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New Delhi Railway Station to be closed partially for 10 days
New Delhi, September 04, 2008: Starting on Friday night, one of the country’s busiest railway stations will
wear a deserted look for 10 days. At the New Delhi Railway Station, the stalls at the platforms will remain shut,
beggars will vanish and the congested parking lots will be empty. In Indian Railways’ biggest such exercise till date, a new automatic signalling
system will be installed at the station. Four new platforms will also be added,
doubling the station’s efficiency.
The signalling system — Route Relay Interlocking — handles the continuous tasks
of platform allocation, arrivals, departures, and other use of infrastructure
automatically. The system will handle 1278 routes, nearly double the present
capacity. It is to migrate to this upgraded system that Northern Railways has cancelled 62
mail/express trains and diverted 50 while terminating 126 trains short of New
Delhi over the next 10 days. Over 60 local trains have also been cancelled.
Source: Hindustan Times
Railways take fresh relief
measures for flood affected victims in Bihar
September 03, 2008: Railways have taken several important measures for relief to the flood affected people of northern Bihar. Some more fresh measures taken were announced by Minister of Railways Shri Lalu Prasad her today.
Relief materials for flood affected areas in Bihar are being transported by Railways. Two rakes loaded with fodder have already been transported to the flood affect areas and third and fourth rakes will be loaded with fodder soon. To arrange drinking water for flood victims, Railways have arranged two rakes loaded with water tankers available at Barauni and Danappur stations and will be immediately transported to the flood affected areas as and when instructed.
Railways are running special trains to evacuate flood victims to safer places free of charge. Till now 3 lakh
65 thousand flood victims have been evacuated to safer places by 180 trains and around 40 to 50 thousand people are being evacuated to safer places on everyday. Relief camps to distribute free food and medicine to flood victims, have been set up at Raghopur, Bannakhi,
Supaul, Saharasa, Baijnathpur, Purnea, Jogbani bathnaha, Farbisgunj, Sinraha, Araria, Patna and Rajendernagar stations with the help of the prize money of Rs one crore won by Shri Lalu Prasad in a TV show. - PIB
Pay panel bonanza to cost
Indian Railways Rs 6,500 cr
New Delhi, Aug 31, 2008 (PTI): The Sixth-Pay Commission report which has come as a pre-Diwali gift for the 14 lakh workers in Indian Railways, will cost their employer about Rs 6,500 crore in the current fiscal. While Rs 5,000 crore has already been earmarked in the current Railway Budget, "We have to make provision for an additional Rs 1,500 crore to meet the requirement," a senior Railway Ministry official said.
To offset the additional financial burden arising from the pay panel report, the Railways will have to increase its revenue earnings and undertake cost control measures. "All general managers of Zonal Railways have been instructed to initiate cost control measures in their respective zones. They have also been asked to take steps to increase earnings," the official said.
According to the arrear payment plan, Railways would make 40 per cent of arrear payment in the current financial year.
"Rest would be paid in the next fiscal," he said. The government on Friday finalised the notification on the pay panel report. It would cost the exchequer Rs 22,000 crore this year. It is expected that each Railway employee will take home an average of 21 per cent higher salary next month.
Rail Hostesses to serve train passengers
NEW DELHI, August 26, 2008: From September as part of
the Indian Railways' initiative to give train passengers a feel of
air travel in select. The train hostesses will be smartly attired in
blue trousers, white shirts, and blazers. Not only this, you can
even continue surfing the Internet and catch your favourite television
programme while munching on savoury snacks.
According to the plan, which has been given its final shape
by the Indian Railways, 2 AC coaches with additional services will
be added to trains on certain routes. The services will be available
in Kanchan Kanya Express and North Bengal Express from September 26,
followed by a few other trains that include Delhi- Sealdah
Samparkranti and Guwahati-Delhi Samparkranti.
First of its kind in the Indian Railways, the arrangement
comes as a result of Public Private Partnership (PPP). "It is a
pilot project. If successful, we hope to extend this facility to
other trains on other routes as well. The idea is to offer maximum
comfort to the traveller. It will be an added incentive for the
modern- day travellers who want to enjoy all the frills,"
said a senior Indian Railways official.
Source: The Times of India
Railway revenue earnings up by 19.46%
New Delhi, August 20, 2008: The total approximate earnings of
Indian Railways on originating basis during the period 1st August
– 10th August 2008 were Rs. 1988.67 crore compared to Rs. 1664.75
crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of
19.46 per cent.
