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NEW DELHI: In a first, a railway coach is being readied with Braille-embedded signages to facilitate visually-challenged passengers."The first prototype coach with Braille stickers is expected to be turned out here in October 2013 for feedback from visually impaired persons," an official said.The non-AC conventional coach manufactured in the Integrated Coach Factory (ICF) at Chennai will have Braille stickers on berth, toilet, wash basin and doors as well."The Braille stickers are placed accordingly after consultation with the members of blind association in the capital," said the official, adding, "It is a significant step for facilitation of visually impaired passengers during train journey as part of railways' social commitment to make the national transporter more friendly towards specially abled passengers."Currently coaches are provided with signage, instructions, seat numbers which are mostly in the form of vinyl stickers or metallic plates and have no Braille characters and cannot be read by visually impaired passengers. Now it is planned to use stickers with metallic base with printed characters embedded into it.The Braille sticker for visually challenged persons was announced in the Rail Budget 2013-14.As per the plan, more coaches will have braille stickers in due coarse.ICF, a production unit of the Railways, has developed the specification for integrated Braille signages in coaches in consultations with blind associations and input received from Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and issued to the Railways.Braille printing will be superimposed on these stickers and same can be used by both a person with normal vision and visually impaired person. With embedded picture or characters, there would not be any defacing even on repeated contacts or rubbing. Flexible metal foil base and adhesive backing on these stickers make them easy to install on flat as well as on curved surfaces of the coach.

Southern Railway is on course to complete the gauge conversion of the Pollachi – Palakkad and Pollachi – Podanur sections in the current financial year, Rakesh Misra, Southern Railway General Manager said on Thursday.The railway electrification of Villupuram – Vellore section, Dindigul – Virudhunagar - Tirunelveli section, Vanchimaniyachi – Tuticorin section and Shoranur – Kozhikode sections are expected to be completed this fiscal, Mr. Misra said in his Independence Day address after unfurling the national flag and inspecting a guard of honour by the Railway Protection Force.The zonal railway has already commissioned the Salem – Karur new line and completed gauge conversion in the Manamadurai – Virudhunagar section. According to Mr. Misra, the state-of-the-art Integrated Security Systems (ISS), currently in place at 10 major railway stations, would be installed in four more stations during the current financial year, he said. The OP unit at the new railway hospital in Perambur was also on track for commissioning the fiscal. According to Mr. Misra, the overall earnings of Southern Railway have grown from Rs. 2,065 crores to Rs. 2,272 crores. During the first quarter of the current year, Southern Railway carried 274 million originating passengers, yielding an originating passenger earnings of Rs. 1,150 crores . Southern Railway also introduced 15 pairs of new trains, extended seven pairs of trains and raised the frequency of two trains. During the first three months of this year, Southern Railway has operated 1,040 more mail/express trains compared to last year.The general manager announced a cash award of Rs. 5,000 each to G.Yuvaraj, Inspector, RPF, Chennai Egmore, A. Sridhar, Inspector, RPF Training Centre, Tiruchi and B. Karthikeyan, Head Constable, Crime Intelligence Branch, Chennai. V.K. Dhaka, IG-cum-Chief Security Commissioner, led railwaymen in paying respects to the martyrs of the freedom struggle at the Southern Railway headquarters.In a separate function at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Mr. Misra, who is also holding charge as general manager, accepted the Guard of Honour by the RPF contingents.At Ezhilagam on the Marina which houses various offices of the State government, Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Revenue Administration, T.S. Sridhar, unfurled the flag in the presence of other senior officials.Hoisting the national flag at the function organised by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), G.Karuppuswamy, Basin Manager Krishna Godavari-Pranhita Godavari said one well has been planned for shale gas exploration during 2014-15 in KG onland. At Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, managing director A.S.Basu unfurled the tricolour at the Manali refinery.In Indian Oil Corporation, Executive Director (Regional Services) K.R.Suresh Kumar and ED (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) V.K.Jaychandran participated in the function.

Mechanical (C&W) won the Lenin memorial eighth DRM Cup inter-department volleyball tournament defeating Railway Protection Force 25-14, 25-14, 15-10 in the final at Railway Institute here on Thursday. In Pool ‘B,’ Signal Telecommunications and Engineering departments took the first and second places respectively.Senior volleyball player Balaga Srinivasa Rao of the Vijayawada Division was felicitated by Pradeep Kumar, president, SCR Sports Association and DRM.

f Kerala gets zonal tag, Port City demand will get boost without hurdles from K As the pressure for a separate railway division for Mangalore has been gaining momentum despite the strong protest from Kerala, a consensus between the two states is slowly being evolved behind the curtains. Railway sources in Palakkad railways and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) confided that if a separate zone for Kerala is allowed, which has been a long pending demand, Mangalore's division demand will get a boost without any objection from the neighbouring state.

