ProUI

CHENNAI: Passengers arriving at the Chennai Central railway station are having a tough time finding auto rickshaws as access to the vehicles into the railway station has been closed with barricades by Chennai Metro Rail.The pre-paid stand has been shifted out after metro work reached the approach road. "It's a tough time for passengers and drivers," said G Arumugam, president of the Chennai Central Railway Station Auto Drivers and Commuters Welfare. "Neither police nor the railways is coming forward to set up an alternative stand."On Wednesday last, passengers had to wait for an hour to get an autorickshaw. "After the long travel all we wanted was to get back home soon. But we were standing on the main road, haggling with auto drivers who pass by. They demanded more than the train fare." said K Padmaja, a passenger who had arrived at the railway station.The pre-paid auto system was the only solace for passengers as auto drivers outside had been fleecing passengers. In the absence of a working meter in autos, commuters are at their wit's end. The only other alternative is the pre-paid taxi service run by a private company. "I can't afford a taxi every time," said K Radhakrishnan, a sales executive who travels between Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore every month. "It was sad to see women and children wait for long hours and auto drivers harassing them by demanding exorbitant rates."

The drivers association leader said the situation may turn worse if authorities did not make other arrangement.

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.

Services on the Airport Express line will open earlier in the mornings and the frequency of trains during peak hours will also be revised starting from August 1.While the first train from both terminal stations, Dwarka Sector 21 and New Delhi Railway Station, will start at 4-45 a.m., the last train will depart from the New Delhi station at 11-30 p.m. The last train from Dwarka Sector 21 will be at 11-15 p.m.At present, trains start running from 5-15 a.m. from Dwarka Sector 21 and 5.30 a.m. from the New Delhi station. As for the frequency of the trains during peak hours, it will be revised to 10 minutes and 30 seconds instead of the existing 15 minutes. During off peak hours, it will remain 15 minutes as before.As a result, daily train trips will increase to 180 from 146 at present. The peak hours – 7-30 a.m. to noon in the morning and 3 p.m. to 7-30 p.m. in the evening – have been decided keeping in view the arrival and departure of flights at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation hopes the change in schedule will tremendously help passengers of the Shatabdi Express, which departs from the New Delhi Railway Station early in the morning and returns late at night.“Now the Shatabdi Express passengers coming from the airport or nearby areas will be able to take the early morning services of the Airport Link and reach the New Delhi Railway Station. Similarly, passengers arriving by train at New Delhi late in the night, with the intention of going to the airport will be able to take the last Airport Link service from New Delhi,” said a DMRC statement.

In the event that the Shatabdi Express is delayed, the Airport Express services will wait an extra 15 minutes, till 11-45 p.m. The operating speed of the trains on the Airport Express Line will also be increased to 80 kmph from the existing 70 kmph.

“The changes have been made on the basis of the feedback received from the commuters of the line,” the statement said.

Amritsar:
Limited number of platforms, large number of trains and Railways' adamant approach in keeping Shatabdi Express parked on platform No. 1 for a better part of the day is causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers arriving in the holy city daily. Other trains are consequently made to wait for hours on the outskirts of the city.The Railways had to recently pay Rs 32,000 to Jatinderpal Singh on the directions of the Amritsar Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. He said he was travelling with his family in Hirakund Express from Ambala to Amritsar on March 27, 2011. However, the train was stopped at the unscheduled Manawala station, near Amritsar. While other trains were allowed to cross, the train they were in remained standing for over 2:30 hours.The platform No. 1 of the Amritsar railway station is booked for a larger part of the day. The passengers are either forced to use the overbridge or take risks to cross the tracks on foot. No other train is allowed to enter the platform No. 1 as Shatabdi Express and Swaran Shatabdi Express remain parked for nearly 11 hours. Members of the Sis Ganj Sahib Sewak Jatha, a Delhi-based Sikh religious organisation, had taken up the matter by writing a communiqué to then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee some time back.Manmohan Singh, a passenger, said he had been observing for over two years that the Shatabdi trains were invariably parked on the platform No. 1, causing inconvenience to the passengers, especially the infirm and aged. He said these trains could easily be taken to a yard like other trains for maintenance and washing.Shatabdi Express arrives from Delhi at 10.25 pm and remains parked on the platform until it leaves for the same destination at 5 am. Similarly, Swaran Shatabdi Express remains parked on the platform No. 1 after it arrives from Delhi at 1:25 pm till 4:55 pm when it again departs for Delhi. All major amenities, including waiting halls, toilets for handicapped, bathrooms, ticket windows, enquiry, dispensary and platform ticket window facilities and offices of the Railways are located on the platform No. 1.Railways officials maintained that the trains were parked on the platform No. 1 for security reasons and had costly furniture. Beside, offices of Railways employees were situated on the same platform that made surveillance quick and reliable, added the officials.

