ProUI

The new Thanjavur-Chennai Egmore Uzhavan Express was flagged off from Thanjavur Railway Junction on Sunday.The train that fulfils the long-pending demand of the people of Thanjavur for a direct night train chugged out of the junction at 8.45 p.m. The train will reach Chennai Egmore at 4.55 a.m. on Monday.“The train is running full with 750 reservations,” said railway officials. The train has 17 coaches out of which nine are sleeper class, one AC two tier, one AC three tier, four general second class, and two second class-cum-luggage.The train will stop at Papanasam, Kumbakonam, Aduthurai, Kuttalam, Mayiladuthurai, Sirkali, Chidambaram, Cuddalore Fort Junction, Panruti, Villupuram, Tindivanam, Melmaruvathur, Chingleput, Tambaram, and Mambalam. R. Vaithilingam, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, S.S.Palani Manickam, Thanjavur MP, and Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager, Tiruchi, participated in the function.

Cauvery delta farmers

V. Jeevakumar, adviser to Train Passengers Association of Thanjavur to Tiruchi, said that the train would be of much use to the people of Thanjavur. “It has been rightly named - Uzhavan Express - signifying the importance of the Cauvery delta and its farmers,” Mr. Jeevakumar said.

A.Giri, vice president, Thanjavur District Railway Users Association, suggested that the train’s departure from Chennai could be advanced. It leaves Chennai Egmore at 11.30 p.m. and reaches Thanjavur at 7 a.m. “This could be advanced so that the train may reach Thanjavur early,” Mr. Giri said.

High drama

High drama prevailed during the flag-off ceremony as cadre of the AIADMK and the DMK turned up in large numbers as a show at the railway junction.

The cadre, carrying their respective party flags, raised slogans to claim credit for the introduction of the new train. As Mr. Vaithilingam reached the stage, the AIADMK cadre surged forward and some climbed over the loco. Some cadre of the DMK too followed suit.

The AIADMK cadre even put a picture of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in front of the loco. Soon Mr. Palanimanickam came to the stage and the train left at the scheduled time.

Rockfort Express that had been providing the link to Chennai for Thanjavur and Kumbakonam people for 11 years is being run from Tiruchi from Sunday.

COIMBATORE: With the line up of festivals in the coming months necessitating travel, demand for additional coaches and special trains have come to the forefront. Tickets to various locations in Tamil Nadu as well as outside the state are being sold out after the booking for Deepavali began a few days ago. "Train tickets to Chennai from Coimbatore for Deepavali eve has been sold out but tickets in the reverse direction for November 1 are still available," said Jameel Ahmed, president of Coimbatore Railway Passengers Welfare Association.Apart from Deepavali season, train tickets during festivals like Vinayagar Chathurthi and Onam this month and Vijadasami in October are also sold out. While demand for introduction of Deepavali special trains to southern districts and other important locations in Tamil Nadu has come to the forefront, Jameel noted that fast passenger day trains to these locations will be extremely helpful in clearing the extra rush. "Railways introduced special fast passenger during Deepavali season in 2011 but there was no such service last year," he said.Meanwhile, people from southern districts living here point out that the introduction of the Coimbatore-Rameswaram express announced during the 2013-14 budget is yet to commence. "It has been a long wait for us and introduction of this service at least by October will be really helpful for thousands of people who regularly travel to southern districts," said G R Subbiah, a wholesale cloth dealer in Coimbatore hailing from Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district.

Coimbatore-Rameswaram weekly express was earlier operated as a special express and due to overwhelming response and demands from various quarters the railway ministry announced that the service would be regularised. "Apart from connecting seven southern districts with Coimbatore it also served as a connecting train for people travelling to Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari districts," Subbiah said.

He also pointed out that discontinuance of Coimbatore-Rameswaram weekly special has created a void and thousands of people who earlier used this service are now dependent on existing regular services to southern cities like Madurai, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Nagercoil. As the advance reservation for Deepavali season is being sold out minutes after the bookings are open, passengers now pin their hope on Deepavali special trains that are yet to be announced.

The followers of Asaram Bapu forcibly stopped the Suryanagri and Shatabdi Express trains near Uttaran station in Surat on Monday evening, protesting his arrest in a sexual assault case. The police rushed to the spot and later, the trains continued their onward journey.

