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लखनऊ. ट्रेन यात्रा के दौरान यात्रियों की तबीयत बिगड़ने पर रेलवे अब मुफ्त इलाज नहीं करेगा. डॉक्टर की फीस से लेकर मरहम-पट्टी तक का खर्च यात्री से वसूला जाएगा. डॉक्टर की फीस के तौर पर रेलवे 20 रूपए वसूल करेगा. इसके अलावा दवा की कीमत अलग से लगेगी.

उत्तर-मध्य रेलवे के मुख्य चिकित्सा निदेशक डॉ. पदम सिंह ने इलाहाबाद, कानपुर समेत मंडल के सभी स्टेशन अधीक्षकों को इस बाबत पत्र भेजे हैं, जिसमें कहा गया है कि रेलवे ट्रेन हादसों में घायल होने वालों का मुफ्त इलाज कराना अपना दायित्व समझता है. लेकिन सफर के दौरान बीमार पड़ने वाले यात्री से अब डॉक्टर की फीस के रूप में 20 रूपए वसूले जाएंगे.

डॉ. सिंह के मुताबिक, दवा की कीमत प्रति खुराक एक रूपया लिया जाएगा. इंजेक्शन और एंटीबायोटिक का वही मूल्य लिया जाएगा जो स्ट्रिप पर दर्ज होगा. घाव की ड्रेसिंग के पांच रूपए लगेंगे.

उल्लेखनीय है कि केंद्र से लेकर प्रदेश तक की सरकारें आम आदमी के इलाज पर अरबों खर्च कर रही है, लेकिन रेल में सफर के दौरान बीमार पड़े यात्रियों को अब कोई रियायत देने को तैयार नहीं है. अभी तक यह व्यवस्था थी कि ट्रेन में कोई यात्री बीमार पड़ जाए तो स्टेशन मास्टर के बुलावे पर डॉक्टर स्टेशन पर हाजिर हो जाता था और यात्री का पूरा इलाज मुफ्त होता था.

The new bi-weekly express train between Manamadurai and Chennai (16182/16181) will be introduced from Saturday.

P. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister, will flag off the inaugural special at Manamadurai railway station at 8.15 p.m.

The regular service of the train will commence from June 26 from Chennai Egmore and from June 27 from Manamadurai.

The train Chennai Egmore – Manamadurai (bi-weekly) Express (16181) will leave Chennai Egmore at 8.20 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and reach Manamadurai at 7.45 a.m. It will have stop at Tiruchi for 10 minutes from 3.30 a.m.

In the return direction, the train (16182) will leave Manamadurai at 8.15 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays and reach Chennai Egmore at 6.05 a.m. the next day.

It will stop at Tiruchi for 10 minutes from 11.45 p.m. It will also stop at Chennai Mambalam.

Composition

The composition of the trains will be one AC 2-tier, two AC 3-tier, six sleeper class, six general second class, and two luggage-cum-brake van coaches.

The trains will go via Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Melmaruvathur, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam, Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Chettinad, Karaikudi, Devakottai Road, and Sivaganga.

Advance reservation for the inaugural special and regular trains has already commenced, according to a release from the Tiruchi Railway Division here on Thursday.

VARANASI: It seems that the authorities of Cantonment railway station are least prepared to face monsoon like every year. The visit of the divisional railway manager on Tuesday, who gave three days time to make the situation better, failed to bring any change in the station, which is categorized as 'A' in terms of revenue generation.

Over 100 trains, including mail, express and passenger, pass through this station every day. A load of estimated 80,000 passengers, which extend to over 1 lakh during vacations and festive seasons, is witnessed here daily.

The station, having nine platforms, hardly remains free from overcrowding as there is arrival or departure of trains every 15 minutes. Despite that, the railway station is not upgrading and changing the way it should be in terms of passenger amenities and hygiene.

All the drains in the circulating area are overflowing.

The condition near the public convenience was also out of gear. It was clear that the choked drains are not going to serve any purpose when it may rain heavily, causing waterlogging in the circulating area.

The roof of the parcel office at platform number one was found leaking due to damage in pipelines and rainwater accumulated on it. The roof leaks every year and the employees have to rush the parcels to safer side to avoid damage.