Amritsar:
Limited number of platforms, large number of trains and Railways' adamant approach in keeping Shatabdi Express parked on platform No. 1 for a better part of the day is causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers arriving in the holy city daily. Other trains are consequently made to wait for hours on the outskirts of the city.The Railways had to recently pay Rs 32,000 to Jatinderpal Singh on the directions of the Amritsar Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. He said he was travelling with his family in Hirakund Express from Ambala to Amritsar on March 27, 2011. However, the train was stopped at the unscheduled Manawala station, near Amritsar. While other trains were allowed to cross, the train they were in remained standing for over 2:30 hours.The platform No. 1 of the Amritsar railway station is booked for a larger part of the day. The passengers are either forced to use the overbridge or take risks to cross the tracks on foot. No other train is allowed to enter the platform No. 1 as Shatabdi Express and Swaran Shatabdi Express remain parked for nearly 11 hours. Members of the Sis Ganj Sahib Sewak Jatha, a Delhi-based Sikh religious organisation, had taken up the matter by writing a communiqué to then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee some time back.Manmohan Singh, a passenger, said he had been observing for over two years that the Shatabdi trains were invariably parked on the platform No. 1, causing inconvenience to the passengers, especially the infirm and aged. He said these trains could easily be taken to a yard like other trains for maintenance and washing.Shatabdi Express arrives from Delhi at 10.25 pm and remains parked on the platform until it leaves for the same destination at 5 am. Similarly, Swaran Shatabdi Express remains parked on the platform No. 1 after it arrives from Delhi at 1:25 pm till 4:55 pm when it again departs for Delhi. All major amenities, including waiting halls, toilets for handicapped, bathrooms, ticket windows, enquiry, dispensary and platform ticket window facilities and offices of the Railways are located on the platform No. 1.Railways officials maintained that the trains were parked on the platform No. 1 for security reasons and had costly furniture. Beside, offices of Railways employees were situated on the same platform that made surveillance quick and reliable, added the officials.

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.

Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister for Railways, laid the foundation stones of the Rohtak-Meham-Hansi new rail line and shifting of Rohtak-Makrauli section of Rohtak-Gohana-Panipat rail line from Hansi and Rohtak respectively today.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister, Haryana, presided over both the functions in the presence of Oscar Fernandes, Minister of Road Transportation and National Highways, Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Ranbir Singh Prajapati, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Shadi Lal Batra, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Bharat Bhushan Batra, MLA, Rohtak, Vinod Bhayana, MLA, Hansi, Savitri Jindal, MLA, Hissar,  Anand Singh Dangi, MLA, Meham, Shakuntala Khatak, MLA, Kalanaur, Ram Kishan Fouji, MLA, Bawani Khera and Ram Niwas Ghorela, MLA, Barwala on the occasion.

Northern Railway will achieve another milestone in bringing direct and shorter rail connectivity between the developing industrial townships of Rohtak and Hissar by constructing a new rail line from Rohtak to Hansi via Mehem. This new rail line was been sanctioned in 2012-13 at an estimated cost of Rs 406.87 crores on cost-sharing basis with the state of Haryana.

Rohtak and Hissar are connected by railways via two routes, that is Bhiwani and Jakhal, the distance of which is 142.56 km and 210.60 km respectively. Once the new broad gauge link between Rohtak-Hissar via Hansi is completed, the distance will be reduced to 93.919 km, thus reducing cost of travel with corresponding reduction in travel time.

