ProUI

ALLAHABAD: North Central Railway organized a review meeting of various projects on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, NCR general manager AlokJohri stressed that the proposed work on important stations of the zone including Allahabad junction, Chheoki, Subedarganj, Kanpur Central, AgraCantt, Jhansi junction, Gwalior junction and Mathura junction should be completed on priority basis. The work related to circulating area, passenger amenities and cleanliness work at all these stations should be completed in a time-bound manner, he said. Work of construction of about 25 railway overbridges and 75 railway underbridges/limited height subways should be expeditiously completed in the current financial year, he instructed.

In the meeting, various heads of department, divisional railway managers of Allahabad, Agra and Jhansi were present.

With a view to keep crime on trains in check, Uttar Pradesh police plans to install CCTV cameras in special trains passing through the state.“There is a proposal to install CCTV cameras in AC as well as general coaches of special trains for video recording,” Director General of Police (Railway) Rizwan Ahmad said.He said the purpose was to go through the footage in case of any incident so that the criminals could be identified easily.“I have written to the railway authorities in this regard. For now, the proposal has been made for some special trains,” he said.According to him, there were also plans to install CCTV cameras at important and crowded railway stations in the state.“All the SPs of the Government Railway Police (GRP) in the state have been directed to take assistance of authorities concerned in this regard,” he added.The DG said under the ‘vision scheme’, CCTV cameras have been installed in Moradabad and Lucknow divisions, monitoring of which was being done through section headquarters.

“SPs of GRP in other places have been directed to chalk out a similar scheme,” he said.

He said directives had been issued to ensure the proper functioning of the already-installed CCTV cameras.

Mr. Ahmad said a scheme had also been chalked out to paste stickers of phone numbers of GRP railway stations on the route in all coaches of trains passing through UP.

“This has been planned so that the victim can call GRP and get required assistance. Similarly, it has been planned to paste numbers of railway control room,” he said.

The DG said at times when platform was not vacant, incoming trains were halted at the outer signal during late hours, which increased the possibility of crime. He said high-mast lights should be installed and GRP and Railway Protection Force jawans should be deployed.

Mr. Ahmad said a police assistance centre would be constructed for such jawans.

“It has been directed that if rail traffic is disrupted due to accident or other reason and a train stops at a small station, the GRP should coordinate with the local police and deploy adequate force so that incidents of crime, including misbehaviour with women, do not take place,” he said.

The DG also added that the GRP officials have been directed to carry out verification of all vendors and attendants, and take action against unauthorised ones.

For most Delhiites, Sarai Rohilla is a name synonymous with a railway station on the narrow gauge line towards Rewari, Jaipur and Ajmer.

On the western part of ridge, this ‘Sarai’ — as the roadside inns were called — was a busy stop on the Delhi-Ajmer road in the old times. Most people also associate ‘Rohilla’ with Rohillas of the Rohilkhand during the Mughal reign. But very few know that it was one Ruhullah Khan — later corrupted to Rohilla — after whom the settlement takes its name.

Interestingly, nothing much is known about Ruhullah Khan except for the fact that he was one of the three sons of Khalil Ullah Khan, a distant relative of Mumtaz Mahal. Khalil Ullah Khan was the Governor of Delhi province during Shahjahan’s reign.

The railway station was set up way back in 1872, even before New Delhi was built. It was the first station from Delhi in those days on the Rajputana-Malwa railway, the route of which cut through Alwar and Jaipur towards Ahmedabad.

Today, the station has Ahata Thakur Dass on southwestern side and a railway colony on its opposite side. A small area, which can still be called ‘Sarai Rohilla’, is actually half a km to its northeast of the station.

“When I came here after marriage, there were merely 60 houses,” said Chandrawati Devi, 62, ruing the changes that had taken place. Today, Sarai Rohilla is a congested colony with rows of shanties turned into low-roofed pucca houses on one side and cubbyhole workshops and factories operating from haphazard buildings on the other.

Two new rail and road projects involving a total investment of Rs.1,500 crore will be launched in Haryana on Sunday.

The projects include 68 kilometre long Hansi-Meham-Rohtak railway line costing Rs.500 crore and four lane of 99 km long Hisar-Rohtak section of National Highway to be constructed at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore. The rail route would have eight railway stations, four crossing stations and four halt stations. This road project will have two ROBs, underpass and 29-bus bays on both sides.

Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge would lay the foundation stone of the railway line while Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes would lay the foundation stone of   highway project in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda at Hansi.

A rally would also be organised on the occasion. MP from Rohtak Deepender Singh Hooda visited Anaj Mandi, Hansi on Saturday to see the preparations being made for the rally and issued necessary directions. Also, workers’ conferences were organised at Adampur, Mudhal, Narnaund, Barwala and Hisar for the success of the rally.

The bi-weekly Shatabdi train between Ludhiana and Delhi will run seven days a week, Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said in Rohtak on Sunday.

