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The PM said the products of the Kashmir Valley would reach the rest of India through this railway link as will products from the rest of the country to the valley.


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that the new rail tunnel linking the troubled Kashmir Valley and Jammu region will help develop Jammu and Kashmir.Addressing hundreds in Urdu in Banihal, Jammu region, after inaugurating the rail link, Manmohan Singh said, “Today, we are dedicating a marvellous and wonderful feat of engineering crafted across the Himalayas."He added, “Despite difficult geographical conditions and adverse weather, this longest tunnel in the country has been completed within seven years."This is not just an engineering marvel, but an all weather link between the valley and the rest of Jammu and Kashmir.

"This will usher in a new era in the development of the state, providing welfare and employment to the people here."

The prime minister said the products of the Kashmir Valley, including handicrafts and fruits, would reach the rest of India through this railway link as will products from the rest of the country to the valley.

The rail bridge between Udhampur and Banihal would be the highest railway bridge in the world.

He said the rail tunnel was a part of his UPA government's commitment to develop Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the state had got in recent times 14 new colleges, nine ITIs and five India Reserve Police battalions, providing employment to locals.

“I want to assure the people of Jammu and Kashmir that (my) government will extend all possible support for the development of the people here."

As he spoke in Urdu, Manmohan Singh struck a chord with the people at the rally. He was cheered each time he spoke about ushering development in the state.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi told the rally that the “hardships faced by the people of the state during the winter months are now a thing of the past.

"Today’s inauguration of the all weather link between Jammu and the valley is a part of the UPA’s commitment to the peace and progress of the people here."

Gandhi said the National Conference-Congress government in the state had done commendable work in the last five years.

"The people in Kashmir are fed up with violence. They want peace and development.

"The large turnout of people during the Panchayat elections in the state is a proof of the people’s desire for peace and development.

“I know very well that painful incidents happen here occasionally, but our democracy has enough scope to sort out issues through dialogue and negotiations."

Manmohan Singh and Gandhi will fly to Udhampur army base on their way to New Delhi.

Asia’s second largest tunnel across the Pir Panjal mountain will connect the landlocked Kashmir Valley with Banihal town of the Jammu region. It will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Built at a cost of Rs.1,300 crore, the tunnel will reduce the distance between Qazigund town in south Kashmir's Anantnag district and Banihal town by 17 km. It will be an all-weather surface link.

Dindigul Railway Station is drawing flak from the public on account of the hardship that commuters must endure.public on account of the hardship that commuters must endure.For a start, the station has just two functioning ticket counters to cater for unreserved seats, causing great inconvenience to travellers during the rush hour between 6.15 a.m. and 7.50 a.m. every day. Four trains – Dindigul-Nagoor, Dindigul-Madurai and Dindigul Palani passenger trains and Chennai bound Vaigai super fast express — stop at the station.With the Southern Railway set to introduce Palani-Chennai Express and Tiruchendur-Palani passenger train in July or August, these two ticket counters would not meet the needs of the commuters, a railway source said.The source said the station manager sometimes deputes officials from other departments to issue tickets to clear the last minute rush.Priority is given to passengers going to Chennai on the Vaigai Express, say the railway police. “The crowd is huge during festival days. We struggle to regulate it”, says S. Babu of the Railway Police.Passengers must cross the underpass to reach the platforms from the ticket counters. The underpass has clogged drains, and bleaching powder has been dumped as a temporary measure to subdue the stench.

With no ventilation, the underpass poses a public health risk. As a result, passengers resort to crossing the railway tracks to reach the platforms, putting their lives at risk.

Plans to construct an overbridge and additional platforms are yet to get off the ground. The ground work to lay the first platform, begun two years ago, has not progressed, say senior station officials.

Passengers run helter- skelter in search of their coaches as the electronic coach indicators in all the four platforms have been defunct for the past six months. They must rely on platform vendors for help while boarding trains.

“Many long distance trains halt for a few minutes at Dindigul. Passengers have little time to board the train. With no indicator, passengers, especially the elderly and women with children, run from one end to other end of the platform to find their coaches”, says, S. Periasamy, a vendor.

“The five-year maintenance contract with a Delhi- based contractor has expired. A new contractor will be hired after floating a tender. We have written to the DRM office in Madurai”, said a staff member of the technical wing.

