Rajdhani train breaks 145kmph speed barrier
   MUMBAI, December 26, 2011 (DNA): Trials on Rajdhani and Express trains have clocked 145kmph. The trials are now on in Mumbai's backyard, between Virar-Dahanu and Surat stations. The Research and Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research arm of Indian Railways that has been conducting speed trials and tests, has now reported success of "oscillation and swing trials" of these passenger trains.
  "The oscillation and swing trials that were undertaken in the secondary stage with self-generating air-conditioned chair car coaches of Rajdhani, like Linke-Hofmann- Busch (LHB) and normal Express train coaches fitted with air springs, have successfully clocked 145kmph between Virar and Surat stations," an RDSO official said. LHB are the swanky, German technology coaches in trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi. The speed came close to that clocked by the fastest train in India, the Bhopal Shatabdi a Shatabdi Express train with a maximum speed of 160kmph and an average speed of 93kmph, excluding stops. The new-age local train wasn't far behind ? with a speed of 130kmph during field tests. The trials were conducted between Virar and Dahanu Road stations, said a senior RDSO official. The feat has now been listed as one of the major  achievements of the RDSO
  Madras HC notice to railways on new tatkal rules
  CHENNAI, December 20, 2011: The legality of the Indian Railways' new tatkal ticket rules scrapping the provision for refund of a cancelled ticket fare, has been questioned in the Madras high court.The first bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam issued notice to the Railway Board and Southern Railway, after advocate S Mohan submitted that the no-refund clause would benefit the railways and its staff, and not the travelling public. The public interest writ petition, filed by S Srinivasa Narayanan of Ayanavaram, contended that prior to November 11, the tatkal booking started two days ahead of the actual travel date. Also, the earlier rule provided for refund of at least 25% of refund of the tatkal ticket fare, if the cancellation was done 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train. Under certain circumstances such as delay of the train beyond three hours at the originating point, the entire ticket fare shall be refunded as per the earlier norms.
  Railways takes Measures to Ensure Cleanliness in Trains and Stations
  New Delhi, December 16, 2011: Indian Railways always endeavour to improve upon the standards of cleanliness and hygiene in coaches and stations. For further improving upon the standards of cleanliness in coaches, schemes like Intensive mechanized cleaning, On Board House-Keeping Services (OBHS) and cleaning attention to trains during their stoppage at “Clean Train Stations” etc. have also been launched. Indian Railways have also planned multi-pronged action by synergizing technology, education of users and provision of better mechanized equipments to improve upon the standards of cleanliness at stations.
  Regular inspections/checks are carried out at various levels to monitor the standard of cleanliness and upkeep of coaches and stations and punitive action is taken wherever warranted. Besides, special drives are also launched from time to time to intensify the level of cleanliness in coaches and stations and corrective action is taken wherever deficiency is noticed. This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Bharatsinh Solanki in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
  Fuel hike may affect rail fare: Muniyappa
  CHITRADURGA, December 12, 2011: The frequent increase in fuel prices has put the Indian Railways in the dock. It is now planning on increasing fares in proportion to the fuel price hike. It is also planning to impose higher fares on busy routes. In an exclusive chat with Express on Saturday, State Minister of Railways KH Muniyappa hinted at the price hike. He said: “Due to the wavering trend of petroleum prices in the international market, railways is reeling under crisis and there is an urgent need to overcome the burden. However, in view of our social obligation, the ministry will take a suitable decision which will not affect the people.”   “Since eight railway budgets, the ministry has not increased a single rupee and has provided maximum satisfaction to the public with its service motto,” he added. 
  Muniyappa also said that with considerable pressure from a cross section of the society and MPs, the ministry is thinking of providing better services and increasing the charges. "We are keen on implementing this issue and the ministry will shortly take a decision," he added. Source:The New Indian Express
  Government to unveil special train to ferry fruits and flowers
  PUNE, November 28, 2011: Having lost fruits and vegetables worth crores to poor infrastructure and transport, India will soon unveil a special insulated and ventilated train next month that ferries fruits and flowers from Mumbai to New Delhi and hauls vegetables on its way back. The train is a joint initiative between the National Horticulture Board (NHB) and Container Corporation of India, or Concor, a Union government enterprise that provides inland transport and cargo-handling facilities. The train will link the Turbhe yard of Concor near the Vashi market in Mumbai via Nasik- Bhusawal to the New Azadpur market in New Delhi. On return journey, it touches Agra and Surat. 
  Bananas from Maharashtra and potatoes from Delhi will be the core cargo throughout the year. Seasonal produce such as pomegranates,  grapes, flowers, carrots, peas and mangoes will also be carried by the train. Most fruits, vegetables and flowers are damaged during transport on ordinary freight trains, resulting in losses for growers, transporters and buyers alike. The train will have insulated and ventilated freight containers designed by a company called Transafe and manufactured at its Kharagpur workshop in West Bengal. The design has been vetted by Central Institute of Postharvest Engineering Technology, Ludhiana.
  20 injured as train derails in Kashmir Valley
  Srinagar, November 23, 2011 (PTI): At least 20 people were injured on Wednesday when a train from Qazigund to Srinagar derailed in Kulgam district, the first such incident since train services were launched in Kashmir Valley in 2008. The engine and two bogies of the train derailed at Sedura village, 55 km from here, as the driver overshot the intended station stop by nearly 200 metres, officials said. They said 20 people sustained minor injuries in the mishap. “All the injured persons were evacuated to a hospital,”a senior police official in Kulgam said.
  A team of Railway officials has rushed to the spot to investigate the cause of the mishap. “We are heading to the scene of the accident. The cause of derailment will be known only after the investigations are complete,” Chief Area Manager, Northern Railways, Opender Singh said.
  Official sources said preliminary investigations have found that there was some problem with the brakes of the train. The first train service was introduced in the Valley in October, 2008. Today’s mishap is the third involving railways since yesterday. Seven persons were killed when two coaches of the Doon Express caught fire in Jharkhand yesterday. In another incident on Wednesday, four passengers were injured when the Howrah-bound Koraput-Howrah Express collided with a goods train at Jharsuguda Station in Odisha.
  Howrah-Dehradun express train caught fire- 7 burnt to death
  Ranchi, November 22, 2011 (IANS): At least seven people including two children were charred to death when two AC coaches of the Howrah- Dehradun express train caught fire early on Tuesday in Giridih district of Jharkhand, police said. "Seven people, including two children, died after two coaches of the Howrah-Dehradun express caught fire. Four bodies have been identified. The fire has been extinguished," D Parwa Lakra, deputy commissioner of Giridih, said.
  According to railway sources, one of the two deceased was identified as Archita Kumari who hailed from Asansol in West Bengal.The incident took place between Nimiyaghat and Parasnath railway stations. Two AC coaches caught fire around 2.30 am. A blast in a gas cylinder of one of the coaches is said to be the reason behind the incident. AC coach number B1 caught fire first which spread into the second AC bogey B2. Both coaches were badly burnt. High rising flames could be seen. 
  "The AC of the coach was switched off and someone switched on the heater. We started feeling suffocated. We informed the TT about it. But no timely action was taken," a passenger travelling in the train told news channels. Train services have been partially affected. Some of the routes have been diverted.
  Railways minister announces new trains
   KOLKATA, November 16, 2011: Railways minister Dinesh Trivedi, on Friday, announced the introduction of 26 new trains, including a weekly Porbandar-Santragacchi Express within a week or so. These trains will be flagged-off by local public representatives from various stations.  On Sunday, Trivedi will flag-off a Howrah-Bolpur Kavi Guru Express from Kolkata. The routes of eight trains will also be extended and the frequency of five will be increased. The extensions and increase in frequency will come into immediate effect, the minister said.
  In the 2011-12 Railway Budget, Mamata Banerjee had announced the introduction of 132 new trains, extension of routes for 33 and increase in frequency for another 22. Of these, 42 new trains have been introduced. In order to cater to the surge of passenger traffic that is seasonal in nature, Indian Railways has followed a strategy of running trains on
demand. Recognizing the need to bridge the extremely large gap between supply and demand on one hand and limitations of terminal capacity and line capacity on the railways on the other, a close watch is kept on the wait-list of passengers as well as on important social and cultural events in the region.
