up to the southern tip of the country with the commissioning of the electrified line completed at a cost of Rs.70 crore.

Mr. Agrawal said that Railways would use electric locomotives on the route from Friday for operating long-distance mail, express, passenger and goods trains.

As many as 20 trains are operating on the Kanyakumari-Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram Central stretch daily.

With this, Railways can avoid changing the locomotives of mail and express trains at Thiruvananthapruam Central and Kollam. The CRS has given the nod to operate trains up to the maximum sectional speed of 80 km per hour.

^^Hmm..Good, so finally the southern tip of our mainland got connected by electric traction..

Not sure how long to wait for the northern end for the same.

^^ http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=91275102#post91275102

^^ great news.. Jammu electrification will be over by this year end:

Railway track to Jammu be electrified by Dec 2012 (http://www.thenorthlines.com/newsdet.aspx?q=51727)

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/rail_elec/RE%20Map-2.pdf

^^ :cheers: By that time Udhampur-Katra rail would also be comp.

Do away with cancellation charges to "ease the burden on common man"? Yeah, right - shows the ill-effects of excessive activism. :bash:


It's not correct. People are booking tickets without actual requirement and creating waiting list tension for others. In my view the cancellation charge shall increase to atleast 25% of ticket cost.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/smilies/shake.gif

Indian Railways Sold 116M E-Tickets For $1.72 Bn In FY 2011-12 (http://www.medianama.com/2012/05/223-indian-railways-sold-116m-e-tickets-for-1-72-bn-in-fy-2011-12/)

Indian Railways reported total revenues of Rs 9498 crores (approximately $1.7 billion) and sold 116 million tickets through IRCTC in 2011-12, according to a Right To Information request filed by Manoranjan Roy, The Economic Times reports. The article points out that the railways earned as much as Rs 198.8 crore (approx $36 million) through E-Ticket cancellations for the financial year 2011-12 (until December 2011) and Rs 235.37 crores (approx $42.79 million) the previous fiscal year. Cancellations and high failure rates are common on the IRCTC website, and while only around 45% of railways ticketing is through the site, it typically reports failure rates of between 25% to 30%. For example, for April 2012, IRCTC reported 12.95 million transactions, of which only 73.05% were successful. There’s more information on IRCTC cancellations in the Economic Times article, but readers should keep in mind that both information on tickets and revenues appear to have been approximated. We did some calculations on the basis of this approximated data:

http://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/IRCTC-E-Ticketing-Income1.jpg

Just to give you some context on monthly ticketing, here is IRCTC data for the fiscal year 2009-10:

http://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/irctc-fy10.jpg

At least in case of number of tickets, it adds up for 2010-11, but has been approximated. Note that IRCTC stopped publishing financial data after August 2009, and we don’t have monthly income data since. For our monthly reports on IRCTC payment gateway performance, click here.

Some observations from the RTI data:
- IRCTC reported a monthly income of around $144 million for FY 2011-12. Given that customers often face ticketing issues, especially early in the morning, this could cross $150 million per month if technical issues are addressed.
- As number of tickets booked has increased, from 2.5 million in FY 2005-06 to 116.1 million in FY 2011-12, the average revenue per ticket has declined – from Rs 1268 in FY 2005-06 to Rs 818.09 in FY 2011-12.

http://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/irctc-growth-ticketing.jpg

Typically, growth in tickets has been higher than the increase in income. FY 2009-10 was an aberration because number of tickets sold increased 63.41% from 44 million to 71.9 million while income increased 77.68% from Rs 3383 crore to Rs 6011 crore ($615 million to 1.09 billion). For the same period, average revenue per ticket increased by 8.73%, while for all other years, a decline was reported. Was there an increase in rates?
- As expected, with an increase in scale, the percentage increase in both tickets and sales appears to be slowing : FY 2011-12 saw the slowest growth: up by 19.2 million tickets and Rs 1491 crore (approx $271M), as compared to FY 2010-11, which saw tickets up by 25 million and income up by 1996 crore.

Upgradation Of The IRCTC Ticketing System

Earlier this month, Railway Minister Mukul Roy had stated in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha that the ministry had sanctioned a Rs 55 crore project to upgrade the Railways e-booking system, in the face of increased demand for e-booking and problems of inaccessibility and slow systems. He had claimed that the new e-booking system will allow bookings of up to one million e-tickets every day, although there was no specific information whether railway minister had allotted this fund to improve IRCTC’s e-booking facility or the new railway ticketing portal Indianrailways.gov.in from Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), announced in last year’s railway budget, although the e-ticketing facility at Indianrailways.gov.in was disabled in last July and now redirects users to IRCTC website for all e-ticketing purposes.

^^ they should have separate websites or servers for tatkal and normal tickets :cheers:

Railways undertake Rs 40 crore project for creating GIS database (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-undertake-rs-40-crore-project-for-creating-gis-database/articleshow/13561399.cms)
NEW DELHI: With an aim at making the train operation system more efficient, Railways have undertaken a massive exercise of creating a database of its assets including track, station and signals through geographic information system (GIS) at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crore.

"An inventory of the entire railway network including land will be created through GIS and the preparatory work for the geospatial database is being carried out," a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The GIS-based data system would provide information about the life-cycle of a coach, wagon, locomotive, building, signalling system and other assets. One can also track the schedule of the repair or replacement of a particular asset like the signalling system or track on a particular route.

The system would also make the decision making process faster in crisis situation like accidents.

The disaster management system would facilitate location of accident site, its accessibility information, availability of required resources to initiate rescue operation, finding out the optimum routes between the resources and mishap site.

"The critical elements in disaster management and rescue planning and implementation are time and input data availability," the official said, adding "the access of GIS map on the screen will facilitate a faster response to the crisis."

The GIS map, a part of the database, will indicate the location of the accident relief and medical relief equipment trains near the accident site, besides the nearby hospitals and medical facilities.

As per the ongoing work, the entire network will be mapped on the GIS map referred with longitude and latitude. "All stations would be located on the map with attributes and characteristics of stations," the official said.

Sail, Burn Standard sign JV to produce wagon components (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/sail-burn-standard-sign-jv-to-produce-wagon-components/articleshow/13491587.cms)
KOLKATA: Steel Authority of India and Burn Standard Company, a subsidiary of Railways, today signed agreement to set up a 50:50 joint venture for producing wagon components at Nandigram in West Bengal's East Midnapur district.

Total investment in the project would be Rs 201 crore and commercial production would begin from 2014, Steel Authority of India ( Sail) chairman and managing director C S Verma said today.

The project would come up on 50 acre within the existing 128 acre of BIFR company Burn Standard at Jellingham.

Burn Standard managing director D Marandi said Indian Railways was extending support for execution of the project.

"The equity contribution from our end will be Rs 25 crore after adjusting the price of land. Railways will offer Rs 25 crore in a mix of equity and loans to us," he said.

Railways have also offered assured buyback of 50 per cent for 10 years of production of 10,000 bogies and couplers.

Marandi said once the JV was commercialised the company would propose to convert the land into an industrial park.

Nandigram was in news during 2007 when 14 people were killed in police firing. Nandigram was one of the important issues which led the Trinamool Congress to power in the state.

Railways undertake Rs 40 crore project for creating GIS database (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/railways-undertake-rs-40-crore-project-for-creating-gis-database/articleshow/13561399.cms)


Sail, Burn Standard sign JV to produce wagon components (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/sail-burn-standard-sign-jv-to-produce-wagon-components/articleshow/13491587.cms)

Sorry for the ignorance, but what exactly is being touted here?? and is this more important than improving the existing infra and replacing our dabbas with something good and efficient....?? Plij to explain

Tender process launched for train protection, warning system (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3470502.ece)
The Hindu
CHENNAI, May 30, 2012

It will help prevent accidents such the one in Arakkonam in September 2011
http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01098/30_th_Train_TPWS_c_1098185f.jpg
Southern Railway has launched tendering procedures for the installation of Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) along three key suburban routes as a measure of enhancing passenger safety.

The TPWS, which was first deployed on trial basis on the 48-km Chennai Beach-Central-Gummidipoondi EMU sector in 2005-06, will soon be extended to the Basin Bridge-Arakkonam (68 km), Arakkonam-Jolarpettai (150 kms) and Beach-Tambaram-Chengalpattu (60 kms) sectors, Railway sources said.

The TPWS will deploy the state-of-the-art European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS-Level 1) technology to provide an extra layer of safety in suburban train operations.

The technology features a Driver-Machine Interface, connected via wireless to track-side balise devices that use electro-magnetic induction to create a signalling loop that will regulate train speeds in relation with caution aspect of the signal and in dire cases, even activate emergency braking systems automatically in case a pilot speeds past a warning sign leading to what is known in Railway parlance as “Signal Passed at Danger”, or SPAD.

In short, the TPWS is designed to prevent exactly the type of disasters that occurred in Arakkonam on September 13, 2011 when 11 persons were killed when the Chennai Beach-Vellore Cantonment MEMU rammed into the rear of the Arakkonam-Katpadi passenger near Chitheri railway station, and more recently the rail tragedy near Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh when the Hampi Express ran into a stationary goods train. (In fact, following the Anantapur mishap, Union Railways Minister Mukul Roy had stated that the Railways would widely deploy the TPWS in the Indian Railway network).

“We have reached tendering phase for TPWS installation on new sectors as we now have a robust framework of specs and a custom-fit version of the technology for Indian conditions,” S. Manohar, Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer, Southern Railway told The Hindu.

The TPWS will be installed along the newly indentified suburban routes at an estimated cost of Rs. 180 crore.

According to officials, Southern Railway will be incorporating several lessons it learnt during the piloting of the TPWS on the Beach-Gummidipoondi segment when it extends the system to three other sectors. Many of the lacunae such as the high levels of electro-magnetic interference and back-EMF (electromotive force) reported during the operations of about 800 suburban services run by 82 EMUs fitted with TPWS devices have been successfully addressed through extensive customisation of the TPWS software to fit Indian conditions.

The efficiency levels in seamless availability of TPWS protection has dramatically improved since the early days when the TPWS supplied by Ansaldo STS (Union Switch and Signal) went on trial on the Chennai suburban route. From efficiency levels of just 69 per cent in 2009 and 80 per cent in 2011, the TPWS is now consistently achieving 96 per cent efficiency level in uninterrupted TPWS availability along the route, said Nagamalleswara Rao, Deputy Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer, Southern Railway.

As the same EMU rakes are used on the Beach-Gummidipoondi and Arakkonam sectors, the TPWS coverage of the route to Arakkonam will only involve laying track-side equipment whereas the other suburban segments would require installation of on-board and track-side devices. Meanwhile, the customised TPWS module was last week cleared by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of the Indian Railways, officials said.

Texmaco Rail wins INR 117 crore Bangladesh order

Business Line reported that Texmaco Rail & Engineering has secured an order for 255 wagons valued at INR 117.03 crore from Bangladesh Railways.

Mr AK Vijay CFO of Texmaco Rail, told Business Line that the delivery of the wagons has to be completed by the end the current financial year.

The company has also obtained order for 70 wagons for INR 12.43 crore from Africa. The current order book position stands at INR 1,528 crore.

For 2011-12, the company received orders for 4,670 wagons from Indian Railways. During the financial year the total orders, including private orders, for the company was for 5,837 wagons.

The company said that the proposed manufacturing unit for EMU and metro coaches was currently under construction at Texmaco's Sodepur unit in West Bengal. Its 50:50 joint venture unit, with UGL Rail of Australia, for production of locomotives and freight cars, is expected to be commissioned in October. These products would mainly be for exports.

Source - Business Line

http://www.steelguru.com/indian_news/Texmaco_Rail_wins_INR_117_crore_Bangladesh_order/265921.html

5 dead in another mishap :ohno:

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/up-5-bogies-of-doon-express-get-derailed/263285-3.html

it was going somewhere else///
so i delete it/

nothing related with this project,
actually i find someone making rumors against india on other forums,
calling himself indian.
he is posting on bangladesh and pakistan's forum that the development going in bangladesh and pakistan is much more than india, and insulting india govt. which is doing that much for us,n insulting our polititions,, if he has really problem regarding this,y don't they post such things on indian forum, what's the point to insult indian govt. on other's forum,, when these is most developments works going in india,what else he wants??
i was really dissapointed. so, come with this post. check this out.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1496968&page=6
i don't know y they don't posts these things on indian forums

India have always suffered due to traitors like Mirzafar and jaichand.

