ProUI

30-07-2013
NWR
Permanent augmentation in Rajdhani Express.

Temporary augmentation of trains.

DALTONGANJ: Frequent clashes between Maoists and security forces in and around Kumandi railway station, have instilled a sense of fear in the railway personnel working here. It comes under the Coal India Chord (CIC) section of Dhanbad railway division.SP Latehar Michael S Raj said, "For the Maoists, the existence of the Kumandi railway station is linked to their activity as all logistical support reaches them from the tracks. I do not see any reason as to why the Maoists will damage or destroy this railway station. That would be foolhardiness on their part."However, AK Mishra, assistant divisional engineer-cum-area officer of the railways, said, "We live and work at the mercy of God. It's a tough life. You never know when there is a clash between the rebels and the security forces. We live in the constant fear of being caught in the crossfire."Echoing similar sentiments, Santosh Tiwari, vice president of the East Central Railway Karamchari Union, said, "The railway personnel here are deprived of proper facilities, unlike their counterparts in the North Frontier Zone, which offers a bag of wherewithal and job security."

During massive anti-Maoist operations in the months of June and July codified as Jaal 4 in Kumandi, the security forces had set up some makeshift posts on the rooftop of the quarters of the railway men working at Kumandi railway station. The railway men were not too happy with such an arrangement.

Michael S Raj had then said, "These are temporary structures built with some bricks and sandbags. If it is a real eyesore to the railway men, they are free to dismantle it without any fear. The fact is that the increased presence of security forces has boosted the confidence of railway men in the area."

However, railway gangman Santosh Kumar said, he was harassed by security forces for no apparent reason. Braving all odds, he continues to live in Kumandi railway station. There are some who commute from Red-hit Latehar to Kumandi, covering a distance of 23 kms by train everyday. They'd rather take the trouble to commute for work than live a life of fear and insecurity in Kumandi.

Santosh Tiwari has urged for better and safe working conditions for railway men working at stations like Chipadohar, Hehegara, Demu, Richughutta, etc. Night duties at these railway stations are fraught with danger. He added that railway officials here do not live with their families as they do not want to jeopardize their lives.

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.

Passengers arriving at the Ernakulam Junction Railway Station are literally having to contend with a rather unneccessary barrier nowadays, courtesy the Railways. The barricade set up by the Railway authorities in front of the station is proving to be nuisance for hundreds of passengers who use the station premises everyday.

According to Sumesh G, a commuter who arrived at the station to board the Netravati Express, the barrier, apparently set up to avoid crowding at the station premises, is not passenger-friendly, as commuters are forced to trudge for nearly five to ten metres to reach the station entrance because of the ill-placed barricades, all along tugging heavy luggage through it. In the past, passengers could easily get down at the entrance of the station as vehicles were allowed through the route. Most passengers believe that the Railways had no right to block a public entrance. Also, the barricade was making it difficult for vehicles to maneuver their way out of the station.

However, offering their version on the issue, Railway officials said that the decision to set up the barricade was taken due to the heavy rush of vehicles in front of the Railway station. “Whenever the Venad Express, the Chennai Mail or other passenger trains arrive at the station, there is a heavy flow of vehicles in front of the station premises, which makes it rather difficult for the smooth exit and entry of passengers. We erected the barricade after orders were issued in this regard by the Divisional Railway Manager’s office,” said Ernakulam Area Manager P L Ashok Kumar.

He added that at every major station except at Thiruvananthapuram Central, entry of vehicles at the entrance of the stations is prohibited. “A few days earlier, a vehicle nearly blocked the entire entrance at the station because of the way it was parked. Also, in the morning, buses enter the station creating a block at the entrance. Also, even though we have set up the barricade, if there are aged or unwell persons, we open an alternate route for their entry,” Ashok Kumar added.

Based on the complaints brought to the notice of the authorities, DRM Rajesh Agarwal has said that he would study the matter and remove the barricade if it was causing difficulty for the passengers at the station.

