| Railway employees to get 77 days wages as bonus
New Delhi, October 5, 2010 (PTI): In the highest-ever bonus payment to be made by
Indian Railways, government today decided to give wages of 77 days as productivity linked bonus (PLB) to all eligible railway employees for
the fiscal 2009-10. The Union Cabinet approved the proposal of the
Railway Ministry for payment of PLB equivalent to 77 days' wages for
2009-10 for all eligible non-gazetted railway employees. The decision would benefit about 12.92 lakh non-gazetted railway employees and this
will be the highest PLB payment ever to be made by railways. The financial implication of payment of 77 days' bonus to railway employees
has been estimated at Rs 1065.42 crore. The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB to the eligible employees is Rs 3,500 per
month. PLB is based on the productivity indices reflecting the performance of the Railways.
Mobile museum train Sanskriti Express
at Hyderabad
Hyderabad ,September 28, 2010 : The Indian Railways, to mark the 150 birth anniversary celebrations of
Rabindranath Tagore, launched Sanskriti Express showcasing photographs,
copies of letters etc on board. The train reached the Hyderabad city for a
four-day halt till October 1 and South Central Railway Additional General Manager Arun Bhagra formally opened the exhibition for public
viewing from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The five air-conditioned coaches are scheduled to travel across the
country offering an opportunity for people to learn more about Rabindranath Tagore and his life. The entry is free and after
Hyderabad, the express would leave for Chennai, he said.
Indian Railways to introduce five-digit train numbering system
September 22, 2010 (PTI): Indian Railways has decided to introduce
five-digit numbering system for all passenger carrying trains. The new
five-digit numbering system will be effective from December this year.
The five-digit scheme proposes to cover all passenger carrying trains including
Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Garibrath and suburban holiday specials. However, it will not cover freight trains.
Passengers booking tickets in Mail and Express trains will need to add
prefix 1 before the existing four-digit numbers while checking the reservation position through the enquiry system. Currently, trains have
varying numbers including three- digit, four-digit and alphabetical-numerical ones.
Five-digit train numbering has become necessary as the four-digit system
is exhausted, informed a senior Railway Ministry official.
Train
accident in Madhya Pradesh: 21 dead, 50 injured
Shivpuri, September 20, 2010: At least 21 people are feared
dead and 50 others are injured after the Gwalior Intercity Express was
hit by a goods train at Badarwaas in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh. The
number of dead could rise. The drivers, missing after the accident,
have now been found. The Station Master of the Badarwaas station who
was allegedly drunk during the accident has now been arrested. Blood
samples of all three have been sent to test for alcohol content.
Two front bogies of the Express Train were badly damaged after
the accident. The Army from neighbouring Jhansi district of Shivpuri
have reached the spot with a helicopter to airlift the severely
injured people. The passenger train, from Indore to Gwalior, was
reportedly stationary at the station when the goods train hit it from
behind. Three coaches of the Intercity Express piled up on top of each other with the impact.
Source: NDTV
Indian
Railways felicitates wrestler Sushil Kumar
New Delhi, September 14, 2010 (IANS): The Indian Railways on Tuesday felicitated Beijing Olympic bronze
medallist Sushil Kumar for becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a
gold medal in the World Championship in Moscow. Sushil Kumar, who is an
officer in Northern Railway, was awarded a cheque of Rs 10 lakh as a Railway Sports Promotion Board's (RSPB) award along with a memento by the
Minister of State for Railways, KH Muniyappa. This RSPB award is in addition to the Rs 10 lakh cash award which was
announced by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday and will be given to Sushil Kumar later on. "My personal congratulations on becoming the World Champion. It is the
spirit, drive and dedication like yours that leads to personal achievement and National glory," a message from Mamata Banerjee said.
Northern
Railways to cancel 25 trains due to rising Yamuna
New Delhi, September 11, 2010 (PTI): The rising Yamuna has
forced the Northern Railways to cancel 25 trains and diverted 36
others. The trains diverted include Kalka Mail, Shaheed Express, Garib
Nawaz Express, Awadh Assam Express, Shalimar Express and Brahmaputra
Mail. As many as 39 trains including Satygraha Express, Lal
Quila Express, Farakka and Howrah Janata Express have been short
terminated, according to a NR spokesperson.
Railways to Run 'Bharat Tirth" Trains Across the Country from Next Month
MUMBAI, 10 September 2010 (PIB) : A bid to promote tourism in the country and also to emphasize our
"Unity in Diversity", the Indian Railways will be launching 16 different
circuits of "Bharat Tirth" touching all the important destinations
across the country from next month. The objective of Indian Railways in
running "Bharat Tirth" Trains is to provide a comfortable, affordable
and memorable experience to the customers of different segments. In her speech, while presenting the Railway Budget 2010-11, the Minister
of Railways, Mamata Banerjee has stated that Railways would launch special tourist trains called
"Bharat Tirth" connecting popular tourist sites in different parts of the country
from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, from Dwarka to Vindhya Parbat, from Ajmer Sharief to
Gangasagar and from Madurai to Patna Sahib.
The itineraries are so designed that the Bharat Tirth trains would be
taken to the rail heads nearest to the tourist destination from where
tourists would visit the places of tourist importance. The road journey
for sightseeing is organized in comfortable buses and tour escorts accompany them in trains as well as buses.
Source: Ministry of Railways
Jobs
for info on rail sabotage: Mamata
KOLKATA, September 6, 2010: The railways will give jobs to
those who provide information on possible attempts to sabotage
movement of trains, railway minister Mamata Banerjee said on Septeber
5, 2010. Earlier, she had promised jobs to people who would inform
railway staff about track-related problems.
Announcing a reward of Rs 50,000 for a driver of the Rajdhani
Express who successfully stopped his train at Baruipara recently,
thereby preventing an accident, the railway minister said: "We
will award railway staff who perform well and stay away from
instigation." Mamata warned that strict action would be taken in
case somebody was found involved in an act of sabotage. "If you
can catch people involved in sabotage, inform us. We will immediately
provide jobs to you," she appealed to the people.
Rajdhani derails near Kolkata, sabotage not ruled out
KOLKATA, August 30, 2010: Passengers of the Howrah-bound Rajdhani Express
escaped unhurt on Monday when the engine derailed at a station in Hooghly district
with the Railways not ruling out sabotage as 300 pandoral clips on the
tracks were found removed. The New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express was at a slow speed while it was
passing through a platform of the Baruipara station, around 27 km from
Kolkata, when two front wheels of the engine jumped the tracks, Eastern
railway. CPRO Samir Goswami said. None of the coaches were affected by the derailment, which occurred at
around 9:15 am, he said.