Sorry for the ignorance, but what exactly is being touted here?? and is this more important than improving the existing infra and replacing our dabbas with something good and efficient....?? Plij to explainI think the news are pretty much self explanatory :|

http://www.newkerala.com/news/newsplus/worldnews-31575.html#.T8upK8Ugdoo
Survey for Dahanu-Nashik rail link is under process: Rly Board

Thane, Jun 3 : The Railway Board has informed an RTI activist from Thane district and former National Council member of BJP that a survey for new line between Nashik and Dahanu Road was in progress though target completion date was May 2012.

RTI activist Om Prakash Sharma, who had initiated a number of agitations for the new line with the support of lakhs of tribals and members and leaders from all the political parties said today that the Railway Board should speed up the process and complete at least the major portion of the work well before the mega event Simhastha Kumbha Mela scheduled for 2015.

Nashik collector P Velarasu is burning midnight oil and putting things together to make the city set for the mega event which is a one time affair.

The much awaited Dahanu-Nashik rail link is a dream come true for lakhs as this will not only improve the economy of the region but also help improve the lifestyle of more than 30 to 40 lakh tribals of both the districts and they will not be required to go out of the district in search of jobs.

The Board further said the route, cost and stations will be known only after the completion of the survey.

Earlier the Railway Board had stated that the distance to be covered by the new route will be of 167.67 kms and will have as many as 16 stations.

The stations that were identified earlier were Dahanu Road, Asha Garh, Ganjad, Kasa,Khadki, Kasapada, Jawahar,Mokhada, Pimpalpada, Kandhati, Trimbak, Khambale, Pimplad, Shingve Bahule, Devlali and Nashik Road.

The cost of this project was estimated to be over Rs 800 crores some years back but it will surely cost more than Rs 2500 crore by the time it is completed. (UNI)

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Jun/4/historic-jammu-sialkot-rail-line-in-oblivion-30.asp
Historic Jammu-Sialkot rail line in oblivion
Disregarded By Govt Remnants Of Heritage
Track Fade Away
AKSHAY AZAD

Jammu, June 3: Having been witness to one of the significant transitory phases of history in this part of the world, the remnants of Jammu-Sialkot rail link are gradually fading away in absence of any measures to preserve the remains of the oldest narrow gauge track.
Pertinently, the first ever train had entered the state through this track years before the partition of the sub-continent.
Even as this once vital transportation route has got lost in oblivion, subsequent governments in the state have failed to preserve the remains of this historically, politically and emotionally important link. To the great dismay of the coming generations, whatever is left is gradually fading away in absence of any move either by the state archaeological department or by the Archaeological Survey of India.
More so, this heritage rail line has not attracted the attention of the government even when it has been making tall claims to promote border tourism.
Senior people of RS Pura town love to talk about those good old days. “People with merchandise used to move freely between Jammu and Sialkot as trade and commerce was flourishing between the two cities at that time. RS Pura was a hub of activities as people from the adjoining villages on both sides of the border used to bring their sugar produce to the only nearby sugarcane-mill located here,” say a group of aged locals.
The building of RS Pura railway station and the railway line and its adjacent land far up to Jammu has been encroached by the people - because there was no official record with Northern Railway authorities, said 80 years old Bansi Lal whipping his eyes hidden behind his wrinkled eyelids as if trying to revive the decades old site .
The locality established on the railway line near erstwhile R S Pura railway station is called “Patri”. Mostly the refugees hailing from erstwhile Poonch state are now residing on the Railway line (Patri) of Jammu-Sialkot railway link.
Bansi Lal said; “The handle to change the railway tracks is still available in a lane of ward number 10 of R S Pura Township. Many times burglars tried to dig it out but their efforts ended up in failure – perhaps in the 80 years this has grown deep roots.”
He further said the length of Jammu and Sialkot railway link was only 20 kilometers. The coal engine train would come from Sialkot and after passing through RS Pura the last destination of train was Vikram Chowk Railway station where a water pump to fill the steam engine was the only sign of the station.
“Meeran Sahib, R S Pura, Suchetgarh, Sialkot were the stations of the steam engine train. There was only one train service from Sialkot to Jammu in the morning which would pass from RS Pura station at around 8 am. The departure time of the train from Vikram Chowk railway station to Sialkot was 11 am,” he added.
The railway quarters which were constructed for the railway employees at R S Pura Railway station have been encroached upon by the locals, he said, adding that he had a childhood experience of journey by that train when he visited the Kansarpur village of erstwhile district Sialkot.
Another local Manvinder Singh maintained that before partition R S Pura was fast emerging as a business centre. “There are many old and ancient buildings of Maharaja time in R S Pura. The ancient buildings, now in ruins, are the symbols of rich cultural heritage but unfortunately these are not being preserved by the state government,” he rued.
He further said that once he learnt that the state government was planning to declare R S Pura railway station a heritage site but till date no action has been taken. “The RS Pura railway station is an ancient structure and if it is not preserved immediately it would disappear some day,” he added, and urged state government to take due care of this historic site.

HT Today (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Automated-lighting-systems-at-rly-stations-to-save-energy/Article1-866058.aspx)

The Delhi division of Northern Railway is installing automated lighting systems at some of its bigger stations to reduce power consumption at platforms by 50%. The system, already being tested at Hazrat Nizamuddin and Faridabad railway stations, is connected to the home signals of the


platform. Whenever a train leaves a station, 70% lights at the platforms go off and the lights are switched back on automatically when a train approaches the platform.
"The automated lighting system is being tested at platform number one of Hazrat Nizamuddin and Faridabad stations and we have plans to extend it at the New Delhi, Old Delhi, Delhi cantonment, Sarai Rohilla and other big stations of NCR as well. This will reduce our energy consumption as it stops unnecessary power consumption," said Anurag Sachan, divisional railway manager (Delhi), northern railway.

The daily power demand at New Delhi station is around 4 MW, whereas at Old Delhi, Delhi Cantonment and Hazrat Nizamuddin, it is around 1.5 MW each. The railway hopes that the automated lighting system will solve its power crisis.

"We can work efficiently with only around 30% of all lights we have at stations and waiting rooms. It is only when the passengers board or de-board a train that high intensity lights are needed," said a senior railway officer.

The system has also been designed to function accordingly with the weather. "If it becomes very cloudy during the day, at least 30% of the lights at the station would be on automatically. We are phasing out the manual power supply system at railway stations," the officer added.

My neighborhood has streetlights switched on throughout the days in a disgusting display of our callousness. This attempt brings a ray of hope that it all would be brought down someday :)

^^

These are the kinds of things that are minimal in value. Yes, it makes sense to conserve energy, all well and good. But seriously very little would be saved, when we have old outdated power hogging devices and lamps. Wires are probably several decades old and circuit breakers/switches that constantly arc.

What we need is a wholesale replacement of old railway stations with modern designs and fittings. Talking about lighting, they can save a bundle by using LED lighting and other low wattage systems. Also designs with natural daylight could save another huge chunk. Added to this could be solar roof tops. If the cost is daunting, then contract out those enterprising Gujarat Solar companies, that are willing to pay rent and harvest energy, maybe they can sell the power back at cheaper rates.

Alas we have visionless dolts manning IR.

160 CCTV cameras operational at New Delhi railway station

Source: ET (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-06-04/news/32031598_1_cctv-cameras-detection-and-disposal-system-new-delhi-railway-station)
New Delhi Railway Station, which sees nearly five lakh passengers every day, has become the first station in the country to have more than 100 close circuit TV (CCTV) cameras operational under railways' plan for strengthening security.

A total 160 CCTV cameras have been installed at New Delhi station under the Integrated Security System and these have become operational now, said Anurag Sachan, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Delhi Division here.

These CCTV cameras - 98 fixed and 62 rotating ones - are placed at vital points and meant to send alerts on unattended baggage and the surveillance system can be monitored through the control room.

There will be a total of 531 cameras to be installed in 10 stations of Delhi Division including New Delhi, Nizamuddin, Old Delhi and Anand Vihar at an estimated cost of Rs 22 crore. "The installation at New Delhi is complete now and it will be completed in other stations soon," the DRM said.

Currently New Delhi station handles about five lakh passengers and 275 trains a day.

Railways have decided to implement Integrated Security System at 202 stations across the country.

The Integrated Security System comprises mainly CCTV surveillance, access control, personal and baggage screening system, explosive detection and disposal system, vehicle scanner and systems integration.

Sachan said there is a constant endeavour to improve passenger amenities and safety measures at rail premises.

Acknowledging the shortage of water, the DRM said, "We reviewed the situation. The problem is big as there is a requirement of 1.25 crore litres of water per day in New Delhi station alone. Steps are being taken to address the problem."

As far as drinking water is concerned, he said "we have allowed the sale of branded water at stations besides the Railneer".

Delhi Division has also undertaken measures to save energy. "The energy conservation system has been implemented at a few stations and as per the system, 70 per cent lights at platforms will be off after the departure of trains and with approaching trains the lights will be on automatically," Sachan said.

Government sets Rs 2 lakh crore infrastructure investment target

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-...e1-867004.aspx

PM's meeting on targets for Infrastructure
A meeting was held by the Prime Minister on Wednesday to finalise the targets for infrastructure for the year 2012-13. The meeting was attended by the ministers and secretaries of key infrastructure ministries - power, railways, roads, shipping, civil aviation and coal.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the planning commission made a presentation in which he pointed out the detailed process through which these targets were finalised and the high level of ambition they represent. Deputy Chairman then made a presentation highlighting the key targets for each sector.

The Planning Commission proposed a set of targets for these five sectors in consultation with the concerned ministries. This was followed by a second round of meetings in PMO with the principal secretary in which there were significant enhancements in targets in some areas - most notably in ports, civil aviation and railways. Further, keeping in view the direct relation with the Power sector, PMO included the coal sector as well in the target setting exercise.


Highlights of the Targets:


A. Ports:

1. The target for FY 12-13 will consist of a total of 42 projects. These will be for a value of Rs. 14,500 crores and a capacity of 244 MTPA. This is three times what was achieved last year.

2. Two projects for brand new Major Ports will be taken up during the year.

a) These will be in East Coast (Andhra Pradesh) and West Bengal.

b) The total investment will be Rs. 20,500 crores for a capacity of 116 MTPA.

3. The total capacity which will be awarded this year will be 360 MTPA with an investment of Rs. 35,000 crores.


B. Roads:

1. Total Road length to be awarded in FY 12-13 will be 9,500 kms, an increase of 18.7% over last year. The investment will rise by 73.6%.

2. 4,360 kms of roads will be awarded for maintenance under the OMT (Operate, Maintain, Transfer) system for the first time.


C. Civil aviation:

1. Work on Itanagar airport would be commenced by AAI. The total investment on AAI projects will be Rs. 2100 crores.

2. Three new Greenfield Projects will be awarded in FY 13. These will be at Navi Mumbai, Goa and Kannur.

3. New international airports will be declared in 3 or 4 of the following locations this year - Lucknow, Varanasi, Coimbatore, Trichy and Gaya.

4. An airline hub policy would be finalised and Hubs would be operationalised at Delhi and Chennai in FY13.

5. By end-July 2012, additional PPP projects would be finalised for 10-12 existing airports and for 10-12 greenfield airports. These would be awarded during the year.

6. PPP in airport operations would be explored.


D. Railways:

These targets are only for PPP projects. The regular operational and investment targets are known.

1. Dedicated Freight Corridor - PPP for the Sonnagar - Dankuni stretch will be awarded in FY 12-13.

2. Elevated Rail Corridor, Mumbai with a total investment of Rs. 20,000 crores will be awarded in awarded in FY 12-13.

3. The concessions for two locomotive manufacturing units at Madhepura and Marhowra will be awarded.

4. Station redevelopment of 4/ 5 station will be done in PPP mode.

5. Proposal and approach for a High Speed Corridor (Bullet Train) from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will be finalised.


