ProUI

New Delhi: Claiming innocence in the railgate scam, former Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said on Friday that he became a victim of a conspiracy hatched by the rail bureaucracy and the Opposition.

Speaking exclusively to Zee Media, Bansal said, “Neither me nor my family has anything to do with the controversy.”

“I have become a victim of a conspiracy hatched by the Opposition and the rail bureaucracy as I had detected several anomalies in procedures for railway appointments,” he added.

Defending self, the Congress MP from Chandigarh said, “I was linked to as many as 105 companies when my name figured in the scam. People have tendency to jump to conclusion without waiting for the judicial process or judgements.”

"There were several discrepancies in procedures relating to senior-level appointments in the railways, which I had set out to reform. However, I was myself sucked into the vortex of this conspiracy," Bansal said during the exclusive interview.

Bansal also countered claims made by former Railway board chairman Vinay Mittal to the CBI that he as minister had paid no need to suggestions to start the process for appointing a general manager for the Western Railways.

The CBI has named Bansal as a prosecution witness in the cash-for-promotion scam involving his nephew Vijay Singla and former railway board member Mahesh Kumar.

"The file relating to Kumar's appointment as member (staff) was approved and signed by me on April 18 and forwarded for ACC (Appointments Committee of Cabinet) approval the same day,” he said.

“Following the receipt of the ACC approval on May 1, Kumar took charge on May 2. The next day, the CBI raids happened. So, where was the time for Mittal to repeatedly remind me about the need to fill the post of GM, Western Railways," Bansal said.

"Another officer could not have been appointed as GM before his (Kumar's) appointment as member (staff)," the former minister pointed out, adding, "No specific orders had been issued by him to enable Kumar to 'look after' the charge as GM, Western Railways."

Bansal stressed that baseless allegations were levelled against him including that he had invested crores of rupees in a company owned by his son.

“I have only invested Rs 15 lakhs in my son’s firm and that’s all,” he stated.

The Congress leader reiterated that he had full faith in the country’s judicial system and that he is confident that he will come out clean.

After his unceremonious exit from Rail Bhawan, Bansal is spending most his time in Chandigarh and has maintained a low profile.

The soft-spoken leader, however, said that he will continue the work assigned to him by his party and carry out his duties as MP from Chandigarh till his named is cleared.

स्पेन में गुरुवार को हुए यूरोप के सबसे भीषण ट्रेन हादसे में घायल ड्राइवर से पूछताछ होगी। इस हादसे में 80 लोगों की मौत हो गई थी जबकि 95 यात्री घायल हो गए थे।
हादसे की जांच कर रहे सैंटियागो डी कंपोस्टेला के जज ने पुलिस को ट्रेन के 52 वर्षीय ड्राइवर फ्रांसिस्को जोस गार्जन से पूछताछ का आदेश दिया है। हालांकि उसे अभी तक गिरफ्तार नहीं किया गया है, लेकिन पुलिस की सुरक्षा में वह अस्पताल में भर्ती है। जांच में यह पता लगाने की कोशिश की जा रही है कि ट्रेन इतनी अधिक गति से क्यों दौड़ रही थी और उसमें लगे सुरक्षा उपकरण निर्धारित गति सीमा को क्यों नियंत्रित नहीं कर सके?
स्पेन के किंग जुआन कार्लोस और क्वीन सोफिया घायलों को देखने अस्पताल पहुंचीं। किंग ने कहा कि इस दुख की घड़ी में स्पेनवासियों को एकजुट होने की जरूरत है। प्रधानमंत्री मारियानो रेजॉय ने देश में तीन दिन का राष्ट्रीय शोक घोषित किया है। साथ ही सैंटियागो में आयोजित ईसाई उत्सव को भी निरस्त कर दिया गया है।
मीडिया रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, गुरुवार की रात हादसे के वक्त ट्रेन 190 किमी प्रतिघंटा की रफ्तार से दौड़ रही थी, जबकि अधिकतम गति 80 किमी प्रतिघंटा निर्धारित थी। यह घटना उस समय हुई जब ट्रेन गैलिसिया प्रांत की राजधानी सैंटियागो डी कंपोस्टेला स्टेशन में प्रवेश करने वाली थी। तभी डिब्बे पटरी से उतरकर एक-दूसरे पर चढ़ गए और कंक्रीट की दीवार से टकरा गए। ट्रेन में 247 यात्री और पांच रेलकर्मी सवार थे। ट्रेन में सवार लोग यूरोप का सबसे बड़ा ईसाई उत्सव मनाने के लिए सैंटियागो जा रहे थे। हादसे में अमेरिका और मैक्सिको के एक-एक नागरिक की मौत हुई है जबकि 13 शवों की शिनाख्त शुक्रवार तक नहीं हो पाई थी।

1. Train No.12433 Chennai Central – Nizamuddin (New Delhi) Rajdhani Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 06.10 hrs. on 26.07.2013 is rescheduled to leave Chennai Central at 08.10 hrs. on 26.07.2013 due to late running of pairing train.

