ProUI

Some trains would stop at Melmaruvathur from August 7 to September 9 to coincide with the ‘Aadipooram Festival,’ a press release issued by the South Railways said on Monday. The trains are: 16177 Chennai Egmore – Tiruchirappalli/ Kumbakonam Rockfort Express; 16178 Kumbakonam/Tiruchirappalli – Chennai Egmore Rockfort Express; 12635 Chennai Egmore – Madurai Vaigai Express; 12636 Madurai – Chennai Egmore Vaigai Express; 12661 Chennai Egmore – Sengottai Pothigai Express; 12662 Sengottai – Chennai Egmore Pothigai Express; 12637 Chennai Egmore – Madurai Pandyan Express and 12638 Madurai – Chennai Egmore Pandyan Express. — Special Correspondent

Southern Railway has re-scheduled train services on the Chennai-Gudur section to facilitate works from August 6 to August 17.According to a press release, trains no.42011 MMC – Gummidipoondi EMU scheduled to leave at 8.50 hours and no.42013 MMC-Gummidipoondi EMU scheduled to leave at 09.22 hours stand cancelled. On the Gummidipoondi-Ennore line, the trains no.42020 Gummidipoondi-MMC EMU scheduled to leave at 10.50 hours and no.42022 scheduled to leave at 11.20 hours stand cancelled. On the MMC-Sulurpeta line, trains number 42411 MMC-Sulurpeta EMU scheduled to leave at 9.55 hours and 42406 scheduled to leave at 9.45 hours have been cancelled. The train Bitragunta-Chennai Central passenger will be regulated at Ponneri for an hour and 40 minutes.

Jammu:
A major tragedy was averted today on the strategic Jammu-Udhampur rail line after the driver of the Malwa Express stopped the train metres away from the landslide which had destroyed the track.Reports said due to heavy rain for the last 48 hours in the region, there was a major landslide near Tunnel-16 between Manwal and Ramnagar. As the train was approaching the tunnel, the driver saw debris on the track and applied emergency breaks, saving the lives of hundreds of passengers.No one was injured in the incident. However, traffic remained suspended on the track, linking the Northern Command of the Army, based in Udhampur, with the rail link in the rest of the country.A senior Railway official said the incident occurred between 7 and 7:30 am today when the train was moving towards Jammu from Udhampur.“All the passengers were safely evacuated from the train, but the engine is still inside the tunnel, as it got derailed,” said an official.This is the second such incident this week. On August 2, the Hemkunt Express got derailed at Samba. Officials blamed it on heavy rainfall, which had loosened the earth near the track.The line is an important link for the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project to connect the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country. The construction of the line was the biggest project undertaken by the Indian Railways in the mountainous terrain which runs through the Pir Panjal Range and the Himalayas.

None of the senior Northern Railway officials was available for comment.

Dressed in a beige hand-embroidered kurta with a brick red jacket, and a tightly wrapped red towel resting on his head, Mohammed Yousuf, a porter, eagerly waits for passengers at the city railway station in Bangalore.He is among the scores of porters, who despite fasting during Ramzan, continue to work at the station, exerting themselves by carrying passengers’ luggage. Picking up two suitcases and two bags, Mohammed Ghouse, another hamal says, “This alone must be close to 40 kg. It gets very tiring during the afternoons.”Describing his daily routine during this month, Ghouse says that he wakes up early and ensures that he eats a good meal around 4 to 4.30 a.m. and then heads to work. The porters sometimes work up to 11 p.m. “There is a mandatory break we take at 5.15 p.m. for prayers. After that, we watch the clock tick and the moment it is 6.47 p.m., it is Iftar time. We head to our waiting room to break our fast and also distribute sweets and food to people.”

Room provided

The South Western Railway officials have provided a room and made arrangements for them to pray and break their fast. Explaining that the mood is upbeat in the room during Iftar, Ghouse says that they pool their money and buy snacks and other food articles for everybody and distribute it so that the hamals get their much-needed nutrition. “Sometimes when officers come during Iftar, we are lucky as they end up giving us Rs. 50 or Rs. 100. With their contribution, we ensure that we have a feast.”

