ProUI

MARGAO: Minister of State for Railways Adhir Rajan Chowdhury, on Saturday,  assured to re-start the skybus project of the Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC) by overcoming the financial problem.  Commenting  on the skybus project, which has been the failure, the minister said that “despite having financial implications,  the KRC had tried the new phenomena and later viewed  it as non-viable  for  it could not fetch the expected revenue  and that led to  the scrapping of the project.”

“I feel that the KRC should have a re-look at this phenomena as this is one of salient features of the KRC,’’ he opined.

Acknowledging  the  `wonderful’  service being provided by the Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC), the minister  said  it needs to emulated by the railway sectors.

Chowdhury, during his  first  Goa  visit as the minister, inspected the innovation of the KRC including the anti-collision device (ACD).

The Minister said that “though the KRC had financial  problems, the officials  tried to  give best of the services  to the commuters and they need to be praised for that.”

He visited the Margao railway station and later Verna station. He inspected the  ACD.

The managing director of KRC, Banu Tayal, informed that the management had added skybus to the urban transport act  to enable to  get  the necessary certificate for commencing the project.

“The  necessary changes are effected  in the  urban  transport act and the Railway Safety Commission  would see about it later,’’ he said  adding nearly Rs 100 crore are required for  the research works.

Tayal informed that the   Indian Railway  has already financed the KRC and urged the  state government “to pitch in for the KRC effective skybus project.”

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Tourism & Culture Minister Maheswar Mohanty and Puri MP Pinaki Mishra on Saturday flagged off New train between Puri and Sai Nagar Shirdi at Puri Railway station. Eminent citizens of Puri and senior officers of East Coast Railway including Divisional Railway Manager, Khurda Road, Sanjay Kumar Mohanty were present. The Puri-Shirdi Express will run once a week. It will start from Puri at 10.15pm every Friday for Sai Nagar, where it will arrive at 8.25am the following Sunday. The return train will leave Sai Nagar at 1pm on Sunday and reach Puri at 11pm the next Monday.

PATNA: The Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR) runs about 12 to 14 pairs of local trains to cater to the needs of passengers. However, passengers face numerous problems while travelling. Overcrowding is a major problem in these trains. The most crowded section is the Patna-Gaya (PG) route of the Danapur division. The railways have been running several pairs of MEMUs on this route from morning to evening to facilitate office goers, businessmen and others. The occupancy rate on this route has been enormously high causing a lot of rush in all bogies.

In some of the local trains running on the Patna-Gaya route, the rush of passengers is so much that they risk their lives by travelling on the footboards or rooftops. A local train (63244) on the PG route has a capacity of about 698 seats but the number of passengers travelling by this train is about 1200 to 1300. The condition in some other trains (63247-63288) is more or less the same. Passengers travel with great difficulty because of the overcrowded bogies. The commuter trains running between Patna and Buxar are also packed with no room for passengers.

B N Sahay, General Secretary, Bihar Daily Passengers Association, told “Commuters continue to be the most harassed lot in the division. Unfortunately, none of the local trains are running on time. Accidental deaths are being reported from different places in the division. Passengers fall down from running trains due to the overcrowded bogies.” Railways should either introduce more local trains or increase the number of bogies to accommodate more passengers, he said.

Despite frantic efforts, Danapur DRM NK Gupta could not be contacted for his comments on the problem. A railway official of the division, however, said the railway officials would look into the problems being faced by the passengers daily.

Palampur:
Train services in the Kangra valley, on the Pathankot-Joginder Nagar 120-km rail track, remained suspended for the second day today following heavy landslides at different points between Guler and Kangra. Several retaining walls on the track have also developed cracks.Official sources today said heavy rain and flash floods in the past two days had caused extensive damage to the rail track at many points between Ranital, Koparlahar and Kangra, forcing railway authorities to cancel many trains on this route.The Railways have managed to run four trains between Pathankot and Guler section, but beyond Guler, the rail track is yet to be repaired.Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers, particularly daily commuters, are the worst hit as no train is plying regularly on this route for the past one month. Residents of Palampur, Baijnath, Paprola, Kangra, Nagrota Bagwan and Joginder Nagar have been facing inconvenience in the absence of train services.The British had laid down the Kangra valley narrow gauge railway line in 1932, linking all important and religious towns of Kangra and Mandi districts.Unfortunately, the Indian Railways have not added even a single brick to this track in the past 79 years. With a manifold increase in the population and increase in the tourist traffic to the Kangra valley in the past 25 years, the Railways have failed to come up to the expectations of local people.

