ProUI

PUNE: The court of special judge SudhakarYarlagadda on Friday granted bail to a Railways' chief loco inspector, arrested for allegedly falsifying records to siphon off high-speed diesel worth Rs 10 crore, as the CBI, Pune, failed to file a chargesheet against him within 90 days of his arrest.Yarlagadda has sought an explanation from the investigating officer in this regard within one week as to why he did not file the chargesheet within the stipulated time.Virsingh Chaudhary, the chief loco inspector of the Daund railway consumer depot, is a resident of Janata Colony in Daund. The Bombay high court had rejected his anticipatory bail plea on April 2. He was arrested after he surrendered before the CBI on April 25.According to the prosecution, Chaudhary misused his position to falsify documents with the help of senior officials and pilfer 20.33 lakh litre of high-speed diesel. The case against them was registered on February 20.

Quoting section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, Chaudhary's lawyer Suhas Kolhe told the court the accused had a right to seek bail if the CBI failed to file a chargesheet in time against him within 90 days of his arrest.

Special public prosecutor Vivek Saxena said the chargesheet could not be filed on time because the investigations in the case were spread all over the country. He said the railway consumer depot had supplied diesel to more then 25 loco sheds in the country and the investigating officer had so far seized 28 registers containing 33,000 entries to determine the fraud committed by the suspects between April 2011 and August 2012.

The investigating officer is also in the process of recording statements of loco inspectors posted at all loco sheds in the country. The impact of the offence is so widespread that it was not possible for the CBI to file a chargesheet within 90 days of the arrest, Saxena said.

After hearing both sides, Yarlagadda ordered that Chaudhary be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with solvent surety of the like amount. Chaudhary was warned not to influence the prosecution witnesses or tamper with the evidence. He was directed to cooperate with the CBI whenever he was called in for questioning.

VADODARA: A passenger train is being introduced by the railways on between Nadiad and Modasa on a regular basis. The section was upgraded to broad gauge from narrow gauge in 2002 and was opened for traffic on October 27.A release here stated that initially only one pair of trains was operational between Nadiad and Modasa. This saw an average traffic of 799 passengers fetching earnings of Rs. 6,376 over this section.With demand of local representatives, an additional train was introduced between the two stations in February this year on an experimental basis with four general coaches and one luggage coach. It had a passenger capacity of 400 persons.The service is now being regularized as the passenger traffic increased to 1,040 persons and it fetched an earning of Rs 9,026. The train shall leave Nadiad at 10am and reach Modasa at 1.30pm. It will leave Modasa at 2.15pm and reach Nadiad at 5.45pm.The regularised pair of trains will be formally flagged off by union minister of state for mines Dinsha Patel on Friday. Vadodara divisional railway manager N K Shukla shall also remain present on the occasion.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Despite the Maoist factor and natural disasters like landslides and floods dogging the Waltair Railway Division's top grosser Kothavalasa-Kirandul (KK) line every year, the division has been able to notch a 7.5% rise in cargo handing for the first quarter of 2013-14.In spite of losing 28 days to disruptions on the line out of the total 90 days during the first quarter, the division was successful in handling 13.62 million tonnes of cargo as compared to 12.67 million tonnes during the corresponding quarter of last fiscal, officials of the Waltair division said. In the first quarter of last fiscal, the line saw 24 days of disruptions.This has been possible due to the strategy of the Waltair division to run the rakes only during the daytime on days when they had to suspend night transportation due to fear of Maoist attacks. While the freight transport was completely disrupted for nearly 10 days out of these 28 days, during the remaining days when there were night traffic restrictions, they ran the entire daily quota of 13 rakes during the daytime in a bid to make good the losses and meet the total freight handling target of 59 million tonnes this fiscal.The 454-km long KK line from Bailadilla mines in Chhattisgarh to Vizag is the lifeline for industries in Vizag as it transports iron ore for Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd's Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and few other steel units in the neighboring states even as a chunk of the iron ore is exported via Vizag port. A single day's disruption on the line, which is dedicated to the transport of iron ore, costs the Indian Railways nearly Rs 5 crore.

