ProUI

BHOPAL: Now one can drive up to the platform and board the coach of Bhopal-New Delhi Shatabdi Express at the Bhopal railway station. The drive-in facility at platform no. 6 at the state has become operational on Saturday.In fact, Bhopal has become third city in the country with the facility of a drive-in platform after Kolkata and Mumbai.With the drive-in facility passengers boarding and alighting Shatabdi Express will now be spared from the trouble of jostling through the rush and using the foot-over-bridge to catch the train.Among other trains, Shatabdi Express would now originate and depart from this platform.Urban administration minister Babulal Gaur and Member of Parliament Kailash Joshi dedicated the platform to the people at a simple function organised at Bhopal railway station.Constructed at a cost of Rs 2 crore, the 720 meter stretch of platform no. 6 has five water stands with 10 bench facilities.Addressing the gathering Gaur said, "Efforts are being made to provide best facilities at both Bhopal and Habibganj railway stations. Drive-in platform is in the series of those efforts."The drive-in platform was sanctioned in the 2011-12 rail budget. Some work like over-shed, building construction are yet to be completed. Bhopal divisional railway manager, west -central railways Rajeev Chaudhary said all work will be completed in the next one year. Besides, no construction would be made on the ground floor of platform number 6.

"Its first floor will have railway waiting room, rest room and cafeteria among others," he said.

Presiding over the function, Member of Parliament from Bhopal Kailash Joshi urged the railway ministry to start double-decker train between Bhopal and Indore as early as possible," he said.

Kolkata, Sept 15 (IBNS): Eastern Railway on Sunday announced that it has provided a series of new train services, completed different projects and made significant improvements in train movements for the benefit of both long distance and suburban passengers this year.

Meeting the demand of the local passengers, Barddhaman-Balgona section having a stretch of 25.01 km has been converted from Narrow Gauge to Broad Gauge and regular EMU train services on this section are on.

For more effective train movement, a total of 141.48 km different single line sections have been converted to double line including Barasat-Sondalia, Chandpara-Bongaon, Ghutiari Sharif-Canning, Krishnanagar-Dhubulia,Ambika Kalna-Dhatrigram etc.

A total of 122.81 km new railway tracks have been opened on areas where previously there were no train services like Rampurhat-Pinargoria, Talpur-Arambag, Gokulnagar-Maynapur Halt etc. This will undoubtably help the people of these areas to avail speedy communication facilities.

For the benefit of suburban passengers, 56 additional services of 12- coach EMU trains have been made.

This year railway introduced five weekly new Mail/Express trains for important destinations including Howrah-Lalkuan Express, Asansol-Chennai Express, Barrackpore-Azamgarh Express, Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Express, Kolkata- Dibrugarh Express.

Additional coaches have been attached to thee important Mail/Express trains including one AC 3 tier coach in Sealdah Rajdhani Express (12313/12314). Frequency of three Mail/Express trains is made daily including Howrah-Malda Town Express.

Moreover, three Express trains are upgraded to Superfast trains including Sealdah- Rampurhat Express (12373/12374), Sealdah-Asansol Intercity Express (12383/12384), Howrah-Dhanbad Black Diamond Express (22387/22388).

इलाहाबाद : रविवार को कानपुर में डाउन लाइन में ट्रेन की चपेट में आए जानवर की चपेट में आने के बाद रूट बाधित हो गया। इससे कानपुर से इलाहाबाद की ओर आने वाली ट्रेन घंटों देरी से आयीं।

देरी से आने वाली गाड़ियों में प्रयागराज एक्सप्रेस ढाई घंटे, संगम एक्सप्रेस 6 घंटे, सीमांचल एक्सप्रेस 5 घंटे, ब्रह्मापुत्र मेल 3 घंटे, पुरुषोत्तम एक्सप्रेस 3 घंटे, इंटरसिटी 3 घंटे, स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानी 4 घंटे, मगध एक्सप्रेस 4 घटे, मथुरा-इलाहाबाद एक्सप्रेस 4 घंटे, झारखंड एक्सप्रेस 4 घंटे, सम्पर्क क्रांति एक्सप्रेस 3 घंटे, शिवगंगा एक्सप्रेस 5 घंटे, लालकिला 4 घंटे और जनता एक्सप्रेस 7 घंटे शामिल हैं। वहीं, देरी के चलते मेरठ को जाने वाली संगम एक्सप्रेस रविवार को करीब तीन घंटे की देरी से रात 10 बजे रवाना हुई।

On the occasion of Budhwa Mangal, the authorities of North Central Railways have decided to give some trains halt at the Panki railway station. This is being done to provide the devotees a chance to get down at the Panki station from where they can easily reach the famous Panki temple on Tuesday-the day when Budhwa Mangal will be celebrated.

Waiting will be more comfortable for passengers at the Pune railway station as the Central Railway (CR) is renovating the three waiting rooms. The administration has also made it compulsory for passengers using these rooms to register their names with the attendant by producing identity proofs.