The same century-old and outdated engines and coaches are still plying on this track.

Debaraj Panda, an officer of 1985 batch of the Indian Railway Traffic Service has joined as New Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) in Sambalpur Division of East Coast Railway. Prior to this new posting Panda was serving as Chief Freight Transportation Manager (CFTM) of East Coast Railway at Bhubaneswar.  Thereafter, he has worked in various important capacities in Adra, Waltair and Khurda divisions of South Eastern Railway and East Coast Railway.  He worked as Chief Vigilance officer in East Coast Railway Head quarters office. He also served in IRCTC as Group General Manager at Kolkata and as Chief Passenger Transportation Manager (CPTM) of East Coast Railway head quarters office. Apart from the above, he has also undergone training in strategic Management at Paris and Johannesburg.

MUMBAI: Central Railway’s (CR) power-conversion project to change from Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) has failed to gain traction although its deadline was extended on numerous occasions. Central Railway’s DC-AC power conversion project has failed to gain traction even though the deadline has been revised on numerous occasions in the past.

The switchover is the key to improving energy conservation and the performance of suburban and long-distance trains. While Western Railway (WR) effected the turnaround in February 5, 2012, CR stretches-Kalyan-Thane and Thane-LTT (fifth and sixth line)-are yet to be converted to AC.

The authorities have failed to get their act together. Commissioner of Railway Safety (Central Circle) Chetan Bakshi has insisted on implementation of a few crucial things before granting a clearance.” said a CR official. The then Union railway minister had announced that CR would be able to complete the DC-AC conversion by March 31, 2013 end of financial year 2012-13. However, four months after the March deadline passed, CR is struggling to switch to AC even up to LTT. Many officials concede that the railway board’s electrical directorate has done a botched job. Some officials also resent the intervention of the commissioner of railway safety (CRS), others claim that the queries raised by him are “relevant”.

“The CRS has refused to budge from his stand as he does not want to compromise on safety. His main concerns are lack of adequate gap between the overhead wire and the roof of foot overbridges, road overbridges and the Parsik tunnel. Many officials are also wary of undertaking the switchover work in monsoon,” a CR official said. For the stretch below the FOBS and ROB, CRS is happy to grant approval provided the CR authorities obtain clearance from the railway board. However, at Parsik tunnel, he has refused to grant approval unless adequate gap is maintained between OHE and base of the roof.

An official said, “A height of the 4.69 meter between the railway level and the OHE wire has to be maintained in AC section. CRS has found that the OHE wires at 70 meters in the tunnel are at an increased height. CRS has fears that Pantographs will graze against the tunnels surface, thus affecting operations and also safety

The only solution is to lower the tracks keeping into factor the maximum moving dimension of a train. His fears are not unfounded as 25 pantographs as many as 8 trains were damaged after grazing the tunnel surface for similar reason in May 2013.These trains were withdrawn from services, leading to major disruption on CR.

A CR official said, “We have taken a block on Sunday to lower the tracks so concerns raised by CRS are addressed. An inspection by CRS will be carried out in next couple of weeks.”

Officials feel they can clear the hurdles.

“We hope to switching to AC from Kalyan to LTT by August-end,” said CR public relations officer Atul Rane.

i. The project, the cost

CR has yet to switch to 25 KV Alternating Current between Kalyan-CST and Panvel-CST, spanning across 1,681-km tracks.

Cost: Rs 796 crore

ii. Original deadline

March 2012-13

Sept 2012: Kalyan-Thane-LTT stretch

iii. Revised deadline

May 2013: Revised deadline for Kalyan-Thane and Thane-LTT section.

iv. The problem

Since the section will switch to AC, adequate gap has to be maintained between base of the bridge/tunnel and the Over Head Wires. CRS, central circles wants this to be sorted out as he feels that inadequate height can lead to operations problems.

v. How it will improve your ride

Apart from energy savings, CR will be able to add more services because of improved speed while the maximum speed under the DC system is 80 kmph, AC-compatible rakes can clock 100 kmph.

Currently, AC compatible locomotives cannot ply south of Kalyan, while DC locomotive cannot run North of this station. Around 44 long distance trains that leave from LTT everyday have to spend 20 minutes on an average at Igatpuri or Bhusaval to change the locomotive. On switching to AC, mail/express trains will make savings of this many minutes.

