ProUI

उत्तराखंड में हुई भयंकरतबाही के चलते लोगों को वहां से जल्दी निकालने के लिए पूर्वोत्तर रेलवे ने कुछ ट्रेनों में एक-एक जनरल और एक एसी कोच बढ़ाया है। इन ट्रेनों में सप्तक्रांति एक्सप्रेस, रानीखेत एक्सप्रेस, गरीब रथ एक्सप्रेस, मुरादाबाद-काठगोदाम एक्सप्रेस, काठगोदाम-देहरादून एक्सप्रेस, लिंक एक्सप्रेस और रामनगर-दिल्ली एक्सप्रेस ट्रेनें शामिल हैं।

JAMMU, Jun24: People Democratic Party (PDP) Leader Imtiyaz Ahmed Khan has welcomed the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and concerned Railway Authorities to inaugurate the rail link between Banihal and Kashmir Valley which will shorten the distance and make it possible to travel in very short time. He said that this rail link will certainly boost the economy of Banihal and create opportunities of employment. Many of the people gave away their land for the link, so I appeal to the PM to distribute the 20% remaining land in their favour and rates to be enhanced, declaring it as Model Town and Banihal Tourism Development Authority and provide the land owners with one job per family.

One of Indian railways’ biggest train-running headaches — the time spent by hundreds of trains with lakhs of commuters inside trying to enter Borivli Station every day from the Virar - end - can be solved with just a small plot of land no wider than 6 metres and 24 longer. In typical square feet and bedroom-hall-kitchen obsessed Mumbai, it comes to around 1,530 square feet or a spacious 3 BHK flat.

Western Railway has put in a land request for exactly this much land with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to ensure that every morning, Mumbaikars travelling from Virar towards Churchgate don’t have to suffer an annoying wait as their local trains compete with long-distance trains coming in from the north to get entry into Borivli Station. WR chief spokesperson Sharat Chandrayan confirmed that WR had asked the BMC for the plot of land and the railway ministry has sanctioned Rs50 lakh to start work.

According to WR, some of these long-distance trains — 24 coaches long — take anywhere between seven to 10 minutes to get into Borivli Station after navigating the slew of lines on the northern end of the station. A seven minute delay during the maddening Mumbai rush hour means anywhere between two to three trains getting delayed, the cascading effect delaying another ten-odd trains.

According to the plan prepared by WR’s Mumbai division, if they get the plot of land running along MG Road adjoining the railway boundary on the north-east of Borivli Station, track number 6 — which currently ends 100 metres north of Borivli — can be extended and given a connection — called a crossover in railway jargon — with track number 5 — the line used by fast trains coming into Borivli Station from the Virar-end. Line number five further north has a connector with line number 3 used by slow trains coming in from Virar.

“The extension of track 6 and connecting it to line five will and the newly-built platform number 6A. It will solve the problem of trains having to wait on line 5 - used by fast trains coming from Virar towards Borivli — and also quicken the process of slow trains coming on line 3 from Virar and then moving onto the fast line at platform number 5. During the morning peak hours, a vast majority of train movement is actually from line 3 to 5 — when they become fast trains from Borivli to Churchgate - and this work on line 6 can be a huge relief,” said an official overseeing the plan.

Currently, Borivli Station is a maze of eight platforms. The problem area, according to the officials, is the Dahisar-end platform 6 and the shorter 6A, both of which are used by long-distance trains going towards Mumbai Central or Bandra Terminus. The lines are capable of moving trains in both directions.

“The creation of these two platforms has increased the headache for local commuters. The problem gets compounded by the fact that both line 6 and 6A get truncated because of the lack of space to extend line 6. However, it is not going to be easy since the land we want has structures on it and a considerable amount would have to be spent on R&R. Moreover, at the spot we are looking at, MG road has a sharp curve and also several BEST bus stops,” said an official.

