ProUI

MUMBAI: Thirty seven percent of the offences registered on Central Railway from January to May this year pertain to illegal travel in coaches reserved for the disabled. Figures compiled by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) also show that men caught travelling in ladies compartments accounted for a measly 3%.The city police recently issued a circular warning its personnel against commuting in coaches reserved for the disabled. This came after repeated letters penned by the RPF about altercations between plainclothed cops and disabled commuters inside coaches."The biggest deterrent would be a harsh fine, between Rs 1500-2000. Presently, there's no fear of the law amongst people travelling in disabled coaches as the maximum penalty is Rs 500. Certain railway courts levy penalties as low as Rs 200 or so. The very reason why commuters think twice before illegally boarding a first-class compartment is the large fine they would need to shell out," says Jeetubhai Karelia of the Disability Advocacy Group, which fights for disabled commuters' rights. The group intends to travel to Delhi next month to meet members of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment."Amongst the highest number of alarm-chain pulling instances are those reported in the disabled coach. This is because of overcrowding, a survey says these coaches are packed 134% beyong capacity. The railways have now allowed pregnant women and cancer patients to commute in the disabled coach, but they are often accompanied by their relatives as well which is illegal," adds Karelia.

Thirty three offenders were imprisoned for illegal travel in disabled coaches in the first five months of this year and Rs 17.69 lakh was netted in fines. The figures for unauthorized commute in ladies compartments are even lower, only two persons jailed and Rs 1.87 lakh netted in fines.

"We registered a total of 27,135 offences between January to May this year which is 18% higher than the records for the same period last year," said Alok Bohra, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF (CR).

The Indian Travellers’ Association (ITA) has urged the Union Railway Ministry to reintroduce the Dadar-Yeshwantpur Chalukya Express (Train no. 11017/11018) daily train.

The Ministry of Railways had extended Train No. 11017/11018 Dadar-Yeshwantpur-Dadar Chalukya Express (6 days a week) to Puducherry and Tirunelveli for 3 days a week each, from November 9, 2012.

Following the extension, the train had been re-numbered as Train nos. 11005/11006 Dadar-Puducherry-Dadar Express (Tri-Weekly) and Train nos. 11021/11022 Dadar-Tirunelveli-Dadar Express (Tri-Weekly).

In a letter to the Union Minister for Railways Mallikarjun Kharge, ITA spokesperson Uttam Osatiya said the extension of services had badly affected passengers from Karnataka, because the reservation quota of 18 stations on the Yeshwantpur-Hubli-Miraj rail route had been reduced. Passengers boarding from these stations were unable to get reservations in spite of vacancies from the originating stations.

As there was no alternative train, passengers were forced to travel by bus. Mr. Osatiya said passengers were buying tickets from Jolarpet or Salem and getting the boarding point changed to Hubli or Belgaum. They were paying Rs. 125 to Rs. 150 extra for sleeper class tickets, so as to get reservations.

The association requested the Railways Ministry to introduce a new train from Dadar/Mumbai CST to Yeshwantpur /Bangalore, like the previous one which had been running for the last 20 years.

Mr. Osatiya suggested that the new train could depart at 9.30 p.m. from Dadar and return from Yeshwantpur at 6.30 p.m., similar to the earlier timings.

The departure time of the Dadar-Puducherry/Tirunelveli could be changed from 9.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. from Dadar. On the return journey, the train could depart from Yeshwantpur at 5 a.m. to reach Mumbai at 5 a.m., he said.

If it was not possible to introduce another train, the Railways should attach six sleeper coaches, one 3-tier AC, and one 2-tier AC to Train nos. 11005/11006/11021/11022 and detach them at Yeshwantpur so that these coaches could cater to passengers from Karnataka, he said.

Mr. Osatiya has urged the Ministry to cancel the extension given to the Chalukya Express with immediate effect and run the train only up to Yeshwantpur so that it could benefit the people of the State, especially of north Karnataka.

