ProUI

With M. Mallikarjun Kharge being allotted the Railways portfolio in the Union Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, the Ministry has returned to Karnataka after a short gap.

Monday’s reshuffle has also increased the number of Ministers at the Centre from Karnataka to five, with Oscar Fernandes being given the Roads and Highways Ministry portfolio.

The Railways has been with Karnataka on and off since 1963. H.C. Dasappa, C.M. Poonacha, Kengal Hanumanthaiya and C.K. Jaffer Sharief are among those from the State who have held the portfolio.

Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal and K.H. Muniyappa have also been Ministers of State for Railways.

Mr. Kharge’s move to the Railway Ministry is seen as the party high command’s “reward” for his loyalty.

Haflong (Assam), June 18 (PTI) Two suspected insurgents with arms, ammunition and some documents were arrested from Lumding railway station in Dima Hasao district in Assam.

Based on intelligence inputs, the police and Railway Police Force arrested the two underground suspects Rahul Bodo alias Tusi Sukripa and Monjit Langthasa last night.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation has called for consultants for the proposed 32.5-km Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro line-III.The company has invited expression of interest for consultants for the Rs 23,136-crore project, including integrated testing and commissioning of the corridor. "The consultant will conduct a detailed study of the project, which will also include environmental issues. We will then submit the report to the state government," MMRDA Joint Project Director Dilip Kawathkar told PTI.The Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro-II corridor, a fully-elevated 32-km stretch, is stuck due to pending environment clearance for a car depot planned to take care of maintenance works.The state government is understood to be also looking at alternative sites for the depot, which might change the alignment of the line completely and could lead to re-bidding of the project.MMRC has been pledged a loan from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) towards the cost of the third line, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this loan, which is around Rs 500 crore, for procurement of consultancy services, Kawathkar said. The procedure for appointing consultant is expected to be completed by October, he said. The Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro line-III connects Colaba in south Mumbai to Seepz in the north. The total length of the fully underground corridor is 32.5 km, with 27 stations.o

VADODARA: Travellers can now expect a smoother visit to the passenger reservation centre at Vadodara railway station.In its efforts to improve amenities for travellers, the Vadodara railway division has given a complete facelift to passenger reservation system (PRS) centre at the railway station - the A1 category station of Vadodara railway division.The division has started biometric token system, touch screens, seating arrangements and electronic display boards along with a music system for the convenience of passengers, who now won't have to stand in long queue at PRS centre."There was a general perception that genuine passengers do not get proper facilities at PRS. So while we have launched various measures to IP based monitoring and constant drives to keep a check on the menace of touts, we have also installed a new biometric token system to ensure that passengers get a comfortable experience at the centre," divisional railway manager of Vadodara railway division Naveen Kumar Shukla told TOI.Through the new biometric system, passengers will have to first approach counter numbers 7 or 8 to obtain their token. The system will issue token to a passenger only after a gap of two hours. Instead of standing in long queue, passengers can wait for their turn for which new seating arrangements have been made. After the token number gets displayed on the counter of the booking windows, passengers can procure their tickets from respective windows.Also, PRS centre now also has four reservation form filling desks, standardized information boards, four passenger operated enquiry terminal touch screens, one electronic 30 day seat/berth availability display board while the information displayed on the windows has been standardized."While improving the interior ambience of the centre, which has now been aesthetically designed, with modifications we have also ensured that rain water is prevented from entering the centre," senior divisional commercial manager Pradeep Banerjee said.At the same time, in order to improve amenities for senior citizens and physically disabled, the division has constructed ramps on platform number 6 at the Alkapuri side of the railway station connecting platform numbers 2,3 and 6."The ramps constructed at the cost of Rs 97 lakh was one of the major demands from social groups, including charitable trusts, associations working for the physically disabled, senior citizens and passengers in general," Shukla said.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation has called for consultants for the proposed 32.5-km Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro line-III.The company has invited expression of interest for consultants for the Rs 23,136-crore project, including integrated testing and commissioning of the corridor. "The consultant will conduct a detailed study of the project, which will also include environmental issues. We will then submit the report to the state government," MMRDA Joint Project Director Dilip Kawathkar told PTI.The Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro-II corridor, a fully-elevated 32-km stretch, is stuck due to pending environment clearance for a car depot planned to take care of maintenance works.The state government is understood to be also looking at alternative sites for the depot, which might change the alignment of the line completely and could lead to re-bidding of the project.MMRC has been pledged a loan from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) towards the cost of the third line, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this loan, which is around Rs 500 crore, for procurement of consultancy services, Kawathkar said. The procedure for appointing consultant is expected to be completed by October, he said. The Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro line-III connects Colaba in south Mumbai to Seepz in the north. The total length of the fully underground corridor is 32.5 km, with 27 stations.o

