ProUI

Four out of the seven Railway Board Member posts will be manned by people with additional charge from Monday.“This is the first time ever in the history of Indian Railways, when over half of Railway Board posts are without full time appointments,” said Shubhranshu, Secretary General, Federation of Railway Officers’ Associations, told Business Line.According to the orders issued, Arunendra Kumar, Member-Mechanical, will hold additional charge as Chairman; Kulbhushan, Member-Electric, will hold additional charge as Member-Traffic, and R. Kashyap, Additional Member, Budget, will officiate as Finance Commissioner.

Subodh Jain, Member-Engineering, is already holding additional charge for Member-Staff.

On Friday, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Board Member posts will be filled as soon as the vigilance clearance and appointment committee of cabinet decide on the posts.

The Carriage Repair Workshop (CRW) of East Coast Railway at Mancheswar has firmed up plans to augment the workshop's periodic overhauling (POH) capacity to 150 coaches per month by March, 2014.Presently the workshop's monthly POH capacity is 100 coaches including 90 non AC (air conditioned) coaches and 10 AC coaches."For augmenting the installed capacity to 150 coaches the Railway Board had sanctioned Rs 25 crore in 2008-09 and the installation of plants and machineries are at an advanced stage. A revised estimate of Rs 38 crore is under consideration of the Railway Board to accommodate special facilities for maintenance of Linke Holfmann Busch (LHB) coaches," said SK Pankaj, Chief Workshop Manager, CRW. LHB coaches are used, especially, in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains. Mancheswar workshop has overhauled first ever LHB coach of Rajdhani express in May. Earlier, these coaches were being repaired at Liluah workshop in West Bengal, Jagadhri workshop in Haryana, Gorakhpur workshop in Uttar Pradesh. "Slowly, we are planning to increase the outturn to about five -six LHB coaches every month in one year," he said. The workshop, which will complete 30 years of its existence on December 31 this year, is also developing infrastructure for supply of wagon and locomotive wheel to divisions.

NAGPUR: City MP Vilas Muttemwar on Saturday met a senior South East Central Railway (SECR) official at Motibagh Diesel shed in order to support the SECR Men's Congress, which is against the transfer of employees to Nainpur in Madhya Pradesh.SECR is in the process of converting narrow gauge lines into broad gauge in the division. As a result, the workload will increase at Nainpur station.Explaining the reason for his involvement, Muttemwar said, "The demand is justified. The staff is already settled here and will face a lot of problems if transferred, especially to another state. The employees should be engaged in other works here itself."P Laxminarayan, divisional coordinator of SECR Men's Congress, said, "Muttemwar met senior divisional mechanical engineer (SrDME), (diesel) BK Rath. We do not want a single employee to get transferred. At the most, we can accept the move if the employees are sent on travelling allowance (TA) basis."

Justifying their opposition, he added that the employees have school going children and change in boards could prove to be difficult for them.

The organization also feels that staff from particular region should be deployed at stations in that area only. Another suggestion was regarding commissioning apprentices who have completed their training. In fact, this also come up from the apprentices themselves.

"We are young and don't have family responsibilities. We are sitting idle after completing our training. Why not commission us at Nainpur instead of forcing employees who do not want to go?" said an apprentice.

He added that about 100 apprentices, starting from the 2009 batch to the current lot, are waiting to be inducted into service. "There are reports that about 125 transfer have been already issued," he said

Laxminarayan too agreed that apprentices should be transferred to Nainpur. Muttemwar also supported the idea and said the Railways itself might come up with such a solution. "I will take up the issue with the railway minister," he said.

Railway officials confirmed that the issue has been discussed and this could be the first step towards finding a solution.

HYDERABAD, JUNE 30:   The South Central Railway (SCR) has announced introduction of 14 new trains that either originate or terminate in the zone. These trains would enhance connectivity of Andhra Pradesh with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Maharashtra.

These include Kurnool-Secunderabad-Kurnool Express (daily); Kakinada-Lokmanya Tilak Terminal-Kakinada Bi-weekly; Kacheguda-Mangalore-Kacheguda Bi-weekly;Tirupati-Chennai-Tirupati passenger; and Yesvantpur-Kacheguda-Yesvantpur tri-weekly services.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday after releasing the new timetable for the year, D P Pande, the SCR General Manager, said frequency of some trains had been increased.

BANIHAL: Mohammad Sultan's 30-year-old dream came to fruition, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flagged off the train between this highway town in Jammu region to Qazigund in Kashmir.

80-year-old Sultan, whose wrinkled face bears testimony to his hard life, was among hundreds of eager residents of Banihal who had assembled at the railway station way before the scheduled time for the first passenger train to chug towards Qazigund from here.

