ProUI

One passenger reservation counter will function as ‘Self Tatkal Counter’ at Mangalore Central, Kannur and Kozhikode railway stations from August 1 to 10 on a trial basis between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. As directed by the Railway Board, this is being tried all over the country to discourage touts walking away with bulk of the Tatkal tickets, said S. James, Public Relations Officer, Palakkad Division of Southern Railway. He said the identity of passengers would be checked when they are in queue, and those booking Tatkal ticket for themselves would be directed to Self Tatkal Counter.

Ludhiana:
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari has called for an early completion of the railway overbridge at Lakkar Pul. During his recent visit to the city, Tewari also visited the spot to assess the progress of the work.A number of people who met Tewari urged him to take up the matter with the Ministry of Railways, since the construction had been stalled for a long time.The minister asked the Divisional Railway Manager to submit the status report at the earliest.The Lakkar Pul railway bridge is an important link connecting the old city with the new city. While earlier there was only a foot bridge, now a concrete railway overbridge is being constructed to facilitate both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.Tewari said he would talk to the minister concerned and ensure that the work on the overbridge was completed at the earliest.

The Tamil Nadu Consumer Protection Council-Goldenrock branch urged the railways to introduce facility of booking reserved tickets for the PTO (privilege ticker order) of the railway employees at the newly opened computerised passenger reservation system (PRS) counter at the Ponmalai post office.The long-pending demand of the residents of the Goldenrock Township for the introduction of a PRS counter has become a reality now.But, the non availability of tickets for the PTOs is a major setback for a large number of railway employees residing in the township.The facility is not available in the already functioning reservation counter in front of the Railway Hospital, Goldenrock, council secretary H. Ghouse Baig said in a statement here on Wednesday.

A number of school/college going students and some commuters were found travelling with either irregular tickets or time-barred season tickets in a surprise check conducted by the Commercial Staff and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), under the direct supervision of Senior Divisional Commercial Manager M. Yelvender Yadav at Vizianagaram railway station.The Railway officials counselled the students and other irregular ticket holders on the need to purchase proper tickets for their journey.The surprise check resulted in a steep increase in window sales and Monthly Season Tickets (MST s). Around 12,000 tickets were sold at the General Booking counter raking in a revenue of Rs.2.30 lakh, with a variation of 179 per cent over the previous day.The sale of MSTs showed an increase of 205 per cent over the previous day.More such massive ticket checking drives will be organised by Waltair Division to check ticket-less travel and other irregular travellers, according to Mr. Yelvender Yadav.The objective is to create awareness among the passengers travelling without proper tickets and those without platform tickets and invalid MSTs.

अब वर्ल्ड क्लास स्टेशन की दौड़ में उपराजधानी के एक नहीं बल्कि दो स्टेशन शामिल हो गए हैं। बुधवार को नागपुर व अजनी स्टेशन का वर्ल्ड क्लास के लिए मूल्यांकन करने आए रेलवे बोर्ड के कार्यकारी संचालक अशोक गुप्ता ने यह बात साफ कर दी है।
पत्रकारों से चर्चा के दौरान श्री गुप्ता ने बताया कि सांसद विलास मुत्तेमवार द्वारा अजनी स्टेशन को वर्ल्ड क्लास स्टेशन बनाने के संबंध में लगातार मांग की गई है। ऐसे में यहां आकर दोनों स्टेशनों का मूल्यांकन करना जरूरी हो गया था। लेकिन निरीक्षण के बाद दोनों स्टेशन की एक अलग विशेषता होने से वर्ल्ड क्लास के लिए किसे प्राथमिकता मिलेगी, यह अभी तय नहीं किया जा सकता है। दोनों स्टेशनों के गहन अध्ययन के बाद वर्ल्ड क्लास स्टेशन के लिए काबिल स्टेशन बताया जा सकेगा।
उन्होंने बताया कि रेलवे मंत्रालय द्वारा देश के कुछ स्टेशनों पर वर्ल्ड क्लास सुविधा देने की घोषणा हुई थी। उसमें नागपुर स्टेशन का भी सामावेश है। लेकिन वर्ल्ड क्लास की तर्ज पर काम पब्लिक प्रायवेट पार्टनर्शिप (पीपीपी) के माध्यम से किया जाएगा। भविष्य में उपराजधानी में जिस स्टेशन को वर्ल्ड क्लास का दर्जा मिले, वहां यात्रियों को परिसर में ही हॉटेल्स, शॉपिंग मॉल, फूड कोर्ट, मैकेनाइज्ड पार्सल हैंडलिंग सुविधा, विकलांगों व बुर्जुग के लिए विशेष सीढिय़ां, चौड़ा फुट ओवरब्रिज, स्वचलित सीढिय़ों का प्रमाण बढ़ाना, स्वतंत्र गटर लाइन, एक्सिकेटिव लाउंज आदि हाईटेक सुविधा मिलेगी।
साथ ही स्टेशन पर सुरक्षा बनी रहे इस उद्देश्य से स्वतंत्र कंट्रोल रूम भी बनेगा। बताया गया कि भारत के मध्य में होने से नागपुर को देश में महत्वपूर्ण स्थान दिया गया है, जिसके चलते यहां रेलवे स्टेशन 24 घंटे व्यस्त रहता है। इसे देख स्टेशन का महत्व बढ़ाने के उद्देश्य से भारत सरकार ने रेलवे अर्थसंकल्प में नागपुर रेलवे स्टेशन के साथ देश के 40 रेलवे स्टेशनों को वर्ल्ड क्लास स्टेशन की घोषणा की है।
इसमें पहले पांच स्टेशनों में चंडीगढ़, आनंद विहार, बिजवासन, हबीबगंज व पुणे का शिवाजीनगर रेलवे स्टेशन है। जिनकी प्रक्रिया शुरू हो गई है। विभिन्न देशों के रेलवे से इस संदर्भ में शर्तें व नियम के लिए मंत्रालय स्तर पर बातचीत शुरू है, जिसमें बेल्जियम देश मुख्य है।

