ProUI

The Churchgate-Virar Elevated Corridor hit a major hurdle again on Wednesday as the Railways ministry withdrew its Request For Qualification (RFQ) documents. The ministry also notified that a fresh RFQ process documents would have to be undertaken to carry forward the much-coveted rail project.

According to experts, after the bidding debacle of Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL), where the project did not manage to get a single bid, this might be the next city infrastructure project that will end up stuck in endless limbo.

As per fresh documents posted on the Railway Board’s website, the Schedule of Bidding Process has changed now and the last date for receiving queries has been fixed as August 16 with authority response to the queries to be completed by September 2. The sale of bidding documents would start on October 11 and first pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for November 8, while second pre-bid meeting will take place on December 31.

Experts feel that this might have happened because the rail ministry could not resolve the issues related to resettlement, rehabilitation and land acquisition with the state government. The Railway and the government have already failed to sign the State Support Agreement (SSA). “If the SSA was signed, then it would be the state’s commitment to help Railways in land acquisition, shifting utility services on time, attaining more FSI to help generate funds and waive charges that would be levied for bringing in equipment to the city,” said an officer from Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, adding, “No consensus could be achieved between the ministry and the state government regarding the execution of the SSA and this is a major factor as to why the rail ministry had to issue fresh RFQ.”

However, a senior official from a company considered a front-runner for the contract, said, “Lukewarm response from the industry in the bidding process might have forced the rail ministry to take a step back, and now the cost of the project may further escalate.”

However, a senior official from WR denied that this was due to the Railways’ slow approach and said, “Fresh qualifications have been issued just to push forward the project in better and viable way and to restructure the financial model of the project.”

New Delhi: Indian Railways has sweetened the preliminary requirement norms for the Rs.21,500 crore Mumbai elevated rail corridor project to attract more bidders. The new request for qualification (RFQ) document offers higher government financing support, raising the viability-gap funding cap to 40% of the project cost, subject to the finance ministry’s approval, from the 20% proposed earlier. Viability-gap funding is a financial support provided by the government to public-private partnership projects in the infrastructure sector to make them commercially viable. The new RFQ also provides for debt financing by state-run Indian Railway Finance Corp. Ltd (IRFCL) and India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd (IIFCL) for the project. The financing will be “somewhat cheaper than the ongoing market rate”, said a senior railway official, who requested anonymity. The rail corridor project has been shortlisted by the steering group set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to accelerate infrastructure projects worth Rs.1 trillion. The steering group has set 31 January as the deadline for the award of the contract for the rail corridor project. Indian Railways has also included a separate information memorandum detailing railway land that can be used commercially by the developer, said another government official aware of the development. “This was not presented in the older call for bids,” the official said, declining to be identified. The first official confirmed that 12 plots of railway land will be provided for commercial use. “What railways is trying to do is to put more concrete information in the RFQ to make the project viable and attract more investors to meet the deadline set up by the Prime Minister’s steering group,” said Abhaya Agarwal, partner, infrastructure advisory, at EY Llp in India. The other technical changes to the RFQ include the change in the train car length from 12 or 15 cars to eight and change in gauge from broad gauge earlier to standard gauge. The bidders who had bought the earlier RFQ will not have to pay more to buy the new document which is likely to cost Rs.10 lakh. “The earlier bidders will continue,” said the first official. These bidders include Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, Gammon India Ltd, Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd, GMR Infrastructure Ltd, and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). The last date for submitting the RFQ has been extended to 20 September from 23 August.

09-08-2013
4 Special Trains between Mumbai and Velankanni - Bookings open for 01029 & 01031 from 11.8.2013

Central Railway

Press Release

4 SPECIAL TRAINS FOR VELANKANNI FESTIVAL

Railways have decided to run 4 special trains between Mumbai and Velankanni to clear the extra rush of passengers during Velankanni Festival. The details of service as under –

A) CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS – VELANKANNI- CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS SPECIAL

01029 special train will leave Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus at 11.30 hrs o­n 26.8.2013 (Monday) and will arrive Velankanni at 19.15 hrs next day.

01030 special train will leave Velankanni at 13.35 hrs o­n 28.8.2013 (Wednesday) and will arrive Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus at 23.40 hrs next day.

HALTS: Dadar, Thane, Kalyan, Lonavla, Pune, Solapur, Gulbarga, Wadi, Raichur, Guntakal, Gooty, Kadapa, Renigunta, Puttur, Tiruttani, Katpadi, Vellore, Arni Road, Tiruvannamalai, Tirukkovilur, Villupuram, Cuddalore Port, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.

