ProUI

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.

SINDI (RAILWAY): Harried railway passengers can now heave a sigh of relief with trains beginning to roll on the second track damaged by rains last Friday near Sindi in Wardha district. Last six days must have perhaps seen the biggest detention of trains in Indian Railways.

The first train to pass through the newly repaired up line (towards Mumbai) was Gondia-Kolhapur Maharashtra Express at 11.30am n Thursday. Since then, at least 15 more had passed till 5pm through the 360 metres restored tracks damaged due to flooding in Pipra nullah near Sindi Railway. However, both tracks are still not fit for operating loaded freight trains.

The down line (towards Nagpur) was restored after 60 hours on Monday morning. It took over 134 hours to ready the up line due to continuing rains. Till Thursday, a limited number of trains was moving on down line and at least three were cancelled while three operated partially. Besides, eight trains were diverted. For the next few days, trains may continue to run late due to diversions and rescheduling.

By Thursday afternoon, all passenger trains started moving on both lines on the affected patch at speed of 15-20 kmph. Most trains that were diverted via Itarsi, Khandwa and Bhusawal besides Badnera, Amravati and Narkhed passed through Sindi Railway on Thursday. Though both the tracks have been restored, they are tracks still at lower than usual level. Central Railway divisional railway manager (DRM) Brijesh Dixit showed mediamen the enormity of the tast. Senior divisional safety officer (SrDSO) S K Solanki and senior divisional mechanical engineer (SrDME) Rajesh Dwivedi were also present.

"Now that the up line has been set right, we will take a 17-hour block beginning Thursday night to bring the down line to proper level." The railways have not withdrawn earthmoving machines and men from the site, in case there's another emergency. Dixit said around 800-1000 men were still at work in different shifts.

The huge 5.50 to 3.5 metres gap beneath the hanging tracks was filled. It required around 20,000 cubic metre material including boulders, soil and ballast. Around 500 wagons of material was utilized and more of it will be required to level the tracks, said Dixit.

Asked if the danger could not have been anticipated, Dixit said, "It happened out of the blue. Never in the history had the spot given in. There is list of 40 such vulnerable places in Nagpur division where regular monitoring is done. Pipri nullah turned out to be an exception and has now been added to the list."

The disaster put huge financial burden on railways and the overall loss of passenger and freight trains detention, diversion cost besides expenses towards restoration of tracks may be around Rs100 crore. In the last five days, railways refunded Rs85 lakh to passengers towards cancellation of tickets.

Srinagar : Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL), a Bharti subsidiary, has entered into a tie-up with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited to offer railway bookings through airtel money.With this, an estimated 20 million commuters travelling by rail every day in India will now be able to enjoy the convenience of booking tickets through their mobile phones via airtel money.Dharmender Khajuria, COO, Bharti Airtel J&K today at a press conference here said, “airtel money has been growing with every passing day due to its relevant use ranging from bill payments, recharges, money transfer. It is our constant endeavour to add options for our customers which appeal to a vast audience across geography and demography.” He said the IRCTC mobile bookings through airtel money is a simple, convenient, quicker and secure alternative to the conventional methods of booking via standing in reservation counter queues or booking it online. “The service works across all mobile devices, does not involve any data or SMS charges and uses a simple USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology that prompts users with interactive and guided menu options towards booking tickets.” Through this service, customers can not only make ticket bookings but also search for stations, trains, availability, PNR enquiry, cancellation etc.

To mention, to use the service the user must be a registered IRCTC user and your IRCTC profile should be updated with your airtel money number

•        Create IRCTC user ID if you don’t have one by visitingwww.irctc.co.in

•        As per railway reservation rules, booking services are not available between 0800 - 1200 hrs and 2330hrs - 0030 hrs

•        Post booking, ticket booking SMS will be sent by IRCTC which can be used while travelling along with one ID proof. No print out is required

How to make ticket STEP 1: Register instantly for airtel money express account through register option on *400#

STEP 2: Load cash in your airtel money account by visiting any airtel money outlet or online athttp://www.airtel.in/money/load_cash.html

STEP 3: Choose option “Book ticket” on *400# to start booking rail tickets

Sonepat: A gang of thieves stole a high-tension wire of around 400 m over the Ambala-Delhi railway track between Gannaur and the Rajlu Garhi railway station in the wee hours today.The wire was reportedly stolen around 3am, leading to disruption in train traffic for around six hours. Several trains, including six passenger trains, were delayed causing great inconvenience to daily commuters to Delhi. A team of railway engineers from Ambala reached the spot and started the restoration work. The rail traffic was back on the track by around 8am.A case against unidentified persons was registered at the Gannaur Railway police post.

