ProUI

Members of the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Wayanad Chamber of Commerce have constituted a Mysore–Wayanad Joint Railway Connectivity Committee for seeking rail link between the two regions. At a meeting held here on Tuesday, MCCI president Sudhakar Shetty said if the railway line was approved, it would boost industrialisation, trade, tourism, and commerce. A.S. Satish, vice-president of MCCI; M.C. Bhansali, secretary; Shreeshaila Ramannavar, member, Ashok, vice-president, Travel Agents Association, and members of Wayanad Chamber of Commerce were present.

The arrival and departure of 10 trains were delayed for more than 2 hours at Nagercoil railway station after the railway workers could not inter-lock the railway lines on Tuesday. According to sources, there was a fault in point number 105 of railway track signal at Ottuvazmadam near Nagercoil.Owing to this as many as 10 trains coming to Nagercoil railway station was stopped mid-way. The services were restored after the fault was rectified.According to Southern Railway officials (Thiruvananthapuram Division), a team would be constituted to identify why the fault was not checked in time.

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.

Ludhiana:
It may sound surprising but the fact is that the Ludhiana railway station, one of the most revenue generating railway stations of North India, is finding itself helpless in controlling pests on the station premises and rail tracks.The population of rats and cockroaches has been increasing rapidly at the station. The railway authorities used to hire a private firm to control the pest at the railway station. But, for past year and a half the officials have failed to arrange any of the pest management company.It often happens when rats and cockroaches entered the trains and passengers created drama with their surprise entry. Even the offices of the railway authorities at the railway station are not safe. Moreover, rats damage the luggage of passengers.Number of rats is quite less at platform no. 1, 2 and 3 as the cleaners clean the tracks properly. Besides these tracks, all other tracks are filthy and haven for the rats.“Rats are common at railway stations across the country. The number of rats is quite more at the Ludhiana Railway Station. I don't know the reason behind their large population. But, the railway authorities should control the rats and other pests as this can cause various diseases and health hazards to the visitors,” a passengersaid.Ravinder Sharma, station superintendent, said, “It is true that population of rats has been increasing. Even my office is not safe from them. We are trying to manage the things individually and soon tenders for hiring a pest management company will be invited again.”

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.

The weather remained overcast, the track water-logged and the standards average. No wonder, day two of the 79th Railways athletics championships was a dull affair.The fact that the first session of the day consisted mainly of decathlon events also meant that there was hardly any interest among those witnessing the action.For the record, Manikandan was the fastest man of the tournament with a timing of 10.59 seconds in the 100m. Merlyn K Joseph was the fastestwoman, setting a time of 11.84 seconds in the 100m.The inclement weather meant organisers rushed to complete as many events as possible every time there was a break in the rain.It was a sight to see the men and women competing simultaneously in the 20km walk across the track.

Poor conditions

In between, pouring rain meant the walkers had to walk around and splash through puddles of water on the track — which legendary runner Bahadur Prasad said was a tell-tale sign of the track being laid incorrectly.After a point, most athletes appeared resigned to performing in constant rain but were clearly more concerned about their safety than a good performance.

“What bad conditions to compete in, but what can we do. I have to run tomorrow also but it’s just ok, most of us are simply performing for participation. How can anyone be motivated to give their best,” said Preeja Sreedharan, the National record holder and women’s 10,000m winner.

The hammer throw, javelin throw and shot put events were shifted out to the warm-up area and the long jump and triple jump events delayed because of the rains.

Officials professed helplessness but the fact remains that the weather at this time of the year is always expected to be a wet in the city.

The results: Women: 100m: 1. Merlyn K. Joseph 11.84s, 2. M. Sharda 12.03, 3. Asha Roy 12.14; 10,000m: 1. Preeja Sreedharan 34:51.05s, 2. L. Surya 35:03.35, 3. Sanakki Thippava 37:24.85; 3000m steeplechase: 1. Lalita Babar 10:45.07s, 2. Priyanka Patel 11:01.39, 3. M.V. Neethu 11:36.98; 100m hurdles: 1. K.V. Sajitha 14.20s, 2. M.M. Anshu 14.31, 3. P.M. Manju 14.69; High jump: 1. Sahana Kumari 1.76m, 2. Mallika Mondal 1.70, 3. N.K. Siji 1.65; Triple jump: 1. M.A. Prajusha 13.29m, 2. Amita Baby 12.46, 3. V. Neena 12.05; Shot put: 1. Manpreet Kaur 14.28m, 2. Pinki Dey 12.80, 3. Saraswathi 11.95.