नई दिल्ली से कानपुर की ओर जा रही ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस के पेंट्रो में मोर फंसने से ओएचई ट्रिप हो गई। इससे डाउन लाइन पर पीछे आ रही ट्रेनों को रोका गया। पेंट्रो से मृत मोर निकाले जाने पर करीब बीस मिनट तक डाउन लाइन पर रेल यातायात बाधित रहा।
नई दिल्ली से कानुपर की ओर आ रही ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस मंगलवार सुबह 6 बजे रूरा स्टेशन पर पहुंची तो अचानक उड़कर आया मोर पेंट्रो से टकराकर करंट की चपेट में आ गया। इससे तेज आवाज के साथ डाउन लाइन की ओएचई ट्रिप कर गई और ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस खड़ी हो गई। जानकारी पर पहुंचे रेल कर्मियों ने इंजन के पेंट्रो में मोर फंसा देखा और इलेक्ट्रिक सबस्टेशन को सूचना देकर आपूर्ति बंद रखने को कहा। इसके बाद इंजन के पेंट्रो में फंसे मृत मोर को निकालकर ओएचई आपूर्ति शुरू कराई। इस दौरान अंबियापुर स्टेशन से पहले मालगाड़ी व अन्य ट्रेनों को रोका गया। स्टेशन मास्टर जयराम वर्मा ने बताया कि पेंट्रो में मोर फंसने से ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस 6.10 बजे से 6.30 बजे तक खड़ी रही। वन कर्मियों को मृत मोर के बाबत सूचना दी गई है।

Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday that Karnataka lagged Bihar, Haryana and Assam as far as development of rail network was concerned. It was not even close to the level in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, he said.Mr. Kharge, who laid the foundation stone here for the Rs. 350-crore railway line doubling work between Gulbarga and Hotgi railway stations, said that while Karnataka had 16 per cent railway lines for every 1,000 sq km of area, Bihar, which topped the country, had 38 per cent railway lines for 1,000 sq km area.He said that Haryana and Assam were the two other States with high growth of railway infrastructure. While Haryana had 34 per cent of railway lines for every 1,000 sq km area, Assam had 31 per cent railway lines for every 1,000 sq km area. Andhra Pradesh had 19.4 per cent railway lines per 1,000 sq km and Maharashtra 18.20 per cent railway lines per 1,000 sq km.“It would be impossible for Karnataka to match the kind of development that had taken place in Bihar, Haryana or Assam. It would take a great amount of investment to match the railway infrastructure available in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh,” Mr. Kharge said.“I have very little time left before the next Lok Sabha elections but I have initiated steps to bridge the gap in railway infrastructure development in Karnataka,” he added. Mr. Kharge said that the line doubling between Gulbarga and Hotgi would help the Railways to increase the speed of existing trains and also run more new trains on the Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Bangalore route. This work would be completed within 30 months, he said.

He said that there was emphasis now on completing the long-pending railway projects, including the Gulbarga-Bidar railway line.

Mr. Kharge said that it had been decided to take up a survey to prepare a detailed project report for the proposed Wadi-Gadag new railway line to provide connectivity between Hyderabad Karnataka region and Mumbai Karnataka region. The project would be taken up on cost-sharing basis between the Union and State governments.

General Manager of Central Railways B.P. Khare welcomed the gathering. The former Chief Minister and MP N. Dharam Singh and MLC Allamprabhu Patil spoke.

Schedules of trains on Howrah-Mumbai route via Tatanagar went haywire on Monday, after downpour in the north washed out or waterlogged railway tracks between Nagpur and Wardha.Howrah-Mumbai Geetanjali Express, which was scheduled to reach Tatanagar at 8.20am, is expected to arrive after midnight, 16 hours late.Howrah-Kurla Express, which arrives at 6.50 am, chugged in at 12.25pm. Howrah-Ahmedabad Express and Howrah-Mumbai Duronto Express, scheduled to reach at 9.20pm and 3.55pm respectively, are running indefinitely late.Howrah-Mumbai Duronto Express (Up) had to be rescheduled. Instead of starting from Howrah at 8.20am, it started at 10.30am and arrived at Tatanagar at 3pm.We have been kept in the dark as far as timing of the railways are concerned. We had no alternative but to cancel our tickets at the last moment. The railway authorities simply know to postpone the timings of the trains. They should have told us about the gravity of the situation from morning itself, said Apu Adhikari, a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and a resident of Kadma who was scheduled to attend a family function in Mumbai on Wednesday.

