ProUI

NAGPUR: Even as many e-ticket passengers are waiting to get their refunds for trains cancelled during the Sindi railway tragedy, a couple of cases have come to light where the railways have shown passengers who did not undertake the journey as 'travelled', and denied them refunds for the tickets.While a case relates to June this year, another pertains to last year-end. Both the passengers are still fighting it out with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which issues e-tickets. The problem arose after railways showed them as travelled when they actually had not.Jyoti Magarkar (57), a resident of Kalyan, was scheduled to go to Kalyan from Badnera on June 16. She had two tickets - one for 01014 Nagpur-Mumbai special and another for 12152 Howrah-LTT Samrasta Express. Magarkar said the Mumbai special train was scheduled to leave on June 16 from Nagpur at 4pm while Samrasta was scheduled for 5.50pm. Both her tickets were waitlisted. However, on June 16, the Mumbai special train was rescheduled for 9pm. Meanwhile, Magarkar's ticket for Samrasta got confirmed.

"Being alone, it was difficult for me to board the delayed train from Badnera at midnight," Magarkar said.

Magarkar's family friend here Rajendra Mandwale filed a mandatory ticket deposit receipt (TDR) with IRCTC before 5pm on June 16.

"I had travelled with a confirmed ticket in Samrasta. However, on July 2, I was shocked to know that IRCTC had rejected my refund claim on the grounds that I travelled by Nagpur-CSTM special train," Magarkar told TOI.

Magarkar disputed the IRCTC decision with documentary evidence of her travel in Samrasta Express but even after two months she neither received refund nor any reply from officials.

It seems to be a goof-up by the railway travelling ticket examiner (TTE) who endorsed that the passenger travelled by filing an exceptional data report (EDR).

Similarly, Arvind Bhalerao (60), a resident of Nagpur, cancelled his Nagpur-Ahmedabad ticket and filed a TDR for refund. However, IRCTC TDR team wrote to Bhalerao that on September 19, Central Railway denied refund as EDR was not fed in the system. When Bhalerao protested, IRCTC on October 26 told the railway that 'passenger has not travelled' and asked it to reopen the case.

Consumer rights activist Avinash Prabhune said. "Railway Board circular for computerized coaching refund scheme wants to expedite refunds. But, the opposite is happening."

A sitting of the Railway Special Magistrate Court was held at the Kannur railway station by the Kannur Railway Protection Force (RPF) on August 18 and 19.

The sitting was held in the wake of offences reported on trains, particularly the food poisoning reported on Marusagar Express.

RPF personnel inspected the express trains and stations between Vadakara and Kasaragod. Out of the 85 offences booked, 50 offenders were charged for unauthorised vending of food items.

Nearly 35 cases were booked for other offences including ticketless travel, travelling on footboard and men travelling in ladies coaches.

A total of Rs.26,000 was realised as penalty in various offences.

PATNA: Railways suffered an estimated loss of over Rs 90 crore as a furious mob set ablaze 15 coaches, including an AC coach and locomotive of the Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express (12567) and five coaches and the locomotive of Samastipur-Saharsa passenger train at Dhamara Ghat on Saharsa-Mansi section under Samastipur division of East Central Railway (ECR) after 37 passengers were killed by the running train around 9am on Monday morning. Railways, however, put the death toll at 28. The railway communication system was totally paralysed as an irate mob also ransacked the railway station, cabin and tracks. It was difficult for railways to rush the rescue team to the site soon after the mishap, said ECR CPRO Amitbah Prabhakar. According to him, most of the officials, including railway doctors of the rescue team, were unable to reach the accident site because of lack of direct road link. He said the railways rescue team could reach the spot at 2.45pm only.

The CPRO said ECR GM Madhuresh Kumar, along with senior officials of the ECR headquarters, rushed to the site by a special train soon after receiving the information about the incident. However, Samastipur DRM Arun Mallik and other senior officials of the division were already camping at the site and supervising the rescue and relief works, he said.

Though railways was yet to announce an inquiry to probe the exact cause behind the incident, prima facie it appeared that the mishap took place while the victims were crossing the tracks when Rajyarani Express was coming from Saharsa end. The CPRO said railways started its rescue operation after getting clearance from the local police.

He said the mob assaulted the train driver and made several staff of Dhamara Ghat hostage for a few hours. They were released after police intervention. Traffic system would remain suspended on Saharsa-Mansi section till normalcy returned, he said.

Meanwhile, railways cancelled four passenger trains on Monday which included Saharsa-Amritsar Jansewa Express, Saharsa-Barauni Express, Patna-Saharsa Rajyarani Express and Patna-Saharsa Kosi Express.