“Shortage of hands is the biggest handicap. I have informed the Madurai office about the failure of coach indicators. Things will be set right soon”, says N. Murugan, Station Manager of Dindigul Railway Station.

NEW DELHI — India's railway system is one of the largest and busiest in the world. But it is not just for passengers. The Indian government is utilizing this vast network to provide children in the remotest corners of the country with a moving classroom.   Raghav Pandya loves science, so much so, that he spends six months out of the year on this train to help share his passion with youngsters across India.   “I am passionate about spreading and popularizing awareness regarding scientific knowledge and mechanisms that are surrounding us. People want to know why it is and how it is,” said Pandya.   Pandya is one of 40 postgraduates who make the Science Express train their home as it travels 19,000 kilometers throughout India from April to October of this year.

The train will stop at 62 different locations, including here in the Indian capital, where hundreds of students line up to get their chance to see exhibits focusing on biodiversity, conservation and climate change.

Crowds flock to Science Express

More than 8.5 million people have visited the mobile exhibition - a project that India’s prime minister launched in 2007 to attract young people back to science.   Department of Science and Technology advisor Chander Mohan was tasked with finding a way to reverse what he says was a growing disinterest in the field.   “Why not take science to the people instead of taking people to the science? And what better way than the Indian railway network, which is so vast that it is the largest network in the world. And it is stretched across the country. Each and every nook and corner of India is connected by the railway network,” said Mohan.   The train stops at each station for three to four days and young people have a chance to take part in the hands-on laboratory where educators help them conduct experiments highlighting math and science principles.   Educators reach out

For some of these children, particularly from small towns in the farthest corners of India, this is a rare opportunity to learn beyond the four walls of their classroom.   Seeing their reaction makes riding the rails worth it for educators like Pandya.   “Fascinating experiments or sort of things - when they come to know - they say ‘oh wow.’ So this 'wow factor' you see it in their eyes. In our childhood we have not gotten such sort of exposure,” said Pandya.   The Science Express train is making its way through eastern India, with stops planned in West Bengal and Orissa states in July. The moving exhibit is expected to attract its 10 millionth visitor by the end of this year.

Banihal/Qazigund, June 26:The train to Kashmir, chugging through India’s longest rail tunnel, has rolled at last but not from as far as it should have.
The Valley today got railway connectivity but only from Banihal, a small Jammu town, with Manmohan Singh flagging off an eight-bogey train carrying school children and officials to Qazigund in Kashmir.
The track — split into three sections — to link Kashmir with the rest of the country will take another four years to be laid, officially. Privately, the authorities say it could take many more.
Independence Day 2007 was the deadline announced in 2002 when the Kashmir rail line was declared a national project by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
But Prime Minister Singh struck a note of optimism today. “I am happy to announce this project is heading towards completion,” Singh, accompanied by Sonia Gandhi, said after inaugurating the stretch that includes the 11.2km tunnel, India’s longest.
The tunnel, almost 62 per cent of the 18km Banihal-Qazigund stretch, has been drilled through the treacherous Pir Panjal range of the Himalaya. The New AustrianTunnelling Method, which taps geological stress from surrounding rocks to stabilise the cavern, has been used for the first time in India, officials said.
It has reduced the distance between Banihal and Qazigund byover half and travel time by a third to 25 minutes.
But overall, the project is just halfway through, with only 145km of the full 292km track (Udhampur-Baramulla) finished or nearing completion.
“The railway track is divided into three sections, Udhampur-Katra, Katra-Qazigund and Qazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla. The 25km Udhampur-Katra link is almost complete. The 118km Qazigund-Baramulla link (in the Valley) has been operational for four years,” an official said.
The problem lies in the middle stretch that includes the portion opened today. “What remains is the toughest part with 80 per cent of the route comprising tunnels and bridges that take long to build,” said another official.
The Prime Minister admitted the task ahead was challenging. “Work on the Katra-Udhampur section will be completed in a few months. Only the Udhampur-Banihal line will remain. It is a challenging task. It consists of a 359-metre-high rail bridge, the world’s highest.”
Singh also outlined the project’s history and the early challenges. “Maharaja Pratap Singh (former Dogra ruler) had dreamt of this project in 1898. After Independence, Jammu got connected with the rest of India through rail. Indira Gandhi started work on the difficult Chenab section (Udhampur-Qazigund) in 1983.”
What Singh didn’t say is that this was his fourth project-related inauguration. He opened the Jammu-Udhampur (54km) stretch in 2005, Anantnag-Mazhama (66km) in 2008 and Anantnag-Qazigund (18km) in 2009. Sonia, too, had opened a 35km stretch in 2009. Before Singh, Indira, Rajiv Gandhi, Deve Gowda, I.K. Gujral and Vajpayee presided over ceremonies related to the track.

