ProUI

पुंछ सेक्टर में पाकिस्तानी हमले में पांच भारतीय जवानों के शहीद होने की घटना के बाद दोनों देशों के रिश्ते में आई कड़वाहट का असर समझौता एक्सप्रेस (14001/14002) पर भी पड़ा है। ट्रेन चल तो रही है, लेकिन इसमें यात्रियों की संख्या कम है। हालत इतनी खराब है कि 11 कोच वाली इस ट्रेन में एक कोच भी पूरी तरह से नहीं भर पा रहा है। अग्रिम बुकिंग कराने वालों की संख्या में भी भारी गिरावट आई है।
भारत व पाकिस्तान के लोग एक दूसरे देशों में आसानी से आवागमन कर सकें, इसके लिए सीमा पर स्थित अटारी से पुरानी दिल्ली के बीच समझौता एक्सप्रेस (14001/14002) चलाई जाती है, जिससे लोग यात्रा कर भारत व पाकिस्तान में रहने वाले अपने रिश्तेदारों से मिलने पहुंचते हैं।
दिल्ली में इलाज कराने के लिए आने वाले पाकिस्तानी मरीजों के साथ ही व्यापारियों के लिए भी यह ट्रेन सुविधाजनक है। लेकिन इस वर्ष ईद के ठीक पहले पाकिस्तान की नापाक हरकत की वजह से दोनों देशों के बीच तल्खी बढ़ने से समझौता एक्सप्रेस में यात्रियों का टोटा पड़ गया है।
जुलाई की तुलना में अगस्त में यात्रियों की संख्या में काफी कमी आई है। जुलाई में जहां दिल्ली से पाकिस्तान के लिए 716 यात्री रवाना हुए थे। वहीं वहां से लगभग सवा आठ सौ यात्री दिल्ली पहुंचे थे। जबकि इस माह अभी तक दिल्ली से लगभग दो सौ यात्री पाकिस्तान गए हैं और उधर से 336 यात्री यहां पहुंचे हैं।
समझौता एक्सप्रेस में अग्रिम आरक्षण की भी स्थिति अच्छी नहीं है। दिल्ली से अटारी जाने के लिए 18, 21, 25 व 28 अगस्त के लिए मात्र आठ-आठ सीट आरक्षित हुए हैं। इसी तरह से अटारी से आने वाली ट्रेन में 15, 19, 22 व 26 अगस्त को आठ-आठ यात्रियों ने सीट आरक्षित कराई है।
785 यात्रियों की क्षमता
समझौता एक्सप्रेस में कुल 11 कोच हैं, जिसमें से दस स्लीपर क्लास के हैं। जबकि एक थर्ड एसी का कोच है। स्लीपर क्लास में 720 तथा थर्ड एसी में 65 यात्री यात्रा कर सकते हैं। दिल्ली से यह ट्रेन प्रत्येक रविवार व बुधवार को रात 11.05 बजे रवाना होकर अगले दिन सुबह सवा सात बजे अटारी पहुंचती है। जबकि अटारी से यह प्रत्येक सोमवार व बृहस्पतिवार को रात सवा दस बजे चलकर दूसरे दिन सुबह 3.20 बजे दिल्ली स्टेशन पहुंचती है।
अगस्त में अटारी से दिल्ली पहुंचने वाले यात्रियों की संख्या
दो अगस्त- 94
छह अगस्त- 130
नौ अगस्त- 25
13 अगस्त- 87
अगस्त में दिल्ली से अटारी जाने वाले यात्रियों की संख्या
चार अगस्त- 70
सात अगस्त- 25
11 अगस्त- 61
जुलाई में अटारी से दिल्ली पहुंचने वाले यात्रियों की संख्या
दो जुलाई- 132
पांच जुलाई- 133
नौ जुलाई- 164
16 जुलाई- 61
19 जुलाई- 52
23 जुलाई- 68
26 जुलाई- 59
30 जुलाई- 100
जुलाई में दिल्ली से अटारी जाने वाले यात्रियों की संख्या
तीन जुलाई- 154
सात जुलाई- 108
दस जुलाई- 75
14 जुलाई- 72
17 जुलाई- 111
21 जुलाई- 35
24 जुलाई- 54
28 जुलाई- 62
31 जुलाई- 39

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।

Chennai: Southern Railway (SR) on Thursday held a special heritage run of the 158-year-old steam locomotive EIR-21 from Egmore to Guindy in view of Independence Day.

Select SR officials travelled in the 60-seater coach attached to the country’s oldest steam locomotive, which not only failed to break records this time but also got delayed by 23 minutes owing to technical snag on Thursday.

The locomotive, which left Egmore at 11am had to make a 20-minute unscheduled halt at Chetpet owing to technical snag. It left Chetpet after minor repair and a push from a pilot engine (diesel).

