ProUI

25-07-2013
SWR

Press Note No. 83dt. 19-07-2013

RAILWAYSTO EXTEND TRAIN NOS. 12577/12578 DARBANGA-BANGALORE CITY-DARBANGA WEEKLY BHAGMATI EXPRESS TO MYSORE

Ministry of Railwayshave decided to extend Train Nos.12577/12578 DARBANGA-BANGALORE CITY-DARBANGA WEEKLY BHAGMATI EXPRESS to MYSORE as per the following details:--
The timings in the extended portion are as follows:-
I.Accordingly,Train No.12577 DARBANGA-MYSORE WEEKLY BHAGMATI EXPRESS
will depart at DARBANGA at 16-10 hrs.on Tuesdays, commencing from 23rd July, 2013 and arrive at MYSORE at 23-35 hrs. on Thursdays.
En route, the Weekly Express train will arrive/depart at Bangalore City at 20-55/21-10 hrs; Kengeri at 21-28/21-29 hrs; and arrive/depart at Mandya at 22-38/22-40 hrs., on Thursdays.
In the return direction, Train No.12578 MYSORE-DARBANGA WEEKLY BHAGMATI EXPRESSwill depart at MYSORE at 07-20 hrs. On Saturdays, commencing from 27thJuly, 2013 and arrive at DARBANGA at 14-25 hrs. on Mondays.
En route, the Weekly Expresswill arrive/depart atMandya at 07-58 hrs.;Kengeri at 09-19/09-20 hrs; and arrive/depart at BANGALORE CITY at 09-55/10-10 hrs. on Saturdays.
II.Train Nos.56514/56513 BANGALORE CITY-NAGERCOIL-BANGALORE CITY DAILY PASSENGERTOKARAIKAL:
The timings in the extended portion are as follows:-
Accordingly, Train No.56514 BANGALORE CITY- KARAIKAL DAILY PASSENGER will depart at BANGALORE CITY at 07-15 hrs. with effect from 19th July, 2013and arrive at KARAIKAL at 22-300 hrs., o­n the same day.En route, it will arrive/depart at NAGORE at 21-48/21-50 hrs.
In the return direction, Train No.56513 KARAIKAL-BANGALORE CITYDAILY PASSENGER will depart at KARAIKAL at 03-40 hrs., with effect from 20th July, 2013 and arrive at BANGALORE CITY at 19-00 hrs., o­n the same day.En route, it will arrive/depart atNAGORE at 03-58/04-00 hrs.
******
(Office of the General Manager, Public Relations Branch, SWR, Keshwapur, Hubli – 23)

For the convenience of the passengers, Railway has decided to introduce new Daily Link Intercity Express train No. 23345/23346 between Shaktinagar and Varanasi from 26.07.2013 as per the under-mentioned details:-

The 23345 Varanasi- Shaktinagar Daily Link Intercity Express train will depart from Varanasiat 02.10 p.m. to reach Shaktinagar at 09.45 p.m. the same day. In the return direction, the 23346 Shaktinagar- Varanasi Daily Link Intercity Express train will depart from Shaktinagar at 05.15 a.m. to reach Varanasi at 01.00 p.m. the same day.


Comprising of o­ne A.C. Chair Car, Four General Class and Two Disabled Friendly Second Class cum luggage van coaches, the 23345/23346 Shaktinagar- Varanasi- Shaktinagar Daily Link Intercity Express train will stop at Krishnashila, Karalia Road, Obradan and Chopan enroute in both the directions.


Consequently, the composition of 13345/13346 Shakti Nagar-Varanasi-Shakti Nagar Express will also be revised from 26.7.2013 as the composition of 23345/23346 Shakti Nagar-Varanasi-Shakti Nagar Daily Link Intercity Express, i.e. o­ne A.C. Chair Car, Four General Class and Two Disabled Friendly Second Class cum luggage van coaches.