Hammer: 1. Manju Bala 57.13m, 2. Gunjan Singh 54.49, 3. Sarita Singh 54.32; 4x100m relay: 1. Southern Railway (K.A. Sonia, Chavi Sherawat, P.K. Priya, N. Shardha) 47.03s, 2. Western Railway (Akicha Gazi, P.M. Manju, K.V. Sajitha, Merlyn Joseph) 47.41, 3. Eastern Railway (Arjina Khatun, Tanjila Khatun, Priyanka Mondal, Asha Roy) 47.4.

4x400m relay: 1. Southern Railway (Diana Clinton, K.A. Sonia, Sini Jose, Chavi Sherawat) 3:51.95s, 2. Central Railway (Liksy Joseph, Aparna, Niksy Joseph, Sushma Devi) 3:52.21,3. Western Railway (Manisha Devi, Merlyn K. Joseph, N Anitha, Sarita) 3:54.84; 20km walk: 1. Rani Yadav 1:49:27.28s, 2. Shanti Kumari 1:54:29.68, 3. Anita Mahala 2:03:05.61.

Men: 100m: 1. Manikandan 10.59, 2. Ganesh Satpute 10.76, 3. Manikanda Arumugam 10.76; 10,000m: 1. Rati Ram Saini 30:34.41s, 2. Soji Mathew 30:40.81, 3. Ajay Veer Singh 30:52.41; 3000m steeplechase: 1. Sachin Patil 9:19.17s, 2. S. Mahendra 9:20.71, 3. Jiya Lal Bind 9:21.08; 110m hurdles: 1. A Suresh 14.23s, 2. M. Pinto 14.56, 3. Muthuswamy 15.05; Triple jump: 1. Amarjeet Singh 15.18m, 2. Baskar 14.29, 3. Maha Singh 14.48; Shot Put: 1. Ashwani Solanki 17.10m, 2. Satyender Kumar 16.92, 3. Sunil Kumar 16.10.

Hammer: 1. Talwinder Singh 62.49m, 2. Azad Ahmed 61.86, 3. Sukhdev Singh 58.87; Javelin: 1. Rajender Singh 71m, 2. Sharath Raj 66.99, 3. K.N. Tripathi 65.31; Decathlon: 1. V.V. Raneeszh 6463 points, 2. Omveer Singh 5879, 3. Rambir Singh 5823; 4x100m relay: 1. Southern Railway (M. Prakash, Manikandan Arumugam, Arunjith, Balamurugan) 41.09s, 2. Western Railway (Manjesh Kumar Yadav, Raja Oommen, A. Pinto Mathew, B.G. Nagaraj) 43.00, 3. South Eastern Railway (Chandan Mahto, Ajay Naik, Rabi Das, Sukendu Mondal) 43.13.

4x400m relay: 1. Southern Railway (P.S. Srijith, Joseph Abraham, V.B. Binish, Bibin Mathew) 3:19.90s, 2. South Western Railway (R. Deepak, Prashanth, S. Bharath, Vishamber Kolekar) 3:23.53, 3. Western Railway (Avin Thomas, Sanjay, A. Pinto Mathew, Jithin Paul) 3:27.38; 20km walk: 1. Maniram Patel 1:32:20.5s, 2. Romit 1:38:52.42, 3. Ashok Patel 1:45.55.17.