Royal Rajasthan on Wheels to start journey from September 5
Jaipur, August 24, 2010 (PTI): New super luxury train of Rajasthan Tourism and Indian Railways 'Royal
Rajasthan on Wheels' will start its first commercial tour this season from September 5.
"The train, with around 50 passengers onboard, will start its journey from Safdarjang station in New Delhi. The train this time will take
tourists to Khajuraho and Varanasi also apart from destinations of Rajasthan and Agra," an official of Rajasthan Tourism Development
Corporation (RTDC) said here today.
Facilities of spa and gym have also been added to the train similar to
Palace on Wheels. In its eight-day tour, the train will halt at Jodhpur,
Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Ranthambhore, Jaipur, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Agra, he added.
Indian Railways run 'Mosquito Terminator'
in Delhi
Delhi, August 20,2010: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in coordination with the Indian
Railways flagged off an engine on August 19 that sprays 'Mosquito Terminator' larvicides in water bodies around railway tracks to prevent
mosquito breeding in water. The corporation has provided a truck-mounted power sprayer to the
railways to spray larvicides in water bodies along railway tracks. The railways would regularly run the 'Mosquito Terminator' around Delhi
area mounted on a wagon. The powerful sprayer will sanitize a distance of 50 to 60 metres from
the track. Each container carries about 150 kilolitres of larvicides. A
kilolitre would cost about Rs.800 and each container Rs.2 lakh.
Indian railways first AC double-decker train
New Delhi, August 18, 2010: Indian Railways likely to rolled out the first
double-decker AC Train in the year end. The Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala rolled out the country's first
air conditioned double-decker coach for oscillation trials on the
Delhi-Muradabad section in march this year. Mamata Banerjee, Indian Railway minister, had inspected the coach,
designed for a maximum speed of up to 160 km per hour.
The futuristic AC train will be an inter-city service on a high density
route having a separate fare structure, said a senior railway official.The double decker AC train will have complete sitting accommodation with
each coach having a capacity of 128 passengers as compared to 78 passengers in Shatabdi chair cars, thus increasing the sitting space by
almost 70 per cent. The coaches are also fitted with control discharge toilet system
and many other safety-related systems.
Armed men loot, assault train passengers in Bihar
PATNA, August 6, 2010: Dozens of armed robbers looted and assaulted passengers of a
Kolkata-Delhi train while it was passing through Bihar's Lakhisarai district early Friday. They also opened fire, seriously injuring a
constable of the Government Railway Police, officials said. About three-dozen men looted cash and valuables from passengers of three
air-conditioned bogies of the Howrah-Delhi Lal Quila Express between Bansipur and Bhulai railway stations, about 150 km from here.According to police, robbers also opened fire and beat up passengers."A constable of the Government Railway Police received a bullet injury
in his abdomen and has been admitted to a hospital in critical condition," an official said.
More than a dozen passengers were injured when they resisted the robbers.
"Some passengers were beaten with rifle butts by the robbers," the official said.
Over a dozen train robberies have been reported across the state in the last six months. Source: The Times of India
Indian Railways setting up of 2 wind based power plants
August 02, 2010: Mr E Ahamed minister of state for railways informed the Rajya Sabha that wind mill power plants are generally
selected on the basis of power density map issued by the ministry of
new and renewable energy, technical feasibility of connecting it to
the grid and availability of fund. During the current financial year,
two wind mill plants of 10.5 MW capacity each, estimated at INR 66.5
crore each have been sanctioned, one in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) for
North Western Railway and the other in Tamilnadu for Southern railway.
During the current financial year, INR 125,000 has been allocated for
the initial preparation stage. Each wind plant is expected to generate
power about 22 million units per annum. These plants are likely to be operational within next two years.
New Railway Catering Policy 2010
New Delhi, July 23, 2010: The Ministry of Railways Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC) will be only responsible for running of food plazas,
food courts and fast food units. An official press release said the management of all major and minor
units, including mobile units, except food plazas, food courts and fast
food units, would be departmentalised. The new policy also provides for departmentalisation of mobile catering
services, including base kitchens, in phases.
The policy is in pursuance of an announcement made by Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee, while presenting the Railway Budget 2010-11, that it was under revision and would be finalised soon.
The release said the policy would have an inclusive approach where, from
the least advantaged passenger to the relatively affluent, would be provided catering services in a socially responsible manner.
Trains accident at Sainthia, West Bengal 70 dead
Sainthia, Birbhum, July 19,
2010: Uttar Banga Exp rams Ranchi-bound train at Sainthia, Birbhum
(West Bengal) at 2 AM on Monday morning. Railway authorities blamed human error for the collision
between Uttarbanga Express and Vananchal Express at the Sainthia station
in Birbhum district early on Monday in which at least 70 passengers were killed and over 200 others injured.
The Uttarbanga Express was headed to Sealdah when it crashed into the
Vananchal Express. The maximum casualties were in the two unreserved bogies of the Vananchal Express which was deeply impacted by the collision.
Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a compensation of Rs 5
lakh and employment to one member of each family of the dead.
Install automatic doors to prevent mishaps on trains
LUCKNOW. July 14, 2010: The Lucknow bench of the high court desires that the Indian
Railways must also provide Metro train like facility of automatic opening and closing of doors of the train compartments. The court took
to task the railways that due to its insincerity in taking appropriate
steps for safety and security of passengers, it has to give out crores
of rupees as compensation to the victims of the train accident.
The court expressed these views while hearing an appeal filed by Indian
Railways against the compensation awarded by the tribunal to a victim,
who fell from the train as the doors were open.
Mumbai locals may get double-decker coaches
LUCKNOW, July 12, 2010 : As Mumbai grows vertically to accommodate its ever-increasing
population, so could its lifeline, the railways. The Research Designs and Standards Organisation, the R&D wing of Indian Railways, has
proposed double-decker local trains to carry more commuters. RDSO director-general K B L Mittal said his
organisation would prepare a design of a double-decker local and present it to the Mumbai Railway
Vikas Corporation (MRVC) as well as both Central and Western Railways and check their feasibility.
A two-storeyed local was a better idea than simply adding to the number
of coaches on local trains. The MRVC has already sent a proposal to the RDSO to study the feasibility of 18-coach trains.
