ProUI

HYDERABAD: With local defence estate officials rejecting a 25-acre land identified at Jawaharnagar in lieu of the 2.05 acres they would be losing for the metro rail project, the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) has again started scouting for suitable land in Rangareddy district.The defence authorities requested HMRL for equivalent market value of land in lieu of around 2.05 acres in Secunderabad cantonment. Based on the request, the HMRL had identified 25 acres at Jawaharnagar village in Shamirpetmandal in Rangareddy district in 2011 and necessary paperwork was underway.Meanwhile, the defence authorities rejected the identified land at Jawaharnagar. "The land issue cropped up at the special task force (STF) meeting, chaired by chief secretary P K Mohanty, on the progress of the metro rail works. The defence officials, who attended the meeting, raised doubts on identifying the government land (survey no. 706/P) at Jawaharnagar," sources said.

"We want litigation-free and plain land. The 25-acre land, which the HMRL has identified at Jawaharnagar, is not suitable for us. Moreover, the land is located near hillocks.

The area was inspected by the Army officials and rejected it for different reasons," the sources told TOI.

"Accordingly, we have asked the HMRL authorities to identify same extent of land in Rangareddy district," he said.

Meanwhile, chief secretary P K Mohanty has sent a letter to the defence secretary seeking permission to take over the defene land located between Secunderabad Club-Parade Grounds-Defence Estates Office (near Cantonment Board office) to take up pillar works for the proposed metro rail connecting Jubilee Bus Station and Falaknuma and Nagole-Shilparamam corridors.

"The Army officials have already given their consent to part with the land to the Hyderabad metro rail, provided the HMRL allots us land, equivalent in value to the property we are losing. Once, the HMRL hands over land to us, we will report to the MoD," said a senior official of the Defence Estates Office, AP Circle.

When contacted, HMRL managing director NVS Reddy said: "Defence officials refused to take the Jawaharnagar land. We have now identified same extent of land (without litigation) at Vikarabad in Rangareddy district. Once the Rangareddy district collectorate sends a report on the land, we will write to the government to take necessary steps to issue a GO regarding allotment of land to the defence authorities."

It may be time for Railways to abandon rake sharing arrangement

What is in a name, or rather a name-board on some trains? “Plenty of confusion,” many travellers would say, because destination boards on coaches could be utterly misleading and could bring on an adrenaline rush, especially for passengers at an intermediate station where stoppage is barely a minute.While for the Railways, it is standard practice under the Rake Sharing Arrangement (RSA) to use rakes of one train that has completed its journey for another going to a completely different destination, for passengers the combined display boards can be misleading.“Displaying dual destination boards on a train can only add to a passenger’s anxiety,” said consumer activist T. Sadagopan.For instance, the Chendur express heading for Chennai leaves with the board Tiruchendur-Chennai Egmore-Mannargudi-Mayiladuthurai, though it does not go to Mayiladuthurai.In fact, this train has an RSA with the Mannai Express and the Mannargudi-Mayiladuthurai passenger too. Its first run is from Tiruchendur to Chennai Egmore from where it is operated to Mannargudi as Mannai Express and then as the Mannargudi-Mayiladuthurai passenger special.Or take the Train no 56041 passenger that starts from Tirupathy and arrives at Puducherry and immediately morphs as the Pondicherry-Egmore passenger (Train No. 56038) even while retaining a display board that says ‘Tirupathy-Puducherry-Chennai Egmore. “A layman waiting at an intermediate station could mistake it as a direct train to Chennai Egmore,” Mr. Sadagopan said.In slightly different circumstances, passengers can get confused when pairing trains are simultaneously stationed at different platforms of a station. For instance, Jagadeesh and Saravanan were at Chennai Egmore last week to board the Pallavan Express. On seeing the train on a platform being attended to by mechanics, they thought the train was being turned around for the journey.On realising that something was amiss well past departure time, they cross-checked with a station official to find that the ‘real’ Pallavan express had already left from a different platform.Railway officials say the RSA system is a pro-passenger measure, as it helps Railways run more number of services on diverse routes by optimising usage of tracks and reducing the idling time of rakes. For instance, the RSA helped operationalise over 3,800 regular express trains and close to 4,000 specials in 2012-13.According to a Southern Railway official, the RSA has helped circumvent coach shortage as a stumbling block for operating more number of services and meeting the aspirations of the travelling public.The RSA pattern where many trains are linked by the same rake has resulted in a practice where the rakes of an express train are used for a train to another destination at the platform itself. “When a rake does not go to the maintenance pit lines, boards that display names of both trains are necessary,” an official explained.However, to avoid confusion, Southern Railway is pitching for hinged belly board design where more than one train can be displayed individually and names can be changed at the platform before the next train starts. “It is expected that this new design will solve the problem to a large extent”, he said.The Research Design and Standards Organisation is also designing micro processor operated LED train indication boards. “Once the design is standardised, Railways will provide it in a phased manner,” an official said.