The Waltair division has been stationing its empty rakes at Jagadalpur every morning and running the goods wagons from there to Kirandul in the daytime and returning with iron ore the next morning, sources said. The Waltair division has chalked out the plan jointly with NMDC ( National Mineral Development Corporation), which has improved the sidings at Kirandul by giving more room to load the ore in a speedy manner.

The Waltair division authorities have their fingers crossed that the same strategy will pay of in the current quarter as well because in July too the KK line has seen 17 days of disruptions by way of night restrictions, forcing the authorities to run all the 13-14 rakes during the day.

However, things may be tougher during the end of July and early August as the Maoists gear up to observe Martyrs week from July 28 to August 3 when the services may be completely disrupted, said sources in the division.

Though the Waltair division authorities have been able to make up for disruptions on the freight front, the sole passenger train on the KK line -- Visakha-Kirandul passenger, that is the only mode of transport for railway employees, NMDC employees and other passengers has resulted in a harrowing time for passengers as it has been running till Jagadalpur only.

वाराणसी : काशी रेलवे स्टेशन के समीप भदऊं पुल की गुरुवार को गर्डर बदले गए। इस कारण कुछ देर के लिए ट्रेनों के परिचालन में बाधा आई। हालांकि इंजीनियरिंग विभाग ने पूर्वाह्न 10:30 से दोपहर 2 बजे तक ब्लाक लिया था। सहायक मंडल इंजीनियर रमेश सोलंकी ने बताया कि मेन लाइन पर काम नहीं हो रहा था। लिहाजा, ट्रेनों का परिचालन जारी रहा। इस दौरान मालगाड़ियां नहीं चल सकीं।

“From tomorrow, the normal activities could be seen at the Nagpur Railway Station as either no trains will be cancelled or diverted or short-terminated or rescheduled. Trains originating from Nagpur will run on scheduled time and scheduled routes.”
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Nagpur News: The Nagpur Division of Central Railway has finally announced normalcy in train traffic after a 7-day “war” over the restoration of Up and Down rail lines between Sindi and Tuljapur Stations in Nagpur Section. The “war” bore fruits and at 3.30 pm of July 26, the first train passed through the section thus bringing the much much needed normalcy and providing a sigh of relief for thousands of passengers who underwent hellish ordeals by cancellation of dozens of long-distance trains, diversion of several trains, short-termination of trains and very very late running of trains.

The Central Railway press release issue at 3.30 pm of July 26 said, “From tomorrow, the normal activities could be seen at the Nagpur Railway Station as either no trains will be cancelled or diverted or short-terminated or rescheduled. Trains originating from Nagpur will run on scheduled time and scheduled routes.”

“The job of restoration of washed away tracks was short of a war. All the concerned departments, officials and employees worked as a team against all odds like heavy downpour, transporting required material to the spot. Around 500 wagons brought stones, sandbags, gitti (crushed stones). The Divisional Railway Manager Brujesh Dixit and other top officials reached the spot and immediately started restoration works on war-footing. The restoration, and the subsequent normalcy was achieved by Nagpur Division’s 1000 employees and 100 officials under the guidance of DRM Dixit who worked day and night,” the press release said.

It may be recalled, heavy rains that lashed Wardha and Nagpur had disrupted the train traffic as the ballast under the Railway track and bank including minor bridge was washed out away completely between Sindi and Tuljapur station on Nagpur–Wardha section of Nagpur division. The disaster of a sort triggered a terrible chain reactions as dozens of trains were either cancelled or diverted or terminated at the specific stations and resumed their journey back to the originated stations.

The disaster created a hell of a situation for thousands and thousands of passengers as they either found themselves stranded at Nagpur Station or had to go to the several stations of diverted trains. This nightmarish situation forced hundreds of passengers to cancel tickets, other hundreds went through ordeals of boarding trains from diverted routes thus making them feel in hell.

Southern Railway hopes to showcase the 150 years of its existence with a museum in Tiruchi.

Maps, bells and lamps made of “China Glass”. Staff badges, clocks and yellowing piles of paperwork. Huddled together under the soaring ceiling of the ‘Heritage Room’ of Southern Railway’s General Office building in Tiruchi, they seem to be passengers waiting for their journey to start.