The self-styled godman's followers gathered at Manisha railway culvert and rolled out a red-coloured sheet on the railway tracks to stop trains. They carried banners and posters of Asaram and raised slogans in his favour. The Suryanagari train to Ahmedabad was the first one to be stopped and even after the driver's repeated requests, Asaram's supporters did not leave the tracks. The Shatabdi Express, on its way to Mumbai, was then seen coming on the other track and the supporters tried to stop it too. Both the trains halted for half-an-hour. The drivers called Surat GRP and RPF police, and the staff from Amroli police station was sent to the spot. Seeing policemen, the protesters fled the spot. Surat Railway GRP and RPF also rushed to location with reinforcement.

Surat Railway GRP PI P S Vadvi said, "Hundreds of supporters of Asaram stopped Suryanagri and Shatabdi trains near Uttaran railway station. When we reached, they fled, leaving banners on the tracks. We have not made any arrest."

BANGALORE: The Karnataka government is drawing up a Rs 2,100 crore project with loan assistance from Asian Development Bank, to develop and upgrade eight city clusters around Bangalore to woo investment and ease the load on the State capital.The city clusters proposed to be developed are Nelamangala, Magadi, Anekal, Bidadi, Dabaspet, Harohalli, Devanahalli and Hoskote, Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake told reporters here.Officials said the objective is to attract investment in those clusters by developing and upgrading them and "dispersing Bangalore investment" into these areas.Meanwhile, they said detailed project report on Phase-I of the Rs 8,759-crore suburban rail system for Bangalore comprising five corridors, including from the city to Tumkur, Ramanagara and Bangarpet, would be completed "very soon".Officials said a Special Purpose Vehicle -- Bangalore Suburban Rail Corporation -- would be set up for implementing the project which is expected to ease congestion in the city.

Sorake said a Cabinet note has been prepared to upgrade city municipal councils of Tumkur, Shimoga and Bijapura to city corporations.

The Minister said during the transition phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), 61 projects with estimated cost of Rs 5,265.22 crore have been forwarded for approval to the Union Ministry of Urban Development, adding, Rs 168 crore of them had already been approved.

"Seventeen water supply projects with estimated cost of Rs 711.92 crore have been submitted to the Central government under UIDSSMT (Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns)", Sorake said.

He said a Rs 1,760 crore project has been prepared to provide 24X7 water supply to the entire corporation area of Belgaum, Gulbarga and Hubli-Dharwad cities on PPP basis with World Bank assistance.

Sorake also said a project is under preparation for state-level heritage-based urban development programme for Karnataka with World Bank assistance.

He said a master plan would be prepared in phases to project requirements of cities of Karnataka in the year 2040.

Workshops would be conducted for corporators of at the city and state-levels, Sorake said, adding, ward committees and citizen foras would be set up to create awareness among the people on funding in their areas and to monitor quality of works undertaken there.

ऊधमपुर से कटड़ा के लिए बनाई जा रही टी-1 टनल कई मकानों के लिए खतरा बन गई है। करीब 15 मकान टूटने के कगार पर हैं। इसको लेकर लोगों में खासा रोष है। संबल पंचायत के सरपंच ओम प्रकाश की अध्यक्षता में सोमवार को संबल गांववासियों ने डीसी कार्यालय के बाहर रेलवे प्रशासन के खिलाफ प्रदर्शन किया। प्रदर्शनकारियों में शामिल गुड्डी देवी, सुषमा देवी, लक्ष्मी देवी, सत्या देवी, ललिता देवी, पुष्पा देवी, चुनी लाल, ओम प्रकाश और विजय कुमार ने बताया कि संबल में रेलवे द्वारा बनाई गई टी-1 टनल उनके मकानों के लिए खतरा बन गई है। टनल ऊधमपुर से कटड़ा के लिए बनाई जा रही है। लेकिन तकनीकि कारणों के चलते इसे मोड़ दिया गया है। टनल को मोड़ने से वहां पर रहने वाले करीब 15 मकान टूटने की कगार पर हैं। इसको लेकर गांव के लोग कई बार रेलवे के उच्च अधिकारियों से मिलकर उन्हें समस्या से अवगत करा चुके हैं, लेकिन कोई ठोस कार्रवाई नहीं की गई। ग्रामीणों का कहना है कि किसी भी समय बड़ा हादसा हो सकता है। प्रदर्शनकारियों ने मांग किया है कि एक सप्ताह के भीतर उन्हें दूसरी जगह नहीं दी गई तो वे लोग रेलवे विभाग के निर्माण कार्य को बंद कर सड़क जाम कर देंगे।

