ProUI

A 11-km railway tunnel across the Pir Panjal mountain range, inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday, is not only the longest such in India but an engineering marvel and a "dream come true" for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

It took seven years for thousands of men, most of them highly-trained and skilled in tunnel building, who braved geographical constraints and inclement weather to build the all-weather tunnel. Some of the tunnel boring machinery - an improved Austrian version - has been used for the first time on such a large scale in the country during the laying of the tunnel.

A three-metre-wide road has also been provided inside the tunnel for maintenance and relief and rescue operations in the event of any eventuality.

"The tunnel has been made water-proof by providing a continuous PVC membrane between the primary and secondary lining. It is equipped with state-of-the-art air quality monitoring, communications, fire-fighting and emergency rescue systems," an engineer at the site told IANS, not wishing to be identified.

Built at a cost of Rs.1,300 crores ($213 million), the tunnel has reduced the surface distance between the Qazigund town in the Valley and Banihal town in the Jammu region by 18 km, besides providing an all-weather surface link between the two regions.

The over 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu highway, till today the only surface link between the landlocked Valley and the rest of the country, would often remain closed for days without end in the winter months due to heavy snowfall on the Banihal sector of the highway.

"That experience is now a thing of the past for the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Congress President Sonia Gandhi told a jubilant public rally here when an eight-coach train was flagged off from here to Qazigund.

The tunnel had been a dream for the people of the state and not many believed it would become operational in their lifetime.

"I had been hearing of a railway tunnel that would connect us with the Valley and the people there with Banihal and other parts of the country. Today, I have seen the dream come true before my own eyes," Siraj-ud-Din, 70, who was part of the jubilant crowd that saw history being made as the train cruised from here through the tunnel to the Valley, told IANS.

Others in the Valley are hopeful their horticultural produce would be carried at lower costs and without any hassles through the tunnel in the future.

"The tunnel is going to reduce the transportation cost for our fruit to terminal markets in the country and also ensure that it reaches in time , whether it is raining or snowing," Mushtaq Ahmad, who has a large apple orchard in north Kashmir's Sopore town, told IANS.

At a time when the increasing traffic congestion is  suffocating the growing city, various residents associations in and around Tripunithura have come forward with a suggestion that allotting halts to more express trains at Tripunithura Railway Station can solve the traffic woes to an extend. 

According to the associations, if more express train are allowed stops at   the station, the commuters would not have to travel to the Eastern parts of the district. “Now the commuters have to depend on the Ernakulam Town Railway Station instead of the station at Tripunithura. So, thousands of commuters are being forced to travel an extra 15 kilometres,” the residents association members said.

Tripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents Association (TRURA) chairman V P Prasad said the extra journey is not only inconvenient for the people but also leaves the city traffic in a mess. Hence, the solution is to allot halts for express trains at Tripunithura. The development of the station has to be given importance as Tripunithura Railway Station, with two platforms that can accommodate 24 bogies each, is still highly under utilised,” said V P Prasad.

P Rajeev M P has said he was conducting discussions in this regard with the Railway authorities.

 “I have requested the authorities to allot halts for Parashuram Express and Island Express at Tripunthura. If the Railways takes a positive step, it will definitely avoid the inconvenience caused to the commuters,” he said.

He added that the Railway station will require more connectivity once  the Kochi Metro Rail becomes operational. “Now, with the authorities  considering the extension of Kochi Metro Rail from Pettah to Tripunithura,  it is the right time to start discussions in this regard,” he added.

However, Railway Area Manager, Ernakulam, P L Ashok Kumar said that it is too early to think about allotting halts for more express trains at Tripunithura. “As of now, they are not considering any such proposals. The  discussions to extend Kochi Metro Rail to Tripunithura are only on its preliminary stage. If such an extension takes place, we will definitely study the suggestion put forward by the residents and take appropriate action,” Ashok Kumar said.

प्रतापगढ़। दिल्ली जाने के लिए स्टेशन से पद्मावत ट्रेन पकड़ना जंग जीतने जैसा है। ट्रेन जब वाशिंग लाइन से प्लेटफार्म पर आती है तो शुरू हो जाती है। इसमें सवार होने के लिए रस्साकशी। हर दिन शाम को पौने पांच बजे कुछ ऐसा ही देखने को मिलता है। गर्मियों की छुट्टियां खत्म होने के कारण दिल्ली व मुंबई जाने वाली ट्रेनों में अक्सर ऐसा नजारा देखने का मिलता है। स्टेशन पर हर दिन पद्मावत ट्रेन दिल्ली के लिए जाती है। महिलाएं और बच्चे तो सवार होने के लिए हिम्मत ही नहीं जुटा पाते। अगर किसी पुरुष ने अंदर घुसकर सीट कब्जा भी कर ली तो अन्य लोग मारपीट शुरू कर देते हैं। कुछ लोग तो खिड़कियों के रास्ते ही अंदर घुसने का प्रयास करते हैं। इस दौरान होने वाली मारपीट के साथ धक्कामुक्की को देखने वाला कोई नहीं होता है। अनारक्षित डिब्बों के पास कोई सिपाही नहीं दिखाई देता है। इतनी भीड़ के बावजूद स्टेशन प्रबंधन इस पर ध्यान नहीं दे रहा है।
ट्रेन आने पर यात्रियों को पानी के लिए प्लेटफार्म पर परेशानी का सामना करना पड़ता है। दो नंबर प्लेटफार्म की कुछ टंकियों की टोटियां न चलने से यात्रियों को पानी के लिए काफी पीछे जाना पड़ता है। कम समय रुकने वाली ट्रेनों के आने पर पानी के उतरे यात्रियों को दौड़कर ट्रेन पकड़नी पड़ती है।

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.