The new rail line from Rohtak to Hissar via Hansi will have 4 stations — Bahu Akbarpur, Kharkhara, Bahalbah and Sorkhi. Covering the three districts of Rohtak, Bhiwani and Hissar, the rail line will benefit residents of surrounding villages. There will be seven major bridges and 96 minor bridges including four road-under-bridges and 37 level-crossings in this rail project. As this region is in proximity to the National Capital Region and is marked by dense population, the commissioning of the new rail line will be very beneficial.

Presently the Rohtak-Gohana-Panipat railway line runs via Makrauli. Due to several operational conveniences it has been proposed to shift Rohtak-Makrauli line. Its immediate benefit is that its alternative route, the Rohtak-Samargopalpur line will provide a third line between the two stations along the main line. Another important factor is that once this line gets operational no engine reversal will be required on the Delhi-Panipat and Rewari-Panipat routes and a blind curve of 2 km and eight existing level crossing gates will be eliminated.

Along with these benefits, another platform will be provided at Rohtak and two road–over–bridges already sanctioned will not be required to be built. The existing line will be dismantled and a road will be constructed in its place. The relocated line will run parallel to Rohtak-Jind line and the proposed North bypass of Rohtak before reconnecting at kilometer 8.89 with Rohtak-Panipat line. To facilitate running of traffic from Jind-Panipat via Samargopalpur, thus avoiding Rohtak, one Y-junction is proposed connecting Samargopalpur station and alternate route.

The new Rohtak-Mehem–Hansi rail line and shifting of Rohtak-Makrauli Line of Rohtak-Gohana-Panipat Section will upgrade Northern Railway’s capacity to increase its fleet of trains on these sections.

MADURAI: As announced in the 2013-14 railway budget, two passenger train services have been extended in the Madurai railway division. While the Madurai - Kollam - Madurai passenger has bee extended up to Punalur from Thursday (August 1), the Madurai - Dindigul - Madurai passenger will be extended to Palani from August 2.An official statement from the Southern Railway said that train number 56700/56701 Madurai - Kollam -Madurai passenger will be extended to Punalur. Train number 56700 Madurai - Kollam passenger leaving Madurai on Wednesday 11.15pm and arriving Kollam on August 1 by 9.05am will be extended to Punalur as Madurai - Punalur passenger and the train will reach the station by 11.10am.Meanwhile train number 56701 Kollam - Madurai passenger will start from Punalur as Punalur - Madurai passenger at 3.50pm on August 1 and arrive Kollam at 5.40pm. It will leave Kollam at 6.10pm and reach Madurai at 6.20am the next day. The train will stop at all stations between Kollam and Punalur viz. Kilikollur, Chandanattop Halt, Kundra, Kundra East Halt, Ezhukone, Kottarakara, Kuri Halt and Auvaneeswaram.In the same way, train number 56710/56709 Madurai - Dindigul - Madurai train is extended to Palani. The inaugural and regular service of train number 56710 Madurai - Palani Passenger and train number 56709 Palani - Madurai passenger will commence from August 2. Train number 56710 Madurai - Palani passenger will leave Madurai at 7.35am and arrive Dindigul at 8.55am. It will leave Dindigul at 9am to reach Palani at 10.45am. Train number 56709 Palani - Madurai passenger will leave Palani at 5.05pm and arrive Dindigul at 6.10pm; it will leave Dindigul at 6.15pm and reach Madurai at 8.15pm. The trains will stop at Kudal Nagar, Samayanallur, Sholavandan, Vadipatti, Kodaikkanal Road, Ambaturai, Dindigul, Akkaraippatti, Oddanchatram and Chatrapatti.

State minister for electricity and prohibition and excise, Natham R Viswanathan, Dindigul MP, N S V Chitthan and other dignitaries are expected to flag off the extended service of train number 56710 Madurai - Dindigul Passenger to Palani at Dindigul railway station at 9am on August 2, the railway statement observed.