Detailed project report on phase-I of suburban rail system soon

In a move to decongest Bangalore city, the government is drawing up an innovative urban development project for city cluster development around Bangalore.The project aims to develop and upgrade eight city clusters around Bangalore to woo investment and ease the load of the State capital at a cost of Rs. 2,100 crore with loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank.Minister for Urban Development Vinay Kumar Sorake told presspersons on Monday that the project would cover eight towns — Nelamangala, Magadi, Anekal, Bidadi, Dobbspet, Hoskote, Devanahalli and Harohalli.Officials said the objective was to attract investment in those clusters by developing and upgrading them and “dispersing Bangalore investment” in those areas.The project envisages development of infrastructure such as roads, water supply, drainages. The Public Works Department has proposed to upgrade the ring road around these towns to develop them as satellite towns.He said a project is under preparation for State-level heritage based urban development programme with the assistance of the World Bank. Authorities have preparing the detailed project report for estimating the cost.

SUBURBAN RAIL

Meanwhile, officials said detailed project report on phase-I of the Rs. 8,759-crore suburban rail system for Bangalore consisting of five corridors, including from the city to Tumkur, Ramanagaram and Bangarpet, would be completed “very soon”.

Officials said a special purpose vehicle — Bangalore Suburban Rail Corporation — would be set up for implementing the project, which is expected to ease congestion in the city.

Mr. Sorake said a Rs. 1,760-crore project has been prepared to provide 24X7 water supply to the entire corporation area of Belgaum, Gulbarga and Hubli-Dharwad cities on PPP basis with World Bank assistance.

A pilot project was implemented in these three towns and it helped augmentation of water supply and checked pilferage.

Mr. Sorake said that a project was under preparation for state-level heritage-based urban development programme for Karnataka with World Bank assistance.

He said a master plan would be prepared in phases to project the requirements of cities of Karnataka in the year 2040. 

Workshops would be conducted for corporators at the city and State-levels, Sorake said, adding, ward committees and citizen fora would be set up to create awareness among the people on funding in their areas and to monitor quality of works undertaken there, he said.

The following special trains will be run to clear the extra rush of passengers during Velankanni Festival season.
Dibrugarh – Velankanni – Dibrugarh Special:T.No.05906 Dibrugarh – Velankanni Special will leave Dibrugarh at 19.20 hrs. o­n 04.09.2013, leave Chennai Egmore at 08.30 hrs. o­n 07.09.2013 and arrive Velankanni at  19.00 hrs.                      on 07.09.2013.
T.No.05905 Velankanni – Dibrugarh Special will leave Velankanni at 07.45 hrs. o­n 09.09.2013, arrive Chennai Egmore at 15.50 hrs. o­n 09.09.2013 and arrive  Dibrugarh at 09.30 hrs. o­n 12.09.2013.
The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 1 AC  3-tier, 6 Sleeper Class,  6 General Second Class and 2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches.The trains will stop at New Tinsukia, Mariani, Dimapur, Diphu, Lumding, Guwahati, Goalpara Town, New Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Alipurduar Jn. Hasimara, Dalgoan, New Mal Jn. Siliguri Jn. New Jalpaiguri, Kishanganj, Malda Town, Howrah, Kharagpur Jn. Balasore, Bhadrak, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Visakapatnam, Samalkot, Rajamundri, Vijayawada Jn. Gudur, Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tirupadaripulliyur, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.



            Advance reservation for Train No.05905 will commence o­n 04.09.2013.

AHMEDABAD: Last week Railway Protection Force arrested three people for stealing two sleeper pad plates weighing over 70 kg from the old loco shed behind Gandhidham railway station. RPF held Manoj (19), Mahavir (31) and Jagdish (25) along with the motorbike used for the robbery and fined them Rs 10,000. One of the accused Manoj was also wanted in five other cases involving the stealing of sleeper pad plate. Earlier this year Manoj with some friends had stolen 23 such plates weighing 805 kg. In all, RPF recovered 25 plates of 875 kg and also busted the gang.In another case, deputy chief ticket inspector Vishnu Prasad Acharya held a person travelling without ticket named Kalyan from general coach of Train no. 16613 Rajkot- Coimbatore Express in Viramgam. Upon checking Kalyan on platform no. 2, RPF recovered one country made pistol and three cartridges. Kalyan was immediately arrested and booked under Arms Act by RPF at Viramgam.Western railway recovered over Rs 40000 from ticketless travelers last week in Ahmedabad division. In a drive conducted by railway, six cases of ticketless travelling were registered and fine was slapped on the travelers. WR recovered Rs 38100 from people selling illegal tickets and Rs. 2900 from people travelling on illegal tickets. WR has been constantly conducting campaigns against illegal tickets and travelling. Western railway also recovered over Rs 22000 from 201 people who were found illegally travelling in coaches reserved for women and handicapped people.

