ProUI

Extension of Allahabad-Mathura-Allahbad Exp up to Jaipur.

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.

127 JTBS at NWR

New Delhi: Rail traffic between Jammu and Udhampur continued to remain affected on Wednesday 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. "The track was disturbed due to sudden breakage of road above and about 1,200 cubic metre of garbage which was dumped near the road above," said a Northern Railway release today. Officials said the landslide occurred due to continuous seepage and obstruction to flow of water by the dumped garbage along the road-side. About 20-metre of the tunnel was damaged.

Traffic has remained affected since 7.30 am yesterday following the incident and senior railway officers including principal chief engineer of Northern Railway and divisional railway manager of Firozepur are personally monitoring the restoration work, the statement said.

Officials said the road running above is also not safe for traffic and more garbage is expected to come down unless it is not cleared immediately.

They said deputy commissioner of Udhampuar has been requested by Northern Railway administration to take immediate action for stopping the dumping of garbage and removal of already dumped garbage to avoid recurrence of incident.

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.

Shops downed shutters and autorickshaws kept off the roads at Vadamadurai near here on Tuesday in protest over the proposed move by railway authorities to close down the century-old Vadamadurai railway station.The town panchayat wore a deserted look with approximately 500 shops remaining shut and autorickshaws staying off the streets as traders and members of the Chamber of Commerce in Vadamadurai joined the public to mark their protest.The doubling of the track between Tiruchi and Dindigul is said to be the reason behind the decision to close the station.Vadamadurai Chamber of Commerce president S.Thiagarajan said this station catered for a population of over 20,000 in and around Vadamadurai. Thousands of students and workers commuted on passenger trains to Tiruchi and Manaparai every day, he pointed out.At present, Madurai-Villupuram and Dindigul-Nagoor passenger trains stopped at Vadamadurai station in the morning and evening, and pressure was mounting on the railways to ensure that the Tirunelveli-Mayiladuthurai fast passenger train stopped at Vadamadurai, he noted.

Local residents said trains were the cheapest mode of transport for rural people. The bus fare to Dindigul from Vadamadurai was Rs.10, whereas the train fare was only Rs.5. Similarly, the bus fare to Tiruchi from Vadamadurai was Rs.48, but the train fare was just Rs.15, they pointed out.

But railway officials said the minimum distance between two stations should be 15 kilometres in double-track sections. But the distance between Thamaraipadi and Vadamadurai was just 7 km. This station served as a crossing point for trains in the absence of a double-track, they noted.

Moreover, the revenue generated by the Vadamadurai station was only Rs.20,000 per month, but the minimum expenditure incurred by the station, including the salaries of the railway employees, was Rs.2 lakh, they added.

There are also plans to establish a goods shed at Thamaraipadi railway station.

The railways have also proposed to close the Chettiyapatti railway station near Manaparai in the Dindigul-Tiruchi section, the sources said.

What is life like for a railway porter? Akila Kannadasan visits Central and Egmore stations in the city to find out

“Paetti ellam kudukka mudiyadhu — I can’t give you an interview” snaps a senior porter at the Chennai Central railway station. He scurries across a crowded platform, his eyes searching for a customer. A train has just arrived, and he doesn’t want to waste even a minute. He is thin, with closely-cropped grey hair, and walks with a limp.Look closely and you can see that a lot of senior porters limp — the result of carrying heavy loads on their heads and shoulders for years.With a crinkled blood-red shirt and a towel around his neck, Devaraj, a 58-year-old porter, sits reading a Tamil newspaper by the display board. He is waiting for a train, which will hopefully be the source of his lunch money. “I came to work at 8 a.m. If I make money today, I eat lunch at the station. If not, it’s just tea,” he says.There was a time when Devaraj singlehandedly carried luggage weighing up to 60kg. “It has come down to 30kg now, since I’m old,” he says. Trains; the smell of rust, urine and all things human; strident announcements of arrivals and departures; the screech of metal wheels on rails, passengers with demeanours ranging from pleasing to uncivil… the sights and sounds of the railway station have enveloped Devaraj for 40 years.

He made friends here; raised his children with the money he earned by carrying luggage for passengers. But it’s at the station that Devaraj met his worst enemy — bags with wheels. They help one carry luggage like a breeze. But for porters such as Devaraj, trolley bags mean more missed meals. “Most people prefer to carry their luggage themselves ever since these bags arrived,” he says. Ask any porter and he will tell you the same.