  Railways, SAIL intend to set up coach factory at Singur, says Mamata
  Kolkata November 1, 2011: Even as the legal battle for the erstwhile Nano site at Singur is still on, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has said that Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Indian Railways is looking to set up a metro coach factory at the location. "I had a discussion with the Railways Minister, Dinesh Trivedi, regarding the setting up of a metro rail coach factory at Singur. Railways has already showed keenness on this, at the same time, SAIL, too, has given a letter. Singur land is with us. But since a court case is on, there are some legal bindings.  We  will be happy if Railways, SAIL and the state government can form a joint  venture. We are committed to returning 400 acres to the unwilling farmers," Banerjee said, as her briefing on an industrial revolution set to engulf West Bengal.
   Even if the venture materializes at Singur, it will not happen in the near term, and Banerjee realizes it as well. Banerjee won the first round of the court battle against Tata Motors, as the Calcutta High Court upheld the validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act that revoked the agreement between Tata Motors and the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation for the Singur land. But the judgment has been stayed till November 2, giving the company time to file an appeal. Source: Business Standard  
   Indian Railways has planned to revamp its catering policy
  New Delhi, October 27, 2011: Deepak Chhabra, Chief Commercial Manager, East Central Railway said, " Indian Railways has planned to revamp its catering policy across the country with a new, soon to be implemented policy which will serve a variety of meals to on-board passengers".
According to Mr.Chhabra the new policy will help Railways keep a tab on the quality of food served to passengers since it has taken control of catering from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The Railway Board decided that the menu would now be different each day of the week on the Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani Express. "Railways would change the menu card each day for passengers travelling by the prestigious Shatabdi Express and Duronto Express,” Chhabra said
  The Railway Board has ordered the review of menu cards in all mail and express trains with an aim to maintain uniformity in menu card and rate in each zone of railways. “Railways has set up a team of commercial trained inspectors under each division at every zone, to carry out surprise check of food quality served to passengers,” Chhabra said.
   Indian Railways launched a real-time train information system
   NEW DELHI, October 20, 2011 : The Indian Railways on Wednesday launched a real-time train information system (RTIS) for a dozen important trains through which passengers can access the accurate train running information.
Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi launched the facility at the Economic Editors' Conference here. The facility will not only be available to passengers on these trains but also to the public who are accessing the website “http:/www.simran.in”, and through SMS from railway enquiry number 139.
  Passengers will be provided with the information about the location of the train, its running position — on time or late, next stop, nearest approaching/crossed station and the speed. This facility has been provided for 12301 Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12302 New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express, 12305 Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12306 New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express, 12313 Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12314 New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express, 12951 Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12952 New Delhi-Mumbai Central Rajdhani Express, 12953 Mumbai Central-Nizamuddin A K Rajdhani Express, 12954 Nizamuddin A.K.-Mumbai Central Rajdhani
Express, 12003 Lucknow-Delhi Shatabdi Express and 12004 New Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express. The Railways intends to provide this facility in all passenger and freight trains by December 2012.
  124 trains cancelled in Telangana due to blockade
  Hyderabad, October 14, 2011 (IANS) Railways have cancelled 124 trains in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh from Oct 15 to 17 in view of the three-day 'rail blockade' called by Telangana Joint Action Committee to press the demand for a separate state. The cancelled trains include 48 express and 76 passenger trains. As many as 38 express and 16 passenger trains would also be partially cancelled during the three days.
   In a statement released here Thursday night, the South Central Railway (SCR) also announced that 68 express trains would be diverted. All MMTS (Multi-Modal Transport System) or local trains in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad will be operated between Hyderabad and Lingampally and Secunderabad and Lingampally. The MMTS trains between Hyderabad and Secunderabad and Secunderabad and Falaknuma stand cancelled. All DHMU (Diesel Hydraulic Multiple Unit) trains have also been cancelled. The railways plan to operate only 20 trains as scheduled.
  Clerks behind counters in railway ticket scandal
  New Delhi, October 10, 2011: The Indian Railways is pressing charges of forgery against 15 employees for allegedly booking tickets in bulk, which is illegal and is usually done by unscrupulous staff out to make a quick buck. The manipulations were detected at 10 to 12 smaller stations in the Northern Railway zone, where passengers had come to book tickets for east and north- bound trains for Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath. A senior official of Northern Railways' commercial department said: "The fraud was detected at Haridwar, Nazibabad, Meerut, Kotdwar, Modinagar, Gurgaon, Badgam, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ambala and Ferozepur. There is a heavy rush from these regions during the festive season for east-bound destinations such as Bihar, West Bengal and eastern UP." "We found that errant railway clerks had booked multiple tickets between 8 am and 8.02 am," the official added. Source: India Today
   Indian Railways to get its most powerful diesel locomotive
   NEW DELHI, September 26, 2011 (ET): Locomotive major Electro-Motive Diesel Monday said it has completed the design for a high-horsepower locomotive for the Indian Railways. According to the company, the new design - WDG5 - would be developed into the most powerful diesel locomotive in the country with a power output of 5,500 bhp. "This diesel locomotive has an output of 5,500 bhp, which will make it the strongest diesel locomotive ever to run on the Indian rail network," the company said in a statement. The company further said that the locomotive has a tractive effort of 560 kn and can pull more load at higher speeds with less emissions than engines which are currently in use.
   The design entails the usage of modern technologies like electronic fuel injection and more.  "It includes electronic fuel injection, radial grids and high adhesion, lightweight fabricated bogies," Lehman said. The interiors of the locomotive would have crew-friendly features and modern controls. "It has modern driver interface and crew-friendly features, such as an air conditioned cab and toilet, which is another first for the Indian Railways' fleet."
   Railways most corrupt government organisation,says cvc annual report
   Delhi, Septeber18, 2011: The CVC's annual report for the year 2010 reveals that every third official penalised for corruption in the country belongs to the railways. Surprisingly, public sector banks like the Canara Bank, Vijaya Bank,
State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank, besides the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which have high public interface, follow the railways in the CVC's roll call of dishonour.
   The excise and customs department, which is perceived to be more corrupt than a bank, comes behind the DDA and MCD in the CVC's corruption index. Out of the 2,982 officers who faced action last year, as many as 911 belong to the railways. In fact, the corruption index in railways literally doubled from 2009 when 509 railway officers had faced the heat for corruption on CVC's advice. Canara Bank, Vijaya Bank, SBI and PNB together saw 406 of their corrupt
officials punished in some way in 2010, the CVC report says.
  Indian Railways leads the chart here too, with 321 of its officers not seeing any action against them despite the CVC's advice given over six months ago. Railways is followed by 305 officers of the Central Board of Excise & Customs and 174 officers of the Central Board of Direct Taxes - both under the Finance Ministry - who have also not been acted against by their respective organisations for over six months despite the CVC's advice.
  Train mishap near Chennai, 10 dead, 72 injured
   New Delhi, September 14, 2011: In the third major rail mishap in a span of two months, 10 persons were killed and 72 others injured when a passenger train rammed into a stationary train near Arakkonam, derailing five coaches on Tuesday night. Rescue operations are over and work is on to restore the rail track. However, bad weather is slowing down the process.
  The accident took place at about 9.30 last evening, when the Chennai Beach-Vellore local rammed into the Arakkonam-Katpadi train - which was stationary at that time. A compensation of Rs 5 lakh for familes of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured has been announced. Union Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi will be reaching the site later on Wednesday morning. "Initial reports suggest that the driver may have jumped the signal, but this is not confirmed yet. Our officials have reached the site. Compensation of RS 5 lakh will be given to victims' families and RS 1 lakh to the injured. The state Chief Secretary is looking into it. We will confirm the casualty figures only after looking into detailed probe reports," said Trivedi.   
   Railways mulling over passenger fare hike
   New Delhi, September 5, 2011 (IANS): The Indian railways considering an 8-12% hike in passenger fares. The move comes as a desperate bid by the railways to pull itself out of the red and the hike could be across the board. "We are actively considering an increase in passenger fares for all classes," Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal told IANS. "The hike should happen at the earliest. We have already lost five months this financial year." 
