ProUI

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.

મુંબઈ બાજુ આવતી મેઈલ- એક્સપ્રેસ ટ્રેનોમાં શસ્ત્રો ધાકે પ્રવાસીઓની મારઝૂડ કરીને લૂંટફાટ ચલાવનારી ટોળકીને પોલીસે ઝડપી લીધી છે. આરોપીઓને દીપક વિજય સાવળે (૨૪), તેનો ભાઈ રવીંદ્ર વિજય સાવળે (૨૩) અને દેવીદાસ નાના સોનાવણે ઉર્ફે પિંટયા (૩૦)નો સમાવેશ થાય છે. ધરપકડ કરાયેલા ત્રણેય આરોપીઓ મનમાડના રહેવાસી છે. ત્રણેય રેકોર્ડ પરના ગુનેગાર છે અને અનેક ટ્રેનોમાં તેમણે પ્રવાસીઓની મારઝૂડ કરીને લૂંટફાટ ચલાવી હોવાનું બહાર આવ્યું છે. આરોપીઓ પાસેથી નકલી પિસ્તોલ, ચાકુ, રોકડ રકમ અને અન્ય સાહિત્ય જપ્ત કરાયું છે. આરોપીઓએ નાશિક રોડ, ભૂસાવળ, ચાળીસગાવ અને મનમાડ ખાતે પણ લૂંટફાટ ચલાવી હોવાનું બહાર  આવ્યું છે, એમ રેલવે પોલીસ ડેપ્યુટી સુપરિન્ટેન્ડેન્ટ હરશ્વિંદ્ર રાઠોડે જણાવ્યું હતું. આ ત્રણેય આરોપીઓને રેલવે કોર્ટમાં હાજર કરાતાં પાંચ દિવસના રિમાંડ પર રાખવાનો આદેશ આપવામં આવ્યો છે. મુંબઈ બાજુ આવતી હાવડા મેઈલમાં ૭ જુનના રોજ પ્રવાસીઓની મારઝૂડ કરીને આરોપીઓએ લૂંટ ચલાવી હતી. આ પછી ૧૩ જુનના રોજ કુશીનગર, જ્યારે ૧૫ જુનના રોજ કર્મભૂમિ એક્સપ્રેસમાં  પણ આ રીતે જ પ્રવાસીઓની મારઝૂડ કરીને લૂંટ ચલાવી હતી. કુશીનગર એક્સપ્રેસમાં લૂંટ પછી એક પ્રવાસીએ કરેલા પ્રતિકારને લીધે ટ્રેનની સાંકળ ખેંચીને આરોપીઓ લાસલગાવમાં ટ્રેન થોભતાં  જ ભાગી ગયા હતા. જોકે પિસ્તોલ અને ચાકુ ત્યાં જ છોડી ગયા હતા. આ પછી આરોપીઓ માલેગાવમાં છુપાયા છે એવી માહિતી મળતાં પગેરું દબાવતાં આખરે ત્રણેયની ધરપકડ કરવામાં આવી  છે, એમ તેમણે જણાવ્યું હતું.

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.

More than 207 people have been killed and over 50,000 pilgrims are stranded due to the flash-floods in Uttarakhand.

- Narendra Modi will visit flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand tomorrow.
- Information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari says railways is running free special trains from Haridwar for passengers.
- Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde who is likely to visit the flood-affected Uttarakhand said while 34,000 people have been rescued, 50,000 people are still stranded.
-Forty eight bodies of flood victims were recovered from Haridwar, taking the toll in the rain fury to 190 as operations to rescue over 9,000 stranded in Kedarnath and Badrinath were stepped up with the deployment of 40 helicopters.
- As the magnitude of the tragedy continued to unfold, Uttarakhand Principal Secretary Rakesh Sharma said casualty figures can be "shockingly high".
- In Haridwar, SSP Rajeev Swaroop said 40 bodies of those killed in the flash floods and incessant rains have been found.
- Rescuers were focusing on rain-ravaged Kedarnath area where 250 people are stranded before shifting focus to Badrinath where 9000 people are stuck, officials said.
- Massive rescue operations have been launched in Uttarakhand with 40 helicopters pressed into service to evacuate over 9000 people from Kedarnath and Badrinath. The focus of the rescue operation is worst-hit Kedarnath area where 250 people are stranded.
- The operation would then shift to Badrinath where 9000 people are stuck, they said.
- IAF has deployed 20 Mi-17s and 16 Advanced Light Helicopters in the state where they have evacuated over 1,500 people. Army has also deployed over 8,000 of its troops along with over 3,000 personnel of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
- Headlines Today accessed the latest report of CAG day after highlighting how the autonomous watchdog had warned the central and state governments three years ago against setting up of too many hydroelectricity projects in the disaster-prone hilly state. Both the governments allegedly ignored the CAG warning about how these hydel projects were threatening environmental degradation in Uttarakhand.
- Met department says another cloudburst is likely to hit Uttarakhand again by June 24.
- Rescue teams focusing on evacuating people stuck in jungles between Kedarnath and Gaurikund, says ITBP chief Ajay Chadha.
- More helipads are being being built. Army trying to create a big helipad in Gaurikund to enable MI-17 choppers to land and a small helipad in Rambada near Kedarnath.
- The rescue teams also trying to create more roads to evacuate people.
Venkaiah Naidu, MP and BJP leader on Uttarakhand flash floods:
- I request PM to declare this a national calamity.
- Railways have made good arrangements.
- I will contribute 50 lakhs from my MPLADs for the relief efforts.