A separate division with Mangalore as headquarters is a long pending demand raised by different organisations and people of the Port City. The Coastal city is literally sandwiched between Palakkad (Southern Railway), Mysore (South Western Railway) and Konkan Railway Corporation. While Konkan railway starts from Thokur, Mysore division has it's border after Mangalore Junction station. Being the tail of Palakkad division, Mangalore has not been getting it's due since long. At the same time, Palakkad division's survival itself is from the freight charges through MRPL and NMPT. In this financial year (2012 -13), the loading from Panambur area alone was 6.495 MT, which contributed for 91.2 per cent of overall loading of the division. Nonetheless Mangalore is the supporting pillar of the division, however, it is by and large neglected in terms of development.

Railway officials say that the major stumbling block for Mangalore division is not Kerala's objection, but the demand is not strongly being pushed by Karnataka itself. “The division demand is heard in Mangalore only. When it reaches New Delhi, the name of Gulbarga is being heard now more than Mangalore,” told an official to Deccan Herald.

SWR or Konkan?

Though the moves for carving out of Mangalore division is going on, sources said that the authorities concerned are yet to decide on where should Mangalore division be included. If KRCL is the option, then problems are plenty. KRCL is not a part of Indian Railway but a separate Railway entity started in 1998. It was running at a loss of more than Rs 10,000 crore and the Central Government is now not in a position to incur the loss by merging the KRCL in Indian Railways.

Kerala's demand

Kerala is the only Indian state having a major place in rail map of India without a zone headquartered in its territory. A  separate zone means the state's projects and new train services will come directly from the Centre and not via Southern Railway. For a zone, three divisions under it is mandatory. If Mangalore division is allowed, then including that, Kerala can fulfill it's zonal ambition with other two divisions, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram. Thus the state is willing to form Mangalore division provided it's zonal demand should be allowed with new division coming under it.

But this unofficial idea among top railway officers and politicians from Kerala is yet to reach Union Railway Minister's office. Kerala is also skeptical about how Karnataka will react to this proposal as Karnataka is for a division which comes exclusively under a zone which is within it's borders.

Palakkad's ill-fate

When Salem division was carved out of Palakkad in October 2007, the Kerala division lost 623 kilometre of it's area in Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore and a sizable part of the revenue. At that time, Kerala has been promised with a railway zone and a rail coach manufacturing factory in Palakkad as a compensatory measure. But both the projects are still in paper only. If Mangalore also goes from Palakkad, then it's better to close down the division, told a railway official to DH.

The Rs 550 crore coach factory at Kanjikode in Palakkad was annouced in 2008-09 rail budget presented by the then Union Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Other than handing over 92.04 hectares of land to Railway, nothing has progressed in Kanjikode. At the same time, the Raebareli Coach factory which was announced along with Kanjikode factory has commenced operation.

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The track doubling work in the Kallakudi Palanganatham–Ariyalur section is in the final stage of completion and will be commissioned soon, said Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), here on Thursday. The second line in the Valadi–Kallakkudi Palanganatham section has been commissioned, the DRM said in her address at the Independence Day celebrations organised by Tiruchi Railway Division at the Kallukuzhi maidan.

Listing the achievements of the division last year, Ms. Rangarajan said the total earnings of the division was Rs. 733.10 crore — passenger earnings Rs. 233.15 crore and freight earnings Rs. 449.92 crore.

The earning through publicity sector grew by 15 per cent over the previous year to Rs. 3.18 crore, and in the catering sector, it was 35 per cent more at Rs. 1.74 crore.

The division carried 4.25 crore passengers which exceeded the target by 8 per cent. The division achieved a freight target of 9 million tonnes and a higher target of 10.6 million tonnes was set for this financial year.

During the festival season, 176 special trains were operated by the division and additional passenger amenities were provided for the benefit of pilgrims and passengers.

Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters were opened in post offices at Villianur, Tiruvettipuram, Peravurani, Muthupet, Srirangam, and Ponmalai as part of the 1,000 PRS scheme.

Plasma screen electronic display boards and electronic train arrival or departure boards were some of the innovative steps initiated by the division to improve passenger amenities. A renovated linen room was opened at Tiruchi junction. A surgical ward with a capacity of 100 beds was opened at Railway Hospital, Ponmalai.

To enhance security at Tiruchi junction, an Integrated Security System was opened.

Tiruchi Division won the overall efficiency medical shield, cleanliness shield and electrical conservation shield for 2012-13 at the zonal level. The division won the overall safety shield at the Annual Safety Week Celebrations held at Zonal Railway Training Institute.