   Indian Railways, which runs 10,500 trains and ferries 2.2 crore passengers each day, last hiked passenger fares in 2002-03. As part of fare rationalisation in 2002-03, minimum fare for second class mail and express trains went up from Rs15 to Rs16. For long distance trains up to 341 km, the hike ranged from Re1 to Rs6. 
   Explaining his point, the railway board chairman said the "investible surplus" of Rs13,000 crore this year was expected to drop to Rs.4,000 crore after the government revised its economic growth target from 8% to 7.5%. He felt that this would affect the railways' development plans. Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi, sources said, is seized of the matter. Once he approves the fare hike, the proposal will be put up before the cabinet.
   Railways to remove slums from near tracks
   New Delhi, September 2, 2011 (IANS): The railways want to remove slums from its property 'in a humane manner' and are taking steps to prevent more slums from coming up, parliament was informed Friday. Minister of State for Railways Bharatsinh Solanki said the rehabilitation and resettlement of such slum dwellers would be done through railways' Sukh Griha Scheme or other such schemes. The issue had been taken up with ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation 'to arrive at a policy solution to relocate these slums', the minister told the Rajya Sabha.
  'Railways are also engaged in a continuing exercise to prevent fresh encroachment by protecting railway land and property by providing boundary wall, fencing and tree plantation,' he said.
   Wi-Fi fittings for Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express
   New Delhi, August 28, 2011: The Indian Railways is planning to make the New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express the first Wi-Fi-enabled train in the country. "Internet browsing using the Wi-Fi technology is planned to be introduced in the  Howrah- Rajdhani Express as a pilot project by December-end," a member of the Railway Board said. The Wi-Fi facility, available at the international airports in the country, enables laptop users to access the Net without plugging into a regular connection, or having to use a data card.
  "Both business travelers and commuters will be interested in using wireless services on trains as it will enable them to productively use the nearly 24 hour travel and be in touch with the global community and share their experiences in real time," the official said. They said the facility would be initially available in three rakes of the train and extended to other trains depending on the success of the project. 
  The estimated cost of the project is Rs 6.30 crore, and the railways have awarded the contract for the equipment and their installation. The officials said browsing of the Net would be through a satellite-based system using Wi-Fi for the distribution of Internet bandwidth.
   Salman Khan to become Indian Railways brand ambassador
   Mumbai, August 25, 2011: Given Salman Khan’s love for /rail gaadi/, the Indian  Railways are planning to rope in the megastar to bring about a much needed face lift to one of the biggest transportation system in India.
   Action superstar Salman Khan is often seen running, romancing or beating the pulp out of baddies against the backdrop of our very own Indian Railways, so the top officials of the department are reportedly contemplating to ask the star become their brand ambassador. A source close to Salman revealed, "The Indian Railways is used as a mode of transport by a very large number of population. And, as a star, Salman has a huge appeal among the masses. So it`s a perfect brand fit.” 
  "His movies like ‘Tere Naam,’ ‘Wanted,’ ‘Dabangg’ - all have important scenes in trains or railway platforms," the source added. However, Salman’s business representative was very evasive about the deal. On contacting the rep said, "It`s too premature to talk anything about it right now." Source: Zeenews
   Indian Railways offering live television services on-board next year
   New Delhi August 22, 2011: Indian Railways will redefine the travelling experience of passengers on premium trains by offering live television services on-board next year. The country's largest Direct-to-Home (DTH) service provider, Dish TV, which has recently executed a pilot project on the Kalka Shatabdi, is in the fray to bag the contract. Reliance Big TV, too, has evinced interest. Sanjay Behl, chief executive officer, Reliance DTH & IPTV, said, "Reliance Digital TV has capability to provide services in cars, buses and trains. We are keen to evaluate all tenders in this regard, including that of the Indian Railways."
  To begin with, the services would be introduced on eight Delhi-bound Shatabdi trains and then in Rajdhanis and Durontos. Passengers would be able to surf through as many as 70 channels covering genres such as entertainment, cricket and news. "The service will be provided free of cost. The contractor would have to pay a stipulated licence fee to the railways and in lieu would get airtime for advertising content on trains," said a senior Northern Railways official.
   Live television services are already offered by DTH operators on premium inter-city buses, luxury trains and ships. But this would be the first time the service would be rolled out on a mass scale on trains.
  Railways Propose to Set up Mechanized Laundries at Important Locations 
  Ministry of Railways 18-August, 2011: Indian Railways always endeavour to provide good quality linen to the passengers in trains. Bedrolls/linen sets are washed after every use. However, some complaints and references/ suggestions have been received on the Railways regarding quality of washing of bedrolls. The number of complaints received in 2009-10 was 1382; in 2010-11, 961 and in the year 2011-12 (till June) it was 207.
  Such complaints/suggestions, whenever received, are acted upon appropriately and suitable penal action is initiated against the concerned contractor/staff responsible for the lapses on their account. Regular inspections/checks are carried out at various levels to monitor the quality of linen provided to the passengers. Railways are also in the process to set up mechanized laundries at important locations to further improve upon the quality of washing of linen. This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri K. H. Muniyappa in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
   Railways to have electronic security system soon
   NEW DELHI, August 12, 2011 (PTI): The railways on Friday said it is in the process of having an integrated security system for electronic surveillance at vulnerable stations to ensure security and safety to passengers. "We are implementing an electronic security system. This is going to be implemented soon," railway minister Dinesh Trivedi said in Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.  He was answering questions on measures taken by the Railways to provide security and safety to passengers. 
  The integrated security system will consist of electronic surveillance of vulnerable stations through close-circuit television camera network, access control and anti- sabotage checks, he said. "The system has been approved to strengthen surveillance mechanism at 202 sensitive and vulnerable railway stations and it is under implementation," Trivedi said. He also said that his ministry was committed to doing "anything and everything" to see that vacant positions related to security were filled up. "Efforts are on to augment the Railway Protection Force cadres for which employment notifications have been issued for recruitment of 11,952 vacancies of constables and 511 sub- inspectors," he said.
   Indian Railways will soon be introducing double-decker trains 
   Bhopal, August 08, 2011: The Indian Railways will soon be introducing double-decker trains between Bhopal and Beena. The department is likely to start a feasibility survey next month. The decision to introduce the high capacity rail double-decker trains was taken due to the huge rush of passengers on this route. If the railways get a positive response in the survey, the double-decker service is likely to begin by the end of this year.
   According to an estimate over 25 thousand people commute on the Bhopal-Beena route daily. From businessmen to students and vendors a large number of people are dependent on the rail services to travel on this route. People coming from Beena to Bhopal usually depend upon trains like Malwa, Vindhyachal, Amritsar-Dadar and Kushinagar Express. Double-decker trains are already in operation between Howrah and Dhanbad. The Eastern Railways had introduced double-decker AC coaches to cater to the heavy rush of travelers on this popular route.
   Three killed in train crash in West Bengal
   Kolkata, July 02, 2011: At least three people have been killed and 200 injured in a train collision in the Malda district of West Bengal. Officials said the accident happened when the engine were then hit by another train.
  The crash took place in Malda district about 350km (210 miles) north of Kolkata. This is the third serious rail accident in northern India this month. The express train "suffered the derailment of one engine and six coaches," said Amil Saxena, a spokesman for the railways ministry. "After derailing, the coaches were thrown into the path of the oncoming Azimgarh-Malda express. It came after about four to five minutes. It seems the driver was alert and he tried to put on the emergency brakes." Some passengers are reported to be trapped in the wreckage. 
  Accidents are common on the state-owned Indian railway, an immense network connecting every corner of the vast country. It operates 9,000 passenger trains and carries some 18 million passengers every day.