E. Power:

1. The capacity addition target for this year will be 18,000 MW (17,957 MW to be precise) including 2,000 MW to be added by the Kudankulam Atomic Power Project.

2. The power generation target is 930 billion Units, an increase of 6.2%.

3. Ministry of Power is increasingly laying transmission lines with higher voltage (765 KV in place of 400 KV) and consequently of higher transmission capacity per kilometre.


F. Coal:

1. CIL will disptach 470 MT of coal to all sectors, an increase of 8.8%. Of this, it will dispatch 347 MT coal to the power sector in FY 12-13 against 312 MT dispatched last year ( a 11.2% increase).


PM's closing remarks at the meeting

I am very happy that a detailed exercise has been undertaken for finalising targets for the major infrastructure sectors for the year 2012-13. We are all aware of the need to give a major push to these important sectors and today’s exercise is a part of our efforts in that direction. I would like to compliment all those who have been associated with this very important exercise.

After achieving remarkably high growth rates over the past eight years and emerging as the second-fastest growing large economy in the world, we are now running into more turbulent weather. The global economy is passing through difficult times with the Eurozone being the cause of concern all around. There is a flight to safety taking place globally. Then there has been the persistent problem of rising international prices of petroleum and other commodities in the last few years. Domestically, rising demand, along with supply side bottlenecks have contributed to inflationary pressures. All these factors combine to constitute a formidable economic challenge.

In these difficult times, we must do everything possible to revive business and investor sentiment. We must work to create an atmosphere which is conducive to investment and to removing any bottlenecks that may be hurting the growth process. We as a government are committed to taking the necessary measures to reverse the present situation and revive and revitalize India's growth story. We are aware that we have to act on multiple fronts to achieve this and we will indeed do all that is required of us.

I am sure all of us would agree that development of infrastructure would always be an integral part of any viable strategy for faster economic development. In the short term, development of infrastructure will boost investment rates across the economy. In the long run, it will remove the supply constraints that affect economic activity in agriculture, industry and trade. The needs of the infrastructure sector are vast – estimated at over $ 1 trillion in the next five years. The government alone cannot invest such huge amounts and therefore it is important that we involve the private sector in our efforts, through Public Private Partnerships.

The targets that we are setting for ourselves today are certainly ambitious and impressive. They are a significant scale up over earlier performance. For example in roads, we plan to award 9,500 kms of roads for construction this year and over 4,000 kms for maintenance under the new system. In Railways we plan to award work on the Elevated Rail Corridor in Mumbai, two new Loco manufacturing units and the PPP stretch of the Dedicated Freight corridor, in addition to redeveloping 4 or 5 stations through PPP mode. In shipping we have set for ourselves the challenging task of awarding work for two new Major PPP Ports, the first in decades, in addition to capacity addition targets which are three times the targets for the last year.

In civil aviation, work will be awarded on three new Greenfield airports in Navi Mumbai, Goa and Kannur and new international airports at Lucknow, Varanasi, Coimbatore, Trichy and Gaya. Also, two new hubs will be developed in the country making us a destination as well as a transit point. In Power, we plan to add a record 18,000 MW of capacity.

The challenge now is to work together to achieve these targets, and deal with all the bottlenecks that may come in the way. I would urge all the ministries to go the extra mile in implementing what we have planned. I would expect them to very expeditiously resolve any inter-ministerial differences or turf battles that might arise as we move forward.

I am encouraged by your efforts and I am confident that we will deliver. I wish you all the very best and I look forward to reviewing the second and third quarterly progress reports.

All railway stations will now have pay-&-use toilets
DNA
Friday, Jun 8, 2012 (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_all-railway-stations-will-now-have-pay-and-use-toilets_1699552)

The Indian Railways made a shift in its policy on public hygiene on the World Environment Day. It issued a circular on Tuesday to all the railway networks asking them to have pay-and-use toilets as an “essential public amenity.”

This means that functional pay-and-use toilets will be an essential service to passengers in all categories of stations. Public toilets at stations have been under criticism for quite some time due to poor maintenance and remaining non-functional at most times.

The detailed guidelines mention urinals, disabled-friendly toilets, at least one European-style toilet, adequate number of wash basins with soaps, good quality ceramic flooring and proper lighting as basic necessary amenities.

It also states that toilet attendants should be posted 24 hours, wearing proper badges with large readable tariff cards informing the public about the rates.

A small bathing unit can be optionally provided, but not in case of small island platforms like Nahur, Elphinstone Road and Curry Road.

The circular states that these guidelines are to be followed in case of all new awarded contracts.

It states that the service provider shall provide a complaint-free service and maintain a complaints and suggestions register.

The railways will have a right to impose fines if the desired level of cleanliness is not maintained.

Commuters would be charged up to Rs2 for using latrines and Rs5 for using bathrooms or both bathrooms and latrines.

However, no charge shall be levied for urinals.
Commuters welcomed the decision, but said that the local railways should execute it soon.

“This is a nice move. Public toilets at stations in Mumbai, especially the ladies ones, have been an old problem,” said Lavanya Mishra, a regular commuter by train in Mumbai.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train may soon become reality
(Source: ET (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-06-10/news/32156111_1_rail-corridor-bullet-train-high-speed))

Bullet trains may soon become a reality in India with the government giving its nod to the proposal of a high-speed rail corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which would reduce the travel time between the two financial hubs to two-and-half hours from seven hours.

"The 492-km-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail route is going to have the first bullet train as the proposed high-speed rail corridor has got the green signal in a high level meeting presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently," a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The proposed bullet train with a speed of 300 km per hour would drastically bring down the travel time of passengers frequenting these two vital and financially strong cities to a mere two-and-half hours from seven hours by Duronto, the fastest train at present.

"The high speed elevated rail corridor, which will be a stimulus for the development of satellite towns, will later be extended to Pune," the official said.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 60,000 crore the Railways is considering various options for its execution.

"While one option is to execute it on a PPP model, the other is to opt for tying up with another country on government to government model...The funding pattern has not been decided yet," the official said.

There are many countries like Japan, Germany, France and China which are known for high-speed train technology.

There are seven high-speed corridors which have got in-principle approval. Besides Mumbai-Ahmedabad, others are Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad- Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai, Howrah-Haldia, Chennai-Bangalore- Coimbatore-Trivandrum and Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna.

The Railways has already taken up pre-feasibility study of these routes.

Rail Budget 2012-13 had also proposed to take up the study for the a new corridor of Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur. State governments and financial institutions are expected to be stakeholders of the high speed rail corridor project as these projects will be executed through PPP mode.

The presidential race looks interesting. Hopefully, Mukul Roy and Trinamool will be out of the UPA.

The presidential race looks interesting. Hopefully, Mukul Roy and Trinamool will be out of the UPA.

^^ +1 That is everyone's expectation.

The presidential race looks interesting. Hopefully, Mukul Roy and Trinamool will be out of the UPA.

If that happens UPA will be out of UPA. they'll be reduced to a minority.

^^
They will not as Mulayam is supporting UPA.
Back to local topic.... hope Mamata is kicked out of UPA/Dinesh Trivedi is bought back in as RM by some manner to restart the reforms.

(I know it's a wishful thinking, but wtf!)

Nice NDTV Video (Hindi)

Kashmir Se Kanyakumari Via Rail

Link (http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/ndtv-india-documentary/video-story/236272?hphin)

The new train enquiry website - http://trainenquiry.com/ looks cooler than the old one (http://www.trainenquiry.com/o/indexNS.aspx). Used it a few times, I think it is accurate too

Wow that website is wonderful. Smart and simple :cheers:

Kalyan-Ahmednagar railway link survey nears completion
PTI | 11:06 PM,Jun 16,2012
Thane, Jun 16 (PTI) With the survey on proposed Dahanu-Nashik rail link nearing completion, a similar exercise for another rail link between Kalyan-Ahmednagar is in the progress. The Railway Board has informed RTI activist Om Prakash Sharma that the survey for 240-km route is in progress and likely to be completed soon. It also said that the route, cost and stations of the proposed line would be known only after the survey was completed. The proposed railway link between Kalyan and Ahmednagar will be routed through Kalyan-Ambernath-Murbad-Otur to Ahmednagar with 26 stations on route.

Aligarh-Ghaziabad route gets third railway line

NEW DELHI: The third railway line between Aligarh and Ghaziabad was commissioned on Tuesday morning, paving the way for smooth travel in the extended NCR region.

Railway officials say this will reduce the waiting time for trains crossing the Ghaziabad station.

In the first phase, a third line to Ghaziabad was introduced, which facilitated entry of one train at a time from Aligarh to Ghaziabad.

Signalling and interlocking on the line was modified, so that two trains could simultaneously enter the city.

"Ghaziabad yard has been provided with Route Relay Interlocking with a capacity to handle 621 routes. Northern Railway introduced the changes with least interruption to traffic,'' said a spokesperson.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Aligarh-Ghaziabad-route-gets-third-railway-line/articleshow/14280171.cms

-Deleted-

Now track your train on mobile phone
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/now-track-your-train-on-mobile-phone/articleshow/14371161.cms))

Knowing the exact location of a train was never so easy as one can now track it on a mobile phone.

A joint team of railways and IIT-Kanpur has developed a technology - the real-time train running information system - which enables a mobile user to access information about the exact location of a train.

One has to type the train number and SMS it to 09415139139 or 09664139139 for knowing the exact location of a train on real-time basis, a Railway Ministry official said.

The service is currently available for 36 pairs of premier trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto.

"Not all premier trains are covered yet. Some of the trains covered under the project included Mumbai Rajdhani, Howrah Rajdhani, Dibrugarh Rajdhani, Sealdah Duronto and Shatabdi trains for Bhopal, Kanpur and Amritsar," the official said.

The facility would be extended to all major trains in the next 18 months and the railways has allocated Rs 121 crore for the project, he said.

"It will cost about Rs 50,000 to install a receiver on the locomotive for making the system operational. There will be a centre at New Delhi for receiving data from across the country. We are hopeful that by the end of 2013, all mail and express trains will have the system as the trial run for the pilot project is complete now," the official said.

Railways had obtained permission from ISRO to operate the system through satellite for the pilot project.

"We have sought fresh permission from the ISRO to use the satellite for other trains," the official said, adding that besides satellite, GPS is also being used for the system.

CRIS, the technology arm of Railways, will sign an MoU with IIT-Kanpur shortly to execute the project.

Besides mobile phones, the facility provides the precise location of trains through interactive mode on laptops, thereby eliminating the need for a telephonic enquiry.

Railways is also working towards providing broadband- based Internet and multimedia facilities and high quality train information displays and information boards at stations to improve the quality of passenger service.

Though not mentioned in this article, I believe this article refers to the site http://simran.in/

Pune-Nashik, Karad-Chiplun rail corridor on fast track

MUMBAI: In a fillip to important rail projects in the state, the Maharashtra government last week conveyed to Central Railway that it would contribute 50 per cent of the cost for the Rs 1,900 crore Pune-Nashik and Karad-Chiplun rail lines.

The state government has been asking the railway ministry to expedite the project as it will provide direct rail link connectivity between these important centre of growth in Maharashtra.

Pune is major growth centre because of the presence of diverse industries, including automobile majors, information technology, bio-tech firms etc. It is also cultural capital of the states, besides an education centre of repute.

On the other hand, Nashik too has robust industrial presence, both, from the public and private sector. It also is a major agricultural centre because it records huge production of varied vegetables, onions, sugarcane etc. Vineyards are also there is large number due to production of large quantity of grapes.

A CR official confirmed, "We have received an official communication from the state government about their decision to share 50 per cent cost for both these projects."

The state government's keen interest and it's willingness to share the 50 per cent cost will lead to faster execution of the project. The official explained, "Most rail projects remain on paper because railways lacks funds to execute them However, the railway board will now have to expedite the clearance for these project as the cost is not a factor for execution of these two corridors."

As of now, only one train -Pune-Manmad Express- runs between these two cities via Kalyan and Panvel, taking a travel time of 7 hours. The official said, "The proposed Pune-Nashik corridor will cut across the Deccan Plateau and involve a lot gradients and curvature, making the project costly. The 265 km long corridor will reduce the travel time to 5 hours. It will also open up options to run more services between these two cities."

