ProUI

AHMEDABAD: Continuing its drive against illegal ticket sellers and touts Western railway collected Rs 21,707 in fine last week from the Ahmedabad division. The western railway team kept a strict vigil at reservation centres and held eight people with illegal tickets. Railway also collected Rs 9500 by cancelling the illegitimate tickets. In another drive against male passengers travelling in women's coaches, railway found 189 male passengers at fault and collected Rs 12,600 in fine from them.

Last week, Western railway recovered over Rs. 1,76,37,856 from ticketless travelers in May and June in Ahmedabad division. In a drive conducted in last two months, 34954 cases of ticketless travelling were registered and fine was slapped on the travelers. WR also recovered Rs. 8,86,785 from people travelling on illegal tickets and Rs 2,04,710 from people causing dirtiness on Ahmedabad station. WR has been constantly conducting campaigns against illegal tickets and travelling. The amounts recovered in last two months are the biggest recovery in 2013.

The Ahmedabad division of Western Railway has been actively dealing with touts and illegal ticket sellers. Since Ahmedabad is one of the biggest railway stations, it's a perfect ground for touts as there is always a rush.

MUMBAI: Hawking and begging accounts for a whopping 36% of the total prosecution on Central Railway from January to May this year. Railway Protection Force (RPF) claims to have upped drives and surprise checks. Thirty one persons were jailed and Rs 26.98 lakh was netted in fines. But certain stations like Kalyan remain a problem.

Activists say that many portions of Kalyan station have been encroached by hawkers; they are visible on platforms 2 and 3, on the foot overbridge connecting to a skywalk and a passage near the ticket counter. Commuters are inconvenienced the most during peak hours.

A scribe recently shot a video showing hawkers counting out currency notes at Kalyan, as female RPF personnel and home guards stood by with an open wallet. "The assistant security commissioner (Kalyan) has been asked to look into the matter. If our personnel are found guilty of taking a bribe, appropriate action will be taken against them," said Alok Bohra, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF (CR). Hawking is also a concern at Kurla, Dadar and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) stations. In fact, gutkha vendors were recently nabbed from LTT by the Government Railway Police (GRP).

Besides hawking, trespassing, which snuffs out dozens of lives everyday on the tracks, accounts for 9% of the total prosecution by the RPF from January to May. "Incomplete fencing and boundary walls in several portions on the Central line is the reason commuters take short-cuts across the tracks. Western Railway has almost completed fencing and brought down fatalities caused by trespassing," says activist Sameer Zaveri.

Steps taken to ensure safety of pachyderms: NFR
Pranjal Bhuyan
GUWAHATI, July 22 – As wildlife conservationists and others rue incidents of elephants getting killed by trains, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said that steps have been taken to ensure safety of pachyderms, even while ensuring smooth passage of trains.
As per NFR data, eight elephants have been killed and three had sustained injuries after being hit by running trains in the NFR region since January this year.

“We are as much concerned about it as any other member of the public. Way back in 2010, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest had issued a general advisory for prevention of accidents involving elephants and we have taken steps to adhere to it,” a senior NFR official said.

The official said that over Rs 80 lakh have been spent in the last three years for construction of ramps to enable elephants to climb inclines at places where the railway tracks are shadowed by hillocks on both the sides.

He added that in the 10 identified elephant corridors falling under NFR drivers are issued permanent caution orders to restrict speed limit to maximum 50 km per hour, along with constant whistling.

“In addition to the identified elephant corridors, there are a few local sections in between Salsa-Nagrakata and Gulma-Sivok sections in Alipurduar division where the Railways has imposed speed restrictions on its own,” the official said.

Steps for clearing vegetation within railway land in consultation with forest departments for ensuring clear vision to drivers, placing of signages for benefit of drivers, sensitization of railway staff and clearing of food wastes along the tracks are taken, he added.

He called for more understanding of technical aspects. “The weight of a goods train is around 1,300 MT with full load. The braking distance of such a train running at 75 kmph is 655 metres. It would be about 450 metres at the speed of 50 kmph. Thus, a driver needs a warning of elephants’ presence on a railway track at least half a kilometre ahead.”

The official said that in West Bengal, there is a greater coordination with the Forest department whose personnel monitor passage of elephants and inform the Railways about latest movements, which are then conveyed to the drivers.

“Many experts’ reports have pointed to the loss of habitat due to which elephants are forced to move to other places. To tackle the issue properly, joint effort of the Railways, state governments and conservationists are required,” he said

North Western Railway announced new trains from Jaipur.................