Security forces have decided to intensify patrolling on a 100-km stretch along the south-eastern part of the state to protect trains from Naxalite and criminal attacks.
Additional director-general of police (law and order) S.K. Bharadwaj on Monday told The Telegraph: “The attack by suspected CPI (Maoist) cadres on the 13331 Dhanbad-Patna Intercity Express in Jamui district on June 13 has prompted us to take this decision.”
The attack, in which around 100 Maoists, including women cadres, took part, claimed three lives, including that of a Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) officer. The rebels also looted two automatic assault rifles from the escort party in the train.
“After the attack, the police and railway authorities have reviewed security in the trains on the route. It has been found that the south-eastern stretch of Bihar, which starts from the Bihar-Jharkhand border and includes Naxalite-affected districts like Jamui, Banka, Munger and Lakhisarai, are a soft target for the rebels as well as criminals.
“There have been many attacks on trains in these areas. Hence, both the police and the railways have decided to concentrate more on these areas,” Bharadwaj said.
He said the 100-km stretch, which mostly runs parallel to the railway lines and the stations in these districts, has been earmarked for intensified security.
“The route is being finalised. At present, the whole stretch will be 100-km-long and will include the railway stations and railway tracks. We have conducted studies and calculations and this stretch mostly runs parallel to the railway track, barring at a few places. Both the police and the railways will be choosing five points along the whole route and there will be a contingent of 100 jawans of central paramilitary forces, district police and special forces like the CoBRA battalion at each of these five points.
“Their job would be to ensure that the trains and the passengers remain safe from any kind of attacks. The final plan will be ready soon,” Bharadwaj said.

KMCL board plan is to complete tender process in six months

The Kerala Monorail Corporation Limited (KMCL), the special purpose vehicle set up to execute the Rs.5,581-crore elevated mass rapid transit system in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, has given the green signal for commencing the bid process for the monorail.The nod, coming within five days of signing the general consultancy agreement with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on June 19, was given by the KMCL board that met here on Monday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.With this, the two-stage process — Request for Qualification and Request for Proposal — of commencing the tender process can be taken up. Official sources said the KMCL had already received the Request for Qualification document given by the DMRC. Following the KMCL board’s nod to commence the bid process, the RFQ can now be floated so that the process can be completed in three months. The Request for Proposal will be issued later and the attempt is to complete the tender process within six months and to finalise the contract in the next seven months to commence work.

The KMCL board also gave the permission to hold pre-bid meetings and to commence the functioning of the project offices in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

Sources said the project office in the capital will be inaugurated near Raj Bhavan in the next 10 days. The project office in Kozhikode Collectorate is being furnished.

Global tenders will be floated by treating the two projects as one as only a combined distance of 36.4 km will be covered in the first phase. DMRC Principal Advisor E. Sreedharan has already said that the first stretch, where land acquisition was not needed, will be completed in three years.

A decision on including Mr. Sreedharan as a technical expert in the KMCL board has been kept in abeyance as the authorities are worried if there will be a conflict of interest. The board also gave the clearance for appointing the required staff in both the project offices.

Besides Mr. Chandy and Mr. Sreedharan, the meeting was attended by Ministers V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, K.M. Mani, V.S. Sivakumar, M.K. Muneer and Manjalamkuzhi Ali; Additional Chief Secretary Elias George; Secretary, Public Works Department, T.O. Sooraj; and KMCL managing director P.C. Harikesh.


Tenders to be floated by considering the two projects as one

Monorail offices in capital, Kozhikode

The proposed extension of the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor to Krishnapatnam Port will benefit traders in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, according to Anil Yendluri, Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd, Chief Executive Officer.Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Yendluri said: “The inclusion of Krishnapatnam Port in the extended corridor would benefit traders to a large extent as it would connect four ports, three international airports and three cities by rail and road. Besides, several thermal power plants and oil refineries are coming up in southern coastal Andhra Pradesh. It will benefit the region.”While Japanese investors have been demanding better infrastructural facilities between Ennore and Chennai Port and road/rail connectivity from Chennai to Bangalore, the Andhra Pradesh government lobbied for inclusion of Krishnapatnam in the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor and the Centre accepted the proposal. Prime Minister’s advisor T.K.A. Nair is visiting Chennai regularly to review the project’s progress.To take advantage of the changing scenario, Krishnapatnam Rail Company Ltd has started the process of doubling and electrification of the railway line between Venkatachalam Junction (near Gudur in Andhra Pradesh) and Krishnapatnam Port. The process will be completed in three months, covering 26 km in length.

Currently, coal, maize, minerals, granite, fertilizers and wheat are moved to and from Krishnapatnam Port through 15 rakes per day and this will increase to 60 rakes per day. Coal is transported to Toranagallu in Bellary district for a steel firm and to Gummidipoondi for a power plant in Tamil Nadu; it gets wheat from Maharashtra and maize from Koppal, Karnataka.