S.A. Abdul Rahman, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, and A. Kalaiarasan, Assistant Security Commissioner, were present.

यात्रियों की सुविधा के लिए कई ट्रेनों में अतिरिक्त कोच लगाने की घोषणा की गई है। कुछ ट्रेनों में स्थायी रूप से कोच बढ़ाए जा रहे हैं, जबकि कुछ ट्रेनों में अस्थायी तौर पर यह व्यवस्था की गई है।
नई दिल्ली-सियालदह राजधानी एक्सप्रेस (12313/12314) में 16 अक्टूबर से थर्ड एसी का एक कोच बढ़ाया जाएगा। इसी तरह से उढ़ना-वाराणसी एक्सप्रेस (19057/19058) तथा वलसाड़-हरिद्वार एक्सप्रेस (12911/12912) में स्लीपर कोच की संख्या बढ़ाकर सात से आठ किया जाएगा। लोकमान्य तिलक टर्मिनल-वाराणसी सुपर फास्ट (12167/12168) में 1 सितंबर तक थर्ड एसी का एक व स्लीपर के दो अतिरिक्त कोच लगाया जाएगा। दिल्ली सराय रोहिल्ला से जयपुर के बीच चलने वाली डबल डेकर ट्रेन (12986/12985) में भी 15 सितंबर से एसी चेयर कार में दो अतिरिक्त कोच लगाया जाएगा।
उत्तर रेलवे ने प्रायोगिक तौर पर दिल्ली सराय रोहिल्ला-सदुलपुर एक्सप्रेस (14705/14706) का ठहराव रामपुरा बेरी में करने का फैसला किया है। 14705 नंबर की ट्रेन रामपुरा बेरी में सुबह 10.34 बजे पहुंचेगी तथा 14706 नंबर की ट्रेन यहां शाम 6.18 बजे पहुंचेगी। यहां पर दो मिनट तक रुकेगी। यह व्यवस्था व्यवस्था फिलहाल अगले वर्ष 2 फरवरी तक के लिए है।

Dhubri: In view of frequent strikes and rail blockades, a delegation of New Moinaguri-Jogighopa Railway Extension Demand Committee will leave for New Delhi on Saturday to meet railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge. It will demand speedy completion of the new and alternative railway line from Dhubri to Abhayapuri connecting Guwahati.

“In order to get rid of this situation, there is only one solution — completion of this 85-km new railway line without traversing through Srirampur, Gossaigaon, Kokrajhar and New Bongaigaon. It could connect the Northeast with the rest of the country,” said Tazmul Haque, joint convener of the committee.

Haque said the delegation would lay emphasis on speedy completion of the alternative railway route and put pressure on the Union railway minister as strikes and blockades on the existing railway route cut off people of the Northeast from the rest of the country.

Haque also said if this alternative railway route was not completed soon, then not only would passengers suffer, it would also hit the foodgrain supply.

Committee sources said the new railway line from New Coochbehar to Golokganj was completed in 2012 but work on the remaining part from Gauripur to Abhayapuri was stalled because of paucity of funds a couple of month ago.

To complete the work, Rs.850 crore was required but the railway ministry has not sanctioned any funds in the last two budgets, sources alleged.

A railway source in Dhubri said the new railway line would ease the suffering of the people, as it would run from New Coochbehar-Golokganj, Gauripur-Bogribari-Bilasipara-Chapor-Bahalpur-Abhayapuri. It will connect the Goalpara-Guwahati railway route.

A railway source in Alipurduar junction said thousands of passengers were stranded on platforms and nearly 80 goods trains carrying essential items had to be stopped at several stations in Bengal during the recent blockades and strikes.

Due to non-interlocking work in connection with yard remodeling of Gorakhpur station over North Eastern Railway from 26.09.2013 to 06.10.2013, the following trains will be cancelled/short terminated/diverted/rescheduled as under:

Cancellation of Trains

·The 12532 Lucknow Jn.- Gorakhpur Intercity Express train will be cancelled from 29.9.2013 to 6.10.2013.

·The 15274 Delhi Jn.- Raxaul Satyagrah Express train will be cancelled from 29.9.2013 to 5.10.2013.

·The 15273 Raxaul-Delhi Jn. Satyagrah Express train will be cancelled from 30.9.2013 to 6.10.2013.

·The 15211/15212 Darbhanga-Amritsar Jan Nayak Express train will be cancelled from 2.10.2013 to 5.10.2013.

·The 15279 Saharsa-Adarsh Nagar Delhi Purabia Express train will be cancelled from 3.10.2013 to 6.10.2013.

· The 15280 Adarsh Nagar Delhi-Saharsa Purabia Express train will be cancelled from 4.10.2013 to 7.10.2013.