Telecom services provider Bharti Airtel has tied up with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) to offer railway bookings through its mobile wallet service - Airtel Money. With this, over an estimated 20 million commuters traveling by rail every day in India will now be able to book tickets via their Airtel mobile phones."Our integration with IRCTC for reserved ticketing is a step to empower our customers specifically beyond the urban footprint with the convenience of booking tickets without the need of holding a bank account or an Internet connection," Ramesh Menon, hub CEO (Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh), Bharti Airtel, said in a release. The service works across all mobile devices, does not involve any data or SMS charges, the release added.

Mumbai’s local trains which are known as the lifeline of the city becomes overcrowded during peak hours as commuters find it difficult to travel. The suburban railways carry more than 7 million passengers across the metropolis daily. Everyday officegoers and youths have to jostle for space during peak hours as they have to face a torrid time while commuting. As a result of this, several causalities occur in the metropolis. The city’s local trains is the oldest mode of transport and is one of the quickest mode of transportation.

If a person boards a train from Borivali to Churchgate then he can reach his destination after one hour and 10 minutes. On the other hand if he commutes by other modes of transport like buses and bikes then it might take him more than two hours during peak hours. Since commuting in local trains is cheaper as compared to BEST buses hence people prefer this mode of transport even though it is overcrowded. Local trains are used by students, officegoers, high profile business men in the city. The train becomes overcrowded during peak hours from 7 am to 10 am in the morning and 6 pm to 10 pm in the evening. It is a herculean task to commute during the peak hours as there is no space to stand in the train forget about sitting. But then Mumbaikars have to take all these hardships in stride if they have to earn their livelihood to survive in the city.

While travelling in trains I notice people hanging outside the trains as they lose their control and fall on tracks. Often there is a risk that these people might get killed by a speeding local which arrives from the opposite direction. If a person is lucky enough then he might rescue himself by getting up from the tracks on time else he is likely to be crushed by other trains. Many times there is lack of medical aid to such persons who become victims of rail accidents. Whenever accident occurs then often I notice that the victim’s body is simply kept on the railway station for a long period of time. Sometimes there is lack of ambulance at the station as the victim’s treatment gets delayed. Many times the victim dies before he reaches the hospital due to delay in receiving medical aid. Often people don’t come forward to help accident victims as they feel that they might be questioned by the police for interrogation. Since last five years approximately 21,000 persons have died on account of railway accidents. Accident occurs due to the lackadaisical attitude of people.

Sometimes youths indulge in trains stunts like leaning out of the door when the train is in motion. Several deaths have occurred when a person’s head hits the pole which is very close to the train. While some others try to board a moving train and eventually lose their control and fall on the platforms. Many of them travel on the rooftop of trains. Even though railways have increased the voltage of electric wires which carry a current of 25,000 volts and issued warning to commuters to refrain from travelling on the top but they continue to indulge in these practices. Commuters travel in the space between two compartments which is very risky as they might fall down. In a hurry to reach their destination, people often cross the railway tracks which often results into death. Instead they could leave from their house early and wait patiently for the train to arrive. Finally, one can say most of the accidents can be averted if commuters take some safety precautions while travelling.

अगर आप रेलवे के इन्क्वॉयरी नंबर 139 से पीएनआर स्टेटस की जानकारी लेना चाहते हैं, तो जरा सतर्क हो जाएं क्योंकि 139 पर एसएमएस का चार्ज तीन रुपए कर दिया गया है। अभी तक इस सेवा के लिए दो रुपए खर्च करने पड़ते थे। दूसरी ओर मोबाइल और लैंडलाइन से कॉल करने पर भी लोगों को ज्यादा पैसा देना पड़ रहा है।

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New Delhi: National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) has alleged that one lakh thirty thousand posts are lying vacant, forcing existing workers to put in nearly 12 hours of work every day. M Raghavaiah, general secretary of NFIR, said, “There are too many officers in railways, but workers are far less in numbers which seriously hampers day to day working". He was addressing General body and working committee meeting of Northern Railways Mazdoor Union.  
There was a consensus that action should be taken against those found indulging in corruption.   General Secretary of Northern Railway Mazdoor Union has threatened to go on strike in October if there demands are not met.  “We have presented our demands to the Railway ministry, now the ball is in their court," he said.  
"Implementation of seventh pay commission report is our first demand," he added.