2. Train No.12269 Chennai Central – Nizamuddin (New Delhi) ‘Duronto’ Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 06.40 hrs. on 26.07.2013 is rescheduled to leave Chennai Central at 16.00 hrs. on 26.07.2013 due to late running of pairing train.

LUCKNOW: The first phase of North-South (N-S) corridor of Lucknow metro rail from Amausi airport to Munshipulia would commence over the next six months and its completion is estimated by March 2018, announced the high level committee headed by chief secretary, Jawed Usmani in a meeting held on Thursday with the principal secretaries of finance, housing and urban development, transport, home and planning department.
Though each corridor would take about 5-6 years to complete, senior officials predicted that the first train may start plying anytime after 2016, essentially on the N-S corridor which is proposed to be completed by 2018.Likewise, the East-West (E-W) corridor from Lucknow railway station at Charbagh to Vasantkunj on Hardoi Road would start after a gap of about one year and be complete by March 2019. The North-South Corridor would run on 22.878 kms with three underground and 19 elevated stations while the East-West Corridor will cover 11.098 kms with seven underground and five elevated stations.
An official said, "Normally, about 5-6 kms of metro stretch is taken in every phase which takes about 3-4 years to complete as it involves a lot of formalities." Officials said till the time next phase starts, metro feeder services would be given to passengers of the left out areas on that route and their feeder fare would be inbuilt in the metro fair.
The committee revealed a comprehensive blueprint of the mass rapid transit project which is planned keeping in mind 28 years of traffic forecast up till 2041. It is estimated that both corridors extending up to 42 kms including the loop links (alternative routes) would easily help about 4 lakh passengers commute daily.
A significant move in the direction was that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation submitted the revised DPR (detailed project report) to the committee which would now discuss it in detail and forward it for cabinet approval. The committee gave a green signal to the construction of the North-South Corridor.
The metro tracks would be designed to sustain a maximum speed of up to 80 kmph. However, the scheduled speed for metro on N-S Corridor would be 34 kmph and for E-W Corridor would be 32 kmph. Total estimated completion cost (including cost escalation factor and Central taxes) for N-S Corridor would be Rs 6,757 crore and for E-W Corridor would be Rs 5,396 crore. Hence, the total estimated project cost is Rs 12,153 crore.
The fare collection system would be automatic through smart cards and POM. Metro rail would have two maintenance facilities-at Transport Nagar for N-S Corridor and at Vasnat Kunj Depot for E-W Corridor.
To execute the project, an SPV (special purpose vehicle) - 'Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation' is to be formed regarding which a proposal of memorandum of association and article of association was floated. A committee has been formed under the chairmanship of principal secretary of finance to review the proposal and submit its report to the high level committee over next 15 days.
The committee also approved conducting a techno-feasibility study of about 42 kms of the first phase of the project including the loop links (alternative corridors) namely Gomtinagar link, Tulsidas Marg, Subhash Marg, Mill Road and Ring Metro line by DMRC based on its terms of reference.
It has formed a high-level committee comprising principal secretaries of all related departments to inspect a proposed site at 32 battalion of PAC to create the depot for N-S corridor and give its approval in the next 15 days.
Also, the options of financial assistance through alternative resources presented by the sub-committee formed under the chairmanship of housing secretary and chairman of metro cell Rajiv Agarwal were discussed at the meeting. It was decided that approval would be sought from the departments concerned and submitted to the high-level committee.
The sub-committee proposed that the stamp duty of all properties lying within 500 metre of metro track on both sides shall be increased by 1% to avail necessary funding for metro's operation. Also, UP Bridge corporation has been deployed to carry out geo-tech exploration of the project at a later stage.

ALLAHABAD: A new reservation counter has started operating at Allahabad city railway station, popularly known among denizens as Rambagh station of North Eastern Railway (NER) division. Counter number 296 can be used by passengers, provided he/she is among the passengers and comes with identity card. Called as self-reservation counter, it is the fourth reservation counter of Rambagh (Allahabad City) station. The counter had started functioning from July 13 this year and slowly becoming popular among passengers, who can avail the facility but with a rider that the person who comes at the reservation window should come with his or her identity card and his or her name should be among the passengers for whom the reservation is being done. The counter, which had been opened by the efforts of chief commercial manager of NER Arvind Kumar and senior divisional commercial manager C L Shah, functions between 10 am and 12 noon. The passengers can get normal as well as tatkal tickets being done from the counter.