The express train will also have a stoppage at Jind in Haryana, the Union minister told reporters.

Mr. Kharge was in Rohtak to lay foundation for the Rs. 181 crore Rohtak Railway bypass line.

The bypass will replace the old Rohtak-Gohana rail track starting from the railway station upto Makrauli Kalan village in the district, and ease traffic jams in the city.

The minister said that with the shifting of this line, a third Rohtak-Samargopalpur line will be available — which will facilitate a straight route to Panipat.

“This will help the development of Rohtak city, because the earlier Rohtak-Makrauli line will be eliminated,” Mr. Kharge said.

He appreciated the progress made by Haryana, adding that the state was producing sufficient foodgrains and “adequate railway networks were required for its transport.”

He also thanked UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for entrusting him with the responsibility of Railway ministry, and said that efforts were being made to improve the facilities for commuters.

Road minister Oscar Fernandes, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rajya Sabha MP Shadilal Batra, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, and Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar were also present at the occasion.

Mr. Hooda said, “In 1957, the Rohtak-Panipat railway line was provided with the efforts of his father late Ranbir Singh, and at that time Mr. Hanumantaya was the Railway Minister“.

“34 years back, the Rohtak-Bhiwani railway line was constructed when Bansi Lal was the Chief Minister, and after that, no other rail project was considered for Haryana,” the Chief Minister said.

“The Rohtak-Jhajjar-Rewari railway line was sanctioned in 1997, when I was MP. This railway line is operational now. Work on the Sonipat-Gohana-Jind railway line is in progress,” he said.

Mr. Arunendra Kumar gave details about the new project.

The alternative route Rohtak-Samargopalpur will provide a third line between the two stations along the main line and a new platform at Rohtak. This will also eliminate a blind curve of 2 km and 8 existing level crossing gates.

A road will be developed in place of the old railway line from Rohtak to Makrauli. This will benefit about a dozen colonies, an official release said.

For most Delhiites, Sarai Rohilla is a name synonymous with a railway station on the narrow gauge line towards Rewari, Jaipur and Ajmer.

On the western part of ridge, this ‘Sarai’ — as the roadside inns were called — was a busy stop on the Delhi-Ajmer road in the old times. Most people also associate ‘Rohilla’ with Rohillas of the Rohilkhand during the Mughal reign. But very few know that it was one Ruhullah Khan — later corrupted to Rohilla — after whom the settlement takes its name.

Interestingly, nothing much is known about Ruhullah Khan except for the fact that he was one of the three sons of Khalil Ullah Khan, a distant relative of Mumtaz Mahal. Khalil Ullah Khan was the Governor of Delhi province during Shahjahan’s reign.

The railway station was set up way back in 1872, even before New Delhi was built. It was the first station from Delhi in those days on the Rajputana-Malwa railway, the route of which cut through Alwar and Jaipur towards Ahmedabad.

Today, the station has Ahata Thakur Dass on southwestern side and a railway colony on its opposite side. A small area, which can still be called ‘Sarai Rohilla’, is actually half a km to its northeast of the station.

“When I came here after marriage, there were merely 60 houses,” said Chandrawati Devi, 62, ruing the changes that had taken place. Today, Sarai Rohilla is a congested colony with rows of shanties turned into low-roofed pucca houses on one side and cubbyhole workshops and factories operating from haphazard buildings on the other.

The woman, who was allegedly molested on a Borivli-bound local train, would have been spared the ordeal if a GRP constable had fulfilled his duty. Instead, Devendra Shinde, oblivious of the terror awaiting the victim, continued sleeping at Churchgate station and the train departed without the constable who was supposed to guard the north-end ladies coach. Shinde has now been suspended and an enquiry has been ordered against him.

The police said that Shinde was on duty since late Friday and was the last train to Churchgate where he slept and then missed the first train on Saturday.

“We have suspended Shinde and an enquiry has been ordered under an assistant commissioner of a police-level officer, following which strict action would be taken against Shinde. Similar actions, which also involve a fine of Rs. 500 on the constable found guilty, have already been taken against at least 312 policemen in a time of a year,” said B Shirsat, deputy commissioner of police (GRP).

The accused 28-year-old Devraj Hanumantrao Kanka, who is married with two kids, had spent the night with a sex worker and was returning home to Kurla’s Bail Bazar. “He has cases of chain snatching and bag-lifting registered against him with the Kalyan GRP. Kanka was drunk and claimed that he could not resist himself when he spotted the woman alone. The incident, however, left her traumatised and she could be pacified only after the commuters and policemen brought her to the police station,” said Rajendra Trivedi, senior inspector of Mumbai Central GRP.   The officials have also sought the CCTV footage of all the three Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel stations for further clarity on the incident.

The woman, who was allegedly molested on a Borivli-bound local train, would have been spared the ordeal if a GRP constable had fulfilled his duty. Instead, Devendra Shinde, oblivious of the terror awaiting the victim, continued sleeping at Churchgate station and the train departed without the constable who was supposed to guard the north-end ladies coach. Shinde has now been suspended and an enquiry has been ordered against him.

