ProUI

The engine of a Dehradun-bound express train failed at Modinagar here, leading to which the train was struck for around two hours, railway sources said.

The engine of the Dehradun-Ujjain express train failed near Modi inter-college around 12:30 pm, they said.

Later, after the agitated passengers created chaos, the engine of the train was replaced with that of a passing goods train and it left for its onward journey, the sources said.

Heavy rains continued to batter Mumbai and most parts of Maharashtra for the third consecutive day Sunday, crippling normal life.In view of very heavy to extremely heavy rains forecast over the city in the next two days, Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte has advised Mumbaikars to venture outdoors only if absolutely necessary.Local Cautionery Signal No. III has been hoisted at all ports in north coastal Maharashtra. Fishermen have been warned against venturing into the Arabian Sea, which will be very rough accompanied by up to 50 kmph strong gusts, the IMD-Pune said.Coastal town Pen, famous for its Lord Ganesh idol industry Sunday notched a staggering 26 cm rainfall, and the downpour continues.Uran, Dapoli and Mahabaleshwar hill station received 23 cm rains, Bhira 22 cm, Matheran 21 cm and Kolhapur 20 cm Sunday with no respite from the downpour.With Mumbai battered by incessant rains since this morning, its lifelines, the railways and road traffic, were severely crippled.The Central Railway and Harbour Line services were suspended for nearly four hours from 10.35 a.m. due to flooding on railway tracks, leading to cancellation of 340 scheduled services and other running up to 45 minutes late.Several long-distance trains scheduled to leave Mumbai were delayed by three to six hours while incoming services were terminated mid-way, inconveniencing passengers.Water entered railway stations at Elphinstone Road, Parel, Sion and Matunga, while the Western Railway services were running 20-30 minutes behind schedules.Since Sunday morning, South Mumbai received 11.94 cms rains, eastern suburbs 9.90 cm and western suburbs 8.20 cm rains, leading to heavy waterlogging and flooding in many areas in the city.According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Disaster Control Cell, 65 places areas in the city reported waterlogging or flooding, hitting normal life.Flood waters entered ground floor homes and shops in Sion, Kurla, Chunabhatti, Dadar, Parel, Byculla, Mazagaon, Masjid Bunder and Worli.Waterlogging was reported in road subways at Dahisar, Borivli, Malad, Andheri, Santacruz and Mulund with vehicles compelled to take longer detours.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast an increase in rainfall activity with very heavy to extremely heavy rains over Mumbai and surroundings accompanied by gusts of up to 50 kmph in the next two days.Elsewhere in Maharashtra, several big and small rivers were overflowing or flooded following incessant rains across the state in the past two days.At least 40 villages have been cut off in Pune district after a river in Maval flooded the entire region, though there are no reports of casualties.Most parts of the state have received good rainfall in the early days of the 16-week long monsoon season this year which got underway since the past 10 days.Not willing to let the bounty go waste, farmers across the state have furiously got down to the business of sowing seeds in farmlands in the past few days.The heavy downpour has resulted in several small and medium dams and water reservoirs overflowing and the excess waters were released from such reservoirs in Pune, Jalna, Raigad, Akola and Ratnagiri.The IMD has forecast more heavy to very heavy rains in the coastal Konkan region and other parts of the state over the 48 hours.

Heavy rains continued to lash Mumbai and the adjoining Thane district, causing water-logging in the city and the suburbs and hitting suburban train services on the central line as the tracks were flooded.Suburban train services along Dadar-Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on the central line were suspended due to water logging at Masjid, Sandhurst Road and Byculla stations on Sunday morning.

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Image: Tracks are submerged underwater at Sion station in Mumbai

MALAPPURAM: The roads and bridges development corporation, Kerala (RBDC-K) has decided to stop all works related to railway over bridges (ROBs) across the state following protests from local residents and political organizations against toll collection at the ROB at Parappanangadi in Malappuram district. The Parappanangadi ROB was opened by chief minister Oommen Chandy last week. Hudco, which is financing the projects, has also informed RBDC-K that they are not interested in continuing the tie-up in this situation.Fifteen ROBs are under construction in different parts of the state at present, and works on three -- Angadippuram in Malappuram, Alur Mala in Thrissur and Kunhippalli in Kozhikode -- are scheduled to begin soon.RBDC-K MD A P M Muhammed Haneesh said the corporation had already stopped all work procedures for the new ROBs. "Without collecting toll we cannot repay our loans. The Hudco authorities have already expressed their concerns over the issue. We cannot consider the protests as local issues. If we give toll exemption for one ROB, people across the state would demand the same," he said."We have raised the issue with the chief minister and PWD minister. We can't go ahead with the projects without getting an assurance from the government," said Haneesh.Meanwhile, PWD minister V K Ebrahim Kunju said, "We will solve all issues and proceed with the projects soon."