- MoS Railways, KSP Reddy says

- We have arranges special trains not just from UK to Delhi but also from Delhi to take rescued people back to their respective home states.
- Hundreds of people already assisted. Thousands more on their way.
- It is hard to estimate exactly how many more.

- A look at the relief aid announced by different state governments to Uttarakhand
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced Rs.1,000 crore.

-State Governments
Bihar                - Rs.5 crore
Odisha              - Rs.5 crore
Uttarakhand      - Rs.5 crore
Uttar Pradesh    - Rs.25 crore
Haryana              - Rs.10 crore
Madhya Pradesh  - Rs.5 crore
Karnataka            - Rs.5 crore
Maharashtra        -Rs.10 crore
Gujarat                - Rs.2 crore
Delhi                  - Rs.10 crore
Chhattisgarh      -Rs.5 crore

Mahindra & Mahindra Group- Rs.1 crore.

-Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh says announced a separate Rs. 340 crore special package for Uttarakhand for constructing village roads in the flood-ravaged hill state.

-NDRF rescued 885 people from Kedarnath and Gaurikund.

-President Pranab Mukherjee has cancelled his visit to Himachal Pradesh next week owing to the natural disaster in the state, an official said on Friday. Mukherjee's four-day visit to Shimla from June 28 has been cancelled. A communication in this regard from Rashtrapati Bhawan reached the state secretariat Thursday, an official said.

-The operation to airlift those stranded in rain-ravaged parts of Himachal's Kinnaur district has also resumed on Friday.

-Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner J.M. Pathania said that the rescue operation launched to airlift tourists stranded in parts of the district for the past five days resumed on Friday.

-He said teams of the National Disaster Management Authority have been sent to the Ropa Kanda area in Kinnaur to rescue 12 shepherds, who were trapped along with their herd.

-Kedarnath and Guptkashi are the worst affected areas by the floods.
- A total of 33,192 people, stranded due to floods in Uttarakhand, were rescued and helicopters -- privately owned and belonging to the Army and Air Force - carried out 90 sorties, airlifting people.
- Seventeen helicopters of the Army and Air Force were involved in the rescue effort, and 11 private ones.
- National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the home ministry release said, rescued 654 and 1,800 people respectively.
- 47 people who were trapped in Guptkashi finally reached reached Haridwar late night at 2 am. They belonged to Nashik.
- Army has rescued 2,000 people on foot and 85 by air from Harsil; 9100 on foot and 126 by by air and 2,500 people on foot from Kedarnath.
- Over 2,500 residents of Gangotri have now landed up at Army's Harsil camp of Garhwal Scouts. These people have lost their homes. 500 more, mostly old & infirm, remain stranded in the village.
- Chhattisgarh Government choppers will also airlift people standed in Uttarkhand from June 21; 4 rescue teams are working in Uttarkhand.
- Chhattisgarh Control Room no - 0942428958, 08435475985.
- Delhi - 011- 46156000, 46156032


Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/uttarakhand-kedarnath-gangotri-pligrims-stranded-rescue-flash-floods/1/284502.html

Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took charge as the sixth Minister of Railways in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s second term.Earlier, the ministry had seen the unceremonious exit of Pawan Kumar Bansal, after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) unearthed an appointment scam involving Bansal’s nephew and a sitting member of the Railway Board.Kharge took charge at the office on the second floor of Rail Bhawan. The building also houses the minister’s staff, as well as board members, most of whom have lately been questioned by CBI.

4.55pm Update from the Ministry of Railways

— Special trains have been arranged to evacuate stranded persons from the calamity hit Uttarakhand areas.

— Special Trains have started running from Haridwar. Yesterday i.e. on 20.6.2013, three specials were run to Lucknow, Delhi and Ambala respectively. More specials are being planned as per the requirements.

— In coordination with Government of Uttarakhand, Indian Railways has decided to carry stranded passengers free of cost to their respective destinations.