Krishnapatnam Port is located about 190 km from Chennai and is seen as an alternative port by the trade for moving coal, minerals, granite, chillies and tobacco. Traditionally, these traders used Chennai Port. However, issues such as congestion and delay in transporting their produce forced them to look at alternative ports such as Ennore Port, Tuticorin Port and Krishnapatnam Port.

“We are not competing against Chennai Port as the latter has excellent connectivity with several mainline vessels and feeder vessels calling the port on regular basis as compared to us. We started the container business only in April and are handling about 2,500 to 3,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of containers per month. We have a long way to go,” he said.

Port users said it did not make business sense for the traders to shift all the goods to Krishnapatnam Port due to the cost factor. While one can reach the port within a day from Chennai, traders might be forced to wait for days to catch the feeder or mainline vessel, due to less number of arrivals. Of late, dealers in granite, tobacco and chillies have started using Krishnapatnam Port against Chennai Port. In other words, Chennai Port’s loss is Krishnapatnam Port’s gain.

ALLAHABAD: GRP sleuths nabbed three suitcase lifters at Allahabad railway junction on Monday. Equipments for committing theft were recovered from their possession.The nabbed persons were identified as Lakhan Singh of Aligarh, Suresh Kumar Bind of Bahariya of Allahabad and Sudhir of Pratapgarh. These persons were planning to loot passengers at the Howrah end of platform number 1 of Allahabad railway junction when GRP personnel swung into action and nabbed them.GRP sources informed that they are mostly active in Mumbai and Delhi bound trains and looted luggage of the passengers.

25-06-2013
A brief on Revised Refund Rules effective from 01.07.2013
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1.0Railway Passengers (Cancellation of ticket and Refund of fare) Rules, 1998 have not been substantially revised in the last 15 years during which period a large number of changes have taken place in the ticketing system of Indian Railways.Firstly, Computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) as well as Computerised Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) have proliferated. Reservation through internet has also been introduced through which 45% of the total reserved tickets are issued. Integrated Train Enquiry System -- 139 is functional through which ticket status can be obtained through SMS. The above developments warranted that the refund rules be revised comprehensively.

2.0Accordingly, Revised Refund Rules have been notified and shall come into force w.e.f. 01.07.2013. The amendments made in the Refund Rules are aimed at simplification, efficiency in processing and reduction of bogus refund claims.

3.0The major changes in the existing rules and the amendments in refund rules are as under:-


3.1Unused (unreserved) tickets o­n which no reservation has been made:

Existing rule
Amended rule
If a ticket o­n which no reservation of a seat or berth has been made is presented to the station master for cancellation refund of fare shall be made o­n every such ticket after deducting the clerkage.
(i) within three hours after the actual departure of the train for which the ticket is issued or
(ii) for any ticket valid for the whole day, within three hours after the actual departure of the last train of the day for the destination station
If a ticket o­n which no reservation of a seat or berth has been made is presented for cancellation, refund of fare shall be made o­n every such ticket after deducting the clerkage.
(i)The ticket shall be presented for cancellation within three hours of issue of ticket.
(ii) In case of tickets issued in advance the ticket is presented upto 2400 hours of the day preceding the day of journey.

3.2Unused tickets o­n which reservationhas been made:

(i) if the ticket is presented for cancellation more than forty eight hours instead of the existing 24 hours in advance of the scheduled departure of the train, a minimum per passenger cancellation charge shall be deducted at the flat rate of rupees o­ne hundred and twenty for air-conditioned first class/executive class, rupees o­ne hundred for air-conditioned-II tier/first class, rupees ninety for air-conditioned III-tier/ 3 economy/air-conditioned chair car, rupees sixty for sleeper class and rupees thirty for second class.

(ii)if the ticket is presented for cancellation between forty eight hours and upto six hours instead of existing 24 hours and upto 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charge shall be twenty five per cent of the fare subject to a minimum of the cancellation charge.

(iii)if the ticket is presented for cancellation within six hours instead of existing 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train and upto two hours irrespective of distance instead of existing 3/6/12 hours for distance 200 kms/200-500 kms/500 Kms and above after the actual departure of the train, the cancellation charge shall be fifty per cent of the fare subject to a minimum of the cancellation charge.