CR spokesperson Y K Singh said the waiting rooms will be freshly painted, get new furniture and sufficient lighting to make the stay of passengers pleasant. The three waiting rooms have a collective capacity of 120 passengers.

However, Government Railway Police (GRP) officials have been complaining that the absence of proper vigilance at the waiting rooms could pose a threat to passengers. "We have been repeatedly asking the station administration to keep a record of all passengers using the waiting rooms. We have also asked them to instal CCTV cameras in these rooms to keep an eye on the occupants," said a GRP official.

Singh said that the Railways has appointed an attendant each at the three waiting rooms and they have been told to register the details of all passengers.

Harsha Shah of the Railway Pravasi Group said the administration needs to ensure that people don't destroy the property or deface walls in the waiting rooms.

यात्रियों की शिकायत के बावजूद रेलवे की खानपान व्यवस्था में कोई सुधार नहीं हो रहा। काशी विश्वनाथ एक्सप्रेस में बासी खाना परोसने का विरोध करने पर पेंट्रीकार मैनेजर अभद्रता पर उतर आया। इसके भड़के यात्रियों ने जमकर हंगामा किया।
नई दिल्ली से वाराणसी जा रही ट्रेन काशी विश्वनाथ एक्सप्रेस के वातानुकूलित कोच ए-वन में लखनऊ निवासी विनोद मल्होत्रा यात्रा कर रहे थे। उन्होंने ट्रेन में चल रही पेंट्रीकार से पकौड़े व समोसे खरीदे। खाने पर पता चला कि दोनों आइटम बासी थे, जिनसे दुर्गध आ रही थी। इसके बाद उन्होंने वेंडर को फटकार लगाते हुए पेंट्रीकार मैनेजर को बुलाने को कहा। थोड़ी देर बाद कोच में पहुंचे मैनेजर ने श्री मल्होत्रा से अभद्रता शुरू कर दी। इस पर उन्होंने शिकायत पुस्तिका मांगी। इसके बाद पेंट्रीकार मैनेजर मारपीट पर उतारू हो गया। इसके बाद अन्य यात्री भी भड़क गए। ट्रेन के मुरादाबाद पहुंचने पर यात्रियों ने इसकी शिकायत जीआरपी से की। मौके पर पहुंची जीआरपी ने कोच कंडक्टर से यात्रियों को शिकायत पुस्तिका दिलवाई। जिस पर यात्रियों ने बासी खाना देने व शिकायत पर अभद्रता करने का मामला दर्ज किया है। इसके बाद यात्री शांत हुए। इस संबंध में एडीआरएम हितेंद्र मल्होत्रा ने बताया कि संबंधित मामले की शिकायत लखनऊ मंडल के सीनियर डीसीएम तक पहुंच गई है, कार्रवाई भी वहीं से होगी।
पहले भी हो चुका है बवाल
कुछ माह पूर्व काशी विश्वनाथ एक्सप्रेस में ही बासी खाने को लेकर यात्रियों ने हंगामा किया था। इस मामले में पेंट्रीकार मैनेजर कोच में ताला डालकर फरार हो गया था। जिसके बाद रेलकर्मियों ने ताला तोड़कर खानपान के नमूने लिए थे। इस मामले में आरोपी मैनेजर को हटा दिया गया। मगर कुछ ही समय बाद अफसरों से साठगांठ कर दोबारा उसी मैनेजर को पेंट्रीकार में तैनाती मिल गई।

इलाहाबाद (ब्यूरो)। इलाहाबाद जंक्शन के यात्री चार ट्रेनों महानगरी एक्सप्रेस, जनता एक्सप्रेस, चंबल एक्सप्रेस, और क्षिप्रा एक्सप्रेस को हमेशा के लिए भूल जाएं। रेलवे प्रशासन ने चारों ट्रेनों को छिवकी स्टेशन से ही चलाने की तारीख भी घोषित कर दी है। अगले 60 दिन बाद यह ट्रेनें छिवकी से ही मुंबई, वाराणसी, ग्वालियर, हावड़ा, मथुरा और इंदौर के लिए रवाना हो जाएंगी। इन ट्रेनों को पकड़ने के लिए यात्रियों को छिवकी स्टेशन ही जाना पड़ेगा। उधर, सुरक्षा इंतजाम न होने के कारण मुंबई से आने वाली महानगरी एक्सप्रेस के यात्रियों को छिवकी स्टेशन पर परेशानी का सामना करना पड़ सकता है। यह ट्रेन आधी रात में छिवकी स्टेशन पहुंचेगी। साथ ही नाममात्र की यात्री सुविधाएं भी छिवकी में यात्रियों के लिए मुसीबत बन सकती हैं। हालांकि, सीपीआरओ संदीप माथुर के मुताबिक ट्रेनों को छिवकी स्टेशन से शुरू करने के पहले कुछ सुविधाएं उपलब्ध करा दी जाएंगी।

Railway Board Member (Electrical) Kul Bhushan feels that technology can enable the Railways in achieving its goal of eliminating accidents. In an interview with HT he spoke on the various safety measures that the Railways is looking at. Excerpts. Several train accidents in the recent past have reportedly been caused because of signaling failure. How does the Railways intend to address these issues?
It is not technology — but rather the lack of it — that might have been responsible for some accidents that have happened. The Railways need to absorb the latest technology to provide for a safer travel.

