ProUI

LUCKNOW: In a brazen show of strength that took place in the heart of the city during peak hours, two groups involved in the railway contract business wielded firearms at each other inside the northern railway divisional railway manager's (DRM) office on Friday noon.According to reports around 1pm railway contractors Surendra Kumar Kaliya and Rakesh Singh Rana reached the railway office to submit tenders documents of contract related to building platform at Jaunpur railway station. The two sides came face to face and warned each other against going ahead with the tender process. Within moments it became free-for-all fight and goons started hitting each other with rifle butts and firearms. Hazratganj police reached the spot and separated the groups. Both Kaliya and Rana had sustained injuries.Rana alleged that Kaliya had torn the tender form and the bank draft he was carrying. A cross case was registered at Hazratganj police station subsequently by the two sides against each other. TNN The two contractors owe allegiance to two controversial heavyweights from east UP. In the past too several brawls have been witnessed in the same DRM office.

MYSORE: Two infrastructure projects pending for long have made it to the list of top priorities of new district minister V Sreenivasa Prasad.

Four-laning of Mysore-Nanjangud road and doubling of Mysore-Bangalore railway line will now get attention. While upgrading a stretch of NH 212 connecting Mysore to Nanjangud will help both the tourists and for extension of industrial belt, the double line between the IT city and the tourist hub will improve connectivity. Prasad, who is revenue minister, on Friday, said delay in land acquisition at Mandya district has slowed down doubling the railway track. A part of land required for laying new line at Maddur was caught in legal dispute. We've funds to acquire land that is not a problem. I'm convening a meeting of Mysore and Mandya DCs to focus on the problem, Prasad told reporters after inaugurating district minister's office at Public Offices abutting Mysore Palace. The project was delayed given the delay to shift an armory from Tipu Sultan's period at Srirangapatna railway station. It is also okayed now, he stated.

While South Western Railway is completing building major bridges across Cauvery river to lay the tracks and has completed doubling from Mysore to Naganahalli and from Bangalore to Ramnagaram. The missing link is delaying completion of the rail project, which, subsequently is adding to pressure on Mysore-Bangalore expressway. While the railway has increased trains between Mysore and Bangalore since five years, extension of better services hinges on the completion of the missing link.

Aware that land acquisition is the primary reason for the delay; the revenue minister said he will fix the problem. Prasad, who represents Nanjangud, said work to four-lane the stretch between Mysore and Nanjangud will commence in two months. Pointing at the appointment of senior Congress leader from Karnataka Oscar Fernandes as the Union minister for transport, road and highways, Prasad said it will help the Congress government put back the project on the track. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has approved the four-laning even as there are demands to realign the stretch to facilitate the expansion of workable Mysore Airport. The Airports Authority of India is seeking to extend the runway that cuts across Mysore-Nanjangud road.

However, Prasad said the four-laning will be taken up now, which could delay the expansion of the Mysore airport.

The ‘missing link’ between Virudhunagar and Manamadurai has been finally established with the conversion of the metre gauge railway track into broad gauge.Commissioner of Railway Safety Sathish Kumar Mittal began an inspection of the track from here on a trolley along with senior railway officials on Thursday. Regular train service will start on the track in a few months after he certifies its safety.With this, people going from Rameswaram to Kanyakumari can avoid touching Madurai. Similarly, people can go from Kanyakumari to Rameswaram and reach Chennai without going to Madurai. It will save a lot of time for passengers. Goods trains can also be diverted through this route so that over-utilisation of Madurai line can be minimised. It will also help maintain timings of all trains.However, more remains to be done. The most vital is the ‘missing link’ to the fourth platform at the junction. The overbridge is now extended only up to the third platform. The newly laid track is on the fourth platform but passengers do not have access to the platform. Till the foot overbridge is extended, no passenger train could be operated on this new track. The first three tracks are utilised to the maximum.

Only one counter

The railway station has only one counter to issue unreserved tickets for all the trains. Express trains such as the ones from Madurai to Shencottah, Mysore to Tuticorin, Tirunelveli to Erode/Mayavaram and Nagercoil to Mumbai run between 8.00 a.m. and 9.00 a.m. Likewise, trains such as those from Madurai to Shencottah, Shencottah to Madurai, Tuticorin to Mysore, Chennai to Guruvayur, Erode/Mayavaram to Tirunelveli run between 5.30 p.m. and 6.15 p.m.

Besides, special trains operated from Tirunelveli to Jummudavi (two days a week) and from Nagercoil to Mumbai (three days a week) are passing through this station.

The staff manning the single counter could not handle the large number of passengers waiting to board these trains. There has been a demand for opening a counter on the eastern side, where about 50 per cent of town’s population lives. They have to take a circuitous route and travel two to three more kilometres to reach the station in the absence of an overbridge and a counter.