The Karad-Chiplun line will connect Western Maharashtra to Konkan through 11.50 km railway line. The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 928 crore, of which the state government will shell out Rs 464.05 crore.

new timetable from july 1st. any link for all changes?

new timetable from july 1st. any link for all changes?

I don't think the new timetable has been released as of now.

AC and first class fares to be raised by 4% from July 1.

good step

Cross post from TN Railway Thread


Tatkal Railway Ticket Booking scam exposed

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/exposed-the-big-railway-tatkal-ticket-scam/268041-3.html

Railways to double tracks by 2014

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Railways-to-double-tracks-by-2014-LINE/articleshow/14397136.cms

BANGALORE: The Railways will complete doubling of tracks between Bangalore and Mysore by 2014. Announcing this, Union minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa said there were land acquisition hurdles which were resolved.

"This route has become busier by the day. At present, around 25,000 people travel between these two cities by train on a daily basis," he said.

A total of 138 km of track has to be doubled and is sanctioned in three phases - Bangalore to Kengeri (12km), Kengeri to Ramnagaram (32 km) and Ramnagaram to Mysore (94 km). Although these works were sanctioned between 2003 and 2008, work never started because of right of way issues in Mandya. Muniyappa said the work is going on full swing. "Fifty acres of land has to be acquired in Mandya district. The work was supposed to be complete by 2011. The delay is attributed to land issues," he said.

He also said that shortage of funds from the ministry of railways is a reason why multiple rail projects are yet to be taken up in the state. He said that when the SWR requires Rs 210 crore for works related to the state, they get only Rs30 crores as funds. Last year the SWR was sanctioned Rs60 crore only.

Green signal for speedier rail travel (http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article3574187.ece)

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01125/vbk-26-kerala_trai_1125763f.jpg

Rail commuters can look forward to speedier travel with Railways set to reduce the running time of 80 trains by five minutes to an hour.

For this, Railways will increase the speed of these trains, mostly express services, to the permissible 110 km an hour. “This will mostly reflect in the railway timetable that will come into effect from July 1,” Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agrawal told The Hindu.

The initiative will increase line capacity enabling Railways to operate more trains. This will come in handy for Railways, which is finding it difficult to introduce the newly sanctioned trains in the rail budget.

A team led by Mr. Agrawal had recently covered 500-route km from Vallathol Nagar, near Shoranur, to Melepalayam in Tirunelveli, boundary of the Thiruvananthapuram railway division, in two days to clear bottlenecks for implementing the initiative.

Railways have also initiated steps to overcome several hurdles such as platform availability. Besides they will have to go for sequencing and scheduling of trains, monitoring of trains at coaching depots and stations, and revise the guidelines among other things for reducing the running time.

The “speeding up” will be resorted to without affecting the timings of the trains. Almost all trains plying through the State are sticking to the timings despite the accelerated infrastructure works and the availability of only one line for operations.

The maximum speed on the 600-km Shoranur–Mangalore stretch has also been increased from 100 kph to 110 kph. The decision to decrease the running time of the trains comes close to a proposal mooted by the divisional railways to limit the number of stops for the superfast trains to six on the Thiruvananthapuram- Shoranur stretch.

Sleepless night at reservation counters, but no tatkal ticket
(Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/sleepless-night-at-reservation-counters-but-no-tatkal-ticket/articleshow/14405588.cms))

The tatkal scheme was introduced to help people get train tickets at short notice. But skyscraping demand and a stranglehold of touts have meant that even spending a sleepless night at the reservation counter does not guarantee a confirmed ticket in the morning.

People, many with their families, start queuing up outside reservation counters as early as 7pm the previous evening. The counters open at 8am and all tatkal tickets are sold within minutes. So, even after a 13-hour wait you may return empty-handed.

According to railways sources, about 1.1 lakh tatkal tickets are offered every day. In the first five minutes, the system receives 4.5 lakh requests for tatkal tickets. On certain trains, tickets get sold out in less than a minute.

TOI teams visited different reservation centres early on Monday and found similar scenes of chaos. Those waiting in line were cynical about the system and touts invariably made their way into the queue through various ways.

At Sarojini Nagar, touts reserve spots by planting beggars outside counters. Smart ones buy the space paying Rs 200-300 to proxy passengers minutes before gates are opened.

Travel agents bend rules, hoard 60% Tatkal tickets: Railways

Consider yourself lucky if your attempt to book a Tatkal train ticket succeeds. Railway sources say there are close to nine lakh seekers everyday for 1.1 lakh Tatkal tickets. With air fares soaring and the number of such tickets down to 30 %, emergency travel has become a nightmare for the common man.

Every day, some 4.5 lakh Tatkal requests are logged on the IRCTC website in the first hour (8-9 am). Lakhs of other passengers wait patiently in serpentine queues for hours at stations.

However, where earlier 10 seats in each coach used to be set aside for the Tatkal quota , now only 10% of the seats are reserved.Changesmadeduring former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's tenure have increased the demandsupply gap, sources say.

But the increased difficulty in procuring tickets has benefited travel agents. The railways estimates that around 60 % of Tatkal tickets are procured by agents. This, despite a ban on recognized agents logging onto the IRCTC website during the first two hours.

A very accurate capture of how tatkal tickets are sold; I've myself personally gone through this exact experience!

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-20/india/32334584_1_broad-gauge-metre-gauge-locomotives
'Made in India' trains to chug in Pakistan, Bangladesh

CHANDIGARH: It has united India. Now, it is all set to forge strong bonds with the neighbours. Indian Railways will soon have air-conditioned coaches and locomotives chugging in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The country's biggest rail coach manufacturing unit, the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, along with diesel locomotives manufacturing units in Patiala and Varanasi, are making these coaches for the two countries.

Railways Infrastructure Technical and Economic Services (RITES) has already signed a deal with Bangladesh for supplying 16 broad gauge locomotives and is in negotiations with Pakistan railways advisory consultancy services for sending 50 locos.

A deal by RITES was inked with the Bangladesh Railway on June 10 to supply 16 broad gauge locomotives at a cost of Bangladesh Taka 6.09 billion or Rs 413 crore.

Earlier, in April, Pakistan had placed a request to hire 50 diesel locomotives from India.

India will start exporting the rakes to Bangladesh after 18 months, starting with two each month.

"It's a first-of-its-kind deal of railways with Bangladesh. We are first supplying them locos and coaches will roll out soon," said V K Jain, executive director, RITES.

Bangladesh railway secretary Fazle Kabir told TOI over phone from Dhaka that the "deal with India was a breakthrough for a country whose rail network together holds the key to future developments of industrial towns".

"We are trying to upgrade the network and transform the Bangladesh Railway just like India," said Kabir.

In the first week of July, a clutch of Bangladesh railway officials will be visiting RCF Kapurthala to place order for the broad gauge coaches.

"It's a privilege to make these rakes for our neighbour. Bangladesh had been scouting for an agency for both metre gauges and broad gauges. The first proposal from Bangladesh was to supply them metre gauges. However, we told them we have stopped metre gauge production for a small requirement," RCF chairman B N Rajasekhar told TOI.

RCF which has a strong tradition of innovating and manufacturing range of products will be producing a host of AC buffet cars, AC power cars, chair cars. As recent as April this year, it had prepared 16 metre gauge coaches of Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) for Senegal.

RITES had received a request from the Pakistan Railways for supply of diesel locomotives from India.

"A formal agreement will be signed between RITES and Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consultancy Services Limited (PRACS) after the finalization of modalities with the Union ministry of external affairs," sources in RITES confirmed.

The plan mooted by the Indian Railways, ministry of external affairs and RITES is to lease 50 such locomotives of 3,000 Horse Power (HP) each at a rate of Rs 1,500 per hour per to Pakistan.

The move was apparently prompted after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari requested for locomotives during his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

Soon after, a delegation of Pakistani officials held talks with the RITES.

"The request from Pakistan came after the locos provided by China failed to fit Pakistani broad gauge tracks. China makes standard gauge tracks," said a senior official with the Railway Board.

New Delhi: The Railway is likely to scrap the Tatkal scheme after an IBN7 expose showed how touts had taken full control over the emergency tickets. In fact, the Indian Railway is also looking at making it mandatory for ticket seekers to show identification and give reasons for the urgent travel.

A sting operation by IBN7 had shown how middlemen, some of them being Delhi Police personnel, were blatantly cornering and reselling tickets meant for passengers. Now the Railway Ministry has finally swung into action. Admitting serious lapses, it has promised stringent action and a series of solutions are being examined.

One key suggestion is that the Tatkal system itself be scrapped and an emergency quota be implemented. A passenger seeking reservation under this quota will have to furnish valid reason for the travel.

Another proposal is that an identification proof should be made mandatory for any person making the Tatkal reservation. Earlier the ID proof had to be furnished only by the person travelling with the ticket.

Proposals like scrapping the Tatkal ticket sales at counters and allowing only e-reservations and changing the timings for the Tatkal ticket booking to avoid overlap with booking times for normal tickets are also under consideration.

Sources in the Railway Ministry say a decision on the measures to be adopted will be taken soon. Earlier measures to streamline the Tatkal system like allowing only two tickets per person, disallowing change of passenger names after booking and stricter cancellation rules don't seem to have worked in eliminating touts.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ticket-scam-railway-likely-to-scrap-tatkal-scheme/268448-3.html

Tatkal quota should not scrap. This is very useful for short time planning travelers. There is no chance to get ordinary ticket. Emergency quota will be always misused. It will not help ordinary people. There is lot difference between demand and present facility. Why every body is thinking on how to stop misuse. We should think why people are trying to misuse the facility. Indian Railways shall increase the section capacity and add more number of trains on same track immediately instead of spending lot of money on new lines. If they are not able to improve the system, at least government shall allow private Railways. No more waiting list ..........

+1

^^ If tatkal is scrapped then cancellation charges for normal tickets should be increased. Only if a ticket is cancelled before 1 week then no cancellation charges, else 15% of ticket cost, and if a ticket is cancelled just 48 hours before travel then 30% ticket cost should be charged as cancellation fee alongwith fixed 40rs :cheers: This will reduce long waiting list and realistic waiting list will come

From July 10, 2012 reservation of tatkal tickets will start from 10 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. and no authorised agents will be allowed to book them during the first two hours, the Railways on Friday said.

“Railways have decided that from July 10 booking of tatkal ticket will start at 10 a.m. on the previous day of journey from train originating station instead of 8 a.m. at present,” said a Railways statement.

The move is being initiated as part of revamping the tatkal scheme amid increased complaints from passengers about touts making good of the loopholes in the schemes and selling tatkal tickets at a premium.

Railways officials felt the development will not only help reduce pressure on counters booking both general and tatkal tickets at the same time, but will also reduce the waiting time of tatkal ticket seekers with the shrinking of the crowd.

The pressure on the e-ticketing site would also reduce considerably. At present, booking for both general and tatkal tickets open at 8 a.m., not only chocking e-ticketing sites but also triggering to long queues in reservation counters.

Officials said separate tatkal booking counters will also be opened soon and CCTV cameras installed to monitor the crowd to check irregularities.

Booking clerks will also be barred from carrying mobiles inside the counters, they said.

At present, tatkal scheme is available in as many as 2,677 trains which translate to around 1.71 lakh berths. In 2011-12, earning from the scheme stood at Rs. 847 crore.

The scheme has seen a several changes in the recent past including reducing the days for reserving tatkal tickets from five days to one day and barring web-based agents from booking tickets during the first hours, but the indulgence of touts has deprived passengers from deriving benefit from the scheme, officials noted.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3585356.ece

New Delhi: The Railway is likely to scrap the Tatkal scheme after an IBN7 expose showed how touts had taken full control over the emergency tickets. In fact, the Indian Railway is also looking at making it mandatory for ticket seekers to show identification and give reasons for the urgent travel.

A sting operation by IBN7 had shown how middlemen, some of them being Delhi Police personnel, were blatantly cornering and reselling tickets meant for passengers. Now the Railway Ministry has finally swung into action. Admitting serious lapses, it has promised stringent action and a series of solutions are being examined.