गोरखपुर. गरीब हर जगह कुचला जाता। गरीबी अभिशाप है। ऐसा आपने हर जगह सुना होगा। यदि इसका साक्षात नमूना देखना हो तो गोरखपुर से होकर गुजरने वाली अवध आसाम एक्सप्रेस या जनसेवा एक्सप्रेस के जनरल क्लास में सफ़र करके देखिये, गरीबी वाकई आपको अभिशाप लगने लगेगी। इसका एहसास आपको कराएंगे खाकी वर्दीधारी जीआरपी के सिपाही जो बदकिस्मती से यात्रियों की सुविधा के लिए तैनात हैं।    ये वर्दीधारी गुंडे यात्रियों से उनकी पहचान और पैसे दोनों छीन लेते हैं। इनकी बेशर्मी और गुंडई का आलम यह है कि न तो जीआरपी का कोई अफसर और न रेलवे के बड़े अधिकारी, इनके खिलाफ कोई भी एक्शन लेने को तैयार नहीं हैं।    यात्रियों ने दैनिकभास्कर.कॉम के रिपोर्टर को इस बात की सूचना दी थी कि जीआरपी के सिपाही अवैध तरीके से अवध आसाम और जनसेवा एक्सप्रेस के जनरल क्लास के डिब्बे में घुसकर यात्रियों से मारपीट करते हैं और पहचान पत्र दिखाने के नाम पर अवैध वसूली कर रहे है। हमने इसकी तस्दीक करने की ठानी। इसके लिए हमने अवध आसाम एक्सप्रेस अप और डाउन दोनों में रियलिटी चेक किया।    नतीजा सामने था, यात्रियों को न केवल मारापीटा जाता है बल्कि उन्हें बेईज्जत कर ट्रेन से उतार भी दिया जाता है। कई बार तो ये खाकी वर्दी के जल्लाद उत्तर प्रदेश और बिहार के छोटे शहरों से दिल्ली और हरियाणा के शहरों में मजदूरी करने वालों से उनका पहचान पत्र और जर्नी का टिकट छीनकर भाग चुके है।

New Delhi: Booking train reservation at the last moment is one of the most tedious and cumbersome tasks. It is appalling to avail information related to seat availability just hours before the departure of a train.

Indian Railways (IR) is here with a solution for you. Now you do not need to worry about train reservation during hours before a departure. If you travel by train, this news will benefit you the most.

The new regulation introduced in Indian Railways related to train reservation is to make the process much easier. Now you do not need to worry about the one thing that troubles you the most while booking your train reservation.

Indian Railways’ authorised website has come up with an option, a link that provides details related to seats available, even after the reservation chart is prepared.

Also, IR has made available a toll-free number for passengers who wish to complain about food and beverages.

To avail the information related to available births, one will have to log in on the website www.indianrail.gov.in.

One needs to click on the option ‘current booking’ which will take the seeker to a following page.

Here, type the name of the station from where you are going to commence the journey. After you have entered the station’s name, click on ‘gate availability’.

A list of all the trains that will be departing from the station within next four hours will appear on your screen.

All the trains listed will be the ones whose charts will have been prepared already. The list will also display the number of seats available under various classes.

You may then book a confirmed reservation ticket to the desired destination at the current booking counter at the station.

The facility has been lately introduced by Railways to the passengers.

Indian Railways has established a centralised monitoring cell to receive complaints related to food and beverages from all the passengers through a toll-free number.

One may call on the number 1800111321 to register a complaint related to food and beverages in IR.

The cell operates on all seven days of a week from 7 AM to 10 PM. All the calls received will be registered and then forwarded to the railway zone.

Due to a hike in fuel prices, IR will raise goods/freight tariff from the coming October 1. IR has announced that passenger tariff will be segregated and will not be affected due to this hike.

There will be a review of fuel adjustment component (FAC) every six months. There was a raise in freight tariff around last April. Thus, the next raise will be reviewed in October this year.

If there is a surge in fuel prices then through a systematic computation a raise in goods tariff will be introduced.

On being questioned about passenger tariff, the Railways authorities said that the new regulation is applicable to freight tariff alone and passenger tariff is not included in the gambit.

It is interesting to note that once there is a surge in fuel prices, from edibles to basic necessities of a common human being will get expensive. The prices of all commodities will shoot sky high.