SANGRUR
: Vijay Inder Singla, Member of Parliament (MP) from Sangrur, on Sunday flagged off the Dhuri-Bathinda Jn passenger train at Dhuri, about 13 km from here. The train will depart from Dhuri at 4.00 am daily and reach Bathinda Jn at 6.25 am via Barnala, Tapa and Rampura Phul. On its return journey, the train will depart from Bathinda at 7.35 pm and reach Dhuri at 10.15 pm.

रेल पटरी पर बैठी दस गाय बुंदेलखंड एक्सप्रेस की रफ्तार की भेंट चढ़ गई। गायों की मौत से ट्रेन खड़ी हो गई। बाद में गायों को ट्रैक से हटाया गया। इसके चलते एक घंटे तक ट्रेन खड़ी रही।
जानकारी के मुताबिक रविवार देर रात बेलाताल से कुलपहाड़ के बीच गेट नं 410 पर बड़ी संख्या में गाय रेल पटरी पर बैठी थी। रात करीब 1 बजे ग्वालियर से बनारस की ओर जाने वाली बुंदेलखंड एक्सप्रेस निकली तो कुछ गायें तो उठकर भाग गई। जबकि दस गाय ट्रेन की चपेट में आकर कट गई। इतनी गाय की मौत के चलते ट्रेन वहीं पर खड़ी हो गई। बाद में पहुंचे रेलवे के कर्मचारियों ने गाय के शवों को वहां से अलग कराया, तब कहीं जाकर ट्रेन अपने नियत समय से लगभग 1 घंटे देरी से रवाना हो सकी।

केंद्रीय मंत्री कुमारी सैलजा की मांग पर नई ट्रेन का समय बदलने के लिए रेल अधिकारियों ने काफी माथापच्ची की, लेकिन समय में बदलाव नहीं हो सका। इन हालत से मंत्रीजी को अवगत करवा दिया गया है। माना जा रहा है इस ट्रेन का उद्घाटन इसी सप्ताह होगा। बता दें कि 9 अगस्त को अंबाला से वाया सहारनपुर होते हुए नई ट्रेन चलाई जानी थी। इसे केंद्रीय मंत्री कुमारी सैलजा ने हरी झंडी दिखाकर रवाना करना था। दिल्ली से इस ट्रेन का समय दोपहर डेढ़ बजे के करीब है। लोगों की मांग पर सैलजा ने समय शाम को करने की मांग की थी। समय न बदलने के कारण उन्होंने हरी झंडी नहीं दिखाई। इसी कारण रेलगाड़ी पटरी पर नहीं उतरी।
सूत्रों के मुताबिक, रेलवे बोर्ड और उत्तर रेलवे के अधिकारियों ने दिल्ली से रेलगाड़ी का समय बदलने के लिए प्रयास किए, लेकिन अन्य रेलगाड़ियों के कारण समय बदलना संभव नहीं है। रेलवे को आ रही परेशानी से केंद्रीय मंत्री को अवगत करवा दिया गया है। अब माना जा रहा है कि रेलगाड़ी जल्द ही पटरी पर होगी।
दिल्ली से राजधानी एक्सप्रेस सहित कई रेलगाड़ियां शाम को रवाना होती हैं। ऐसे में नई रेलगाड़ी शाम को नहीं चलाई जा सकती। इनमें अधिकांश रेलगाड़ियां लंबी दूरी की हैं। यदि, नई रेलगाड़ी को शाम का समय दिया गया तो इनमें से एक रेलगाड़ी का समय बदलना पड़ेगा। इसी कारण अधिकारी नई रेलगाड़ी दोपहर को ही चलाने के लिए मजबूर हैं।

BANGALORE: Facing trouble in a running train? Help is just a call or SMS away -- the women's helpline 9731666725 works 24/7. Just mention the train name, number, bogie number and nature of the complaint.The helpline, which began operating early this year, is dedicated to South Western Railway in Karnataka. But very few commuters are aware of the number, and railway authorities are doing their best to spread the message to all passengers of the state.Divisional railway manager (DRM), South Western Railway, Anil Kumar Agarwal said they've displayed the helpline number across railway stations in Karnataka. "It was launched nearly six months ago. We've received more than 100 calls on eve-teasing and other harassment. We act as soon as we receive the complaint. The Railway Protection Force attends to the problem at the next station," he said.SP SN Sidramappa said police equipped with rifles are sent into some bogies, particularly at night. "The police personnel visit all the bogies. A police chowki manned by two policemen is active outside Bangalore City railway station. Very soon, we'll start similar counters in other railway stations," he said.