Palampur:
Train services in the Kangra valley, on the Pathankot-Joginder Nagar 120-km rail track, remained suspended for the second day today following heavy landslides at different points between Guler and Kangra. Several retaining walls on the track have also developed cracks.Official sources today said heavy rain and flash floods in the past two days had caused extensive damage to the rail track at many points between Ranital, Koparlahar and Kangra, forcing railway authorities to cancel many trains on this route.The Railways have managed to run four trains between Pathankot and Guler section, but beyond Guler, the rail track is yet to be repaired.Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers, particularly daily commuters, are the worst hit as no train is plying regularly on this route for the past one month. Residents of Palampur, Baijnath, Paprola, Kangra, Nagrota Bagwan and Joginder Nagar have been facing inconvenience in the absence of train services.The British had laid down the Kangra valley narrow gauge railway line in 1932, linking all important and religious towns of Kangra and Mandi districts.Unfortunately, the Indian Railways have not added even a single brick to this track in the past 79 years. With a manifold increase in the population and increase in the tourist traffic to the Kangra valley in the past 25 years, the Railways have failed to come up to the expectations of local people.

The same century-old and outdated engines and coaches are still plying on this track.

MUMBAI: Central Railway’s (CR) power-conversion project to change from Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) has failed to gain traction although its deadline was extended on numerous occasions. Central Railway’s DC-AC power conversion project has failed to gain traction even though the deadline has been revised on numerous occasions in the past.

The switchover is the key to improving energy conservation and the performance of suburban and long-distance trains. While Western Railway (WR) effected the turnaround in February 5, 2012, CR stretches-Kalyan-Thane and Thane-LTT (fifth and sixth line)-are yet to be converted to AC.

The authorities have failed to get their act together. Commissioner of Railway Safety (Central Circle) Chetan Bakshi has insisted on implementation of a few crucial things before granting a clearance.” said a CR official. The then Union railway minister had announced that CR would be able to complete the DC-AC conversion by March 31, 2013 end of financial year 2012-13. However, four months after the March deadline passed, CR is struggling to switch to AC even up to LTT. Many officials concede that the railway board’s electrical directorate has done a botched job. Some officials also resent the intervention of the commissioner of railway safety (CRS), others claim that the queries raised by him are “relevant”.

“The CRS has refused to budge from his stand as he does not want to compromise on safety. His main concerns are lack of adequate gap between the overhead wire and the roof of foot overbridges, road overbridges and the Parsik tunnel. Many officials are also wary of undertaking the switchover work in monsoon,” a CR official said. For the stretch below the FOBS and ROB, CRS is happy to grant approval provided the CR authorities obtain clearance from the railway board. However, at Parsik tunnel, he has refused to grant approval unless adequate gap is maintained between OHE and base of the roof.

An official said, “A height of the 4.69 meter between the railway level and the OHE wire has to be maintained in AC section. CRS has found that the OHE wires at 70 meters in the tunnel are at an increased height. CRS has fears that Pantographs will graze against the tunnels surface, thus affecting operations and also safety

The only solution is to lower the tracks keeping into factor the maximum moving dimension of a train. His fears are not unfounded as 25 pantographs as many as 8 trains were damaged after grazing the tunnel surface for similar reason in May 2013.These trains were withdrawn from services, leading to major disruption on CR.

A CR official said, “We have taken a block on Sunday to lower the tracks so concerns raised by CRS are addressed. An inspection by CRS will be carried out in next couple of weeks.”

Officials feel they can clear the hurdles.

“We hope to switching to AC from Kalyan to LTT by August-end,” said CR public relations officer Atul Rane.

i. The project, the cost

CR has yet to switch to 25 KV Alternating Current between Kalyan-CST and Panvel-CST, spanning across 1,681-km tracks.

Cost: Rs 796 crore

ii. Original deadline

March 2012-13

Sept 2012: Kalyan-Thane-LTT stretch

iii. Revised deadline

May 2013: Revised deadline for Kalyan-Thane and Thane-LTT section.

iv. The problem

Since the section will switch to AC, adequate gap has to be maintained between base of the bridge/tunnel and the Over Head Wires. CRS, central circles wants this to be sorted out as he feels that inadequate height can lead to operations problems.

v. How it will improve your ride

Apart from energy savings, CR will be able to add more services because of improved speed while the maximum speed under the DC system is 80 kmph, AC-compatible rakes can clock 100 kmph.

Currently, AC compatible locomotives cannot ply south of Kalyan, while DC locomotive cannot run North of this station. Around 44 long distance trains that leave from LTT everyday have to spend 20 minutes on an average at Igatpuri or Bhusaval to change the locomotive. On switching to AC, mail/express trains will make savings of this many minutes.