"This counter is of immense help as it is free from touts like other counters," said Anurag Nepali. The idea should be implemented in most of the reservation counters and the corruption and inconvenience faced by the passengers would come down drastically, he added.

Another passenger said: "The counter has started functioning for around ten days and a large number of people are not aware of this facility. The timings should be extended."

COIMBATORE: Railway users here have reiterated their demand for creation of entry-exit point near the second subway to ease congestion in the main entrance.

Coimbatore Railway Users Welfare Association president Jameel Ahmed said that a signature campaign has been planned in August to urge the railway authorities for creation of additional entry-exit point as well as augmentation of facilities that are long pending. "We aim to collect at least one lakh signatures from the rail passengers and to submit it to the railway authorities", he said.

It may be noted that even though the second way is put to use people will continue to use the eastern and western entrances, and so the very purpose of the second subway that is to ease congestion in the entrances will not be solved.

Earlier Coimbatore MP and Railway Struggle Committee convenor P R Natarajan had asked the district collector M Karunagaran to take necessary steps to hand over government land at Thomas Club to the railway authorities so that an additional entry-exit point can be created.

Apart from seeking additional entrance, the signature campaign is planned also with the demand for providing amenties like battery cars, escalators and elevators at key points in the railway station. "Railway authorities have promised it much earlier and the assurances has missed several deadlines", he said and added that ultimately the passengers are affected.

South Western Railway has decidedto continue to run WEEKLY GARIB RATH EXPRESS

    SPECIAL TRAINSbetween BETWEENYESVANTPUR-JAIPUR-YESVANTPUR (Tr.Nos.06511/06512)

for 22Specials in each direction, as per the following details:--

Accordingly, Train No.06511 YESVANTPUR-JAIPUR WEEKLY GARIB RATH EXPRESS SPECIAL will depart at YESVANTPURat 05-10 hrs., on SUNDAYS, commencingfrom04th August, 2013to 29th December, 2013 (Total : 22 Specials ) and arrive atJAIPUR station at 03-50 hrs., o­n Tuesday.

En route, the Weekly Garib Rath Express Special will arrive/depart at Tumkur at 06-08/06-10 hrs; Arsikere at 07-40/07-45 hrs; Birur at 08-33/08-35 hrs., Davangere at 10-27/10-30 hrs; Haveri at 12-25/12-27 hrs; HUBLI at 13-50/14-15 hrs; Gadag at 16-35/16-45 hrs; Bagalkot at 18-45/18-50 hrs; Bijapur at 21-00/21-05 hrs; depart at Hotgi at 23-35 hrs; Solapur at 00-05/00-15 hrs. (Monday);Khurduwadi at 01-20/01-22 hrs; depart at Daund at 03-45 hrs; PUNE at 04-55/05-15 hrs; Lonavala at 06-09/06-12 hrs; Kalyan at 07-45/07-48 hrs; Vasai Road at 09-05/09-10 hrs; Vapi at 10-42/10-44 hrs; Valsad at 11-09/11-11 hrs; Surat at 12-10/12-15 hrs; Vadodara at 14-10/14-20 hrs; Anand at 14-54/14-56 hrs; Nadiad at 15-15/15-17 hrs; depart at Geratpur at 15-47 hrs; AHMEDABAD at 16-10/16-30 hrs; Sabarmati at 16-45/16-47 hrs; Mehsana at 17-37/17-40 hrs; Palanpur at 19-20/19-22 hrs; Abu Road at 20-05/20-15 hrs; Falna at 21-46/21-48 hrs; Marwar Junction at 22-52/22-57 hrs; AJMER at 01-30/01-40 hrs; depart at Madar at 02-00 hrs; and arrive/depart at Kishangarh at 02-16/02-18 hrs.

In the return direction, Train No. 06512 JAIPUR-YESVANTPUR WEEKLY GARIB RATH EXPRESS SPECIAL will depart at JAIPUR at 15-30 hrs. on TUESDAYS, commencing from 06thAugust, 2013 to 31st December, 2013 (Total : 22 Specials)and arrive atYESVANTPURat 15-10 hrs., o­n Thursdays.