(iv) No refund shall be granted o­n the reserved ticket if it is surrendered for cancellation after two hours of the actual departure of the train.

(v)In case, o­n a party ticket or a family ticket issued for travel of more than o­ne person, some persons have confirmed reservation and others are o­n waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage, shall be admissible for confirmed passengers also provided that the entire ticket is surrendered for cancellation within six hours instead of existing 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train and upto two hoursinstead of existing 3 hours after actual departure of the train”.

3.3Unused waitlisted or RAC tickets:–

Existing rule
Revised rule
If the ticket is presented for cancellation upto 3/6/12 hours for distance 200 kms/200-500 kms/500 Kms and above after the actual departure of the train, except deduction of clerkage;
Provided that for night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00 hours (actual departure), refund shall be admissible at the station within the time limits specified above or within first four hours after the opening of reservation office, whichever is later.
If a Waitlisted/RAC ticket is presented for cancellation, refund of fare shall be admissible after deducting the clerkage.
(i) The ticket is presented for cancellation upto three hours after the actual departure of the train irrespective of the distance.
(ii) The passenger may get the tickets cancelled from any PRS counters or the designated current counters.
(iii) No refund of fare shall be granted o­n RAC ticket /Waitlisted ticket after three hours of the actual departure of the train.
(iv) In case no current counters are available at journey originating station for night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00 hours(actual departure , refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation office.
(v) In remote and hill areas as identified by the zonal Railways with the prior approval of the General Managers and print in their Time Tables for train leaving between 1900 hours and 0600 hours (actual departure) refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation/booking office, in case there is no reservation counters/booking office/ current counters. Available in that area.
3.4Cancellation of e- tickets.-

·The e- ticket may be booked and cancelled through internet and the refund of fare shall be credited to the customer’s account after deducting the charges applicable.

·In case of a confirmed e-ticket, refund of fare shall be granted in accordance with rule for unused tickets o­n which reservation has been made. In case of RAC e-ticket, refund of fare shall be granted in accordance with rule for unused waitlisted and RAC tickets.

·In case ofthe waitlisted e-ticket o­n which status of all the passengers is o­n waiting list even after preparation of reservation charts, names of all such passengers booked o­n that Passenger Name Record (PNR) shallbe dropped from the reservation chart andrefund of fare shall be credited to the customer’s accountafter deducting the clerkage.

·In case o­n a party e-ticket or a family e-ticket issued for travel of more than o­ne person, some persons have confirmed reservation and others are o­n the list of RAC and waiting list, then in case of passengers o­n RAC or waitlisted not travelling, a certificate has to be obtained from the ticket checking staff to that effect and refund of fare shall be processed o­nline through TDR, indicating the details of the certificate issued by ticket checking staff.

·The o­nline TDR shall be filed upto seventy two hours of actual arrival of the train at passenger’s destination and the original certificate issued by the ticket checking staff is to be sent through post to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The fare shall be refunded by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to the customer’s account after due verification.
·In case of e-tickets (confirmed or RAC), if the reservation charts have beenprepared, o­nline TDR is required to be filed for obtaining refund. No refund of fare shall be admissible o­n e- ticket having confirmed reservation in case the request for refund is filed o­nline after two hours of the actual departure of the train.
·No refund of fare shall be admissible o­n RAC e-tickets in case the request for refund is filed o­nline after three hours of the actual departure of the train.

3.5 Refund o­n Tatkaltickets:

·No refund of fare shall be admissible o­n confirmed Tatkal ticket.
·In case of Tatkal ticket o­n waitlist, refund of fare shall be granted in accordance with rule for unused waitlisted or RAC tickets.
·In case o­n a party Tatkal ticket or a family Tatkal ticket issued for travel for more than o­ne person, some persons have confirmed reservation and others are o­n waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage, shall be admissible for confirmed passengers also provided that the entire Tatkal ticket is surrendered for cancellation within six hours before the scheduled departure of the train or upto two hours of the actual departure of the train.
3.6 Postponement or preponement of journey o­n a reserved, RAC or waitlisted ticket.

