ProUI

New Delhi: No platform tickets will be sold at New Delhi, Nizamuddin and Old Delhi railway stations from 14th August till August 15 due to security reasons on account of the Independence Day. However, platform tickets will be sold on demand to senior citizens, physically challenged and patients, said a senior Northern Railway official.      He said tickets would also be provided to ladies travelling alone or with children.      The railways had earlier decided to stop the movement of trains between Old Delhi and Shahadara on the morning of August 15 in view of the Independence Day function at the nearby Red Fort.

PUNE: The Railway Pravasi group has urged the Pune division of the Central Railways to start holiday special trains from Pune to Konkan during the Ganesh festival. The festival will be held next month. Chairperson of the group, Harsha Shah in a memorandum submitted to divisional railway manager Sunit Sharma said the Central Railways runs holiday special trains from Mumbai to Konkan during the Ganesh festival which will be celebrated from September 5 to 22. The Konkan Railways and the Western Railways also run special trains via Konkan railway route, she said. The group said that trains be started from Pune up to Madgaon, and Mangalore via Konkan rail route. Similarly, trains can also be started from Solapur via Pune to these places, she said. In addition to the special trains for Ganesh festival, the group has urged the railways to start special trains from Pune to Shirdi. The group said that in Maharashtra, Pune is the second most important city after Mumbai. Pune should have better rail connectivity to all important places in the country, Shah said. The railways runs holiday special trains during the winter season and summer season. These trains should be run on a daily basis, Shah added.

INTRODUCTION OF NEW WEEKLY EXPRESS TRAIN

BETWEEN SAINAGAR SHIRDI - PURI

Railways have decided to introduce a New Weekly Express Train between Sainagar Shirdi and Puri for the benefit of passengers.  The details are as under:

Train No 18408 Sainagar Shirdi – Puri Weekly Express will leave Sainagar Shirdi at 13.00 hrs o­n every Sunday w.e.f. 18.8.2013 and arrive Puri at 23.00 hrs next day i.e. Monday.

Train No 18407 Puri - Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express will leave Puri at 22.15 hrs o­n every Friday from 16.8.2013 and arrive Sainagar Shirdi at 08.25 hrs o­n third day i.e. Sunday.

HALTS:      Kopargaon, Manmad, Bhusaval, Akola, Badnera, Wardha, Nagpur, Gondia, Durg, Raipur, Mahasamund, Khariar Road, Kantabanji, Titlagarh, Balangir, Bargarh Road, Sambalpur, Boinda, Angul, Talcher Road, Dhenkanal, Mancheswar, Bhubaneshwar and Khurda Road.

COMPOSITION:      o­ne AC-2 Tier, Three AC-3 Tier, 9 Sleeper Class, 6 General Second Class and 2 General Second Class cum Guard’s brake vans

RESERVATION: Bookings for train No. 18408 will open from 15.8.2013.

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INTRODUCTION OF NEW WEEKLY EXPRESS TRAIN

BETWEEN SAINAGAR SHIRDI - PURI

Railways have decided to introduce a New Weekly Express Train between Sainagar Shirdi and Puri for the benefit of passengers.  The details are as under:

Train No 18408 Sainagar Shirdi – Puri Weekly Express will leave Sainagar Shirdi at 13.00 hrs o­n every Sunday w.e.f. 18.8.2013 and arrive Puri at 23.00 hrs next day i.e. Monday.

Train No 18407 Puri - Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express will leave Puri at 22.15 hrs o­n every Friday from 16.8.2013 and arrive Sainagar Shirdi at 08.25 hrs o­n third day i.e. Sunday.

HALTS:      Kopargaon, Manmad, Bhusaval, Akola, Badnera, Wardha, Nagpur, Gondia, Durg, Raipur, Mahasamund, Khariar Road, Kantabanji, Titlagarh, Balangir, Bargarh Road, Sambalpur, Boinda, Angul, Talcher Road, Dhenkanal, Mancheswar, Bhubaneshwar and Khurda Road.

COMPOSITION:      o­ne AC-2 Tier, Three AC-3 Tier, 9 Sleeper Class, 6 General Second Class and 2 General Second Class cum Guard’s brake vans

RESERVATION: Bookings for train No. 18408 will open from 15.8.2013.