NEW DELHI: Amid reports that over 50 metro stations in Delhi are located in high seismic zones, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation today said all its structures are designed according to set guidelines to ensure safety during earthquakes."The Delhi Metro Rail structures are completely safe in case of any seismic or tectonic activities like earthquakes taking place in Delhi," a DMRC spokesperson said.The spokesperson maintained that the Metro rail structures have all been designed to handle seismic events corresponding to zone 4 and all Indian codes (IRC:6, BIS:1893, BIS:13920 and RIS codes) which give guidance on designing of structures for earthquakes, and "have been strictly followed in all the structural construction of the Delhi Metro Project".

As per reports, the Global Assessment Report (GAR) released on June 3 by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction says that more than 50 stations under phases I and II are located in areas of high-earthquake hazard, exposing the line to earthquakes of up to a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale.

"But the same study in its conclusion clearly said that the direct risk to Metro structures and rail line structures have already been addressed and reduced owing to application of risk sensitive building codes," the spokesperson claimed.

"The Metro design engineers have adequately addressed all risks to Metro structures which may happen during an earthquake," the spokesperson said, adding that the structures are absolutely safe for carrying passenger traffic.

NEW DELHI — India's railway system is one of the largest and busiest in the world. But it is not just for passengers. The Indian government is utilizing this vast network to provide children in the remotest corners of the country with a moving classroom.   Raghav Pandya loves science, so much so, that he spends six months out of the year on this train to help share his passion with youngsters across India.   “I am passionate about spreading and popularizing awareness regarding scientific knowledge and mechanisms that are surrounding us. People want to know why it is and how it is,” said Pandya.   Pandya is one of 40 postgraduates who make the Science Express train their home as it travels 19,000 kilometers throughout India from April to October of this year.

The train will stop at 62 different locations, including here in the Indian capital, where hundreds of students line up to get their chance to see exhibits focusing on biodiversity, conservation and climate change.

Crowds flock to Science Express

More than 8.5 million people have visited the mobile exhibition - a project that India’s prime minister launched in 2007 to attract young people back to science.   Department of Science and Technology advisor Chander Mohan was tasked with finding a way to reverse what he says was a growing disinterest in the field.   “Why not take science to the people instead of taking people to the science? And what better way than the Indian railway network, which is so vast that it is the largest network in the world. And it is stretched across the country. Each and every nook and corner of India is connected by the railway network,” said Mohan.   The train stops at each station for three to four days and young people have a chance to take part in the hands-on laboratory where educators help them conduct experiments highlighting math and science principles.   Educators reach out

For some of these children, particularly from small towns in the farthest corners of India, this is a rare opportunity to learn beyond the four walls of their classroom.   Seeing their reaction makes riding the rails worth it for educators like Pandya.   “Fascinating experiments or sort of things - when they come to know - they say ‘oh wow.’ So this 'wow factor' you see it in their eyes. In our childhood we have not gotten such sort of exposure,” said Pandya.   The Science Express train is making its way through eastern India, with stops planned in West Bengal and Orissa states in July. The moving exhibit is expected to attract its 10 millionth visitor by the end of this year.