Indian Railways to set up two wind power plants
NEW DELHI, July 7, 2010: In a bid to cut down on rising power costs and carbon
emissions, Indian Railways is turning to wind power. The behemoth is setting up two wind mill power plants with a target of
generating 21 MW wind power by next year. "We have finalised plans for setting up two wind mill power plants in
Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs 140 crores. Both the
plants will generate a total of 21 MW power," said a senior Railway Ministry official.
The plants will be set up along the coastal belt of Tamil Nadu and in the desert area of Jaisalmer. Each plant would generate 10.5 MW wind
power and cost about Rs 70 crore.
India's long coastline and vast desert expanses which are endowed with
high wind power potentials are best suited for the wind energy generation projects.
Besides reducing the electric consumption, the wind power will also earn
us carbon credits, said the official. Railways consume 5 billion units of power a year.
"We would supply the power to the grid and it would be adjusted against our power billing," said the official.
Railways are expecting the plants to be operational by next year.
Railways have already made operational a 10.5 MW plant at Tirunelveli in Tamil
Nadu. "We had saved about Rs 8 crore on power bills due to this plant," said the official.
Since wind power is eco-friendly, railways are expecting to earn about
Rs 1 crore as carbon credits from the wind power ventures. The largest PSU with 14 lakh employees is going green by channelising
its vast resources.
Source: The Times of India
Railways to use alternative fuels to power locomotives
New Delhi, July 5. 2010 (PTI) : Concerned over increased burden on its
coffers due to recent fuel price hike, Indian Railways, largest bulk consumer of diesel in the country, have decided to cut costs by using
alternative sources like bio-diesel in a big way for powering their vast
fleet of locomotives. It has decided to set up an integrated bio-diesel plant at Chennai with
an aim to gradually reduce dependence on high speed diesel which powers its fleet of over 7500 diesel locomotives.
Tenders have been floated. The entire work is expected to be over in two
years from the date of starting the project, a senior Railway official said.
Diesel locomotives cater to 60 per cent of the rail traffic in the country, hauling both passenger and freight trains.
New railway time table to feature schedule of new trains
New Delhi, Jun 30, 2010 (PTI): Timings of new unreserved Karmabhoomi
expresses and 'ladies only' Matribhoomi services along with 10 new non-stop Duronto trains will feature in 2010-11 time table of Indian
Railways, coming into effect from midnight.
The time table called 'Trains At A glance' will have timings of 58 new
express trains, it will also reflect extension in services of about 22
trains and increase in frequency of 13 trains among others. Colour-coding scheme has been introduced this year to make the time
table more user-friendly. Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Duronto, Garib Rath and Jan Shatabdi will be mentioned in pink colour while other superfast
trains in yellow, said a statement issued by the Railways. The Railways have introduced six 'ladies only' Matribhoomi special
trains and three unreserved karmabhoomi trains apart from one Janmabhoomi service.
Mamata Banerjee to launch Technology Express train
New Delhi, June 28, 2010: Technology Express a special express train,
is going to be launched from IIT- Kharagpur just after the Commonwealth Games. The Indian
Railways has devised a new way to popularise information technology across the country.
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee had flagged off on Thursday a special
exhibition train from New Delhi to spread awareness about IT among the
people, targetting the youngsters. Besides promoting the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010, the train will
showcase the progress India has so far made in technology while travelling to 48 stations across the country.
The Commonwealth Express train has 11 coaches out of which six have been
dedicated to information technology. In this train, the Department of Information Technology will showcase the capacity and the work done in
the country in the area of information and communication technology and
the initiatives carried out by the Department and its affiliated entities in the fields of e-governance, infrastructure, technology
relevant to rural India, language interfacing technology etc. After covering major cities in the country, the train will conclude its
journey in Delhi on 1 October 2010, ahead of Common Wealth Games.
No privatization of railways, says Mamata Banerjee
New Delhi, June 23, 2010 (IANS): Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said there was no likelihood
of privatizing Indian Railways, even as she admitted that several projects are not being implemented for want of funds.
The minister was speaking at the meeting of the consultative committee
of members of parliament for the railway ministry on "Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Railways".
A press release said the minister "reiterated that there will be no
privatization of Indian Railways". She told the committee members that there were "many socially desirable
railway projects which are not being implemented because of the shortage
of funds". She suggested that railway land, not required for immediate operations,
could be used for setting up manufacturing facilities as well as for hospitals, medical colleges and training institutions.
International Level Crossing Awareness Day
MUMBAI, June 21, 2010 : Every year, U.I.C. (International Union Of Railways)
observes one day as the International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD). This year, 22^nd June 2010 is being observed as
ILCAD. Indian Railways has decided to participate in this global campaign to sensitize
road users to increase safety at un-manned level crossings. The international level crossing awareness day focuses on educational
measures and the promotion of safe behaviour at and around level crossings. It is built on existing national events which will be held
jointly at various locations in every participating country on 22^nd June, 2010 and constructed around the common message
? *Act Safely At Level Crossings!*?. Despite all the measures taken to indicate the
presence of level crossings and make them safe, too many road users and
pedestrians are killed or injured at such crossings each year right around the world.
The number of unmanned level crossing accidents occurring on Indian
Railways is a cause of concern. At present, there are total 35,363 numbers of Level Crossings over Indian Railways out of which 17,954 are
Unmanned where the accidents occur primarily due to inadequate precautions by the road users failing to observe mandatory sign boards,
signals and basic traffic safety rules. Over the last five years, the train accidents at unmanned level
crossings have marginally reduced from 65 in the year 2005-06 to 62 in 2009-10. In 2009-10, fatalities in level
crossing accidents comprised nearly 74 percent of all fatalities in train accidents in India. While driving, the road user is supposed to
take precautions as stipulated in section-3 and 131 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 of having a valid license and ensuring that before passing the
unmanned level crossing, the road user stops, looks around and only if
no train is approaching, proceeds ahead. Source: Ministry of Railways
Railways promotes Commonwealth Games
Mumbai, June 16, 2010 (IANS) : This month, a special train will begin a cross-country journey to inform
and take visitors down memory lane through rare photographs and memorabilia of the Commonwealth
Games. The train will be flagged off by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on
June 24 and will return on October 2, a day before the Commonwealth Games start. It will stop for two-three days at select stations.
Five coaches of the train will feature exhibitions on the Commonwealth
Games, while five will focus on information and technology in railway operations. An eleventh bogey will be converted into a 100-ft-long
travelling sports photo exhibition, curated by sports filmmaker Sunil Yash Kalra, who has also donated rare pictures from his collection of
over 5,000 photos.
