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no matter who built it, or when, they are a part of the history of the city. I think demolishing them is a very bad idea. I think they can modernize them and provide better facilities for passengers, but as monuments to Indian History they should be preserved!!Just an opinion question: should we demolish our old Victorian looking centrals, and build more modern ones with some incorporation of Indian culture?
The steep rise in airfares has given a major boost to Indian Railways, which has seen bookings in air-conditioned (AC) coaches rise more than 50 percent.
The railways carried 5.97 million passengers in AC coaches in July this year, compared to four million bookings in July 2007, an increase of almost 50 percent.
Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains alone have witnessed about 52 percent jump in bookings this July, as compared to tickets sold in July last year.
In the western zone, which had lost the maximum number of passengers to low cost airlines, passengers are now returning to train travel.
Western Railway saw bookings in July rise by about 53 percent.
'Travellers who had earlier shifted from second AC and third AC to low-cost airlines are now coming back to the railways, owing to the rise in airfares in the past few months,' a railway official said.
Rahul Taneja, an official with online travel agency yatra.com, felt the same way.
'When low-cost flights were introduced, many people who travelled by AC-II and AC-III went for air travel, as they were inexpensive. Now with the increase in airfare, they have reverted to train travel.'
July, which is otherwise considered a lean month, has seen a 50 percent rise in AC bookings.
Of this, third AC bookings were the maximum, having gone up from two million to almost 3.3 million.
However, the increase in the bookings for non-AC sleeper class is just 24 percent, the official said.
The rush for AC bookings has boosted the revenues of Indian Railways. Earning from Rajdhani alone has shot up from Rs.64 million in July 2007 to Rs.98 million this July.
'The increase in airfares is not the only reason why people are choosing our premier trains. We have also taken measures to increase passenger comfort and cater to the increased demand by adding extra coaches,' said Northern Railway spokesperson S. Negi.
Facilities such as electronic ticketing, automatic upgrade of reserved tickets and improved passenger amenities in Rajdhani and Shatabdi have also attracted passengers.
Private players have been roped in to provide services such as cleaning of train floors, stocking of soaps and towels in toilets, and looking after passenger needs.
That is $17B. All the major metro cities can be revamped and if the IR undertakes a project for new look train then IR would really be transformed.The turnaround of Indian Railways today came in for praise from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who said it was witnessing a "new dynamism".
Highlighting in his Independence Day address the various initiatives launched by the government for inclusive economic growth, Singh said "the second important area of development has been infrastructure development."
Mentioning the role of the largest PSU in infrastructure development, he said "there is a new dynamism in our Railways."
The Railways have generated a cash surplus of Rs 69,000 crore in the past four years.
Chennai (PTI): Southern Railway on Friday said it has registered a passenger earning of Rs 750 crore in the first four months of this fiscal, a 20 per cent growth from that in the corresponding period last financial year.
During the period, Southern Railway carried 224 million passengers, 13 per cent more than that in the same period last year, its General Manager Rakesh Chopra said in a release.
"In the same period, we have loaded 11 million tons, nine per cent more than last year and earned Rs 445 crore from goods traffic, an increase of 24 per cent over last year," he said.
As part of serving more number of passengers, Southern Railway has planned to develop 'coaching terminals' at Tambaram and Kochuveli and will also be strengthening their facilities at Tirunelveli and Rameswaram, he said.
Chopra said that the gauge conversion of the main line between Villupuram and Mayiladuthurai will be completed by the year-end and would reopen the rail link to towns of Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Sirkhazhi.
He said that they will be introducing mechanised cleaning of major stations for improving the standard of cleanliness.
Railways witnessing new dynamism
That is $17B. All the major metro cities can be revamped and if the IR undertakes a project for new look train then IR would really be transformed.
S Railway records impressive growth in passenger earning
Need a lot of determination, ethics, workers to make something like this possible...
Source - TOIGames in sight, New Delhi station gets ready
Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN
New Delhi: To enhance the capacity of New Delhi railway station before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Northern Railway has decided to remodel and restructure the station and the yard. The work, including installation of the new route relay interlocking panel (NRRI) that will facilitate 1278 routes with automatic signalling system, will start next month. For the purpose, the station will remain noninterlocked from September 6 to September 14 and all trains movement during this period will be handled manually.
Rajiv Saxena, chief spokesperson of Northern Railway, said once operational, the new interlocking system will the largest in India. It will replace the existing British system of route relay interlocking that handles 690 routes. There will be additions and alterations on 125 routes at the Old Delhi Junction, he said.
According to railway officials, after the remodelling work the station will be able to handle 33% more load. ‘‘The bottleneck in Sadar area would be removed and there will be six lines in place of the existing three at Sadar Bazar end of New Delhi station making an independent corridor for reception and dispatch of trains to and from Old Delhi junction, Kishanganj, Subzi Mandi and Sarai Rohilla stations,’’ said Saxena. He said this will allow certain trains to pass through New Delhi station without waiting for clearance from platforms.
Also, after the work there will be six lines between New Delhi and Tilak Bridge in place of four. Officials also said four more platforms will added to the existing 12 platforms at the station.
In view the work, 62 trains will be cancelled, 126 trains will be terminated short of their final destination and 50 trains will be diverted to run on alternative routes and will use railways stations at Old Delhi, Sarai Rohilla and Hazrat Nizamuddin from September 5 to September 15.
Among the major trains that will be affected are Jammu Tawi Rajdhani, Ajmer Shatabdi, Bhubaneswar Rajdhani, Jan Shatabdi Express, Ranchi Rajdhani, Navyug Express, Patna Garib Rath, Howrah Express, Grand Trunk Express, Puri Express and Tamil Nadu Express.
Need a lot of determination, ethics, workers to make something like this possible...
Everything happens with money. Give 10-15 years & it'll come true.and a lot more to keep it clean