ProUI

Guwahati, Sept. 3:The ministry of railways has told the parliamentary committee on home affairs that inadequate funds are holding up projects in the Northeast and that it gets less than half of the funds to complete the schemes.
The ministry informed the committee that projects worth Rs 48,000 crore had been allocated for the region and Rs 16,000 crore had already been spent. The committee submitted its report in the ongoing Parliament session.
“The ministry needs about Rs 7,000 crore every year to complete these projects in a designated time frame, but it was only able to get about Rs 3,000 crore, less than half of what it needs,” the committee, quoting the ministry, said in its report.
The ministry is dependent on gross budgetary support for allocation of funds for the projects. Since the ministry did not get even half of what was promised by the Planning Commission, the projects suffered time and cost overrun, the report said.
The ministry said three very important projects, Rangiya-Murkongselek broad gauge conversion with extension up to Pasighat, the Lumding-Silchar BG project and the Bogibeel bridge, were held up owing to inadequate funds. The report said if these projects are completed within the next few years, it would bring about improvement in the rail network in the region.
The Centre decided to clear additional funds for both the Bogibeel and the Lumding-Silchar projects recently.
On a query regarding absence of a targeted time period for completion of certain projects, the ministry said it was concentrating on certain important schemes to avoid spreading of the finances too thin.
“In view of this, it would like to complete certain important projects and then go ahead with others. That was why the ministry did not indicate completion dates for certain projects,” the report said.
On the issue of transfer of railway land at Pandu terminal in Assam to connect it to a national highway, the ministry said 6,000 square metres of railway land had to be acquired but because of 2,150 encroachments, which were still to be cleared by the state government, the ministry could not go ahead with the project.
But according to the finance ministry, it is not funding constraints that are holding up or delaying the execution of national projects in the Northeast but the lack of execution capacity.
The parliamentary committee said there appears to be communication gap between railways and finance ministries. “There is complete discord among the two ministries and the Planning Commission and we recommend that the commission and the ministries meet to resolve the issue and apprise the committee of the exact position in this regard,” the report said.

SURAT: The anti-tout squad of Western Railway along with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) conducted surprise checking against the unauthorized railway ticket agencies in the city.

Official sources said that the raids were conducted few days ago at M/s Thakkar International located at Sargam shopping complex at Parle Point.

The owner of the firm identified as Laxmichand Thakkar and his employee were arrested on the charges under section 143 of the Railway's Act, 1989.

During the check, an employee present in the shop admitted to generating tickets without any licence or authority issued by IRCTC for railway e-ticketing. He also admitted to generating tickets on different personal IDs and selling them at a premium of 200-300 per person above the actual fare.

Several articles such as 10 e-tickets generated using personal IDs, 2 e-tickets using different agent IDs, one partially used order-cum-bill book, etc were seized from the office.

A senior WR officer said, "The above action was taken in view of an incident brought to the notice of Mumbai Central Division of WR by an aware citizen in the city."

रांची. अब रांची रेलवे स्टेशन के बुकिंग काउंटर पर टिकट के लिए लाइन में खड़े होने की जरूरत नहीं पड़ेगी। रांची रेल मंडल एक सप्ताह में रांची स्टेशन बुकिंग सेंटर से टोकन कम क्यू मैनेजमेंट सिस्टम की शुरुआत करने जा रही है। इसके लिए एक टोकन मशीन के साथ डिजिटल डिस्प्ले भी बुकिंग सेंटर पर इंस्टॉल कर दी गई है। इस सर्विस के शुरू होने के बाद यात्रियों को काफी सहुलियत होगी। टोकन लेने के बाद वो आराम से कुर्सी पर बैठकर अपने नंबर आने का इंतजार करते दिखेंगे। साथ ही समय की बचत भी होगी।

बुकिंग सेंटर में एक टोकन डिस्पेंसर मशीन लगाई गई है। इसमें चार बटन हैं। पहला बटन रिजर्वेशन, दूसरा कैंसिलेशन, तीसरा तत्काल और चौथा बटन प्रिविलेज सर्विस के लिए है। जरूरत के अनुसार बटन दबाने पर एक टोकन निकलेगा, जिसमें नंबर लिखा होगा। यही टोकन नंबर डिजिटल डिस्प्ले बोर्ड पर काउंटर नंबर के साथ दिखेगा। उदाहरण के तौर पर अगर डिस्प्ले पर काउंटर नंबर दो नंबर काउंटर लिखा आता है, तो दो नंबर काउंटर पर टोकन लेकर जाना होगा। वहीं से टिकट कटेगा।