नई दिल्ली से कानपुर की ओर जा रही ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस के पेंट्रो में मोर फंसने से ओएचई ट्रिप हो गई। इससे डाउन लाइन पर पीछे आ रही ट्रेनों को रोका गया। पेंट्रो से मृत मोर निकाले जाने पर करीब बीस मिनट तक डाउन लाइन पर रेल यातायात बाधित रहा।
नई दिल्ली से कानुपर की ओर आ रही ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस मंगलवार सुबह 6 बजे रूरा स्टेशन पर पहुंची तो अचानक उड़कर आया मोर पेंट्रो से टकराकर करंट की चपेट में आ गया। इससे तेज आवाज के साथ डाउन लाइन की ओएचई ट्रिप कर गई और ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस खड़ी हो गई। जानकारी पर पहुंचे रेल कर्मियों ने इंजन के पेंट्रो में मोर फंसा देखा और इलेक्ट्रिक सबस्टेशन को सूचना देकर आपूर्ति बंद रखने को कहा। इसके बाद इंजन के पेंट्रो में फंसे मृत मोर को निकालकर ओएचई आपूर्ति शुरू कराई। इस दौरान अंबियापुर स्टेशन से पहले मालगाड़ी व अन्य ट्रेनों को रोका गया। स्टेशन मास्टर जयराम वर्मा ने बताया कि पेंट्रो में मोर फंसने से ऊंचाहार एक्सप्रेस 6.10 बजे से 6.30 बजे तक खड़ी रही। वन कर्मियों को मृत मोर के बाबत सूचना दी गई है।

KOCHI: The railway has initiated a slew of measures to ensure smooth flow of vehicles at Ernakulam Junction station. The decision was taken following frequent traffic chaos at the station, especially during peak hours, due to unorganized parking of vehicles on the premises.

According to sources, new arrangements have been made by the Thiruvananthapuram railway divisional manager, Rajesh Agrawal, who had recently conducted a review of the situation at the station.

Both public and private vehicles will not be allowed to enter the portico of the station as per the new direction. Instead specific areas will be demarcated for all kinds of vehicles, including buses, autorickshaws and taxis. Reflectors will also be installed at the parking area.

According to railways, bus bays will be provided at the station. Currently, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is operating a few services from the station during peak hours.

"Bus drivers park vehicles wherever they find free space at the station. We will soon provide bus bays for them," said Ernakulam southern railway area manager P L Ashok Kumar. The bus bay will have facility to park three buses at a time.

The railway had recently shifted the parking area for taxis and introduced a queue system for them. A pre-paid taxi counter will also be set up at the station adjacent to the pre-paid autorickshaw counter.

The pre-paid auto counter at the station was also shifted recently to ensure free flow of vehicles.

"As autorickshaws were operating in the anti-clockwise direction, the situation was chaotic at the station earlier," said a railway official.

डोंबिवली - डोंबिवली रेल्वेस्थानकात सरकत्या जिन्याच्या कामाचा भूमिपूजन सोहळा मंगळवारी (ता. 16) झाला असला, तरी आता त्यानिमित्त वादाला तोंड फुटू लागले आहे. भूमिपूजनाच्या कार्यक्रमाचे निमंत्रण मला न देऊन रेल्वे प्रशासनाने हेतुपुरस्सर मला डावलले, असा आरोप आमदार रवींद्र चव्हाण यांनी केला. विभागीय रेल्वे व्यवस्थापकांना त्यांनी निषेधाचे एक पत्र दिले आहे. प्रशासनाने स्थानकातील अन्य गैरसोयींकडे दुर्लक्ष केल्यास 15 ऑगस्ट रोजी "रेल रोको' करू, असा इशाराही त्यांनी दिला आहे.