Indian Railways will have medical facilities for long distance trains
June 15 2010 : Indian Railways recently announced that specially made emergency medical
facilities will be available on - Duronto Express, Howrah- Yeshwanthpur
weekly by providing a doctor and a paramedical staff who will travel in
the train along with vital and life saving medicines and emergency medical equipments like Glucometer, ECG machine, AED, Nebulizer, Oxygen
Cylinder etc. Indian Railways will set up similar services on Mumbai-
Ahmedabad within a week. Indian Railways has now deputed doctors on long distance trains.
Medical facilities will be made available on the train itself.
Berths one and three of the second AC coach in the
train will be converted into a medical bay. A team of one doctor and paramedic will travel with passengers.
Railways opt for new toilet-technology
LUCKNOW, June 9, 2010: The new toilet-technology promises to keep up with not-so-disciplined Indian toilet habits, separating before disposal the
non-degradable waste that passengers mostly flush in toilets. Then disposing it all at terminal stations in an environment-friendly manner.“Green toilets aim at zero-defecation on the ground,” says Mahesh Kumar,
director, carriage, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO).Thus not only making it a likable sight at stations but also preventing
damage to tracks by way of corrosion.
As many as 200 coaches on Indian Railways will have environment-friendly
toilets this fiscal. The four technologies, which RDSO has developed with IIT-Kanpur and DRDE, Gwalior, have all gone through initial phase
of trials on trains like Gwalior-Barauni, Reva Express and Prayagraj. “The results are satisfactory with 90% success rate,” says
Mittal. Vacuum toilets, zero-discharge toilets, Aerobic and Anaerobic bio toilets are the types.
The toilets have been designed keeping in mind Indian requirements like long distance travel and toilet habits. The retention tanks will store
the waste and be emptied at terminal stations into sewage lines thus not dropping the waste all along the track. The solid and liquid waste will
be separated in the tank, while liquid will be re-cycled and used, a bacteria will disintegrate the solid waste thus making it non-polluting
to environment.
Currently, train toilets are of direct discharge type. As the railway
network grows and number of passengers increases, open discharge of waste will be a bigger problem. “This is one major reason why green
toilets are required,” says DK Agarwal, ED, RDSO. Besides, railways’ own maintenance staff will not have to face unhygienic conditions while working on tracks.
Railway board has formed a core group for ‘environment-friendly toilets’ to look after implementation of different technologies and has fixed a
target to provide 1024 green toilets.
CAG refutes Lalu claim on performance of rlys
PATNA, June 7, 2010: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report submitted to
the Union government recently came down heavily on the tall claims of the Indian Railways on its overall performance during former railway
minister Lalu Prasad’s tenure. The CAG maintained that the Indian Railways had not performed well as claimed by Lalu during his tenure,
particularly during 2008-2009.
According to a Railway Board official, the CAG maintained in its report
that the performance of the railways deteriorated marginally during the last leg of Lalu’s tenure. The annual rate of growth of freight loading
had declined from a peak of 10.7 per cent in 2005-2006 to 4.97 per cent in 2008-2009. Besides, the operating ratio (the traffic earnings spent
on operations), went up to 90.46 per cent, particularly during the period 2007-2008, he said, adding it was hardly about 75.94 per cent in
2006-2007.
Gyaneshwari
Express train tragedy rose to 149
New Delhi, June 01, 2010: The death toll in yesterday's derailment and collision involving the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari
Express in West Bengal's West Midnapore district has risen to 149. As many as 13 coaches
of the superfast Howrah-Kurla train derailed around 1.30 am yesterday near Kharagpur and three of them were hit within minutes by
a speeding goods train coming from the opposite direction.
The incident occurred between the Khemasoli and Sardiya
stations on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section, about 135 km from Kolkata.
At least 149 people suffered injuries in the incident and are being
treated in hospitals in Kharagpur, Midnapore and Kolkata. About 38 of them have suffered grievous injuries.
Home Minister P Chidambaram remark on Monday said the Communist Party of
India-Maoist was being suspected for the sabotage that caused the train
accident in Jhargram in West Bengal on Friday in which at least 150 passengers were killed.
"The needle of suspicion points to the CPI-Maoist or its front
organisation. The identity of the culprits can be established only after
the investigation is over," Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.
A day after the home minister's remark, the Railway Minister Mamata
Banerjjee today said she was not sure about the involvement of
the left-wing extremists. I don't know whether it is CPI-Maoist
who was behind the attack. But whoever is behind the attack should be
punished, Mamta Benerjee said. - PTI
New Railway logo to be used during Commonwealth Games
New Delhi, May 26, 2010 (PTI): A distinct new logo of Indian Railways which
will be prominently featured on Commonwealth Games tickets and other related events of the biggest sporting extravaganza in the country has
been finalised. The logo will feature in the Games' tickets and on the special train
which railways will flag off soon to promote the event that begins in October, a Railway Ministry official said.
While Railways is the lead partner of the Commonwealth Games, the IRCTC
has bagged the contract for selling the event's tickets online including
the inaugural and closing ceremony.
To select the logo, Indian Railways recently held a competition offering
a prize of Rs five lakhs for the selected design. The new logo represents the uniqueness and vision of Indian Railways,
said the official, adding, it is innovative in nature and has a special
recall value.
The
Indian Railways are offering its passengers air tickets
Mumbai, May 20, 2010: Keen competitors until now, the railways
and the aviation industry appear to have joined hands. The Indian
Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is selling air
tickets on its website, tempting passengers with a 10 per cent
cash-back offer and discounted airfare.
This comes in the wake of substantial inroads made by low-cost
airlines, which have brought airfares on many major routes across the
country down to a few thousand rupees, and made flying — once a
luxury affordable only to the rich —affordable to a much larger base
of travelers.
This has seen increasingly competitive fare wars between the
railways and airlines. “A typical case study is the Mumbai-Delhi
sector. After low-cost airlines made flying on this route affordable,
the railways slashed prices on the Rajdhani Express, which connects
the two cities. The airlines then further reduced rates — it had
become quite an aggressive battle a few years ago,” a senior railway
manager said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to
speak to the media. Source: Hindustan Times
Two people die in Delhi railway station stampede
New Delhi, May 16, 2010: Two people were killed and 15 injured in a stampede at a railway station in New
Delhi on May 16, 2010. A last-minute change of platform for a train triggered the stampede at the
New Delhi station A woman and a boy were killed in the stampede. at
the spot. Fire service officials said a total of 15 people were taken to hospital with injuries. A lot of passengers were on the platform to catch the train but when the
announcement was made, passengers pushed and jostled each other to move on the platform leading to the stampede. Railways ordered an investigation into the accident and announced compensation of
Rs. 200,000 to relatives of the victims.