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GUWAHATI: Putting pressure on the Centre to fix the dates for dialogues as early as possible, ethnic groups seeking separate states on Wednesday announced fresh agitation programmes like rail roko and road blockade that threaten to cut off the entire northeastern region from the rest of the country from August 16.While National Democratic Front of Boroland (Progressive), with the support of the All Bodo Students' Union (Absu), has called a 100-hour national highway blockade from August 16, the All Koch-Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU), which is leading the demand for separate state of Kamatapur, has called a 12-hour rail blockade the same day.AKRSU has given its next call for another 12-hour national and state highway blockade on August 18.After them, All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU), which is spearheading the demand for Bodoland, has called a 24-hour national highway blockade on August 28 and 24-hour rail blockade on September 10. The Karbi-Dimasa group has so far not made any announcement.

Koch-Rajbongshi and Bodo groups will concentrate their blockades in lower Assam areas of Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar districts, which serve as the gateways to the state as well as the region.

Union finance minister P Chidambaram, who has been asked to deal with the state by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in absence of home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, on Tuesday agreed to Gogoi's proposal for dialogue with these groups but did not announce any dates. Gogoi said it is wrong to give deadlines as the government needs time to finalize dates for meetings on such important issues.

Koch-Rajbongshis, Bodos, Karbis and Dimasas had put on hold their agitation temporarily after Gogoi offered to facilitate tripartite talks with the Centre. Each group had given Gogoi separate deadlines to fix the dates for tripartite talks. "In our meeting with the chief minister on August 7, he had agreed to fix the tripartite talks with Centre. But even after a week, we have not been invited for dialogue with the Centre. We cannot wait for long and if the government invitation comes, we will withdraw our agitation temporarily," said AKRSU president Biswajit Ray.

Echoing the same words, Absu president Pramod Boro said, "All Bodo Students' Union during the last meeting with chief minister on August 7 had demanded tripartite talks on or before August 13. The chief minister himself gave his word but we have not received any dates."

Besides, Absu is organizing a mass gathering on August 20 in Kokrajhar and a hunger strike on August 22. Boro said as a protest against Gogoi's failure, Absu has extended its support to the 100-hour national highway bandh by NDFB(P)from August 16. "Absu is still hopeful that the Centre and the state government will immediately initiate dialogue for a permanent solution of the Bodoland state demand," said Boro.

South Western Railway not in a position to add additional coaches or run extra trains to clear rush

Travelling to Andhra Pradesh from Karnataka during the coming Independence Day weekend may not be easy, with inter-State bus services coming to a complete halt.The Railways too is not in a position to add additional coaches to trains or operate extra trains to cater to the extra rush thereby making hassle-free commuting a remote possibility.The three State road transport corporations operating inter-State bus services to Andhra Pradesh have completely stopped their services to Andhra Pradesh owing to unrest there over the Telangana issue.The transport corporations, which initially stopped operating buses to Andhra Pradesh a fortnight ago, resumed operations, though only in the night, three days ago. Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, North Western KRTC and North Eastern KRTC were operating night services to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Mantralayam and Kurnool.However, after the staff of Andhra Pradesh SRTC too joined the Telangana stir, Karnataka RTCs have found it difficult to operate their services, said KSRTC Managing Director N. Manjunatha Prasad. “We have decided to wait and watch,” Mr. Prasad said.

KSRTC Chief Traffic Manager (Operations) Ashok Kumar said even APSRTC buses were not being allowed atop Tirumala from Tirupati. Some KSRTC buses are stranded in Andhra Pradesh but they are parked in safe places and one of the officers is camping there, he said.

Even private operators are running fewer services. Rajashekhar, Managing Director of SRS Travels, told The Hindu that buses were being detained for hours together in the neighbouring State. “But we are operating about 60 per cent of our services,” he said.

Rail service not hit

Train services between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have not been affected so far. However, Divisional Railway Manager of South Western Railway’s Bangalore Division Anil Kumar Agarwal said that the South Western Railway is not planning any augmentation of services, either by way of additional coaches or trains. He said that South Western Railway is facing shortage of coaches and trains. On the other hand, all trains towards Andhra Pradesh are running packed, he said.

South Western Railway General Manager A.K. Mittal said that most of the trains towards Andhra Pradesh were being run in their full composition — 23 or 24 coaches. There is limited scope to augment coaches. If there is big demand for extra trains, the South Western Railway would consider it, he said.