The train got delayed further in Kodambakkam, where it waited for 30 minutes, against the planned 15 minutes after several locals stood on the tracks to catch a glimpse of the heritage locomotive on the run, thereby blocking the way. The locomotive finally reached Guindy at 12.50pm.

EIR-21 is even older than the Fairy Queen, another 135-year-old locomotive. Last year, the same locomotive surprised Perambur loco engineers by covering Egmore-Guindy distance in a record 27 minutes at a speed of 40kmph, against the 35 minutes achieved in 2011.

EIR-21, which rolled out from the factory of Kitson Thompson and Hewitson Leeds, was shipped from United Kingdom in 1855 and it served in erstwhile East Indian Railway till 1909 before being reduced to an antique on display at Howrah.

नई दिल्ली। पार्सल बुकिंग केंद्र कभी भी यात्रियों के लिए खतरे का सबब बन सकते हैं। वजह है नई दिल्ली, पुरानी दिल्ली, हजरत निजामुद्दीन, आनंद विहार, सराय रोहिल्ला सहित सभी रेलवे स्टेशनों के पार्सल बुकिंग केंद्र में स्कैनरों का नहीं होना। ऐसे में पार्सल के जरिए विस्फोटक सामग्री आसानी से भेजी जा सकती है जो किसी वारदात का कारण बन सकती हैं। इसे देखते हुए रेलवे ने पार्सल की बुकिंग सुविधा 15 अगस्त तक के लिए बंद कर दी है।

ऐसा स्वतंत्रता दिवस के मौके पर सुरक्षा को देखते हुए किया गया है। गौरतलब है कि इन केंद्रों पर केवल हैंड मेटल डिटेक्टर के सहारे आरपीएफ के दो जवान पार्सल की जांच करते हैं। इसे खोलकर देखने की जहमत तक नहीं उठाई जाती।

आंकड़ों के मुताबिक 2013 में 91 लाख, 2012 में 1.03 करोड़ और 2011 में 97 लाख पार्सलों की बुकिंग हुई। इनमें से नई दिल्ली रेलवे स्टेशन से दो वर्ष में भेजे गए 1777 पार्सल की डिलीवरी गलत पते होने या किसी अन्य कारणों से नहीं हो पाई। इस बारे में पुरानी दिल्ली रेलवे स्टेशन(जीआरपी) के एसएचओ सुरेंद्र सिंह ने बताया कि किसी भी पार्सल बुकिंग केंद्र की जिम्मेदारी आरपीएफ की होती है। स्कैनर नहीं होने के कारण पार्सल बुकिंग को 12 से 15 अगस्त तक बंद कर दिया जाता है।

आरपीएफ के सीनियर डीएससी वाईके जोशी, डीआरएम अनुराग सचान ने इस बारे में बात करने से मना कर दिया। इस बारे में सीपीआरओ नीरज शर्मा ने रेलवे का बचाव किया और कहा कि पार्सल बुकिंग केंद्र से यात्री का कोई लेना-देना नहीं है इसलिए उन्हें खतरा नहीं है। लेकिन जब उनसे यह पूछा गया कि फिर पार्सल बुकिंग केंद्र किसलिए बंद करते हैं तो उन्होंने बताया कि पुलिस के आदेश के कारण।

The Goldenrock Workshops (GOC) of the Southern Railway has fetched order for constructing 1,000 BLC wagons from CONCOR, said the Chief Workshop Manager (CWM), P.Mahesh.

The Wagon Wing of the GOC had manufactured and despatched 560 BLC-type wagons against an order of 600 and has also completed manufacturing 300 numbers of BOXN HL wagon. The next orders for 320 wagons have just been received, Mr.Mahesh said speaking at the Independence Day celebrations here on Thursday. He said that for the first time in the country, the GOC is privileged to build 50 numbers of BTFLN (bogie tank wagon without frame) and the prototype trials are on in 4 wagons. Mr.Mahesh said that against the target of 99 diesel locomotives, the workshop has completed 136 locomotives POH, which includes supply to RITES and select PSUs. During current fiscal, against the target of 111 locos the workshop has so far completed 35 locos. So far, we have converted 15 MG surplus locos as BG shunting locos for various divisional demands.

Four MG locos were refurbished and exported to Myanmar last year. Similarly two MG engine blocks were reconditioned and exported to Mozambique. Cylinder Liner Plating Shop crossed 11,500 liners, engine block shop reconditioned 135 blocks, HERS shop attended 322 units and CMS shop completed coil rewinding in 280 set of coils last year to cross the individual set targets. Referring to the functioning of the Carriage Wing, Mr.Mahesh said that this branch has crossed various milestones this year.