Mohammed Shabbir, who earns around Rs. 8,000, says that some months are particularly hard on his pocket. “There are several times when we need money. But, during this month we make sure that we do not compromise on anything — be it food or clothes. In fact, we work throughout the year so that we earn enough to spend during this month,” he says.

जम्मू कश्मीर के उधमपुर जिला मुख्यालय से करीब 18 किलोमीटर दूर दरसू इलाके में मंगलवार सुबह करीब सवा सात बजे भूस्खलन से पहाड़ी का एक हिस्सा चट्टानों के साथ रेलवे टनल नंबर 16 पर आ गिरा।

इससे टनल का लगभग 17. 5 मीटर हिस्सा क्षतिग्रस्त हो गया और मलबा टनल में भर गया। इसी दौरान उधमपुर से इंदौर जा रही मालवा एक्सप्रेस टनल के पास पहुंची।

ड्यूटी पर तैनात गैंगमैन ने ट्रेन चालक को खतरे से आगाह किया। चालक ने इमरजेंसी ब्रेक लगाए, फिर भी ट्रेन का इंजन मलबे में घुस गया। गैंगमैन और ड्राइवर की मुस्तैदी से एक बड़ा हादसा टल गया।

जम्मू-उधमपुर ट्रैक पर पूरे दिन रेल यातायात ठप रहा। हादसे में कोई भी यात्री घायल नहीं हुआ। रेलवे विभाग के इंजीनियरों का कहना है कि रेल मार्ग को जल्द खोलने के हर संभव प्रयास किए जा रहे हैं।

रेलकर्मियों का कहना था कि अगर ट्रेन पटरी से उतर जाती तो काफी जानमाल का नुकसान हो सकता था।

सुबह करीब पौने सात बजे मूसलाधार बारिश के दौरान मालवा एक्सप्रेस अपने निर्धारित समय पर उधमपुर से रवाना हुई। रौंदोमेल से होकर जैसे ही ट्रेन टनल नंबर 18 के पास पहुंची तो अचानक दरसू इलाके से पहाड़ी का एक हिस्सा चट्टानों और मलबे के साथ टनल नंबर 16 पर आकर गिरा।

इससे टनल के अंदर मलबा भर गया। यह हालात देख ड्यूटी पर तैनात गैंगमैन ने खतरे का अलार्म बजा दिया और लाल झंडी दिखाकर मालवा एक्सप्रेस के चालक को अलर्ट किया।

खतरे की भनक लगते ही चालक ने इमरजेंसी ब्रेक लगा दिए। इसके बावजूद गति तेज होने के कारण इंजन मलबे के अंदर धंस गया। चालक भी मलबे में फंस गया। बाद में अन्य रेलकर्मियों ने फौरन चालक को सुरक्षित बाहर निकाला।

ट्रेन अचानक झटके के साथ टनल नंबर 16, 17 और 18 के अंदर रुकने से यात्री भी घबरा गए और अफरातफरी का माहौल बन गया। सभी यात्रियों को डीएमयू में बैठाकर वापस रेलवे स्टेशन उधमपुर पहुंचाया गया।

स्टेशन पहुंच कर यात्रियों ने राहत की सांस ली। रेलवे के असिस्टेंट डिवीजनल इंजीनियर कुलदीप सिंह ने बताया कि यात्रियों को सुरक्षित निकाल कर स्टेशन पहुंचाने के बाद मलबा हटाकर ट्रैक को खोलने के प्रयास शुरू कर दिए गए हैं। पूरा प्रयास होगा कि रात तक ट्रैक को खोल दिया जाए।

Sonepat:
BJP MLA from Sonepat Kavita Jain has written a letter to Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Khadke expressing resentment among people against the railway authorities for not fulfilling their longstanding demands, despite repeated pleas.She said if the railway authorities continued its neglecting attitude, people would be left with no option except to block the Delhi-Ambala railway track in support of their demands.Copies of the earlier communications with former railway ministers and other senior railway officers had also been enclosed with the letter.In the letter, she had pointed out that the scheduled visit of the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) to Sonepat was being repeatedly postponed on one pretext or the other for the past one year and it had disillusioned members of the Dainik Rail Yatri Sangh.She had also mentioned about the pending demands of daily rail commuters in the letter that included stoppage of the Shan-e-Punjab, Pooja Express, Swaraj Express, Sachkhand Express and Pathankot Express trains at Sonepat; new passenger trains between 9.15am to 2.15 pm from Delhi to Panipat and between 3pm to 6.25pm from Panipat to Delhi and increase in number of compartments in the scheduled passenger train.

