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New Delhi: In a shocking revelation about the pathetic condition of catering services in Indian Railways, CNN-IBN has accessed a railways report that exposes how food is prepared in filthy conditions. The report says that the food served in trains is cooked in dirty, smelly and waterlogged pantry cars.This stands true even for premier express trains. The report says that cockroaches were all around the GT Express pantry car. In the Shramjivi Express, the water used for washing coaches was also used for cooking and in the Bihar Sampark Kranti, samosas were found kept in a dirty basket along with mops.For many travelling on trains, the quality of food leaves much to be desired. But now the railway board's own inspection report shows just how sub-standard it really is.Speaking to CNN-IBN, MoS Railways Adhir Ranjan said, "We accept that there is a problem. We are trying to rectify it."Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, we are told, had infact pulled up top officials recently for lack of hygiene on trains. Around six lakhs people use the catered food on trains and on stations across the country. These inspection reports highlight how they are being taken for a ride and their health being jeopardised.The report that has been unearthed is just one part of a series of inspections carried out by railway board on various trains in February, 2013.In an inspection of GT Express in Southern Railways, the railway board found the pantry car's exhaust and light fixtures blackened and full of oily cobwebs. Although pest control was done just a week before, cockroaches were evident all around.Similarly, on the Tamil Nadu Express, vegetables kept on stores shelf were not fresh and black stains were found on cabbage. Inspections were also carried out on Shramjivi Express where the report says that water used for washing coaches was being used for cooking. In Bihar Sampark Kranti Express, masala for filling samosas was kept open and half cooked samosas were kept in a dirty basket along with the cloth used for mopping.Not just filthy and unhygienic conditions, the inspection notes also showed how on many trains there is a major discrepancy in rates at which food was being sold.

Ten years after they were opened, Padi and Anna Nagar railway stations are crying for attention. Trains taking this stretch were put off track in 2007 due to low patronage, and today the stations are in a state of neglect. The tracks at Padi station are covered with thorny bushes and have rusted too. The Anna Nagar station is no better. Of late, it is used by residents for their morning walk.Both Padi and Anna Nagar railway stations were opened in 2003 as the extended southern arm of the Chennai Central–Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway network. While the Padi station is on the arterial Chennai Tiruvallur High Road-Jawaharlal Nehru Salai intersection, Anna Nagar station is on Thirumangalam Road, which connects Anna Nagar West and Villivakkam. Tracing the story of these two stations, a 3.09 km-long railway line, initially used by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur for moving newly built coaches from shell to furnishing division of the factory, was strengthened at a cost of Rs. 7.29 crore for operating passenger services. Two new stations, namely, Padi and Anna Nagar, were built and 13 existing bridges were renovated and the work was completed in five months. The railway station and the EMU services were inaugurated by the then Union Minister of State for Railways, A. K. Moorthy. Between 2003 and 2007, five suburban trains were run from Anna Nagar to Chennai Beach/ Central via Villivakkam.

The service, however, had a low patronage. The average daily collection at the station was Rs. 450, with about 50 passengers. In 2007, the service was discontinued due to the construction of a rotary at the Padi junction to replace the level-crossing. The rotary was completed in 2009 but services were not resumed.

“Poor revenue as one of the main reasons behind not opening train services is not a reason to stop services on this stretch,” says S. Vedhavalli, a retired teacher. She suggests that if more services were run during peak hours, it would have earned better revenue. Many passengers like her are disappointed.

“Diversion of trains to Chennai Central Railway Station would bring in more commuters from Anna Nagar and its neighborhoods,” says R. Mushfiqur, a resident of Thirumangalam Road. The work on metro rail and flyover near Thirumangalam has added to the traffic snarls on this section reason why people who commute on this stretch want the train service to be restored.

BHUBANESWAR: A railway employee has in a petition filed in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Cuttack, alleged that he was victimized for seeking information under RTI Act. The information relates to receipt and expenditure of money for conduct of some sports activities, organised by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) here in different years.Chief office superintendent (mechanical) of ECoR Subhendu Sekhar Kar has in his April 2 petition with CAT also alleged that he was shunted to Sambalpur because he sought information under RTI Act.ECoR denied Kar was victimized and attributed his transfer to 'routine official procedure'. "We are alert to the development. The CAT order will be followed," chief public relations officer of ECoR R N Mohapatra told TOI.In his petition, Kar said he had on December 5, 2012, sought information on sanction and expenditure of funds towards different heads in the All India Railway Athletic Championship in 2005, 2008 and 2012 and All India Railway Volleyball Championship in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012 held in Bhubaneswar. On April 1, he received his transfer letter and a letter saying no information would be provided to him.