The police said that Shinde was on duty since late Friday and was the last train to Churchgate where he slept and then missed the first train on Saturday.

“We have suspended Shinde and an enquiry has been ordered under an assistant commissioner of a police-level officer, following which strict action would be taken against Shinde. Similar actions, which also involve a fine of Rs. 500 on the constable found guilty, have already been taken against at least 312 policemen in a time of a year,” said B Shirsat, deputy commissioner of police (GRP).

The accused 28-year-old Devraj Hanumantrao Kanka, who is married with two kids, had spent the night with a sex worker and was returning home to Kurla’s Bail Bazar. “He has cases of chain snatching and bag-lifting registered against him with the Kalyan GRP. Kanka was drunk and claimed that he could not resist himself when he spotted the woman alone. The incident, however, left her traumatised and she could be pacified only after the commuters and policemen brought her to the police station,” said Rajendra Trivedi, senior inspector of Mumbai Central GRP.   The officials have also sought the CCTV footage of all the three Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel stations for further clarity on the incident.

The new train for Mumbai that is expected to be in the city by the end of this year has begun to take shape. At first glance, the train looks sleeker than the ones currently on the tracks, mostly because the train’s sides are straighter than the ‘bell’ shape that is distinctive of Indian trains.

The straight sidewall, which is common to foreign trains, is expected to add speed to the train because of better aerodynamics. The train will be powered by the Bombardier transportation electrical system and not the Siemens one that powers current locals.

This train too will have the white and purple look except that the purple will be a few shades deeper and will be painted around the door in such a way that it could camouflage the ugly red stains of gutkha and paan that are bound to come along the way.

The windows for the motorman are slightly smaller than those existing in trains now running. This, because there have been complaints that the bigger windows allow too much sunlight into the motorman’s cabin during the harsh Mumbai summers, resulting in some of them (motorman) bothered by reflection while sighting the all-important signals.

The insides of the trains would more or less look the same, said officials overseeing its construction in the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai except that the new train will have better crafted seats and grab handles.

The building of Mumbai’s trains has been nothing short of an art, according to train

engineers. It is a mass transport object that has to be built to take some of the heaviest pounding during its lifespan, what with some 16 people crammed into every square metre of its floor during the infamous Mumbai rush hour.

“The current trains give better ventilation thanks to the air blower running right through the middle of the roof. The steel rod partitions also give the trains an airy feel. The lights running through the middle of the roof also add to the atmosphere. However, as with all new trains introduced in the city, these trains also lent themselves to a lot of scope for improvement. We are trying that with the new local being created in ICF at the moment,” said an official.

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation managing director Rakesh Saksena believes the new rake would be a healthy improvement on the current ones.

“The body will be of stainless steel, like coaches used by the metro systems worldwide. The sides would be a lot straighter. Most important, for the passenger, the air unit that blows air into the coaches would be far sturdier than the current ones,” said Saksena.

The new train for Mumbai that is expected to be in the city by the end of this year has begun to take shape. At first glance, the train looks sleeker than the ones currently on the tracks, mostly because the train’s sides are straighter than the ‘bell’ shape that is distinctive of Indian trains.

The straight sidewall, which is common to foreign trains, is expected to add speed to the train because of better aerodynamics. The train will be powered by the Bombardier transportation electrical system and not the Siemens one that powers current locals.

This train too will have the white and purple look except that the purple will be a few shades deeper and will be painted around the door in such a way that it could camouflage the ugly red stains of gutkha and paan that are bound to come along the way.

The windows for the motorman are slightly smaller than those existing in trains now running. This, because there have been complaints that the bigger windows allow too much sunlight into the motorman’s cabin during the harsh Mumbai summers, resulting in some of them (motorman) bothered by reflection while sighting the all-important signals.

The insides of the trains would more or less look the same, said officials overseeing its construction in the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai except that the new train will have better crafted seats and grab handles.

The building of Mumbai’s trains has been nothing short of an art, according to train

engineers. It is a mass transport object that has to be built to take some of the heaviest pounding during its lifespan, what with some 16 people crammed into every square metre of its floor during the infamous Mumbai rush hour.

“The current trains give better ventilation thanks to the air blower running right through the middle of the roof. The steel rod partitions also give the trains an airy feel. The lights running through the middle of the roof also add to the atmosphere. However, as with all new trains introduced in the city, these trains also lent themselves to a lot of scope for improvement. We are trying that with the new local being created in ICF at the moment,” said an official.

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation managing director Rakesh Saksena believes the new rake would be a healthy improvement on the current ones.

“The body will be of stainless steel, like coaches used by the metro systems worldwide. The sides would be a lot straighter. Most important, for the passenger, the air unit that blows air into the coaches would be far sturdier than the current ones,” said Saksena.