One key suggestion is that the Tatkal system itself be scrapped and an emergency quota be implemented. A passenger seeking reservation under this quota will have to furnish valid reason for the travel.

Another proposal is that an identification proof should be made mandatory for any person making the Tatkal reservation. Earlier the ID proof had to be furnished only by the person travelling with the ticket.

Proposals like scrapping the Tatkal ticket sales at counters and allowing only e-reservations and changing the timings for the Tatkal ticket booking to avoid overlap with booking times for normal tickets are also under consideration.

Sources in the Railway Ministry say a decision on the measures to be adopted will be taken soon. Earlier measures to streamline the Tatkal system like allowing only two tickets per person, disallowing change of passenger names after booking and stricter cancellation rules don't seem to have worked in eliminating touts.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ticket-scam-railway-likely-to-scrap-tatkal-scheme/268448-3.html

When the demand is 9 times the supply, why they wouldn't let private players bridge the gap is beyond me. At a time when the country is struggling economically, this could just be the growth engine you need!

TOI IMPACT
Railways plans separate timing, counters for tatkal
Dwaipayan Ghosh TNN


New Delhi: Five days after TOI started a series on problems relating to tatkal bookings and the menace of touts, Northern Railway general manager V K Gupta said a slew of measures were being considered to revamp the tatkal booking system, including a change in timings and separate counters.
Among the decisions to kick in immediately, Gupta said on Friday that booking clerks will henceforth not be allowed to carry mobile phones. “We are mulling the option of staggering tatkal booking timings by two hours as an experiment. From July 10, tatkal ticket sales will start at 10am instead of 8am. Wherever possible, we will create separate counters for tatkal. This way, touts would not be able to control the queues,’’ he said.
Railway ministry sources said eventually separate tatkal timings may be introduced for each train.
According to the railway board circular, authorized agents, including agents of IRCTC, will not be allowed to book tatkal tickets for the first two hours. “This will reduce the morning rush at ticket windows and will also prevent touts from buying tatkal tickets in bulk,” said a senior railway official.
The existing restriction of not allowing agents to book general tickets on the opening day from 8am to 10am will continue. An official said stricter vigilance at the railway counter, including surveillance through CCTV, had also been proposed.
“We have nabbed over 102 touts in the past three days (ever since TOI took up the issue) and we now plan to provide the same CCTV footage at the DRM office and the chief commercial manager’s office at Delhi for now,’’ said Gupta.
Among the other measures, there is plan to make identity cards compulsory for all reservations and changes in internet bookings to try and ensure that only one tatkal booking per computer system is allowed. “The railways is coordinating with CRIS and IRCTC, as well as cyber experts, to develop a system where we can identify the computer from where the booking is being done,’’ said Gupta.
Senior officers, including the DRM, have been asked to go to a PRS and check the first 15 requisition slips to look for evidence of touts being given tickets,” the GM said. Only those requisition slips countersigned by senior officers will be issued tickets. Currently, individual users can book two general tickets between 8am and 10am through one IP address.

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/Shorter-rail-route-proposed-between-Nashik-and-Pune/articleshow/14537954.cms)
Shorter rail route proposed between Nashik and Pune

NASHIK: Even as the Indian Railways have included the proposed 265-km Nashik-Pune track in new projects sent to the planning commission for appraisal during its annual budget, a Nashik-based NGO, Rail Parishad, has proposed an alternative route that ensures a shorter and cheaper journey between the two cities.

"The Railways are planning the (Nashik-Pune) route via Sinnar, Sangamner, Alephata, Manchar, Rajgurunagar, Chakan and Begadevadi on the Mumbai-Pune main line. We have proposed a route from Sinnar through Akole, Kotul, Junnar, Ghodegaon before reaching Begadewadi. This will cut down distance and cost of laying out railway lines," said the NGO's president Bipin Gandhi.

In its memorandum presented to Railway officials and MPs, the Parishad claimed that the current route would involve the acquisition of costly land considering its proximity to urban areas and irrigatioin tracts. Instead, the Parishad said that the route proposed by them would not only be relatively cheaper, but would also help tribal development in hilly areas.

"At present the cost of the Nashik-Pune route has been pegged at Rs 2,000 crore, with the state ready to contribute towards 50% of the cost. Since the route proposed by the Parishad would involve work in hilly areas, the construction costs may go up, but it would still be cheaper than work undertaken on high-priced land through politically sensitive areas in Ahmednagar," Gandhi said.

Besides, he added, that the route planned by Railways would take at least eight years, and would result in a six- hour journey while the shorter route would take less than three hours and could be completed within two years.

The NGO has said they will file a petition in the High Court if their proposal is not considered by authorities.

A different sort of news item:

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article3587209.ece

Bangalore City station has truly paid attention to public art, unlike anywhere else in India that I know of. IMO, this is a good thing.

By Johnlee Abraham

In a push to the plans of creating ‘Green Energy Stations’, the South Western Railway has selected 30 stations, including the infamous Penukonda where 25 people were killed in a rail collision in May, to install solar power lights. These stations will rely solely on these solar powered lights for their lighting purpose. The railway ministry, in this year’s railway budget, had announced plans to bring in several “green initiatives” in the Railways.

“The selected stations are in remote places and face frequent and long power cuts. In the next six months, these stations will completely depend on solar power for their lighting needs,” said a senior official from the Railway division. Some of the stations that will be included in the project are: Devanahalli, Chikballapur, Peryanagathunai, Kelamangalam, Srirangapatna, Dodballapur, Yelahanka, Byatrayanahalli, Malur and Kengeri. The project will start from July-end and will be completed by December. The initial investment for the entire project is around Rs 10 crore. As part of the initiative, the railway division will use only solar-based emergency lighting systems at level-crossing gates.

“This will be on trial. If it proves successful, it will be implemented in other areas,” the officer said. Bengaluru-Jolarpet, Bengaluru-Dharmavaram and Bengaluru-Tumkur sections have been selected for the pilot project.

The budget has proposed to set up 72 mw-capacity windmill plants in the state, besides Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. There is a proposal to introduce mobile emission test cars to measure pollution levels of diesel locomotives. This will help research efforts in introducing environment-friendly practices, the officer said.

DC (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/bengaluru/sw-rly-plans-green-stations-200)

:)

We know that Hyderabad Airport terminal is a green building. Does anybody know any green railway station or any green bus stop terminal in India? Wold Class Railway Stations & Bus Terminals should be green, isn't it?

Since when did we had a world class railway station in india

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to install rainwater harvesting structures (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-02/jaipur/31983241_1_recharge-water-table-rainwater-harvesting)
HMR's eco-friendly stations floor official (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3531457.ece)

Metro stations are slowly incorporating green concepts. Soon we may have green railway stations.

Need help

I'm new to this thread got interested in railway recently. How to indentify the loco belongs to golden rock?
What is golden rock? is it a depot for locos?
If yes, anyother depots like golden rock anywhere?

can anyone tell me if 2S coaches mean non-AC or AC ones?

thanks :)

^^ Second Seating (non AC). D-series (D1, D2, D3 ....)

which are the top 10 busiest railway stations in india in terms of number of trains stopping there(exclude local trains)????

which are the top 10 railway stations in india in terms of number of platforms???

which are the top 10 busiest railway stations in india in terms of number of trains stopping there(exclude local trains)????

Itarasi,Allahabad,Surat,Baroda,Kalyan(Even Excluding Local Trains),Manmad,Bhusawal,Nagpur,Howra,Mugalsarai

Per day limit for e-tickets to be increased in four months
(Source: ET (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-03/news/32523683_1_misuse-of-tatkal-scheme-e-tickets-tatkal-booking))

In view of increased demand for rail e-tickets, Railways have decided to increase the limit for online bookings per day from 3.5 lakh at present to about four lakh in the next four months and later to eight lakh.

"Both IRCTC and CRIS, railways IT wing are working jointly in this direction," Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa said today.

Reviewing a meeting with Railway Board about steps taken to combat cases of black marketing and purchase of railway tickets by touts, he said during surprise checks 170 officers were identified conniving, of whom actions have been initiaited against 102 officials.

Actions initiated against them include penalties like removal and reversion from service, he said.

Between 2009-10 to 2011-12, Railways carried more than 2 lakh surprise checks, apprehending 4200 touts and over 63 lakh realised from them, he said.

Muniyappa's statement comes in the wake of Railways announcing a series of measures in the recent past to check misuse of tatkal scheme, which include starting tatkal booking at 10 am instead of 8 am.

The Minister said that per day on an average around 15 lakh Railway tickets are being sold through 8838 passenger reservation ticket counters and the e-ticketing website through IRCTC, out of which the Tatkal tickets constitutes around 1.70 lakh.

No service tax on rail fares, freight till Sept end
(Source: ET (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-02/news/32508429_1_service-tax-passenger-fares-negative-list))

Passenger fares and freight charges will not go up immediately as the Finance Ministry today issued a notification exempting the railways from 12 per cent service tax for three months till September 30. "Government has exempted the core services provided by the Indian Railways, namely transportation of goods and passengers, from the levy of service tax. The exemption will remain effective for a period of 3 months, up to September 30, 2012," said a finance ministry statement.

Last week, Railway Minister Mukul Roy had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is now looking after the Finance portfolio, requesting him not to introduce service tax on passenger fare and freight traffic from July 1.

The Finance Ministry has moved to a new regime of Service Tax based on negative list from July 1, under which only 38 services are exempted from payment of the levy.

Service tax on railway passenger travel and freight was Service tax on railway passenger travel and freight was introduced in the Budget for 2009-10 but was kept on hold due to the then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's opposition. The exemption has been extended since then on quarterly basis. Earlier, Roy had also requested former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to exempt Railways from paying service tax.

...

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/LHB-coaches-in-Sampoorna-Kranti-from-July-8/articleshow/14683652.cms)
LHB coaches in Sampoorna Kranti from July 8

PATNA: Linke Holfman Bush (LHB) coaches will replace the Patna-New Delhi Sampoorna Kranti Express's old rake from July 8. The train with the new LHB coaches will run from Rajendra Nagar Terminal to New Delhi on July 8, said divisional railway manager (DRM), Danapur, L M Jha.

According to Jha, the load combination of Sampoorna Kranti Express with LHB will be of 22 bogies which will include First AC (1), Second AC (1), 3AC (3), III-Tier (10), general bogies (4), one pantry car and two generator car-cum-luggage vans. Railways had already made a trial run of this rake between Patna Junction and Mughalsarai at 110km/hr speed under the supervision of the commissioner of railway safety (CRS), R P Yadav, he said.

According to sources, railways intends to run the train with LHB coaches at 130km/ph between Mughalsarai and New Delhi. The CRS of Northern Railway has also given permission to run Sampoorna Kranti Express with new combination of LHB coaches, sources said, adding that railways has already taken a policy decision to replace all old coaches of long-distance mail and express trains with LHB coaches.

The DRM said the pantry car of this particular rake is also AC. Railways is making all possible efforts to run this LHB rake with the support of two battery-generator cars, he said.

Impressed with the quality, design and safety of LHB coaches, railways has taken all possible steps for its proper maintenance at Rajendra Nagar complex. The new rakes would provide more comforts to the passengers travelling by Sampoorna Kranti Express. Besides, railways would ensure proper cleanliness and hygienic condition on the running train, the DRM said.

The greatest advantage of LHB coaches is that the sound level of these coaches is hardly 60 decibels compared to about 100 decibels in conventional coaches. The disc-braking system of LHB coaches is superior to that of conventionally used thread-braking system. Besides, the FIAT technology used in the LHB coaches is both heat and cold resistant. The new technology consumes less energy while creating heat and cool effect in these new coaches, the DRM said.

LHB coaches are more comfortable due to its improved suspension system. The controlled discharge toilet system (CDTS) is an added feature. The windows are wider and each coach has a pantry provision as well, Jha said, adding that railways has partially modified the design of these coaches keeping in view the interest of passengers. These coaches have the capacity to accommodate about 72 passengers in each AC-3 coach as against 64 passengers in an AC-3 conventional coach, he said.

qQ6cV7IlXsU

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3585743.ece
Double decker express to Bangalore, showpiece of new railway timetable

Twelve new express trains, including the Chennai Central-Bangalore AC Double Decker Express, frequency upgrades of some services and speeding up of 40 express trains are among the highlights of the new timetable launched by Southern Railway here on Friday.