KOCHI: Following labour trouble at construction sites, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is executing the Kochi Metro project, and the labour department have decided to keep a record of sub-contractors and labourers employed by them.This has been necessitated since is because the three main contractors have not provided such details. The labour department requires this information in case of accidents at work sites involving labourers.The over Rs 5,000-crore project is being implemented to a large extent largely through sub-contractors. While the DMRC only deals directly with the three main contractors - Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Soma Constructions and Era Infa Engineering Ltd - it does "not keep track of sub-contractors" involved in the construction of Metro. According to the labour department, only one sub-contractor has so far registered with them and they have no clue about the others involved in the construction. They do not even have figures of the number of workers involved.

Though sub-contracts are an accepted practice in the construction industry, both the principal employer and contractors have to register with the department. The labour department has decided to issue notice to the main contractors asking them to register with it and provide details on sub-contractors. It also claimed that since the Metro is a public sector undertaking, the project owner, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), was the principal employer. The Metro agency has to ensure their contractors are registered with the department.

While activities like conducting surveys, soil testing, chopping of trees, road widening and the like are done by sub-contractors, works such piling are generally executed by main contractors.

According to DMRC, when works that cost above Rs 50 lakh are awarded to sub-contractors, they have to be informed. "In the case of Kochi Metro, contractors such as L&T are involved in executing main works. Sub-contracts are the responsibility of main contractors and they have to ensure the quality of work undertaken by these agencies," said a DMRC spokesperson.

The Metro authority reiterated that irrespective of all contracts, they were responsible and accountable for safety measures adopted at construction sites.

Srinagar : Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL), a Bharti subsidiary, has entered into a tie-up with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited to offer railway bookings through airtel money.With this, an estimated 20 million commuters travelling by rail every day in India will now be able to enjoy the convenience of booking tickets through their mobile phones via airtel money.Dharmender Khajuria, COO, Bharti Airtel J&K today at a press conference here said, “airtel money has been growing with every passing day due to its relevant use ranging from bill payments, recharges, money transfer. It is our constant endeavour to add options for our customers which appeal to a vast audience across geography and demography.” He said the IRCTC mobile bookings through airtel money is a simple, convenient, quicker and secure alternative to the conventional methods of booking via standing in reservation counter queues or booking it online. “The service works across all mobile devices, does not involve any data or SMS charges and uses a simple USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology that prompts users with interactive and guided menu options towards booking tickets.” Through this service, customers can not only make ticket bookings but also search for stations, trains, availability, PNR enquiry, cancellation etc.

To mention, to use the service the user must be a registered IRCTC user and your IRCTC profile should be updated with your airtel money number

•        Create IRCTC user ID if you don’t have one by visitingwww.irctc.co.in

•        As per railway reservation rules, booking services are not available between 0800 - 1200 hrs and 2330hrs - 0030 hrs

•        Post booking, ticket booking SMS will be sent by IRCTC which can be used while travelling along with one ID proof. No print out is required

How to make ticket STEP 1: Register instantly for airtel money express account through register option on *400#

STEP 2: Load cash in your airtel money account by visiting any airtel money outlet or online athttp://www.airtel.in/money/load_cash.html

STEP 3: Choose option “Book ticket” on *400# to start booking rail tickets

KOCHI: Following labour trouble at construction sites, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is executing the Kochi Metro project, and the labour department have decided to keep a record of sub-contractors and labourers employed by them.This has been necessitated since is because the three main contractors have not provided such details. The labour department requires this information in case of accidents at work sites involving labourers.The over Rs 5,000-crore project is being implemented to a large extent largely through sub-contractors. While the DMRC only deals directly with the three main contractors - Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Soma Constructions and Era Infa Engineering Ltd - it does "not keep track of sub-contractors" involved in the construction of Metro. According to the labour department, only one sub-contractor has so far registered with them and they have no clue about the others involved in the construction. They do not even have figures of the number of workers involved.