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.

Jaipur: The much-awaited Jaipur Metro Rail Project has got the green signal from the Railway Ministry on technical clearance for its operations in signal, telecom and electricity expansion system, official sources said on Monday.   In a major development the Union Ministry of Railways has given approval to the ‘Schedule of Dimensions’ (SoD) of 9.2 km long Mansarovar to Chandpol Metro project. Now, the clearance from the safety commissioner and research designs and standard organisation (RDSO) is awaited to begin trial of metro trains on the tracks.    The schedule of dimensions is a technical document detailing the minute information about the construction and design works of metro structure like stations and tracks. It also details the signal telecommunication and electrical works.    The documents claim that the measures in the civil works met the standards set by the Railways. For instance the height of the station, track parameters, coaching stock, horizontal and vertical specification and the curve and radius in the tracks have been designed as per the standards.    Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge has approved all these dimensions recently. A statement released by the state government said that the minister informed about the approval to chief minister Ashok Gehlot in a letter.    The minister also added that RDSO is also satisfied with the Metro project and will give its final opinion soon.    The sources said that after clearance of the SoD the approval by the Railway safety commissioner and RDSO is required for trial of metro trains on the constructed tracks.    All these clearances are expected to be received by next month. Later the Railway Board will give green signal for ferrying the trains.    Atul Gadgil, the chief project manager with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), said that safety commissioner already visited the site of the metro project twice and is satisfied with the work.    “Beside clearance from the Railway safety commissioner the approval from RDSO is also required for the Metro project. Later the Railway Board will give green signal and we would run trains on the tracks,” said Gadgil.

JAIPUR: The Jaipur Metro project on Monday cleared the first stage of safety clearances with the Railway ministry's approval for the 'schedule of dimensions' (SOD).

In his letter to chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge approved the 'schedule of dimensions' (SOD) for the project, said an official at the chief minister's office.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) general Manager, Atul Gadgill said, "We have cleared the first and most important stage of safety certification. We are expecting other clearances for traction system (overhead electrical system) and rolling stock within another 15 days."

Sources in the department said that for the past three months, the DMRC and Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) were trying hard to get the first approval.

Explaining the process of certification, an official said that once the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), Lucknow examines the designs, it is sent to the Railway Board for approval. After that, the final safety certification is required by the commissioner of railway safety (CMRS).

As the deadline for running the Metro is approaching fast, the Jaipur Metro project needs safety certification by the commissioner of railway safety (CMRS) and clearances from the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) under a Metro Act.

According to officials, the certification involves various agencies and it takes at least a month to check all the safety and operational parameters. Once the design and other clearances are given, the oscillation trials are conducted physically.

An official said, "A series of trials will be conducted by RDSO to check train performance on the track under various load capacities and speeds and then compared with design values."

During the trials, the train will be tested at different speeds to measure the lateral and vertical acceleration (wobbling of coaches) at different locations. The trial runs will be crucial as a sharp curve of 120 metre radius has been constructed by the DMRC for the first time in the countrty. "As both the curves are near the metro stations, it will not be a major problem in clearing the speed test," an official added.

JAIPUR: The Jaipur Metro project on Monday cleared the first stage of safety clearances with the Railway ministry's approval for the 'schedule of dimensions' (SOD).

In his letter to chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge approved the 'schedule of dimensions' (SOD) for the project, said an official at the chief minister's office.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) general Manager, Atul Gadgill said, "We have cleared the first and most important stage of safety certification. We are expecting other clearances for traction system (overhead electrical system) and rolling stock within another 15 days."

Sources in the department said that for the past three months, the DMRC and Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) were trying hard to get the first approval.

Explaining the process of certification, an official said that once the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), Lucknow examines the designs, it is sent to the Railway Board for approval. After that, the final safety certification is required by the commissioner of railway safety (CMRS).

As the deadline for running the Metro is approaching fast, the Jaipur Metro project needs safety certification by the commissioner of railway safety (CMRS) and clearances from the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) under a Metro Act.

According to officials, the certification involves various agencies and it takes at least a month to check all the safety and operational parameters. Once the design and other clearances are given, the oscillation trials are conducted physically.

An official said, "A series of trials will be conducted by RDSO to check train performance on the track under various load capacities and speeds and then compared with design values."