No day is the same for a railway porter. He makes up to Rs.500 some days; on others, he might have to go home with just Rs.100. “There are days, such as today, when we don’t make enough to even buy a cup of tea,” says Kumar.

Then there are days of excitement. Sometimes, when passengers make a dash for their train at the last minute, it’s porters who carry their load, literally. “We run with them, balancing their luggage,” says Nandakumar. “It’s our responsibility to make sure they catch the train. Or else, they will lose their money spent on the ticket, their leave from work…” Falls are quite common. When it rains, it’s the porter who suffers since the platforms become slippery. “But that’s part of the job,” says Natarajan from Egmore railway station. “Our knees wear out after years on the job,” adds Dakshinamoorthy. Though not directly employed by the Indian Railways, porters are licensed to provide their services at the railway station. They hold a licence that authorises them to work — these are passed on from father to son or son-in-law once he decides he is not fit enough to work. “I got mine from my father, who got it from my grandfather,” says Nandakumar. Sathish, however, applied for his licence and passed a physical test to acquire it. The 24-year-old, who works at Egmore, enjoys his job. “I get to help others by sharing their burden,” he says, fanning himself with his red towel after a long day’s work.

“Come to the station and observe us at work some day,” urges Dakshinamoorthy. “You can notice how some passengers rush to us to enquire about their train — despite the overhead displays,” he smiles.

Dakshinamoorthy quit a well-paying job to become a porter since he was tired of being answerable to his superiors. “I have peace of mind now. I can choose to work according to the timings I prefer,” he says. “Naane raja, naane mandhiri — I am the king, I am the minister.”

Weighty matters

Central Station is manned by around 300 porters, who have divided themselves into three batches. Each batch takes turns to wait on passengers at the taxi stand, the platforms and at the reservation building respectively. At Egmore railway station, there are around 130 porters who work in six batches with a mesthri or leader for each.

NEW TRAIN TO INDORE

A new train service between Yeshwantpur and Indore began from here on Tuesday. The service from Indore it will commence on August 11. The Yeshwantpur–Indore Weekly Express (train no. 19302) departed from Yeshwantpur at 1.30 p.m. on Tuesday and will reach Indore at 5.15 a.m. on Thursday, according to a press release from the Bangalore Division of South Western Railway. Indore–Yeshwantpur Weekly Express (train no. 19301) will leave Indore at 8.55 p.m. on Sundays and reach Yeshwantpur at 11.15 a.m. on Tuesdays. — Staff Reporter

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.

Shops downed shutters and autorickshaws kept off the roads at Vadamadurai near here on Tuesday in protest over the proposed move by railway authorities to close down the century-old Vadamadurai railway station.The town panchayat wore a deserted look with approximately 500 shops remaining shut and autorickshaws staying off the streets as traders and members of the Chamber of Commerce in Vadamadurai joined the public to mark their protest.The doubling of the track between Tiruchi and Dindigul is said to be the reason behind the decision to close the station.Vadamadurai Chamber of Commerce president S.Thiagarajan said this station catered for a population of over 20,000 in and around Vadamadurai. Thousands of students and workers commuted on passenger trains to Tiruchi and Manaparai every day, he pointed out.At present, Madurai-Villupuram and Dindigul-Nagoor passenger trains stopped at Vadamadurai station in the morning and evening, and pressure was mounting on the railways to ensure that the Tirunelveli-Mayiladuthurai fast passenger train stopped at Vadamadurai, he noted.

Local residents said trains were the cheapest mode of transport for rural people. The bus fare to Dindigul from Vadamadurai was Rs.10, whereas the train fare was only Rs.5. Similarly, the bus fare to Tiruchi from Vadamadurai was Rs.48, but the train fare was just Rs.15, they pointed out.

But railway officials said the minimum distance between two stations should be 15 kilometres in double-track sections. But the distance between Thamaraipadi and Vadamadurai was just 7 km. This station served as a crossing point for trains in the absence of a double-track, they noted.

Moreover, the revenue generated by the Vadamadurai station was only Rs.20,000 per month, but the minimum expenditure incurred by the station, including the salaries of the railway employees, was Rs.2 lakh, they added.

There are also plans to establish a goods shed at Thamaraipadi railway station.

The railways have also proposed to close the Chettiyapatti railway station near Manaparai in the Dindigul-Tiruchi section, the sources said.