En route, the Weekly Garib Rath Express Special will arrive/depart at Kishangarh at 16-50/16-52 hrs; depart at Madar at 17-19 hrs; AJMER at 17-30/17-40 hrs; Marwar Junction at 19-38/19-40 hrs; Falna at 20-20/20-22 hrs; Abu Road at 22-00/22-10 hrs; Palanpur at 23-38/23-40 hrs; Mehsana at 00-55/00-57 hrs; Sabarmati at 02-30/02-32 hrs; AHMEDABAD at 03-10/03-30 hrs; depart at Geratpur at 03-50 hrs; Nadiad at 04-11/04-13 hrs; Anand at 04-30/04-32 hrs; Vadodara at 05-10/05-20 hrs; Surat at 07-38/07-43 hrs; Valsad at 08-36/08-38 hrs; Vapi at 08-53/08-55 hrs; Vasai Road at 10-50/11-00 hrs; Kalyan at 12-30/12-35 hrs; Lonavala at 14-10/14-15 hrs; PUNE at 15-30/15-45 hrs; depart at Daund at 16-50 hrs; arrive/depart at Khurduwadi at 17-52/17-54 hrs;SOLAPUR at 19-40/19-50 hrs; depart at Hotgi at 20-10 hrs; Bijapur at 23-10/23-15 hrs; Bagalkot at 01-20/01-25 hrs; Gadag at 03-35/03-50 hrs; HUBLI at 06-30/06-50 hrs; Haveri at 07-48/07-50 hrs; Davangere at 09-00/09-02 hrs; Birur at 10-38/10-40 hrs; Ariskere at 11-40/11-45 hrs; and arrive/depart at Tumkur at 14-02/14-04 hrs.

The WeeklyGaribRath ExpressSpecial hastotal 18 Coaches, consisting ofSixteen AC 3-tier coaches andTwo MotorCars.

*****
(Office of the General Manager, Public Relations Branch, South Western Railway, Hubli-23)

Silchar, July 25:The cost of 201km gauge conversion project between Lumding junction in Nagaon district and Silchar has now ballooned to a whopping Rs 4,255 crore from an estimated Rs 648 crore when this vital infrastructure project got off to a start in 1996. Further delay in its completion is not ruled out.
Quoting from what he claimed to be official documents prepared between September 2010 and July 2013, spokesman for the Assam unit of the BJP Rajdeep Roytoday told reporters here that this cost and time overrun were by no means “unpardonable”.
He attributed the delay in execution of the project, which was earlier slated for completion by 2006, to technical glitches, steep gradient in the hill sections of the track through Dima Hasao district and insurgency there between 2006 and 2009.
Roy wondered as to why such problems were not properly addressed in the past when more such challenging tasks like laying broad gauge track between Udhampur and Baramulla in Kashmir could be carried out smoothly.
He said though the deadline for completion of the project has now been re-fixed for February 2015, possible lack of funds for its implementation could be an impediment.
The BJP leader said though Rs 127crore has been allotted in the current fiscal, only Rs 7 crore could be sanctioned till now indicating a possible funds crunch.
Roy also expressed doubts whether release of the special allocation of Rs 200 crore as assured by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 18 could be realised.
Roy made it clear that the new deadline could be difficult to meet considering the fact that since 1996 only 57 per cent of the target could be completed till last month.
He said the slow progress in building tunnels 7 and 10 near Jatinga and Mahur stations in Dima Hasao district by two construction majors was the main reason for the delay. Tunnel number 10 is 3,235 metres long and 1,540 metres have been constructed till June.
This was revealed in an affidavit submitted to the division bench of Gauhati High Court comprising Chief Justice A.K. Goel and Justice A.K. Goswami in May by deputy chief engineer (construction) of NFR, Raj Kumar Das.
The project envisages construction of 20 tunnels on this railway line, but most difficult of these tunnels are numbers 7, 10, 11 and 10(a).
Leak of methane gas while digging now appears to be a stumbling block in wrapping up construction on these lines within the timeframe.

लखनऊ । लखनऊ-प्रतापगढ़ के बीच डीएमयू चालू करने की मंजूरी रेलवे बोर्ड ने दे दी है। यह डीएमयू सप्ताह में छह दिन चलेगी। पूरे रूट पर यह 24 स्टेशनों पर रुकेगी। इसकी समय सारिणी और ठहरावों को भी रेलवे मुख्यालय ने सोमवार को स्वीकृति दे दी। मंडल रेल प्रशासन अब इसे चालू करने के लिए हरी झण्डी दिखाने वाले वीआईपी की तलाश कर रहा है।