During the trials, the train will be tested at different speeds to measure the lateral and vertical acceleration (wobbling of coaches) at different locations. The trial runs will be crucial as a sharp curve of 120 metre radius has been constructed by the DMRC for the first time in the countrty. "As both the curves are near the metro stations, it will not be a major problem in clearing the speed test," an official added.

NAGPUR: After nearly 60 hours of restoration work on war footing, one of the tracks near Sindi Railway was temporarily opened for traffic on Monday morning. Both main line tracks were damaged after the earthen foundation below it was washed away due to floods in Pipra nullah on Friday night.After severe damage to tracks in 500 metres, train movement stopped completely on east, west, north and south routes. Many trains were either cancelled or diverted through Badnera-Amravati-Narkhed and Bhusawal-Khandwa-Itarsi-Nagpur.Over 1,000 men and machines pressed into service since Friday night could temporarily help restore train traffic on down line (towards) Nagpur) Monday morning. According to Central Railway PRO P D Patil, the first train to cross the restored track was 12721 Hyderabad-Nizamuddin Dakshin Express around 9.15am. The train arrives at Nagpur at 9.15am, but was delayed by an hour.

"After Dakshin Express, around a dozen trains passed through the vulnerable spot at a speed of 10 kmph. These trains included four from Ballarshah, four from Itarsi and four from Badnera side," said Patil.

Divisional railway manager (DRM) Brijesh Dixit had said on Sunday that the track would be opened by that day evening but due to heavy damage, this could not be done. The track was declared fit by the engineering department at 5.30am on Monday and at 7.15am, electrical department declared overhead power lines fit.

As the trains were already moving along the diverted route and there was no passenger train in the section after the track was declared fit, two empty wagons were sent by the down track. Since then, no loaded rakes were being operated on the stretch.

"When such a disaster happens and tracks are restored, some unimportant trains are run on it for testing. The down line was found fit," said Patil. Around 9.15am, Dakshin Express was cleared followed by 12145 LTT-Bhubaneshwar Express at 10.30am. Till evening, at least 15 trains ran through Sindi Railway.

"It will be a temporary structure but won't be risky for trains passing at a 10-15 kmph speed. Rebuilding of permanent structure will take some time as it is monsoon," said railway officials.

Meanwhile, the Central Railway revised timing of Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express and Nagpur-Mumbai Sevagram Express that left Nagpur on Monday. The Duronto which leaves Nagpur at 8.40pm, departed at 12.40am and Sevagram, which leaves Nagpur at 9pm left at 1am. Both the trains will arrive Mumbai 3-4 hours late.