The moustaches were unmistakable, so was the baritone. Not to mention the cheeky — not sheepish — smile that is louder than a thousand words when you are somewhere you are not supposed to be but are assured that no harm will come to you.
All of which looked business as usual yesterday in the ladies’ compartment of the Delhi-Howrah Janata Express, the same train in which a man terrorised a TCS employee so much on Sunday that she either leaped or fell from the moving train.
At Asansol station yesterday, many male passengers were boarding in ladies’ compartment of Janata Express (13040 Down), which rolled into 12.52pm at platform 5, a stone’s throw from the Government Railway Police post.
At least 20 male passengers were already occupying the seats. Another four or five male passengers jostled with one another to board the compartment — in full view of a GRP patrol.
Other than the word “LADIES” stencilled on the door, there was little to suggest that the compartment is reserved for a particular group. The men outnumbered the five women and two minor boys.
Two youths were sprawled on the seats and a third was sitting, all busy chatting. Asked whey they had boarded the ladies’ compartment, one of them retorted: “What is wrong in it?”
Then he explained the reason. “We are going to see a relative admitted to a hospital in Calcutta. This compartment is almost empty and we found a good place to sit as well as lie down. We are not disturbing anybody. What is your problem? Is any lady passenger not getting a seat?”
Another man, Sambhu Mahato, a labourer, asked: “Is it (the bogie) only meant for ladies?”
He said he “did not know that because I found so many men inside when I boarded this train at Jhajha (in Jharkhand). All along the way no one told me so and neither did anyone stop me from entering the compartment or tell me to get off.”
The men seemed to be unaware that travel by male adults in a ladies’ compartment under any circumstance is a punishable offence and can be fined between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
Some lady passengers said male passengers are a regular fixture. “We choose the ladies’ compartment when we are travelling alone because it is supposed to be free of male passengers and safe for us. But inreality, it is not so. At every station, male passengers are boarding or getting off and there is no guard to stop them. We don’t protest forfear of harassment,” said a woman going to Calcutta where her husband works.
Asked whether she was aware of Sunday’s incident, she said: “The law enforcers have not learnt a lesson from that day. Male passengers are sitting freely in the ladies’ coach and the GRP personnel patrolling on the platform turning a blind eye. Whatwill happen to us?”
Seconds before the train left the station, it was proved how easily the problem can be tackled. Asked by this correspondent why they were not doing anything, a GRP team entered the bogie and several male passengers got off ina hurry.
Jayanta Dutta, inspector-in-charge,GRP, Asansol, directed a couple of constables to go to the ladies’ compartment to check if there were men inside. “I didn’t know about this,” Dutta said. “I’ll have this checked.”
As soon as the GRP constables entered the compartment, the youths lying sprawled on their seats, who had earlier refused to disclose their names, quickly got off through another door.
“See, these people know that they are violating the rules. That is why they got off,” a constable said.
Following the youths’ cue, several other male passengers also quickly slipped out.
But about four or five men refused to budge. The GRP constables rounded them up and hustled them to the GRP office, apparently to fine them.
But as the train began to slowly pull out, fruitseller Baburam from Jharkhand, who was accompanying his wife and two children and who had got off when the GRP constables had come for inspection, quickly jumped on to the moving train.
“We will see what happens in the next station,” Baburam said.
Junior railway minister, Adhir Chowdhury said the GRP was tasked with ensuring passenger safety in trains. “The force is under the control of state government. We have repeatedly told the state government to ensure that GRP step up vigil and prevent male intruders from entering ladies bogie,” Chowdhury toldThe Telegraph.
Milan Kanto Das superintendent of railway police, Howrah, said the force was now running short of manpower because of the panchayat elections.
“We frequently check the ladies’ compartments and fine the offenders. It is not mandatory to deploy guard in ladies’ compartment in daytime. We provide armed guard in some trains running at night,” he said.

At least 77 people died in Wednesday's train crash in the northern Spanish region of Galicia, a spokeswoman for Galicia's supreme court said.

Four died in hospital, the rest at the site of the accident, the spokeswoman said on Thursday morning, adding that the numbers were still provisional. Judges in Spain are responsible for recording deaths.
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डीयू में नए सत्र के पहले दिन कॉलेज जाने वाले छात्रों को परेशानियों का भी सामना करना पड़ा। विश्वविद्यालय मेट्रो स्टेशन से छात्रा मार्ग, आर्ट फैकल्टी से किरोड़ीमल कॉलेज तक कई बार लंबा जाम लगा।
रामजस कॉलेज में फिजिक्स ऑनर्स में प्रवेश लेने वाले छात्र भूपेन्द्र ने बताया कि सुबह से ही जाम लगने से दूर से आए छात्रों को काफी परेशानी हुई। जाम खत्म करने के लिए यातायात पुलिसकर्मी भी नहीं मौजूद थे। इसी कॉलेज में पलवल से आए सोनू ने बताया कि छात्र नेताओं की कतार में जा रही गाड़ियों के कारण कई जगहों पर जाम लगा। पैदल जाने के रास्ते पर भी लोग बाइक दौड़ा रहे हैं।
मेट्रो में जाने वाले छात्रों काभी बुरा हाल रहा। छात्र लंबी लाइन लगाकर टोकन के लिए खड़े रहे। छात्रों का आरोप था कि विश्वविद्यालय मेट्रो स्टेशन पर छात्रों की अधिक भीड़ रहती है, लेकिन यहां टोकन के लिए अतिरिक्त काउंटर नहीं लगाए गए हैं। गुरु तेगबहादुर खालसा कॉलेज के छात्र हरगुन भाटिया ने बताया, मैं गुड़गांव से आया हूं। खालसा कॉलेज में इकोनॉमिक्स ऑनर्स में दाखिला लिया है। मुझे मेट्रो स्टेशन पर देर तक लाइन लगाने के बाद टोकन मिला।
कुछ ऐसी ही शिकायत पार्थ की थी। पार्थ ने बताया कि मेट्रो में चढ़ना अन्य राज्यों से आए लोगों के लिए रोमांचकारी है। हम बाहर से आए हैं इससे यात्रा करने से समय की बचत तथा सुविधा होती है। लेकिन यहां टोकन लेना मुश्किल है।

At least 77 people died in Wednesday's train crash in the northern Spanish region of Galicia, a spokeswoman for Galicia's supreme court said.