VARANASI: Despite tall claims made about catering heavy rush of passengers at Cantonment Railway Station in view of first Monday of Shrawan, negligence was prevailing in the station premises on Monday.

While heap of garbage dumped opposite the railway station premises welcomed devotees and Kanwariyas in the city, the situation inside the station premises was no different. The railway tracks were littered with solid waste across length of the platform. The condition near the public convenience also remains the worst. The condition of waiting area behind the food plaza also gives a picturesque of the poor sanitary conditions in the station premises.

Passengers who had assembled in the waiting hall at platform number 5 complained about the unavailability of water in toilets and wash rooms. This led to a state of uncomfortable for many passengers. According to Ranjeet, who looks after the public convenience at platform number one, no extra arrangement for cleanliness was made for washrooms keeping in view the extra rush on Monday.

At the same time, as waiting hall at platform one was not properly cleaned, pilgrims and devotees who had arrived in the city from far-away places had assembled in the main hall and platform number one of the station and preferred sitting on their luggage and mattresses on the floor.

KANYAKUMARI: Rail users in the district have urged the railway authorities to operate daily trains from Kanyakumari to Hyderabad through Tirunelveli and Madurai, which, according to them would benefit nearly 15 districts in the state. They further said that the operation of such train would help a large number of people employed in Hyderabad and also increase the inflow of tourists.

The Kanyakumari District Railway Users’ Association (KKDRUA) has proposed the extension of 12603/12604 Chennai – Hyderabad – Chennai Express to Kanyakumari which will meet their demand.

According to S R Sriram, president of the association, Kanyakumari district is provided with connectivity to all major cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore through daily train services and destinations like New Delhi, Howrah, Jammu Tawi through weekly train services. However, the important connectivity to Hyderabad is lacking for the region though thousands of people from the region are employed in various fields especially in the IT sector. “We urge the railways to extend the Chennai – Hyderabad -Chennai Express daily to Kanyakumari so that it will serve large number of people. It should be noted that the trains originating from Chennai towards Hyderabad hardly travel 70 km in the state and if extended, it will serve people of 15 districts of the state,” he said.

P Edward Jeni, secretary of the association pointed out that there are many tourist attractions for those travelling from Andhra Pradesh especially the temples in Trichy, Madurai and Kanyakumari. “Even the government of Andhra Pradesh has approached the railways to operate trains to Kanyakumari for the benefit of its people travelling to Kanyakumari,” he mentioned.

S Ravi, a consultant of Intellectual Property Rights in Hyderabad and hailing from the region also seconds the opinion. “There is a craze among the people here about travelling to Kanyakumari and visiting many temples. Besides, the sizeable workforce in IT services in Hyderabad is from Kanyakumari district with educational background. A train service to Kanyakumari from Hyderabad will receive abundant patronage,” he stated.

At present, people who travel to Hyderabad from Kanyakumari district had to go to Chennai through night trains and spend the day in Chennai before boarding the evening trains to Hyderabad. “The direct train will be of great help for thousands of our people from the district who travel to Hyderabad this way,” Jeni said. Recently, the railways started operating a weekly train from Madurai to Kacheguda which has enabled Deccan connectivity for the first time. “In addition to the daily train to Hyderabad, it can also be one more additional train to reach Chennai from the southern districts,” a rail user from Madurai added.

New Delhi: In a setback to Udhampur-Katra rail link project, the work on the 25-km-long stretch has been slowed down after the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir over the BSF firing incident at Ramban.

The Katra line was expected to be operational by the end of August as work was going on full throttle. But now it is further delayed and likely to be commissioned in October this year.

"The workforce involved in laying the tracks between Udhampur and Katra, part of the Kashmir rail link project, had fled after the turmoil in the state due to the firing incident and it has affected the progress of the ongoing work," a senior Northern Railway official involved in the project said.