डोंबिवलीत सरकता जिना व्हावा, याकरिता चव्हाण यांनी रेल्वेकडे पत्र आणि नागरिकांच्या सह्यांचे निवेदन दिले होते. अन्य मागण्यांचाही त्यांनी पाठपुरावा केला होता. डोंबिवली स्थानकात सरकता जिना बसविण्याच्या कामाचे भूमिपूजन खासदार आनंद परांजपे यांच्या हस्ते झाले. रेल्वे प्रशासनाने या कार्यक्रमाचे रीतसर निवेदन वा माहिती स्थानिक आमदार म्हणून मला कळविली नाही. ती का कळविली नाही, असा सवालही आमदारांनी पत्रकार परिषदेत केला. फलाटाची उंची वाढविणे, नवीन स्वच्छतागृहे बांधणे, 15 डब्यांच्या गाड्यांच्या थांब्याचे व्यवस्थित फलक लावणे आदी मागण्या मी आधीपासून केल्या आहेत. रेल्वे अधिकारी महाराष्ट्रद्वेष्टे असून सदस्यांच्या मागण्यांना ते केराची टोपली दाखवितात. आमच्या मागण्या प्रलंबित असून त्याची कार्यवाही न झाल्यास 15 ऑगस्ट रोजी "रेल रोको' करू, असा इशाराही चव्हाण यांनी दिला.

कल्याण-डोंबिवली पालिका आयुक्त शंकर भिसे यांची भेट घेऊन शहरातील समस्यांविषयी त्यांना निवेदन दिले आहे. त्यात सार्वजनिक स्वच्छतागृहांची दुरुस्ती, क्रीडा संकुलात वसतिगृह, टिळकनगर पोलिस ठाणे बांधून देणे, उद्यानांची दुरुस्ती आदी मागण्या करण्यात आल्या आहेत, असेही चव्हाण म्हणाले.

South Central Railway will run Nine Special Trains,viz. eight special trains between Secunderabad- Guwahati and one special train from Aurangabad to Secunderabad in order to clear extra rush of passengers.

SECUNDERABAD-GUWAHATI-SECUNDERABAD SPECIAL TRAIN (08 TRIPS):-

Train No. 07149 Secunderabad - Guwahati Special Train will depart Secunderabad at 07 30 hrs o¬n July 26th, August 2nd, 9th & 16th (Fridays) and arrive Guwahati at 07 55 hrs o¬n the second day i.e. Sundays.

In the return direction, Train No.07150 Guwahati - Secunderabad Special Train will depart Guwahati at 06 00 hrs o¬n July 29, August 5th, 12th& 19th(Mondays) and arrive Secunderabad at 09 15 hrs o¬n the second day i.e. Wednesdays.

Enroute, these trains will stop at Jangaon, Kazipet, Warangal, Mahabubabad, Khammam, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Anakapalli, Duvada, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, Palasa, Berhampur, Kurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kharagpur, Howrah, Bolpur, Rampurhat, Malda, Barsoi, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri, Dhupguri, New Coochbehar, New Alipurduar, Kokrajhar, New Bongaigaon, Goalpura Town and Kamakhya stations in both the directions. These trains will have 16 coaches viz, o¬ne AC II Tier, o¬ne AC III Tier, Eight Sleeper Class, Four General Second Class and Two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake Van Coaches.

AURANGABAD-SECUNDERABAD SPECIAL TRAIN (01 TRIP):-

Train No. 07505 Aurangabad-Secunderabad Special Train will depart Aurangabad at 18 40 hrs o¬n 25th July, 2013 (Thursday) and arrive Secunderabad at 06 00 hrs o¬n the next day.

Enroute, this train will stop at Jalna, Parbhani, Purna, Nanded, Mudkhed, Dharmabad, Basar, Nizamabad and Kamareddi stations. This special train will have 12 coaches viz, Seven General Second Class, Three Sleeper Class and Two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake Van Coaches.