The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs. 1131.93 crore
during 1st August to 10th August 2007 to Rs. 1332.04 crore during
1st August to 10th August 2008, showing an increase of 17.68 per
cent. The total passenger revenue earnings during the period
1st to 10th August 2008 were Rs. 592.76 crore compared to Rs. 473.79
crore during the same period last year, reflecting an increase of
25.11 per cent. The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to
Rs. 48.24 crore during this period compared to Rs.47.31 crore during
the same period last year, showing an increase of 1.97 per cent.-
PIB
Sky Bus project on track, says railways
MARGAO, August 16, 2008: A global expression of
interest for commercial and technical feasibility of the
prestigious Sky Bus project would be floated in another two months,
Railway Board chairman K C Jena said here on August 16. The
partners, which could be an Indian firm as well, would ensure the
technology of the project is put on track and its commercial use
fostered for public transportation. The financial gains would be
shared with the firm chosen to partner the Sky Bus mode of
transport.
Konkan Railway Corporation MD Anurag Mishra said that
to bring together all forms of urban transportation systems like
metro, monorail and Sky Bus, a comprehensive legislation assigning
the job of certifying the proven technology would be tabled in
Parliament. Jena said the Central government is in favour of having
high-speed bullet train corridors in the country. Five corridors
have been mooted so far wherein the states are joint partners in the
feasibility study along with Indian railways.
Source: The Times of India
Railways seek innovative ideas from public
NEW DELHI, August 14, 2008: Indian Railways will tap
innovative ideas from the people to achieve higher customer
satisfaction and provide value-added services. An Innovation
Promotion Group (IPG) is being set up to seek innovative ideas from
the public including reputed institutions, universities and
industries to improve services and productivity, a Indian
senior Railways Ministry official said.
The Innovation Promotion Group will comprise nine senior
railway officials dealing with various departments including
traffic, finance, telecom, civil and electrical. The
multi-departmental IPG will also interact with national and
international railway organizations, railway customers and railway
men to promote innovations for improvement in productivity of
resources.
Railways
to set up centralized traffic control at Tundla
New Delhi August 12, 2008: In a first of its kind on Indian
Railways, a centralised traffic control (CTC) with electronic
interlocking and automatic signalling system is being set up on the
Ghaziabad-Kanpur section enhancing the line capacity and safety in
train operation. Ghaziabad-Kanpur is one of the busiest sections of
Indian Railways with over 200 trains using this 410 km long
electrified route in a day. All signalling and telecom gears in the
section have outlived their utility and are now obsolete.
"It has been decided to replace signalling and
telecommunication assets and provide automatic signalling on the
busy route which has 47 stations and nine big yards including Etawah,
Aligarh, Tundla and Dadri," said a senior Railways Ministry
official involved with the project. The CTC centre is coming up at
Tundla, said the official. The railways is also introducing the
mobile train radio communication (MTRC) system in the section as a
pilot project.
Source: Press Trust Of India
Lonavala
to host a rail regional museum
MUMBAI, August 07, 2008: Despite having constructed regional
rail museums (RRM) in all other regions, Indian Railways had ignored
the western region, until now. Finally, the ministry of railways has
identified land at the picturesque Lonavla ghat and allocated funds
to create a Western regional museum displaying artifacts and the
history of rail in five states, including Maharashtra.
The railways would start the museum with a temporary display
of historic tidbits and artifacts at Lonavla station sometime around
October 15 this year. Meanwhile, the ministry has also started the
process of selecting a technical consultant who would guide
officials on the architecture of a permanent museum building. The
consultant is likely to be appointed before October 15, said
officials.
Source: The Times of India
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Matheran
toy train in Unesco heritage list soon
MUMBAI, Agust 04, 2008: Buoyed by support from the Union
Ministry of Culture, Indian Railways is busy preparing a final
dossier on the historic Matheran Light Railway (MLR) for a place in
the World Heritage List prepared by Unesco. Railway officials hope
to have the Matheran hill train on the Unesco list in 2009.
Indian Railways did the tentative listing of the century-old
Matheran hill train with Unesco in 2005 itself. However, the deluge
on 26/7 later that year, in and around Mumbai, washed away almost
half the tracks and rails of the 20-km Matheran railway. At several
spots, the original alignment itself was nowhere to be seen because
of massive landslides on the mountains. However, the Central Railway
spent close to two years and considerable funds on resurrecting the
toy train and restarted operations in February 2007.