Many of the new trains have been allotted time-slots that take effect from July 1 – some leading to revised timings for other trains – though their actual date of introduction is to be notified later.

The 13-coach double decker express (daily) connecting Chennai and Bangalore is the showpiece among the new services and is likely to have much higher carrying capacity that popular trains like the Shatabdi and Brindavan express.

According to a Railway official, though the exact carriage capacity of the double decker coaches would be firmed up only later, going by specifications set by the Research Design and Standards Organisation of the Indian Railways, a double decker train would have a seating capacity of 128 persons per coach (74 seats in the lower deck and 54 in the upper deck). This is approximately 70 per cent more than the seats on a coach of the Shatabdi (78) or the Brindavan Express (73).

Train No.22625 Chennai Central- Bangalore AC Double Decker Exp will leave here 7.25 a.m. and reach Bangalore at 1.30 p.m. while Train No.22626 will leave Bangalore at 2.40 p.m. and arrive at 8.45 p.m. The stoppages are Perambur (up direction only), Arakkonam, Katpadi, Ambur, Jolarpettai, Bangarapet, Krishnarajapuram and Bangalore Cantonment.

Consequent on the introduction of the double decker, Train No.12639 Chennai Central –Bangalore Brindavan Express will leave 45 minutes later (7.50 a.m. instead of 7.15 a.m.), while the return train to Chennai, Train No.12640, will leave Bangalore 40 minutes later (3.10 p.m. instead of 2.30 p.m.)

The new services include the weekly air-conditioned superfast Bikaner-Coimbatore and the Yesvantpur-Kochuveli trains. The dates would be introduced later.

Other newly introduced trains are the Shalimar-Chennai Central (launched from June 24) and soon-to-be-introduced Asansol-Chennai Central, Chennai Central-Puri weekly superfast express trains, Tiruchi-Tirunelveli (day-time) Inter City daily, Tirunelveli-Dadar weekly, Kacheguda-Madurai weekly, Tirupati-Mannargudi tr-weekly, the Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger and six Villupuram-Katpadi passenger trains. The increase in frequency of services will apply to Chennai Central-Mangalore express (Train Nos. 12685/686) that has been upgraded to daily from six days a week, the Kochuveli-Bangalore express to tri-weekly from bi-weekly (Train Nos. 16316/315), Kanyakumari-Nizammuddin Thirukkural express to bi-weekly from weekly (12641/642) and Villupuram-Kharagpur express to bi-weekly from weekly (22604/603).

MEMU services

The new MEMU services are the Palakkad-Coimbatore-Erode daily train and the Thrissur-Ernakulam six-days-a-week train.

Four passenger specials in the Mannargudi-Tiruchi-Manamadurai-Thanjavur-Karaikudi sectors would become DEMU class with eight coaches powered by two driving power cars and six trailer cars with effect from July 1.

The ten trains that have been extended include the Dehradun-Chennai weekly express to Madurai, Dadar-Yesvantpur to Puducherry on three days of the week and to Tirunelveli on three other days, Tirupati-Madurai bi-weekly to Rameswaram, the Mangalore-Palakkas Inter City Express to Coimbatore, the Mangalore-Thiruvananthapuram Parasuram Express to Nagercoil, Coimbatore-Erode MEMU to Salem, Velankanni-Nagore DEMU to Karaikal and the Bangalore-Salem passenger to Nagore.

Trains speeded up

Among the trains that have been speeded up are Kochuveli-Porbandar express, Rameswaram-Okha, Nizamuddin-Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram-Korba, Mumbai CST-Kanyakumari, Mumbai CST-Chennai Central, Nagercoil-Gandhidham, Kacheguda-Chennai Egmore, Chennai Central-Mettupalayam and Chennai Central-Mangalore West Coast express.

The Chennai Central-Mangalore express (16041/042), Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai CST (16332/331) and Puducherry-Mangalore weekly (16043/044) will be diverted via Coimbatore in September-October while the Chennai Egmore-Karaikkal express will be diverted via Mayiladuthurai from October 11.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012
CENTRAL RAILWAYS :: JULY 2012 TRAIN TIME TABLE

Central railways announced following list of changes on the new train timings with effect from July 2012.



MAIN CHANGES FROM CENTRAL RAILWAYS (CR) :: JULY 2012 TRAIN TIME TABLE




Following are the noticeable train time table changes done Central railways
•Train No. 11025/11026 Manmad - Pune Express extended to and from Bhusaval from 1.7.2012
•New stations Chauk, Mohope and Chikhale on Karjat - Panvel section from 1.7.2012 for Navi Mumbai passengers
•Mumbai - Pune Intercity Express given halt at Shivajinagar
•Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Manmad Rajyarani Express given halt at Thane
•Mumbai-Aurangabad and Mumbai-Madgaon Janshatabdi Express shifted to Dadar from 1.11.2012.
•Dadar - Amritsar Express shifted to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus ( LTT ) from 22.10.2012
•Dadar - Varanasi Express shifted to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) from 8.10.2012


New Trains



Central Railways announced 10 new trains, following are the details


•Kamakhya-Lokmanya Tilak (T) AC Express (Weekly) via Katihar, Mughalsarai
•Dadar (T)- Tirunelveli Express (Weekly) via Roha, Coimbatore,Erode
••Visakhapatnam-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (Weekly) via Vijayawada,Manmad
•Indore-Yesvantpur Express (Weekly) via Itarsi,Narkher,Amravati,Akola
•Amravati-Pune Express (Bi-weekly) via Akola, Purna and Latur
•Sai Nagar Shirdi-Pandharpur Express (Tri-weekly) via Kurduwadi
•Solapur-Yesvantpur Express (Tri-weekly) via Gulbarga
•Nagpur-Secunderabad (Tri-weekly) Express
•Sainagar Shirdi-Mysore Weekly Express
•Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Visakhapatnam Express (Weekly)
SPEED INCREASE LIST :: Mail/ Express Trains (1.7.2012)


•11 trains have been speeded up from 5 minutes to 30 minutes (details will be uploaded shortly)


TRAINS EXTENDED LIST


Train No. 11017/11018 Dadar-Yesvantpur Express to Puducherry (3 days) via Jolarpettai - Katpadi-Villupuram and Tirunelveli (3 days) via Dharmapuri-Erode


INCREASE IN FREQUENCY


•Train No. 17003/17004 Hyderabad-Kolhapur Express 2 to 7 days
•Train No. 16535/16536 Yesvantpur-Solapur Express 3 to 7 days
•Train No. 12187/12188 Jabalpur-Mumbai Express 2 to 3 days (from 4.7.2012)


Read more: http://www-irctc.blogspot.com/2012/07/central-railways-july-2012-train-time.html#ixzz1zmabTnOd
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Pragati-Express-to-run-via-Panvel-on-experimental-basis/articleshow/14694360.cms
Pragati Express to run via Panvel on experimental basis

MUMBAI: Here's piece of good news for residents of Navi Mumbai and Pune. Central Railway has decided to run Mumbai-Pune Pragati express via Panvel station for the benefit of passenger of twin city on an experimental basis of nine days.

As of now, there are two trains - Pune-Bhusaval and Ernakulam Express - which travel via Panvel to Pune. Commuter traffic between Pune and Navi Mumbai has increase manifold because but train services between these two cities is inadequate.

A CR official said, "Pragati Express runs between Mumbai and Pune via Kalyan. However, we have now decided to divert this train via Panvel, instead of Kalyan from July 7 onwards for nine days on experimental basis. If the results are good, CR may consider running this train via Panvel on a permanent basis."

Passengers will be able to commute by general compartment between Panvel and Pune on unreserved ticket at Rs 39.

In the absence of adequate train services, people traveling to and from Panvel to Pune have no option but to travel by bus. The fare between these to distance is Rs 100 by ordinary bus and Rs 250 by Volvo bus.

Pragati express take 3 hour and 28 minutes to travel a 191 km distance between Mumbai and Pune. It leaves from Mumbai CST at 4.25 pm and arrives at Pune 7.53 pm. On its return journey, it departs from Pune at 7.50 and arrives at Mumbai CST in 3 hours and 20 minutes, at 11.10 am

A CR official said, "There will not be much difference in running time of train due to change in the route. In fact, the travel time between Mumbai and Pune will be reduced by 5 to 7 minutes."

can anyone tell me if 2S coaches mean non-AC or AC ones?

thanks :)

2S is 2nd class sitting, Non AC Coaches with only sitting arrangement. It will have bays seating 6 passengers on either side with the gangway in the centre. Is common in intercity day trains

:)

2S is 2nd class sitting, Non AC Coaches with only sitting arrangement. It will have bays seating 6 passengers on either side with the gangway in the centre. Is common in intercity day trains

:)

Since we are on 2S coaches which are non AC coaches, what do you guys think of an equivalent AC coach with the same seating arrangement (3x3 seating & total of 108 seats). How cheap/expensive will it be compared to a AC chair car (2x3 and a total of 65 seats) and the AC double decker classes?

Since we are on 2S coaches which are non AC coaches, what do you guys think of an equivalent AC coach with the same seating arrangement (3x3 seating & total of 108 seats). How cheap/expensive will it be compared to a AC chair car (2x3 and a total of 65 seats) and the AC double decker classes?

if they stop giving bed rolls to 3 tier a/c sleeper they will save a lot. bed rolls can be given only to 2 tier a/c passengers.. people can get their own bed sheets like in garib rath

http://www.newkerala.com/news/newsplus/worldnews-48554.html#.T_nF48Ugdoo
Northeast may get rail links with Myanmar, Bangladesh

Guwahati, July 8 : India's landlocked northeast may soon have rail connectivity with the neighbouring countries of Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh courtesy an initiative to boost bilateral trade, usher development and tourism in the region.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has submitted a field survey report to the Railway Board which envisages connecting the northeastern states, Bihar and West Bengal with neighbouring countries, including Nepal.

"We have already sent the report to the Railway Board and waiting for them to reply back to us, he added. There has been a long standing demand from the northeastern states for expanding the railway links to the neighbouring countries," said a senior NFR official.

The proposed rail lines include Jagboni in Bihar to Biratnagar in Nepal, New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal to Kakrabita in Nepal, Hasimara in West Bengal to Phuentsholing in Bhutan and Pathsala in Assam to Namlang in Bhutan.

The other proposed rail links are Rangiya in Assam to Samdrupjonkhar in Bhutan, Banarhat in West Bengal to Samtse in Bhutan, Agartala in Tripura to Akhaura in Bangladesh and Kokrajhar in Assam to Geleka in Bhutan, the official said.

There are also plan to connect Myanmar through Jiribam and Moreh in Manipur. "We are going to carry out the survey regarding the connectivity with Myanmar very soon," he said.

"The central government had already sanctioned an amount of Rs.493.52 crore for the rail connectivity projects between Jagboni to Biratnagar and Agartala to Akhaura. We have also started the works regarding the Agartala to Akhaura project, he said.

The proposed railway lines will not only boost the bilateral trade, particularly between the northeastern states and its countries that are located in its borders-Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Mynamar but also increase connectivity between the northeastern states and these countries and particularly to some of the region's remote border areas.

The establishment of rail links to these counties will also boost the tourism industry in the region, said the official. (IANS)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3616182.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home
Railway panel to examine proposals for new zones
New Delhi, July 8:

Amid growing demands from various quarters for creation of new zones and divisions, Railways has set up a six-member committee to examine the proposals, a decade after it embarked on such an exercise.

The committee would look into the various demands from state governments, MPs and MLAs since 2009 and submit its report within the next six months, sources in the Railway Ministry said.

The development comes in the wake of sustained demands from political class and clamour from citizen groups for reorganisation of zones and divisions, which, they contend, would not only help Railways oversee operations more efficiently but also help the regions benefit from it.

Close to 30 proposals have been received over the last three years for creation of zones and divisions from across the country, they said. At present, there are 17 zones in the country.