   

COMPOSITION:    o­ne AC first cum AC 2-tier, o­ne AC 2-tier, Two AC 3-Tier, 12 Sleeper class, 4 Reserved second class seating and 2 General second class cum guard’s brake vans.

   

B) LOKMANYA TILAK TERMINUS – VELANKANNI- LOKMANYA TILAK TERMINUS SPECIAL

01031 special train will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 12.05 hrs o­n 27.8.2013 (Tuesday) and will arrive Velankanni at 18.45 hrs next day.

01032 special train will leave Velankanni at 13.35 hrs o­n 29.8.2013 (Thursday) and will arrive Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 23.45 hrs next day.

HALTS: Thane, Kalyan, Lonavla, Pune, Solapur, Gulbarga, Wadi, Raichur, Guntakal, Gooty, Kadapa, Renigunta, Arakkonam, Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tirupadaripulliyur, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.

   

COMPOSITION: o­ne AC 2-tier, o­ne AC 2-tier cum AC 3-tier, Two AC 3-Tier, 10 Sleeper class, 2 Reserved second class seating and 2 General second class cum guard’s brake vans.

RESERVATION: Bookings for 01029 and 01031 open from 11.08.2013.

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Date: August 9, 2013.

General Manager, North Central Railway's interview to All India Radio and Doordarshan on completion of ten years

Kharagpur :
In order to increase the reading habits & to help the children of Rly. employees, a 2-day Readers’ Orientation Programme followed by a Book Exhibition was held at S.E.Rly. Girls’ H.S.School/ Kharagpur today( 18TH July, 2013).The programmeis being organized by the Ministry of Railways & National Book Trust on 18th and 19th July 2013.Sri Prempal Sharma , Executive Director, Railway Board inaugurated the proramme in presence of Sri Manoj Pande, Chief Personnel Officer, S.E. Railway, Sri R.K. Kulsreshtha, Divl. Railway Manager , S.E. Railway, Kharagpur and Smt. Mansi Kulsreshtha , President of SERWWO, Kharagpur. Sri Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, Editor NBT, Smt. Karabi Mukhopadhyay, Principal, SER GHSS/Khargapur, Sri C.M.Saren ,Sr. Divl.Personnel Officer & Sri D.Sutar Dy. Chief Personnel Officer /Welfare were also present.

The corporate objective of organizing this kind of programme is to encourage the teachers & the students to beget their reading habits.

The programme brought togetheras many as 45 teachers & 10 principals from all Railway schools of 4 Divisions (Kharagpur, Adra, Chakradharpur, & Ranchi)under SER.Sri Prempal Sharma Executive Director , Railway Board while addressing the gathering , advised that the reading habits of all students should be encouragedat the grass root level. Sri Manoj Pande, Chief Personnel Officer, SER said that reading more would generate knowledge & individuality. Sri Pandeencouragedthe students to learn more instead of mere selective.

Smt Karabi Mukhopadhayay , Principal , SER GHSS/Kharagpur announced that the BOOK EXHIBITION would remain opened for all on 18th & 19th July 2013 from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. at SER GHSS/Kharagpur & National Book Trust would give 10% discount on the purchase of Booksdisplayed in the exhibition. Students of different schools should come & availthis opportunity .

To supplement this grand occasion , a series ofProgrammes like Discussion , Question & Answer Sessions, Sharing of Views , Cultural Events , Film Show etc. are being organized

This kind of Programme would improve the standard of education & the SER’s effort on this moveis commendable.

Manish Tewari writes to Rail minister for completion of foot-bridge at Ludhiana railway station
LUDHIANA: The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mr.Manish Tiwari has written to the Railway Minister Mr.Malikarjun Kharge seeking his personal intervention about the completion of the foot-bridge at the Ludhiana railway station.

In his letter Tewari wrote to Kharge that the work had been started on the foot-bridge at his initiative a few years ago. However, midway the railways stopped the work for unexplained reasons.

Seeking enquiry into the abandoning of work on the foot-bridge, he said, “the matter may kindly be got enquired as why the foot over bride had to be abandoned and how much money was spent on it before being abandoned”. He asked as why was the project cancelled and whether any penalty has been fixed and what action had been taken in this regard.

Emphasizing the need for early completion of the foot-bridge, Tewari pointed out, “Ludhiana is one of the important cities in Punjab with a lot of railway traffic”. The new foot-bridge is urgently needed as the existing one is quite narrow, he added.

