ProUI

Nawashahr:
A deputation of local NGO Jago Nawanshahr Jago Society submitted a memorandum to the Divisional Railways Manager (DRM),Ferozepur, yesterday.  The deputation included Nirmal Singh Rehal, Balraj Singh Mann, Gurwinder Singh, Vivek Kumra, Jaswant Singh Bhatti, Vasdev Pardesi and Dr Kamaljit Lal, They urged him to restore the trains which were suspended because of terrorism as well as to start a new train from Nawanshahr  to Amritsar. The NGO has been getting resolutions passed by village panchayats and municipal council as well as contacting MPs and MLAs for fulfilling the demand of restoring suspended trains and starting rail services from Nawanshahr to Amritsar.

The first passenger train on the the newly constructed Koderma-Nawadih -Giridih railway line was on Tuesday flagged off by JVM(P) chief Babulal Marandi.With the flagging off, Koderma Station also received the status of a junction on the Grand Chord section of the East Central Railway under the Dhanbad Division.The train with five bogies hauled by a diesel engine would make two trips every day except Sunday with a nominal fare of Rs 10.The 111 km Koderma-Giridih line costing Rs 371 .36 crore was sanctioned and was to be commissioned by 2005-6, but was hit by a fund problem.The work started again when the then state government under Marandi state agreed to meet 50 per cent of the total cost of the project.The foundation stone of the project was laid by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.Marandi told reporters that said that the train services would play a significant role for the development of the region which could not be exploited earlier and also create new avenues for employment.

Srinagar: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will on Wednesday inaugurate the rail link between Banihal to Qazigund in the Kashmir Valley. The much awaited Banihal-Qazigund rail link will turn Kashmir's dream of an all-weather surface link into a reality. Here are the highlights of the new rail link:



The section between Banihal in Jammu and Qazigund in Kashmir is 18 kilometres long.

The Banihal-Qazigund section includes an 11-km-long tunnel – India’s longest, 2nd longest in Asia.

The opening of the section marks the start of the rail service to the Kashmir Valley.

The Banihal-Qazigund section will link the already operational 118-km-long route between Qazigund and Baramulla to the rest of the country.

Eight coach trains will run between Banihal and Baramulla from June 27 after the inaugural run on June 26.

The Banihal-Baramulla-Banihal train will make five trips daily beginning at 7.10 am from Banihal and 7.35 am from Baramulla.

The section will reduce the distance from 35 km (by road) to 18 km.

The rail link has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore.

Passengers travelling by train from Kashmir Valley to Banihal can avail bus service from there till Udhampur where train service is available for the rest of the country.

Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, Hon’ble Minister of State for Railways flagged off  two new  trains Viz., Train. No. 17224 Kurnool City-Secunderabad Intercity Express (Daily) & Train No. 77696 Kurnool City-Nandyal DEMU Passenger (five days in week) which were announced in the Rail Budget-2013 at a function held at Kurnool City Railway Station today ie.,  25th June, 2013 and addressed the gathering. Shri T.G. Venkatesh, Hon’ble Minister for Minor Irrigation, APIDC, Lift Irrigation, WALAMTARI, Ground Water Development, Govt. of AP; Shri S.P.Y.Reddy, Hon’ble Member of Parliament; Shri Silpa Mohan Reddy, Hon’ble Member of Legislative Assembly also spoke o­n the occasion. Shri D. P. Pande, General Manager, South Central Railway welcomed the gathering.
Train No. 17224 / 17223 Kurnool City-Secunderabad-Kurnool City Intercity Express (Daily)will provide a convenient morning train service to the commuters from Kurnool City and enroute places to come to the Twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and get back o­n the same day. This train will have 20 coaches viz., 16 General Second Class, o­ne AC Chair Car and Two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake van Coaches.

          Train No. 77696 / 77695 Kurnool City – Nandyal – Kurnool City DEMU Passenger (five days in a week) with 8 swanky, modern coaches, will provide a comfortable morning train service enabling the people from Nandyal and enroute to come to Kurnool City, the educational and business centre, and get back o­n the same day.

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.

******

The East Coast Railway has cancelled several passenger trains and express trains as modernisation works are to be taken up at Bhubaneswar Railway Station from June 28 to 30.The Keonjhar-Bhubaneswa passenger, Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar passenger, Bhubaneswar-Khalikote passenger and Berhmapur-Cuttack passenger will be cancelled from both directions during the three days.

New Delhi:
A dedicated Universal Resource Locator of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) Training Institute at Shastri Park was today inaugurated by DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh. The locator would be accessible from DMRC's website.This new dedicated link provides detailed information regarding the institute and the training programmes being offered.Besides, it also gives an insight into the faculty of the institute and other facilities being provided like classrooms, canteen, hostel, gym, library, computer lab, simulators, computer based training, etc.Through this, other organizations can also have a glimpse of DMRC's state-of-the-art training institute and can collaborate with the DMRC in training their professionals in various aspects like knowledge-based and skill-based training or attitude-based training for their candidates."The institute is equipped with all modern facilities with most advanced simulators to impart customized training on almost all aspects of operations and maintenance of rail-based urban transportation system. The institute has also been given ISO certification for design, development and delivery of training programmes," said a spokesperson for the DMRC.

Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, Hon’ble Minister of State for Railways flagged off  two new  trains Viz., Train. No. 17224 Kurnool City-Secunderabad Intercity Express (Daily) & Train No. 77696 Kurnool City-Nandyal DEMU Passenger (five days in week) which were announced in the Rail Budget-2013 at a function held at Kurnool City Railway Station today ie.,  25th June, 2013 and addressed the gathering. Shri T.G. Venkatesh, Hon’ble Minister for Minor Irrigation, APIDC, Lift Irrigation, WALAMTARI, Ground Water Development, Govt. of AP; Shri S.P.Y.Reddy, Hon’ble Member of Parliament; Shri Silpa Mohan Reddy, Hon’ble Member of Legislative Assembly also spoke o­n the occasion. Shri D. P. Pande, General Manager, South Central Railway welcomed the gathering.
Train No. 17224 / 17223 Kurnool City-Secunderabad-Kurnool City Intercity Express (Daily)will provide a convenient morning train service to the commuters from Kurnool City and enroute places to come to the Twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and get back o­n the same day. This train will have 20 coaches viz., 16 General Second Class, o­ne AC Chair Car and Two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake van Coaches.

          Train No. 77696 / 77695 Kurnool City – Nandyal – Kurnool City DEMU Passenger (five days in a week) with 8 swanky, modern coaches, will provide a comfortable morning train service enabling the people from Nandyal and enroute to come to Kurnool City, the educational and business centre, and get back o­n the same day.

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