The committee will take into consideration operational feasibility, financial implications, administrative issues, infrastructural availability to examine the feasibility of the creation of new zones or reorganisation of the existing ones.

About a decade back, Railways had added seven new zones to its network after an exhaustive exercise of redrawing the zones.

The seven zones were South Western Railway, North Western Railway, West Central Railway, North Central Railway, South East Central Railway, East Coast Railway and East Central Railway.

Kolkata Metro was added as a new zone in December 2010, making it the 17th zone.

SPV formation cleared for Chhattisgarh's rail corridor

R Krishna Das / Kolkata/ Raipur July 09, 2012, 0:10 IST

The ambitious rail corridor project in Chhattisgarh has moved on to the final track of implementation with the deck clearing for the formation special purpose vehicle (SPV).

The Rs 4500-crore project would have two rail corridors—one would be 180-km East corridor and another 122-km East-West corridor. It would connect state’s mineral rich pockets with the main rail route and facilitate train accessibility in the areas otherwise tucked away in desolate locations.

At a high level meeting held Saturday night, state government finally cleared the deck for the forming SPV that would have equities of Chhattisgarh government, Indian Railway and state-run South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). The corporate had been kept out of the SPV and share in the project.

When the proposal was mooted in February this year, the industrial houses having mining facilities in the pockets falling under the corridors were asked for a stake in the project. Now, the state government had decided to drop the industrial houses and implement it with the government-owned SPV.

“The corporate would now use the rail corridors and pay according to the usage,” state’s energy secretary Aman Singh told Business Standard. Since there was confusion among the corporate over equity and share in the project, it was delaying the work unnecessarily while the project initially took off in a record time.

The rail corridor project was announced in February 8, 2012 and the next day the working committee was formed. Within a week, the working committee presented the detailed project report. In March, the budget was allocated for the project.

Singh said the work on the rail corridor project would start soon as the track had been cleared for the same. “The 69-km first phase of the project connecting Devpur and Gharghoda would get off as all required clearances for laying rail line had been taken from the authorities concerned,” he said, adding that the rail corridor project with state would be a model project in the country.

SECL, country’s largest coal producing company and highest profit making entity of the Coal India Limited (CIL), would be the biggest equity holder in the project. The company has major mining operations in both the corridors pockets.

“The state government will have 10 per cent equity that will be basically on land,” Singh said. The Indian railway will share 26 per cent while SECL will have remaining 64 per cent equity in the project.

Guwahati, August 6, 2011
NF Railway GM inspects BG line project in Mizoram (http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2328712.ece)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Burma_topo_en.jpg/443px-Burma_topo_en.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Burma_topo_en.jpg
Seems we can have railway connectivity to burma port sittve through mizoram via bhairabi, aizwal :banana: Badarpur is already connected, many parallel valleys are there and plains, and burma will give alternative to bangladesh's chittagong port



http://www.newkerala.com/news/newsplus/worldnews-48554.html#.T_nF48Ugdoo
Northeast may get rail links with Myanmar, Bangladesh

Guwahati, July 8 : India's landlocked northeast may soon have rail connectivity with the neighbouring countries of Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh courtesy an initiative to boost bilateral trade, usher development and tourism in the region.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has submitted a field survey report to the Railway Board which envisages connecting the northeastern states, Bihar and West Bengal with neighbouring countries, including Nepal.

"We have already sent the report to the Railway Board and waiting for them to reply back to us, he added. There has been a long standing demand from the northeastern states for expanding the railway links to the neighbouring countries," said a senior NFR official.

The proposed rail lines include Jagboni in Bihar to Biratnagar in Nepal, New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal to Kakrabita in Nepal, Hasimara in West Bengal to Phuentsholing in Bhutan and Pathsala in Assam to Namlang in Bhutan.

The other proposed rail links are Rangiya in Assam to Samdrupjonkhar in Bhutan, Banarhat in West Bengal to Samtse in Bhutan, Agartala in Tripura to Akhaura in Bangladesh and Kokrajhar in Assam to Geleka in Bhutan, the official said.

There are also plan to connect Myanmar through Jiribam and Moreh in Manipur. "We are going to carry out the survey regarding the connectivity with Myanmar very soon," he said.

"The central government had already sanctioned an amount of Rs.493.52 crore for the rail connectivity projects between Jagboni to Biratnagar and Agartala to Akhaura. We have also started the works regarding the Agartala to Akhaura project, he said.

The proposed railway lines will not only boost the bilateral trade, particularly between the northeastern states and its countries that are located in its borders-Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Mynamar but also increase connectivity between the northeastern states and these countries and particularly to some of the region's remote border areas.

The establishment of rail links to these counties will also boost the tourism industry in the region, said the official. (IANS)

Connection to Myanmar via aizwal, mizoram is easier :cheers: manipur is much more hilly terrain

Indo-Ceylon connection

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01137/Chennai_CITY_Back__1137791g.jpg

From the 1930s to the 1950s, I regularly used to travel between Ceylon and India by train, with a rather sickening one-and-a-half hour sea crossing in between. It was only recently I discovered that this route was finalised a 100 years ago this year, when there was signed an agreement between the South Indian Railway Company and the British India Steam Navigation Company on rights of business. Under the agreement, “All traffic from stations south of Madurai to Colombo and vice versa would continue to be routed via Tuticorin (from where B.I. steamers would take them to Colombo). The new route via Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar (in Ceylon) was to get the traffic from all other stations of the South Indian Railway to Colombo and vice versa.”

The Indo-Ceylon railway connection was formally opened for the Madras-Dhanushkodi Boat Mail in February 1914. By 1918, BI began to phase out its operations and, before long, the rail line was the only link between the two countries, if you don’t count the rather unsafe coastal country craft.

Before it was decided that ferry steamers would make the 21-mile sea crossing that linked the two railway terminuses, a causeway based on Adam’s Bridge – 7 miles on land and 13 miles on water – was discussed, plans worked out and a Rs.11.1 million cost was estimated. This plan was, however, soon shelved and a train ferry was looked at, the carriages being bodily carried by steamer from one point to the other. This plan too was abandoned and piers were built at either end for three 688 tonne, 260 feet-long turbine steamers designed by Sir William White and ordered from A.J. Innis Ltd., Glasgow. They were called the Curzon, Elgin and Hardinge, and were launched in 1912-1913. By the time I was using this route in the 1930s, they had been replaced by the Irwin and Goschcn.

But before the sea crossing, another hurdle had to be crossed. And that was the 1 1/4 mile-long Pamban Channel linking the Indian mainland with the island of Rameswaram at whose eastern tip was Dhanushkodi. To cross the channel, a 6776 feet long, rail-track-bearing viaduct was built with 113 spans on the western side and 32 on the eastern. Linking them was a 289-feet long rail-track-bearing, steel bridge which had a mechanism that enabled its two halves to lift in the air and provide a 200 feet wide space for ships that needed less than 14 feet depth to pass through. The Pamban Bridge, as it was popularly called, was described as “a two-leaf Scherzer rolling lift bridge”, taking its name from the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Company of Chicago that designed it. The bridge was built by a Scottish company, Head, Wrightson & Co. Ltd.

On December 22, 1964, the six-coach Pamban-Dhanushkodi Passenger was crossing the viaduct in a cyclonic storm when a 20 feet high tidal wave smashed into it and washed it into the sea. The death toll was estimated to be anywhere between 115 and 200, a variation on account of the inability to put a number on the ticketless travellers. The Dhanushkodi track and station were also washed away, putting an end to the service to this terminus. The Scherzer Bridge was also badly damaged, with 126 of its 145 girders collapsing. But with most of them salvaged from the sea and with the Scherzer lift span barely damaged, the Pamban viaduct was make operational again in three months. But the terminus was shifted to Rameswaram. This service continued for about 20 years more but came to an end with the worsening ethnic conflict. I wonder what happened to the two ships after that. As long as it lasted, the steamers carried passengers, goods, cattle and cars, so you could effectively motor all the way from Colombo to Madras as four of us once did in the 1950s to watch a ‘Test.’

Haryana: NR to introduce new passenger train from Rohtak to Panipat


CHANDIGARH: The people of Haryana have reason to cheer as Northern Railways has introduced a new passenger train from Rohtak to Panipat, extended the Jind-Sirsa passenger train to Hisar, and Delhi-Jind train to Narwana. Besides, a number of other mail and express trains have also been extended, which would benefit a number of towns in Haryana.



In a press statement issued here today, Mr Deepender Singh Hooda, Congress MP, hailed the move to start a new train from Rohtak to Panipat and extension of the run of other trains. He thanked the UPA Chairperson, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Union Railway Minister, Mr Mukul Roy, for acceeding the long pending demands of the people of Haryana. The daily Rohtak-Panipat passenger train will leave Rohtak at 11:15 am and reach Panipat at 2 p.m. It would start return journey from Panipat at 2:30 pm and reach Rohtak at 4.40 pm. This would benefit communters and others in the three districts of Rohtak, Sonepat and Panipat, he added.



The Jind-Sirsa passenger train has been extended up to Hisar. It would leave Jind at 4.25 pm and reach Sirsa at 10.45 pm; depart from Hisar after five-minute halt at Sirsa to reach Hisar at 12:25 a.m. The train would depart from Hisar at 4:20 am and reach Sirsa at 6.10 am. It would leave Sirsa at 6:20 am and reach Jind at 2.50 pm. Mr Hooda said it would benefit the people of Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa. The Delhi-Jind passenger express has been extended from Jind to Narwana. It would reach Jind at 9.45 pm and touch Narwana at 10.45 pm. The train would start from Narwana at 11.15 p.m to reach Jind at 12.05 a.m. The extension of the train up to Narwana would provide people another link train to Delhi and vice-versa. Similarly, the Kathgodam-Delhi-Ranikhet express has been extended up to Jodhpur and it would benefit the people of Gurgaon, Pataudi Road and Rewari, he further added.



Mr Hooda said that the people of Haryana would also be benefit from the proposed new mail/ express trains: Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Udhampur AC express train (tri-Weekly); Amritsar-Hazur Sahib- Nanded Superfast Express (weekly); and Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Bandra (T) Express train (weekly). These would benefit the people of Panipat, Ambala Cant, Jakhal, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Rewari and Narnaul. r Hooda said that the 2012-13 railway budget had provided for a number of new railway projects for Haryana. It has sanctioned new rail line from Rohtak to Hansi via Meham, while case for new rail line between Hisar and Sirsa via Agroha and Fetahabad has been sent to the Planning Commission for appraisal. The Rohtak MP said that he had been consistently trying for a direct rail connection between Sirsa and Delhi via Fatehabad, Hisar, Hansi, Meham and Rohtak. While the first part of the project has been okayed in the railway budget, he, along with other Congress MPs, were making efforts to achieve the second part as well by providing new rail line between Hisar to Sirsa via Fatehabad. Mr Hooda said that during the six years of NDA Government supported by INLD, Haryana virtually got no rail project. The then Union Railway Minister, Mr. Dinesh Trivedi, had announced new passenger trains between Panipat and Rohtak (daily) and extension of the passenger trains from Jind-Sirsa to Hisar and Delhi-Jind passenger train to Narwana. He promised to follow up the case for starting new train between Rewari and Phulhera, as had been announced in the Railway Budget.



Mr. Hooda said that during the tenure of the present Congress Government in the state, many rail projects have been completed while many more were being executed with 50 per cent contribution from the state government.




Source:


Punjab Newsline Network

Tatkal bookings from 10 a.m.

Rail passengers who wish to book their Tatkal tickets personally and not through authorised agents will have to book their tickets from 10 a.m. onwards, one day in advance from the journey date, instead of 8 a.m. from the originating station of the train.

The change in timings was introduced to avoid rush at the counters and the new timings would come into effect from July 10.

Authorised agents, including those of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, Rail Travel Service Agents, etc., will not be allowed to book tatkal tickets from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

The existing restriction of not allowing these agents to book reserved tickets under general quota through internet on the opening day from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. also will continue, said a press release.

Meanwhile, South Central Railway authorities have said that four new Express trains, which were announced in the Railway Budget, would be inaugurated on July 11 from Secunderabad and Hyderabad.

