ProUI

The Kerala Government has decided to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the proposed suburban rail service connecting Thiruvananthapuram with Chengannur and Harippad.   This was decided at a meeting of senior railway officials chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here yesterday, an official press release said.   The government plans to start the service close on the heels of the completion of the doubling of railway lines on these two routes, it said.   Mr Chandy said Kerala should also get the benefit of the Railways' Suburban Corridor project and adequate measures should be taken for the purpose.   The suburban rail service will be implemented jointly by the Centre and the State.    The SPV formed will undertake works pertaining to setting up of automatic signaling system and modernization of stations.    The project would incur an expenditure of Rs 3500 crores, which will be funded by the Word Bank. The per kilometer work rate has been estimated at an average of Rs 20 crores.   Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation would be asked to prepare the Detailed Project Report, which is expected by the end of December this year, the release added.   Briefing reporters after a meeting of the State Cabinet today, Mr Chandy said Rs 10.99 crore had been sanctioned for the Detailed Project Report.   He said a five-member Joint Steering Committee has been formed with Chief Secretary Bharat Bhushan as chairman and S Anantharaman, Chief Safety Officer, Southern Railway, Rajesh Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Southern Railway and Ravi Agarwal, Executive Director, Planning at Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation as members. Mr Biju Prabhakaran will be nodal officer and convener of the committee.      Mr Chandy said the Kerala Government and the Central Government would have 50:50 stakes in the SPV.   As part of the project, an automatic signaling system will come into place and about 25 stations will undergo modernization. No land acquisition is involved.   As part of the operations, 10 MEMU trains, each having seven coaches, will be used.   In the suburban rail service, trains can approach and leave stations at 60 km/hr and thus save time on stoppage, he said.   The government has also suggested to the Southern Railway to commence high-speed train service in the Malabar region, where the doubling works of railway line would be over in a month’s time.

AHMEDABAD: Security at Ahmedabad railway station in Kalupur will soon be strengthened with sharper vision. Dissatisfied with the unclear and grainy images of the old CCTV network, Western Railway plans to install high definition (HD) CCTV surveillance system at Kalupur railway station to monitor activities at different places more effectively.

Around 50 HD CCTV cameras are to be installed at ticket booking counters, platforms, reservation centers, parking space and also in the shunting yards. "The entire HD CCTV project will cost Rs 17 lakh and should be installed in two months. The new cameras are based on the latest HD-IP technology," said Jitendra kumar Jayant, public relations officer of Western Railway, Ahmedabad.

Nearly 175 trains stop at the Kalupur station daily and, on an average, 1.20 lakh to 1.30 lakh passengers pass through it every day. But the security arrangements at the station were not up to the mark. The station got its CCTV system in 1998 but these were now proving inadequate in providing clear video images of the goings-on at the station.

The Ahmedabad railway terminus at Kalupur has only 17 CCTV cameras. Moreover, they are not able to provide clear images of commuters' faces and other details. Moreover, the 17 cameras cover only Platform Nos. 1 to 5 while Platform Nos. 6 to 12 are without any electronic surveillance. At these platforms, long distance trains bring passengers daily from the border states.

The new HD CCTV network will have zoom facility and will help the police identify and locate troublemakers and untoward occurrences from the control room.

Jayant said that the Western Railway was setting up an 'RPF Sankul' near the reservation office at the Ahmedabad railway station. "This will enhance security and safety and improve services. The RPF Sankul will be the control point from where goings-on within and outside the railway station will be monitored," he said.

Officials at the CCTV control room will also keep an eye on ticket black-marketers and track movement of unauthorized personnel near booking centers. The 'RPF Sankul' will be run round-the-clock by RPF personnel who will keep an eye on platforms, the railway yard and ticket-booking counters. "They will be better equipped to initiate immediate action in times of emergency," said a railway official.

The frequency of Train Nos. 17213/17214 Narsapur-Nagarsol-Narsapur Express has been increased to 4 days in a week from the present twice a week.

      Accordingly, Train No. 17213 Narsapur-Nagarsol Express will depart Narsapuron Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdayswith effect from 25thSeptember, 2013.



      In the return direction, Train No. 17214 Nagarsol-Narsapur Express will depart Nagarsol on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays with effect from 26th September, 2013.