  Delhi HC directs Railways to introduce bio-toilets, rehabilitate
  New Delhi, July 29, 2011 (UNI) : The Delhi High Court On July 27 directed the Indian Railways to introduce bio-toilets in the trains and rehabilitate thousands of scavengers engaged for doing the menial job. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjive Khanna, who were hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Safai
Karamchari Andolan, a federation of state-level organisations of manual scavengers across the country said ‘Railways should seriously think of the rehabilitation of these manual scavengers.’ Taking note of the status report filed by advocate Rajiv Nanda, who is appointed as amicus curie by the court to assist it, the court expressed its displeasure at the slow pace of roll out of the bio-toilets, which retain human waste and treat it with bacteria, converting it into gas and water. The report said the railways were slow to implement the Bio-Toilets as an extra burden of Rs 1,600 crore will have to be shelled out by the Railways Ministry.
  'Presently there are about 50,000 coaches in the trains run by Indian Railways, of which 43,000 coaches are engaged in the passengers service, this means that there are a total of 1,72, 000 toilets which are functioning today using technology which is completely unacceptable, in that it requires the use of manual scavengers to clean the human excrete which is directly discharged on to the railway tracks,' the report. The Court said the Railways should install the bio-toilets as fast as they can and fixed September 21 as next date of hearing.
  New Delhi-Mumbai travel time will be reduced to 6 to 7 hours.
  MUMBAI, July 21, 2011: According to railway officials, the infrastructure for the Golden Rail Corridor, which will have trains running at semihigh speed (160-200 kmph) between New Delhi and Mumbai , is likely to cost around Rs 5,000 crore. The cost, they say, is relatively low as the railways will not have to acquire land for the project.
  Once the project takes off, the New Delhi-Mumbai travel time will be reduced to six to seven hours. At present, Rajdhani Express , the fastest train on the Indian railway , runs at 120-130 kmph and takes at least 16 hours to cover a distance of 1,400 km between the two cities. Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer, WR, said, "A delegation from the Japanese government that visited India last week is satisfied as far as the commercial viability of the project is concerned. Another team will soon visit the country to study the technical aspects of the project."
  A high-speed train runs above 250 km/hour, for which separate infrastructure , including the tracks, is required. For this, land acquisition is necessary. "These semi-high speed trains will run on existing tracks, so land need not be acquired . No major changes need to be made in the existing track design. The loop design (at points and crossings ), however, will have to be modified to ensure that the train is able to change the track at a speed of 100 kmph or above. As of now, trains are not allowed to go beyond 30 kmph while changing tracks," he said.
   Japan team studies feasibility of semi high-speed Indian rail in Gujarat
  AHMEDABAD, July 15, 2011: A delegation from Japan was in Vadodara on Wednesday to explore the feasibility of semi high-speed Indian rail development in the country. The delegation's visit to the Vadodara railway division comes on the background of the decision of Indian Railways to consider increasing the speed of trains from the existing 160 kilometres per hour (Kmph) to 200 Kmph on Delhi-Mumbai route.  Vadodara railway division is set to become the hub of all the studies that will be carried out by Japan government's delegation as the Ratlam-Surat zone is being taken as a sample zone to conduct feasibility study of semi high speed rail development in the country. 
  The feasibility study will cover the existing 1,400-km Delhi-Mumbai corridor via Mathura, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara and Surat. The three-member delegation that visited Vadodara railway division included experts from Mitsubishi Research Institute.
  Train crash in Uttar Pradesh kills more than 60 people
   Fatehpur, July 11, 2011 (BBC): At least 69 people have been killed and almost 250 injured in a train derailment in near Fatehpur. A dozen coaches of the Kalka Mail passenger train left the rails near the town of Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh. Rescue workers and locals have been working through the night to try to free trapped passengers from the badly damaged carriages.
  The train was travelling from Howrah near Kolkata to the capital Delhi and derailed at more than 100kmph (62mph). Among the bodies removed from the damaged coaches were those of two Swedish passengers. A third Swede is among scores of injured receiving treatment in hospital in the local town of Kanpur.
  Some coaches mounted each other and others were badly crushed in the accident, making it difficult for rescuers to reach victims. Specialist medical and engineering teams along with cutting equipment and cranes have been sent to the crash site, local reports said. The cause of the derailment, about 120km (75 miles) south-east of Uttar Pradesh's capital, Lucknow, was not immediately clear.
  Indian Railways to roll out new e-ticketing service
  NEW DELHI, July 05, 2011: Indian Railways is all set to roll out its own e-ticketing service, which will have no room for travel agents and will be reserved for individual users. "Unlike the e-ticketing service of IRCTC, the new service by Indian Railway will have no role of travel agents and commercial organisations. Only individual users will be allowed to book on the portal," said a Railway official. Travel agents in the IRCTC service have been accused of blocking tickets to sell them at a premium. Public resentment has also led the railways to bar travel agents from booking tatkal tickets during peak hours on the IRCTC portal.
  Under the new railway e-ticketing service, individual customers would need to register themselves for the first time for availing the services. The registration will be free of charge. A maximum of eight transaction per user ID per month will be allowed in the beginning, the official said, adding, the service charges levied will be Rs five per ticket for sleeper class and Rs 10 per ticket for all other classes. IRCTS charges Rs 10 per ticket for sleeper class and Rs 20 per ticket for all other classes. The new service will be available on its web portal www.indianrailways.gov.in. Its launch will be announced after necessary clearance for payment gateway transaction, the official said.
  On offer is also a service for booking tickets on the mobile platform. Customers desirous of utilising the facility and having Internet facilities will have to download mobile ticketing application on mobile phones from Indian Railway's website, the official said. Tracking facility for freight trains running and parcel status by customers would be among a host of other features that the portal is expected to introduce shortly.    
  India Railways new train time table announced
  New Delhi, April 01, 2011: Indian Railways new train time table will come into effect from Friday (July 1). With the new time table coming into effect, the arrival/departure timings of some trains have been altered. The train numbers too stand changed. Information regarding new train time table and the number of trains that have been changed can be obtained from railway enquiry number 139 or the various railway websites.
  Trains whose departure timings have been changed are Dehradun Jan Shatabdi (12055), New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani (12314), Lucknow-Barauni (15204), Howrah-Kathgodam Bagh express(13019), Avadh express (19038) and Muzaffarpur-Bandra T. express (19040) from Lucknow junction station. The number of Varanasi-Anand Vihar Garib Rath has been changed from 12551/12552 to 22407/22408. Now the Pune-Maduadih express will run as a superfast train with a new number - 22131/22132. Lucknow-Allahabad Intercity Express has been extended upto Vindhyachal, while Lokmanya Tilak (Terminus)-Allahabad Express has been extended upto Faizabad. 
  About 11 new trains would be introduced that would pass through the North Central Railway region. The timings of the trains have been changed but the dates when these trains strart will be declared later. These trains include 12293/12294 allabhad lokmanya tilak terminus ac duranto express;22029/22210 mumbai central new delhi ac duranto
express;12035/12036
  Railways blocks 4.6L user IDs for e-ticket fraud
  MUMBAI, June 27, 2011: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which looks after online booking of tickets, has blocked over 4.6 lakh user IDs and 71,484 e-mail IDs since March to curb malpractices
in train reservations. In a bid to prevent touts from cornering reserved tickets, the IRCTC has enhanced its cyber surveillance and has been disabling IDs, which are found to be violating laws. Public relations officer of the IRCTC, PC Bihari, said, "Users of these IDs will no longer be able to book tickets through our website."
  An IRCTC user ID can be created only if a person has an e-mail ID. Once users complete the registration formalities on the IRCTC website, they receive a password on their personal e-mail IDs. Authorized agents have been provided separate user IDs by the IRCTC for online booking on a commission basis. In March, the IRCTC barred its authorized agents from booking tatkal tickets online between 8 am and 9 am after many citizens complained that they were finding it difficult to book tickets on the railway website. The agents, however, found their way around the system by creating multiple user IDs so that they could book tickets during the restricted slot.
  An IRCTC official said, "The agents were able to corner a large chunk of tickets which they sold at exorbitant rates to the customers."  Many agents had procured software which let them to book tickets within seconds. The fraud was detected and the main distributor was arrested by the cyber crime cell on June 7.