Unruly elements troubling you on trains? Teaching them a lesson is just a phone call away.

In a bid to check the increasing harassment of women passengers on board trains, the Government Railway Police, Secunderabad, has stepped up its response mechanisms.

A distress call is all it takes for the cops to swoop down on the perpetrators, officials promise.

Police control room numbers have been prominently displayed on all coaches in trains passing through the Secunderabad station, as also other railway stations.

Mobile police outposts have also been established to ensure visible policing at railway stations.

Posters on the repercussions of harassing women have also been put up at several stations in the twin cities, authorities say.

Police records show that 11 cases pertaining to crime against women were registered in the 10 railway police stations under the Secunderabad GRP limits in 2012, as against eight cases in 2011.

While nine of the 11 cases were solved, the remainder are under investigation, police say.

Three railway employees and a teacher were among those arrested by the railway police on charges of harassing women.

Recent cases

Police booked the accused were booked under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC and arrested.

Officials say 26-year-old Vijay Kumar, an air-conditioner attendant on the Dakshin Express, was nabbed by the Macherial railway police at Ramagundam railway station for trying to outrage the modesty of a co-passenger while she was going to the washroom.

In another case, 36-year-old teacher Muthu Kumar of Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district, was caught at Khammam when tried to molest a 24-year-old passenger.

The incident happened while the duo was travelling on the Grand Trunk Express from New Delhi to Chennai.

Secunderabad Railway Superintendent of Police M. Kantha Rao said several steps were being taken to ensure the safety of passengers, especially that of women.

“Apart from arresting the accused, we are also taking measures to secure their conviction,” he adds.

Keywords: railway police, sexual harassment, unsafe for women, police control room, helpline number

Kanpur: Seventeen minor girls were rescued from the Central Railways station here with railway police saying that they were being taken to Delhi to work as labourers. "Upon receiving a tipoff that girls from Ranchi were being taken to Delhi to work as labourers, a GRP team began searching the Ranchi Sampark Kranti Express the moment it entered the station yesterday and found them," GRP DSP Surendra Tiwari said. Five youths and one woman have been arrested in connection with the case, Tiwari said. The arrested persons said that other girls were on the train who, too, were being taken to Delhi for the same purpose as the ones rescued. However, police could not rescue the rest of them as the train had already left the station by the time they learnt of the other girls, Tiwari said, adding that Delhi police has been informed about the matter. The girls have been handed over to NGO Child Line and their parents are being contacted, police said.

KONKAN RAILWAY CARRIES OUT VARIOUS GEO-SAFETY WORKS TO ENSURE SAFETY & SECURITY OF PASSENGERS AS WELL AS PUNCTUALITY OF TRAINS DURING THE MONSOON SEASON.
Konkan Railway is always committed to the cause of Safety and Security of its Esteemed Passengers. In order to ensure safety measures before the onset of monsoon, as also to stabilize the cuttings and make the track safe to travel, KRCL has carried out various Geo-Safety Works on its route as a precautionary measures prior to on-set of monsoon this year.
The intensity of rainfall is very high on KR region. The annual average rainfall is 3500 – 4500mm with intensity of rainfall frequently exceeding 80mm per hour.
The lateritic rocks, with the lethomargic clay combinations is having constant geological change, and the experience has been that the deep cutting slopes become unstable under the heavy rainfall conditions. Since then efforts are being made to regularly inspect the vulnerable spots and stabilize them by carrying out various Geo-Safety works. Multi disciplinary Expert Committees had been appointed to address the issue. Based on the recommendations of the expert committees / teams, essential works have been identified and completed since the commissioning of Railway line.
KRCL has continuously been executing the following Geo-tech safety works to stabilize the cuttings. The main Geo-tech safety works already done are:
Easing of slopes by providing berms and flattening of deep cuttings slopes and protecting slopes by plantation to prevent soil erosion.
Providing steel boulder netting as isolated boulder fall prevention measures in cuttings.
Loose scaling, Shot creting and rock bolting of tunnels.
Providing RCC retaining wall and Gabion wall.
Providing micro piling & soil nailing.
Providing side drains and catch water drain lining etc.
The incidences of boulder fall/soil slips have been reduced considerably after completing flattening of deep cutting slopes, rock bolting / shotcreting of tunnels, construction of lined catchwater drains etc. As of now 87 nos of cuttings have been completed.
The total expenditure for the period from 1999 to April 2013 incurred towards the various Geo – Tech safety works on Konkan Railway is approximately Rs.292.52 Crores.
GROUND SETTLEMENT AT NIVSAR STATION YARD.
KRCL has successfully tackled the problem of Ground settlement at Nivsar Station Yard which was a bottle neck in smooth running of traffic. KRCL had tackled the problem by providing a diversion line at Nivsar Station yard before monsoon 2011.
Thereafter, there was no unusual occurrence of ground settlement during the last year and the traffic has been running uninterrupted since then.
POMENDI CUTTING :

