ProUI

Work on the railway project connecting Manipur's Jiribam sub-division with Tupul in Tamenglong District near Imphal, is in full swing.It is expected to be completed within the next three years at an estimated cost of around Rs.4,445 crores.The length of Tupul-Imphal railway line is 26.925 kms.The Jiribam-Tupul railway line was included in the 2003-2004 budget by the Central Government in view of its Look East Policy.With improvement in connectivity, transit time will be reduced and costs will be brought down.Gulapi Singh, a local resident, said: "Nowadays, the price of essential commodities is very high.After completion of this railway project, their costs would come down, and many goods from Manipur also can be exported outside the state.It will benefit the people" ..ZWilliam, a student, said: "This will benefit in a different kind of development, like education and communication" .A majority of 107 minor bridges, seven major bridges and three road over bridges and two road under bridges have been constructed so far.The construction of four out of the 34 tunnels has also been completed.The railway line will also help the Indian Oil Corporation supply oil from its 'Rail Fed Oil Depot' in Manipur.K I Singh, IOC's Senior Retail Divisional Manager,said: "We are making good progress in construction of the Rail Fed Oil Depot at Malom Village which will be completed by December 2014.After completion of the Tupul railway line, it will resolve many problems of the state" .Better connectivity will give a fillip to the tourism industry in the region, and will also speed up industrialization of the region.It will also enhance trade relations with neighbouring states and ASEAN countries, besides ensuring an increase in people-to-people contacts.

AMBALA: The Ambala-Delhi express train was today flagged off by Union Minister and Member of Parliament from Ambala, Kumari Selaja, here.Speaking on this occasion, Selja, who also travelled in the train, said with the introduction of this service, demands of the people of Ambala, Barara, Jagadhari and Yamunanagar have been met.The Ambala-Delhi train will depart from Ambala 5:40 AM and reach Delhi at 11:40 AM.It will have 10 stoppages -- Barara, Jagadhari workshop, Yamunanagar, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Merut City, Modinagar, Ghaziabad and Shahdara.

DECK CASTING FOR ROAD STARTED IN RAIL CUM ROAD BRIDGE AT DIGHAGHAT PATNA.

Rajbhasha Pakhwara in ECR

Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Hon’ble Union Minister of Railways laid the foundation stone for road over bridges in lieu of level crossings No.39 & 43-A and flagged off the inaugural special of the Puducherry – Tirupati (weekly) express at Arumbarthapuram – Puducherry today (17.09.2013) in the presence of Shri. V. Narayanasamy, Hon’ble Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office & Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension, MLAs and Shri D.P. Pande, Member Traffic/Railway Board/New Delhi. Shri. Rakesh Misra, General Manager/Southern Railway welcomed the gathering.  Shri. S. Vijayakumaran, Chief Administrative Officer, Construction, Southern Railway delivered the vote of thanks.  Mrs. Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager, Tiruchchirappalli, senior railway officials and other dignitaries participated in the function.

            The regular service of T.No.17413 Tirupati – Puducherry (weekly) express will commence ex. Tirupati o­n 21.09.2013 (Saturday) and that of T.No.17414 Puducherry – Tirupati (weekly) express will commence ex. Puducherry o­n 22.09.2013 (Sunday).

            T.No. 17413 will leave Tirupati at 21.35 hrs. o­n Saturdays and arrive Puducherry at 04.30 hrs. o­n Sundays.  T.No.17414 will leave Puducherry at 08.35 hrs. o­n Sundays and arrive Tirupati at 16.00 hrs. the same day.  The composition of the trains will be      8 General Second Class, 1 Second Class-cum-luggage and 1 Second Class-cum- disabled friendly coaches.  The trains will stop at Pakala, Chittoor, Katpadi, Vellore Cantt., Arni Road, Polur, Tiruvannamalai, Tirukkovilur and Villupuram.

PUDUCHERRY: Railways will construct road overbridges at all the identified level crossings that have more than one lakh train-vehicle unit (a unit obtained by multiplying the number of trains with road vehicles and is indicative of traffic at the level crossing), said Union railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday.The minister was in the Union territory to lay the foundation stones for road overbridges at Arumpathapuram and 100 feet road at an estimated cost of more than Rs 30 crore and to flag off the Puducherry-Tirupati weekly express train. He said the ministry would construct road over bridges at the five identified level crossings in Puducherry-Villupuram region. "Two road overbridges will be ready within one year and rest within two years," he assured.He said the ministry would entrust construction of approach bridges to the road overbridges to the Puducherry public works department. He said the ministry fulfilled two of its three promises made in the last budget and assured that Mangalore-Trichy train would be extended up to Puducherry soon. The ministry introduced Puducherry-Kannyakumari express and Puducherry-Tirupathi express.He stressed that Puducherry need to be connected with all state capitals and sought the Union minister of state in PMO V Narayanasamy, who attended the function, to seek more funds from the Union finance ministry for more railway projects for Puducherry.