रविवार रात करीब 9.45 गोंदिया से वड़सा की ओर आने वाली डेमू लोकल ट्रेन के इंजन सहित 5 डिब्बे वड़सा से अरुणनगर के बीच पटरी से उतरने से क्षतिग्रस्त हो गए। रेलवे इंजन और 2 डिब्बे पटरी से करीब 20 फीट से अधिक दूरी तक मिट्टी में धंस गए। दुर्घटना में 5 यात्री घायल हुए हैं। 2 लोग बोगी में बुरी तरह फंसे हुए थे। एक को स्थानीय लोगों ने बाहर निकाला तथा  दूसरे के लिए भारी मशक्कत करनी पड़ी। उसे भी करीब 4 बजे सुबह गैस कटर की मदद से बाहर निकाला गया। घायलों में भंडारा जिले के सावली निवासी मनोज बरघरे (२२) का समावेश है।
ट्रेन  दुर्घटना के कारण सोमवार को गोंदिया जंक्शन से वडसा मार्ग पर चलने वाली सभी 4 ट्रेनों को रद्द कर दिया गया। इसके चलते रेल यात्रियों को काफी दिक्कतों का सामना करना पड़ा। गोंदिया-चंद्रपुर मार्ग की ट्रेनें रद्द किए जाने से यहां से अर्जुनी मोरगांव, वड़सा, ब्रहपुरी, सिंदेवाही, मूल, चंद्रपुर एवं बल्लारशाह की ओर जाने वाले रेल यात्रियों को बस एवं अन्य साधनों से अपने गंतव्य की ओर जाने की नौबत आन पड़ी। पूरे दिन हजारों यात्री परेशान होते नजर आए। वहीं गोंदिया बस डिपो से सुबह 6.45 बजे चंद्रपुर की ओर जाने वाली बस रद्द होने के कारण भी यात्रियों को अनेक परेशानियों का सामना करना पड़ा। गोंदिया रेलवे स्टेशन मास्टर वी.वी.टी.राव ने बताया कि सोमवार को ट्रेन क्रमांक ५८८०२, ७८८२०, ५८८०४, ५८८०६ को रद्द किया जा चुका है। गोंदिया-चांदाफोर्ट रेल मार्ग को जल्द ही सुचारू करने की जानकारी उन्होंने दी। रविवार रात दुर्घटना की जानकारी मिलते ही गड़चिरोली जिले के देसाईगंज शहर के लोग घटनास्थल की ओर दौड़े और दुर्घटनाग्रस्त यात्रियों की हरसंभव मदद की। वड़सा के युवा व्यापारी, मुस्लिम युवा, देसाईगंज के नगराध्यक्ष समेत कुछ पार्षद और समाजसेवी घटनास्थल पहुंचे और दुर्घटनाग्रस्तों को रेलबोगियों से निकालकर रेलवे स्टेशन तक लाया। कई यात्रियों की सिंधु भवन में भोजन और सोने की व्यवस्था की गई। रेल पटरियों के अलावा पटरी पर पहुंचने का अन्य मार्ग नहीं था। स्थानीय लोगों और पुलिस प्रशासन ने पटरियों पर जाकर यात्रियो की मदद की है।
मार्ग न होने पर भी एक पुलिस सिपाही ने पटरी पर मोटर साइकिल चलाकर गैस कटर घटनास्थल पर लाया। रेल ट्राली वडसा स्टेशन पर न होने से करीब 1 बजे तक रेल विभाग से किसी तरह की मदद नहीं मिली।
वरिष्ठ अधिकारियों के पहुंचने पर ही रेल प्रशासन हरकत में आया। रेल अधिकारी देर रात एक बजे के दौरान घटनास्थल पर पहुंचे और दुर्घटना का जायजा लेते हुए बोगियों को हटाने का काम शुरू किया। इस बीच जो यात्री गोंदिया वापस जाना चाहते थे उनके लिए रात में ही गोंदिया से इंजन बुलाकर दुर्घटना रहित तीन डिब्बे जोड़कर उन्हें गोंदिया रवाना कर दिया।
सुबह छह बजे से पटरी से बोगियां हटाने का काम शुरू हुआ, किंतु बारिश के चलते  काम प्रभावित हुआ। दुर्घटना के चलते सोमवार की गोंदिया से चंद्रपुर की ओर आवागमन करनेवाली सभी गाडिय़ां रद्द कर दी गयी है। इस बीच सोमवार को दिनभर बोगियां हटाकर रेल पटरी की मरम्मत का काम जारी रहा। डीएमआरवर्मा ने बताया कि मंगलवार को यातायात फिर पूर्ववत करने के प्रयास तारी है। समाचार लिखे जाने तक 5 बोगीयों को हटाकर खेतों में रखा गया है।
रेल प्रशासन व्दारा प्रारंभिक जांच में भारी बारिश के कारण पटरी धंसने से दुर्घटना होने की बात कही जा रही है, किंतु एहतियात के तौर पर बमशोधक व निरोधक और श्वान पथक व्दारा घटनास्थल का जायजा लिया गया।
रविवार की देर रात गोंदिया से चंद्रपुर की ओर जाने वाली रेलवे पैसेंजर वड़सा-अरुणनगर के बीच दुर्घटनाग्रस्त हो गई जिसके
घायल का इलाज शुरू : रविवार की रात घटित हादसे में घायल भंडारा के सावली निवासी मनोज बरघरे (२२) का उपचार गोंदिया के निजी अस्पताल में शुरू है। दुर्घटना के दौरान वह ट्रेन के शौचालय में फंस गया था और उसके दाहिने कंधे पर गंभीर चोटे लगी।
राहत कार्य गोंदिया से : जमीन धंसने, रेल मार्ग क्षतिग्रस्त होने तथा ट्रेन में तकनीकी गड़बड़ी के कारण घटित हादसे के बाद गोंदिया-बल्लारशाह पैसेंजर के चार बोगी पटरी से उतर गए। तत्काल इसकी जानकारी दक्षिण मध्यपूर्व रेलवे विभाग को दी गई। जिसके बाद राहत एवं बचाव के लिए गोंदिया स्टेशन से राहन यान भेजकर रेल मार्ग सुचारू करने का प्रयास किया जा रहा है। समाचार लिखे जाने तक उक्त मार्ग पर ट्रेनें नहीं चलाई जा सकीं।