ProUI

MUMBAI: Ministry of Railways have decided to run 12 superfast special trains between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Howrah via Mughalsarai to clear the extra rush of passengers.

A Central Railway spokesperson said, "Train no. 03062 LTT-Howrah superfast express will leave LTT at 11.20 am on every Thursday from Oct 10 to Nov 14(6 trips) and will arrive Howrah at 10.50 pm next day."

From Howrah the train will operates between Oct 8 and Nov 12 (6 trips). It will depart from Howrah at Howrah at 08.15 am on every and will arrive LTT at 12.25 am on third day. The reservation for this special services will begin from Sept 23.

The spokesperson said that the train will halts at Kalyan, Igatpuri, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusawal, Khandwa, Itarsi, Pipariya, Narsingpur, Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Satna, Manikpur, Chheoki, Mugalsarai, Sasaram, Dehri-on-sone, Gaya, Koderma, Dhanbad, Asansol, Durgapur and Bardhman.

The train composition includes one AC 2-tier, two AC 3-tier, 10 sleeper class, 3 general second class and 2 general second class cum guard's brake vans.

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.

MUMBAI: The 10-day Ganpati festival brought a major revenue fillip to Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR), with the two collectively earning Rs 10 crore more than usual. The suburban railway network saw an average of 4.30 lakh passengers more per day during Ganeshotsav.

On Monday, September 16, the CR network saw a record-breaking 65 lakh passengers compared to the daily average of 40 lakh, an increase of 62% in passenger traffic.

On the same day, WR saw 49.46 lakh passengers compared to the daily average of 35 lakh, an increase of 42%.

A CR official said the passenger count on September 16 was the highest for a day seen so far on the suburban network. “It surpassed the till-date highest tally of 53 lakh commuters registered on August 20, the day of Rakshabandhan,” the official said.

In fact around 47 lakh commuters used the suburban rail network on August 27, a non-festival day. The highest single-day figure previously recorded was in the last financial year was Rs 43.1 lakh on Diwali day.

A senior WR official said the average per day earning during Ganeshotsav was about Rs 50 lakh more than usual. “We have been able to earn Rs 2.22 crore per day as against the daily average of 1.70 crore,” the official said.

On CR, the collection during Ganeshotsav soared to an average of Rs 2.5 crore per day from the daily average of Rs 2 crore on normal days.

A WR official said many people used Lower Parel station to go to Lalbaugcha Raja.

At Lower Parel, passengers booked on September 16 and 17 were 1.29 lakh and 94,000, respectively, against the daily station average of 69,000. At Charni Road, passengers booked on September 18-the day of the visarjan -were 91,000 against the daily station average of 68,000.

“During big festivals like Ganpati, Navratri or Diwali, rail transport is the swiftest as roads are usually clogged,” a senior official said. “Many vehicles get caught in traffic jams for hours as the road width gets decreased to the erection of pandals, thus blocking the smooth flow of traffic. In such a scenario, even non-rail travelers jump on the train to avoid traffic.”

A WR official said during Ganpati people from nearby places like Baroda and Surat come down to the city to pray to the Lalbaugcha Raja.

Ramesh Shah, a Ghatkopar resident, said he could see trains going towards CST were full as late as 11 pm.

“This seems to be a new trend as I had not seen such large crowds during the Ganpati festival before,” he said.

Railway activist Subash Gupta said, “I am sure many would have also travelled without ticket too due to long queues. During Ganapati festivals, the railway authorities should set up separate stalls a important stations to sell only tourist tickets, which are valid for travel in any part of the city. It is cheaper and will fetch revenue. Increase in suburban passengers during Ganpati”

Thiruvananthapuram: The cabinet on Friday formed a joint steering committee headed by the Chief Secretary and sanctioned Rs 10.99 crore to the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Thiruvananthapuram-Chengannur-Harippad suburban train services.Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told meadipersons after the cabinet meeting that the MRVC would hand over the DPR within three months. The government hoped to get World Bank aid for the project which would cost roughly Rs 3,500 crore, he added.The committee with Chief Secretary Bharart  Bhushan as chairman will have S. Anantharaman, chief safety officer, Southern Railway, Rajesh Aggarwal, divisional railway manager, Southern Railway and Ravi Aggarwal, executive director, planning, MRVC, as members. Biju Prabhakar will be the nodal officer and convenor of  the committee.Chandy said the government would form a Special Purpose Vehicle with the centre on a 50:50 basis stakes. “The biggest plus point of the project is that no land acquisition is needed. But the challenge is to manage at least 83 level crossings on the route,’’ he said and added  that 25 stations would be modernised.As part of the project, 10 MEMUs with seven bogies  each would operate on the route at a speed of 60 km per hour. The government has also suggested to the railways to launch a high-speed rail service in the Malabar region with only one stop in each district.

The state government’s suburban rail services initiative has gained importance in view of the union government accepting in principle the demand to restrict the width of highways in the state to 30 metres.

Thiruvananthapuram: The cabinet on Friday formed a joint steering committee headed by the Chief Secretary and sanctioned Rs 10.99 crore to the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Thiruvananthapuram-Chengannur-Harippad suburban train services. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told meadipersons after the cabinet meeting that the MRVC would hand over the DPR within three months. The government hoped to get World Bank aid for the project which would cost roughly Rs 3,500 crore, he added. The committee with Chief Secretary Bharart  Bhushan as chairman will have S. Anantharaman, chief safety officer, Southern Railway, Rajesh Aggarwal, divisional railway manager, Southern Railway and Ravi Aggarwal, executive director, planning, MRVC, as members. Biju Prabhakar will be the nodal officer and convenor of  the committee. Chandy said the government would form a Special Purpose Vehicle with the centre on a 50:50 basis stakes. “The biggest plus point of the project is that no land acquisition is needed. But the challenge is to manage at least 83 level crossings on the route,’’ he said and added  that 25 stations would be modernised. As part of the project, 10 MEMUs with seven bogies  each would operate on the route at a speed of 60 km per hour. The government has also suggested to the railways to launch a high-speed rail service in the Malabar region with only one stop in each district. The state government’s suburban rail services initiative has gained importance in view of the union government accepting in principle the demand to restrict the width of highways in the state to 30 metres.

