ProUI

NAGPUR: Taking swift action after complaints of harassment by women passengers on a train, Itwari railway police nabbed a group of 15 youths from Shivnath Express as soon as it reached Itwari Railway station early on Thursday morning.The group of youths hailing from Bilaspur and Raipur were employees of a private company and were coming to Nagpur to attend an official meeting.Police have booked the youths on a complaint lodged by Khaperkheda resident Aarti Trivedi, 48, and Narendra Agrawal from Korba.Trivedi was travelling with her two young daughters and Agrawal was with his wife. They claimed that during the journey, the youths first sang indecent songs and passed abusive comments towards Trivedi's daughters and Agrawal's wife.The duo informed the TTE and even alerted railway police control room. The youths were produced in the court on Thursday afternoon and released on bail with Rs 500 fine each.

Kolkata: The 132-year-old Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), which has been running a shortened service since 2010 due to landslides and earthquakes that has uprooted its tracks at various places, is now being restored by UNESCO.The 88-kilometre railway system, commonly known as the “Toy Train”, is on the brink of getting an “endangered” status and even being de-listed from the list of World Heritage Sites. The UN body is appalled that three years have passed and till now neither the Indian Railways, nor West Bengal government has taken up the job of repairing first mountain railway in India and only the second in the world to have received the heritage status.In a letter to Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar this week, Shigeru Aoyagi, Director and UNESCO representative for India, Maldives and Sri Lanka, said that the railways needed to do much more than what it has done to protect the heritage site. “In view of the serious concerns raised by the international community regarding the condition of the DHR, it is important that your ministry demonstrate its active commitment to the protection of DHR so as to maintain its status within the World Heritage List,” the letter said.
Now, the body has taken on the responsibility to fund the repair of the track at a cost of $665,154 (Dh2.444 million), and will sign an agreement with the Indian Railways in September, where railways will be the nodal body for implementation and UNESCO will provide the technology. It has given the railways a strict time frame of 24-months to implement the same and wants the full track to be functional starting from Siliguri to Darjeeling.


Presently, DHR runs four trains between Dajeeling and Ghum and two between Karseong and Darjeeling and one as junge safari connecting Siliguri to Rontong.
According to the Adhir Chowdhury Minister of State-Railway, “we also want to restore this line. The central government had allocated funds, but state Public Works Department and National Road Transport Ministry has been squabbling and could not do the job. A coordination committee will be formed between UNESCO, railways, Road Transport Ministry, Bengal government and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration so that there are no further delays and problems during restoration work,” informed Chowdhury.

BANGALORE : 
South Western Railways (SWR) is planning to take up construction of subways and to close major level crossings this financial year for smooth rail traffic. Despite being one of the smaller zones, SWR has taken this major step to enhance safety.“To improve railway safety, we have taken up construction of 85 subways and plan to close 82 level crossings this year,” Ashok Kumar Mital, General Manager, SWR, told Business Line.“So far 14 subways have been completed and 21 level crossings have been closed till July-end,” he added.Mital added that during 2012-13, SWR constructed 75 subways in lieu of level crossings and closed 91 level crossings and bagged Railway Board’s Shield for ‘Level Crossings and Road Over Bridges (ROBs)/ Road Under Bridges (RUBs) works.’Talking about SWR’s performance, Mital said, “SWR has been moving ahead on a path of high growth. In the first-four months of the current year 2013-14, we have carried 10.37 million tonnes of freight and 64.28 million originating passengers with the gross earnings of Rs 1,434.04 crores.”

For the whole year, SWR last financial year (2012-13), loaded 33.52 million tonnes of freight and carried 193 millions of originating passengers with the gross earnings of Rs 4,185 crore. During the current year, 47 km of new railway line, 43 km of track doubling are targeted for completion.

“During April to July this year there were no consequential train accidents due to continued emphasis on safety activities. This Railway is firmly committed to ‘zero tolerance’ for any violation of safety norm at any level. Focus is given on full-proof functioning of safety systems through frequent inspections and counselling of staff,” Mital said.