  Indian Railways will Start a 100 Bln-Rupee Bond Sale by September
  New Delhi, June 21, 2011: India’s Ministry of Railways will start a 100 billion-rupee ($2.2 billion) domestic sale of tax- free bonds by September to help upgrade and expand Indian train network. The offering will be divided between a private placement and a later tranche for retail investors, Rajendra Kashyap, managing director of finance arm Indian Railway Finance Corp., said in a June 17 interview in New Delhi.
  Plans for the money include spending as much as 53 billion rupees on laying additional rail lines, 21 billion rupees for widening tracks and 8.5 billion rupees for electrification, he said. About 1,300 kilometers of (808 miles) of new lines are due to be laid this year to meet rising travel and freight demand in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy.
  Maoists strike Bihar railway station
  Patna, June 16 (IANS) Maoists Thursday set ablaze a portion of a railway station and blew up four mobile phone towers during a 24-hour shut down called by them to protest the arrest of one of their top leaders in Bihar, police said.
  A group of armed rebels attacked Nadaul railway station in Jehanabad district, about 50 km from here, on the Patna-Gaya route. Besides ransacking the station, they set afire a portion of the booking counter and the panel room, police said. They also blew up four mobile towers in Gaya district, about 100 km from here. Unconfirmed reports suggests they attacked a police station in Gaya, besides another tower in Aurangabad district. The rebels are protesting the arrest of Jagdish Yadav alias Jagdish Master, politburo member of the  outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). He was arrested June 12 from Gaya.
  Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani a money-spinner
  Mumbai, June 12, 2011: The Mumbai-Delhi route of the Rajdhani Express earned the most revenue for the Western Railway (WR) in 2010-11 according to their list of the top 10 revenue-generating trains. All the revenue data is for one-way journeys. The WR earned around Rs63 crore from the Rajdhani’s Mumbai-Delhi route. The Rajdhani Express connects  Mumbai-Delhi provide the best of services in terms of coaches, the quality of seats, and air conditioning. 
  The WR’s monthly earning of the Rajdhani’s Mumbai-Delhi route is around Rs 5.24 crore while its daily earning is around Rs17.2 lakh. Looking at the Rajdhani’s popularity, the research and design wing of the Indian Railways has proposed air conditioning facilities inside each cabin apart from other amenities like ovens, LED lights, laptop charges and water coolers. “Passengers inside every cabin will be able to regulate the AC,” said a senior WR official, on condition of anonymity. The railways are also looking at improving the body of the train after a Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express caught fire recently.
   Railways hikes capacity of Rail Neer plant at Khagaul
   PATNA, june 7, 2011: The Rail Neer (mineral water) plant at Khagaul has proved to be a good revenue earner for the railways. The railways has increased its production capacity to one lakh bottles daily to cope with the growing demand in other zones.
  According to Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Danapur division, L M Jha, the Khagaul Rail Neer plant, which is the second plant of the Indian Railways, maintains a world-class standard. The plant is quite nvironment-friendly too. It has been supplying Rail Neer to Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bhubneshwar, Kolkata and Guwahati in the eastern region, he said. Lauding the functioning of the plant, the DRM said it has been fulfilling the needs of all five divisions of East Central Railway (ECR). The maximum consumption is under Danapur division as a large number of mail and express trains either originate or pass through Patna Junction, he said.
   Indian Railways to launch new web portal soon
   New Delhi, June 4, 2011: The Indian Railways will soon launch a new web portal, which would contain information related to passenger services , for the convenience of travellers. The information will primarily include journey planners, E-ticketing, retiring room booking and train arrival/departure information and PNR status. "The new web portal will provide a web-based complaint management and SMS complaint management," said a senior Northern Railway official. The telephone number 132 has been taken over by Northern Railway for the purpose of web facilitation. It is to be an all-India number with accessibility from all mobiles and landlines across the country. After the launching of the portal, passengers can dial 132 for lodging complaints against railway services, the official said. All complaints which are presently being received on SMS either on 9717630982 or on 57886 shall be received later on at the three digit number. "It will be ensured by the Railways that this number is integrated with the web portal," he said.
  The portal will offer services to the rail users for freight services which includes information to the customer about the rakes. "This will also provide tracking facility of the rakes on the portal," the official said. On the parcel services front, the portal will provide information about the parcel rules, parcel charges calculator, parcel rates and parcel tracking information also. All the earlier 35 railway websites have been linked to the portal and made online,.
  Railways to invite Rs 10,000-cr bids for Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor
  New Delhi May 26, 2011: Work on the much-delayed dedicated railway freight corridor is expected to begin with contracts worth Rs 10,000 crore to be awarded before the end of the current financial year. The contracts would be for the western arm of the Rs 77,000-crore Dedicated Freight Corridor project. The western arm includes the 1,500-kilometre-long Delhi-Mumbai stretch that is expected to ease and ramp up Indian Railways  freight traffic between Dadri near Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai traversing through Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
  "Overall, Rs 10,000-crore bids would be invited by us this year for awarding civil engineering contracts for package I & II of the first phase of the western corridor. This will be followed by bids for awarding electrification and signaling works in six months," said a senior executive of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL), a company set up in 2006 under the aegis of the railway ministry. Freight traffic on the Golden Quadrilateral linking Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Howrah" and its two diagonals Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai- Howrah  carries more than 55 per cent of revenue earning freight traffic of Indian Railways. The existing routes of Howrah-Delhi on the eastern corridor and Mumbai-Delhi on the western are highly saturated creating the need for dedicated routes.  
   Indo-Bangla rail-link an outlay of Rs 251 crore
   AGARTALA, May 22,2011 : The Northeastern Frontier Railway (NFR) contemplating to undertake works for laying rail tracks connecting Agartala with Bangladesh's Gangasagar by October next year. The Centre has already earmarked an outlay of Rs 251 crore to implement the dream rail link, Kishore Ambuly, Special Secretary, Transport department said here on Saturday.
  Taking to reporters at the Civil Secretariat here, Ambuly said that while the DoNER would pump in an amount of Rs 105 crore for construction of rail link in the Indian side, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will provide Rs 146 crore to carry out the project in the Bangladesh side. He said that another round of joint survey would be conducted next month to officially notify the proposed alignment. Earlier, a joint team comprising representatives from both sides had conducted survey in November last year. Sources in the NFR said, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is almost ready and will be submitted to the Ministry of Railways and Railways Board for final approval. ?We are hoping to start the work by October this year, said an official of NFR. 
   US firm ARI to develop high axleload wagons for Indian Railways
   Chandigarh, May 12, 2011: A joint venture of US firm ARI and Amtek Auto are building a wagon plant near Chandigarh. ARI will work with RDSO to assess Indian operating conditions, and will train IR staff in design, testing and manufacturing methods, quality assurance and maintenance. The US firm said the contract will run for ‘several years’ with ‘almost half of the steps’ completed within two years.
  ‘We believe this agreement will assist in establishing ARI as a high quality and dependable producer of freight railcars for use in the Indian market’, said ARI President & CEO James Cowan on May 5. ‘We remain committed to identifying and seizing new opportunities both domestically and abroad. The economy and railcar market have been challenging over the last couple of years and ARI is responding to those challenges with an expanded market strategy.’  IR has announced that rolling stock procurement in the 2010-11 financial year was the highest since independence in 1947, with the acquisition of 16 628 wagons, 3 079 coaches and 267 diesel and 230 electric locomotives. New line construction reached 709 km while 837 km was converted to broad gauge, 3 km ahead of target.
   Train derails in Madhya Pradesh, villagers save lives
   Bhopal, May 9, 2011 (IANS) Timely help of local villagers saved several lives as five coaches of Mumbai-bound Udyog Nagri Express derailed in Madhya Pradesh's Vidhisha district early Monday, police said. Thirty passengers
were injured, seven of them critically, in the accident. The train (No. 12173) was coming from Lucknow when it derailed near Sorai station, over 70 km from here, around 6.30 a.m. Monday.
  'As soon as we heard the sound of the train getting derailed and passengers crying for help, we reached the spot. We provided them water and took them to hospital for treatment,' Chandrapal Singh, a local, told reporters. 'The railway officials reached the spot only after two hours,' he added.
