ProUI

More than one lakh additional berths have been created by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) to clear the waitlisted passengers during the ensuing Durga Puja season.The ECoR would run special trains to various destinations from its jurisdiction and also by augmenting additional coaches in different mail/express trains, official sources said.Through this, over one lakh additional berths have been created to provide comfortable journey to the passengers during this peak Puja-rush season, they added.Similarly, the Railways is running 16 Special Trains from and through the ECoR jurisdiction out of which seven special trains (65 trips) are originating from the ECoR System, officials added.These trains are as follows - Bhubaneswar-New Delhi AC Super fast Express via Angul and Sambalpur City, Bhubaneswar-Yesvantpur AC Super fast Express, Visakhapatnam-Tata via Keonjhar, Puri-Santragachhi, Puri-Sealdah, Visakhapatnam-Kollam and Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad AC Super fast Express.

New Delhi, Sept 26:
The Habibganj—Indore AC double decker train, the first such service in Madhya Pradesh, will be flagged off tomorrow at Habibganj station in Bhopal by Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
A senior Railway Ministry official said the train service seeks to provide AC travel at a low cost to passengers in high density corridors.
This is the fourth AC double decker train in the country to become operational since 2011. The first such train was launched between Howrah and Dhanbad in October 2011.
Subsequently, the service was launched on three more routes between Jaipur—Delhi, Mumbai—Ahemedabad and Chennai—Bangalore to cater to the growing demand of passengers.
Manufactured at Rail Coach factory in Kapurthala, the trademark red and yellow stainless steel, 120—seater coaches are equipped with several technological features.
The coaches are equipped with anti—climbing technology to prevent a pile—up of bogies in the case of a mishap.
Some of the other features include a GPS—based passenger information system that scrolls real-time running position, train speed and distance to the next station, besides multiple shock absorbers for a smooth ride, as well as fire extinguishers in all coaches.

Special inaugural run of the train will be launched on September 28

Train commuters in Puducherry can expect another announcement in the railway budget to reach fruition on Saturday.

The Mangalore- Tiruchi Weekly Express will be extended to Puducherry from this weekend, as announced earlier this year.

RESERVATION TODAY

The special inaugural run of the Mangalore- Puducherry train will be launched on September 28 and will be flagged off at Mahe by V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office, said a release from the Tiruchi division of Southern Railways. Advance reservation for the special train will commence on Friday.

The inaugural special (train no. 06858) will leave Mangalore at 1.45 pm on Saturday and reach Tiruchi at 05.30 am on September 29. The train will arrive at Puducherry at 10.00 am the same day. The special train will comprise of First Class AC 2-tier, First class AC 3-tier, four sleeper class, six general second class and two second class cum luggage coaches.

The extension of the Mangalore- Tiruchi express to Puducherry follows close on the heels of the weekly Tirupati- Puducherry express that was launched by the Railway Minister last week.

Regular service will commence from Mangalore on September 29 and from Puducherry on October 5. The Puducherry Mangalore Weekly express (Train No. 16857) will leave Puducherry station on Saturdays at 4.35 pm and reach Tiruchy at 8.40 pm, Mahe at 6.06 am the next morning and Mangalore at 9.50 am. On its return, the Mangalore-Puducherry Weekly Express (16858) will leave Mangalore station at 4.50 pm on Sundays and reach Mahe at 7.40 pm, Tiruchi at 5.15 am on Monday and arrive at Puducherry station at 10 am the same day.

The train will stop at Kasargod, Kanhangad, Payyanur, Kannur, Thalassery, Mahe, Kozhikkode, Tirur, Shoranur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Karur, Tiruchi, Srirangam, Ariyalur, Vriddhachalam and Villupuram.

CHENNAI: Travelling by Southern Railway's special trains is not going to be pleasant experience this season. The Basin Bridge train care centre, which is responsible for maintenance of trains, has been hit by a severe shortage of manpower and lacks basic infrastructure.

Employees at the centre say it will be a hassle to service any more trains than they already do. Southern Railway is likely to announce special trains for the Puja holidays, Diwali and Pongal in the coming months and more trains have already been introduced on weekends but the centre cannot deal with the increase in workload, they say.

The railway has failed to improve pit lines, where the undercarriage of engines and coaches are checked. It is also yet to appoint more staff despite repeated demands and protests by employees. Basin Bridge maintenance men have made several representations to railway officials and staged protests but to no avail.

The employees say they have stressed that passenger safety is being compromised because staff shortage does not allow them to inspect the trains thoroughly before they certify that they are fit for a journey.

The centre maintains 52 rakes or 1,010 coaches every day and needs at least 500 more employees to do the work, which has now increased with the introduction of new and special trains, an official said.

The sanctioned staff strength is 1,532, including supervisors, technicians and others, but there is a shortage of 251 employees.

A resolution adopted by the Indian Railways Technical Supervisors Association (IRTSA) demanded that vacancies be filled and additional posts created as needed.

A 24-coach train needs 30 people for technical maintenance and 20 more for cleaning. It also requires four ancillary employees like carpenters, painters and welders. "We should have a certain number of employees for each train, but manage with fewer people," a Basin Bridge train care centre employee said.

The yard lacks good pit lines, an efficient garbage clearance system and proper equipment to clean trains. Of the 16 pit lines, only two conform to standards prescribed.