GUWAHATI: Putting pressure on the Centre to fix the dates for dialogues as early as possible, ethnic groups seeking separate states on Wednesday announced fresh agitation programmes like rail roko and road blockade that threaten to cut off the entire northeastern region from the rest of the country from August 16.While National Democratic Front of Boroland (Progressive), with the support of the All Bodo Students' Union (Absu), has called a 100-hour national highway blockade from August 16, the All Koch-Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU), which is leading the demand for separate state of Kamatapur, has called a 12-hour rail blockade the same day.AKRSU has given its next call for another 12-hour national and state highway blockade on August 18.After them, All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU), which is spearheading the demand for Bodoland, has called a 24-hour national highway blockade on August 28 and 24-hour rail blockade on September 10. The Karbi-Dimasa group has so far not made any announcement.

Koch-Rajbongshi and Bodo groups will concentrate their blockades in lower Assam areas of Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar districts, which serve as the gateways to the state as well as the region.

Union finance minister P Chidambaram, who has been asked to deal with the state by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in absence of home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, on Tuesday agreed to Gogoi's proposal for dialogue with these groups but did not announce any dates. Gogoi said it is wrong to give deadlines as the government needs time to finalize dates for meetings on such important issues.

Koch-Rajbongshis, Bodos, Karbis and Dimasas had put on hold their agitation temporarily after Gogoi offered to facilitate tripartite talks with the Centre. Each group had given Gogoi separate deadlines to fix the dates for tripartite talks. "In our meeting with the chief minister on August 7, he had agreed to fix the tripartite talks with Centre. But even after a week, we have not been invited for dialogue with the Centre. We cannot wait for long and if the government invitation comes, we will withdraw our agitation temporarily," said AKRSU president Biswajit Ray.

Echoing the same words, Absu president Pramod Boro said, "All Bodo Students' Union during the last meeting with chief minister on August 7 had demanded tripartite talks on or before August 13. The chief minister himself gave his word but we have not received any dates."

Besides, Absu is organizing a mass gathering on August 20 in Kokrajhar and a hunger strike on August 22. Boro said as a protest against Gogoi's failure, Absu has extended its support to the 100-hour national highway bandh by NDFB(P)from August 16. "Absu is still hopeful that the Centre and the state government will immediately initiate dialogue for a permanent solution of the Bodoland state demand," said Boro.

The Southern Railway will operate special trains between Velankanni and Mumbai CST/ Lokmanya Tilak Terminus to clear the extra rush during the Velankanni festival season.The Mumbai CST – Velankanni – Mumbai CST Specials (01029/01030) (via Renigunta, Katpadi, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Mayiladuthurai): The Mumbai CST – Velankanni Special (01029) will leave Mumbai CST at 11.30 a.m. on August 26 and will reach Velankanni at 7.15 p.m. on the next day.The Velankanni – Mumbai CST Special (01030) will leave Velankanni at 1.35 p.m. on August 28 and reach Mumbai CST at 11.40 p.m. the next day.

Composition of trains

The composition of the trains will be 1 First AC cum AC 2-tier, 1 AC 2-tier, 2 AC 3-tier, 12 Sleeper Class, 4 General Second Class, 1 Second Class cum luggage van and 1 Second Class cum Disabled friendly coaches. The trains will stop at Dadar, Thane Kalyan, Lonavla, Pune, Solapur, Gulbarga, Wadi, Raichur, Guntakkal, Gooty, Cuddapah, Renigunta, Puttur, Tiruttani, Katpadi, Vellore, Arni Road, Tiruvannamalai, Tirukkovilur, Villupuram, Cuddalore Port, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.

The Lokmanya Tilak Terminus – Velankanni – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Specials (01031/01032) (via. Renigunta, Chennai Egmore, Villupuram & Mayiladuthurai):

Train No.01031 The Lokmanya Tilak Terminus – Velankanni Special (01031) will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 12.05 p.m. on August 27 and will reach Velankanni at 6.45 p.m. the next day.

The Velankanni–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Special (01032) will leave Velankanni at 1.35 p.m. on August 29 and will reach Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 11.45 p.m. the next day.

The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 2 AC 3-tier, 1 AC 2-tier cum AC 3-tier, 10 Sleeper Class, 2 General Second Class and 2 Second Class cum Disabled friendly coaches.