With respect to AC coach POH, it has completed 97 coaches so far against the last year completion of 67 coaches during the same period. To meet the demand of tourists in world heritage site at Udhagamandalam, nine NMR coaches were given POH and dispatched.

The Production Wing built three oil-fired steam locomotives to help Nilgiri Mountain Railway to serve tourists without interruption. During the last fiscal, the Wheel Shop has turned out 8,157 wheels to meet shop and divisional needs.

Referring to the other areas, Mr.Mahesh said that the Electrical Branch has introduced various energy conservation methods to ensure optimum uninterrupted power supply. By introducing regenerative battery chargers, considerable recycling of power has been effected in the battery section. The workshop has also introduced various industrial safety measures, and the safety standards have been enhanced.

Mr.Mahesh hoisted the national flag and gave away rewards to outstanding employees.

Wow:0-

The Rs15K-crore project may go the Churchgate-Virar corridor way, thanks to CR-MRVC differences.


Even before the work on Rs15,000-crore Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)-Panvel elevated corridor has begun, numerous hurdles have already started cropping up.

The project is threatening to go the way of the jinxed Oval Maidan-Churchgate-Virar corridor with the Central Railway (CR) writing to Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) over four major differences between the two agencies.

The letter, written by the operations department of CR on July 26, touches upon issues which officials say might hit the project in terms of time and money.

Here are some of the major differences between CR and MRVC over the CST-Panvel elevated corridor:

Gauge the hurdle
One of the oldest debate in the Indian Railways is whether to go for the standard gauge, like all developed countries, or stick to the broad gauge that is the staple across rail lines across India.

The elevated corridor between CST-Panvel is being envisaged as a fully air-conditioned high-speed line which will start at CST and end at the proposed new airport at Navi Mumbai.

The project will be a public-private partnership (PPP) with the state government and the MRVC favouring the standard gauge and Central Railway opting for broad gauge. The MRVC and state government argument is that the private firm that will build and operate the line can easily buy standard gauge coaches off the shelf from developed countries. It would not have to wait for the railway’s production units to build broad gauge air-conditioned coaches.

The two major arguments in the letter is that the standard gauge would make the CST-Panvel new corridor a ‘standalone’ one and in case of emergencies, existing rakes of the CR will not be able to ply on it.

Loaded with woes
The Central Railway said that having standard gauge trains, that too with only eight coaches, would not be sufficient to take the load from the super-saturated Harbour lines.
The Harbour line at the moment is possibly the fastest growing suburban section in the country with a passenger growth of 9.22% against the annual average of 3% for both Western Railway and CR’s mainline.

The point CR officials are raising is that unlike the 3.66m broad gauge train which could carry lot of passengers, the 3.2m wide standard gauge train would not be able to do so.
“Remember if the elevated CST-Panvel corridor becomes a fully air-conditioned standard gauge system, it might be unable to take the load from the existing twin lines of Harbour line. The passengers on Harbour line also includes the lower income groups and it would be unfair on them,” said an official advocating the traditional broad gauge.

Station tussle
While the MRVC for the sake of speed wants the first station on the elevated line to be Wadala, 8 kms away from CST, Central Railway officials want the first station after CST to be Dockyard Road.

“The proposed CST-Kalyan elevated line will have its first station after CST at Byculla. We want Dockyard to be Byculla’s counterpart on the CST-Panvel high-speed corridor because we believe there might be a lot of changes in the port area between CST and Wadala in the next few decades. And this would require a station like Dockyard to cater to these changes,” said an official.

Alignment issue
It is more of a technical issue with CR having certain differences in the alignment of the line once it crosses Sandhurst Road to go towards CST Terminus. The CR contention is that the twin lines of the elevated corridor should be somewhere between the suburban and the long-distance lines so that both types of commuters can use it. “It is something that will have to be worked out progressively,” said an official.

“Gauge conversion in two Pollachi sections by this fiscal”
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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.

MUMBAI: Soon, you will get clarity in railway announcements as Western Railway is embarking on a computerized sensor-based public address system-the first-ever for suburban railways.A pilot project is being carried out at Borivli station in which the system tries to identify the number of commuters standing on a platform using sensors. "If there are more passengers during peak hours, the system will amplify the volume of the announcement and make it more sharper for people to understand what is being relayed," said a senior WR official. "On the other hand, if the platform has just a few commuters, the system will ensure that the announcement is made in a softer, audible tone. The objective is to have clarity. Every passenger should be able to comprehend what is being announced," he stated.Several commuters had complained in the past about the poor announcement system on platforms. "When indicators are blank and there are no trains arriving on platforms, we depend completely on the announcements. If there is no announcement or it is inaudible, it is frustrating for commuters," said Kapil Gokhale from Andheri.