In order to clear extra rush of passengers during festival season 2013 Railway has decided to run special trains from Guwahati to New Delhi, Bhubaneswar to New Delhi, Jammu Tawi to Ahmedabad, Jammu Tawi to Pathankot and Saharnpur to Ambala Cantt

In a joint operation, the General Railway Police and Childline 1098 have rescued a 12-year-old boy from Uruvaiyar village in Puducherry as he landed in the railway station here on Thursday night. The boy, Sakthivelu, who knew only Tamil, was admitted to the rescue home here on the orders of Prakasam District Child Welfare Committee Chairman N.V.S. Rammohan on Friday. The boy, who wanted to go to his relative's house in Chennai, had lost his way, Childline foundation NGO partner HELP coordinator B.V.Sagar said.

ALLAHABAD: In view of Durga Puja and Pitra Paksh, railway administration has decided to ply special trains. One air-conditioned Puja special will run between Bhubneshwar and New Delhi while the other Pitra Paksh special train will run between Jabalpur and Gaya.

Train number 02815/02816 will run between Bhubneshwar and New Delhi and will be fully air-conditioned train. This will be a weekly train and depart from Bhubneshwar at about 8:10 am and go through the route of Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore, Hijilli, Bankura, Adra, Gomoh, Gaya, Mughalsarai, Allahabad, Kanpur and finally terminate at New Delhi at 8.45 am. During the return journey, the train will leave New Delhi at 1:00 pm and will finally terminate at Bhubneshwar at 11:05 am next day.This train will have four AC-II tier and ten AC-III tier coaches and will depart from Bhubneshwar every Sunday from September 29 to November 24 and from New Delhi every Monday from September 30 to November 25.

Train number 1709/1710 will run between Jabalpur and Gaya during Pitra Paksha. This train will depart from Jabalpur at about 12:25 pm and go through the route of Katni, Maihar, Satna, Manikpur, Chheoki, Mughalsarai, Sasaram and finally terminate at Gaya at 2:00 am. During the return journey, the train will depart from Gaya at about 5:00 pm and terminate at Jabalpur at 5:30 am.

This train will depart from Jabalpur on September 30 and October 3 and from Gaya on October 1 and 4. This train will comprise of one AC-II tier, two AC-III tier, ten sleeper and four general class coaches.

The Kerala Government has decided to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the proposed suburban rail service connecting Thiruvananthapuram with Chengannur and Harippad.   This was decided at a meeting of senior railway officials chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here yesterday, an official press release said.   The government plans to start the service close on the heels of the completion of the doubling of railway lines on these two routes, it said.   Mr Chandy said Kerala should also get the benefit of the Railways' Suburban Corridor project and adequate measures should be taken for the purpose.   The suburban rail service will be implemented jointly by the Centre and the State.    The SPV formed will undertake works pertaining to setting up of automatic signaling system and modernization of stations.    The project would incur an expenditure of Rs 3500 crores, which will be funded by the Word Bank. The per kilometer work rate has been estimated at an average of Rs 20 crores.   Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation would be asked to prepare the Detailed Project Report, which is expected by the end of December this year, the release added.   Briefing reporters after a meeting of the State Cabinet today, Mr Chandy said Rs 10.99 crore had been sanctioned for the Detailed Project Report.   He said a five-member Joint Steering Committee has been formed with Chief Secretary Bharat Bhushan as chairman and S Anantharaman, Chief Safety Officer, Southern Railway, Rajesh Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Southern Railway and Ravi Agarwal, Executive Director, Planning at Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation as members. Mr Biju Prabhakaran will be nodal officer and convener of the committee.      Mr Chandy said the Kerala Government and the Central Government would have 50:50 stakes in the SPV.   As part of the project, an automatic signaling system will come into place and about 25 stations will undergo modernization. No land acquisition is involved.   As part of the operations, 10 MEMU trains, each having seven coaches, will be used.   In the suburban rail service, trains can approach and leave stations at 60 km/hr and thus save time on stoppage, he said.   The government has also suggested to the Southern Railway to commence high-speed train service in the Malabar region, where the doubling works of railway line would be over in a month’s time.

Legacy and social commitment have been bleeding the Indian Railways for a long time.

Pursuing its social commitment, hospitals, nursing homes and sports stadiums have or are proposed to be built in places where they are a huge drain on financial resources. Thousands of kilometers of un-remunerative lines have been announced and thousands of persons that the public transporter doesn’t need are recruited.

In the name of legacy, wards of employees get easy access to jobs as a virtual inheritance. Palatial and fully furnished bungalows are allotted on a life-long basis to union leaders. Hundreds of free passes are doled out to different categories of people and hundreds are accommodated in different committees.