Another luxury train to link tourist destinations
Varanasi, May 12, 2010: Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation in collaboration with Indian Railways
is starting another luxurious train in September called "Royal Rajasthan on
Wheels" connecting Varanasi-Rajasthan-Khajuraho with other tourist destinations
of the country. "Royal Rajasthan on Wheels is an upgraded version of Palace on Wheels luxury
train," said VK Sharma general manager of Royal Rajasthan on Wheels luxurious
train while talking to Hindustan Times during his visit to Varanasi Monday evening.
Sharma further said that it will be a seven-day tour starting on September 5.
The train will be flagged off from New Delhi and will travel to Jodhpur,
Udaipur, Chittaur, Sarai Madhopur, Jaipur, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Agra and return
to New Delhi. He said the luxurious train comprises of 14 sleeping saloons, 41 cabins, two
restaurant cum bar, one kitchen and one spa beside other luxurious facilities."The cost of boarding on this luxurious train would be 590 dollars per day for
each person and accommodation facility of 82 tourists has been made in the
train," he said. He said in Varanasi, the tourists will be taken on visit to Ganga ghats, Banaras
Hindu University, Bharat Mata Temple and Sarnath.
Railways pay tribute to Tagore by launching exhibition train
Howrah (WB), May 9 (ANI): Indian Railways launched a special exhibition train,
called the ‘Sanskriti Express’ to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The ‘Sanskriti Express’ was launched at Howrah station and will take visitors on
a mystical journey through the life and works of Tagore.For visitors who swear by the genius of Tagore, the exhibition on wheels
provides a rare preview of his virtuosity in various art forms.
The five-coach train exhibition depicts his extraordinary works of art.
Maoist blow up railway track in West Bengal
West Midnapore (West Bengal), April 27, 2010 (ANI): Suspected Maoists blew up a railway
track near Midnapore town in West Bengal's West Midnapore District on Tuesday,
disrupting rail services in the region. The incident took place on the second-day of the two-day shutdown call
given by the rebels in the three states of West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand
demanding release of six Maoists, who were arrested earlier.
Train services in the Kharagpur division have been affected by the incident. ue
to the impact of the blast, rail slippers were blown off and a huge crater was
created below the tracks at Puturia between Midnapore and Bhadutala stations.
Railway officials, the bomb squad and security personnel have rushed to the spot
and repair work of tracks has already begun. A land mine was also found near the
tracks. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had on April 23 said attacks on railway
property have doubled during 2009.
Replying to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Banerjee informed that the railways has
lost over Rs 500 crore due to disruptions by Maoists. Railways has become a
target of Naxals," Banerjee said. "We have lost Rs 500 crore because of Naxal bandhs and obstructions," she added.
Banerjee informed the House that the Naxals targeted railway property 58 times
in 2009, while there were 30 incidents reported on attack on railway property by
red rebels. She said that 56 incidents were reported in 2007.
Train controllers to go on mass leave on Labour Day
JAIPUR, April 26, 2010: The train controllers of Indian Railways have decided to go on a mass
casual leave on May 1 on the occasion of Labour Day to press for their demand
for ‘stress allowance’, hike in grade pay, filling up of vacancies, increase in
leave reserve, etc. Under the banner of All India Train Controllers Association
(AITCA), around 2,600 controllers of 38 divisions from all over the country have
applied for casual leave to build pressure on Govt.
Railways
lost Rs 500cr due to disruptions by Maoists
NEW DELH, April 23, 2010 (PTI) : Incidents of Naxal attacks on
railway property nearly doubled in 2009 and the Indian Railways
lost over Rs 500 crore due to disruptions by Maoists, Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha today. "Railways has
become a target of Naxals," she said replying to supplementaries
during Question Hour. "We have lost Rs 500 crore because of Naxal
bandhs and obstructions," she said adding incidents of
attacks by Naxals nearly doubled to 58 in 2009 from 30 in the previous
year. 56 incidents were reported in 2007, she said.
Banerjee said it was impossible to man every inch of the
65,000 km rail route. "Whatever we can do in our jurisdiction, we
do," she said. "We appeal to all the state governments to
take some precaution so that we can run trains," she said
emphasising that law and order was a state subject and railways could
do very little with the limited Railway Protection Force it has.
East Central Railway to observe Railway Week
PATNA, April 18, 2010: The East Central Railway (ECR) will
observe its 55th Railway Week function at the S K Memorial hall here
on Thursday. ECR acting GM A K Mishra will inaugurate the function.
The highlight of the function will be a variety of cultural programmes
to mark the occasion. The GM will give away individual and group
prizes to railway officials and employees of all its five divisions
for their outstanding achievements in their respective divisions of the ECR.
Rlys to lease real estate assets, eyes Rs 600 cr
Mumbai, April 7, 2010 (PTI) The Indian Railways is planning to
lease out some of its real estate assets to rake in Rs 600 crore in
rentals, a senior Railways official said. "We plan to lease 15
plots in different metros and Tier 11 cities on long lease this fiscal
and hope to net Rs 600 crore through this," Rail Land Development
Authority, Member-Finance F Mehmood said. "We have
identified a land-bank of 1,900 hectares for development. This will be
leased out in phases. We have appointed 15 consultants for this
purpose," he said. Most of the land available for lease is
in the eastern region, he said. Leasing its land for residential
purposes is not under consideration at present, the official said but
added that "if good proposals come, then we may think about it.
Railways experiment with cost-effective fly ash sleepers
Lucknow, April 06, 2010: The Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of Indian Railways is
experimenting with cost-effective sleepers for railway tracks. At present,
railway sleepers are made with cement concrete. Now, the RDSO, in collaboration
with IIT-Kanpur and NTPC, is planning to use fly ash in the sleepers, which will
not only make them more durable, but also cost effective. An initiative of
NTPC, the project was undertaken by RDSO in January 2010, and the sleepers will
undergo lab tests in the next three months
Fly ash is a residue of coal-based thermal power plants and is generally
considered a waste. However, it is known to acquire cement-like properties when
mixed with lime and water because of its pozzolanic characteristics, said V K
Mathur, Head of Ash Utilisation Division, NTPC. India produces 150 million ton fly ash every year and by 2012, the production is
expected to reach 200 million tons. Mixing 25 to 30 per cent of fly ash gives 20
per cent more durability to the cement structure as the fly ash particles, being
smaller in size than the cement particles, settle in the smallest of voids in a
cement structure and make the structure more condense.