The Tamil Nadu Consumer Protection Council-Goldenrock branch urged the railways to introduce facility of booking reserved tickets for the PTO (privilege ticker order) of the railway employees at the newly opened computerised passenger reservation system (PRS) counter at the Ponmalai post office.The long-pending demand of the residents of the Goldenrock Township for the introduction of a PRS counter has become a reality now.But, the non availability of tickets for the PTOs is a major setback for a large number of railway employees residing in the township.The facility is not available in the already functioning reservation counter in front of the Railway Hospital, Goldenrock, council secretary H. Ghouse Baig said in a statement here on Wednesday.

MUMBAI: LokmanyaTilak Terminus, considered to be the city’s worst face presented to a visitor, is on track for a facelift. Central Railway has decided to build a travelator to link LTT and Kurla suburban railway station, to ease commuters’ woes.

CR plans to initiate the bidding process for the project after the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road, scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, is opened. LTT is considered to be the city’s most inaccessible station because of its poor road and suburban rail connectivity and a large number of auto and taxi drivers outside it who are infamous for fleecing and even assaulting commuters.

CR’s divisional railway manager Mukesh Nigam said, “We plan to build a 700m-long moving walkway to connect LTT to Kurla station. Passengers will then be able to cover this distance with luggage in tow in 5 to 7 minutes. But we will able to firm up plans only after the SCLR project is complete.” Work on the travelator can only begin after railway land is cleared of construction material and debris from the much-delayed SCLR project, and a proper vehicular traffic pattern is established.

Though built as a modern terminus, travelling to and from LTT is a commuter’s nightmare. Commuters, especially women, have had nightmarish experiences at LTT. In November last year, a starlet was taken for a “long ride” by auto drivers from LTT and assaulted before she managed to escape. “A cartel of drivers is in cahoots with local police and RTO. It is difficult to break the cartel unless the RTO launches a drive to weed out unscrupulous elements,” said activist Anil Galgali. He said several autos fleece passengers with pre-decided fares and don’t ply by meter. Principal secretary (transport) Shailesh Sharma said, “We plan to streamline the auto service outside LTT by introducing a prepaid stand.” But a prepaid taxi service started at LTT a few months back hasn’t deterred rogue cabbies, sources said. A L Quadros, whose union manages the prepaid taxi service at LTT, said, “There is chaos . We have complained several times to the transport department and railways, but the situation has not changed. The RTO and traffic cops too have done precious little to keep the notorious drivers at bay.” An activist said, “Passengers arriving by early-morning or late-night trains have no option but to depend on autos and taxis. They are often gullible victims for rogue drivers who even enter the platform premises.”

A senior CR official said, “Though final estimates are yet be prepared, the project is likely to cost Rs 9 crore.” CR also plans to increase platforms at LTT to 12 from the existing five.

MUMBAI: LokmanyaTilak Terminus, considered to be the city’s worst face presented to a visitor, is on track for a facelift. Central Railway has decided to build a travelator to link LTT and Kurla suburban railway station, to ease commuters’ woes.

CR plans to initiate the bidding process for the project after the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road, scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, is opened. LTT is considered to be the city’s most inaccessible station because of its poor road and suburban rail connectivity and a large number of auto and taxi drivers outside it who are infamous for fleecing and even assaulting commuters.