Narayanasamy said the beneficiary states shares 50% of the expenses for railway projects and added that Union government liberally funded railway projects in Puducherry even though the government did not come forward to share the project cost.

Gauge conversion was progressing at full swing at Karaikal and more train services would be introduced after the work is completed.

Narayanasamy sought the ministry to introduce a Puducherry-Ajmer train. He also sought the ministry to upgrade the Puducherry railway station as a model railway station and earmark adequate funds for upgradation.

Mountainous northeast India would be connected to the railway network of neighbouring Myanmar to link up with the ambitious 81,000 km-long Trans-Asian Railway Network (TARN), an official said.  “To connect with the TARN, a 118-km railway track would be laid between (Manipur capital) Imphal and (border towns) Moreh and Tamu (the latter in western Myanmar),” Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Engineer (Construction) Harpal Singh said.  “The survey work is now on and it would be completed by March next year,” Harpal Singh said.  He said that another 257-km railway route from north Tripura’s Jawahar Nagar railway station to northern Mizoram’s Kolashib and Myanmar’s Darlon has been proposed to connect with TARN.  “If Tripura and Manipur linked with the TARN, the northeastern states would be the gateway to Southeast Asian countries,” Harpal Singh explained.  “For the development of northeast India’s economy, tourism and people-to- people contacts between the region and Southeast Asian countries, the TARN would play a vital role,” he added.  The proposed TARN covers 80,900 km of rail lines, including 22,600 km in South Asia, Iran and Turkey. The southern corridor begins in Kunming in China and Bangkok in Thailand and ends in Kapikule in Bulgaria.  The length of the route between Bangkok and Kapikule is 11,460 km and provides trans-continental connectivity to China, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Iran and Turkey.  Harpal Singh said that as per the ‘Vision-2020’, prepared by the North Eastern Council, the NFR would connect all the state capitals of northeastern states by 2020. Currently, Assam’s main city Guwahati and Tripura capital Agartala are linked with the Indian Railways network.  Agartala is one of the newest stations and came on the country’s rail map in October 2008.  The NFR is one of the 16 railway zones in India. Headquartered at Maligaon in Guwahati, it is responsible for rail operations in the entire northeast and parts of West Bengal and Bihar.  Harpal Singh also said that work on a new rail link between India and Bangladesh along Tripura would start later this year.  “To ease surface transport between the hilly northeastern states and rest of India and the neighbouring country, this line would also play a key role,” he added.  At a cost of Rs 252 crores, India will build a 15-km track linking Agartala with Bangladesh’s southeastern city of Akhaurah, which is also an important railway junction connected to Chittagong port, resource-rich Sylhet and capital Dhaka.  “Necessary survey and alignment of the railway tracks have been completed. Bangladesh would soon engage the agency for laying railway tracks on their side. We expect the work on the line would start this year,” the NFR construction chief added.  An agreement for the new railway line was signed between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during the latter’s visit to India in January 2010.  “The entire cost would jointly born by the ministry of external affairs and the ministry for development of northeastern region. The Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) would lay the track on the Indian side,” the official added.  A steering committee under Radhika Lokesh, an additional secretary in the external affairs ministry has also been formed to implement the new India-Bangladesh railway project, for which a memorandum of understanding was signed in Dhaka on Feb 16. “The NFR is now extending the 135 km railway network up to (southern Tripura’s border town) Sabroom. With the establishment of the new railway link, northeast India would be connected to the Chittagong port by rail,” Harpal Singh noted.  From Sabroom, Chittagong is just 72 km away.  Surface connectivity is an important factor as the landlocked northeastern states are surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China. The only land route to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal. But this route passes through over 70 percent hilly terrain with steep roads and multiple hairpin bends. India has for long been seeking land, sea and rail access through Bangladesh for ferrying goods and heavy machinery to the northeast from abroad and other parts of the country.  Agartala, for instance, is 1,650 km from Kolkata and 2,637 km from New Delhi via Guwahati and West Bengal, whereas the distance between the Tripura capital and Kolkata through Bangladesh is just about 350 km.

17-09-2013
HONOURABLE UNION RAILWAY MINISTER LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR ROAD OVER BRIDGES & FLAGS OFF PUDUCHERRY – TIRUPATI (WEEKLY) EXPRESS
.. ..
            Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Hon’ble Union Minister of Railways laid the foundation stone for road over bridges in lieu of level crossings No.39 & 43-A and flagged off the inaugural special of the Puducherry – Tirupati (weekly) express at Arumbarthapuram – Puducherry today (17.09.2013) in the presence of Shri. V. Narayanasamy, Hon’ble Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office & Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension, MLAs and Shri D.P. Pande, Member Traffic/Railway Board/New Delhi. Shri. Rakesh Misra, General Manager/Southern Railway welcomed the gathering.  Shri. S. Vijayakumaran, Chief Administrative Officer, Construction, Southern Railway delivered the vote of thanks.  Mrs. Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager, Tiruchchirappalli, senior railway officials and other dignitaries participated in the function.