Railways slash service charges on e-tickets
NEW DELHI, April 4, 2010 (PTI): Railways have slashed service charges levied on purchase of e-tickets by half from Thursday keeping passenger interest in mind.
As per the revised plan, service charge levied on purchase of e-tickets in AC classes has been slashed from Rs 40 to Rs 20. Likewise, service charges levied on purchase of e-tickers for sleeper class has been reduced from Rs 15 to Rs 10, official sources said.
Railways to manufacture 2.9 lakh wagons in 2010-20
NEW DELHI, March 23,2010 (PTI): Outlining the roadmap for the growth of Indian Railways, government on Monday said plans are afoot to double the existing
fleet of wagons, coaches, electric and diesel locomotives by 2020. "It is planned to add 2.9 lakh wagons, over 5000 diesel locomotives,
over 4000 electric locomotives and 50,000 coaches in the next decade," said Chairman Railway Board (CRB) S S Khurana. Khurana was speaking at the "Transport Infrastructure Summit-Belgian solution for India" here.
Referring to the bullet train project, he said 2,000 km of route for the high speed passenger rail
corridor is being planned in the next ten years. Feasibility studies for Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed
passenger corridor are nearing completion, he said. Total investment requirement for realising the capacity augmentation and modernisation works is estimated to be $280 billion.
NFIR has warned the railway board to fill up two lakh vacancies
VADODARA, March 17, 2010: The National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) has warned the
railway board to fill up two lakh vacancies in Indian Railways immediately. General secretary of NFIR M Raghavaiah, who was in the city on Tuesday, said
this while addressing mediapersons here. Raghavaiah was in city to take part in programmes organised by Western Railway
Mazdoor Sangh (WRMS) to celebrate their veteran leader J G Mahurkar's 76th birthday, who is fondly called Mahurkar dada, joint general secretary of
NFIR. He also addressed mass meeting of railwaymen at Pratapnagar.
Optic fibre project on railways
RAJYA SABHA, March 12, 2010 (PIB) : The optic fibres have been laid for modernization of ndian Railways’
communication network necessary for its operational requirements. As of January 31, 2010, Indian Railways have laid 37382 kms of optical fibre cable. A total investment of around
Rs. 1500 crore has been made on the optic fibre project. Revenues have been realized from the available spare
capacity in the optical fibre network. The revenue earned from Optic Fibre project during the last five
years is Rs. 32 crore in the year 2004-05, Rs. 56 crore in 2005-06, Rs. 112 crore in 2006-07, Rs. 188 crore in 2007-08 and Rs. 261 crore in the year 2008-09.
Railways concentrate on its core business of running trains. However, there are non-core areas allied to core activities, through which the Railways may generate
additional revenue. Due emphasis is given to both core and non-core activities keeping in view revenue maximization and social obligations.This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways, Shri E. Ahamed in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Construction of the new rail line from North Bengal to Sikkim
New Delhi, March 8, 2010 : The Indian Railways have begun the construction of the new rail line from North
Bengal to Sikkim that will pass through the foothills of the Kanchanjungha mountain range and the Tiesta river valley.
An official press release said the groundbreaking ceremony was held on
February 20 in the presence of North-East Frontier Railway General Manager Shiv Kumar and
senior officials of the Railways as well as Ircon International, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways.
The alignment connecting Rangpo from Sivok is 44.4 km long, more than 70 per
cent of which will be through tunnels. The work also involves spanning of deep
gorges/valleys. According to the release, the project cost is estimated to be approximately
Rs. 3300 crore. The work is expected to be completed in five years. When completed,
this project will greatly improve the connectivity to Sikkim and will boost the
State's economy and tourism, it added.
UK pitches in for joining Indian Railways projects
New Delhi, March 4, 2010 (PTI) Britain today expressed interest in India's efforts to
mordernise railways and upgrade its infrastructure, joining several other
countries like Japan, France and China to do so. Britain High Commissioner to India Sir Richard Stagg who called on Railway
Minister Mamata Banerjee today is believed to have expressed his country's
willingness in joining the Railways' modernisation in the field of track and signal upgrade.
Knowledge on wheels
March 2, 2010 : The Indian Scouting Centenary Express, an exhibition on wheels run by the
Southern Railway in commemoration of the centenary celebrations of the Scouts
movement in India was held recently. The exhibition attracted children in large
numbers, particularly Scouts and Guides who came in to find out more about the
movement's growth in India and looked every inch pleased. The exhibition train comprises three coaches, two displaying materials on
Scouting and one exclusively giving out information on Railways.
No hike in fares, freight charges in the Railway Budget for 2010-11
New Delhi, February 24, 2010 (PTI) : The Railway Budget for 2010-11 on Wednesday proposed no increase in passenger fares and freight rates while reducing the tariff by Rs 100 per wagon in
transportation of foodgrains, kerosene and fertilisers to tackle the price rise. The budget, presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Lok
Sabha, also proposed to reduce the maximum limit of service charge on e-booking of tickets to Rs 10 for sleeper class and Rs 20 for AC
class. The present maximum charge is Rs 15 and Rs 40 respectively.
Govt for expanding capacity of railways: Prez
New Delhi, February 22, 2010 (PTI): Government today said it is
committed to substantially expanding capacity of Indian Railways along
with increasing speed of passenger and freight trains."My
Government is committed to fulfilling a substantial expansion in
capacity and modernisation of railway technology and to increasing the
speed of both passenger and freight trains while improving safety," President Pratibha Patil.
Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament, she said commencement
of train services in the Kashmir Valley from Qazigund to Baramulla
demonstrates the Government commitment to development of all corners
of our country.She said a special North East Rail Development Fund has
been created to provide assured financing for nine major national
projects in the North Eastern region. Besides, Railways have also
commenced work on the ambitious Dedicated Freight Corridors on the
Eastern and Western trunk routes. "This project would help drive
India's growth's;.