The work of the foot over-bridge has been hanging fire for a past long time and this bridge could provide a lot of relief to the residents who have to manage through the narrow bridge that exists presently.

MANGALORE: In connection with yard remodeling (stage-II) as part of Gauge Conversion work between Pollachi-Podanur Pre-Non Interlocking/Non Interlocking work will be undertaken in different spells at Podanur Junction from August 10 to August 26. As a result, train services will be regulated and a number of mail/express, passenger trains as well as local trains will be cancelled, short terminated and diverted.

Train No 16107/16108 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore - Chennai Egmore express will be partially cancelled between Coimbatore - Mangalore from August 20 to 25.

Some trains have been regulated. They are: Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 60 minutes at Coimbatore on August 11, Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 70 minutes at Coimbatore on August 12; Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 60 minutes at Coimbatore on August 13; Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 60 minutes at Coimbatore on August 14; Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express and Train No 16318 Jammu tawi -Kanniyakumari express will be regulated for 105 minutes at Coimbatore will be regulated for 70 minutes at Coimbatore on August 15.

On August 16 five trains will be regulated. They are: Train No 12678 Ernakulam Junction - Bangalore express will be regulated for 45 minutes at Madukkarai; Train No 13352 Alleppey - Dhanbad - Alleppey express will be regulated for 75 minutes at Madukkarai; Train No 13351 Dhanbad - Alleppey - Dhanbad express will be regulated for 60 minutes at Coimbatore; Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 120 minutes at Coimbatore and Train No 12660 Shalimar - Nagercoil express will be regulated for 90 minutes at Coimbatore.

While Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 60 minutes at Coimbatore will be regulated on August 17; Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 60 minutes at Coimbatore on August 18 and Train No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 60 minutes at Coimbatore on August 19.

On August 22, Train No 16318 Jammutawi - Kanniyakumar express will be regulated for 105 minutes at Coimbatore and on August 26, rain No 16107 Chennai Egmore - Mangalore Central express will be regulated for 70 minutes at Coimbatore.

Seventy per cent of children at Jaipur Railway Station did not have any access to police officials they could trust for protection. In fact, the Railway Police Force was implicated in numerous types of abuse and maltreatment of children including physical abuse, sexual abuse of girls and boys, incarcerating children on false accusations and exploitation for drugs and money.This was revealed in a study by Harvard School of Public Health in collaboration with the Public Health Foundation of India and FXB India Suraksha. The comprehensive study — developed on the SAFE Child Protection model developed by Theresa Betancourt, director of the Research Programme on Children and Global Adversity at Harvard University —was conducted on 49 children between the ages of 8-17 years, living and working on railway station.While trying to understand the safety conditions of these children, the study also revealed that the older children bullied, physically abused and sexually abused the younger children; girls who were orphans or without any caretakers were especially vulnerable.More than three-fourths of the children admitted to using drugs on a regular basis. Children as young as eight were severely addicted and spent most of their days high on whitener solutions. Two out of five children did not have access to health care services.Dr Aruna Bhattacharya of Indian Institute of Public Health said, “The thrust behind the study at Jaipur is to give every child a better future for their fullest physical, psychological, social, cognitive and cultural development.”

The Carriage Repair Workshop at Mancheswar of East Coast Railway added another feather to its cap by getting coveted ISO 9001-2008 Certification for Quality Management Systems o­n 7th August 2013.Shri Prem Chandra, Chief Mechanical Engineer of East Coast Railway received the certificate issued by M/s Certification Services Ltd. o­n receipt of the prestigious certificate, Shri Prem Chandra praised the initiatives taken by Mancheswar Workshop in receiving ISO 2009-2008 Certification and urged the staff and officers of Mancheswar Workshop to continue their workforce to achieve many such milestones in future also. This certificate is an endorsement of the entire process systems adopted by the Carriage Workshop.Sri S. K. Pankaj, Chief Workshop Manager of Carriage Repair Workshop informed that Mancheswar Workshop is planning to celebrate its completion of 30 years production in December 2013 with lot of festivities and record outturn. This Workshop is also planning to get ISO 14000 for Environment Management System and ISO 18000 certification for Occupational Health & Safety System by December 2013.In the recent days, Mancheswar workshop has created new milestone of productivity and quality, bringing happiness to the entire Railway fraternity. In the just concluded month of July, Mancheswar Workshop has achieved highest ever outturn of 145 coaches. It also achieved a production of 1001 wheels in the Wheel Shop which is another milestone.Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop also started Green Drive o­n this occasion by launching tree plantation inside Mancheswar Workshop.

Annual Pension Adalat 2013