  Coal India Ltd proposes to build three new rail links
  New Delhi, May 4, 2011: Coal India Ltd proposes to build three new rail links having a total length of 350 km to connect its coal fields in the interiors. This could require an investment of Rs 2,000-Rs 3000 crore depending on the terrain. “The new rail links would connect coal fields in the Ib Valley, North Karanpura and Mand-Raigarh coal fields,”  said Mr N.C.Jha, Chairman, Coal India  These coal mines are in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. Sources in the Indian Railways said construction cost for a new rail line, excluding the land cost, ranges between Rs 5-7 crore a km in a flat terrain. However, in a difficult, hilly terrain the costs could shoot up to as high as Rs 20 crore a km. “The new policy announced by Railways in February is quite favourable, even though we will not get back the interest (during construction) part,” Mr Jha said.
   Special trains started to carry strike- hit passengers 
  New Delhi, April 29, 2011: Indian Railways has started operating special trains on busy routes to carry passengers stranded by strike of crew members of national air carrier Air India. Starting Thursday, railways are operating two pairs of trains from New Delhi to Mumbai, and from New Delhi to Kolkata. A pair of special trains will also be run between Mumbai and Hyderabad from Friday.
  The special trains are equivalent to Rajdhani Express trains of railways and fully air- conditioned. "will keep watch on the waiting list of the trains and attach additional coaches to clear extra rush subject to operational feasibility and availability of coaching stock. All zonal railways have been directed to take necessary steps to clear extra rush," a release stated on Thursday. More than 800 pilots of Air India are on strike from Wednesday, resulting in cancellation of 100 flights.
   Railway introduces non-stop goods trains
   PATNA, April 22, 2011: Indian Railways has introduced non-stop goods trains for the first time across the country. The special feature of these goods trains is that the load combination of two goods trains is amalgamated to carry more freight from one major station to another. According to a Railway Board official, Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahai has taken the decision to run non-stop goods trains with their load increased from the normal 58 wagons to 116 or 80 wagons. The main objective behind it was to increase railway revenue as well as expedite transportation of freight consignments, he said.
  According to ECR CPRO Dilip Kumar, the ECR has been successfully running five such goods trains from Dhanbad division on an experimental basis. Three such non-stop goods trains are originating from Barwadih and one each from Gomoh and Asansol stations. The ECR has a major share in freight loading, particularly coal loading from the Dhanbad division. The CPRO said that normally a goods train runs with a load combination of about 40 to 58 wagons. But in the amalgamated system, it is having the maximum load of about 116 wagons now. Besides, two locomotives (electric and diesel) are being used to haul such a goods train from Dhanbad division to far-off places in the country, he said.
  Railways to have Master Kitchens to provide onboard food
  Mumbai, April 17 (PTI) In a bid to serve better-quality food on board, the Indian Railways plans to set up its own Master kitchens in Delhi and Mumbai within two years. "1.5 lakh meals are provided on trains every day on outstation trains at Mumbai and Delhi. We have base kitchens with a capacity of 15,000 meals only, which is less than the requirement. So we intend to set up Master kitchens. We expect the project to be completed in two years," Chairman of Railway Board, Vivek Sahai, told reporters here. Admitting that cleanliness and quality of food had been below par, Sahai said, "Complaints about the quality of food served in trains were increasing and IRCTC was not addressing them properly.
  Now Railways will take care. With such kitchens, we would be able to maintain quality. Food will be prepared under strict monitoring of the Railway Board and meals will be served on trolleys." Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), a PSU, is currently  responsible for serving food on trains. Sahai further said, "For Delhi we intend to use the equipment including utensils that were meant for the Common Wealth Games.
   Indian Railways completes 158 years of journey
   PATNA, April 12, 2011: The Indian Railways will complete 158th year of its journey on April 16. The wheels of railways moved for the first time on April 16, 1853  from Mumbai to Thane, covering a distance of about 34km. The then East Indian Railway Company introduced another train between Howrah and Hooghly on August 15, 1854. The British government took over the railways from private companies in 1869. By 1879, railway tracks were laid in a stretch of 12,455km, and railways became the most popular mode of communication. The track between Lakhisarai and Mughalsarai was laid by the Britishers in 1862 while the Howrah-Kiul route, known as Sahibganj loop line, was thrown open to people in 1860. A direct link between Howrah and Delhi was provided in the early 1860s. The railways first released its postal stamp in 1907. The railway budget was separated from the general budget in 1925.
   It was a historic year for railways also because it introduced an electric locomotive hauled-passenger train between Victoria Terminal and Kurla this year. The automatic signal system was introduced in 1928 by the Central Railway. The Burma Railway was also a part
of Indian Railways till 1937 when these two countries separated from each other. About 3,200-km-long tracks were then gifted to Burma by the Indian Railways. Railways had about 65,217km of tracks on August 15, 1947 of which about 10,523km fell in Pakistan. A Railway Board was constituted on February 18, 1905
   Indian Railways to get mobile train radio communication soon 
   ALLAHABAD, April 9, 2011: In order to ensure safety of the passengers, North Central Railway has taken the initiative of implementing Mobile Train Radio Communication which would provide better communication between the driver and the control room. The work is already in progress and is expected to bring a sea change in the history of communication technology in the Indian Railways. 
  Mobile Train Radio Communication System would use GSM/R technology is proposed to be provided on Rajdhani route New Delhi-Mughalsarai and Palwal-Jhansi section coming under the jurisdiction of North Central Railway.This will facilitate instant communication of train crew with control centre and station master,  thus enhancing safety and confidence in the train operating staff. This will also enable maintenance of staff and officers deputed at different locations to communicate instantly with each other, thereby enhancing the system efficiency manifold. 
  Calcutta High Court okays Railways recruitment
  Kolkata, March 25, 2011: The Calcutta High Court today gave its nod to the Indian Railways to proceed with the recruitment process of 16,000 people in Group D level. The Railway notification of December 14 last year for recruitment of Group D staff was challenged in the High Court. The Railways has received more than 15 lakh applications for the posts for which the last date of Eastern receiving the applications was March 25. Labour group Liluah-Belur Co-operative Contract and Construction Limited Society challenged the notification in the High Court seeking a stay order.
  Gujarat trains affected due to Jat agitation
  Mumbai, March 22, 2011: Indian Railways has cancelled seven down trains to north India and six up trains from that region, slated to depart on Tuesday, in view of the ongoing Jat agitation. Besides, two trains have been short-  terminated. The up trains cancelled for Tuesday are: 19023 Mumbai Central-Firozpur, 19105 Ahmedabad-Haridwar Mail, 19257 Rajdhani Express, 12915 Ashram Express, 14322 Bhuj-Bareilly Express, 19263 Porbandar-Delhi Express, and 09562 Okha-Bandra Holiday Special.  The down trains cancelled for Tuesday are: 19024 Firozpur-Mumbai Central, 19106 Ahmedabad- Haridwar Mail, 12958 Rajdhani Express, 12916 Rajdhani Express, 14311 Bareilly-Bhuj Express and 09561 Bandra-Okha. Train 12216 Bandra-Delhi will be terminated at Jaipur on Tuesday and 19270 Muzaffarpur- Porbandar will be terminated at Delhi on Tuesday. Train 12969 will run between Delhi and Muzaffarpur only on March 25.
   Indian Railways to build world-class stations
  New Delhi/ Bhopal March 18, 2011: Indian Railways said it would rope in home-grown talent to develop world-class stations as foreign consultants were charging exorbitant fees. Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had in her Budget speech in 2009 promised to convert as many as 50 railway stations into world-class stations.  "Hiring a foreign consultant is a costly affair," Central Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahay said here without naming any consultant . Habibganj Railway station of Bhopal is also included in the project. However, the railways has yet not moved on it since its announcement in Parliament. Sahay also said, creation of a world class design was not a tough task for any Indian architects who design world class malls everywhere these days. On issues of conversion of narrow gauge lines into broad gauge that falls on tiger reserves and national parks, Sahay said, 
  Mamata Banerjee   to launch a new railway magazine "Rail Bandhu" on April 16
  PATNA, March 14, 2011: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has taken a decision to launch a new railway magazine "Rail Bandhu" on April 16 to mark the celebraion of Railway Week across the country. The proposed magazine will be brought out by the railways on the pattern of magazines of the Air India and Indian Airlines. It will be
the first of its kind in the railways.  According to a Railway Board  official, "Rail Bandhu" will be distributed to passengers free of cost while undertaking train journey. The magazines will be made available in all premier trains, including the Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express  and other mail and express trains, to provide entertainment to elite class passengers, he said. The official said about one lakh copies of the magazine would be brought out initially. The railways intends to increase its number to 10 lakh in future so that it could be distributed in each zone of the railways. "The magazine will have 60 pages, of which 30 pages will have news items and articles while the remaining pages will cover other topics ," he said, adding the railways has planned to publish interesting articles about Rabindranath Tagore's famous work "Geetanjali", vignettes of the saloon car travel during the British period and stories by Ruskin Bond in the inaugural issue.  