The vendors said that the problem of leakage is there almost on all the platforms.

The condition of waiting area behind the food plaza is worst.

The passengers had a difficult time, trying to find a clean space to keep the luggage and sit. The water-logged platforms also add to their woes. Ranjeet Singh, who looks after the pay and use toilet complex in the waiting area, said: "The rainfall on Wednesday led to waterlogging in the waiting area and it is yet to be cleaned. The safai workers have not carried out sweeping in the area for past three days."

"Passengers do not like waiting here due to untidy situation but when it rain they have no option but to wait in the waiting area. The vicinity of food plaza is also a reason why passengers come here. The crowd of passengers and the rainfall makes the situation worst and untidy, despite that no special attention is given to this area," said Singh. The railway tracks on all the platforms were littered with rotten garbage and it was evident that the tracks had not been cleaned for days.

Station manager AK Pandey said the railway tracks are cleaned on regular basis along with the platforms.

The cleanliness would improve in the coming days, he informed.

VARANASI: It seems that the authorities of Cantonment railway station are least prepared to face monsoon like every year. The visit of the divisional railway manager on Tuesday, who gave three days time to make the situation better, failed to bring any change in the station, which is categorized as 'A' in terms of revenue generation.

Over 100 trains, including mail, express and passenger, pass through this station every day. A load of estimated 80,000 passengers, which extend to over 1 lakh during vacations and festive seasons, is witnessed here daily.

The station, having nine platforms, hardly remains free from overcrowding as there is arrival or departure of trains every 15 minutes. Despite that, the railway station is not upgrading and changing the way it should be in terms of passenger amenities and hygiene.

All the drains in the circulating area are overflowing.

The condition near the public convenience was also out of gear. It was clear that the choked drains are not going to serve any purpose when it may rain heavily, causing waterlogging in the circulating area.

The roof of the parcel office at platform number one was found leaking due to damage in pipelines and rainwater accumulated on it. The roof leaks every year and the employees have to rush the parcels to safer side to avoid damage.

The vendors said that the problem of leakage is there almost on all the platforms.

The condition of waiting area behind the food plaza is worst.

The passengers had a difficult time, trying to find a clean space to keep the luggage and sit. The water-logged platforms also add to their woes. Ranjeet Singh, who looks after the pay and use toilet complex in the waiting area, said: "The rainfall on Wednesday led to waterlogging in the waiting area and it is yet to be cleaned. The safai workers have not carried out sweeping in the area for past three days."

"Passengers do not like waiting here due to untidy situation but when it rain they have no option but to wait in the waiting area. The vicinity of food plaza is also a reason why passengers come here. The crowd of passengers and the rainfall makes the situation worst and untidy, despite that no special attention is given to this area," said Singh. The railway tracks on all the platforms were littered with rotten garbage and it was evident that the tracks had not been cleaned for days.

Station manager AK Pandey said the railway tracks are cleaned on regular basis along with the platforms.

The cleanliness would improve in the coming days, he informed.

Brace yourself for more trouble than usual while travelling by suburban trains over the next two weekends as the Central Railway (CR) is planning mega blocks to switch from the existing 1,500 volt direct current (DC) to 25,000 volt alternate current (AC) between Kalyan and

Thane. According to sources, while there will be four-hour blocks during this weekend for inspection, the actual conversion will take place during a four-hour night block next weekend.

However, since the CR is already under fire for frequent disruption of services because of water-logging and technical failures, officials are reluctant to carry out blocks on consecutive weekends.

“This may lead to more problems for commuters,” said an official.

Being a more powerful and efficient traction system, adopting AC-traction will allow CR to run more trains, increase the speed of those and reduce energy bills, too. After conversion, CR officials also expect reduction in the travel time of suburban locals by a few minutes.

On the slow corridor, the conversion will be completed up to the Kalawa car shed, while on the fast corridor, it will be up to the south-end of the Thane station. AC-traction will also be adopted for the fifth and sixth corridors between Thane and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) stations.