Plans to install mobile train radio communication systems are being vigorously pursued. These gadgets provide for advanced safety features that are not available on the wireless sets that have conventionally been used. These are already being used by loco pilots on 2800 kilometers, while the target is to cover 2200 more kilometers of tracks this year.

Plans to install anti-collision devices (ACDs) have been on the anvil for about a decade now. Has the scheme been dropped?

We have not been completely satisfied by the ACD trials so far. But we are proceeding with other systems including the train protection warning systems (TPWS) and the train collision avoidance system (T-CAS).

The TPWS technology comes at a much higher cost of `80 lakh per kilometer, while T-CAS can be installed at a cost of `10 lakh per kilometer. If the T-CAS trials are successful, it is likely that the Railways will choose this technology over others. But all the three systems will co-exist.

What is the progress on running high speed or semi-high speed trains?

These plans are under consideration at present.

One view is that there has been an overemphasis on electrification in the past few years. Comment.

Such arguments are misplaced. The Indian Railways spends `16,000 crore on diesel locos to carry 37% of the traffic, while just `9000 crore are spent on buying power to run electric trains — which carry 67% of the traffic. More electrification will lead to the optimization of fuel costs. Our dependence on fuel imports will also reduce.

The railway route linking the political home of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels with the rest of the island rolled into service on Saturday after a 23-year interruption. The day marked a proud moment not only for Sri Lanka but also for Indian Railways whose PSU Ircon International had undertaken the rebuilding project.
The project is a part of efforts to promote reconciliation with the Tamil minority and heal the scars of the long-running separatist conflict. The train, carrying President Mahinda Rajapakse, arrived in the town of Kilinochchi, 330 kms north of Colombo, four years after the end of a nearly four-decade civil war.

An official reply to an RTI query revealed that more than half the long-distance trains on Western and Central Railway travel without any Railway Protection Force staff; authorities claim a lack of manpower, as thousands of posts lie vacant. September 16, 2013 MUMBAI Vedika Chaubey

With rising incidences of crimes on long-distance trains, you would expect security to be beefed up. Sadly, most trains, both on Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR), are travelling without security staff from the Railway Protection Force (RPF).According to the official reply to an RTI application filed in August by Anis Khan, a railway activist, more than half of the trains running on Central and Western Railway are unattended by security staff from the RPF.Of the 116 trains that run every day (includes trains on both CR and WR), only 59 trains have RPF escorts on them.The rest of the trains travel without any security, because the RPF doesn’t have the adequate number of staff.On an average, CR operates a total of 76 long-distance trains from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), and Dadar Terminus. WR operates around 40 trains from Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus. These numbers exclude trains like summer special, Diwali special etc.

“Looking at the increasing crime rate in trains, the railway authorities should provide security to the passengers. Security staff should be deployed in trains, especially for the female passengers,” said Khan. MiD DAY had recently carried a string of reports on violent attacks on female train passengers in the city.

Lucky few Trains like Rajdhani Express, August Kranti and other VVIP trains are checked thoroughly by RPF staff before the train departs for its destination. According to Khan, this preferential treatment is given because the fares for these trains are higher. “This is because they pay higher fare. In the other trains, passengers travel in sleeper coaches and pay less fare,” said Khan.

A few trains that do get the privilege of having RPF security on-board are Flying Rani, Avantika Express, Saurashtra Mail and Jaipur Superfast on the Western line, among others.

The RPF is in charge of protecting railway properties, passengers and passenger areas. It is their duty to escort passengers on long-distance trains. The staff is equipped with walkie-talkies, ammunition and FIR forms for the benefit of passengers, when they travel on-board long-distance trains.

Vacant posts Interestingly, the RPF has nearly 10,000 posts lying vacant all over India. Out of the sanctioned strength for CR and WR, around 25-30 per cent are lying vacant (See box for more details). A senior inspector from the CR division of RPF clarified, “We have recently recruited home guards, but we cannot deploy them alone at the important junctions.

There, we absolutely have to deploy RPF staff with them. Even for baggage scanner machines, we have to have RPF staff with the home guards.”

Officialspeak Atul Rane, Chief PRO, Central Railway, said, “Considering the available manpower, we deploy them in the sensitive and important trains. Our efforts are on to increase the security staff.”

Sunil Singh, PRO, Western Railway, said, “We always ensure that we give RPF or GRP security force to trains departing from Mumbai in the night. For trains that travel during the day, we provide RPF security on a priority basis, depending on availability of staff. We are in the process of recruiting more staff.

116

The average number of trains operated every day including both CR and WR

37%

Percentage of trains with RPF security on Central Railway -- 28 out of 76 trains

78%

Percentage of trains with RPF security on Western Railway -- 31 out of 40 trains

10,000 Number of posts lying vacant in the RPF across the country