Pomendi cutting is one of the vulnerable cutting in Ratnagiri region. The depth of the cutting is more than 45 metres. KRCL approached Technical Expert Committees to help resolve the difficulties faced at Pomendi cutting. Accordingly as per the recommendations of the Expert Committees various Geo tech safety works were carried out which included widening of the deep cutting slopes by providing berms, concrete lined Catch water drains, Berm water drains, cross drains, side drains, Retaining wall, grass plantation to help preventing soil erosion etc. for making the slopes stable.
Approximately 3 lacs cum of Earthwork was executed and approximately 1200 cum of concrete lining is done and no unusual observed during monsoon 2012.
This year all the requisite monsoon precautionary works have been executed to avoid any unusual/ landslides at Pomendi Cutting.
Other than the above, following additional safety precautions have been taken
Patrolling of unlined portion of tunnels round the clock and throughout the year is being done.
A system has been developed in getting advance weather warning messages from regional meteorological centers for adopting preventive measures to ensure safety of trains.
Additional control offices have been set up at Ratnagiri and Karwar for immediate and timely attention to emergent situations.
Monsoon patrolling (block section to block section) is done during monsoons.
Watchmen are posted at vulnerable locations i .e at identified cutting, bridges and embankments.
Adequate stock of reserve material has been made available for tackling monsoon emergencies.
One excavator mounted on BFR has been kept at Ratnagiri and Verna to attend to any cases of soil slippage/boulder fall if any during monsoon for immediate restoration of traffic.
Necessary liaison is also maintained with the concerned State Govt. Authorities so that release of excess water from reservoirs/dams/bunds no not affect the Railway Traffic.
Konkan Railway implements a monsoon time table on its route to ensure smooth train operations during rainy season.
Konkan Railway has spent about 26 Crores for the geo-tech safety works during the current year. It can thus be seen that all out efforts have been made by KRCL for ensuring the safety and punctuality of the running train so as to render utmost comfort to the public travelling on KRCL route.


                                                                              (Siddheshwar Telugu)
                                                                        Chief Public Relations Officer

Kanyakumari: With the counselling dates for engineering courses by Anna University scheduled from June 21 to July 30, rail users from Kanyakumari district have appealed to the railway authorities to operate special trains for the benefit of students and parents during this period. According to the rail users, more number of students is expected to attend the counselling this year. But, there not many trains originating from the district to reach Chennai where the counselling is held. There are only three daily trains - Kanyakumari - Chennai Express, Thiruvananthapuram - Chennai Ananthapuri Express and Guruvayur - Chennai Express to Chennai in addition to five weekly trains and one bi-weekly trains in the section. However, getting reservation in these trains is near impossible, they said.Ignashius Stany, 17, from Thuckalay is planning to attend the counselling this year. "We have not decided the mode of travel yet but train journey will be more comfortable since travelling by bus for more than 12 hours and facing the counselling will be very tiring," he said. His father, Maria Johnson said that the bus fares are generally costlier when compared to the train and the fares may be hiked by the bus operators during the counselling time. "We may have to shell out more than Rs 1000 per head in private buses - the luxury ones for comfort and imagine the plight of poor students and their parents", Johnson who is a bank staff commented.