Cost of social service

“As revenues earned from freight continue to cross-subsidise passenger fares, losses in the passenger segment have escalated. Social burden costs are estimated to touch Rs. 30,000 crore this fiscal,” said former railways financial commissioner AV Paulose. More than 300 projects costing about 1.5 lakh crore are pending. The operating ratio — paisa earned against every rupee spent — has continued to hover around 95% in the past five years.

“Rail finances are crumbling. The railways in the recent past have had to approach the finance ministry for additional funds to balance its budget. India’s rail network has increased by just about 10,000 km in the 66 years since Independence but 2,500 trains have been rained down the clogged networks. From railway ministers downwards, everybody seems interested in winning friends and influencing people,” said former railway board member RC Acharya.

Railways expert Raghu Dayal goes a step further: “The railways have lost 70% of freight share to the road transport  sector in the past 66 years. The steel and petroleum ministries have bigger budgetary outlays while some private companies have a higher turnover compared to the railways. There is just no justification for the railways to have a separate budget.”

Living in the past

The British colonisers built residential complexes and golf courses to create facilities in remote areas for its engineers and managers. “Construction and maintenance of colonies can very easily be outsourced now. Coaches and equipment can also be sourced from the open market. Providing for catering services does not form part of the core activities of the public transporter but it has continued to engage in it. The railways also don’t need a host of activities in passenger, parcel or freight services. Somehow, the railways have been unable to bring about a mindset change and continue to function in a time warp,” said Krishan Lal Thapar of the Asian Institute of Transport.

A senior railway official, however, said the organisation is trying to adapt to the changing times: “Measures are being attempted to integrate the railways culture with market realities. Activities such as track laying and rolling stock maintenance are being outsourced. Policy changes such as plans to set up the Rail Traffic Regulatory Authority have been initiated.”

Too many panels

At 69 divisions and 17 zones, 20-member Railways User’s Consultative Committees comprising public representative are in existence.

At the railway board level, such individuals are accommodated as members in various committees including the Passenger Services Committee, Passenger Amenities Committee, Hindi Advisory Committee or the Heritage Committee.

“Members of these committees are mostly furthering their own agendas and lobbying for introduction of more trains. Committee members are very strident. Such populist attitudes don’t help,” an official said.

Mumbaikars will have to carry four different smart cards -- one each for the Metro, Monorail, BEST buses and local trains -- as the MMRDA's original plan to have an integrated smart card for all modes of transport will take time

If you thought life would become a little easier once the Metro and Monorail start functioning, you were wrong. Citizens will have to carry a separate smart card for the both the Metro and Monorail, apart from the two separate smart cards that they already carry for BEST buses and local train travel on Central and Western Railway.According to the original plan by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), there was supposed to be only one integrated smart card that could be used on any of the 4 modes of transport – local trains, BEST buses, Metro and Monorail. But the integrated smart card will take some time.Speaking to MiD DAY, UPS Madan, Metropolitan Commissioner, said, “When the Metro and Monorail will be operational, commuters using the services will have to carry two different cards, as the integrated card will take some extra time.” According to MMRDA, the delay is because of technical issues.

“We are already working on the integrated smart card and within a few months, it will be ready,” added Madan.

The original plan was to integrate Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Transport, Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport, Thane Municipal Transport (TMT), Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST), Western and Central Railways under the aegis of Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMMTA), a government body, and have an integrated smart card for all of them.

Sources from MMRDA told MiDDAY that UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITSL) may be approached to develop the integrated smart card.

The deadline for the Metro to be opened to the public is December this year. The Monorail, whose Wadala-Chembur corridor was supposed to open to the public on September 15, missed its deadline again. MiD DAY had carried a report on the delay (Monorail misses deadline again, September 16).

According to MMRDA authorities, the Monorail too will be functional by the end of the year, though no concrete date has been given.

Palakkad: Considering the heavy rush of passengers, a special weekly train would run in the Kacheguda- Mangalore route from October 1 to November 27. The train Kacheguda-Mangalore central (07606) will start from Kacheguda at 6 am Tuesday. It will reach Mangalore central on Wednesday 11.20 am. Mangalore central-Kacheguda train (07605) will leave from Mangalore by Wednesday night 8 and will reach Kacheguda by Friday early morning 3.40 am. The train will have one ac two tier, two AC three tier, 7 sleeper classes, 6 general second class seats and 2 luggage-cum-break vans . The train will have stops in Palakkad, Shoranur, Tirur, Kozhikode, Vatakara, Thalassery, Kannur, Payyanur, Kanhangad and Kasargod in Kerala.