According to Mital, for easy availability of tickets, unreserved ticketing system (UTS) has been extended to cover 244 stations and reserved tickets can be obtained at 152 locations. In addition to this, 58 of Jansadharan Ticket Booking Sevak (JTBS) have been appointed to issue unreserved tickets.

LUCKNOW: The army recruitment drive in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, turned riotous on Saturday when thousands of unsuccessful applicants went on a rampage during an army recruitment campaign. Pelting stones at buses and stopping trains on the last day of the 'Sena Bharti Mela' at the RPSF camp, several aspirants from Mau district were put through selection test but failed to make the cut. While a totalof 362 were selected, nearly 5000, local police said, were found ineligible. A few of these 5,000 failed candidates created a ruckus at the railway platforms, bus stations and streets of the city, on their way home, reports said.Things turned ugly after the aspirants insisted on travelling in local transport-- auto-rickshaws and buses -- but failed to pay the requisite fare. When asked to pay up, some resorted to pelting stones at roadways buses, the police said. Local police also said they looted railway vendors and stopped several trains passing through Gorakhpur, including the Durg Express, Bagh Express and Varanasi-Gorakhpur Intercity trains on Cantt Railway station, even trying to board them.

Local sources also said the applicants stopped Shaheed Express at the Cantt railway station, delaying it by several hours. The train was able to move only after local policemen and RPF jawans intervened and controlled the mob. Following the racket, the railways said they are attempting to identify the miscreants through CCTV footage. They also said the guilty will be punished, once the identification is completed.

MUMBAI: Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has drawn up an elaborate plan to revamp Dadar station for faster dispersal of commuters. The plan includes one escalator each at all the platforms and inter-connection of old and new FOBs.An MRVC official said, "The plan includes extending the 12-metre-wide FOB at Dadar station right up the main arterial road (Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road)." There would be one exit at Swaminarayan Temple, too.MRVC came up this plan following a windfall of over Rs 300 crore due to a plummeting rupee, in its World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-II. The World Bank disbursement for the project, of $385m or Rs 1,709 crore at the prevailing exchange rate then, has now ballooned to Rs 2,080 crore. The excess amount, therefore, works out to around Rs 371 crore. This, even after taking into consideration the project's cost escalation due to inflation.

The body plans to utilize the surplus funds for the station makeover project. Other than Dadar, the stations lined up for makeover include Andheri, Borivli, Kurla, Virar, Kalyan and Thane.

A senior MRVC official said, "Dadar station has been taken up as the pilot project. We have roped in consultants to prepare the drawings with the projected passenger traffic for 2031. The plan includes building new FOBs, extending and replacing existing FOBs, providing interconnectivity between all the FOBs and installing one escalator each at all the platforms."

If the plan materializes, Dadar will have a total of 18 escalators, including 12 by MRVC. Six escalators had already been approved.

The state government had earlier asked MRVC to prepare a comprehensive plan that would dovetail the requirement of not just the station but also area in the vicinity.

MRVC managing director Rakesh Saksena said, "The project is subject to approval from not only the state government, the railway board and World Bank but also the department of economic affairs."

नोएडा : सेक्टर-15 मेट्रो स्टेशन पर शुक्रवार देर रात नशे में धुत एक युवक पुलिसकर्मियों से भिड़ गया। युवक ने सीआइएसएफ के एक जवान से पिस्टल छीनने का प्रयास किया और दूसरे जवान की वर्दी फाड़ दी। इस घटना के बाद सीआइएसएफ ने युवक को हिरासत में ले लिया और नोएडा पुलिस के हवाले कर दिया। हिरासत में लिए जाने के बाद युवक ने खुद को एक चैनल का पत्रकार बता दबाव बनाने का प्रयास किया।