नागपूर

मोबाइल रिचार्ज प्रमाणे किराणा दुकानात रेल्वेचे तिकीट बुकिंग करता आले तर? ऐकून काहीसे अजब वाटले. मात्र, सर्व काही सुरळीत झाले तर इंडियन रेल्वे कॅटरिंग अॅन्ड टुरिझम कॉर्पोरेशन (आयआरसीटीसी) खास प्रवाशांच्या सुविधेसाठी अशाप्रकारची आगळी वेगळी सेवा सुरू करण्याचा विचार करीत आहे. मोबाइलवर एसएमएसद्वारे तिकीट बुक करण्याच्या पर्यायाला प्रवाशांकडून अधिकाअधिक प्रतिसाद मिळावा या उद्देशाने या काही नव्या कल्पना आणण्याचा प्रयत्न करीत आहे. पण, असे असले तरी येत्या काही दिवसांमध्ये प्रवाशांनी जवळपासच्या दुकानात जाऊन संबं​धित प्रवासासाठी पैसे मोजून तिकीट बुक केले तर त्यात वावगे वाटण्यासारखे काही कारण नाही.

आयआरसीटीसी भारतीय रेल्वेशी संबंधित पोर्टल असून या सेवेद्वारे रेल्वेचे ऑनलाइन तिकीट बुकिंग करण्यात येते. नुकतेच आयआरसीटीसीने इंटरनेटबरोबरच, एमएसएम तिकीट बुकिंग सेवाही ग्राहकांसाठी खास सुरू केली. या सेवेद्वारे प्रवाशांना त्यांच्या मोबाइलवर प्रवासाची सर्व माहिती उपलब्ध करून देण्यात येते. तर मोबाइलवर येणारा एसएमएस तिकीट म्हणूनही प्रवासादरम्यान ग्राह्य धरण्यात येणार आहे. या दोन्ही सेवा काही दिवसांपूर्वीच सुरू झाल्या आहेत. मात्र, आयआरसीटीसी एसएमएस वर आधारित रेल्वे तिकीट बुकिंगला आणखी आकर्षक करण्याचा विचार करीत आहे. काहीच दिवसांपूर्वी सुरू करण्यात आलेल्या या सुविधेला अजूनही हवा तसा प्रतिसाद मिळालेला नाही. या सेवेद्वारे दररोज १५० तिकीटांचे बुकिंग होत आहे.

किराणा दुकानातून रेल्वेचे तिकीट बुकिंग ही योजना अतिशय प्राथमिक स्तरावर आहे. सध्या ही योजना कशी राबवता येईल याचा विचार सुरू आहे. यामध्ये दुकानदारांना कसे माध्यम करता येईल यासाठी प्रयत्न सुरू आहे. यात प्रवाशांकडून तिकीट बुकिंगचे पैसे घेऊन मोबाइलद्वारे आयआरसीटीसीला तिकीटाचे शुल्क भरण्यात येईल. त्यामुळे प्रवासी कुठूनही प्रवासभाडे दुकानदाराला रोख रकमेत अदा करून त्यांच्या मोबाइलवर तिकीट बुकिंगचा एसएमएस घेऊ शकतील. ही सेवा सुरळीत करण्यासाठी दूरसंचार कंपन्यांकडून सल्लामसलत करण्यात येणार आहे.

दुकानातून रेल्वे तिकीट बुकिंगसाठी आयआरसीटीसी संबंधित दुकानदारांना विशिष्ट रक्कम आयआरसीटीसीकडे जमा करावी लागेल. जसे तिकीटांचे बुकिंग करण्यात येईल तशी ही रक्कम दुकानदारांच्या खात्यातून वजा करण्यात येईल. अशाप्रकारच्या आगळ्यावेगळ्या सुविधेमुळे इंटरनेट बँकिंगमध्ये अनेकदा पैसे खात्यातून वजा होताना येणाऱ्या अडचणी येणार नाहीत. त्यातच रेल्वे तिकीटांमध्ये अनेक प्रवाशी 'वेटिंग' तिकीट काढतात. त्यामुळे असे तिकीट कॅन्सल करणाऱ्यांची संख्या मोठी असते. त्यामुळे तिकीट रद्द करणाऱ्या प्रवाशांना सुरळीतपणे त्यांचे पैसे परत करण्याची पद्धत कुठल्या प्रकारची राहील हे तयार करणे आव्हान राहणार असल्याचे आयआरसीटीच्या अधिकाऱ्याने

म.टा.शी बोलताना सांगितले. त्यातच या सर्व सुविधा देताना प्रत्येक व्यवहारामागे अत्यंत कमी शुल्क कसे आकारता येईल हे सुद्धा एक आव्हान असणार आहे.