   Indian Railway raises iron ore freight rates 
  New Delhi, March 04, 2011: Indian Railways raised freight rates on iron ore meant for exports by INR 100 per tonne to INR 1,600 effective Thursday. An official said “The railways have increased the existing distance based charge further by INR 100 per tonne on the booking of iron ore traffic meant for other than domestic consumption for all distance slabs.”  According to Mr RK Sharma secretary general of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries “The hike in freight is very high. It is yet another blow to our industry. We don’t have much to say.” 
  For the railways, iron ore is the second highest source of freight income. The railways had earned INR 8,345.27 crore from iron ore and aims to generate INR 8,423.83 crore in the current fiscal. The decision, coming on the heels of India hiking export duty on fines and lumps to 20% in the 2011/12 federal budget, is seen as a blow to exports in a country where demand for banning iron ore exports has grown over the last year. Source: telegraphindia.com
  Rail Budget 2011: No increase in train fares this year
  NEW DELHI, February 25, 2011 : For the third successive year, the Railway Budget for 2011-12 spared the passengers of any increase in fares and proposed no hike in freight rates while introducing 56 new trains, including nine non-stop Duronto trains and three Shatabdis.  Regretting the two incidents of sabotage that led to a large number of  deaths last year, Mamata said to avoid such incidents in future, anti-collision devices will be commissioned in three more divisions and all unmanned crossings will be done away with in the next fiscal. Mamata, however, said rail accident rate has declined from 0.29 per cent.  last year to 0.17 per cent at present. The states with lowest number of rail accidents will get two new projects and two new trains as an incentive, she said. 
  The booking charges for A/C as well as non A/C seats have been slashed  by 50 per cent and online ticketing is all set to get cheaper. The minister also extended concession for physically-challenged persons and Kirti and Shaurya Chakra awardees to travel in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains, besides extending facility of card passes to parents of
unmarried posthumous Paramvir Chakra and Ashok Chakra gallantry award winners. 
   Also, the lower age limit for female senior citizens will be reduced  from 60 to 58. Concession for male senior citizens has been increased by 10% to 40%. One of the highlights of the budget was the introduction of over 200 new routes, especially for the North-East. Another special addition is the introduction of double-decker air-conditioned train service on the Jaipur-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai routes. Three new Shatabdi trains will be introduced on Pune-Secunderabad, Jaipur- Agra and Ludhiana-Delhi routes, she said. New Duronto trains will be introduced on Allahabad-Mumbai, Pune-Ahmedabad, Sealdah-Puri, Madurai-Chennai, Chennai- Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai Central-New Delhi outes. As many as 47 additional trains will be introduced for the Mumbai suburban section and nine for Chennai, Banerjeee said. Also, trolleys will be introduced at railway stations, said the minister. The 'Go India' smart card ticket project will be launched this year. 
   The railways is planning to invest Rs 57630 cr in the 2011-12 fiscal and railway earnings, she said, are set to exceed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. As many as 442 stations are to be completed and 584 upgraded by 2012 and new railway line capacities are to be increased to 700 km, she said. Banerjee announced that the first coach from the new rail factory at Rae Bareli will roll out in the next three months. Also, there is a plan to set up a rail industrial park in Nandigram and a metro coach factory in Kolkata. A coach factory is also planned to come up at Singur as is a track- machine industry in Uluberia.  
  A locomotive centre is to come up in Manipur's Imphal. Railways is to set up a bridge factory in J&K considering need for large number of bridges on railway projects in the state, Banerjee said.  Enthused by the high number of medals in international sports   competitions won by the Railways, a Sports Cadre will be set up in the department. 
As many as 16,000 ex-servicemen will be inducted by March in the Railways for the first time. A 700 MW gas-based power plant will be set up at Thakurli in Maharashtra, she said.
  BSNL 3G Branded Rajdhani Express Service 
  Delhi, February 23, 2011: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) has launched BSNL 3G Branded Rajdhani Express in association with the Indian Railways through the vendor who has direct agreement with the Indian Railways. BSNL has done advertisement with the objective of branding and promotion of 3G products & value Added Services including 3G theme “Faster than your thoughts” on two rakes of Rajdhani Express, one each on South & East routes. BSNL has allocated Rs. 1.93 Crore for this purpose. This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Sachin Pilot in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
  Railways to set up own bottling plant
  Mumbai, February 20, 2011: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) are planning to set up their own bottled water plant in Ambarnath. The site where the plant is expected to come up is called GIP (Great Indian Peninsula) railway tank in the MIDC area. ‘Rail Neer’ is the brand name under which the railways sell purified bottled water across the country.
  The IRCTC is expecting to produce 1 lakh bottles from the plant on a daily basis that would be sold at a subsidised rate. “Tenders have been called but the plan is in a very initial stage,” said an official from IRCTC on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway had acquired the Kakole lake in Jhambivali village at Ambernath for the purpose.
   Railways come up with HHT to tackle graft
   ALLAHABAD, February 15, 2011: In a bid to bring transparency in issuing tickets and to check corruption among the ticket checking staff, the Indian Railways is planning to provide Hand Held Terminals (HHT) to them, so that availability of vacant positions can be instantly provided to the passengers. The information about the availability of berths would be feeded and updated regularly through different cities spread across the whole country. 
  The Hand Held Terminals provided to the Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) helps to download information through GPRS, updating the chart while checking the tickets in the coach, informing the status of vacancy to central server periodically through GPRS, collecting excess fare, penalty and other charges, issuing the receipt for the same and report for the cash collected by TTE giving a printed receipt to the passenger. 
  The HHTs would be linked to PRS (Passenger Reservation System) which would have the details about the reservation status. Pointedly, PRS provides reservation services to nearly 1 million passengers a day on over 3500 trains running throughout the country. The PRS is available at over 6,000 counters in more than 1,800 locations throughout the country, including all major stations.
    Mamata Banerjee moots health cover for railway porters
   New Delhi, February 9, 2011 (DNA): Riding on the back of the Indian railways, minister Mamata Banerjee has come out with yet another pre-election goodie for the lowest-rung staffers like porters, vendors, and hawkers aiming at creating a vote bank for the upcoming state assembly elections in West Bengal. 
   After doling out free AC three-tier travel with family once in a year to the Grade D employees (gangmen, train cleaners etc), the railway ministry has proposed to extend the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) worth Rs30,000 annually to licenced porters, vendors and hawkers. RSBY yojana provides financial security to the unorganised sector workers belonging to the below poverty line category and their families in case of hospitalisation as well as for overall access to quality health care. 
  The scheme provides for smart card based health insurance cover of  Rs30,000 per annum in case of hospitalisation.  A railway ministry documentsaid, ?Premium payable to be shared between the railways and the beneficiaries would be in the ratio of 75:25. Railways? contribution would be to a maximum of Rs 565 per family per
annum, or 75% of the annual premium whichever is less?.
  Indian Railways to introduce a new scheme in Tatkal ticket
  New Delhi, February 5, 2010: Indian Railways decided to introduce a new scheme in Tatkal ticket process. From Feburay 11, 2011 a new scheme is going to be introduced in the Tatkal ticket process. From Friday, Feb 11, passengers have to produce an identity proof for tickets booked under Tatkal Scheme.