Amritsar-Saharsa Garib Rath was short terminated at Begusarai on Monday and it would originate from there for Amritsar. Sealdah-Saharsa passenger would originate from Mansi while Amritsar-Saharsa Jansewa was terminated at Barauni. Besides, Barauni-Saharsa passenger train was also terminated at Khagaria, the CPRO said.

HYDERABAD: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths caught a South Central Railway (SCR) engineer red-handed while he was accepting Rs 40,000 bribe from a complainant at Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad on Monday.

The CBI sleuths arrested Srinivas, a junior engineer with the SCR and posted at Rail Nilayam. Srinivas reportedly demanded bribe to clear bills of a private contractor pertaining to purchase and installation of power traction equipment, a CBI official said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the contractor, CBI sleuths laid a trap at Rail Nilayam on Monday evening and caught the official red-handed when he was accepting the tainted money. A chemical test conducted on the fingers of the erring official yielded a positive result. He was arrested and would be produced before the local CBI court on Tuesday.

ALLAHABAD: Indian railway has decided to shift the focus of Adarsh stations from beautification to utility, comfort and cleanliness. In this connection, comprehensive guidelines have been issued by the railway board to all the zonal railways so that the recommendations can be implemented in letter and spirit.

According to guidelines issued, various types of facilities should be provided at the Adarsh stations in accordance with the category of the station. Pointedly, Indian railways have categorized stations into seven categories based on the income generated by the stations. Thus, the six categories are A1, A,B,C,D,E and F. In the first A1 category, the annual income is more than Rs 50 crore and in the A categry the income is between Rs 6 to 50 crore annually.In the A1 category stations which generate the highest income, there will be diverse type of facilities, which has been tagged with Adarsh stations. This includes facilities of escalators/lifts and also improvement in the facade of the station building. There will be facility of VIP lounge in the station area, which will be fully air-conditioned.In addition to this, Adarsh station of the A1 category also has the facility of retiring room, waiting room (with bathing facilities) for upper class with TV, separate ladies waiting room (with bathing facilities) for ladies, cloak room and computer based public address system.

Further, there would be landscaping of the circulating area (where feasible) subject to availability of space. Ornamental trees suitable for climate of the area may be planted. Other facilities include prepaid taxi/radio taxi booth, electronic train indicator board/Plasma TV Train Indicator System, coach indication board, water cooler. Adequate lighting arrangements with energy fitting and fixtures on platform and FOB/circulating area/concourse are also in the offing.

There would also be provision of battery operated car for carrying disabled persons at such station. There will be ramps at the entry to station for physically handicapped and senior citizens and separate parking for disabled persons. Provision of wheel chair at such stations is also proposed.

In the second category of 'A' Adarsh stations, there facade of the station building will be improved. There will retiring room, waiting room (with bathing facilities) for upper class with TV, waiting room (with bathing facilities) for other classes with TV, cloak room and the circulated areas would be lighted.

There will be prepaid taxi/radio taxi booth, lifts/escalators, pay and use toilets in circulating area/concourse area, water cooler, Passenger Reservation System, UTS (Unreserved Ticketing System ) counters. For the facility of handicapped persons, there should be ramps at the entry to the station. The Adarsh stations coming under B category and generating income from Rs 3 to 6 crore annually will also have many facilities. Besides improvement in the facade of the station building, retiring room, waiting room (with bathing facilities) for other classes with TV, cloak room the level of the platform would be high, Foot Over Bridge, PRS and UTS counters.

In the C category, there are sub urban stations and in D category stations are non-suburban stations, which also envisages improvement in the faced to the station building. The above mentioned services will also be provided like other stations.

The E category station has income of about 1 crore annually and will have the facility of signage, pay and use toilets, Foot Over Bridge, water Cooler, PRS and UTS counters and have the facilities for the handicapped persons as described above. The stations coming F category are halts, which are not incorporated in the Adarsh stations.

Movement of trains on the Mysore-Bangalore-Mysore section will be affected on Tuesday due to civil engineering and signalling works to be taken up between Mandya and Maddur stations as part of the ongoing track doubling project.

K. Anil Kumar, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager said in a release that critical engineering and signalling works would affect the train movement for 24 hours starting 5 a.m. on Tuesday to 5 a.m. on Wednesday consequent to which certain trains have either been cancelled, partially cancelled or regulated.

Cancelled

Services which are fully cancelled include Bangalore-Mysore Rajya Rani Express and Mysore-Yeshwantpur Malgudi Express.