·The 14604 Amritsar-Saharsa Jan Sadharan Express train will be cancelled o­n 2.10.2013.

·The 14603 Saharsa-Amritsar Jan Sadharan Express train will be cancelled o­n 4.10.2013.

Short Termination Of Trains

·The 15006 Dehradun-Gorakhpur Express train will be short terminated at Lucknow Jn. instead of Gorakhpuron 1.10.2013 & 3.10.2013.

·The 15005 Gorakhpur-Dehradun Express train will short originate from Lucknow Jn. instead of Gorakhpuron 2.10.2013 & 4.10.2013.

·The 12556 Hisar-Gorakhpur Gorakhdham Express train will be short terminated at Dorningarh instead of Gorakhpuron 5.10.2013.

Diversion of Trains

·The 15708 Amritsar-Katihar Express train will be diverted to run via Lucknow- Barabanki- Faizabad- Shahganj- Mau- Indara- Chhapra from 28.9.2013 to 5.10.2013.

·The 15707 Katihar-Amritsar Express train will be diverted to run via Chhapra-Indara-Mau-Shahganj-Lucknow from 2.10.2013 to 5.10.2013.

·The 15609/15610 Guwahati-Lalgarh-Guwahati Avadh Assam Express train will be diverted to run via Chhapra-Aunihar-Varanasi-Sultanpur-Lucknow from 2.10.2013 to 4.10.2013.

·The 12565 Darbhanga-New Delhi Bihar S.K. Express train will be diverted to run via Chhapra-Aunihar-Varanasi-Janghai-Pratapgarh-Lucknow from 3.10.2013 to 6.10.2013.

·The 12566 New Delhi-Darbhanga Bihar S.K. Express train will be diverted to run via Lucknow-Pratapgarh-Janghai-Varanasi-Aunihar-Chhapra from 2.10.2013 to 5.10.2013.

·The 12557 Muzaffarpur-Anand Vihar T. Express train will be diverted to run via Gorakhpur Cantt.-Bhatni-Varanasi-Sultanpur-Lucknow o­n 5.10.2013.

Rescheduling of trains

·The 13020 Kathgodam-Howrah Bagh Express train scheduled to leave Kathgodam at 9.55 p.m. o­n 5.10.2013, will be rescheduled to leave at 11.55 p.m.

·The 12491 Muzaffarpur-Jammu Tawi Mour Dhawaj Express train scheduled to leave Muzaffarpur at 7.00 a.m. o­n 6.10.2013, will be rescheduled to leave at 8.30 a.m.

Bhubaneswar: The railways have extended the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT)-Bhubaneswar weekly superfast Express to Puri. The train will leave Puri at 9.25pm on Tuesdays. The timings and stoppages between Bhubaneswar and LTT will remain unchanged. It will depart at 8.35pm on Sunday on return.

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The track doubling work in the Kallakudi Palanganatham–Ariyalur section is in the final stage of completion and will be commissioned soon, said Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), here on Thursday. The second line in the Valadi–Kallakkudi Palanganatham section has been commissioned, the DRM said in her address at the Independence Day celebrations organised by Tiruchi Railway Division at the Kallukuzhi maidan.

Listing the achievements of the division last year, Ms. Rangarajan said the total earnings of the division was Rs. 733.10 crore — passenger earnings Rs. 233.15 crore and freight earnings Rs. 449.92 crore.

The earning through publicity sector grew by 15 per cent over the previous year to Rs. 3.18 crore, and in the catering sector, it was 35 per cent more at Rs. 1.74 crore.

The division carried 4.25 crore passengers which exceeded the target by 8 per cent. The division achieved a freight target of 9 million tonnes and a higher target of 10.6 million tonnes was set for this financial year.

During the festival season, 176 special trains were operated by the division and additional passenger amenities were provided for the benefit of pilgrims and passengers.

Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters were opened in post offices at Villianur, Tiruvettipuram, Peravurani, Muthupet, Srirangam, and Ponmalai as part of the 1,000 PRS scheme.

Plasma screen electronic display boards and electronic train arrival or departure boards were some of the innovative steps initiated by the division to improve passenger amenities. A renovated linen room was opened at Tiruchi junction. A surgical ward with a capacity of 100 beds was opened at Railway Hospital, Ponmalai.

To enhance security at Tiruchi junction, an Integrated Security System was opened.

Tiruchi Division won the overall efficiency medical shield, cleanliness shield and electrical conservation shield for 2012-13 at the zonal level. The division won the overall safety shield at the Annual Safety Week Celebrations held at Zonal Railway Training Institute.

S.A. Abdul Rahman, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, and A. Kalaiarasan, Assistant Security Commissioner, were present.