ProUI

Rail traffic between Jammu and Udhampur continued to remain affected today after a portion of a tunnel was damaged due to falling boulders and garbage, with Railways seeking state government's help to stop recurrence of such incident. The mishap, yesterday, also led to the damage of tracks between Ramnagar and Manwal near Udhampur, forcing cancellation of services.Traffic is expected to resume tomorrow.Trackman Arvind Kumar Pandey, who was deployed for patrolling of the tunnel, noticed the falling garbage and boulders over the tunnel and immediately alerted driver of a passenger train coming from Udhampur towards Jammu Tawi.

Over 5,000 DYFI members, demanding early completion of delayed railway projects in the northeastern region, staged a demonstration at the NFR headquarters at Maligaon today.Earlier, they took out a rally through different areas of Guwahati city.Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Rajya Sabha member Jharna Das Baidya and party leader Uddhab Barman led the rally and demonstration.The agitators submitted a memorandum to the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) General Manager RS Virdi."We shall intensify our stir to force the NFR authorities to complete the railway projects at the earliest," DYFI Tripura unit president Tapas Datta told IANS.He said over 500 DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) and TYF (Tribal Youth Federation) activists, accompanied by artists and singers, arrived in Guwahati Tuesday night by bus after travelling 600 km from Agartala.The activists had earlier planned to take a train but changed their plan in view of the violent situation in different parts of Assam over statehood-related protests.

Both DYFI and TYF are the youth wings of CPI-M.

DYFI Secretary Amal Chakraborty said: "Paucity of funds has held up many railway projects, including those declared national projects by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Both the government of India and the NFR authorities are reluctant to complete those projects."

"Besides the new railway lines in the northeastern states, gauge conversion works between Lumding (200 km north of Guwahati) and Agartala, and Agartala-Sabroom (in southern Tripura) railway extension are delayed due to the central government's negligence," he said.

The then prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda had laid the foundation stone for conversion of Lumding-Agartala metre gauge track to broad gauge in January 1996.

The cost of the project has escalated to Rs.2,800 crore from Rs.648 crore in 1996.

The broad gauge railway line from Guwahati passes through Lumding (in Assam's Nagaon district), connecting Agartala and parts of Manipur, Mizoram and southern Assam with the rest of India by a single 109-year-old metre-gauge railway track.

Agartala is one of the newest stations of the Indian Railways, and came up on the country's rail map in October 2008.

"After a series of movements since 1952, the metre-gauge railway track was extended from Lumding to Agartala in 2008," Tapas Datta regretted.

According to the Left Leaders, the DYFI and TYF activists have been organising protest rallies in Tripura and Assam over the past three months to make Wednesday's demonstration programme in Maligaon a success.

देहरादून: रेलवे की भारी लापरवाही के चलते काठगोदाम एक्सप्रेस और रोडवेज बस की टक्कर हो गई। हादसा, तड़के करीब चार बजे हुआ। टक्कर लगने से बस सड़क पर ही पलट गई। हादसे में बस चालक-परिचालक और 27 यात्रियों को चोटें आई। सभी को उपचार के बाद दूसरी बस से टनकपुर रवाना किया गया। घटना से ढाई घंटा रेल यातायात बंद रहा। सुबह करीब पांच बजे दिल्ली जाने वाली जनशताब्दी एक्सप्रेस भी सवा दो घंटा देरी से रवाना हुई। आरोपी गेटमैन के खिलाफ नेहरू कॉलोनी थाने में मुकदमा दर्ज किया गया है। वहीं, रेलवे प्रशासन ने घटना की उच्चस्तरीय जांच बैठा दी है। साथ ही, लापरवाही के आरोप में काठगोदाम एक्सप्रेस के चालक व सह-चालक को निलंबित कर दिया है। गेटमैन आशाराम की भूमिका की भी जांच की जा रही है।
गुरुवार तड़के चार बजे टनकपुर डिपो की रोडवेज बस (यूके07पीए-0835) बुधवार रात अमृतसर से देहरादून होते हुए टनकपुर के लिए चली। बस में चालक और परिचालक के अलावा 27 यात्री थे। गुरुवार तड़के लगभग पौने चार बजे बस देहरादून आइएसबीटी पहुंची। लगभगपांच मिनट यहां रुककर बस टनकपुर जाने के लिए निकली। आइएसबीटी से कुछ दूर हरिद्वार बाइपास पर बस रेलवे फाटक नंबर 39-ए से गुजर रही थी कि तभी देहरादून आ रही काठगोदाम एक्सप्रेस ने बस के पिछले हिस्से में टक्कर मार दी। घटना के समय रेलवे फाटक खुला था। टक्कर लगते ही बस फाटक पर ही पलट गई और काठगोदाम एक्सप्रेस के चालक ने इमरजेंसी ब्रेक लगाकर ट्रेन रोक ली। हादसे में बस चालक-परिचालक समेत सभी यात्रियों को चोटें आई। सूचना मिलते ही पुलिस-जिला प्रशासन, रेलवे, रोडवेज के अधिकारी व 108 एंबुलेंस घटनास्थल पर पहुंचे। पुलिस ने बस में फंसे घायलों को निकाला व एंबुलेंस में उपचार दिया गया। इस दौरान बाइपास का ट्रैफिक भी जाम हो गया। बस पलटी होने से रेल यातायात भी जाम रहा।
प्राथमिक उपचार के बाद घायल यात्रियों को दूसरी बस से टनकपुर भेजा गया। वहीं साढ़े छह बजे बस को क्रेन से हटाकर रेल व सड़क का यातायात सुचारू किया गया। काठगोदाम एक्सप्रेस भी ढाई घंटे घटनास्थल पर ही खड़ी रही। उसके स्टेशन पहुंचने के बाद ही लगभग सवा दो घंटे की देरी से दिल्ली जाने वाली जनशताब्दी एक्सप्रेस को रवाना किया गया। वहीं, बस चालक नक्षत्र सिंह ने गेटमैन के खिलाफ नेहरू कॉलोनी थाने में जानलेवा लापरवाही और हादसे के आरोप में मुकदमा दर्ज कराया। वहीं, रेलवे प्रशासन की ओर से स्टेशन अधीक्षक एसडी डोभाल ने बताया कि प्रथम दृष्ट्या दोषी पाए गए काठगोदाम एक्सप्रेस के चालक रति राम और सह चालक एके ओझा को निलंबित किया गया है। मामले की उच्चस्तरीय जांच की जा रही है। जांच के आधार पर दोषियों के विरुद्ध कड़ी कार्रवाई की जाएगी।