— Railway administration is ensuring that sufficient Empty Coaching Rakes are sent to Haridwar/Dehradun.

— A Task Force has been set up at the level of Railway Board under Chairman Railway Board, Shri Vinay Mittal to monitor the situation.

— Northern Railway and its Muradabad Division have fully geared up for making appropriate arrangements (Uttarakhand falls mostly under Muradabad Railway Division of Northern Railway).

— The following Senior officers have been deputed as Special officers in charge of four most crucial points:

I. Dehradun-Sh. Sanjeev Garg, Chief Commercial Manager/Freight Marketing–Mob.no. 09717630953

II. Rishikesh -Sh. D. K. Singh, Chief Commercial Manager/Project-Mob.no. – 097171630969

III. Haridwar -Sh. Hitendra Malhotra, Additional Divisional Railway Manager /Moradabad-Mob.no. 09760534001

IV. New Delhi -Sh. Vivek Srivastava, Additional Divisional Railway Manager/Delhi-Mob.no. -09717631001

These Officers are maintaining liaison and co-ordination with the State Civil Authorities and ensuring management and dispersal of passengers by Train services, running of special trains and also ensuring setting up of passenger help booths at these locations to be manned round the clock.

— The following Helpline nos. have been installed:

I. Haridwar: 09760534054/09760534055

II. Dehradun: 01352-622131

III. Rishikesh:01352-434167

— RPF officers with adequate contingent of Inspectors/constables have been deputed at these locations.

— Doctors and paramedical staff in sufficient numbers have been deployed at these Stations.

— Railways have ensured setting up of additional Booking and Enquiry Counters at above Locations for handling the additional requirement of Booking, Enquiries and Refund etc.

— Adequate arrangement of Catering facilities and Drinking water has been ensured at these locations.

— Frequent Announcements through the Public Address System regarding status of Trains and other Passenger related services has been ensured.

The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) is zeroing on government land on Kanpur road to set up a maintenance and operation depot for the ambitious Metro rail project. For this, the portion of the land housing 32 Battalion Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) in Sarojini Nagar is emerging as the best choice.After a survey of the government land along both sides of Kanpur Road, a proposal in this regard has been sent to the state government. Principal secretary (home), who is analysing the proposal, would take a final call. Officials said if the proposal gets a go-ahead from the government, the PAC battalion -- spread over 70 acres -- would be relocated to a 50-acre gram sabha land near New Jail in Mohanlalganj.“Though the final decision is yet to be taken, it is very likely that the PAC land would be used for the purpose,” said an official.

The LDA has been on the lookout for land on Kanpur Road for quite some time. Among the options provided by the district administration, the development agency ultimately chose the PAC campus because of its large area (70 acres).

The construction of the depot would also require demolition of some portion of the PAC building. “The LDA wants a 50- acre government land for the purpose. Given the requirement, the authority is not left with many options. They plan is to use 50 acres for the depot and the remaining 20 acres for a different project,” added the official.

Ideally for the proposed 23-km North-South corridor (from Lucknow airport to Munshipulia), the LDA would require two depots on either side. But there is no vacant area on the Munshipulia side. So, the facility proposed on the PAC campus, officials said, promises to be the main depot of the project. It's infrastructure would include a test track, depot workshop, an operational control room and a sub-station. It would also offer space for inspection shed, stabling sheds, automatic train washing plant and interior cleaning facilities. “The depot would cater to all inspection, maintenance, washing and administrative needs of the Metro rail,” said the official. Earlier this month, the high power committee headed by chief secretary Jawed Usmani gave a green signal to the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that would oversee the project and put state capital on the fast track by giving it the most modern mode of public transport.

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.

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.

SCR dispatches coaches to Haridwar; And a Special train being run and extra coaches attached on trains from Delhi to Secunderabad to clear stranded pilgrims

              South Central Railway has dispatched a special empty rake consisting of 15 coaches (6 Sleeper class; 2 AC III tier; 5 General Second class and 2 General Second class Luggage cum Brake Van coaches) from Secunderabad to Haridwar today i.e. 21th June 2013. 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 back to their destinations from railway stations in Uttarakhand region/ New Delhi.

    Senior Officials of South Central Railway 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 to cater to the needs of the stranded pilgrims.

A Special train is being run to Secunderabad from Delhi tonight to clear the passengers bound to Andhra Pradesh. This special train leaves Delhi Nizamuddin at 21:30 hrs. of today i.e., 21st June, 2013 and is expected to arrive Secunderabad o­n23rd June, 2013.In addition, extra coaches are also being attached to Dakshin Express and Duronto Express leaving Delhi today to Secunderabad to clear the extra rush of passengers.