शुक्रवार देर रात सेक्टर-15 मेट्रो स्टेशन पर सीआइएसएफ का सिपाही डीआर सिंह व महादेव तैनात था। तभी एक युवक नशे में धुत होकर गेट पर पहुंचा। चेकिंग के दौरान युवक ने पुलिसकर्मियों के साथ बहस करने लगा। इसी दौरान वह दोनों सिपाहियों से भिड़ गया और डीआर सिंह से पिस्टल छीनने का प्रयास किया। जब पिस्टल नीचे गिर गया, तो युवक उसके साथी महादेव से उलझ गया। उसने महादेव की वर्दी फाड़ दी। कोतवाली सेक्टर-20 पुलिस घटना की सूचना मिलते ही मौके पर पहुंच गई और आरोपी युवक को गिरफ्तार कर लिया। आरोपी की पहचान आया नगर, नई दिल्ली निवासी त्रिलोचन सिंह के रूप में हुई है। सीओ प्रथम शिवराम यादव ने बताया कि मेट्रो स्टेशन पर हुई घटना के बाद पुलिस ने आरोपी को गिरफ्तार कर जेल भेज दिया है।
Source-Jagran

Calcutta, Aug. 24:East-West Metro expects to wind up by Monday its survey on Duttabad residents who have to be relocated for the project and provided with temporary shelters by November.
Work on the 365-metre stretch on the fringes of Salt Lake, stalled for four years because of the dwellers’ refusal to move, is likely to begin by January, the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) said today.
The affected families could be given flats just 100 metres from where they live now adjacent to a school. But since building the flats could take around two years, the authorities want to first create a temporary shelter for them to clear the way for the piers of the Metro tracks to be laid.
“For the moment, we are focusingon the survey to identify the affected people. We have the drawing of the alignment of the tracks. During the field survey, we are mapping the drawing on the ground to locate the houses that have to be removed to lay the piers,” a KMRCL engineer said.
The engineers are treading with caution as any error at this stage could again jeopardise the project. “We have to be very careful about the survey. If anyone is excluded from the rehabilitation package by mistake, it could create fresh trouble,” the engineer said.
“The residents will be relocated to a 2,000sqm plot 100 metres from the place where they now live. We have floated a tender to build temporary shelters for the affected people on 1,000sqm of the plot. The flats will be built on the remaining 1,000sqm,” he added.
The engineer said the relocation to the temporary shelters would be completed by November.
The construction of the flats may not begin before early next year. “The last date for purchasing the tender document for the work on the 365-metre stretch is August 31. The last date for submitting the bid is another 30 days from August 31. Evaluation and awarding of the tender will follow,” the engineer said.
Ten KMRCL engineers visited the site this afternoon.
After the mapping is done and the houses are identified, a topographical survey will be conducted. In this survey, the exact dimensions — length and width of the affected houses and of each room — will be noted. Then the number of people in the affected houses will be noted.
Engineers expect to complete all three stages by Monday.

JAIPUR: The much-awaited and already delayed Metro train project will conduct its trial run before September 15. This was announced by UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal.Officials of the Delhi Metro rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) are burning the midnight oil to prepare the track of around 3.4 km stretch between Mansarovar and Vivek Vihar railway station for the trial run. "Chief minister Ashok Gehlot will flag off the train for trial run on any one of the days in the first half September," Dhariwal said.Gehlot has decided to inspect the Metro sites on Sunday before he flags off trial run in September.A day before Gehlot's scheduled inspection, Dhariwal visited Mansarovar, Vivek Vihar, Ram Nagar and Chand Pole Metro stations on Saturday with senior officials of DMRC and JMRC to ensure that the progress of work is satisfactory. "I think that work between the two stations for the trial run is almost completed. The officials are giving final touches and it is expected that they will complete it before the trial run," Dhariwal said.The construction work of the stations also looked almost completed. The escalators were working and lifts were also made functional. Work for electrification of one track out of two has also been completed.At Vivek Vihar station, the workers were busy placing sheets adjacent to each other to form curved-shape roof over the tracks at the station. The stations are almost identical to each other, which have two floors - one for ticketing and other for platform of the station, where trains would arrive and depart.

Three Metro trains with four bogies each have already arrived in the city and the fourth is expected to reach in September. "Earlier, we wanted to borrow some trains from Delhi Metro to run them in Jaipur. But, later we decided to buy our own trains. JMRC is competent to run the trains," Dhariwal said. The state government has spent almost Rs 500 crore to buy 10 Metro trains.