रेल बजट में लखनऊ से सुल्तानपुर और हरदोई तक रेल विद्युतीकरण के कारण मेमू ट्रेन चलाने की घोषणा की थी। जबकि रेल विद्युतीकरण न होने पर लखनऊ से प्रतापगढ़ के बीच डीजल मोटर यूनिट (डीएमयू) ट्रेन 74201/02 का संचालन किया जाना है। मंडल रेल प्रशासन की मांग पर उत्तरी सीमांत रेलवे ने डीएमयू की बोगियां शुक्रवार को लखनऊ भेज दीं। इस डीएमयू को चलाने की अनुमति के लिए मंडल रेल प्रशासन ने रेलवे बोर्ड को पत्र लिखा था। सोमवार को बोर्ड ने डीएमयू संचालन की अनुमति दे दी है अब मंडल रेल प्रशासन इसे झंडी दिखाने के लिए एक वीआईपी की तलाश कर रहा है। रेलवे बोर्ड के अधिकारिक सूत्रों के मुताबिक डीएमयू को झंडी दिखाने के लिए रेल मंत्री के अलावा उत्तर प्रदेश कांग्रेस के एक बड़े नेता का समय मांगा गया है। उनकी ओर से स्वीकृति मिलने तक डीएमयू की बोगियों को चारबाग स्टेशन के यार्ड में रखा जाएगा। आठ बोगियों वाली डीएमयू से प्रतिदिन करीब छह सौ यात्री प्रतापगढ़ तक सफर कर सकेंगे। रविवार को डीएमयू का संचालन नहीं होगा।

Central Railway

Press Release

MEGA BLOCK o­n 28.7.2013



Central Railway will operate Mega Block o­n its suburban sections for carrying out maintenance work o­n Sunday 28.7.2013.



1)  o­n UP FAST LINE BETWEEN MULUND AND MATUNGA STATIONS

    FROM 11.00 AM TO 3.30 PM.



Up fast line services leaving Thane from 11.21 am to 3.25 pm will be diverted o­n Up slow line between Mulund and Matunga stations halting at all stations between Mulund and Sion stations and further diverted o­n Up fast line from Matunga. These services will reach destination 20 minutes behind schedule.



All Dn fast line services leaving Mumbai CST from 11.15 am to 2.51 pm will halt at Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup and Mulund stations in addition to their scheduled halts and arrive their destination 15 minutes behind schedule.



All slow suburban services arriving & leaving Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus between 12.00 noon to 5.00 pm will arrive their destination 15 minutes behind schedule. 

     

2) UP AND DN HARBOUR LINES BETWEEN KURLA AND MANKHURD STATIONS

  FROM 11.10 AM TO 3.00 PM.



Dn Harbour line services towards Panvel/Belapur/Vashi leaving Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus from 10.23 am to 3.01 pm and Up Harbour line services towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus leaving Panvel/Belapur/Vashi from 10.20 am to 3.04 pm will remain suspended.

 

However, Special trains will be run o­n Chhatrpati Shivaji Terminus-Kurla and Mankhurd-Panvel sections during the block period. In addition to above, 8 special local trains will run between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Panvel via Main Line / Trans Harbour Line. These locals will run via Main Line between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Thane halting at Masjid, Sandhurst Road, Byculla, Dadar and Kurla and further via Trans Harbour Line halting at all stations between Thane and Panvel as under-



CSTM-PANVEL SPECIAL TRAINS (VIA THANE)

Special      CST Dep.      Thane Dep.    Panvel Arr

SPL-1        10.31 hrs    11.21 hrs      12.14 hrs.

SPL-3        11.40 hrs    12.30 hrs      13.23 hrs

SPL-5        12.53 hrs    13.43 hrs      14.36 hrs

SPL-7        13.49 hrs    14.39 hrs      15.32 hrs



PANVEL-CSTM SPECIAL TRAINS (VIA THANE)

Special      Panvel Dep.    Thane Dep.    CST Arr.

SPL-2        10.35 hrs      11.28 hrs      12.18 hrs

SPL-4        11.24 hrs      12.17 hrs      13.09 hrs

SPL-6        12.45 hrs      13.38 hrs      14.28 hrs

SPL-8        13.42 hrs      14.35 hrs      15.25 hrs

Due to these blocks, suburban locals will be running behind schedule. As a result of this, suburban trains are likely to be more crowded than usual. Passengers are requested not to take any risks while travelling. They are also requested to avoid travelling o­n foot board, roof top of locals and not to board extremely over crowded trains.

Passengers are requested to bear with the Railway Administration for the inconvenience caused.

-------------------------

Date: July 26, 2013

This news comes to you from Public Relations Department, Central Railway, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai. 

1 Hindi Press Release (164 KB)