Other demands include toilets in EMU trains, a foot-over bridge near the old anaj mandi, increase in number of ticket counters, opening of an internet café, early completion of the Jind-Gohana-Sonepat railway line and upgrade of the hospital at the Sonepat railway station.

Sonepat:
BJP MLA from Sonepat Kavita Jain has written a letter to Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Khadke expressing resentment among people against the railway authorities for not fulfilling their longstanding demands, despite repeated pleas.She said if the railway authorities continued its neglecting attitude, people would be left with no option except to block the Delhi-Ambala railway track in support of their demands.Copies of the earlier communications with former railway ministers and other senior railway officers had also been enclosed with the letter.In the letter, she had pointed out that the scheduled visit of the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) to Sonepat was being repeatedly postponed on one pretext or the other for the past one year and it had disillusioned members of the Dainik Rail Yatri Sangh.She had also mentioned about the pending demands of daily rail commuters in the letter that included stoppage of the Shan-e-Punjab, Pooja Express, Swaraj Express, Sachkhand Express and Pathankot Express trains at Sonepat; new passenger trains between 9.15am to 2.15 pm from Delhi to Panipat and between 3pm to 6.25pm from Panipat to Delhi and increase in number of compartments in the scheduled passenger train.

Other demands include toilets in EMU trains, a foot-over bridge near the old anaj mandi, increase in number of ticket counters, opening of an internet café, early completion of the Jind-Gohana-Sonepat railway line and upgrade of the hospital at the Sonepat railway station.

Yamunanagar/Ambala:
Scheduled to start its first journey on August 9 from Ambala, the Ambala-Yamunanagar-Delhi Express train has been put on hold for an indefinite period after Union Minister Kumari Selja and the railway authorities locked horns over its timings.The minister in a formal statement had recently announced that the train would leave Delhi at 5 pm, but the railway authorities claimed the departure timing to be 1.30 pm.This led to some friction between the railway authorities and Selja, who had been instrumental in getting the train started for Ambala and Yamunanagar which are part of her parliamentary constituency. With the Lok Sabha elections approaching fast, it was being perceived as a major poll issue by the minister, sources said. Recently, the Union Minister had announced that the train would start plying on the Ambala-Yamunanagar-Delhi section from August 9. The minister had also asked the Ambala railway authorities to organise a function on August 9, where she was to flag off the train.

The sources said it was after the residents of her constituency demanded that the departure time from Delhi railway station be changed to 5 pm for the convenience of working passengers, whereas railway board fixed the time as 1:30 pm. As the matter could not be resolved, the launch of the train has been deferred.

NAGPUR: Derailment of 25 coal-laden wagons, 7km from Pendhra Road in Raipur division under the South East Central Railway ( SECR), has led to diversion of six trains from Nagpur. According to senior divisional commercial manager ( SrDCM) Pradeep Kumar, the mishap occurred in Sarbhera yard following which at least six trains have been diverted via Nagpur.

The trains include 12853 & 12854 Amarkantak Express between Durg and Bhopal, 18477 and 18478 Utkal Express between Puri and Hardwar, 14710 Puria and Bikaner Express, and 15159 Sarnath Express between Chhapra and Durg.

LUCKNOW: Metro cell started short listing entries for the metro logo design on Wednesday.

The cell confirmed having received more than 1,500 e-mails from public. The cell had asked public to send in designs for metro logo and has received an encouraging number of entries.

The cell headed by housing secretary Rajiv Agarwal reviewed about 400 e-mails on Wednesday and evaluated designs of more than a thousand logos.

Applicants have included both historical culture and modern developments taking place in the city in their logos.