Thepostponement or preponement of journey o­n confirmed or RAC or waitlisted ticket shall be allowed in the same class and for the same destination instead of any longer distance or any higher class by the same train or by any other train for any subsequent days,subject to condition that the ticket is surrendered during the working hours of reservation office and at least forty eight hours instead of existing 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train in which originally booked.

3.7Non-commencement or missing of journey due to late running of trains. -

·No cancellation charge or clerkage shall be levied and full fare shall be refunded to all passengers holding reserved, RACand waitlisted tickets, if the journey is not undertaken due to late running of the train by more than three hours of the scheduled departure of the train from the station commencing the journey subject to condition that the ticket is surrendered upto the actual departure of the train instead of existing 3/6/12 hours for distance 200 kms/200-500 kms/500 Kms and above after the actual departure of the train
·in case of e-tickets, the TDRis filed o­nline before the actual departure ofthe train for availing full refund.
·In case the ticket is cancelled or surrendered or if the request for refund of fare is filedonline after the actual departure of the train, no refund of fare shall be admissible.
3.8Lost, misplaced, torn or mutilated tickets: -

If the reservation status of a lost, misplaced, torn or mutilated ticket, at the time of receipt of the application for issuance of a duplicate ticket for the purpose of undertaking journey, is confirmed or RAC and that the duplicate ticket is sought before preparation of reservation chartof the concerned train, the station master shall issue a duplicate ticket in lieu of the original ticket o­n payment of rupees fiftyper passenger in case of second and sleeper class andrupees o­ne hundredper passenger for other classes instead of existing clerkage charge.

3.9Application for refund of Passenger Reservation System (PRS) tickets in other circumstances:-

For refund of fare under circumstances other than those specified in these rules or under circumstances like ‘bandh’ or agitations or floods,etc., the passengers could not reach the reservation counter or station or current counters for cancellation of tickets, in those cases, a TDRshall be issued to the passenger and the passenger may apply for refund of fare within ten days instead existing 90 days from the day of commencement of journey to the Chief Commercial Manager (Refunds) of the railway administration under whose jurisdiction the TDR issuing station comes, enclosing the original TDR. The TDR shall be issued o­nly upto three days instead of existing 30 days after the scheduled departure of the train.

******

A golden opportunity has been given by the Railway Board to end the problems of Waltair Division. The Board has sent a letter to the East Coast Railway (ECoR) Zone headquarters in Bhubaneswar seeking information on issues like: the number of platforms in Visakhapatnam Railway Station, number of trains handled, pressure on the railway station, and the advantage of having additional platforms.The Board was convinced of the need to lay a third line between Visakhapatnam and Gopalapatnam and construction of four additional platforms to prevent the detention of trains, according to sources. Though the number of platforms was increased from five to eight a few years ago, Visakhapatnam being a terminal station needs more platforms.The Board also felt that the creation of the additional facilities would also solve most of the traffic problems and would come in handy in case a new zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters was created .

The Zone has written to the Divisional authorities seeking their comments, in detail, on issues covering various aspects like: justification for the new platforms, new line, operational requirements, commercial viability and technical feasibility. It had sought an early reply but it’s learnt that the Divisional authorities are yet to respond.

The construction of additional platforms and third line to Gopalapatnam can end most of the problems like holding up of trains beyond Gopalapatnam due to non-availability of platforms and also rule out the need to divert through trains via Duvvada and end the woes of hundreds of passengers of the city.

It’s high time that the Divisional authorities concerned acted immediately on the issue.

Our MPs should also take up the issue on a priority and bring pressure on the authorities to address the long-pending problem.

“We haven’t received any such letter so far,” Divisional Railway Manager Anil Kumar told The Hindu on Monday.


It’s high time MPs pressurise authorities to solve long-pending problems of the rail division

Although the North-Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) has scheduled city bus services from the railway station to the Central Bus Stand, commuters are forced to look for alternative means of transport because of the high-handedness of some drivers and conductors.Vishwanath Kambi, a resident of Belgaum, shared his experience on Facebook on Sunday, when he boardeda city bus near Belgaum Railway Station with his wife and child. On boarding the bus, the conductor told him that the bus would leave after half an hour and advised him to go by an autorickshaw, later adding that if he travelled on sharing basis, it would cost him the same.Mr. Kambi noted down the bus number and the names of the conductor and driver from their nametags. Fearing trouble, the crew entered the bus and started for Central Bus Stand.