Trains which are partially cancelled include Hubli-Mysore-Hampi Express whose the services from Hubli will terminate at Bangalore.

Likewise, services of Tuticorin-Mysore Express have been cancelled between Bangalore and Mysore, as also the services of Mysore-Mayiladuthurai Express.

Mysore-Solapur Gol Gumbaz Express is also partially cancelled between Bangalore and Mysore.

Services of Bangalore-Mysore Passenger has been partially cancelled between Channapatna and Mysore which means the train will run only between Bangalore and Channapatna, and services of Mysore-Bangalore Passenger stands cancelled between Mysore and Channapatna.

Chamarajanagar-Tirupati passenger will be regulated for 30 minutes because signalling and civil works will be taken up.

Railway officials said Mysore-Bangalore section has high passenger density with nearly 18,000 to 20,000 passengers commuting daily from Mysore alone and this disruption will impact the passenger movement. In view of the cancellation or regulation of trains, passenger rush is expected to be heavy in the trains not affected by the civil works. In addition, there was significant daily commuter traffic from Mandya who would be affected. In view of the disruption in services due to technical reasons, the bulk of passengers could shift to other modes of transport including the bus services operated by the KSRTC.

A sitting of the Railway Special Magistrate Court was held at the Kannur railway station by the Kannur Railway Protection Force (RPF) on August 18 and 19.

The sitting was held in the wake of offences reported on trains, particularly the food poisoning reported on Marusagar Express.

RPF personnel inspected the express trains and stations between Vadakara and Kasaragod. Out of the 85 offences booked, 50 offenders were charged for unauthorised vending of food items.

Nearly 35 cases were booked for other offences including ticketless travel, travelling on footboard and men travelling in ladies coaches.

A total of Rs.26,000 was realised as penalty in various offences.

MYSORE: Train services between Mysore and Bangalore will be affected on Tuesday due to work related to doubling of the track. Six trains will be cancelled as the South Western Railway (SWR) is taking up engineering work on the Bangalore-Mysore broad-gauge section.

The work, between the Maddur and Mandya sections of the line, will begin at 5am and last 24 hours, SWR's senior divisional commercial manager K Anil Kumar said. Of the 19 trains that were to run on Tuesday, 11 will be in service, sources said.

The Mysore-Yeshwantpur-Mysore Malgudi Express and Bangalore-Mysore-Bangalore Rajya Rani Express have been cancelled for the day. The services of four trains have been withdrawn between Bangalore and Mysore: Hubli-Mysore-Hubli Hampi Express; Tuticorin-Mysore Express; Mysore-Mayiladuthurai Express; and Mysore-Solapur-Mysore Gol Gumbaz Express. However, these trains will leave at their designated timings from Bangalore.

The Bangalore-Mysore passenger train has been cancelled between Channapatna and Mysore, railway officials said. The Chamarajanagar-Tirupati passenger train will start 30 minutes late.

Following the cancellations, additional buses will be operated on the Mysore-Bangalore highway, a KSRTC official said.

The train with 16 air-conditioned coaches fully loaded with wealth of information on mysteries of science, Science Express – Bio-diversity Special (SEBS), will chug into the Coimbatore Junction on Tuesday.

The train is an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Environment and Forests in partnership with Centre for Environment Education – Ahmedabad and Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre. Divisional Railway Manager, Salem, Sujatha Jeyaraj and District Collector M. Karunagaran are scheduled to inaugurate the exhibition on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

People can visit the train on platform number 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Entry for the Science Express will be only from the western side entrance of the junction (Goods Shed Road side). Th train has various features including a kids’ zone for students from Standard 1 to 5.

Of the 16 coaches, 8 are supported by Ministry of Environment and Forests solely dedicated for showcasing the myriad bio-diversity spread across the bio-geographical zones of India including Trans-Himalaya and the Himalayas, Gantetic Plain, North East India, Desert and Semi-Arid Zone, Western Ghats, Deccan Peninsula, Coasts and Islands.

One coach has an exhibition on climate change, bio-diversity and water, green technologies supported by the Swiss embassy. The train also has the popular Joy of Science (JOS) lab in a dedicated coach where students can perform experiments to understand the concepts in environment, science and mathematics. There will be a discussion centre-cum-training facility for orientation of teachers accompanying the students.

Items banned

People should not have in possession mobile phone, camera, bag, beedis, match box, cigarettes, tobacco and sharp objects when entering the train. The Railway Police and Railway Protection Force are taking measures to regulate the visitors.