"The first time I heard that there is a possibility of a train coming to our town was back in 1983. I thought, if the tracks could be extended from Jammu to Udhampur, why not up to Banihal," Sultan told PTI during his journey to Qazigund.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and host of other dignitaries including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, inaugurated the 18-km long Banihal-Qazigund rail section last Wednesday. The rail link will provide an all-weather connectivity between Banihal and Qazigund.

The octogenarian said he had lost hope of ever stepping on a train, as the project was getting delayed.

"At my age, hopes are not fulfilled very often. But, I kept hoping that one day I will board a train here," he said.

It was not the first travel to Kashmir for Sultan, but as he puts it, "this is royal-class".

"Whenever we would step out of Banihal, we had to look skyward for impending weather changes. While winters are harsh due to snowfall, summers can get tricky owing to landslides triggered by rains. One was sure of leaving the town but not about the date of return," he said.

Sultan is happy that travel to Kashmir will be a lot safer now than the treacherous bus journey

South Central Railway Releases “Southern Zone Time Table” and “MMTS Pocket Time Table”, July-2013 Issues

.. ..
The release of new Railway Time Table every year is an event, eagerly awaited by the travelling Public.  Shri D.P. Pande, General Manager, South Central Railway released the Southern Zone Time Table today ie, o­n 29th June, 2013 at a Press Conference held at Rail Nilayam. The Southern Zone Time Table - 2013, which is got designed and printed by South Central Railway will come into force from 1st July, 2013. This time table provides detailed timings o­n all the train services run o­n South Central Railway, Southern Railway, South Western Railway and Konkan Railway and also contains useful information o­n a host of other issues related to Rail services.
        This time table can serve as a o­ne-stop guide for all the information needs of rail passengers in planning their journey.The copies of this new Time Table will be made available for sale to the Public at Railway Stations within a week.This new Time Table offers much cheer for the Passengers of South Central Railway. SCR has got a good number of new trains this year also continuing the trend of getting a large chunk of new trains announced in Rail Budgets in recent years. While a staggering number of 51 new trains - 31 originating and 20 passing through - were introduced o­n SCR in the last 2 years, 25 more new trains - 14 originating and 11 passing through - were allotted to us in the recent Rail Budget in February last.
          There are several firsts in this time table, new connections from important passenger hubs o­n SCR to various popular destinations for the first time fulfilling the rail travel needs of the passengers o­n these routes. Some of them include new express trains from Kacheguda to Mangalore; Tirupati to Puducherri; Kakinada to Mumbai; Guntur to Shirdi; Nizamabad to Mumbai; Nanded to Nangaldam and Visakhapatnam to Gandhidham via SCR etc.
          SCR has already started operation of new trainswith the flagging off of 2 new trains from Kurnool City - to Secunderabad and Nandyal - by Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, Hon'ble Minister of State for Railways,on 25th June, 2013. The remainingtrains will be introduced in a phased manner in the current Financial Year.
          Apart from new train services, this time table features the extension of 10 trains, increase in frequency of 8 trains and diversion of o­ne train over SCR.10 Trains have been speeded up by reducing their travel time ranging from 10 minutes to 33 minutes. Change of terminal effected for two express trains from Hyderabad to Secunderabad.Additional stoppages have been provided for three express trains at 11 stations. There will be change in timings for 24 trains at various stations. All the details are attached                           
Shri D.P. Pande released the “MMTS - Cum - Local Trains Pocket Time Table - July 2013” issue also o­n the occasion for the benefit of travelling public in twin cities. An attractive multi-colour booklet of pocket size, which can be carried along with conveniently, this time table can serve as a ready reference/travel guide to local rail commuters. This time table contains schedules of MMTS / local train services and other useful information such as system map, fare tables, list of colonies near to each MMTS station, tips for safe journey and public awareness campaign material etc. This valuable issue is priced at a nominal ` 5/-only. The General Manager, SCR expressed hope that  these new time tables will meet the requirement of the public in getting comprehensive information o­n the schedules and other requisite data related to Rail services.
On this occasion, he said that, SCR has consistently been moving ahead o­n a path of high growth. SCR loaded more than 110 million tons of freight and carried around 387 millions of originating passengers, with an earnings of more than Rs.10,000 Cr. during last year. Keeping in view the potential for further growth of traffic and in response to the requirements of public of this region, SCR is committed to expand its network and services with focus o­n delivering a qualitative service to its customers, he added.