If the railway level-crossing is closed, the plight of passengers becomes worse.

: A snag in overhead electrical lines near the Chandigarh and Delhi railway stations delayed the Shatabdi Express by over 30 to 45 minutes on Friday. While the afternoon Delhi-Chandigarh train got delayed by around 45 minutes, the evening Chandigarh-Delhi Shatabdi was late by around 30 minutes. a??In our division, problem in overhead electrical lines emerged near Samalkha area in Haryana, due to which not only trains to Chandigarh, but over half a dozen trains to other stations like Amritsar also got delayed. Similarly, the same problem cropped up at Delhi,a?? said Gulshan Kumar, senior division commercial manger, Ambala railway division.

In what would provide relief to the residents from the traffic woes near Manimajra level crossing, the much- delayed rail underbridge (RUB) proposed for the area would get underway with the design being modified. It is now proposed that the RUB would be narrower than what had been perceived earlier.The proposal for construction of RUB was mooted more than two years back. The project had received the requisite approval from the Centre as well. However, inspections had shown that the site was in close proximity to residential as well as commercial buildings. Concerns were raised over the effect on the foundations of these buildings in case the underbridge was to be constructed.It has now been decided that the underbridge would be narrower than what was proposed earlier. This would ensure that the foundations of the buildings in question are not affected. While the Modern Housing Complex is near the level crossing, there is a market on one side as well.The crossing is a traffic bottleneck. Every time a train crosses, there are traffic jams on either side. The road on one side of the crossing is quite narrow. Once the gates of the crossing open, it takes time for the traffic flow to normalise. Commuters on the stretch have for long been demanding construction of the underbridge.UT Finance Secretary V K Singh says, "The rail underbridge would be narrower on the lines of some of those in Delhi. The design is being finalised and tenders for construction would be floated soon. The approval from the Centre for the project had been received earlier."Another advantage of construction of the underbridge would be that the commuters between Chandigarh and Panchkula would find an alternative road to travel on. At present, the Madhya Marg extension that joins Chandigarh and Panchkula bears a large share of the traffic. It causes congestion on this stretch. The road from Manimajra is not favoured due to the level crossing which proves to be a hurdle.The construction of another rail underbridge is going on at Mauli Jagran level crossing. It is expected to be completed this year. This would also ease out the traffic congestion on the Chandigarh-Panchkula stretch. The Railways had complained about the delay by the administration in widening of road that led to the underbridge. One of the reasons for delay was that shifting of pipelines that lay under the road was not undertaken on time. The RUB at Manimajra had been approved along with this. However, it was delayed due to technical problems.

In what would provide relief to the residents from the traffic woes near Manimajra level crossing, the much- delayed rail underbridge (RUB) proposed for the area would get underway with the design being modified. It is now proposed that the RUB would be narrower than what had been perceived earlier.The proposal for construction of RUB was mooted more than two years back. The project had received the requisite approval from the Centre as well. However, inspections had shown that the site was in close proximity to residential as well as commercial buildings. Concerns were raised over the effect on the foundations of these buildings in case the underbridge was to be constructed.It has now been decided that the underbridge would be narrower than what was proposed earlier. This would ensure that the foundations of the buildings in question are not affected. While the Modern Housing Complex is near the level crossing, there is a market on one side as well.The crossing is a traffic bottleneck. Every time a train crosses, there are traffic jams on either side. The road on one side of the crossing is quite narrow. Once the gates of the crossing open, it takes time for the traffic flow to normalise. Commuters on the stretch have for long been demanding construction of the underbridge.UT Finance Secretary V K Singh says, "The rail underbridge would be narrower on the lines of some of those in Delhi. The design is being finalised and tenders for construction would be floated soon. The approval from the Centre for the project had been received earlier."Another advantage of construction of the underbridge would be that the commuters between Chandigarh and Panchkula would find an alternative road to travel on. At present, the Madhya Marg extension that joins Chandigarh and Panchkula bears a large share of the traffic. It causes congestion on this stretch. The road from Manimajra is not favoured due to the level crossing which proves to be a hurdle.The construction of another rail underbridge is going on at Mauli Jagran level crossing. It is expected to be completed this year. This would also ease out the traffic congestion on the Chandigarh-Panchkula stretch. The Railways had complained about the delay by the administration in widening of road that led to the underbridge. One of the reasons for delay was that shifting of pipelines that lay under the road was not undertaken on time. The RUB at Manimajra had been approved along with this. However, it was delayed due to technical problems.