A senior official told HT that inspection work has been proposed to begin on June 21, but four-hour blocks were proposed for June 22 and 23. While the actual process will be completed during four-hour blocks on the midnight of June 29-30, there will be three-hour blocks for post-conversion work.

“A detailed program has been sent to us by the Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS), we are awaiting a nod from the general manager,” the official said.

“The schedule for CRS inspection has been sent to the headquarters for an approval. A final decision on the block is is expected on Friday,” said Atul Rane, chief public relations officer of CR.

Puducherry Railway Projects Coordination Committee comprising government officials and engineers inspected all the 25 known locations in Karaikal region of the Union Territory where a road crosses the proposed alignment of Peralam- Karaikal new line project sanctioned in Railway Budget of 2013-14.

The new line is to be laid on the same route as the old railway line which existed during the French period, but was subsequently removed by the Southern Railways after Karaikal became part of the Indian Union.

During the inspection by the team on Tuesday,  it was observed that part of the alignment is now used by the agriculturists as rural road and some encroachments are observed in the urban limits, according to Gopal Dalmia, member of the Coordination Committee.

It is evident that the New Line Project is not a revival of the old MG line or a gauge conversion of a dormant route. It is a full- fledged new line on the land that is still available. All the road crossings have to be addressed afresh, he said.

In some places a Limited Height Subway (LHS) might be the best solution while at other locations these may not be the best option due to their proximity to water channels. The railways may willingly construct the subway, but keeping it free from flooding will be the State responsibility, suggested the committee.  

There are locations which are suited for Road Over Bridge (ROB) and they have to be investigated in detail before the site can be selected for ROB, said Dalmia

The Thirunallar halt station in the former days was a rudimentary side platform accessed from the north. On inspection it was observed that this station needs to be planned well, considering the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine. Ambagarattur and Pattecouddy station old sites were visited. Both the locations need to be planned with 25 years horizon.

There were several locations where electric high tension and low tension over head lines across the alignment. At two locations power grid lines also cross. The crossing of cables also needs to be addressed.

Much water has flowed down the Arsalar since the MG line was uprooted. The BG Line has to be considered as New Line Project. The railways have already cleared up the vegetation from much of the old formation.

BANGALORE: Karnataka is riding high on expectations from two new ministers in the UPA-II government --railway minister MallikarjunaKharge and transport and highways minister Oscar Fernandes -- given the fact that rail and road connectivity is very poor in the state, compared to many others.Former railway ministers -- Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mamata Banerjee, to name a few - have been generous to their respective home states. So there are expectations that Kharge will follow suit and shower bouquets on Karnataka.But there's a rider here. Unlike Lalu and Mamata, Kharge doesn't have much time, as there's strong speculation of early general elections. While there have been seven railway ministers from Karnataka before Kharge, only CK Jaffer Sharief had a reasonable tenure of over four years.

State BJP chief Prahalad Joshi, who has been fighting for improvement of railway facilities in the state, said: "During the BJP's rule, the Karnataka government took up several projects under the 50:50 cost-sharing agreement. If Kharge at least ensures these projects take off, nothing like it.''

There are good reasons why there are so many expectations from the duo. Karnataka's rail connectivity and infrastructure is way behind many other prominent states, including Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. While Gujarat and Bengal have around 36km of railway line for every 1,000 sqkm, it's about 21km in Karnataka. The total length of the railway line in the state is around 3,500km, much less than 5,328km in Gujarat, 5,535km in Maharashtra and 5,172km in Andhra Pradesh.

Upgrading roads

The state is also lagging in road connectivity. The state government has sent numerous proposals to the Union ministry of transport and highways to upgrade 4,382km of state roads to national highway (NH) standards. "Our arterial roads are awful compared to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The only way to improve them is by developing state highways to NH standards. This will not only ensure better connectivity with neighbouring states, the quality of infrastructure and maintenance of state roads will also improve. Hopefully, Fernandes will take this up on priority and sanction it at the earliest," said a senior PWD official.