  Safety, Security, Punctuality, Cleanliness and providing modern facilities to passengers are the top priority areas for SCR.  It is the earnest resolve of SCR to make the services passenger friendly and the rail journey comfortable.  He narrated the various recent initiatives taken by SCR in this direction. SCR moves forward with focus o­n continuous system improvements and innovations for enhanced utilization of its resources to meet the surge in expectations of the Public, the General Manager Said.

South Central Railway Releases “Southern Zone Time Table” and “MMTS Pocket Time Table”, July-2013 Issues

.. ..
The release of new Railway Time Table every year is an event, eagerly awaited by the travelling Public.  Shri D.P. Pande, General Manager, South Central Railway released the Southern Zone Time Table today ie, o­n 29th June, 2013 at a Press Conference held at Rail Nilayam. The Southern Zone Time Table - 2013, which is got designed and printed by South Central Railway will come into force from 1st July, 2013. This time table provides detailed timings o­n all the train services run o­n South Central Railway, Southern Railway, South Western Railway and Konkan Railway and also contains useful information o­n a host of other issues related to Rail services.
        This time table can serve as a o­ne-stop guide for all the information needs of rail passengers in planning their journey.The copies of this new Time Table will be made available for sale to the Public at Railway Stations within a week.This new Time Table offers much cheer for the Passengers of South Central Railway. SCR has got a good number of new trains this year also continuing the trend of getting a large chunk of new trains announced in Rail Budgets in recent years. While a staggering number of 51 new trains - 31 originating and 20 passing through - were introduced o­n SCR in the last 2 years, 25 more new trains - 14 originating and 11 passing through - were allotted to us in the recent Rail Budget in February last.
          There are several firsts in this time table, new connections from important passenger hubs o­n SCR to various popular destinations for the first time fulfilling the rail travel needs of the passengers o­n these routes. Some of them include new express trains from Kacheguda to Mangalore; Tirupati to Puducherri; Kakinada to Mumbai; Guntur to Shirdi; Nizamabad to Mumbai; Nanded to Nangaldam and Visakhapatnam to Gandhidham via SCR etc.
          SCR has already started operation of new trainswith the flagging off of 2 new trains from Kurnool City - to Secunderabad and Nandyal - by Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, Hon'ble Minister of State for Railways,on 25th June, 2013. The remainingtrains will be introduced in a phased manner in the current Financial Year.
          Apart from new train services, this time table features the extension of 10 trains, increase in frequency of 8 trains and diversion of o­ne train over SCR.10 Trains have been speeded up by reducing their travel time ranging from 10 minutes to 33 minutes. Change of terminal effected for two express trains from Hyderabad to Secunderabad.Additional stoppages have been provided for three express trains at 11 stations. There will be change in timings for 24 trains at various stations. All the details are attached                           
Shri D.P. Pande released the “MMTS - Cum - Local Trains Pocket Time Table - July 2013” issue also o­n the occasion for the benefit of travelling public in twin cities. An attractive multi-colour booklet of pocket size, which can be carried along with conveniently, this time table can serve as a ready reference/travel guide to local rail commuters. This time table contains schedules of MMTS / local train services and other useful information such as system map, fare tables, list of colonies near to each MMTS station, tips for safe journey and public awareness campaign material etc. This valuable issue is priced at a nominal ` 5/-only. The General Manager, SCR expressed hope that  these new time tables will meet the requirement of the public in getting comprehensive information o­n the schedules and other requisite data related to Rail services.
On this occasion, he said that, SCR has consistently been moving ahead o­n a path of high growth. SCR loaded more than 110 million tons of freight and carried around 387 millions of originating passengers, with an earnings of more than Rs.10,000 Cr. during last year. Keeping in view the potential for further growth of traffic and in response to the requirements of public of this region, SCR is committed to expand its network and services with focus o­n delivering a qualitative service to its customers, he added.

  Safety, Security, Punctuality, Cleanliness and providing modern facilities to passengers are the top priority areas for SCR.  It is the earnest resolve of SCR to make the services passenger friendly and the rail journey comfortable.  He narrated the various recent initiatives taken by SCR in this direction. SCR moves forward with focus o­n continuous system improvements and innovations for enhanced utilization of its resources to meet the surge in expectations of the Public, the General Manager Said.