प्रतापगढ़। सेना भर्ती में शामिल होने के लिए ट्रेन से स्टेशन तक आने के लिए अभ्यर्थियों को परेशान नहीं होना पड़ेगा। हर तरफ से आने वाली पैसेंजर ट्रेनों में बोगियां बढ़ाई जाएंगी। ट्रेनों में ज्यादा रैक जोड़ने के लिए स्टेशन अधीक्षक ने डीआरएम को पत्र लिखा है।
जिले में दो जुलाई से सात जुलाई तक सेना में भर्ती के लिए कैंप लगने जा रहा है। इस दौरान जिले में 40 हजार अभ्यर्थियों के आने का अंदाजा है। यात्रा के दौरान अभ्यर्थी सीट न मिलने पर खूब हंगामा करते हैं। कहीं-कहीं पत्थरबाजी भी हो जाती है। इन सारी समस्याओं को देखते हुए जिला प्रशासन ने रेल प्रशासन को अवगत कराया है। स्टेशन अधीक्षक केएन शर्मा ने डीआरएम को ट्रेनों में अलग से रैक लगवाने के लिए पत्र लिखा है। उन्होंने कहा है कि भारी भीड़ होने के चलते अभ्यर्थी ट्रेन के दरवाजों से लटकने के साथ ही आरक्षित सीटों वाले यात्रियों को भी परेशान करते हैं। यही नहीं सीट न मिलने पर रेल संपत्ति को नुकसान पहुंचाते हैं। ऐसे में ट्रेनों में रैक बढ़ाया जाना आवश्यक है।

LUCKNOW: In a brazen show of strength that took place in the heart of the city during peak hours, two groups involved in the railway contract business wielded firearms at each other inside the northern railway divisional railway manager's (DRM) office on Friday noon.According to reports around 1pm railway contractors Surendra Kumar Kaliya and Rakesh Singh Rana reached the railway office to submit tenders documents of contract related to building platform at Jaunpur railway station. The two sides came face to face and warned each other against going ahead with the tender process. Within moments it became free-for-all fight and goons started hitting each other with rifle butts and firearms. Hazratganj police reached the spot and separated the groups. Both Kaliya and Rana had sustained injuries.Rana alleged that Kaliya had torn the tender form and the bank draft he was carrying. A cross case was registered at Hazratganj police station subsequently by the two sides against each other. TNN The two contractors owe allegiance to two controversial heavyweights from east UP. In the past too several brawls have been witnessed in the same DRM office.

PATNA: With the rise in volume of traffic under Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR), railways is giving a facelift to Danapur station, one of the oldest ones in the eastern zone. Railways is planning to develop it as a terminal point of the division under its Vision 2020 to cope with the increasing load of rail traffic and rush of passengers.According to Danapur DRM L M Jha, the station needs proper development keeping in view passengers amenities and traffic operation. The station is the main artery of the division while Patna Junction is the hub of passenger trains, he said.Jha said railways has started building intermediary block huts (IBH) to increase the line capacity on the mainline section of the division right from Jhajha to Mughalsarai. The long section of IBH is being reduced to a minimum distance so that there is no hurdle in movement of passenger trains from both Up and Down directions, he said, adding that loop lines are being built at six important places on the mainline for the smooth passage of traffic load.While a spacious circulating area of station is under construction, railways has decided to build a state-of-the-art refreshment room and two retiring rooms at Danapur station. A spacious waiting hall for sleeper class passengers would also be constructed outside the station. Railway has already built a VIP lounge at the station, Jha said.Under the new plan, railways would build a separate building to house the present passenger reservation system (PRS) building at the west end of the station. Besides, railways has no option than to develop Danapur station where there is enough space to carry out development plan, Jha said, adding that Patna Junction and Rajendra Nagar Terminal are already saturated from traffic operation or maintenance of coaches point of view. Thus, Danapur station could be developed as the next terminal of the division to fulfil the operational needs of railways, Jha said.The DRM said the newly built Patliputra station, which will be thrown open for traffic by the end of this month, is linked to Danapur station. Soon after its commissioning, railways has to cope with a huge rush of traffic at Danapur end also. It intends to build a route relay interlocking (RRI) system at Danapur station in future, Jha said.

Chandigarh:
Hundreds of passengers commuting to Chandigarh via trains in morning faced trouble due to the delay in arrival and departure of trains. The delay was caused due to a damaged overhead wire near Babarpur. Railway officials said all the trains which were plying between 8:45 am to 1:30 pm were delayed due to repair work of the overhead wire.A senior railway official said due to the damage in the overhead wire only single track was used for the plying the trains on the route near Babarpur. This delayed arrival and departure of all the trains till afternoon.Suman Sharma, a resident of Sector 38, who was traveling in the Himalayan Queen which got delayed by 20 minutes, said it has become a routine practice of the railway to delay the arrival and departure of the trains. She was not consoled with the fact that the delay in the train today was due to some technical fault.