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.

Thiruvananthapuram:  In order to bolster the development of prime railway stations in the country, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has joined hands with the Railways here to upgrade basic facilities at the central railway station in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Ministry had recently sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the purpose. Based on this, tenders were issued by the division last week. Twenty-four stations across the country have been selected for the joint venture.

Of these, three stations – Thiruvananthapuram Central, Madurai and Rameswaram – were identified from the Southern Railways. A few other stations in the state might be included in the venture at a later stage. It was decided that the project will be executed in 50:50 ratio by both the ministries (Tourism and Railways) since the railways does not have sufficient finances to upgrade stations on its own. “Even though such a proposal was mentioned in the railway budget 2011-12, it has not materialised so far. MoT representatives had discussions with railway officials here.

During these meetings, the MoT officials had specified that the railways should be willing to prioritise the development of stations as per an eight-point agenda fixed by the Ministry of Tourism. An agreement was made between both the ministries and the railways submitted the proposal as per the demands,” railway officials associated with the project told ‘Express’. The MoT has specified that waiting halls and retiring rooms of the stations be modernised in such a way that it is beneficial for tourists. Also, automated pay and use toilets should be set up at these stations.

International standard lounges, cloakroom facility with individual locker system, passenger-assisting systems, enlargement of the circulation area, handicapped-friendly stations and development of booking and Enquiry counters are also part of the priorities.

“Though the railways will be responsible for the development of the facilities at the stations where the joint venture is being executed, the MoT will have a major say in the planning process. Also, stage-by-stage analysis of the developments by the railways will be monitored by the MoT,” the officials said.

New Delhi: 
The railways have decided to slap a 15 per cent Busy Season Charge on all commodities, to be moved with effect from October 1.
This charge will be levied between October and June.
The decision comes ahead of the revision in the six monthly exercise to adjust fuel prices, also due on October 1.
Sources expect the fuel adjustment component to push up freight charges by another five to seven per cent.

Thiruvananthapuram:  In order to bolster the development of prime railway stations in the country, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has joined hands with the Railways here to upgrade basic facilities at the central railway station in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Ministry had recently sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the purpose. Based on this, tenders were issued by the division last week. Twenty-four stations across the country have been selected for the joint venture.

Of these, three stations – Thiruvananthapuram Central, Madurai and Rameswaram – were identified from the Southern Railways. A few other stations in the state might be included in the venture at a later stage. It was decided that the project will be executed in 50:50 ratio by both the ministries (Tourism and Railways) since the railways does not have sufficient finances to upgrade stations on its own. “Even though such a proposal was mentioned in the railway budget 2011-12, it has not materialised so far. MoT representatives had discussions with railway officials here.

During these meetings, the MoT officials had specified that the railways should be willing to prioritise the development of stations as per an eight-point agenda fixed by the Ministry of Tourism. An agreement was made between both the ministries and the railways submitted the proposal as per the demands,” railway officials associated with the project told ‘Express’. The MoT has specified that waiting halls and retiring rooms of the stations be modernised in such a way that it is beneficial for tourists. Also, automated pay and use toilets should be set up at these stations.

International standard lounges, cloakroom facility with individual locker system, passenger-assisting systems, enlargement of the circulation area, handicapped-friendly stations and development of booking and Enquiry counters are also part of the priorities.

“Though the railways will be responsible for the development of the facilities at the stations where the joint venture is being executed, the MoT will have a major say in the planning process. Also, stage-by-stage analysis of the developments by the railways will be monitored by the MoT,” the officials said.

GURGAON: The announcement made by the district administration that the Rapid Metro is likely to be inaugurated on October 2 seems to have caught the Rapid Metro authorities off guard.

The officials of RapidMetro Gurgaon were quick to clarify that certain mandatory approvals are still pending and only after they receive these approvals will they launch the commercial operations, perhaps hinting that the launch might further get delayed.

“We are in the final stage of approval process and expect to launch our services on completion of all mandatory clearances,” said Sanjiv Rai, MD and CEO, IL&FS Rail Ltd, said on Friday.

The authorities were unwilling to say anything more than this and chose to remain tightlipped about when the train would roll out.

On Thursday, the principal secretary to the Haryana chief minister held a meeting with the MD and other officials from Gurgaon and announced that the operations will start on October 2.

Incidentally, last year on October 2, the CM had himself inaugurated the trail run and the MD had announced that the operations would begin by March 2013. However, there has been an inordinate delay and officials have not been forthcoming to state the reason for this unwarranted delay.

However, according to a source, the mandatory clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) is yet to be received.

“After the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) team from Lucknow conducted the high oscillation trials, the file was submitted to the CMRS. However, the CMRS is yet to inspect the line and only after his clearance, can the line be opened for commercial use. Till such time, we will not be able to say by when we will launch the operation. If we get the clearance before October 2, then definitely, we will launch it then. Else we will have to wait,” said the source.

Factfile:

Trial run inaugurated: October 2, 2012

Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) inspection: August 2013

This the country’s first Metro rail system developed on PPP model at cost of Rs 1,100 crore

The first phase is of a length of 5.1km with six stations

The official date announced by district administration is October 2, 2013. However, Rapid Metro authorities are not willing to comment on when the operations would begin