And, in a way, perhaps they are. For these artefacts of a bygone era are to form a part of the upcoming railway museum. The collection, curated by an in-house team of officials, includes items such as old manuals, maps, gazettes, and files containing Indo-Ceylon Steamer service records and photographs in addition to out-of-use equipment such as stamping sticks, belt buckles of foremen and signal devices.

The museum is meant to be part of the erstwhile South Indian Railway’s sesquicentennial (150 years) celebrations, though as Mrs Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager, concedes, it’s a little behind schedule.

“The building is now complete, we are working on the electrification. Due to fund constraints, it is not possible for us to throw open the entire museum in one go. So we thought we’d do it in phases. The central hall is ready, and as part of our sesquicentennial celebrations, we thought we would inaugurate this part of the museum. We have a broad idea of where we want to place the exhibits, though it is subject to change in the future,” said Mrs Manjula in an interview with The Hindu.

The site shortlisted for the Railway Heritage Centre, as the museum will be known, is adjacent to the Community Hall near the Tiruchi railway junction, with a total area of about 15 acres. The original station building of the city that was then known as Trichinopoly, built in 1886, will be spruced up to serve as the office and ticket sales counter of the museum.

When we visited, the flooring tiles were being laid in the central exhibition hall, built in a quasi-Raj style. The proposed centre (with an approximate budget of Rs20mn) will be allocating 500 square metres for indoor exhibits. Besides the transport artefacts mentioned above, there is provision for a study room for researching railway history, philately on railway themes, and a digital archive of rare documents related to the South Indian Railway.

“We are planning a family-friendly destination,” said Mrs Manjula of the project. The indoor exhibits will be complemented by an external visitor area containing shady alcoves and eateries, and even a toy train and one or two vintage locomotive engines.

As to what she feels is the most significant part of the heritage collection, Mrs Manjula pointed out to the vintage paperwork that “tell us how we used to run the railways 150 years ago, and how much of it is still in place. It seems we have very good systems in place which are time-tested. Whatever mishaps occur would be mainly due to human error. The signalling systems were rudimentary, technological advancements may have occurred, but the system remains the same.”

The fragile paper documents need a climate-controlled storage system, which, for now, says Mrs Manjula, is still to be finalised.

Reflecting on the future of train travel in India, she said, “I think we are here to stay definitely for a couple of centuries. Our avatars may change, but we will always be there because it will take some time for our people to move away from the railways to the roadways as they have done in the West. More people are indeed taking flights to their destinations (in the domestic sector), but it’s a very large pie, and we have a very large share of that pie.”

Mr S Sayinathan, Traffic Inspector and one of the collection’s curators, says that only after he got formally involved in the project did he realise the indelible link between the railways and India’s history. “After coming to this department to preserve heritage material, I found out that the South Indian Railway is a great organisation,” he said, adding that the development of rail routes throughout the country reflected the India’s growth as well.

“Among our records we have details of how a 542-km stretch on the Tiruchi to Erode route was converted into broad gauge in a mere five hours, on the Pamban cantilever bridge that connects the Palk Strait to mainland India, and which opened to traffic in 1914, and the Unesco heritage status-Nilgiri Mountain railway (inaugurated in 1899 and still in service),” said Mr Sayinathan.

The museum project has also sparked interest among the families of the British staff who worked in South Indian Railway, says Mr Sayinathan, many of who have got in touch and shared their own memorabilia related to the years spent by their forefathers in India.

In 2010, Southern Railway published a glossy volume of rare photographs and historical information titled Marvels of The South Indian Railway, compiled by S Subramhanyan, then-Divisional Railway Manager, as part of the sesquicentennial celebrations.

Considering the potential value of the antiques inside, the Heritage Room is kept locked and out of bounds to the public. The room has the railway security force personnel’s protection throughout the day, and fire alarm systems are in place to avert potential disasters.

An expert from the Saraswathi Mahal in Thanjavur has helped to guide the team in preserving the artefacts for posterity against termites. But dealing with the mice and other rodents has required the services of the rather more simple mousetrap.

Mr Sayinathan checks the authenticity of each piece individually, a process made easier, he says, due to the British habit of stamping every item with the name of the company. “We cannot display all the old materials, because some may still be in use,” he said. “[But] we want to showcase our history to the public, so that they can understand our achievement.”