The toy train had its first run from Neral to reach the top
of the breath-taking mountains on April 1, 1907. Matheran Light
Railway, founded by Mumbai based entrepreneur Abdul Hussain Peerbhoy,
celebrated it's centenary on April 1, 2007. Abdul Hussain, son of
business tycoon Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, had personally supervised the
construction of the narrow gauge line from Neral to Matheran from
1904 to 1907.
Source: The Times of India |
The historic
Matheran Light Railway (MLR) for a place in the World Heritage List
prepared by Unesco. Railway officials hope to have the Matheran hill
train on the Unesco list in 2009. |
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Train blaze
kills 32 in Andhra
Warangal, August 01, 2008: At least 32 people have been
killed after a fire broke out on the Gautami Express a passenger
train in Andhra Pradesh, railway officials say. The fire started as
the Gautami Express was passing through forest some 125 miles
(200km) north of Hyderabad. The cause of the fire is yet to be
established but police said an electric short circuit might have
been to blame. The fire broke out in the S9 sleeper coach at 1.15 AM
near Kesamudram railway station, about 200 km. from Hyderabad. Five
coaches of the train were gutted in the fire, said police in Warangal
district where the blaze broke out. -PTI
The ‘139’ Indian Railways
tele-helpline
July 29, 2008: The move by Indian Railways to outsource the integrated train enquiry services to a BPO for all calls related to its rail services has proved to be a major
success in the very first year since its launch. The ‘139’ Indian Railways
tele-helpline, which has been outsourced to Bharat BPO (part of Omnia BPO
Services Ltd), has already earned the company revenues of over Rs 1 crore since
its launch on July 17 last year. The service was aimed at bringing high quality information services within the reach
of rail passengers across the nation.
Indian help for Sri Lanka railway sector
COLOMBO, July 22,2008: The Indian Government has pledged US $ 168 million to Sri Lanka to develop the island’s railways sector. The financial assistance, provided under the Indian Credit Line
(ICL) will be used to upgrade Sri Lanka’s coastal railway line hit by the 2004 tsunami and to strengthen the operating fleet of the Railways Department.
Accordingly, the existing rail track from Kalutara to Matara is to be replaced by an improved track made of concrete sleepers and new rails, while a new, advanced signal system will also be installed. The Indian Rail Construction Company has taken up the renovation project estimated to cost US $ 78 million.
Among the other benefits to be received under the ICL are 20 new diesel electrical power sets and three engines for the Railways Department, to be purchased from Rail India Technical and Economy (RITE). Three locomotives required for track maintenance and maintenance machinery worth US $ two million will also be provided under the scheme. The agreement relating to the supply contract was signed between RITE representatives and Transport Ministry Secretary Thilak Kollure yesterday, in the presence of Transport Minister Dullas
Alahapperuma.
Source: Sri Lanka News
Ordinary train with AC coach
ADRA (Purulia), July 18, 2008: The long-standing demand to accommodate a three-tier air-conditioned (3A) coach in the 315 and 316 passenger trains, running between Howrah and Chakradharpur, through Purulia was granted at last. A three-tier
air- conditioned (3A) coach has been introduced in the 315 and 316 passenger trains from Howrah and from Chakradharpur which would run only during the night, on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
"It will run regularly," Mr Basudeb Acharia, MP of Bankura and, also the chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, informed: "This is the first time in the history of Indian Railways that an AC sleeper coach has been accommodated inside a passenger train."
Earlier an express train, 'Rupasi Bangla' ran regularly between Howrah and Purulia. It is the first train in the last 150 years of Indian Railways that might become a local train (passenger special) between Purulia and Chandil of South Eastern Railway. The
passenger special has introduced stops at six different stations and also boasts of an air-conditioned chair car coach which is a rarity in the Indian Railways. Mr Om Prakesh Chaube, divisional railway manager of Adra in South Eastern Railway, also admitted: "Such kind of train services are the rarest in Indian Railways~ an express train with super charges, running between six or more stations at a local fare."
Source: Statesman
India’s First Ginger Rail Yatri Niwas with modern facilities
July 17, 2008: Shri K.C.Jena, Chairman, Railway Board inaugurated the renovated New Delhi Rail Yatri
Niwas, India’s first Ginger Rail Yatri Niwas here today. The renovated Rail Yatri Niwas developed by Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) and the Roots Corporation Limited (RCL), stands tall sparkling new at the
Ajmeri Gate side of the New Delhi Railway Station in new earthly hues and shiny warm reds. This hotel was originally built in 1988 as part of Indian Railways efforts to offer hotel rooms to the railway passengers at reasonable prices.