CR’s divisional railway manager Mukesh Nigam said, “We plan to build a 700m-long moving walkway to connect LTT to Kurla station. Passengers will then be able to cover this distance with luggage in tow in 5 to 7 minutes. But we will able to firm up plans only after the SCLR project is complete.” Work on the travelator can only begin after railway land is cleared of construction material and debris from the much-delayed SCLR project, and a proper vehicular traffic pattern is established.

Though built as a modern terminus, travelling to and from LTT is a commuter’s nightmare. Commuters, especially women, have had nightmarish experiences at LTT. In November last year, a starlet was taken for a “long ride” by auto drivers from LTT and assaulted before she managed to escape. “A cartel of drivers is in cahoots with local police and RTO. It is difficult to break the cartel unless the RTO launches a drive to weed out unscrupulous elements,” said activist Anil Galgali. He said several autos fleece passengers with pre-decided fares and don’t ply by meter. Principal secretary (transport) Shailesh Sharma said, “We plan to streamline the auto service outside LTT by introducing a prepaid stand.” But a prepaid taxi service started at LTT a few months back hasn’t deterred rogue cabbies, sources said. A L Quadros, whose union manages the prepaid taxi service at LTT, said, “There is chaos . We have complained several times to the transport department and railways, but the situation has not changed. The RTO and traffic cops too have done precious little to keep the notorious drivers at bay.” An activist said, “Passengers arriving by early-morning or late-night trains have no option but to depend on autos and taxis. They are often gullible victims for rogue drivers who even enter the platform premises.”

A senior CR official said, “Though final estimates are yet be prepared, the project is likely to cost Rs 9 crore.” CR also plans to increase platforms at LTT to 12 from the existing five.

Railway Protection Force of Northern Railway caught Manoj (Monu) R/O Gobindpuri, New Delhi for indulging into the touting activities for cornering reserved accommodation in the name of Cancer patients from Railway Reservation Centre, Okhala.  After intensive enquiries , it was revealed that two persons named Abhishek & Govind, residents of Bhagalpur, Bihar were involved in the touting activities by producing fake documents in name of cancer patients.  During investigation by RPF/Hazrat Nizamuddin, Abhishek was arrested from Okhala Reservation Centre o­n 23.7.13.  Later,on the basis of his statement, 275 forged certificates and 8 rubber stamps in the name of different doctors of A.I.I.M.S. were seized from him.  His other fellow tout Gobind was later arrested with the help of local police/Bhagalpur.

All the  accused have been sent in legal custody by Hon’ble court/Tis Hazari.

A development proposal of Rs. 16 crore has been submitted to the Railway Board

Mangalore Central Railway Station may get an additional high-level platform and a third foot overbridge if the proposals of the Southern Railways to add these facilities at a cost of Rs. 16 crore in 2014-15 are approved by the Railway Board.

The facilities proposed also include laying of two new lines and a pit line which would enable it to handle more trains.

The information was disclosed by Additional Divisional Railway Manager of Palakkad Division Mohan A. Menon at a tri-monthly meeting chaired by MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to review the progress of railway projects in Dakshina Kannada.

Mr. Menon said the highest amount of Rs. 3.75 crore was being sought for the construction of a new foot overbridge and extension of the second foot overbridge, followed by Rs. 2.70 crore for a 540m pit line (a track with a pit under it all along to clean coaches); Rs. 2.55 crore for a new 540m platform; Rs. 1.71 crore for platform shelter and vacuum de-watering; Rs. 1.35 crore for a concrete apron for tracks to keep them clean; Rs. 1.29 crore for office accommodation and store; Rs. 73 lakh for two new lines; Rs. 50 lakhs for signalling arrangements; Rs. 50 lakh for improvement to circulating areas and Rs. 27 lakh for a compound wall, among others.

He noted that proposals worth Rs. 17 crore sent to the Railway Board were not cleared for the year 2013-14 and fresh proposals are being sent with modifications for the year 2014-15.

Mr. Menon expressed the inability of Railways to extend the Mumbai CST-Mangalore Junction Express train up to Mangalore Central station owing to the crowding of trains during afternoons.

The station would be able to handle more trains when the proposed facilities are added, he said. Extension of the proposed push-pull Bhatkal-Mangalore Junction train was also made at the meeting.

Mr. Menon said Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (KITCO) has been appointed as consultants for the development of world class stations in Kerala and Mangalore. KITCO had come out with perception maps and it would hold meetings with stake holders.

The railway manager offered to inspect the Mangalore Station with regard to complaints of failure to maintain cleanliness. He also promised to look into the failure of authorities to provide sign boards and application forms in Kannada under the Tribhasha scheme of the railways to include local language.

He said the problems regarding wrong location of the pre-paid autorickshaw kiosk at Mangalore Junction railway station could have been avoided had the Railways been taken into confidence in advance. With the railways insisting on shifting the kiosk to prevent movement of the public being hit, the introduction of pre-paid autorickshaw service has been delayed.