The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the railway ministry and railway claims tribunal on the plea of a former member who was not re-appointed on it in 2011, and directed that a post be kept vacant on the tribunal till the case is decided.Seeking response from the government and the tribunal, a division bench headed by Chief Justice D. Murugesan has asked them to file their replies by Aug 5.The bench, in a recent judgment, further asked the ministry and the tribunal to keep one post vacant, if available, till the final outcome of the appeal filed by Rajan Sharma, who challenged a single judge's order rejecting his plea against the decision to appoint A.B.S. Naidu as member (judicial) of the tribunal.Advocate R.K. Saini, appearing for Sharma has contended: "Sharma was appointed as member (judicial) of the tribunal from March 2005 for a tenure of five years during which he disposed of over 1,100 cases and over 700 miscellaneous applications."Following an advertisement in May 2011, Sharma had again applied for the post and was interviewed by a selection board comprising a Supreme Court judge, the chairmen of the Railway Board and the tribunal and the law secretary, according to the petition.Sharma claimed that the selection list was approved by the cabinet's appointment committee, headed by the prime minister, but added that he was not appointed for the post on the ground that "there was no legal provision for re-appointment of a member for the tribunal".The government instead appointed Naidu, who was much junior to him, as the member (judicial), he added.

CHENNAI: A 45-year-old man, who stole a train driver's suitcase from the Tambaram railway station, was arrested at Dindigul when he arrived there by the Vaigai Express on Monday morning. The suitcase contained a key of a local train, detonators and documents issued by railways to motormen. Motormen are given detonators to alert passing trains in case of a technical snag or a possible danger ahead. The detonators and the key are still missing, though the box has been recovered. Railway police said that S Ramesh from Kadaperi near Tambaram was arrested after CCTV footage showed him walking into the crew room of the station and leaving with the suitcase at 1.50am on Monday. Investigation began after Eshwara Murthy, 47, a suburban train motorman, complained that the suitcase he had left in the room on Sunday night was missing on Monday morning. Motormen leave the suitcases issued to them at the station after duty hours. Police alerted all the railway stations about the stranger who was later caught when he stepped out of Vaigai Express with the steel box at Dindigul railway station. A team of policemen brought him to the city from Dindigul along with the suitcase on Tuesday. Police said Ramesh was drunk when he took away the suitcase. After arresting Ramesh, police opened the suitcase which did not have the detonators and the key. "He said he doesn't remember where he left them," said a railway police official. Motormen have been leaving their cases inside the rooms of the station for years. Nobody bothers to take these locked suitcases because it has markings notifying them as railway property," said a railway police official. After an unidentified man drove away a suburban train and rammed into a shunting loco at Vyasarpadi Jiva railway station in 2009, railway officials have made it mandatory for motormen to handle the steel box, which earlier the technical staff used to take between the station office and the trains.

GURGAON: The arterial road connecting Gurgaon railway station with the city is in not only a virtual death trap but also in bad shape. In the past nine years the road has not been repaired or upgraded.One side of the road has been dug out by the MCG contactors for installation of master sewer pipeline leading to traffic diversion to the other side of the road. As a result, all the traffic coming from Gurgaon city, Farrukh Nagar and Basia has to pass through this one narrow side of the road. Many accidents have already happened on that stretch. Traffic policemen are seldom seen controlling the traffic."During office hours it takes more than one hour to pass that narrow stretch of road. Passengers wanting to catch a train at the railway station miss it because of the traffic jam. There is no alternative way to reach the railway station. I am a permanent resident of Gurgaon and I don't remember when the road was repaired. It is a perennial source of worry not only for the commuters but also for the residents of nearby areas who commute through this road every day. Ironically, Deepender Hooda, son of Haryana chief minister, had said more than four years ago that all the roads of Gurgaon would be carpeted within a month and nothing has happened," says Antram Tanwar, a resident of Sector 57.There were a huge traffic snarl on Sunday evening when the city was swept by heavy rain. There are big potholes on the road, making it a virtual death trap.Commuters blame it on the slothful contactor who has not been doing his work on the road in time.The deputy mayor, Parminder Kataria, who is also the councillor of the area, says, "The sewer line is being installed at a cost of Rs 35 lakh. The rain has affected the contractors' work but we have instructed them to speed up the work. Once the sewer line installation work is done, the road will be repaired. For repairing, carpeting and drainage Rs 8.5 crore has been sanctioned. Hopefully, by the end of September the road will be ready."Now that leaves commuters having to suffer for three more months.

Jammu:
Superintendent of Police (SP), Railways, Shiv Kumar held a meeting in connection with Shri Amarnath Yatra in his office at Jammu railway station to review the security arrangements.All the participants were directed to strengthen the security arrangements made at present and utilize the proper services of electronic gadgets viz, x-ray baggage scanners, HHMDs, DFMDs etc. to thwart the evil designs of ANE/ASEs and brief all the nafri under their command and control to remain careful and extra vigilant during the duty hours, particularly peak hours, so that militants may not succeed to sneak into any railway station and indulge in subversive act during the yatra, especially at railway station, Jammu which is the biggest railway station in the state.

Due to line block to facilitate engineering works in Tiruttani yard, the following changes in train services have been made.

T.No.43505 MMC - Tiruttani EMU scheduled to leave MMC at 10.00 hrs. & T.No.43508 Tiruttani - MMC EMU scheduled to leave Tiruttani at 13.10 hrs. will be partially cancelled between Arakkonam - Tiruttani on 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th June 2013.



(V.J. ACCAMMA)
Chief Public Relations Officer