साउथ ईस्टर्न रेलवे का पहला स्टेशन

पूरे साउथ ईस्टर्न रेलवे में रांची रेलवे बुकिंग सेंटर में इस सर्विस की शुरुआत पहली बार होनी जा रही है। इस तरह रांची रेलवे स्टेशन साउथ ईस्टर्न रेलवे का पहला टोकन सर्विस देने वाला स्टेशन बन जाएगा। वर्तमान में मुंबई, बंगलुरू, नागपुर में यात्रियों को टोकन सर्विस का फायदा मिल रहा है। इस सर्विस को शुरू करने में 3.80 लाख रुपए खर्च आ रहा है। रांची की लॉ-विशन कंपनी मशीन लगाने का काम कर रही है। मशीन लगाने का काम 90 फीसदी तक पूरा हो चुका है।

लाइन में खड़े होने की जरूरत नहीं पड़ेगी

टोकन कम क्यू मैनेजमेंट सिस्टम के शुरू हो जाने से यात्रियों को टिकट कटाने के लिए लाइन में खड़े होने की जरूरत नहीं पड़ेगी। टोकन लेने के बाद यात्री आराम से कुर्सी पर बैठकर अपनी बारी का इंतजार कर सकते हैं। बुजुर्ग व महिला यात्रियों को इसका अधिक लाभ मिलेगा। साथ ही टिकट दलालों पर भी रोक लगेगी।’

अर्जुन मजुमदार, एसीएम रांची रेल मंडल

With an aim to provide better passenger amenities and comfort to the commuters and also to avoid rush in other trains, Railways have decided to run a special train between Dibrugarh and Velankani.

05906 Dibrugarh-Velankani special will leave Dibrugarh o­n 4th September 2013 (Wednesday) at 1920hrs and will arrive at Velankani at 1900hrs o­n Saturday. In the return direction, 05905 Velankani-Dibrugarh special train will leave Velankani o­n 9th September 2013 at 0745hrs (Monday) and will arrive at Dibrugarh at 0930hrs o­n Thursday.

This special train has o­ne AC-2 tier, o­ne AC-3 tier, Six Sleeper Classes, Six General Second Class Coaches and Two Guard cum Luggage Vans in its composition having stoppages at Howrah, Kharagpur, Bhadrak, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada between Dibrugarh and Velankani.

Kolkata, Sept 3:   

Eastern Railway posted a 12 per cent growth in passenger earnings to nearly Rs 636 crore between April and July this year, as against a little more than Rs 567 crore during the year-ago period.

According to a release, ER’s miscellaneous earnings (particularly penalties collected from passengers) were nearly 7 per cent higher at Rs 14.33 crore during the period.

सरप्राइज होगी चेकिंग, अब पुलिस की निगरानी पर भी होगा सख्त पहरा

जबलपुर। रेलवे का सुरक्षा विभाग अब निगरानी पर भी पहरा बैठाने जा रहा है। दरअसल सुरक्षा कर्मियों के लिए सख्त फरमान निकाले गए हैं कि ट्रेनों और प्लेटफार्मों की चौकसी बढ़ा दी जाए। ट्रेनों में दिन और रात को पेट्रोलिंग की जाए। खास बात यह है कि पेट्रोलिंग के दौरान भी सरप्राइज चैकिंग की जाएगी और इसमें लापरवाही नजर आने पर सत
कार्यवाही भी तय है।

समर सीजन के दौरान ट्रेनों में बढ़ी भीड़भाड़ को देखते हुए मण्डल सुरक्षा आयुत सैय्यद सरफराज अहमद की ओर से निगरानी बढ़ाने दिशा-निर्देश जारी किए गए हैं। गर्मी के मौसम में ट्रेनें खचाखच हैं। इसके बावजूद ज्यादातर गाडिय़ों में लंबी-चौड़ी वेटिंग चल रही है। मुसाफिरों की बेतहाशा संया को देखते हुए सुरक्षा विभाग ने चौकसी बढ़ाने की बात कही है। खास तौर पर लंबी दूरी की ट्रेनों में विशेष एहतियात रखने के निर्देश दिए गए हैं।

सरप्राइज चैकिंग खोलेगी राज- सुरक्षा संबंधी दिशा-निर्देशों का किस तरह पालन किया जा रहा है, इसके लिए सरप्राइज चैकिंग भी की जाने वाली है। सूत्रों का कहना है कि आरपीएफ कर्मचारी जिस वत ट्रेनों में पेट्रोलिंग करेंगे, उसी दौरान एक एस्ट्रा टीम उन पर नजर रखेगी। पेट्रोलिंग के दौरान हल्की सी भी लापरवाही दिखाई पड़ती है तो बड़ी कार्यवाही निश्चित
रहेगी।

तालमेल के बगैर फेल- सुरक्षा संबंधी मामलों में चूक की एक बड़ी वजह आरपीएफ और जीआरपी में तालमेल की कमी बताया जा रहा है। जानकारों का कहना है कि दोनों विभागों की तकरीबन एक जैसी जिम्मेदारी हैं, लेकिन आपसी समन्वय की जगह खींचतान में उलझे होने के कारण कुछ खामियां सामने आती रही हैं। अमला हरकत में आया-फरमान मिलने के साथ ही आरपीएफ हरकत में आ गई है।