Though sub-contracts are an accepted practice in the construction industry, both the principal employer and contractors have to register with the department. The labour department has decided to issue notice to the main contractors asking them to register with it and provide details on sub-contractors. It also claimed that since the Metro is a public sector undertaking, the project owner, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), was the principal employer. The Metro agency has to ensure their contractors are registered with the department.

While activities like conducting surveys, soil testing, chopping of trees, road widening and the like are done by sub-contractors, works such piling are generally executed by main contractors.

According to DMRC, when works that cost above Rs 50 lakh are awarded to sub-contractors, they have to be informed. "In the case of Kochi Metro, contractors such as L&T are involved in executing main works. Sub-contracts are the responsibility of main contractors and they have to ensure the quality of work undertaken by these agencies," said a DMRC spokesperson.

The Metro authority reiterated that irrespective of all contracts, they were responsible and accountable for safety measures adopted at construction sites.

Passengers could be able to board and disembark from trains at Patliputra railway station from Independence Day this year provided all the services are ready.

The station, which has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore, is expected to reduce the load on Patna Junction and Rajendra Nagar Terminus. Located 12km northwest of Patna Junction, it is ready to receive trains.

The commissioner of railway safety gave the green light for operation of trains from the station in November last year.

But passenger services are not ready yet.

A senior officer at the Danapur division of East Central Railway, who did not want to be named, said: “Patliputra railway station is ready for trains. There is no problem with that. But the passenger services are not ready at the station yet.”

Asked about the missing services, the officer said: “There are no shops and eateries at the station. Passengers have to be provided with this facility. Bids have been invited to open shops and bidders would be shortlisted soon.”

The station also does not have a cloakroom — a facility, which every station needs to have. Passengers keep their luggage in cloakrooms while they wait for trains. For 24 hours, passengers have to pay Rs 15 to use the cloakroom service.

Sources said pending work on other aspects of the station like modification of the parking space, booking-cum-reservation office (with bandwidth and routers provided by RailTel Corporation of India Limited – a Telecom PSU under Ministry of Railways and CRIS), enquiry counter, parcel office, and rooms for Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force, have been completed.

The officer said: “The railway would be very happy to open the station to the residents on Independence Day. But it all depends on the pending work being completed.”

The work is being done at a steady pace, he added.

Another important aspect that the railways need to look into before the station is opened is deputation of staff for the management of the station. At present, more than 350 trains pass through the two stations in Patna. Once ready, some of these trains would be able to use the new station at Patliputra.

Trains going towards Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad could pass through this station. It has parking space for 100 autos and 50 cars, a rest room for travelling ticket examiners, wooden benches on platforms and drinking water facility.

Lights have been installed at all three platforms, which can accommodate trains with up to 24 compartments.

ECR chief public relation officer Amitabh Prabhakar said: “The station will solve the problem of congestion of trains at Patna Junction. It will improve arrival and departure timing.”

The train number, days of Service and timings of  Visakhapatnam-Mumbai LTT Bi-weeklyExpress train will be  revised as detailed below:
Train No. 22819 / 22820 of Visakhapatnam-Mumbai LTT-Visakhapatnam bi-weekly Express will be revised as 18519 / 18520 Visakhapatnam-Mumbai LTT-Visakhapatnam Express with effect from 10th September, 2013 ex. Visakhapatnam  and  from 12th September,  2013 ex. Mumbai  LTT.

Train No. 18519 Visakhapatnam-Mumbai LTT bi-weekly Express will depart Visakhapatnam at 23 30 hrs instead of 08 45 hrs and arrive Mumbai LTT at 04 40 hrs o­n the  next day  instead of 11 05 hrs with effect from 10thSeptember, 2013.

In the return direction, Train No. 18520 Mumbai LTT-Visakhapatnam by-weekly Express will depart Mumbai LTT at 06 55 hrs instead of 12 25 hrs and arrive Visakhapatnam at 11 15 hrs. o­n the next day instead of 14 45 hrs with effect from 12th September 2013.

Similarly, the days of service will be also changed.  Train No. 18519 Visakhapatnam-Mumbai LTT bi-weekly Express will depart Visakhapatnam  o­n Wednesdays and Saturdays as existing whereas Train No. 18520 Mumbai LTT-Visakhapatnam by-weekly Express will depart Mumbai LTT o­n Fridays and Mondays instead of Thursdays and Sundays.