The hotel was stripped to its bare shell and renovated with an investment of about
Rs. 10.5 crores to offer the customers 109 SMART BASICS rooms and a plethora of additional facilities. A guest at the hotel now has a choice of well fitted orange and blue theme rooms with LCD TVs, posturepedic
mattresses, anti allergy pillows, tropical duvets, Smart Bev Tea Coffee Maker, complimentary bottles of water and an access card to enter the
room. The hotel also offers a gymnasium and a meeting room for the convenience of its guests.
Additionally, it will offer 24 x 7 restaurant, that will offer an array of food from across India and different parts of the world. A book store for catering to a traveler’s intellectual appetite and a 24 x 7 medical store. The rooms will be offered at an incredible price of
Rs. 1199/- inclusive of taxes. Fifty per cent of the rooms will be offered at Rs. 999/- per room per night inclusive of taxes. This hotel will also have four bedded rooms where each bed will be offered at Rs.250/- for a night. It is located above the Delhi metro station. Rail travelers can call on the Toll Free Number 1800 2093333 OR 011 – 66633333. Bookings can also be made through an email at
reservations@gingerhotels.com
Source: PIB Press Release |
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Indian Railways trains to have internet soon
July 16, 2008, The day is not too far off when you can access internet on trains. If the pilot runs being conducted on the Mumbai-Ahemedabad train turns successful,
passengers will have the luxury of logging on to their computers on running trains. Hughes Communications India, a provider of satellite broadband services, was
awarded the mandate to set up the first dedicated VSAT (very small aperture terminal hub) for the Indian Railways.
Mr Krishna of Hughes says: “Satellite dishes will be installed at the front and tail-end of the train.” Hughes has successfully installed this architecture in over a 100 trains in Europe.
The slew of facilities the Railways are planning to introduce are disaster communication systems on accident relief trains (ART), streamlining the unreserved ticketing system (UTS) and providing freight operating information system
(FOIS) even in remote locations.
The commissioning of the dedicated VSAT hub will allow the Railways connect 1,000 locations across 19 states as against 200 earlier. This new system will help the
Railways have voice and data connectivity for their services in remote stations where fixed and mobile network of telecom operators had not reached.
Source:The Economic Times
Indian Railways to provide internet service in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 13, 2008: Indian Railways is set to join the
bandwagon of internet providers in Kerala with a special provision for those browsing education sites. The Railways is providing broadband internet connection in the state
through the Railtel Corporation of India Ltd. The biggest incentive for those taking the net service of Indian Railways is that they can download education material free.
A Seshagiri Rao, executive director (southern region) of
Railtel, said Railtel would provide the service through cable operators who have connectivity across the state.
"The internet service would become operational in the next two to three months," said Rao, who was in the city.
Railtel, which manages the communication sector of Indian Railways, has laid more than 38,000 km of optical fibre cable across the country, which would be the backbone for providing broadband connectivity in the state.
"The biggest advantage of Indian Railways internet is that downloading of education material will be at a speed ranging from 2 mpbs to 30 mpbs," added Rao.
Source:The Economic Times |
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UNESCO declares Kalka-Shimla Railway line as a
‘World Heritage Site’
New Delhi/Chandigarh: July 11, 2008: The 96-km Kalka Shimla
Railway, considered to be the engineering marvel of the 19 century, was declared a ‘World Heritage Site’
by UNESCO, in a meeting held at the Quebec City, Canada, earlier this week. The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by Mathew John, Secretary, Railway Board,
Ministry of Railways. Speaking about the Kalka-Shimla line, Ravinder Kumar Sexana, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM), Ambala Division (Northern Railway) said, “With this decision, the Indian Railways has secured World Heritage status for their fourth line. The other three being the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in West Bengal, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway near Ooty and the Chhatarpati Shivaji Terminal in Mumbai.”
The two-member UNESCO team comprising Dr Robert Leen, a consultant of
UNESCO from Australia and Ian Walker with officials of the Northern Railway visited KSR track for inspection on September 10, 2007, and were impressed by the old system at the Barog railway station. During its six-hour journey on the 96 km narrow gauge route
fro Kalka to Shimla, the line runs through 102 tunnels, several arches, including 33 major bridges and picturesque stations like Dharampur, Barog and Solan. |
The 96-km Kalka Shimla
Railway, considered to be the engineering marvel of the 19 century,
is now on the world heritage list of the UN. |
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India's Larsen & Toubro gets $242
million order from Indian Railways
MUMBAI, July 8, 2008 (Reuters): Indian engineering and construction firm Larsen &
Toubro Ltd said on Tuesday it had received an order worth 10.47 billion rupees ($242 million) from the Indian Railways.