The Coimbatore City Police had drawn up a separate bandobust scheme to ensure smooth movement of visitors and also traffic on the Goods Shed Road side, said A.K. Viswanathan, City Police Commissioner.

Institutions wanting to bring their students could register with the SEBS staff on board the train by sending an e-mail toscienceexpress@gmail.comor contact 094284-05407. For participation in JOS lab or teachers' training, e-mail could be sent tovascsc.jos@gmail.comor contact 094284-05408.


People can visit the train on platform number 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

कहीं लोग जानबूझकर रेलवे ट्रैक से होकर गुजरते हैं तो कहीं मजबूरी में ऐसा कर रहे हैं, लेकिन दोनों ही स्थिति खतरनाक हैं। गंभीरता का अंदाजा इस बात से लगाया जा सकता है कि गलत ढंग से रेलवे ट्रैक पार करने में दिल्ली रेल मंडल में पिछले सात माह में 575 लोगों की जान चली गई, बावजूद इसके न तो लोग बाज आ रहे हैं और न ही रेल प्रशासन समस्या को लेकर गंभीर है।
जानते सभी हैं कि रेलवे ट्रैक पार करना अपराध ही नहीं जानलेवा भी है। मगर सजगता देखिए दिल्ली मंडल में तीन लोग प्रतिदिन रेल से कट रहे हैं। मगर लोग सुधरने को तैयार नहीं।
एक वर्ष में हुई 5154 लोगों के खिलाफ कार्रवाई : गत वर्ष एक अगस्त से इस वर्ष 31 जुलाई तक आरपीएफ ने अभियान चलाकर रेलवे ट्रैक पार कर रहे 5154 लोगों के खिलाफ कार्रवाई की है। आरपीएफ अधिकारियों के अनुसार ट्रैक पार करना कानूनी अपराध है। ऐसा करते पाए जाने वालों को पकड़कर रेलवे मजिस्ट्रेट के सामने पेश किया जाता है, जहां उन्हें अधिकतम एक हजार रुपये तक जुर्माना या छह माह तक की कैद की सजा हो सकती है।
राजधानी दिल्ली में भी ट्रैक पर जा रही है जान
रेलवे ट्रैक पर लोगों की जान जाने की वजह रेलवे की लापरवाही भी है। दिल्ली रेल मंडल में 170 ऐसी क्रॉसिंग हैं, जहां फाटक पर कर्मचारी तैनात नहीं हैं। इसी तरह से कई जगह पर रेल ओवरब्रिज नहीं होने की मजबूरी में लोग रेलवे ट्रैक पार करने को मजबूर हैं। आनंद विहार मेगा टर्मिनल से ओल्ड आनंद विहार रेलवे स्टेशन तक जाने के लिए आज तक सब वे नहीं बन पाया है। मजबूरन लोग रेलवे ट्रैक से होकर एक से दूसरे स्टेशन पहुंचते हैं। जिससे दुर्घटना की आशंका बनी रहती है। इसी तरह से दिल्ली के हरकेश नगर के लोगों को मथुरा रोड पर आने के लिए दिल्ली-मुंबई रेलवे ट्रैक को पार करना पड़ता है और कई लोगों की जान चली जाती है। सूचना के अधिकार से प्राप्त जानकारी के अनुसार हरिकेश नगर में प्रति माह औसतन छह लोगों की मौत ट्रैक पर हो रही है।
बिना कर्मचारी वाले रेलवे फाटकों का विवरण
शकूरबस्ती-बठिंडा रेल खंड- 33
गाजियाबाद-सहारनपुर रेल खंड-2
दिल्ली शाहदरा-शामली-टपरी रेल खंड- 68
दिल्ली कैंट-रेवाड़ी रेल खंड-2
नरवाना-कुरुक्षेत्र रेल खंड- 37
जींद-पानीपत रेल खंड- 28
आनंद विहार टर्मिनल व आनंद विहाररेलवे स्टेशन को जोड़ने के लिए सब-वे बनाने तथा हरिकेश नगर में आरओबी बनाने की प्रक्रिया चल रही है। रेलवे ट्रैक पार करना अपराध है तथा ऐसा ऐसा करने वालों के खिलाफ आरपीएफ द्वारा कार्रवाई की जाती है। इसके साथ हीं स्कूलों, गांवों, क्रॉसिंग पर तथा अन्य सार्वजनिक स्थानों पर नुक्कड़ नाटक कर, पोस्टर लगाकर तथा अन्य माध्यमों से लोगों को जागरूक किया जाता है।
अजय माइकल, जनसंपर्क अधिकारी दिल्ली रेल मंडल