LUDHIANA: The Union minister for information and broadcasting ManishTewari has written to the Railway minister MalikarjunKharge 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.

LUDHIANA: The Union minister for information and broadcasting ManishTewari has written to the Railway minister MalikarjunKharge 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.

For the convenience of the rail passengers, Northern Railway has decided to extend the train No. 14732/14731 Delhi Jn.- Bhatinda- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express upto Fazilka from 09.08.2013 from both the directions as per the under mentioned programme:

The 14732 Delhi Jn.- Fazilka Daily Intercity Express Train will depart from Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 02.15 p.m. to reach Fazilka at 01.05 a.m. the next day. In the return direction, the 14731 Fazilka- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express Train will depart from Fazilka at 02.00 a.m. to reach Delhi Jn. at 12.45 p .m. the same day.

The 14732/14731 Delhi Jn.- Bhatinda- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express Train will stop at Goniana, Gangsar Jaito, Kot Kapura, Bariwala, Muktsar and Lakhewali stations enroute in both the directions o­n extended portion.

Extension of Run of Delhi Jn.– Shamli- Delhi Jn. passenger Train upto Haridwar

The 74023/74022 DelhiJn.– Shamli- DelhiJn. passenger train which was extended to run to & from Haridwar, will continue to run upto Haridwar till 13.08.2013 with immediate effect. The other features like route, timings, composition, stoppages etc. will remain as unchanged.

Through unstinted efforts, commuters of Tumkur pursue railway officials run a Special Train.  With their persistent, relentless and peaceful pursuation, SWR officials finally considered running of a special train between Tumkur and Bangalore.  On Monday, the officials of the South Western Railway were in for a surprise when a group of commuters walked into their office and offered them sweets.

The commuters, who were from Tumkur, were at the office to thank the railway officials for running a special train between Tumkur City and Bangalore. About 4,000 passengers commute from Tumkur to Bangalore every day. Though about 22 trains ply on the route, most passengers depend on either the push-pull train (trains that can be driven from either end) from Arsikere or Sholapur express trains. Commuters who travel to Bangalore for work prefer Sholapur express as it reaches Tumkur at 8 am, as the train from Arasikere reaches early in the morning. When the timings of Sholapur express was changed to 6.30 am in May, a group of commuters, among the many inconvenienced by the new schedule, decided to campaign for a special train. They distributed pamphlets among other passengers and called for a meeting on June 2. As many as 600 passengers turned up for the meeting and their signatures, contact numbers and address, along with that of about 600 others were collected. In addition, a forum called Tumkur-Bangalore employee daily commuters was created following the meeting. Members of the forum, led by a government employee BH Ramakumari, met top railway officials in Bangalore and briefed them about the 25,000 students, government and private sector employees and others travellers, including 4,800 seasonal ticket holders, between the two cities who desperately needed a special train from Tumkur.

The delegation met Union railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge in Bangalore on July 9 to press for the demand. As they did not get an assurance from the minister then, members of the forum approached Kharge during his visit to Tumkur railway station on June 11. Kharge agreed to their demand and it was fulfilled in a span of about two months. On Monday, the passengers were at the South-West Railway office in Bangalore to celebrate the success of their efforts.

Karnam Ramesh, employee of a private firm, who was in the forefront of the campaign, said the officers who were given sweets exclaimed that they had provided new trains to many other places as well, but none had come forward to thank them.