The trains are:

Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad tri-weekly AC Duronto Express, Hyderabad-Bellampalli-Hyderabad daily intercity Express, Secunderabad-Dharbhanga-Secunderabad bi-weekly Express and Hyderabad-Ajmer weekly Express.

The timings of these trains have already been incorporated in the Southern Zone Railway time table July 2012 issue, said a press release.

HINDU (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article3618329.ece)

Indian railways is going green, solar friendly (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-07/mysore/32576748_1_indian-railways-railway-stations-railway-minister)

MYSORE: Indian railways is going green and solar-friendly.

Railway minister of state K H Muniyappa, after flagging off three train services from Mysore, said as part of their green initiative, Indian Railways will be providing bio toilets in as many as 2500 passenger coaches and over 1000 manned level crossing across India will be lit with solar energy lamps in this fiscal year.


Moreover, the railways will be filling the backlog of SC/ST/OBC categories by recruiting over one lakh employees in the year. They will also put in place integrated security system in 202 selected railway stations and will extend escort facilities by RPF/GRP personnel to another 3500 trains.

Railways have embarked upon several key infrastructure projects in the state on cost sharing basis to achieve the twin objective of connectivity to hinterland and economic growth of backward areas. The minister appreciated Mysore division of SWR for focusing on upgrading passenger amenities.

He said Indian railways is on a mission to build infrastructure and it has proposed for laying of 725 km new lines with estimation at Rs 6872 crore, 700 kms track doubling works at Rs 3393 crore, 800 kms gauge conversion at Rs 1950 crore and over 1100 kms of electrification Rs 828 crore.

^^
Indian railways is going green, solar friendly (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-07/mysore/32576748_1_indian-railways-railway-stations-railway-minister)
Lawrence Milton, TNN Jul 7, 2012, 06.31PM IST

MYSORE: Indian railways is going green and solar-friendly.

Railway minister of state K H Muniyappa, after flagging off three train services from Mysore, said as part of their green initiative, Indian Railways will be providing bio toilets in as many as 2500 passenger coaches and over 1000 manned level crossing across India will be lit with solar energy lamps in this fiscal year.

He said Indian railways is on a mission to build infrastructure and it has proposed for laying of 725 km new lines with estimation at Rs 6872 crore, 700 kms track doubling works at Rs 3393 crore, 800 kms gauge conversion at Rs 1950 crore and over 1100 kms of electrification Rs 828 crore.
only 12,000 crore out of 1 lakh crore budget is towards new projects like new lines doubling etc :ohno:

the news you posted was posted not on previous page but just before you posted. At least have a look to what you are posting

^^ time difference was 7 min.. when i opened this page and was posting that previous post was not there :cheers:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/duronto-to-be-converted-into-superfast-train/972278/
Duronto to be converted into superfast train

The country’s first day Duronto Express is all set to go off the rails this September, as authorities have decided to convert the Express into a super fast train that will run between Chandigarh and Amritsar with two stops: at Ludhiana and Jalandhar.

Divisional Regional Manager (DRM) of the Ferozepur Northern Railway, Naresh Goyal on Sunday said the Amritsar-Chandigarh Day Duronto will be called the Chandigarh-Amritsar Superfast train from September 11 with halts at Jalandhar and Ludhaina.

The Duronto Express, which was flagged off amidst much fanfare from Amritsar on August 24 last year, has been plagued by a poor response. With the Express not stopping at any station, it failed to attract enough passengers. Duronto trains are destination-to-destination trains and only have technical halts.

Moreover, residents of both Jalandhar and Ludhiana, particularly government employees who have to commute to Chandigarh every day, had been demanding that the train stop at both the places.

The authorities finally gave the nod to introduce the two stoppages at Jalandhar and Ludhiana in an apparent attempt to make the train a more viable proposition. Duranto trains are destination to destination trains and have no stoppage in-between except some technical halts.

Never understood how IR uses words like express, fast, super fast. What's above that? super-duper fast? duper-super-duper fast?

New Delhi: The Indian Railway has introduced several measures to ensure Tatkal train tickets reach the common man. Booking counters will now open at 10 am instead of 8 am, the day before the journey from the originating station.

"No normal ticket will be issued during this time unless there is no passenger for the Tatkal tickets," an Eastern Railway release said.

ER spokesperson Samir Goswami said Tatkal tickets cannot be booked on internet reservation system during the special time of 10-10.30 am for next day trains.

All travel agents including those of IRCTC will not be allowed to book Tatkal tickets between 10 am to 12 noon from counters as well as on the Internet. There will be separate queues and counters for Tatkal buyers.

CCTVs are being installed at booking centres as well. One will have to carry self attested identity proofs for buying a Tatkal ticket.

The Tatkal revamp comes after the IBN network exposed how touts were cornering these tickets.

Online Tatkal booking made easier:

The Indian Railway has also put in place measures to make online Tatkal bookings easier. High capacity database servers have been installed. The Internet bandwidth has been increased from 344 mbps to 450 mbps.

Web service agents have been permitted to book only one Tatkal ticket per train per day on the internet only after 12 noon. Individual users can now book only two tickets between 10 am and 12 noon

An IT-Anti Fraud Squad has been created. A complaint cell has also been set up. One can email or call these numbers: agentcomplaint@irctc.co.in (011-23745962) or care@irctc.co.in (011-39340000).

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/railway-introduces-new-guidelines-for-tatkal-tickets/270339-3.html

ADB Extends $150 million loan to Develop India's Railway System (http://investinindia.com/news/adb-extends-150-million-loan-develop-indias-railway-system)

Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a US$ 150 million loan for 1st tranche of Railway Sector Investment Program aimed at improving rail freight services and passenger transport routes.

The program will help India improve rail services along some of its busiest freight and passenger transport routes, providing double-track for about 840 kilometers of rail routes and electrifying about 640 kilometers. New signaling will also be installed. ADB will also support accounting reforms to improve operational and financial efficiency at Indian Railways.

The program will (i) reduce fuel consumption and enhance energy efficiency, (ii) reduce pollution, (iii) enhance railway safety, (iv) increase the line capacity, benefiting consumers and producers of goods and services, (v) improve staff productivity, and (vi) incorporate innovating financing modalities by pursuing carbon credits under UNFCCC.

The total cost of the Railway Sector Investment Program is US$ 1,144.6 million, out of which loan assistance from ADB is US$ 500 million (in four tranches) and GOI’s funding is US$ 644.6 million. This is the 1st tranche for a total US$ 343.4 million (ADB loan US$ 150 million + GOI share US$ 193.4 million).

The signatories to the loan were Shri Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; and Mr. Hun Kim, Country Director for India, on behalf of ADB. The project agreement was signed by Mr. Satish Agnihotri, Managing Director, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited.

Speaking on the occasion, Joint Secretary, Shri Venu Rajamony said that although railways make up a significant part of India’s transport sector, constraints on high density railway routes present a chronic challenge. This program should improve energy efficiency, safety, reliability, affordability, and environmental sustainability along key railway routes with heavy traffic, he said.

Mr. Hum Kim, Country Director for India said that our goal is to get people and goods moving more quickly and easily throughout India. Better railways not only help promote environmentally sustainable growth, they build better links between states and open opportunities to more people, he said.

The Indian Railways Vision 2020 highlights the need to remove infrastructure bottlenecks, design and deliver market-driven services, provide safe and reliable operations, and build capacity.

ADB will also provide a program linked technical assistance of US$ 300,000 to promote sustainable transport modes by monitoring carbon emission reductions from shifting bulk goods from road to rail.

Ministry of Railways is the Executing Agency (EA) and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) is the Implementing Agency (IA) for the program.

Govt signs $150m loan pact with ADB for railway development
The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3624237.ece)

DB offers $150 mn to Indian railway
SME NEWS (http://www.smetimes.in/smetimes/news/industry/2012/Jul/10/adb-offers-150-mn-to-indian-railway.html)

ADB extends Rs 1462 cr loans to govt
Business-Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/-adb-extends-rs-1462-cr-loans-to-govt/178122/on)

Kerala's high speed rail project to be on track soon
(Source: ET (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-03/news/32523959_1_mega-projects-bullet-train-kerala))

Thiruvananthapuram: Billed as the biggest and most expensive infrastructure projects conceived by Kerala, a high speed rail corridor for India's first bullet train is one of the mega projects the state plans to implement.

On completion, it will enable one travel from Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram to the state's northern most point Kasaragod in 142 minutes, covering a distance of 526 km.

The project may sound unbelievable, especially in the case of Kerala lagging in industry and infrastructure development for decades.

Estimated to cost Rs 1,18,000 crore on completion, the first phase is expected to cost Rs 43,000 crore. It will also be showcased in 'Emerging Kerala Global Connect' at Kochi from September 12-14.

"If all preparatory works progress on schedule and the project starts by April 2013 as planned, the first phase is expected to be completed in five years and the second in the following two years. The whole project should be complete by 2020," said T Balakrishnan, CMD, Kerala High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (KHSRCL).

"Work of drawing up the Detailed Project Report is now on. Alignment study/survey has started; preparatory work on land acquisition has also begun. Recruitment of key personnel has begun," Balakrishnan,a former bureaucrat, told PTI.

Nine stations are proposed initially - Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur Kasaragod and in the final stretch to Mangalore in Karnataka. Three more at Chengannur, Tirur and Thalassery, would come up at a later stage.

The total corridor length (upto Mangalore) would be around 571 km and it will have two parallel tracks each in standard gauge systems, independent of existing rail network in Kerala.

The government has appointed Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation as the nodal agency for the project, which could transform lives and economy by facilitating hassle free movement between cities and towns in "God's own country."

"A public transport system of this dimension has so many advantages. Most important,it will help reduce traffic density and improve road safety," said KSIDC Managing Director Alkesh Sharma.

"If you look at it as a purely financial project it may not sound viable since the financial rate of return is estimated at around 5.2 per cent. But it becomes viable and massively so, as an economic project.A high speed rail network covering India can boost economic growth rate by upto 1.5 per cent and then there will be incremental growth as distances come down," Balakrishnan said.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has prepared the pre-feasibility study and meeting at the PMO level has given the green signal to all departments concerned.An all-party meeting at the state-level to form a consensus has been very positive.

"We have started discussing funding options with various agencies, including Japan's JICA and ADB. It's in the early stages and nothing has been finalized yet. However, during the Emerging Kerala event, we expect a lot of international companies and financing agencies to take part.The project will be discussed with them and more options may emerge from these discussions," said the KHSRCL CMD.

The DMRC recommended model in the feasibility report is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owned by the Central and Kerala governments with Japanese participation. "But a final decision on this has not been taken yet and the government is keeping all options open, including PPP and hybrid models," he said.

On the technology, he said it was not an issue at all as that was already available worldwide.

"If we go by the DMRC recommendation, we can get it from Japan as a whole package, technology, funding, implementation everything. But it is also available elsewhere, in Europe, Korea and even in China, although the Chinese technology has not been fully tested and proven," he said.

About the Karnataka government's response to the project which extends to Mangalore, he said they had welcomed it. "Karnataka actually wants it to be extended to Udupi, thinking it will attract greater traffic from Kerala, especially as a pilgrimage centre," he added.


^^
One more noise among all the noises being raised about HSR. Don't know why they keep on doing all these meaningless talk when they don't have the willpower, financial means, etc. to undertake them :(

...
"No normal ticket will be issued during this time unless there is no passenger for the Tatkal tickets," an Eastern Railway release said.

ER spokesperson Samir Goswami said Tatkal tickets cannot be booked on internet reservation system during the special time of 10-10.30 am for next day trains.
...
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/railway-introduces-new-guidelines-for-tatkal-tickets/270339-3.html

Are they saying that no regular tickets will be issued during 10-12!
Also no tatkal booking on net between 10:00-10:30 am is preposterous!

Any one has had initial first hand experiences with these new rules?

Are they saying that no regular tickets will be issued during 10-12!
Also no tatkal booking on net between 10:00-10:30 am is preposterous!

Any one has had initial first hand experiences with these new rules?

no normal tickets between 10:00 to 10:30am in railway counters. In net it is 10am itself, that reporter was wrong :cheers: This normal tickets 8am and tatkal ticket 10am separation should have been done long back