Salient Features of Time Table effective from 1st July 2013 are given in the link

मुंबई: सेंट्रल रेलवे को पिछले कई दिनों से एक अनजान शख्स की तलाश थी, जो ट्रेन के मोटर कोच में लगा फ्यूज निकाल देता था। इस मामले में आरपीएफ ने एक पंद्रह वर्षीय लड़के को पकड़ा है। आरपीएफ के अनुसार यह लड़का रोजाना दोपहर 3-6 बजे के बीच ठाणे से कल्याण के बीच में ट्रेन में घूमता था, और मस्ती करते हुए मोटर कोच में लगा फ्यूज निकाल देता था। इसी कारण लोकल गाडि़यां बीच रास्ते में अटक जाती थी। मंगलवार को उस नाबालिग को भिवंडी स्थित जुवनाइल कोर्ट में पेश किया गया, जहां जुर्माना भरने के बाद लड़के को उसके मां-बाप को सुपुर्द कर दिया गया।

Imphal, June 26 2013: A little over a year after the first trial engine run was successfully conducted on the Jiri-Tupul rail line on March 22, 2012, digging of the first tunnel along the this railway track under NF Railway at Awang Khun in Tamenglong district has been completed today.

The 460 metre long Tunnel No 19 which was completed today is among the 34 tunnels to be dug along the Jiri-Tupul rail line.

The tunnel was dug by a Hyderabad based private construction company, Sushi Infra Pvt Ltd.

Speaking to reporters who went there today, an official of the construction company engaged in the tunnel construction said that a machine, Rocket Boomer, weighing 37 MT imported from Sweden was deployed in digging the tunnel.

He said a total of 13 Rocket Boomers have been used in different points of the rail line construction by around 20 companies engaged in the construction under NF Railway.

The official said that insurgency problem, frequent bandh, blockade and unfavourable condition of the highway disturb the smooth progress of the railway construction.

The first of the 34 tunnels which has been completed

He also admitted that the companies have to rely on other highways for transportation of heavy equipment and other basic items as the condition of NH-37 is not favourable for vehicles carrying heavy equipment.

Frequent incidents of extortion, abduction and threats are problems faced by the companies from militants, he said.

It has also been estimated that around Rs 34 crore was spent in digging the tunnel.

On March 22 last year NF Railway successfully conducted the first trial engine run covering over a distance of 12 kilometres from Jiribam railway station to Dholakal.

The foundation stone of the rail line was laid in November 2004 by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh while Lalu Prasad Yadav was the then Railways Minister.

In 2005 the Jiri-Imphal rail line was declared a National Project.

MANGALORE: Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has requested the general manager of Hubli based South Western Railway (SWR) to restrict movement of goods train movement during night - from 6pm up to next morning 6am - between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road. In a letter to the official, the MP said such a step is prudent in view of monsoon season which is severe in coastal Karnataka and where landslips along the Shirady Ghat are common.

The MP said landslips and cancellation of passenger trains causes hardships to people who have booked train seats well in advance. Observing that during the past decade, passenger trains have been held up in the Ghat section, Nalin urged SWR not to run goods train in the night, and also ensure proper track beat is taken up in the late evening as well as early morning and thereby ensure smooth running of the passenger trains during monsoon.

Adding a new chapter to its glory after commissioning the escalator at Bhubaneswar Railway Station recently, East Coast Railway has provided four Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) in its jurisdiction for the convenience of the passengers and rail users to go from o­ne platform to another.At Chilika, Delang, Lingaraj Road Halt and Joranda stations under Khurda Road Division, Railways have commissioned Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) for passengers at Stations to go from o­ne platform to another and also to cope with the growing traffic at Railway premises. These facilities have been commissioned in about two months time.
Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) are commissioned by the Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical wings of Railways. Massive concerted efforts and co-ordination with detailed planning is put into these works with use of high end machinery like high capacity cranes and lifters.
These Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) are erected after ascertaining all safety measures and after taking proper traffic block (planned controlling of trains) under intimation to all concerned.
Construction of these Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) have been welcomed by the users of these facilities at the particular stations, as they will provide a lot of relief to Senior Citizens, ladies, students, children and medical patients.

27-06-2013
Secunderabad
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New Initiative by SCR in the Supply of Bedrolls to Passengers for Improved Comfort
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South Central Railway has taken up  another initiative in the supply of Bedrolls in trains with a view to improve the levels of comfort to the passengers. Under this initiative, woollen blankets are being supplied directly wrapped full length in a  cotton cloth cover for enhanced comfort in Train No. 12797/12798 Kacheguda-Chittoor-Kacheguda Venkatadri Express.

Passengers feel better and improved satisfaction since the fabric feel of thecover is softer thanthat of woollen blankets and gives more warmth. The aesthetic, eye pleasing pastel shaded cover of the blanket can be washed after every trip facilitating maintenance of the blankets with improved hygiene.

In addition, moth repellents are also being placed in the linen storage area in coaches to safeguard the blankets and to counterstale odour from blankets.

As there is positive feedback o­n this from the passengers, SCR is taking steps to expand this initiative by introducing this measure o­n other express trains also in a gradual manner.