HYDERABAD: Even as tenders are being finalised for the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) Phase II, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is in a dilemma over releasing funds for the Rs 642 crore-project.The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which has been given the task of executing the work, has sought Rs 60 crore as the state government's share for the project in the current financial year. However, the GHMC has released only Rs 10 crore, which may not take the project much further. South Central Railway (SCR) officials are reportedly unhappy with the lukewarm response from the state government over release of funds.The MMTS Phase II works are being taken up jointly by the railways and GHMC at a cost of Rs 642 crore. The project would be completed in three years. The state government (GHMC) would bear 66% (2/3rd) of the project cost, while the remaining would be borne by the railways. The project has been entrusted to RVNL, which has conducted a detailed survey of the available land and required for new railway lines, stations and workshops.RVNL had issued a notification a couple of months ago inviting tenders for the project package worth Rs 360 crore. The Phase-II works would be carried out in two stages. In stage I, work worth Rs 317 crore would be taken up, including track doubling between Falaknuma-RGIA (20 km), electrification between Falaknuma and Umdanagar, doubling and electrification between Secunderabad-Bolarum (14 km) and track restoration between Tellapur-Patancheru (9 km). In stage II, doubling and electrification on the stretches between Moula Ali-Malkajgiri-Sitaphalmandi (10 km), Bolarum-Medchal (14 km) and Sanatnagar-Moula Ali would be taken up. Other works like quadrupling tracks and electrification between Moula Ali and Ghatkesar (14 km) and restoration and electrification on the Tellapur-Patancheru stretch would also be taken up. Another Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for passenger amenities and Rs 85 crore for rakes (MMTS coaches).

Later, it has been decided to put on hold Umdanagar-Shamshabad airport connectivity covering a distance of 11 kms due to land acquisition and other issues.

For speeding up works, the Union railway ministry has already released Rs 30 crore. When RVNL officials approached the GHMC for its share, the corporation released only Rs 10 crore a couple of days ago. "Since there are no funds, the corporation is planning to release funds in a phased manner. This year, RVNL is targeting to complete at least Rs 100 crore worth works. We sought a copy of the ministry of railways' release of funds. Along with the copy, the corporation would write to the state government for release of balance funds," GHMC additional chief city planner (T&T) V Narender Rao told TOI.

RVNL is hopeful of getting funds from the state government before ground works begin. "Tenders are under finalisation to identify the project developer. It may take three months to start ground works as approvals, designing, planning and land acquisition have to be completed," RVNL chief project manager P Srinivas told TOI.

MUMBAI: An off-duty gangman, on Wednesday morning, prevented the derailment of a suburban train when he alerted Central Railway (CR) authorities about a rail track fracture between Titwala and Khadvali stations."At 6.30am, Dashtrath Runda was walking home when he noticed the 14-inch wide rail fracture and alerted the Khadvali stationmaster, who then informed the guard of a CST-Asangaon local. The train, which was to cross the spot, was halted," said an official.The line was restored within an hour after repairs were carried out. During this period, two suburban services and two long-distances trains were delayed and two local services were cancelled. CR has decided to reward Runda.At 6.10pm, another rail fracture was spotted on the Down slow track between CST and Masjid. The repair work delayed CR services by 15-20 minutes. The line was finally restored by 6.35pm.

KOCHI: Work of metro rail along Kaloor-South stretch could begin within a month, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials.The company entrusted with the work along the stretch has already held a meeting with the DMRC before taking the plunge.DMRC officials said the work would begin with soil testing. "Soil from the area will have to be sent for lab tests first. Then only piling works can be started. In the meantime, we expect to remove various utility lines passing through MG Road and widen the road,'' a DMRC official said."Widening the road and work of drain and utility cable duct along Kacheripady-North stretch on town hall side can be completed by July-end,'' he said.Admitting the delay in the completion of work along the stretch, the official said the work could have been completed much earlier had the revenue department acquired and handed over the land required for it. "Objections by land owners regarding the land had resulted in the delay. Now, the revenue department has informed that all the hurdles have been cleared,'' he said.According to Kerala Water Authority (KWA) officials, the department has already handed over the proposal of shifting various pipelines and sewage lines from the carriageway of MG Road to DMRC. "In fact, we had to carry out the work. But if we do the work, it may get prolonged due to various procedures to be completed before tendering process. So, DMRC will carry out the work under our supervision,'' a KWA official said.

Hindustan Machine Tool (HMT) has handed over five acres to DMRC for setting up casting yard for metro rail at Kalamassery, while Cochin Port Trust gave its land near Alexander Parambithara Road for the same purpose. Casting work for Kaloor-South and South-Vyttila stretches will be carried out on Port Trust's land.