The trains will stop at Thane Kalyan, Lonavla, Pune, Solapur, Gulbarga, Wadi, Raichur, Guntakkal, Gooty, Kadapa, Renigunta, Arakkonam, Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tiruppadiripuliyur, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.

Advance reservation for the above trains commences on August 15.

पश्चिम मेदिनीपुर जिलांतर्गत विभिन्न हिस्सों में बुंधवार को स्वतंत्रता दिवस की तैयारियां जोर-शोर से जारी रही। इधर माओवाद प्रभावित क्षेत्र में पड़ने के कारण दक्षिण-पूर्व रेलवे अंतर्गत खड़गपुर रेल मंडल में हाइअलर्ट की स्थिति रही। इधर हाइअलर्ट के बीच बीच ट्रेनों में खासी भीड़ भी देखी जा रही है। इधर राष्ट्रीय अवकाश की वजह से रेलवे ने गुरुवार को लोकल ट्रेनों में भी कुछ कटौती कर दी है।
बताते चलें कि आतंकवादी धमकियों के चलते केंद्रीय सरकार ने स्वतंत्रता दिवस वाले दिन हाइअलर्ट की घोषणा की है। इधर पश्चिम मेदिनीपुर जिले के झाड़ग्राम सहित जंगल महल में भी लगातार अस्त्रों की बरामदगी एवं माओवादियों द्वारा वर्ष 2010 कोझाड़ग्राम स्थित राजबांध इलाके में माओवादियों द्वारा ज्ञानेश्वरी एक्सप्रेस हादसे को अंजाम दिए जाने को ध्यान में रखते हुए रेलवे द्वारा भी मंडल में हाइअलर्ट की घोषणा की गई है। खड़गपुर रेल मंडल के वरिष्ठ सुरक्षा आयुक्त पीवीएस शांताराम ने कहा कि संवेदनशील स्थानों पर कड़ी नजर है। यात्री सुरक्षा के मामले में स्थानीय पुलिस की भी सहायता ली जा रही है। दूसरी ओर स्वतंत्रता दिवस पर छुंट्टी के चलते ट्रेनों में खासी भीड़ देखी जा रही है। ऐसी ही भीड़ गुरुवार को भी होने की संभावना व्यक्त की गई। खड़गपुर रेल मंडल के वरिष्ठ वाणिज्यिक प्रबंधक विवेक कुमार ने कहा कि राष्टीय अवकाश की वजह से ज्यादा भीड़ दूरगामी ट्रेनों में होने की संभावना है, इसलिए इसमें कटौती नहीं की गई है, लेकिन मेदिनीपुर-खड़गपुर-हावड़ा रूट की लोकल ट्रेनों में कुछ कटौती की गई है, क्योंकि छुंट्टी के चलते ऐसी ट्रेनों में अपेक्षाकृत भीड़ और दिनों के बनिस्पत कम होती है।

Elon Musk may have some outrageous ideas. Then again, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX has cynics and doubters for breakfast. That's why when he recently unveiled his vision for the future of mass rapid transportation, everyone sat up and took note. Dubbing his design Hyperloop Alpha, Musk's revolutionary transport system looks like something right out of an Isaac Asimov novel. The futuristic Hyperloop would drastically cut travelling time by reaching speeds of 800 mph and evading traffic snarls, giving you just about enough time to finish your morning paper on board.Though this sounds too good to be true, Musk's design isn't all hot air. In Musk's own words Hyperloop is a cross between a Concorde, a rail gun and air hockey, and involves elevated tubes that would carry passenger capsules gliding on air with the help of a jet propulsion system. Which begs the question: Could Hyperloop one day change the face of transportation in India?

Given that Hyperloop is solar powered, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan should have little trouble assuaging the fears of eco warriors. Also, requiring little land Hyperloop should be a hit with both farmers and politicians who seek favour from this electoral constituency. Besides, projected to cost a fraction of any high-speed train system, even Bengal's Mamata Banerjee wouldn't object as it would enable her to make frequent trips to Delhi to keep the Centre on a tight leash. But most importantly, Hyperloop could transform India's urban landscape. One could be sipping morning tea in Bhopal and make it to work in Delhi in an hour. Making migration transient and yet opening up new labour opportunities, it could help boost market integration. In a country where the bullock cart shares space with the Mercedes, Hyperloop could easily replace the latter.