* Voter Photo Identity Card issued by Election Commission of India 
* Passport
* PAN Card issued by Income Tax Department
* Driving license issued by RTO
* Photo Identity Card issued by Central/State Government
* Student identity card with photograph issued by recognized
School/College for their students
* Nationalised Bank Passbook with photograph
* Credit Cards issued by Banks with laminated photograph. 
  A passenger or anyone of a group of passengers would be required to produce one of the eight listed proofs in original during the journey for checking by Railway staff, failing which, all the passengers traveling on the said ticket would be treated as ‘without tickets' and penalized.
   Nagpur to manufacture Indian Railways green toilets 
   NAGPUR, February 4, 2011: The Indian Railways is finalising a proposal to manufacture new design eco-friendly toilets in Nagpur in a step towards its commitment for cleaner environment and to prevent damage to rail tracks. "Efforts are on for installation of green toilets in trains and field trials are on for the purpose. These newly designed eco-friendly lavatories are likely to be manufactured in Nagpur," a senior railway ministry official said.
  The proposal for manufacturing green toilets in Nagpur is likely to find a mention in the railway budget on February 25. However, local railway officials say they have no communication about it. Central Railway divisional railway manager (DRM) D K Sharma said, "It's true that railways is carrying out field trials for various types of green toilets and some work is going on in this direction, but I don't have exact knowledge about it."
   Indian Railways gets Rs 28 Crore for Development of Multi Functional Complex through Private Investment
  Mumbai, January 31, 2011 (PIB): Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory authority established by Ministry of Railways for generating non-tariff revenue from railway land, today announced appointment of private developers for development of Multi Functional Complexes (MFCs) at five stations namely, Cuttack, Dehradun, Jhansi, Katra and Nanded. This is the first time that MFCs are being developed through private investment. Indian Railways operates more than 7000 stations across the country.
  RLDA had appointed Knight Frank India as marketing consultant for the first six MFCs to be developed through private parties. Out of the six MFCs, five MFCs were awarded to M/s Keshari Estates Pvt. Ltd (Cuttack), M/s Janak Holdings (Dehradun and Nanded), M/s Bhagwati Infraestate Pvt. Ltd. (Jhansi) and M/s MGC Estates (Katra). RLDA did not accept the bid for Ujjain being below expectation due to certain existing constraints in the approach road to the site. A total of 15 bidders submitted 28 financial bids. The total present value of the Lease Premium and Annual Lease Rent received for 5 stations in response to the open competitive bidding is Rs 27.61 crore which is much higher than the pre-bid expectations. Ujjain MFC will be put to re-bidding after getting the constraints removed.
  Multi Functional Complexe is a win-win model for Indian Railways, rail users and developers. Indian Railways get passenger facilities developed at no cost to Government and further gets additional present and future revenues, rail users get better facilities in the shortest period of time and developers get assured market and opportunity for developing such project at large number of railway stations across India.
  Indian Railways gets Rs. 280mn for development of MFCs
  New Delhi, January 28, 2011: Rail Land Development Authority, a statutory authority established by  Ministry of Railways for generating non-tariff revenue from railway land, today announced appointment of private developers for development of Multi Functional Complexes (MFCs) at five stations namely, Cuttack, Dehradun, Jhansi, Katra and Nanded. This is the first time that MFCs are being developed through private investment. Indian Railways operates
more than 7000 stations across the country.  Indian Railways have introduced the concept of MFC at Railway stations beginning year 2009-10 for developing facilities for rail users at one centralised complex. This is to improve and upgrade the existing amenities for the rail users in cities having tourist and religious importance by way of developing the land/air space at railway stations.MFCs will be developed to provide rail users with facilities such as shopping, food stalls/ restaurants, book stalls, ATMs, medicines and variety stores, budget hotels, parking etc. 
  Safety of Passengers to be given top Priority : Mamata
  Kolkata, January 22, 2010 (PIB): The Minister of Railways, Mamata Banerjee has said that Indian Railways work round the clock just like an army where every moment matters and every operation needs to be done in a disciplined manner. She said that safety of passengers cannot be compromised. It is always to be given top priority. There should be periodical review and inspection to ensure that all safety related activities are done as per the rules. The
Minister stated this while addressing the two-day conference of General Managers of all Zonal Railways and Production Units which began here today. She said that maintenance of rolling stock especially coaches, wagons and engines is quite important and no laxity on this should be tolerated as it is related to safety.
   She said that steps must be initiated to finally install safety devices like TPWS, ACD, Fog Safe Devices etc. in a fixed time frame manner. Expressing concern over the recent increase in the cases of derailment, she said that engineering department needs to look into this aspect more intensely and carefully and ensure that all their activities like track maintenance, equipment maintenance, rolling stock maintenance is done effectively and timely.
  Emphasizing the need to maintain best punctuality in running of the trains, the Minister said that monitoring of punctuality should continue to be undertaken vigorously at all levels which include Railway Board level, Zonal Railway level and Divisional Railway level. She said that a  core group must be set up by General Managers to monitor punctuality toreview it on daily basis.
  Rail Bandhu the first magazine by the Indian Railways
  New Delhi, January 19, 2011: Rail Day on April 16 will bring about the fulfilment of one of Railways minister Mamataa Banerjee’s pet projects; the launch of “Rail Bandhu”, the first magazine by the Indian Railways. To be distributed for free to passengers in premier trains, including the Rajdhanis and Shatabdis, the editorial content of the inaugural issue is at an advanced stage of planning.
  “A write up on how Rabindranath Tagore lost and found the manuscript of the “Geetanjali’ in a London tube; vignettes of the saloon car travel during the British Raj, a story by famous novelist Ruskin Bond, these would be among the subjects that will be featured in the first issue”,magazine project head Derek O’Brian said. The inaugural issue will also feature stories on the struggles of the Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medallists from the railway family. According to the parameters set out, the publication will need to devote a minimum of 30 pages to news, events or features concerning the railways, while a total of another 30 pages of advertisements can be published.
  RINL and Indian Railways to set up axle plant at at New Jalpaiguri
  Kolkata, January 13, 2011: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has signed MOU with the Indian Railways for setting up a AXLE PLANT named as Uttarbanga RINL RAIL Karkahana Limited at New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal at an estimated cost of INR 278 crores for manufacturing and supplying Rail Axels for BOX N wagons and others to meet the growing requirement of Indian Railways. The project shall be effected through RINL by forming a 100% subsidiary company of RINL or a JV. MECON has been appointed as a consultant for this project. Railways have selected RINL to set up the state of the art Axle Plant considering its technological strengths in special grades of steel for decades. RINL is known for having modern technology and now also adopting latest technology like RH process, LHF, EMS etc., for production of high quality cleaner steel in its on going expansion.
  Indian Railways facility of AC-3 tier travel for families of Group D employees
  Kolkata, January 07, 2011: The Indian Railways has extended the facility of AC-3 tier travel pass for the family of the lowest grade employees of the Indian Railways like the gangmen, khalashis, etc. Employees of Group D in the railways were earlier not entitled for travel pass in AC compartments. Revised entitlement of travel on railway passes has also been extended to all Junior Engineers and their supervisors working in the grade pay of Rs 4200, and they have been provided entitlements to travel in AC 2 tier coaches.
  Goods train service resumed between India, Pakistan
  Attari (Amritsar), January 01, 2011: The goods train service between India and Pakistan resumed today after a gap of nine days with the export of red chillies which are on high demand on the other side of the border. The train had come to a sudden halt on December 22 at Attari railway station after the Pakistani authorities did not renew the visas of 11 Indian Railways drivers. The train is expected to return with dry fruits and cement, authorities said. Three Indian railway staff -- driver Kuldip Singh, assistant driver Sandip Kumar and guard Deepak Kumar -- have taken the train to Pakistan, they said. Earlier, the Pakistan high commission granted six months visas to seven Indian railway officials, who would take the train to Pakistan on alternate days. General secretary of Amritsar Chamber of Commerce Rajesh  Sethia said due to the halt in trade between two nations, the delivery of cement bags, worth Rs100 crore, to India remained  suspended. Sethia said India imports cement in large quantities from  Pakistan as it is available at lesser cost there.  

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