Railways’
CFL project reaches Allahabad
Allahabad. February 19, 2010 : The Indian Railways project to
use energy-efficient tubelights and compact flurorescent lamps (CFL)
in offices and staff colonies across the country is rolling along in
the state. The implementation of the project had started in Ghaziabad
last May. “Now, the distribution of CFLs and energy-efficient T-5
tubelights in all railway zones has begun,” said NCR’s Chief
Public Relations Officer RD Bajpai. In the stations of Allahabad
division, work is in progress to replace the ordinary tubelights with
energy T-5 tubelights. This will cover all the big stations —
Allahabad, Kanpur, Mirzapur, Mughalsarai, Tundla, Aligarh, and Etawah.
Plus, in the first phase, “65,300 CFLs will be distributed in
railway residences of Allahabad division,” said Bajpai. The other
two divisions at Agra and Jhansi will be covered in the second phase.
“The lighting in all major stations will be as per the
guidelines of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which is a statutory body
under the Ministry of Power,” said Bajpai. “This alone will help
the North-Central Railway save 20 per cent energy.” A CFL or
T-5 tubelight of 30 watt gives as much light as a traditional 60 watt bulb,
said a senior railway official. So the energy saving is expected to be
not less than 50 per cent. Source: The Indian Express
Mamata Banerjee may not increase passenger fares
February 18, 2010: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely
to present a populist Railway Budget on February 24, leaving passenger
fares untouched but rationalising the freight rates keeping the
essential commodities aside. However, sources say that a marginal
increase in air-conditioned class is possible. Though the Railway
Board is insisting on raising fares keeping the railways'
financial condition in mind, insiders said the minister is 'dead
against' carrying out any such revision.The recession-hit industry may
not be as lucky though, the Rail Budget to be tabled on February 24 is
likely to rationalise freight rates of certain commodities like iron ore, coal and cement.
But according to sources, Mamata is unlikely to tinker with the
freight rates of essential commodities including foodgrains.There is a
possibility of a minimum 5 to 10 per cent hike in the transportation
charge of certain commodities including iron, coal and minerals. The
hike in fuel prices is weighing heavily on railways.
Indian Railways planning a new paid Inquiry Number 138
February 15, 2010: Indian Railways is planning a new railway enquiry number 138, with a host of value added passenger related services.
The 138 service, likely to be announced in the Rail Budget on February 26, will lessen the ressure from the existing 139 passenger enquiry number which clocks close to eight lakhs calls per day.
But enquiry number 138 would be paid unlike free 139 number. The new service will allow
travelers to book their hotels, tourist taxis and tours.
Indian Railways to set up IIT-Kgp's largest research centre
Kolkata, February 12, 2010 (BS): The Indian Railways will set
up IIT-Kharagpur's (IIT-KGP) largest research and development
(R&D) centre. The investment may exceed Rs 120 crore. Currently,
the largest R&D centre at the institute is with the Damodar
Valley Corporation (DVC), towards setting-up an energy park over a
five-year period beginning 2007. The estimated cost of this project is
close to Rs 100 crore. Union Railway minister Mamata Banerjee recently
said the Railways will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
with IIT-Kharagpur on February 13 to rope in students of the institute
for research work involving her ministry. Officials at IIT-Kharagpur,
however, point out that the establishment of a R&D centre would be
central to the arrangement.
Food may be spared freight hike in the railway Budget 2010-11
New Delhi, February 10, 2010: With one eye on inflation and another on the reviving economy,
railway minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to announce an increase in freight
rates for commodities other than foodgrains and fruits & vegetables when she
presents the railway Budget 2010-11 later this month. Key items on which freight
charges could be increased are automobiles, iron ore and cement.
Banerjee has already ruled out an increase in passenger fares in Budget 2010-11
while presenting a white paper on Indian Railways and ‘Vision 2020’ documents in
Parliament in December. The railways’ inability to achieve the freight earnings
target up to January may have also contributed to the minister’s decision to
hike freight charges for non-food goods. Freight earnings fell 2.26% short of
the Budget proposal. The railways earned Rs 47,763.29 crore from April 2009 to January 2010, against
the Budget target of 48,868.76 crore, according to figures released on Monday.
In terms of loading, for which data is available only up to December 2009, it
surpassed the target by 1.93%. Source: Financial Express
Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Ms. Banerjee flagged off 12 new trains in UP
Kanpur, February 7, 2010 (IANS): IANS UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Railway Minister
Mamata Banerjee on Sunday jointly flagged off 12 new trains in Uttar Pradesh. The routes of seven
existing trains have also been extended. Claiming that addition of a dozen new trains would prove to be a boon for Uttar
Pradesh, Ms. Sonia Gandhi said later at a huge public rally adjacent to the
railway station that “it was after a long gap that the railway ministry had done
so much in one go for this state”. She said the central government would be only too keen to do much more for the
State. “Our government at the centre in general and the Indian Railways in particular
are committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Uttar Pradesh,” she said.
The new trains are Kanpur-New Delhi Shatabdi Express, Lucknow-New Delhi Duronto,
Allahabad- New Delhi Duronto, Gorakhpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminal Express,
Varanasi-Jammu Tawi Superfast, Lucknow- Yashwantpur Express, Agra-Lucknow
Intercity, Mathura-Kasganj Passenger, Bhopal- Pratapgarh Express, Gorakhpur-Nainital Express, Gorakhpur-Noutha Passenger and Chapra-Mathura
Express.
Railways join hands with Health Min for health care
New Delhi, February 6 (PTI) In a first of its kind initiative, the Railways today
teamed up with the Health Ministry to build medical facilities at major stations
across the country. According to an MoU signed between the two ministries, they will collaborate to
develop health care facilities both for allopathic and Indian systems of
Medicine like diagnostic centres, out-patient centres, inpatient medical
treatment centres, super-speciality hospitals, medical colleges and nursing colleges.
These health care facilities could also be used as trauma centres for
emergencies, accidents and natural disasters.While the land for building the health infrastructure would be provided by the
Railways, the health ministry would be in-charge of the setting up process.
HC asks Rlys to give details of extra facilities for Maha Kumbh
LUCKNOW, February 4, 2010: The High Court on Wednesday asked
the Indian Railways to tell it as to what kind of extra facilities and infrastructure have been provided to Haridwar Maha Kumbh travelers
against the surcharge imposed on them to the tune of Rs 3 to 15. The division bench of Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi
posted the matter on February 9 for next hearing.