MUMBAI: Indain Railway Catering and Tourism corporation (IRCTC) will set-up its biggest Railneer Plant in Ambernath near Mumbai. It will be able to produce around 2 lakh bottles of one litre capacity per day. Railneer is the brand name of the packaged drinking water (PDW) produced by IRCTC, the subsidiary of Indian Railways. Rail Neer is manufactured as per BIS standard IS: 14543. It is supplied in trains and at railway stations. Pradip Kundu, Joint General Manager, Public Relations, IRCTC said, "Presently there is no plant in Western India. Hence, Railneer is not available in the trains or at stations in this part of the country. To meet the demand of Railneer in western part of country the plant at Ambernath will play a big role." At present, IRCTC is able to generate 4.1 Lakhs bottles every day in its 3 plants in different parts of the country.The plant at Ambernath will be built at a cost of Rs 10 crore. The work on installation of machine will start in Oct 2013 and plant is expected to be commissioned by Jan 2014. Presently, Railneer is supplied to all Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto and important Mail/Express trains originating from Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Chennai and Bangalore. It is also supplied to the stations in the above areas. A one litre bottle of Railneer is sold at Rs. 15 He further said, "At Ambernath the plant will come up 4000 Square meter built up area. Rainwater harvesting will also be done at the plant site to preserve the ground water level. Minimize extraction of water from ground will be ensured here by reducing water rejection. " The plant will be based on state-of-the art eight stage water purification technologies. It will have fully automatic bottle blowing, filling and packing line, where there is no human touch with the water or the bottle till the bottle is sealed. Kundu said, "The plant will meet the requirements of State Pollution Control Board norms.We will procure machines from reputed manufacturers like ION EXCHANGE for water purification and water treatment, SIDEL for bottle blowing, INGERSOLL RAND for compressor, HILDEN for filling and labeling."

MUMBAI: Indain Railway Catering and Tourism corporation (IRCTC) will set-up its biggest Railneer Plant in Ambernath near Mumbai. It will be able to produce around 2 lakh bottles of one litre capacity per day. Railneer is the brand name of the packaged drinking water (PDW) produced by IRCTC, the subsidiary of Indian Railways. Rail Neer is manufactured as per BIS standard IS: 14543. It is supplied in trains and at railway stations. Pradip Kundu, Joint General Manager, Public Relations, IRCTC said, "Presently there is no plant in Western India. Hence, Railneer is not available in the trains or at stations in this part of the country. To meet the demand of Railneer in western part of country the plant at Ambernath will play a big role." At present, IRCTC is able to generate 4.1 Lakhs bottles every day in its 3 plants in different parts of the country.The plant at Ambernath will be built at a cost of Rs 10 crore. The work on installation of machine will start in Oct 2013 and plant is expected to be commissioned by Jan 2014. Presently, Railneer is supplied to all Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto and important Mail/Express trains originating from Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Chennai and Bangalore. It is also supplied to the stations in the above areas. A one litre bottle of Railneer is sold at Rs. 15 He further said, "At Ambernath the plant will come up 4000 Square meter built up area. Rainwater harvesting will also be done at the plant site to preserve the ground water level. Minimize extraction of water from ground will be ensured here by reducing water rejection. " The plant will be based on state-of-the art eight stage water purification technologies. It will have fully automatic bottle blowing, filling and packing line, where there is no human touch with the water or the bottle till the bottle is sealed. Kundu said, "The plant will meet the requirements of State Pollution Control Board norms.We will procure machines from reputed manufacturers like ION EXCHANGE for water purification and water treatment, SIDEL for bottle blowing, INGERSOLL RAND for compressor, HILDEN for filling and labeling."

Bathinda: Two new trains have been included in the new timetable of issued for the Bathinda railway station.The new trains include Dhuri-Ganganagar passenger via Bathinda and Ferozpeur to Delhi Intercity Express via Bathinda. Further, the route of the Bathinda-Delhi intercity express has been extended up to Fazilka.The Passengers’ Welfare Association president, Jasvir Singh from Rampura Phul, said the new trains and changed timetable will be applicable from July 1 onwards.He added that the Ganganagar-Haridwar Express has been extended up to Rishikesh. The new timings for Ferozepur to Mumbai Janta Express are 6:57 am as arrival and 7:05 am as departure time. Earlier, the train used to arrive at the Bathinda railway station at 6:35 am.Similarly, the timings of the daily Ganganagar-Delhi train via Jakhal have been changed. Earlier, the train used to arrive at 8:25 pm and depart at 8:30 pm, which has now been changed to 7:55 pm and 8 pm, respectively.The Dhuri-Ganganagar passenger train via Bathinda will now leave Dhuri at 4 am and will reach Bathinda at 6:25 am. It will leave for Ganganagar at 7:05 am.

RLYS RELEASES NEW TIMETABLE
  Two new trains have been included in the new timetable. They are the Dhuri-Ganganagar passenger via Bathinda and Ferozpeur to Delhi Intercity Express via Bathinda.
Further, the route of the Bathinda-Delhi intercity express has been extended up to Fazilka.