ProUI

Kochi: Over a year  after the construction of the Venduruthy Railway Bridge, constructed at a staggering cost of Rs 30 crore, the Railway authorities are yet to lay tracks in the section. Worse, the Railways have no plans to make  the Cochin Harbour terminus the terminal station or run passenger trains through the route.

“The Port Trust is yet to commission the bridge although the work was completed long ago. As of now the route will be used only to run goods trains. The Harbour Terminus station has got no infrastructure like signal communication to aid passenger services. The station buildings are on the verge of collapse and need a complete revamp. So it will cost the railways a lot to run passenger trains,” a senior railway official said.

Currently, the Ernakulam junction is saturated and one of the proposals was to decongest it by developing the  Harbour Terminus as a terminal station. The oldest railway station in Ernakulam once buzzed with activity as most  trains were extended to or halted at Ernakulam or Thiruvananthapuram.

The death knell for passenger trains was sounded in 1996 when the Navy and the Civil Aviation Department objected to electrification of the six-km route. To compound the woes, a dredger hit the Venduruthy bridge a year later. However, plans to build a new railway bridge revived hopes of revamping the station and subsequent running of passenger trains.

“The line is ready and the railways need to just lay the  tracks over the new bridge. Another problem is non-electrification of the route. The Navy’s objection is only over a 200-metre stretch which can be overcome with  latest technologies like tunnels or underground pantograph. The project is  incurring heavy losses due to non-completion of the work,” a senior Town Planning official said.

Extension of Jodhpur-Bandra Special.
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http://goo.gl/4RIob

Photographs of Sonia Gandhi and the prime minister sitting in a railway carriage as it zoomed through the newlymade Banihal Tunnel linking the Kashmir Valley to the rest of the state last week brought back vivid memories.

I had seen the tunnel under construction in 2009 while writing a book called Linking Paradise on the new line from Anantnag to Baramulla. Every turn of the 120 km long broad guage line brought delightful surprises.

Rolling green rice fields — just like my native Bengal so far away — golden mustard blooms, magnificent chinar trees, proud poplars marching into the blue yonder, apple and walnut orchards, quaint villages and the Pir Panjal and Zanskar ranges standing guard over this delicate, beauteous vale.

The new tunnel was then but a hole in the Pir Panjal range beyond a station called Qazigund, but it held such promise. For it would finally link the rest of India's venerable railway system — that began back in 1853, a mere half century after the first public railway opened in Britain — to the Kashmir Valley's very first line, over 150 years later. A lot has been said about the Konkan Railway, which winds its way through the scenic Western Ghats, beside the Arabian Sea.

It is truly a great feat of engineering. As indeed is the new Banihal Tunnel, which, at 11.2km is India's longest railway tunnel — about 9km longer than the 56-year-old and mostly snow-bound Jawahar road tunnel, 440m above it. But making the Kashmir Railway meant much more. For it entailed building lines and bridges not only in the Valley but also to its people.

It was thus not only an engineering achievement but a political, economic and diplomatic one too. The men who built it didn't merely have to deal with the terrain but also negotiate issues that still confound political leaderships. As a fan of great engineering projects I marvelled at the 811 bridges fording the very scenic brooks and dales that had so enchanted Emperor Jehangir centuries ago. Practically every section of the line also demonstrated the great sensitivity on the part of the railway teams who could have just retreated behind their professional hardhats.

But they didn't. They swapped it ever so often for the bareheaded empathy and adaptability of social workers. The amazing Veith Bridge over the Jhelum is a case in point for it incorporated a specially-made 45.7 metre steel span instead of only standard 30 metre ones, just so that its pylons would not disturb a small cemetery revered by local residents.

Indeed, the sentiments of the Valley folk had to be considered at all times so the indefatigable engineers of the Indian Railways had to use not only their technical skills but also their EQ to plan and execute this project. No canals could be converged to save on culverts, no chinar trees could be cut or orchards razed to make the shortest track alignment, and so on.

I remember musing that the track embankments — made with reinforced material, as the local soil is very soft — were the most bewitching in India if not the world, for they were covered with wildflowers, rather than the usual ordure. And the stations were modern but designed to incorporate features of the Valley's traditional architecture. The waiting hall of the Srinagar station, in fact, has got to be the most magnificent in the world.

Much of the building's interiors, including the waiting hall's stunning triple-height ceiling, is covered with the intricately carved woodwork called khatambandh, a speciality of the Srinagar area. The city's people can truly look upon it as a showcase of their talent.

There was more. Though the government poured money unstintingly into this project, ingenuity was needed too. Moving equipment was expensive and often logistically impossible so impromptu alternatives had to be devised. Trucks retrofitted with railway wheels towing ballast machines to sweep snow instead of gravel were double innovations! The transport of the sleek train coaches needed even more quick thinking.

Extension of Jodhpur-Bandra Special.
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http://goo.gl/4RIob

गेल्या काही दिवसांपासून मराठवाडा एक्‍स्प्रेस (गाडी क्रमांक 17687) नगरसोल-करंजगाव स्टेशनदरम्यान दोन तास थांबवावी लागत असे. यामुळे प्रवाशांचे हाल होत असत; मात्र 2 जुलैपासून ही गाडी शुक्रवार व बुधवार वगळता पुढील दोन महिन्यांसाठी औरंगाबाद - धर्माबाद - औरंगाबाद अशी धावेल.

दोन महिन्यांसाठी ही गाडी औरंगाबाद - मनमाड - औरंगाबाददरम्यान रद्द करण्यात आली आहे. तसेच 77691 व 77684 जालना - नगरसोल - जालना ही डेमो गाडीही पुढील दोन महिन्यांकरिता दर रविवारी रद्द करण्यात आल्याचे रेल्वे प्रशासनातर्फे कळविण्यात आले आहे.