A PIL filed by Hindu Personal Law Board seeks subsidy to the
Kumbh visitors on the lines of that given to Haj pilgrims. On Wednesday, in compliance of earlier order, the Railway counsel
produced July 30, 2009 circular before the court and submitted that as the Railway had to make additional infrastructure and facilities for
the Kumbh visitors whose number rises up to lakhs, it has levied the surcharge to gain funds for the said purpose
Mamata invites business chambers to discuss rail PPPs
New Delhi, January 29, 2010: Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting with
chambers of commerce on February 6 to discuss how to get more private participation in rail projects.
The meeting is a prelude to the framing of a public private partnership (PPP) policy for the railways.
The ministry plans to announce the policy in the coming Budget. "The new policy is aimed at
attracting private developers, who have not shown much interest in railway projects hitherto," said a source in the know.In the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07), PPP projects by Indian Railways
constituted less than one per cent of the total plan outlay for the sector. The projections for the Eleventh Plan (2007-12) are, formally, 20 per cent of the
totaloutlay, which is around Rs 1,00,000 crore. In last year's Budget presentation, the railway minister had said the Railways
would be upgrading 50 stations under the PPP scheme. Of these, Delhi station was seen as a test case. But, the Rs 6,000-crore project has been stuck for two years for want of
approval from local bodies such as the Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Traffic Police and so on.
Source: Business Standard
Railways
plan to introduce more non-stop Duronto trains
Mumbai, January 25, 2010 (PTI) : Indian Railways is planning to
launch at least ten more non-stop Duronto Express trains in the next
financial year, encouraged by good response received since the
introduction of Duronto Express trains last year. An official from the
Indian Railways mentioned that for the same a feasibility study which
was conducted recently has identified 40 new sectors where Duronto
service can be introduced, but only about ten Durontos can be
announced for the new sectors. This is because the Indian Railways
have managed to launch only half of the 14 trains announced in the last Railway Budget.
Some of the new sectors found feasible for running Duronto
trains are Mumbai-Chennai, Pune- Mumbai, Bhubaneswar-Varanasi,
Guwahati-New Delhi, Patna-Amritsar, Howrah-Puri, New Delhi- Trivandrum,
Bhopal-New Delhi and Ahmedabad-Howrah among others. The feasibility
study also took into account the occupancy rate of mail and
express trains in the routes identified for running the Duronto trains. world, transporting over 18 million
passengers and over two million tonnes
of freight everyday. (ANI)
Railways to build first flyover track
PATNA, January 18, 2010: With the completion of Rajgir-Tilaiya new line, the railways now intends to build a flyover track between Bakhtiarpur and Barh in Patna district at an estimated cost of over Rs 60 crore for the smooth run of goods trains carrying coal directly from Tilaiya (Jharkhand) for NTPC power station being built at Barh.
The flyover tracks will be the first of its kind in the Indian Railways and it will be completed on
priority basis. It is a joint venture of the railways and
NTPC. he civil work on the proposed flyover track is likely to begin soon between Bakhtiarpur and Barh on the mainline section of Danapur
division under East Central Railway (ECR). - The Times of India
Rail mishap near Tundla junction, 3 killed, 14 injured
NEW DELHI, January 16, 2010: Three persons were killed and 14 injured in a
rail mishap in Uttar Pradesh, Saturday, a senior Indian Railways official said. The rail mishap took place when the Kalindi Express collided with the Shram Shakti Express near the Tundla junction in the state due to dense fog which had reduced visibility levels, North-Central Railway spokesperson R.D.Vajpai told the media in the national capital. The official said that a medical team has been rushed to the spot to help in the rescue operations, he said, adding that a probe has been ordered into the mishap.
Indian
Railways to expedite Bangladesh rail upgrade
New Delhi, January 13, 2010 (PTI): India today assured Bangladesh of speedy implementation of projects on rail infrastructure
upgrade in the neigbouring country.All rail projects would be speeded up as per the agreement with Bangladesh, Railway Minister Mamata
Banerjee said after meeting Bangla Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina here.
A railway link between Rohanpur and Singhabad to
facilitate transit traffic from Bangladesh to Nepal through India and making Akhoura-Agartala line operational among others were finalised
yesterday between the two countries.Indian Railways would help Bangladesh to build rail infrastructure that is expected to allow
train services from Kolkata to Tripura, she said. "India always had good relations with Bangladesh and its people," Banerjee
said.On cultural ties, she said, "We have a great cultural affinity with the country.
Mamata calls upon Zonal Railways to carry more safety drives
January 11, 2010, Ministry of Railways (PIB) :The Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee, has called upon the Railway officials to continue their
dedication and devotion to ensure smooth operation of Indian Railways and also continue to be careful and alert in their attitude towards implementing and observing all important instructions & guidelines issued by the Railway Board from time to time. Addressing the two-day General Managers’ Conference here today, Kumari
Mamata Banerjee emphasized on proper training of Railway personnel especially the core staff deployed for safety related jobs. She also said that while it is necessary to encourage and protect good
employees but staff found wanting on performance needs to be held accountable and answerable.
She also said that various decisions announced in the Railway Budget should be implemented with full sincerity and expeditiously. On safety, Kumari Mamata said that Railways need to carry more safety drives by conducting surprise checks and by properly implementing safety guidelines.
Referring to security of passengers, the Minister said that there is an urgent need to strengthen Railway Protection Force (RPF) in vulnerable areas and be more vigilant about those elements trying to create obstacles in the smooth operation of Railways.
Rlys' land acquisition rules will be altered
Kolkata January 5, 2010 : Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she had already altered the land acquisition template of
the Indian Railways in a bid to ensure no land was forcefully acquired for
projects undertaken by her ministry. “I have personally made an amendment to the land acquisition rules of the Railways a month
ago so that forceful acquisitions do not take place,” Banerjee said, without divulging the details of the amendment or the Act to which it was made.
However, sources indicated that the Banerjee, along with the rail board, were likely to have approved changes in the Railways Act
(1989). “But, after the amendment is approved, it might have to go through Parliament before it is enforced,” the source said.
Slighting the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led West Bengal government for its dispute-ridden land acquisition attempts in the state,
Banerjee said her ministry would walk the extra mile to avoid discord among land-losers in railway projects. “Unlike Singur and Nandigram,
we will not acquire large tracts of land forcefully. We will only take what we require from those who are willing to part with their land. If
people are unwilling, we will change the tracks and look at alternative routes,” Banerjee said at a ceremony in Amta, near
Kolkata.
Source: Business Standard
|
|