Four died in hospital, the rest at the site of the accident, the spokeswoman said on Thursday morning, adding that the numbers were still provisional. Judges in Spain are responsible for recording deaths.
see more ...

24-07-2013
Secunderabad
Shri Devi Prasad Pande takes charge as Member Traffic, Railway Board, New Delhi and ex-officio Secretary to Govt. of India


Shri Devi Prasad Pande, General Manager, South Central Railway has been posted as Member Traffic, Railway Board, New Delhi and ex-officio Secretary to Govt. of India. He has taken charge of the assignment o­n 23rdJuly, 2013.

Born o­n 15th January, 1955 at Kanpur, Shri D.P. Pande did his MA in Modern History from Allahabad University. An Officer of Indian Railways Traffic Service (IRTS) of 1976 batch, Shri D.P. Pande has rich and varied experience in Operations and Commercial branches and has held several important executive and managerial posts o­n Indian Railways.

Shri D.P. Pande has handled several key posts in Railway Board including as Executive Director/Traffic Transportation (Movement), Advisor (Marketing & Logistics), Advisor/Traffic Transportation (Movement), Executive Director/Planning and Additional Member (Traffic). During his tenure as Executive Director/Planning, Shri D.P. Pande dealt with subjects pertaining to Five Year Plans, Corporate Plans, Annual Plans and formulation of Budget of Indian Railways etc.

Shri D.P. Pande also held various other posts including as Dy. Chief Operations Manager, Chief Passenger Traffic Manager and Chief Freight Traffic Manager in Northern Railway and Divisional Railway Manager, Bhopal Division.

His stint o­n South Central Railway led to optimal levels of efficiency in train working and productivity leading to a significant improvement o­n various fronts. During this period, he introduced several innovations in the working systems. His proactive approach has contributed to the Zone embarking o­n major plans to enhance passenger amenities and services.

Shri D.P. Pande is the recipient of the prestigious Railway Ministers Award. He is an avid reader and has keen interest in writing and sporting activities.

The Darbhanga-Bangalore Bagmati Express (Train No. 12577) has been extended to run up to Mysore, with effect from Tuesday (July 23).The train will depart from Darbhanga every Tuesday at 4.10 p.m. and arrive/depart Vijayawada at 7.10 a.m./7.30 a.m. on Thursdays, arrive/depart Bangalore at 8.55 p.m./9.10 p.m., Kengeri at 9.28 p.m./9.29 p.m., Mandya at 10.38 p.m./10.40 p.m. and arrive at Mysore at 11.35 p.m. on Thursday.In the return direction, Bangalore-Darbhanga Express (Train No. 12578) is extended to run up to Mysore with effect from (Saturday) July 27. The express train will depart from Mysore on Saturdays at 07.20 a.m. and arrive/depart Mandya at 07.59 a.m./08.00 a.m., Kengeri at 09.19 a.m./09.20 a.m., Bangalore at 09.55 a.m./10.10 a.m. and arrive/depart Vijayawada at 10.55p.m./11.05 p.m. and arrive at Darbhanga at 2.25 p.m. on Mondays.

With effect from September 10, the Visakhapatnam-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Mumbai) (Train No. 22819) will be revised as Train No. 18519. This train will start from Visakhapatnam on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11.30 p.m. and arrive at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Mumbai) at 4.40 a.m. the next day.

In the return direction, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) (Mumbai) (Train No. 22820) has been revised as Train No. 18520. It will depart LTT-Mumbai on Friday and Monday at 06.55 a.m. and arrive at Visakhapatnam at 11.15 a.m. the next day. The new schedule will come into effect from September 12.

With effect from September 8, the days of service for Bhubneswar-Tirupati Superfast Express (Train No. 22871) has been revised it will start at Bhubneswar on Sundays instead of Saturdays. In the return direction, the Tirupati-Bhubneswar Superfast Express (Train No. 22872), with effect from September 9, will start from Tirupati on Mondays instead of Sundays.