Vadodara/Anand: A second pair of train service between Nadiad and Modasa was flagged off from Nadiad railway station on Friday.

Union minister for mines and Kheda MP Dinsha Patel flagged off the regularized second pair of train service (train number 59153/59154) in the presence of Vadodara divisional railway manager N K Shukla at 10 am over the Nadiad-Modasa broad gauge section.

The Nadiad-Modasa narrow gauge section was converted into broad gauge section and opened for traffic from October 27, 2002 with only one pair of train running over this section.

A daily average of 799 number of unreserved passengers is booked over this section which fetches earnings of Rs 6,376.

The train covers Nadiad, Mahudha, Bhaner-Minawada road, Kathlal, Kapadwanj, Vadali Letar Road, Kashipura, Bayad, Dhansura and Modasa stations.

The Chennai Corporation council has approved reconstruction of Royapuram Bridge (no. 4) by the Railways to facilitate the restoration of Royapuram terminus.

The reconstructed bridge will help accommodate a third and fourth rail line on the stretch. Higher and wider, it will also help to ease traffic congestion in the area. The existing bridge is 10.85 metre wide . However, as the approach road to Old Washermenpet is 15 metres wide, the Corporation has suggested a 15-metre-wide carriageway on the bridge to facilitate free flow of traffic.

The council also asked the Railways to reconstruct under the supervision of Corporation engineers to ensure better planning for traffic infrastructure.

NAGPUR: After both the tracks were thrown open for traffic near Sindi Railway, between Nagpur and Sewagram, passenger train movement started rolling simultaneously on both the tracks that had been damaged due to rains on July 19.After a 17-hour mega block on Thursday-Friday, the railways set everything right on the 360 metre damaged section of the track. More than 1,000 employees, including 100 officers, worked round-the-clock under the supervision of DRM Brijesh Dixit.Central Railway PRO PD Patil informed that all the passenger trains will operate as scheduled and there will be no more diversion or short termination of trains. However, trains will continue to operate with speed restriction at the affected spot.Meanwhile, passengers of Delhi-Chennai Rajdhani Express who arrived in Nagpur on July 24, have blamed the railways' lack of communication for their hardship. "Rajdhani is the only train which has public announcement system inside. Yet, passengers were not informed about the diversion of trains. It was only at Bhusawal we learnt about it," said a passenger.The railways spent huge money on expanding IT network for sharing information and providing better services to the passengers but it failed to utilize the services in the hour of crisis. "Announcements should have been made at Delhi and other major stations in between but this was not done," complained Sunil Razdan, another passenger.

मैलानी - पीलीभीत रेलपथ पर उस वक्त परिचालन पर असर पड़ा जब एक पेड़ संड़ई पुल पर आ गिरा। मरुधर एक्सप्रेस और गोंडा पैसेंजर के चक्के थम गए। दोनों ही ट्रेनें विलंब से चलने के कारण मुसाफिरों को भी दिक्कतें हो गई।
शाम को पीलीभीत - मैलानी रेलखंड पर संडई और माला के बीच भारी दरख्त सीधे लाइन पर आग गिरा। उस वक्त ऐशबाग से बरेली जाने वाली मरुधर एक्सप्रेस 15313 और गोंडा से बरेली जाने वाली 52255 व एक अन्य पीलीभीत मैलानी को जाने वाली पैसेंजर ट्रेन के संचालन पर असर पड़ा। देर शाम को ट्रैक पर पेड़ गिरने से परिचालन ठप होने की खबर से मंडलीय कार्यालय में आयोजित बैठक में हडकंप मच गया। रेलवे सुपरवाइजर के मुताबिक करीब आधा घंटा से पैंतालिस मिनट पेड़ काटने में लग गया। मरुधर एक्सप्रेस एक घंटा विलंब से चली तो वहीं गोंडा पैसेंजर भी तीन घंटा विलंब से चली। इसी क्रम में मैलानी को जाने वाली पैसेंजर ट्रेन के परिचालन पर भी असर पड़ा। नैनीताल एक्सप्रेस भी कुछ विलंब से चली।