CHENNAI: Southern Railway has installed more CCTV cameras at Mambalam and Beach railway stations, as part of expanding Integrated Security System (ISS) to more number of stations in the city. Divisional security commissioner SR Gandhi will inaugurate the CCTV network today evening. Each stations have 16 CCTV cameras. The feed will be monitored round the clock by railway protection force (RPF) personnel. "The cameras have been fitted in platforms, railway reservation counters and foot overbridges. They will be monitored by a sub-inspector and constable and we are being trained on its operations," said the Mambalam RPF sub-inspector Maharajan. Closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) have been installed in all major suburban railway stations on Tambaram to Beach (Parrys) route. This move comes after repeated complaints of pick-pocketing, chain snatching and children going missing. Recently an ISS was inaugurated at Tambaram station. ISS was inaugurated at Tambaram station recently.

Hyderabad, June 21 (IANS) The railways is running a special train from Delhi to Secunderabad for survivors of Uttarakhand floods belonging to Andhra Pradesh.

The special train leaving Friday night will bring back the pilgrims who have reached the national capital from Uttarakhand. This special train will leave Nizamuddin at 9.30 p.m. Friday and is expected to arrive Secunderabad on Sunday.

“Extra coaches are also being attached to Dakshin Express and Duronto Express leaving Delhi today (Friday) to Secunderabad to clear the extra rush of passengers,” said a statement by the South Central Railway (SCR) here.

The SCR has also dispatched a special empty rake consisting of 15 coaches from Secunderabad to Haridwar. It is part of the efforts of railways to attach extra coaches/operate special trains for clearing the pilgrims stranded due to floods in Uttarakhand.

Senior officials of SCR are in close liaison with Railway Board and Northern Railway authorities to coordinate the movement of special trains/attaching extra coaches on trains from northern region towards Andhra Pradesh.

About 500 pilgrims from the southern state have reached Andhra Pradesh Bhavan during last two days. Minister of State for Railways Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy visited them and assured that the railways would make all arrangements for their return to their respective destinations.

Union Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi and other central ministers from the state also visited AP Bhavan to meet the pilgrims and review the arrangements being made for their return.

Eight pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh were killed and scores of others were missing. About 3,000 people from Andhra had gone to Uttarakhand for pilgrimage when heavy rains and floods struck the hill state.

MUMBAI: A day after a motorman of a Churchgate-bound train jumped the red signal at Borivli, Western Railway (WR) personnel said the signal should be shifted.

Western Railway had to cancel 24 services in the wake of Wednesday's incident. The motorman J K Saha was immediately taken off duty and an inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause.

A motorman said, "More than a year ago, the signal on platform 5 was moved from the left side of the track to the right. Motormen are comfortable with signals on the left. In fact, we have complained to the administration about the confusion at Borivli." "A motorman loco inspector, who is on the signal-sighting committee, had refused to approve the location of the signal on the grounds that led to Wednesday incident. If the administration had paid attention to the problem identified by the Mumbai division motorman loco inspector, the signal would not have come at the place," he added.

The signal-sighting panel comprises members from the signal department, traffic department and an inspector from the motorman loco cadre. "The administration, in order to have its way, invited a loco inspector from Valsad to complete the formality of selecting the point. This loco inspector approved the point on the basis mail/express train, whose engine halt a few feet away from this objectionable signal point. For mail/express train the sighting is clear but the problem is acute for those piloting local trains," he claimed.

The motorman said, "The position of the signal on at this location is such at when the train enter Platform No. 5 his sight falls on the signal meant for train on Platform No. 6."

The motorman also said that a repeat signal at the rear end of the train is also provided at Platform No. 5 at Borivali. A motorman on the condition of anonymity said, "The guard should have seen the signal being red aspect and warned the motorman from starting the train. Till 2003, the guard were also liable to observe the repeat signal. This dual-checking system was done away without any logical reasons."

The motorman said that the punishing the erring staff is not going to solve the problem. The solution lies in making the system fool proof."

Friday's incident could have proved serious had the train on Platform No. 6 also pulled out of the station. This would have resulted in side collision. The other possibility was of the train coming out of Platform No 5 getting derailed as the cross-over point was set for forward movement of train moving out of Platform No. 6. Fortunately, the erring train did not reach the cross over point. The erring motorman managed to apply emergency brake soon after three compartments had crossed the signaling pole.