The WR, during its I-Day message to public, also announced plans to instal 500 ATVMs between Churchgate and Virar to reduce crowds at ticket counters, 21 new trains, and at least 30 services to cater to passengers from far flung suburbs between Borivli and Virar.

General manager Pramod Kumar said his team had registered an impressive growth in freight traffic. CR's general manager B P Khare promised to instal tri-lingual display indicators. It also announced installation of nearly 200 doorframe metal detectors, close to 1,000 handheld detectors to prevent terror attacks on CR premises and in trains. It also has eight vehicle scanners, 26 x-ray baggage scanners and 69 dogs in RPF Dog Squad.

"The CR recently completed important projects like new model station building at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus with modern features like AC dormitories, retiring rooms, waiting halls, spacious car parking, etc,'' Khare added.

Said Kumar, "As a result of various drives undertaken by RPF to check crime and anti-social activities, more than a lakh persons were apprehended in WR and fine of about Rs.1.8 crore recovered." On CR, round-the-clock surveillance is being carried out through 1,530 CCTV cameras and 146 monitors on 66 stations

The WR runs 1,305 services as on date, with 20 new services between Churchgate and Dahanu. The CR, on the other hand,runs 1,618 services.

What you can expect in coming weeks:

Western Railway

* Computerised sensor-based public address system

* Installation of 500 ATVMs between Churchgate and Virar

* At least 30 new services to cater to passengers from far flung suburbs between Borivli and Virar

* New escalators at Dadar, Borivli and Andheri

* Refurbished the first class AC coach of Mumbai - Delhi Rajdhani Express, giving it a plush look with added facilities.

Central Railway

* Tri-lingual display indicators (Marathi, Hindi and English) at all platforms

* Ticket reservation counters for outstation trains open for longer hours on Sundays at Thane, Kalyan, Nashik, Pune and Nagpur.

* Installation of nearly 200 doorframe metal detectors, close to 1,000 handheld detectors to prevent terror attacks

* More 15-car suburban services from CST to far flung suburbs

What was spoken of in whispers and insinuations so far has now emerged in black and white: Indian Railways indeed went perilously close to bankruptcy in the years the Trinamool Congress was in charge.

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday shows railway funds dwindled from Rs.21,681.60 crore in 2007-08 to a mere Rs.1,770.91 crore in 2011-12. The Trinamool Congress was in charge of the ministry for three years in this period of Mamata Banerjee from 2009-11 and Dinesh Trivedi and Mukul Roy in 2012.

Mamata’s railway budgets were criticized for being too populist as she stubbornly refused to increase fares for the reasons of low publicity stunts she had practiced, despite the rising costs and announced new trains and infrastructure projects, most of them aimed at wooing her home constituency in West Bengal.

Trivedi, who succeeded Mamata after she quit to become the chief minister in 2011, probably realized the railways was hurtling towards an economic disaster and announced a fare hike in his budget despite being asked not to do so. The result: he lost his job and Mamata installed Mukul Roy, who rolled back the fare hikes. The railways continued to bleed.

The CAG report is “highly critical” of the way the railways was administered in this period and budgets drafted without heeding suggestions from the finance ministry. “Existing internal control in IR (Indian Railways) was not adequate in ensuring compliance to the rules and regulation for effective budgeting,” the report says. “Measures suggested by the ministry of finance were not addressed or provided due consideration while formulating budget. Non-observance of extant provisions led to adopting defective budgeting procedures which manifested in the form of incorrect assessment of funds,” it says.

Other observations made by the government auditor appear to be a vindication of charges that the railways ran on whim in those three years. “The basis adopted by the IR for projecting growth and variation in earnings as well as expenditure were not adequately assessed and documented. Moderation of estimates both at the zonal level and the Railway Board level were resorted to without recording logical reasons thereof,” the report points out.

The railways’ depreciation reserve fund and pension fund closed with negligible balances of Rs.5.05 crore and Rs.6.52 crore, respectively, in 2011-12, according to the report. The development fund closed with a negligible balance of Rs.4.73 crore in 2011-12, which was after obtaining a loan of Rs.3,000 crore from the finance ministry, while the capital fund closed with a negative balance of Rs 401.53 crore in 2011-12, the report noted.

“Though the fund balances improved by Rs.1,428.40 crore over the previous year balance of Rs.342.51 crore, the financial performance of IR remained poor in the current year. The meager/negative balances in reserve funds will adversely impact the safety aspects and future expansion of IR’s existing services,” the CAG says.

Trinamool spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien pointed out that there was no allegation of wrongdoing in the report. “Considering what is coming up in CAG reports, and the scathing attacks it is making on institutions, this seems like vanilla ice-cream. We have just received a copy of the report tabled in the Lok Sabha. We will study its contents and reply if necessary. However, from whatever one has heard, there is not a single instance or insinuation of any wrongdoing.