Dhariwal looked positive with the progress of the work and he claimed that by the end of 2013, the Metro train would start running between Mansarovar and Chand Pole stations. Moreover, he pointed out that the work for laying underground track between Chand Pole and Bari Chaupar will soon start as the Centre has approved Rs 630crore for the project. JMRC managing director Nihal Chand Goyal said, "The tender process has been started for the work between Chand Pole and Bari Chaupar. Soon, it will be decided which firm will do the work between Chand Pole and Bari Chaupar."

Goyal said for safety of the trains and passengers, there is a disaster management manual to be prepared and they will seek the safety certificate from the commissioner of railways safety. He also said whatever suggestion made by the police and the DMRC for safety and security, would be implemented.

JMRC to plant saplings

The JMRC would plant 3,000 saplings as compensation for the trees chopped off for the Metro train project. JMRC managing director Nihal Chand Goyal said, "We are developing Metro van (forest) near Ghat Ki Guni, where we will plant the saplings with the help of the forest department."

नोएडा : सेक्टर-15 मेट्रो स्टेशन पर शुक्रवार देर रात नशे में धुत एक युवक पुलिसकर्मियों से भिड़ गया। युवक ने सीआइएसएफ के एक जवान से पिस्टल छीनने का प्रयास किया और दूसरे जवान की वर्दी फाड़ दी। इस घटना के बाद सीआइएसएफ ने युवक को हिरासत में ले लिया और नोएडा पुलिस के हवाले कर दिया। हिरासत में लिए जाने के बाद युवक ने खुद को एक चैनल का पत्रकार बता दबाव बनाने का प्रयास किया।

शुक्रवार देर रात सेक्टर-15 मेट्रो स्टेशन पर सीआइएसएफ का सिपाही डीआर सिंह व महादेव तैनात था। तभी एक युवक नशे में धुत होकर गेट पर पहुंचा। चेकिंग के दौरान युवक ने पुलिसकर्मियों के साथ बहस करने लगा। इसी दौरान वह दोनों सिपाहियों से भिड़ गया और डीआर सिंह से पिस्टल छीनने का प्रयास किया। जब पिस्टल नीचे गिर गया, तो युवक उसके साथी महादेव से उलझ गया। उसने महादेव की वर्दी फाड़ दी। कोतवाली सेक्टर-20 पुलिस घटना की सूचना मिलते ही मौके पर पहुंच गई और आरोपी युवक को गिरफ्तार कर लिया। आरोपी की पहचान आया नगर, नई दिल्ली निवासी त्रिलोचन सिंह के रूप में हुई है। सीओ प्रथम शिवराम यादव ने बताया कि मेट्रो स्टेशन पर हुई घटना के बाद पुलिस ने आरोपी को गिरफ्तार कर जेल भेज दिया है।
Source-Jagran

Srinagar:
While trains resumed their full operation in Kashmir on Tuesday after nine days, officials claim that railway property worth lakhs was damaged in stone-pelting incidents during Eid festivity.The stone-pelting on racks on August 10 had forced the authorities not only to suspend the additional trains that were to be run for three days during the Eid festivity, but the full train operation from Banihal to Baramulla remained suspended for nine days. The trains, however, plied partially between Budgam to Banihal during that period.“The preliminary estimates show that railway property worth Rs 2 lakh was damaged during the stone-pelting incidents on August 10 at various railway stations of south Kashmir,” said a railway official. “Apart from racks, railway stations were also damaged in the stone-pelting incidents,” he added.The railway police had later arrested dozens of youth allegedly involved in the incidents from various localities. The youth were arrested from Awantipora, Anantnag, Kakapora, Pampore and various other areas.

After the communal clashes in Kishtawar, the Railway authorities were advised by the police in Jammu not to ply any trains up to Banihal on August 10 fearing damage to the rail property. So the Railways decided to ply the trains between Qazigund to Baramulla. When passengers were asked to alight before their destinations they were caught unaware and subsequently vented their anger by pelting the railway racks with stones. Incidents of stone-pelting were reported at several stations, including Qazigund in south Kashmir.