नए सिरे से समीक्षा करने के बाद सभी ट्रेनों के लिए चार्ट तैयार किया जा रहा है और उसमें मुताबिक तैनाती भी तय की जाने लगी है। मैदानी अमला इस बात को लेकर हैरान है कि लापरवाही का मामला उच्च अधिकारियों के सामने आने पर न जाने कौन सी सजा भुगतनी पड़ जाए।

The much-awaited second daily night train on the Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram Kochuveli-Bangalore sector will become a reality when the 16316 Kochuveli-Bangalore Express leaves here on Wednesday. 16315/16316 Kochuveli- Bangalore- Kochuveli Express has been made a daily train.

Train no: 16316 will leave Kochuveli at 4.50 p.m. to reach Bangalore at 8.35 a.m. In the return direction, train no: 16315 will leave Bangalore at 5.15 p.m. to reach Kochuveli at 9 a.m.

The other daily night train to Bangalore is the 16525/16526 Kanyakumary-Bangalore-Kanyakumary Island Express. Meanwhile, Railways have cancelled train nos:16322/16321 Thiruvananthapuram-Bangalore Weekly expresses with effect from Wednesday. The move has come in for criticism from several quarters. The general secretary of the Thrissur Railway Passengers Association, P. Krishnakumar, has urged Railways to restore the weekly train.

M. Ramachandran, who retired as the Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer of South Western Railways, was given a farewell here recently. SWR General Manager Ashok Kumar Mital felicitated Mr. Ramachandran and complimented him for being instrumental in introducing the electronic payment system and issuing of provident fund pass books to the railway employees. Senior railway officials Vashista Johri, Sanjeeb Halder, and S.C. Sahu appreciated the good work done by Mr. Ramchandran. — Staff Correspondent

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Urban Development Minister Mr.Kamal Nath Tuesday said the monorail can be a supplement for the Metro as it can be easily built and can ply in congested areas where Metro corridors cannot be constructed.

“I’m laying more emphasis on monorail, as it can be a supplement of Metro rail network. The medium cities with a population of one to four lakh will benefit with monorail, as it can provide inter-city transport service in congested localities where even buses are difficult to ply,” Kamal Nath said.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day seminar on Indo-Japan Monorail and Light Rail Transit (LRT).

The minister also said that his ministry is looking into developing monorail corridors across the country, as it suits the Indian roads. Plans are underway for developing the Monorail corridors at Agra, Indore, Bhopal, Surat, Pune, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Warangal-Hanumakonda-Kazipet, Coimbatore, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Guwahati, Nagpur, Patna, Vadodara, Aurangabad, Ludhiana, Ranchi, Allahabad, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Madurai, Mysore, Nanded, Cuttack etc.

“Monorail can be introduced in narrow width roads, which is very India-specific, because it uses only two beams and they can negotiate sharp curves,” the minister said.

According to the urban development ministry, monorail has a narrower pillar which measures only 1-1.2 metre in diameter while the same for a metro pillar is 1.5-1.8 metre.

The minister also informed that the Maharashtra government is already constructing two corridors of monorail in Mumbai.

As far as Delhi is concerned, an 11-km corridor has already been identified. Even Tamil Nadu and Kerala have also prepared detailed project reports for monorail.

Participating in the seminar, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit informed that the national capital will get its first monorail network by 2017.

“I hope in next two or three years or definitely by 2017 we will get the first monorail in Delhi,” Dikshit said at the inaugural session of the seminar.

“A study was conducted on the feasibility of monorail in the national capital by the Delhi Metro. We have come to a conclusion that 11 km of monorail will ply in east Delhi between Shastri Park and Trilokpuri,” she said.

“This is a beginning. We need to identify many more corridors for the monorail. We aim to adopt various pollution free modes of transport whether monorail or tram to cater to the congested areas of the city,” Dikshit said.

The first monorail corridor in Delhi will have 12 stations.

The Kolkata Metro Railway carried 11.70 percent more passengers in the first five months of the 2013-14 fiscal to reach a figure of 8.43 crore as compared to the corresponding period last year.The revenue on passenger earnings grew by 12.92 percent during the April-August period of 2013-14, as against the same period of 2012-13, a Metro Railway, Kolkata, release said."Metro Railway carried 8.43 crore passenger during the period from April to August 2013-14, which is 11.70 percent more than 7.55 crores passengers carried in the same period of the previous year," it said.The Kolkata Metro earned Rs.43.74 crore during the first five months of 2013-14, which was 12.92 percent more than the revenue on passenger earnings of Rs.38.73 crore in 2012-13.