New Delhi : Traffic advisory has been issued in the city for August 13 for a full dress rehearsal of the upcoming Independence Day Celebrations at Red Fort. Several roads around Red Fort will be closed for general traffic from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Amongst them are Netaji Subhash Marg from Delhi Gate to Chatta Rail, Lothian Road from GPO Delhi to Chatta Rail, S.P. Mukherjee Marg from H.C. Sen Marg to Yamuna Bazar Chowk, Chandni Chowk from Fountain to Red Fort Chowk, New Darya Ganj Road from Ring Road to Netaji Subhash Marg and Link Road from Esplanade Road to Netaji Subhash Marg. It has also been advised that vehicles avoid Tilak Marg, Mathura Road, BSZ Marg, Subhash Marg, J.L. Nehru Marg and Ring Road between Nizammuddin Bridge and ISBT bridge. Additionally, commuters should be aware that there will be special checking of all vehicles-private and commercial-entering the National Capital Territory (NCT) from the neighbouring states through border entry points after 8 p.m. on August 12. Public transportation will also be impacted as a result of the full dress rehearsal of the Independence Day Celebrations. Local city buses, including the DTC buses, will not move on Ring Road from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. between Hanuman Setu and Bhairon Road 'T' point and will take an available alternative route. Buses ordinarily terminating at Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Delhi Main Railway Station will be curtailed and diverted as follows: Opposite Ramlila Ground on J.L.N. Marg for buses approaching from South and West Delhi. Pedestrians can approach the Red Fort via Nukkar Faiz Bazar and Subhash Marg; at Mori Gate and Tis Hazari for buses coming from North, North West and East Delhi via ISBT Bridge. Pedestrians can reach Red Fort via Pul Duffrin and S.P.Mukherjee Marg; at Boulevard Road opp. Maharaja Agrasen Park for buses coming from North Delhi side from Ring Road. Pedestrians can reach Red Fort via Lothian Road -Chatta Rail - S.P.Mukherjee Marg - Chandni Chowk -Esplanade Road. Normal bus service will be restored after 10 a.m. Goods vehicles and Interstate busses will be impacted as part of the lead-up to Independence Day Celebrations in the Capital. All goods vehicles will not be permitted between Nizamuddin bridge and Wazirabad bridge from the midnight on August 12 to 11 a.m. on August 13. Interstate Buses will not be allowed between Maharana Pratap ISBT and Sarai Kale Khan ISBT from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Both Goods vehicles and Interstate buses have been advised to commute via G.T.Road, Wazirabad Road and NH-24. For those needing to commute to the Old Delhi Railway Station from South Delhi, the traffic advisory has suggested to use the following route: Mother Teresa Crescent - Park Street - Mandir Marg - Panchkuian Road - Rani Jhansi Marg - Pul Duffrin - S.P.Mukherjee Marg to reach the Railway Station. For those commuting to Old Delhi Railway Station from other parts of the city, the traffic advisory has recommended the following path: All other directions from Ring Road - Kela Ghat Road - Zorawar Singh Marg - Mori Gate - Pul Duffrin -S.P.Mukherjee Marg to reach the Station. Meanwhile, commuting to the New Delhi Railway Station will not be impacted by the full dress rehearsal of the upcoming Independence Day Celebration. For commuters who would need to reach the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) from New Delhi and South Delhi, it has been advised to follow the Mother Teresa Crescent - Park Street - Mandir Marg - Panchkuian Road - Rani Jhansi Road - Boulevard Road route. There will be no impact to commuters who want to reach the ISBT from North Delhi. To commuters who wish to reach Kasturba Hospital, the Ajmere Gate - Ajmere Bazar - Chowk Hauz Quazi - Chawri Bazar - Barshabulla - Urdu Bazar route has been recommended. The route to J.P.N Hospital will not be affected. Special instructions of the traffic advisory for August 13 has said that since the entire city will be under heightened security, barricades and checking will be intensified within the city and at the borders. Citizens have been requested to plan their movements, accordingly. (ANI)

A coach of a suburban Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train derailed near Chennai Central railway station this evening, but there were no casualties, railway sources said.

The incident occurred at around 6.30 PM as the Electric Multiple Unit from Gumidipoondi was arriving at a platform. One of the wheels got dislodged from a coach near Basin Bridge and it derailed, they said.

Train services were disrupted for over an hour on the route due to the incident, the sources said.

Railway officials rushed to the spot to repair it, they said, adding that services would soon be restored.