The ongoing renovation work at the Chandigarh railway station will be completed by the end of this year in a phased manner. All the proposals mooted in the last budget like installation of escalators, changing the facade of the station and additional waiting rooms are expected to be completed by December. The work is progressing at a slow pace over the past few months.The work for installation of escalators and extension of the foot overbridge that is currently going on at the station is likely to be completed by December. Once completed, the escalator with footbridge that is being extended towards the entrance of the station will ensure that passengers going to other platforms need not cross the platform 1 to board trains.

At present, work on installation of escalators and extension of the foot overbridge is on. Two escalators are to be installed at the station. Construction work started a few months back but reportedly slowed down after the former railway minister Pawan Bansal's resignation following the rail bribery scam.

The escalators arrived at the station a few months ago and are awaiting installation. The foot overbridge that is under construction will be extended on either side of the station. It would reduce the pressure on other platforms as the passengers who arrive at platforms other than 1 or 5 can exit without crossing it.

With the work to install false ceiling at the platforms being under way, passengers will soon get a hassle-free sitting area. Earlier, passengers had to face the problem of bird droppings with a large number of birds, especially pigeons present at the platform, who made the roof over the shelter their home.

When asked about the reasons for the delay in the completion of the projects, Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala Division, P K Sanghi said, "This year monsoon came earlier than expected. So the construction work got disrupted. We have paced up the work. The false ceiling of the platform will be completed in a month and other projects will be also completed by December."He added, "We have recently installed electronic display chart for the convenience of passengers. We are planning to introduce more such facilities in future."

ITANAGAR: India's longest bridge coming up across the mighty Brahmaputra at Bogibeel in Assam is not only expected to be a lifeline for the Northeast, but will also strengthen the country's security.Scheduled to be completed in 2016, the 4.94 km rail-cum-road bridge, a product of the 1985 Assam Accord and being implemented by the North East Frontier Railway, will provide connectivity to upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and cut down the distance to the border with China by 10 hours.Railway officials said that the rail link would connect two existing railway networks running at south bank and north bank of the river.It starts from Chaulkhowa station and Moranhat station at south bank and joins in between Sisibargaon station and Siripani station of Rangiya-Murkongselek section in north bank.Right now it takes one and a half hours to cross the river, but once the bridge is inaugurated, the travel time will be reduced to a few minutes.Besides, movement of goods will also be possible on a larger scale.Railway officials said the bridge would strengthen national security by way of truncating distance to reach the China border during movement of troops and supplies.But not all are happy. As the completion of the bridge draws near, over 100 boatmen families are spending sleepless nights over fear that it will jeopardise their sources of income.

For Munna Singh, Brojen Doley, Rajesh Chowdhury and other majhis, it will be tough finding an alternative means of livelihood inheriting their profession from generations far into the past.

"I don't know what to do ....the fear of closing my ferry service always haunts me. How will I manage a regular income?" Munna Singh, who owns two country boats and is presently earning around Rs 15,000 per month, despairs.

Similar is the condition of Brojen Doley who owns a boat that ferries private vehicles of people from Arunachal Pradesh.

"I have no permit of the Inland Water Transport department of Assam to ferry passengers. I only managed a permit to ferry vehicles for only once a day, enabling me to earn a paltry amount," Doley said.

However, the chief engineer of the bridge project, Ajit Pandit, said that the boatmen's fear was unfounded.

"Even after the bridge is complete the ferry service will not be discontinued because there are many local people who will prefer river route to the land route in order to shorten distances to their homes," Pandit explained.

Besides, he said, once the bridge is complete, the economy of the area will improve and employment avenues will be created for the local people.

Pandit said the bridge, situated 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh city, would be the lifeline of the Northeast by opening connectivity between the north and south of the Brahmaputra river in the eastern region of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The border of Arunachal Pradesh is just over 20 km from the northern bank.

The foundation of the bridge was laid in 2002 and the project was supposed to be completed in six years, but lack of funds and attention kept it idle till 2007 when it was given national status.

The national status meant that the Union Finance Ministry provided 75 per cent funds for the project, while 25 per cent was to be borne by the Railways.

Pandit said that besides funds, rains also proved a big stumbling block.

"In the city of Dibrugarh in Assam, it rains eight months a year. So any construction activity, especially on the Brahmaputra River, is a challenge," he explained.

Practically, his team gets to work for only four months in a year - from November to March.

The project flows from the Assam Accord signed in August 15, 1985, between the centre and the representatives of the All Assam Students Union and the Asom Gana Sangram Parishad that had spearheaded a decade-long movement against the influx of Bangladeshis into the northeastern state.

Talking to PTI at the project site, Pandit admitted to cost escalation as well. "The rise in the cost of cement and steel are also factors responsible for the cost escalation."

The construction work of the sub-structure of the bridge was awarded to Gammon India in April, 2008 while the work on the superstructure was awarded partially to Hindustan Construction Company, DSD, a German company, and Bangalore- based VNR.