Amritsar:
Limited number of platforms, large number of trains and Railways' adamant approach in keeping Shatabdi Express parked on platform No. 1 for a better part of the day is causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers arriving in the holy city daily. Other trains are consequently made to wait for hours on the outskirts of the city.The Railways had to recently pay Rs 32,000 to Jatinderpal Singh on the directions of the Amritsar Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. He said he was travelling with his family in Hirakund Express from Ambala to Amritsar on March 27, 2011. However, the train was stopped at the unscheduled Manawala station, near Amritsar. While other trains were allowed to cross, the train they were in remained standing for over 2:30 hours.The platform No. 1 of the Amritsar railway station is booked for a larger part of the day. The passengers are either forced to use the overbridge or take risks to cross the tracks on foot. No other train is allowed to enter the platform No. 1 as Shatabdi Express and Swaran Shatabdi Express remain parked for nearly 11 hours. Members of the Sis Ganj Sahib Sewak Jatha, a Delhi-based Sikh religious organisation, had taken up the matter by writing a communiqué to then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee some time back.Manmohan Singh, a passenger, said he had been observing for over two years that the Shatabdi trains were invariably parked on the platform No. 1, causing inconvenience to the passengers, especially the infirm and aged. He said these trains could easily be taken to a yard like other trains for maintenance and washing.Shatabdi Express arrives from Delhi at 10.25 pm and remains parked on the platform until it leaves for the same destination at 5 am. Similarly, Swaran Shatabdi Express remains parked on the platform No. 1 after it arrives from Delhi at 1:25 pm till 4:55 pm when it again departs for Delhi. All major amenities, including waiting halls, toilets for handicapped, bathrooms, ticket windows, enquiry, dispensary and platform ticket window facilities and offices of the Railways are located on the platform No. 1.Railways officials maintained that the trains were parked on the platform No. 1 for security reasons and had costly furniture. Beside, offices of Railways employees were situated on the same platform that made surveillance quick and reliable, added the officials.

रेल कारखाना जमालपुर में उत्पादन इकाई को और ज्यादा मजबूत करने के उद्देश्य से 15 करोड़ की लागत से कई प्रकार के अत्याधुनिक मशीनें सीडब्ल्यूएम अनिमेष कुमार सिन्हा के पहल पर लगाए जा रहे हैं। इससे कारखाना की ओर से कई क्षेत्रों में बेहतर कार्य किया जा सकता है। उक्त मशीन को लगाने के लिए कोलकाता व रेलवे बोर्ड ने भी हरी झंडी दे दी है। इसकी जानकारी बुधवार को सीडब्ल्यूएम सभागार में हेडक्वार्टर से आए सीएमई प्लानिंग पीके साहा ने दी है। श्री साहा ने कहा कि सीडब्ल्यूएमश्री सिन्हा के नेतृत्व में जो कार्य उत्पादन क्षेत्र में दिन प्रतिदिन हो रहा है। उक्त मशीन से और ज्यादा ज्यादा किया जाएगा। बताया कि इस साल 15 करोड़ की लागत से कई प्रकार के आधुनिक युग मशीन लगाए जा रहे हैं। जिसमें सात क्रेन मशीन, कम्प्रेशर मशीन, प्रेस मशीन, प्लेट कटिंग मशीन शामिल हैं। मशीन लगते ही प्रोडक्शन कार्य में तेजी तो आएगी। साथ ही रिकार्ड तोड़ उत्पादन किया जाएगा। सीएमई प्लानिंग ने यह भी बताया कि इतने बड़े बजट की मशीनों को लगाने का सिर्फ एक ही प्रायोजन है कि भारतीय रेल में सभी तरह के उत्पादन व मरम्मत का कार्य सिर्फ जमालपुर कारखाना में किया जाता रहा है। इसी वजह से बोर्ड की नजरें इस कारखाना के कार्यो पर टिकी हुई रहती है। श्री साहा ने कहा कि इसके अलावे कई आधुनिक तकनीक की मशीनें से निकट भविष्य में और लगने के संकेत दिए।
ज्ञात हो कि 140 टन का एमएलआर वर्तमान में निर्माण किया जा रहा है। साथ ही
हाइड्रोलिक टावर का निर्माण भी इस साल से शुरु है।
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कारखाना में पूर्व व वर्तमान में कारखाना के उत्पादन की स्थिति उत्पाद का नाम पूर्व वर्तमान
-वैगन 370 425
-डीजल इंजन मरम्मत 72 90
-जमालपुर जैक 8-9 13-14
-140 टन क्रेन 8 12
-बीएलसी बॉक्स
-एनएचएल 500 600
-डीजल इंजन 3 3-4
-चक्का 370 1800
नोट- सभी स्त्रोत कारखाना से