He said majority of the skilled workforce were from outside of the state including Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar.

Though the work has been resumed in the section, the pace is slow as all the workers have not yet returned, the official said.

The ballast-less track is being laid on the Udhampur-Katra section which involves about 11 km of tunnelling, nine major bridges, 29 minor bridges and 10 rail overbids/rail under-bridges.

Trial run will be conducted on the route after the completion of laying the track and the Commissioner Railway Safety will inspect the line before giving the clearance.

We are trying to make the line operational before the commencement of Navaratri, official said.

All the tunnelling as well as bridge works have been completed.

To enhance the safety of women commuters in local trains, the state government has asked Railway Protection Force (RPF) to provide assistance to the short-staffed Government Railway Police (GRP) in night patrolling duty. The decision comes after a 23-year-old nurse was molested on a local train on July 27.In a meeting with senior GRP, RPF and railway officials, the state proposed that RPF assist GRP in patrolling duty on trains between 4 am and 6.30 am. GRP provides night patrolling from 9 pm to 6 am.Commissioner of police (railways) Prabhat Kumar, who was a part of the meeting, said, "The state has asked RPF to either pool in their resources or take help of Home Guards. RPF personnel will be in addition to the staff that GRP has already provided for patrolling duty."For night patrolling duty, GRP has asked the Railway Board to earmark funds for 384 patrolling personnel for Central Railway (CR) and 190 for Western Railway (WR).The directive, however, comes as a burden for the RPF. A senior RPF official said, "We are already short-staffed. The state government demand will be an added burden on RPF personnel."RPF has 626 vacancies on Western Railway (WR) and 758 on Central Railway (CR).Additionally, it has sought around 370 Home Guards.RPF prosecutes unauthorised male passengers in women's compartments under Section 162 of Railways Act. However, unlike Section 354 (outraging modesty of woman) of IPC, which has a maximum punishment of two years in jail, under the Railways Act, a jail term is generally given to those who can't pay the fine.
Alok Bohra, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF, said, "The ingredients of IPC Section 354 need to be brought into Section 162 of the Railways Act but this decision has to be taken by higher authorities."From January 1 to July 28, RPF WR prosecuted 4,126 men while RPF CR prosecuted 1,192 under Section 162.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will increase the frequency, speed and operating hours of the Airport Express Line from August one. The first train service from both the terminal stations-- Dwarka Sector 21 and New Delhi-- will commence at 4:45 AM instead of the current time of 5:30 AM at New Delhi and 5.15 AM at Dwarka Sector 21. The last train will, however, will depart at the same time from the New Delhi station at 11.30 PM and from Dwarka Sector 21 at 11.15 PM. "This change in schedule will tremendously help the passengers of the Shatabdi Express trains which depart from the New Delhi Railway Station early in the morning and reach back late in the night," a DMRC spokesperson said. The Shatabdi Express passengers coming from the Airport or the nearby areas will now be able to take the early morning services of the Airport express link and reach the New Delhi Railway Station. "All Shatabdi Express trains reach New Delhi by latest 11.05 PM. However, the Airport Express services will wait for maximum 15 more minutes up to 11.45 PM in case of any delay in these trains," the spokesperson added.

The frequency of the trains during peak hours will also be increased to 10 minutes and 30 seconds instead of the existing 15 minutes from August one onward.

However, during off peak hours, it will operate every 15 minutes. As a result, the daily train trips will increase to 180 from 146 at present.

The morning peak hours are from 7.30 AM to 12 noon while the evening peak hours are from 3 PM to 7.30 PM. The peak hours have been decided keeping in view the timings of the arrival and departure of flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal 3).

The operating speed of the trains on the Airport Express Line will also be increased to 80 km/ph from the existing 70 km/ph.

"The changes have been made on the basis of commuters feedback of the line. After taking over the operations of the line from the July one DMRC had sought the feedback of the commuters in order to further improve the quality of the services," the spokesperson said.