Challenging the transfer order, Kar moved CAT and maintained that the information he sought under RTI might have put positions of some senior officials in danger. In his petition, Kar wrote, "I suspect some office-bearers of East Coast Railway Sports Association (ECoRSA) misappropriated huge amounts by way of submitting false bills in some sports events here in comparison to the expenditure incurred in similar sports activities held at other places by the Railways."

"While the feedback of some players, who were staying at Kalinga Stadium, on arrangements and provision of basic amenities by ECoRSA was adverse, huge money was shown as spent in the bills. That was the reason why they were hesitating to share the information with me," Kar said in his petition.

"I was instructed by the first appellate authority (senior deputy general manager, ECoR) to refrain from activities related to RTI. Instead of giving me information within one month, I was made to run from pillar to post," Kar added in his petition.

The CAT on April 8 imposed status quo on his transfer and directed him to put forth his grievance before the general manager of ECoR. "The applicant is directed to make a suitable representation by placing all the facts before the ECoR's general manager, seeking appropriate relief within a period of 10 days. Status quo in respect of the applicant shall be maintained till the representation is disposed by the concerned authority," the CAT order said.

MUMBAI: Passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches of long-distance trains on Central Railway's network from Mumbai will get cleaner, disinfected bedrolls from next week.Union railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal will inaugurate an eco-friendly fully automated laundry at Wadi Bunder on April 16.The 12-tonne capacity laundry will not only clean, but also disinfect the linen. The plant is being set up on a build-operate-own-transfer basis for 15 years at a cost of Rs 15 crore. The tunnel laundry system, installed by Spanish firm Girbau, will clean 12,000 bedrolls a day. "The capacity is enough as we operate around 100 AC coaches from Mumbai every day. The system is fully integrated for washing, drying, ironing and folding sheets and towels," said the official.The environment-friendly integrated laundry uses one-third the water, half the power and half the chemicals compared with other laundry systems. It generates less waste water with substantially less toxic compounds to be discharged into the ground. "For instance, due to its unique reuse technology, the laundry only uses 4-5 litres of water per kg of linen washing compared to 12-14 litres in conventional systems," said the official.

After the laundry system is commissioned, CR will not be dependent on private contractors. "Tonnes of laundry can be returned to the coaching section within an hour of being received at the tunnel laundry," he added.

CR will incur a cost of Rs 79.9 crore over 15 years for washing linen in the automated laundry. Comparatively, it would pay Rs 91.98 crore in the same time to private contractors, excluding dry-cleaning for blankets.

Ticket collectors are of two types: Station Ticket Collector who is posted at a particular station and the other, called section squad, who switches from one place to another. It could be Guindy station one day, and Tambaram another day. Lady squads are assigned ladies compartments. Based on the factor of mobility, a station ticket collector is set a monthly target of Rs.12,000 a month and a section squad, Rs.35,000.Beyond the regular hierarchy, stands a one-man squad who can swoop down on any station. Given this leeway, more is expected of him. He has to rake in Rs. 75,000 a month.An official, on condition of anonymity, said, “The penalty for not purchasing a ticket is Rs. 250 plus the class-based fare. If a commuter travels first-class with a second class ticket, he is obliged to pay the remaining amount. And he will be issued a strict warning.”In the case of season ticket-holders forgetting to bring their passes, the squads use their discretion to penalise them or let them off with a warning. A few squads will take their ID cards and ask them to bring the amount the next day.According to the rule-book, ticketless travellers should be produced in the RPF court. But it is practically impossible. “Those detained at the station have to be given food. That means expenditure. Hence, most often, we will let them go with a strict warning after collecting whatever they have and asking them to bring the rest of the fine money the next day,” an official said.

When asked about the most persistent offenders, ticket collectors point to vendors. Said the official, “Besides travelling ticketless, most of them flout a major rule: not to sell any goods on the train.” Probably, they subscribe to Cho’s view on railway tickets.

र्मियों की छुट्टियों में होने वाले यात्रीभार को देखते हुए रेलवे प्रशासन ने मुंबई के लिए स्पेशल ट्रेन चलाने का निर्णय किया है। साप्ताहिक रूप से चलने वाली जयपुर-बांद्रा टर्मिनस ट्रेन के 19 अप्रैल से 29 जून के बीच 11 ट्रिप होंगे। इस ट्रेन के चलने से हजारों यात्रियों को फायदा मिलेगा।