Ramesh explained that their demand was met as they managed to convince the railway department and political leaders about the viability of plying a new train in the route.

“We never wanted the campaign to be violent. We had decided that none of us would stop trains or pelt stones. It was decided to approach the department in a right manner. In addition, top officers of the railway department helped us throughout the movement,” he said.

The Kerala Railway Police (KRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) will prepare an action plan to ensure the safety of women passengers on trains and create legal awareness to curb such cases.

A field report comprising suggestions and recommendations of women’s organisation leaders will be submitted to top Railway Police officials within a couple of weeks. District-level opinion-gathering meetings will be arranged for the purpose and the recommendations will be sent to the Chief of Kerala Railway Police in Thiruvananthapuram.

“We have received directives from senior officers to prepare the report at the earliest. We will forward it within a week,” said KRP Sub-Inspector P. Muraleedharan. He said the new action plan would focus more on creating awareness among women passengers of how to act legally to curb crimes, including misbehaviour and sexual harassment by fellow passengers or officials on trains.

Leaflets distributed

KRP and RPF officials jointly distributed over 400 leaflets on Monday to sensitise women on legal ways to combat sexual harassment and various other atrocities reported during train journeys. City Police Commissioner G. Sparjan Kumar inaugurated the distribution campaign at the Kozhikode railway station.

For the convenience of the rail passengers, Northern Railway has decided to extend the train No. 14732/14731 Delhi Jn.- Bhatinda- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express upto Fazilka from 09.08.2013 from both the directions as per the under mentioned programme:

The 14732 Delhi Jn.- Fazilka Daily Intercity Express Train will depart from Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 02.15 p.m. to reach Fazilka at 01.05 a.m. the next day. In the return direction, the 14731 Fazilka- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express Train will depart from Fazilka at 02.00 a.m. to reach Delhi Jn. at 12.45 p .m. the same day.

The 14732/14731 Delhi Jn.- Bhatinda- Delhi Jn. Daily Intercity Express Train will stop at Goniana, Gangsar Jaito, Kot Kapura, Bariwala, Muktsar and Lakhewali stations enroute in both the directions o­n extended portion.

Extension of Run of Delhi Jn.– Shamli- Delhi Jn. passenger Train upto Haridwar

The 74023/74022 DelhiJn.– Shamli- DelhiJn. passenger train which was extended to run to & from Haridwar, will continue to run upto Haridwar till 13.08.2013 with immediate effect. The other features like route, timings, composition, stoppages etc. will remain as unchanged.

KOLKATA: Commuters of Metro have a reason to smile. The Metro Railway will install nine more escalators in different stations and five of these will be in place before the Pujas.

Keeping in mind the additional rush that the authorities will have to handle during the festive season, it has decided to enhance amenities for commuters. Security will also be taken care of with the help of additional high-resolution cameras, a Metro official said.

“Metro presently has 68 escalators at its stations. We have plans to add nine more. Five of these will be in place before the Pujas. Mahatma Gandhi Road, Shyambazar and Sovabazar Sutanuti will get one each while two will be installed at Maidan. We are also in the process of introducing more drinking water facilities at all stations,” said Protyush Ghosh, Deputy General Manager (G), Metro Railway.

In order to enhance security, 602 additional high-resolution digital cameras with night vision capabilities, are being introduced at stations. These are in addition to the existing analogue cameras that are being converted into the digital format.

Metro Railway has witnessed a significant jump in the number of commuters in the last four months. Between April and July, 2013, nearly 6.64 crore commuters used the Metro as compared to 5.94 crore in the same period last year, a jump of 11.86%. Ghosh said if need arises, more ticket counters will be opened at various stations depending on the demand.

“This jump in the number of commuters has led to the need for better amenities. We expect the numbers to increase in the days to come. Metro general manager Radhey Shyam has taken initiative to provide better amenities to commuters. There used to be a heavy rush at the counters at Dum Dum station as this is where the interface exists with Eastern Railway. In the mornings, tens of thousands of people get of local trains at Dum Dum Jn and rush for the Metro. In the evenings, it is the other way around. Earlier, there used to be 16 counters open at Dum Dum. We are now keeping 18 counters open to ease the rush. If the need arises, we shall increase the number of counters at other stations, depending on the demand,” said Protyush Ghosh, deputy general manager (G), Metro Railway.

The Metro Railway is also keen to improve the quality of signage in the stations. New bright signage has been introduced at the Noapara and Maidan stations. This will be extended to five more stations. These are Jatin Das Park, Masterda Surya Sen, Belgachia, Rabindra Sadan and Sovabazar Sutanuti. These stations will look much brighter before the Pujas and will resemble any major international airport, another official said.

Though there is no indication that the Ministry of Railways will go in for a fare hike just now, Metro officials are happy with the revenue collected in the last four months. Between April and July this year, passenger earnings went up to Rs 34.60 crore as compared to Rs 30.60 crore in the previous year. There has also been a 65.50% increase in revenue from commercial publicity.