The contract, to set up a cast steel wheel manufacturing plant in the eastern
state of Bihar, will have a capacity of 100,000 units per annum, it said in a
statement. The project is expected to be completed by L&T's Railway Business Unit in two
years, it said.
World Bank team to assess Eastern Corridor project
New Delhi, July 06, 2008 (PTI): A six-member World Bank team will be here this month to hold discussions with Indian Railways about the funds for the ambitious dedicated Eastern Freight Corridor project. Indian Railways, which has approached the World Bank for funding the Rs 12,000 crore Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project, will present a detailed report of the plan to the visiting team.
While the World Bank team will be here on July 14, another delegation from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will also visit India on July 8 to assess the engineering and environment aspect of the Western Corridor of the DFC.
The JBIC is expected to fund the 1,483 km long Western Freight Corridor project estimated to cost about Rs 16,000
crore. The DFC to be commissioned as part of the long term railway strategy
aims at separating freight and passenger corridor, a senior Railway Ministry official said. The corridor will be used exclusively for operating freight trains at a maximum permissible speed of 100 kmph.
There are certain World Bank guidelines which need to be adhered for receiving any fund, said the official. All the procedures including land acquisition, compensation,
tendering process, procurement involved in the Eastern Freight Corridor are expected to be discussed with the World Bank officials
during their visit, said the official.
The
Indian Railways have announced an increase in haulage charges
MUMBAI, July 4, 2008 (Reuters): The Indian Railways have announced an increase in
haulage charges for containerised cargo in privately-owned wagons from August, a
move which will force container rail operators to raise prices, the companies
said.
According to a railway circular issued on Tuesday, the freight rate will go up
14-16 percent from August 1 for a distance of 1,000 kilometres and beyond and
for weight categories of 20 tonnes and beyond per twenty-foot-equivalent units
(TEU). "We will definitely increase the rates because we cannot afford it," Prem Kishan
Gupta, deputy chairman and managing director of Gateway Distriparks said on
Friday.
"Interest rates have gone up and other costs have gone up so it has to be passed
on to the customer, if it becomes applicable," he said. The Indian Railways charges a haulage fee from container train operators to haul
trains over India's rail system. The Indian Railway provides the locomotive,
crew and passage on its system.
Indian
Railways funds to touch one lakh crore
SIVAGANGA, July 03, 2008: Lauding the aggressive marketing
policy of the Indian Railways, Union Minister of state for Railways
R Velu said here tonight that it had created surplus fund to the
tune of Rs 25,000 crore in the financial year ending 2008 and
it would touch one lakh crore when the UPA Government completes its
term.
Participating at the inaugural function of the newly
converted Broad Gauge (BG) section between Karaikudi and Manamadurai,
he attributed the 12 per cent growth rate of the railways to the
same aggressive marketing policy. In the last five years, most
of the Medium Gauge sections had been converted into BG sections and
only the Madurai-Bodi Section, stretching to 90 km remained to be
converted.
The Central Government had also permitted 4 new lines,
including Chennai-Cuddalore. After the completion of Trichy-Madurai,
Madurai-Thoothukudi-Maniyaachi-Nagercoil electrification, he would
take efforts for the electrification of Trichy-Karaikudi-Manamadurai
BG sections.
Lucknow
division gets 3 new trains
LUCKNOW, July 02, 2008: Indian Railways has given three
new trains originating from Lucknow division in July 2008 time
table. A weekly Express train (4260/4259) between Varanasi and
Rameshwaram and two tri-weeklies, a Garib Rath Express train
(2213/2214) between Varanasi and Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi) and
an air-conditioned Express train (2233/2234) between Lucknow and New
Delhi, are the new trains given to the division. However, the date
of introduction for the trains is yet to be decided.
Train no 4260/4259 will operate from Varanasi on Sunday
and from Rameshwaram on Wednesday, while train no 2213/2214 will
operate from Varanasi on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and from Anand
Vihar on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Train no 2233/2234 will
operate from Lucknow on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and from New
Delhi on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Train no 4265 (Varanasi-Dehradun Express) will be
an alternative train for Dehradun-bound passengers from Varanasi and
Lucknow, after Doon Express. The train will not have an extended
stoppage at Lucknow as before. So far, it was operating as a
commuter train between Varanasi and Lucknow and as mail/express
train between Lucknow and Dehradun. Also, train no 8103
Tata-Amritsar Express, from Varanasi, has been scheduled for
morning in the 08:00-08:15 am slot than the previous 00:45-01:05
slot.
Source: The Times of India |
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