A second line

Railway authorities also introduced a helpline for Southern Railway commuters -- 090031617110. Those using a landline can dial 044-90031617110.

"The security control of Southern Railway, located in Chennai, will receive the call and act accordingly. Most often, women call us with complaints of eve-teasing and physical harassment in running trains," a security personnel said.

When youth pushed out gutsy girl

On July 25, 2012, a 19-year-old girl was seriously injured when she was pushed out of a running train by four men, after she resisted their attempts to molest her. The horror unfolded in the Yeshwantpur-Mysore Express. She was pushed out when the train reached Maddur, and fell 25 feet below on the dry bed of the river Shimsha. She was hospitalized for several weeks.

Crimes on board — South Western Railway*

Robberies

2011 - 31

2012 - 47

2013 - 35

Dacoities

2011 - 05

2012 - 03

2013 - 01

Thefts

2011 - 500

2012 - 480

2013 - 350

(* Till July)

(Source: Southern Railways)

It may be time for Railways to abandon rake sharing arrangement

What is in a name, or rather a name-board on some trains? “Plenty of confusion,” many travellers would say, because destination boards on coaches could be utterly misleading and could bring on an adrenaline rush, especially for passengers at an intermediate station where stoppage is barely a minute.While for the Railways, it is standard practice under the Rake Sharing Arrangement (RSA) to use rakes of one train that has completed its journey for another going to a completely different destination, for passengers the combined display boards can be misleading.“Displaying dual destination boards on a train can only add to a passenger’s anxiety,” said consumer activist T. Sadagopan.For instance, the Chendur express heading for Chennai leaves with the board Tiruchendur-Chennai Egmore-Mannargudi-Mayiladuthurai, though it does not go to Mayiladuthurai.In fact, this train has an RSA with the Mannai Express and the Mannargudi-Mayiladuthurai passenger too. Its first run is from Tiruchendur to Chennai Egmore from where it is operated to Mannargudi as Mannai Express and then as the Mannargudi-Mayiladuthurai passenger special.Or take the Train no 56041 passenger that starts from Tirupathy and arrives at Puducherry and immediately morphs as the Pondicherry-Egmore passenger (Train No. 56038) even while retaining a display board that says ‘Tirupathy-Puducherry-Chennai Egmore. “A layman waiting at an intermediate station could mistake it as a direct train to Chennai Egmore,” Mr. Sadagopan said.In slightly different circumstances, passengers can get confused when pairing trains are simultaneously stationed at different platforms of a station. For instance, Jagadeesh and Saravanan were at Chennai Egmore last week to board the Pallavan Express. On seeing the train on a platform being attended to by mechanics, they thought the train was being turned around for the journey.On realising that something was amiss well past departure time, they cross-checked with a station official to find that the ‘real’ Pallavan express had already left from a different platform.Railway officials say the RSA system is a pro-passenger measure, as it helps Railways run more number of services on diverse routes by optimising usage of tracks and reducing the idling time of rakes. For instance, the RSA helped operationalise over 3,800 regular express trains and close to 4,000 specials in 2012-13.According to a Southern Railway official, the RSA has helped circumvent coach shortage as a stumbling block for operating more number of services and meeting the aspirations of the travelling public.The RSA pattern where many trains are linked by the same rake has resulted in a practice where the rakes of an express train are used for a train to another destination at the platform itself. “When a rake does not go to the maintenance pit lines, boards that display names of both trains are necessary,” an official explained.However, to avoid confusion, Southern Railway is pitching for hinged belly board design where more than one train can be displayed individually and names can be changed at the platform before the next train starts. “It is expected that this new design will solve the problem to a large extent”, he said.The Research Design and Standards Organisation is also designing micro processor operated LED train indication boards. “Once the design is standardised, Railways will provide it in a phased manner,” an official said.