"When the counselling starts, hundreds of students along with their parents will travel to Chennai and special trains will be of immense help to them. Along with the engineering counselling, the medical and dental counselling will also start side by side. Daily trains during those days will be ideal but the railways can at least consider operating them three days in a week for the benefit of the students," said P Edward Jeni, secretary of Kanyakumari District Railway User's Association (KKDRUA). "Besides, if these special or existing trains are provided additional stoppage at Guindy or Saidapet, it will help the students to reach out Anna University campus without much hassle," he added.

When contacted, Rajesh Agarwal, divisional railway manager of Thirvananthapuram division under which Kanyakumari district falls said the association can submit a petition to the Southern Railway headquarters and send a copy to the DRM's office. "They can send their requirement to the railways and we will take it up with our headquarters to arrive at a favourable decision," he said.

Central Railway
Press Release

Due to heavy and continuous rains in Mumbai, water logging reported at Masjid, Sandhurst Road, Byculla.  Suburban services are suspended between CST and Dadar o­n Main line and CST-Kurla o­n harbour line. from 10.35 am o­n 16.6.2013.  Services are running o­n Thane-Vashi section, Kurla-Kalyan/Karjat/Kasara and Kurla-Panvel. 

The following long distance trains are short terminated and rescheduled
SHORT TERMINATED:
1) 50104 Ratnagiri-Dadar Passenger at Diva and will leave as 50103 Dadar-Ratnagiri Passenger from Diva
2) 12140 Nagpur-Mumbai Sewagram Express at Dadar and will leave as 12139 Mumbai-Nagpur Sewagram Express from Dadar
RESCHEDULED:
1) 12105 Mumbai-Gondia Vidarbha Express will leave at 21.25 hrs instead of 19.10 hrs
2) 12869 Mumbai-Howrah Express will leave at 13.30 hrs instead of 11.05 hrs
3) 16339 Mumbai-Nagercoil Express will leave at 14.00 hrs instead of 12.05 hrs
4) 22820 LTT-Visakhapatnam Express will leave at 14.30 hrs instead of 12.25 hrs
5) 12322 Mumbai-Howrah Mail via Allahabad will leave at 04.00 hrs o­n 17.6.2013 instead of 21.25 hrs today.
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Date: 16.6.2013
This news comes to you from the Public Relations Department, Central Railway, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai

PUNE: Train passengers faced hardships on Sunday as services on the Mumbai route were affected in the morning for almost two hours when a high-tension electricity cable of the MSEDCL crossing the railway tracks between Chinchwad and Akurdi station snapped and fell on the overhead wires providing energy to run trains on the route.Train movement was halted till the problem was rectified. The heavy downpour throughout the day had a major impact on train services between Pune and Mumbai.Except Sinhagad Express, other trains to Mumbai including Pragati Express, Deccan Queen and Sahyadri Express were stopped at various stations after they had left Pune station. These trains were running behind schedule by at least two hours. Train services on Mumbai-Pune section also remain disrupted. The Mumbai-Pune Indrayani express reached Pune an hour late, while the other trains chugged in at least half hour behind schedule. Two local trains each departing from Pune and Lonavla were cancelled.

An official from railway administration said, "The wire snapped between Chinchwad and Akurdi stations. An overhead wire was damaged after the high tension wire fell on it around 7.10 am. A team was sent immediately. The traffic was restored at 9 am. The power was cut during repair works and the train traffic stopped on both tracks."

A continuous rainfall throughout the day impacted train services between Pune and Mumbai. Movement of trains remained largely affected owing to water logging on tracks especially in Mumbai region. A railway official said no cancellation of trains was reported. Long-distance trains including Konark Express, Nagercoil Express departing from Mumbai and running via Pune were rescheduled, while intercity trains to Pune reached more than an hour late.

Buses were also running late

Besides trains, travellers to Mumbai via buses and private cars also faced delays. Shivneri buses of Maharashtra State Raod Transport Corporation (MSRTC) were at least two to three hours late due to water logging on roads in Mumbai. An official from MSRTC Pune division said, "Buses left from here in morning returned late in evening. There was a delay of at least two to three hours. No trips were canceled." The ST stands were overcrowded owing to Sunday evening as people wanted to go back to Mumbai. The road traffic remained slow all through the day.