रेलवे के मुख्य जनसंपर्क अधिकारी तरुण जैन का कहना है कि बांद्रा टर्मिनस-जयपुर स्पेशल ट्रेन 19 अप्रैल से 28 जून तक बांद्रा टर्मिनस से प्रत्येक शुक्रवार को दोपहर 2:35 बजे रवाना होकर अगले दिन 10:35 बजे जयपुर पहुंचेगी। जयपुर-बांद्रा टर्मिनस स्पेशल ट्रेन 20 अप्रैल से 29 जून तक जयपुर से प्रत्येक शनिवार को दोपहर 12 बजे रवाना होकर अगले दिन 10:40 बजे बांद्रा टर्मिनस पहुंचेगी। यह ट्रेन बोरीवाली, वलसाड, सूरत, भरूच, बड़ोदरा, आनंद, नडियाद, अहमदाबाद, मेहसाणा, पालनपुर, आबूरोड, फालना, मारवाड़ जंक्शन, ब्यावर, अजमेर, किशनगढ़ व फुलेरा स्टेशनों पर ठहराव करेगी।

Sambalpur Railway Division on Saturday organised a seminar on “Prevention of shortcut methods” at Railway Institute, Titlagarh, in order to sensitize railway officials on railway safety. Divisional Railway Manager Ashok Kumar Gupta exhorted staff to strictly follow the schedule of inspections and point out deficiencies to prevent accidents.

The joint field observation carried out by Railway officials at site of the derailment of the Muzaffarpur-Yesvantpur Express (15228) at Chitheri in Vellore district on Thursday, ruled out defective railway tracks and over head equipment (OHE) mast as possible causes for the accident. Officials strongly suspected that the B-1 a/c coach could have triggered the derailment.“The officials examined the rail parameters and infringement of OHE mast and concluded that were no faults on the rail and OHE,” an official, on condition of anonymity, said. He added that the team had also ruled out application of sudden break by the loco pilot as a cause for the accident.“The loco pilot did not observe any unusual sound on track. There was no sign of damage to  engine and the first seven coaches. If there was a defect on the track, the engine and following coaches would have derailed. The passengers who travelled in the first seven coaches were not injured. These inputs ensure that there was no damage in the track,” he noted.

The team believe a defective coach might have triggered the derailment. They believe that it must be the B-1 air-conditioned coach, which was the most damaged coach of the 12 that derailed, and most of its parts were found scattered, the source added.

The B-1 coach, which was in the middle of the derailed compartments, misled the front three coaches. It caused damage to rails, sleepers and fittings. It is also learnt that the broken parts of the B-1 coach were found scattered before the rear end of the derailed spot, he said, adding, “It was the most damaged wagon which makes one suspect the scheduled maintenance of the coach.”

The speed of the train was also a fact to be considered. which was not disclosed due to the sealed speedometer, which was sent to authorities concerned for decoding the speed details during the accident. “Once we receive information after the speedometer is decoded, can we rule out the speed factor regarding the accident,” sources said further.

The express train had derailed at Chitheri, seven km from Arakkonam Railway Junction, in Vellore district about 5.45 am on Wednesday. The accident had claimed the life of a 52-year-old passenger, leaving 33 injured and had damaged the tracks, OHE and telecommunication network.

PUNE: The court of special judge SudhakarYerlagadda on Friday rejected the regular bail pleas of an inspector B B Sirpor and a constable Santosh Mani from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) for allegedly accepting Rs 25,000 as a bribe from a railway travel agent.The CBI said that the complainant Vinod Kale, a travel agent, operates in the premises of the Pune railway station. In his complaint, Kale had alleged that four RPF cops were demanding a bribe of Rs 25,000 for permitting him to continue operations. The cops had threatened to implicate Kale in a false case under the Railway Act if their demand was not met, the CBI stated.On April 2, a CBI team led by deputy superintendent of police Rajpal Singh (anti-corruption bureau) laid a trap and nabbed Sirpor around 9.15 pm after he directed Mani to accept the bribe from Kale.The cops filed bail plea after the court sent them in judicial custody on April 8.The cops' lawyer Sudhir Shah told the court that the CBI has completed the investigations in the case and pleaded to release their clients on bail as their detention in judicial custody was not essential.Opposing the bail pleas, CBI special public prosecutor Vivek Saxena told the court that the investigations have revealed the involvement of few more cops named in the complaint.Saxena argued that the other cops were not co-operating with the CBI when they were called for questioning. He feared that if the arrested cops were released on bail they would tamper with evidence and would pressurise the witnesses in the case.

The court upheld the prosecution's plea for rejecting the bail pleas of the cops.

Sambalpur Railway Division on Saturday organised a seminar on “Prevention of shortcut methods” at Railway Institute, Titlagarh, in order to sensitize railway officials on railway safety. Divisional Railway Manager Ashok Kumar Gupta exhorted staff to strictly follow the schedule of inspections and point out deficiencies to prevent accidents.