The ‘rail roko’ call given by the integrationists to bring pressure on the UPA Government hit the passenger turnout at the railway stations on Sunday. However, no major incidents were reported in view of the agitation.Police made elaborate security arrangements in and around the railway stations to avoid any inconvenience to the passengers.Heavy police forces were positioned at all the entry points to prevent the agitators from entering railway stations.Many passengers cancelled journey, and the platforms wore a desert look. There was no passenger rush in the trains and the South Central Railway provided escort with two parties for all the running trains. Police parties were attached to all the Station Masters. In Guntur, the protestors raised slogans in front of Simhadri Express, while the agitators entered Tenali station and shouted slogans in front of Janmabhoomi Express. The protestors criticised the Congress party for bifurcating the State. Police thwarted the efforts of the agitators to enter the railway stations in Anakapalle, Narsaraopet and Visakhapatnam, said Superintendent of Railway Police Ch. Syam Prasad Rao.“Train services were not affected in Guntur and Tenali stations as some protestors raised slogans in front of the halted trains.There were no reports of arson and the police have not registered any cases in Vijayawada division”, said Mr. Syam Prasad.The Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police and the central forces would continue in the stations as a precautionary measure, said the police.

इलाहाबाद : ज्यादा दिन दूर नहीं जब इलाहाबाद-वाराणसी के बीच बिजली की ट्रेन दौड़ना शुरू कर देगी। रेल विद्युतीकरण संगठन इस कार्य को तेजी से पूरा करने में लगा हुआ है। अभी तक वाराणसी से इलाहाबाद जंक्शन तक खंभों में बिजली के तार खींचे जा चुके हैं। हालांकि कुछ स्थानों पर अभी थोड़ा-थोड़ा कार्य बाकी है। यह दिसंबर तक पूरा कर लिया जाएगा। सीआरएस निरीक्षण के बाद अगले वर्ष मार्च महीने तक इलेक्ट्रिक ट्रेन इस रूट पर दौड़ने लगेगी।
मुगलसराय को वाराणसी के साथ लखनऊ को जोड़ने की लगभग पूरी हो चुकी है। अब रेल विद्युतीकरण संगठन का पूरा ध्यान ऊंचाहार-वाराणसी एवं इलाहाबाद-वाराणसी परियोजना को पूरा करने पर है। इसमें ऊंचाहार से वाराणसी और फाफामऊ से इलाहाबाद जंक्शन तक खंभे लगाने एवं तार खींचे जाने का कार्य पूरा हो चुका है। कुछ स्थानों पर गड़बड़ी के कारण थोड़ा-थोड़ा कार्य बाकी है। इसे भी दिसंबर माह तक पूरा कर लिए जाने की योजना है। रेलमार्ग के अगल-बगल बिजली के तार पर आ रही पेड़ों की टहनियां काटी जा रही हैं। सूत्रों की माने तो यह कार्य दिसंबर माह तक पूरा कर लिए जाने की उम्मीद है। इसके बाद सीआरएस निरीक्षण कराया जाएगा। निरीक्षण में सबकुछ ठीक ठाक मिलने के बाद मार्च माह में इस रेल खंड को बिजली की ट्रेनों के लिए शुरू कर दिया जाएगा।

BANGALORE: Facing trouble in a running train? Help is just a call or SMS away -- the women's helpline 9731666725 works 24/7. Just mention the train name, number, bogie number and nature of the complaint.The helpline, which began operating early this year, is dedicated to South Western Railway in Karnataka. But very few commuters are aware of the number, and railway authorities are doing their best to spread the message to all passengers of the state.Divisional railway manager (DRM), South Western Railway, Anil Kumar Agarwal said they've displayed the helpline number across railway stations in Karnataka. "It was launched nearly six months ago. We've received more than 100 calls on eve-teasing and other harassment. We act as soon as we receive the complaint. The Railway Protection Force attends to the problem at the next station," he said.SP SN Sidramappa said police equipped with rifles are sent into some bogies, particularly at night. "The police personnel visit all the bogies. A police chowki manned by two policemen is active outside Bangalore City railway station. Very soon, we'll start similar counters in other railway stations," he said.

A second line

Railway authorities also introduced a helpline for Southern Railway commuters -- 090031617110. Those using a landline can dial 044-90031617110.

"The security control of Southern Railway, located in Chennai, will receive the call and act accordingly. Most often, women call us with complaints of eve-teasing and physical harassment in running trains," a security personnel said.

When youth pushed out gutsy girl

On July 25, 2012, a 19-year-old girl was seriously injured when she was pushed out of a running train by four men, after she resisted their attempts to molest her. The horror unfolded in the Yeshwantpur-Mysore Express. She was pushed out when the train reached Maddur, and fell 25 feet below on the dry bed of the river Shimsha. She was hospitalized for several weeks.

Crimes on board — South Western Railway*

Robberies

2011 - 31

2012 - 47

2013 - 35

Dacoities

2011 - 05

2012 - 03

2013 - 01

Thefts

2011 - 500

2012 - 480

2013 - 350

(* Till July)

(Source: Southern Railways)