            The regular service of T.No.17413 Tirupati – Puducherry (weekly) express will commence ex. Tirupati o­n 21.09.2013 (Saturday) and that of T.No.17414 Puducherry – Tirupati (weekly) express will commence ex. Puducherry o­n 22.09.2013 (Sunday).

            T.No. 17413 will leave Tirupati at 21.35 hrs. o­n Saturdays and arrive Puducherry at 04.30 hrs. o­n Sundays.  T.No.17414 will leave Puducherry at 08.35 hrs. o­n Sundays and arrive Tirupati at 16.00 hrs. the same day.  The composition of the trains will be      8 General Second Class, 1 Second Class-cum-luggage and 1 Second Class-cum- disabled friendly coaches.  The trains will stop at Pakala, Chittoor, Katpadi, Vellore Cantt., Arni Road, Polur, Tiruvannamalai, Tirukkovilur and Villupuram.

GUWAHATI, Sept 16 – The Guwahati railway station will have a new look with the Railway authorities lining up a series of projects to boost passenger amenities and give a modern touch to the place as part of a major remodelling exercise.

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) officials said a vintage MG steam locomotive will be placed in front of the station and escalators will be installed connecting the platforms with the foot overbridge for convenience of passengers.

“The steam engine will be placed in front of the station which is intended to provide a glimpse of the Indian Railways heritage. Besides, as part of beautification drive, two water fountains and a pathway will also be constructed there to give a better ambience,” NFR PRO Nripen Bhattacharya told.

Inside the main station area, escalators will be constructed. “The tender notice process for construction of the escalators has been completed and actual work on ground will start by November,” he said.

The remodelling exercise will also include construction of a second entry gate from the Paltan Bazar side and also a separate VIP entrance to platform number one.

Bhattacharya said that the existing foot over-bridge will be extended from the proposed VIP gate to the parcel siding at platform number seven to facilitate passenger traffic.

In addition, a rickshaw stand would be constructed to ease the congestion outside the main station gate. Besides, a pre paid tax/auto stand will also come in consultation with the State government.

“For better passenger service, a food plaza is proposed to be set up which will be operated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). In addition, two fast food stalls would also be set up in platform number one and it will be operated by Railway’s department of catering,” he said.

As part of the exercise, a 46×8 metre waiting hall for general second class passengers would be constructed.

For smooth freight service, one additional parcel gate will come up near the DMM office. There are currently two parcel gates – one each in the Paltan Bazar and the Panbazar side. The project also has provision for a trolley path at both ends of the platforms in the station.

The Indian Railways has formed a new entity — Renewable Energy Management Company — to handle its renewable energy portfolio.

The Railways has an installed capacity of 5 MW of solar and 10.5 MW of wind power. Plans are afoot to install another 8 MW of solar power, according to Anil Kumar Saxena, Additional Director-General, Indian Railways.

Given its size and presence across the country, the Railways has been asked by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to evaluate the potential of solar power generation, sources said. This, according to the Ministry, will help save on power consumption and help it get the electricity at stable rates over the next 25 years.

RISING BILL

The Indian Railways spent Rs 24,130 crore on fuel in FY12. This includes over Rs 3 crore for coal, Rs 10,628 crore for diesel (2.71 million Kilo litres) and about Rs 13,500 crore on power bills for locos, suburban locals and other needs.

Locos and EMU services alone consume 12,762 million units. The Railways still burn 1,000 tonnes of coal a year to run steam locomotives on some sections in the Southern and the Northeast Frontier Railway.

Estimates indicate that there is potential to harness 193 MW of solar power alone through rooftop application on rail land and buildings.

The Ministry also wants the Railways to participate in the bidding of 750 MW grid-connected projects under the National Solar Mission, slated to come up shortly.

The sources said tenders for installation of solar units at 200 stations and 21 office-buildings are in progress. The Railways will also float bids for setting up solar units at 1,000 level-crossings. It will identify about 10 locations to install off-grid solar thermal systems for use in cooking and laundry.

A detailed project report for this will be sought from consultants in a couple of months. Going forward, workshops, manufacturing facilities and training centres may also be equipped with solar and solar thermal plants.

VACANT LAND

Last week, the Rail Land Development Authority said it had tied up with global property consultant Knight Frank India to monetise vacant railway land at 53 locations across the South and West. This again would enhance the rooftop coverage of solar panels for the Railways.

Knight Frank will solicit ‘expression of interest’ from developers, retailers and hoteliers and manage the bidding process.

The rail authority has over 120 sites across the country, which it intends to lease out through competitive bidding.

The plan is to develop multi-functional complexes to provide amenities to commuters, including budget hotels at stations, while generating additional revenue for the Railways in the process.