चर्चगेट-विरार उन्नत रेल्वेमार्गाला हिरवा कंदील मुंबईतील रेल्वे प्रवास सुसहाय्य होण्यासाठी चर्चगेट-विरार उन्नत रेल्वेमार्गाला केंद्र सरकारने शुक्रवारी मंजुरी दिली. नवी दिल्ली- मुंबईतील रेल्वे प्रवास सुसहाय्य होण्यासाठी चर्चगेट-विरार उन्नत रेल्वेमार्गाला केंद्र सरकारने शुक्रवारी मंजुरी दिली. हा प्रकल्प ३० हजार कोटी रुपयांचा आहे. सध्याच्या चर्चगेट-विरार रेल्वेमार्गावरती पूलावर हा उन्नत मार्ग बांधण्यात येणार आहे. यामुळे सध्याच्या उपनगरीय रेल्वेवर येणारा गर्दीचा ताण कमी होऊ शकेल. या प्रकल्पाचा तांत्रिक अभ्यास रेल्वे व महाराष्ट्र सरकारतर्फे सुरू आहे.

FOLLOWING the retirement of Mr Vinay Mittal on July 1, current member, mechanical, Mr Arunendra Kumar (pictured right) has also temporarily assumed the position of chairman of Indian Railways' board.

The Railway Ministry, led by recently-appointed railways minister Mr Mallikarjun Kharge (pictured left), decided against appointing a full-time chairman due to the controversy surrounding the top posts in the railway following May's cash for appointments scandal. Board member, staff, Mr Mahesh Kumar was arrested after he was reportedly found to offer cash for the coveted position of member electrical, while previous railway minister, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, was also forced to resign. Other existing board members have taken on temporary roles following a number of retirements. Long considered the front runner for the chairmanship, Mr Kul Bhusan, the current member, electrical, will also take care of the responsibilities of member, traffic, which has been vacant for the past two months.

Kumar's position as member, staff, is being covered by current member, engineering, Mr Subodh Jain, while member, budget, Mr Rajendra Kashyap has also assumed the role of financial commissioner.

Kharge says permanently filling the vacant posts remains his top priority but he will wait until the names proposed for the full time chairmanship and other vacant posts on the board are cleared by the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).

FOLLOWING the retirement of Mr Vinay Mittal on July 1, current member, mechanical, Mr Arunendra Kumar (pictured right) has also temporarily assumed the position of chairman of Indian Railways' board.

The Railway Ministry, led by recently-appointed railways minister Mr Mallikarjun Kharge (pictured left), decided against appointing a full-time chairman due to the controversy surrounding the top posts in the railway following May's cash for appointments scandal. Board member, staff, Mr Mahesh Kumar was arrested after he was reportedly found to offer cash for the coveted position of member electrical, while previous railway minister, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, was also forced to resign. Other existing board members have taken on temporary roles following a number of retirements. Long considered the front runner for the chairmanship, Mr Kul Bhusan, the current member, electrical, will also take care of the responsibilities of member, traffic, which has been vacant for the past two months.

Kumar's position as member, staff, is being covered by current member, engineering, Mr Subodh Jain, while member, budget, Mr Rajendra Kashyap has also assumed the role of financial commissioner.

Kharge says permanently filling the vacant posts remains his top priority but he will wait until the names proposed for the full time chairmanship and other vacant posts on the board are cleared by the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).

Highlighting the Scientific and Technological Developments, Exhibition o­n Wheels “Science Express” will again chug into Cuttack city o­n 5th July 2013 in its 6th phase exhibition. This Exhibition will be opened for public from 11.00a.m to 05.00p.m from 5th to 8th July 2013.
Science Express, the exhibition train modeled by Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Prodyogiki Sanchar Parishad (RVPSP), Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India has been developed to encourage talented youths to understand the excitement of careers in teaching & research in different disciplines of science.
This “Science Express” train is fully air-conditioned, consisting of 13 Exhibition coaches, two power cars and o­ne staff car has been developed for students pursuing science at the Senior Secondary level and Research students which will take three hours time for viewing the displays. The major objective of this Indo-German joint venture Science Express is to nurture curiosity amongst the youths & rekindle their waning interest in science.
After completion of exhibition at Cuttack, this train will also be exhibited at Bolangir from 9th to 11thJuly, Rayagada from 12th to 14th July and at Visakhapatnam from 15th to 18th July 2013.

मुंबई - चर्चगेटला जाणारी लोकल तांत्रिक बिघाडामुळे अंधेरी स्थानकात बंद पडल्याने आज दुपारी पश्‍चिम रेल्वेची वाहतूक कोलमडली. या गोंधळामुळे गाड्या नियोजित वेळेपेक्षा 20 ते 25 मिनिटे उशिराने धावत होत्या.

अप स्लो मार्गावरील ही लोकल अंधेरी स्थानकात आल्यानंतर दुपारी 1.25 च्या सुमारास बंद पडली. त्यामुळे या मार्गावरील वाहतूक काही वेळ ठप्प झाली होती. स्लो मार्गावरून चर्चगेटला जाणाऱ्या लोकल खोळंबल्या होत्या. रेल्वेच्या दुरुस्ती पथकाने अर्ध्या तासानंतर हा मार्ग वाहतुकीसाठी मोकळा केला. दरम्यानच्या काळात अप स्लो मार्गावरील लोकल अप जलद मार्गावरून चालविण्यात आल्या. त्यामुळे वाहतुकीचे वेळापत्रक विस्कळित झाले. लोकल नियोजित वेळेपेक्षा उशिराने धावत होत्या. त्याचा फटका प्रवाशांना बसला.