"This lack of concern by senior officials is bound to have an impact on safety as every component in the undercarriage and bogies have to be inspected, attended to and certified before a rake can make a journey," the official said.

Bhubaneswar: More than one lakh additional berths have been created by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) to clear the waitlisted passengers during the ensuing Durga Puja season.

The ECoR would run special trains to various destinations from its jurisdiction and also by augmenting additional coaches in different mail/express trains, official sources said.

Through this, over one lakh additional berths have been created to provide comfortable journey to the passengers during this peak Puja-rush season, they added.

Similarly, the Railways is running 16 Special Trains from and through the ECoR jurisdiction out of which seven special trains (65 trips) are originating from the ECoR System, officials added.

These trains are as follows, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi AC Super fast Express via Angul and Sambalpur City, Bhubaneswar-Yesvantpur AC Super fast Express, Visakhapatnam-Tata via Keonjhar, Puri-Santragachhi, Puri-Sealdah, Visakhapatnam-Kollam and Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad AC Super fast Express.

Bhubaneswar: More than one lakh additional berths have been created by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) to clear the waitlisted passengers during the ensuing Durga Puja season.

The ECoR would run special trains to various destinations from its jurisdiction and also by augmenting additional coaches in different mail/express trains, official sources said.

Through this, over one lakh additional berths have been created to provide comfortable journey to the passengers during this peak Puja-rush season, they added.

Similarly, the Railways is running 16 Special Trains from and through the ECoR jurisdiction out of which seven special trains (65 trips) are originating from the ECoR System, officials added.

These trains are as follows, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi AC Super fast Express via Angul and Sambalpur City, Bhubaneswar-Yesvantpur AC Super fast Express, Visakhapatnam-Tata via Keonjhar, Puri-Santragachhi, Puri-Sealdah, Visakhapatnam-Kollam and Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad AC Super fast Express.

Amritsar:
Even as the Union Railway Ministry had announced the commencement of Amritsar-Lalkuan Express in February this year, its launch has got delayed due to want of notification. It has been learnt that the racks have arrived here for the train which would operate once in a week. The train would facilitate a large section of Sikh population residing in Lalkuan area of Uttarakhand. —

रेलवे संरक्षा आयुक्त आरके करदम ने गुरुवार को धमारा रेल हादसे की जांच के क्रम में स्टेशन के अधिकारियों से जहां पूछताछ की वहीं स्थल का भी मुआयना किया। वे खगड़िया में कुछ देर रुकने के बाद दिन के लगभग 12 बजे मानसी जंक्शन पहुंचे। जहां से वे कोपरिया स्टेशन गए और वहां से लौटने के बाद धमारा स्टेशन पर पहले तोड़-फोड़ का जायजा लिया। इसके बाद उन्होंने स्टेशन अधीक्षक आरबीआर राजेश व डयूटी पर तैनात विजय कुमार वर्मा से घटना को लेकर पूछताछ की। इसके बाद वे ट्राली पर सवार होकर सिंगनल सिस्टम को देखने गये। इसके बाद वे 52 नंबर पुल से पहले कात्यायनी स्थान के सामने रुक गये। उनके वहां रुकते ही कात्यायनी स्थान में पूजा को पहुंचे लोग जमा हो गये। संरक्षा आयुक्त श्री करदम इसके बाद वे अपने सैलून से मानसी लौट गये। जहां से वे खगड़िया के लिए रवाना हो गये। वे शुक्र व शनिवार को खगड़िया जंक्शन पर जिले के लोगों से घटना के बारे में जानकारी लेंगे। उनके साथ समस्तीपुर के डीआरएम अरुण मल्लिक, सीनियर डीसीएम एएमआई हिमायू, सीनियर डीईओ दिलीप कुमार आदि कई पदाधिकारी साथ में थे। उनके आगमन को लेकर मानसी व धमारा में सुरक्षा को लेकर कड़े प्रबंध किए गये थे। डीआरएम समस्तीपुर ने बताया कि बताया कि धमारा रेल हादसे के संबंध में किसी को कुछ बताना है तो वे खगड़िया स्टेशन पर जांच को पहुंचे संरक्षा आयुक्त से अपनी बात बता सकते हैं।

General Manager of South Western Railway Ashok Kumar Mital has said the zone is in the process of setting up modern catering outlets and base kitchens at major railway stations.

Chairing the 15th Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) of the SWR here on Thursday, Mr. Mital said the customer continued to be the prime focus of all railway activities and steps were being taken to make railway services more passenger friendly and comfortable.

He said that mechanised cleaning of stations and coaches, on-board housekeeping services (OBHS), induction of eco-friendly bio-toilets and other steps had been taken by the zone. Mr. Mital said that during the last financial year, SWR had loaded 33.52 million tonnes in freight and carried 193 million originating passengers with gross earnings of Rs. 4,185 crore. During the first five months of the current financial year (till August-end) the zone had carried 13.25 million tonnes in freight and 81.01 million originating passengers with gross earnings of Rs. 1,798.2 crore, he said.

Of the 43 ZRUCC members, 26, including Ganesh Gaonkar, MLA from Goa, participated in the meeting.

Mr. Mital requested Mr. Gaonkar to raise the issue of permission for land acquisition for the track-doubling project in Goa, to which the MLA responded positively.

To a request by Mahendra H. Singhi, member, to extend one of the three trains running between Mumbai and Kolhapur to Hubli, Mr. Mital said that it had to be decided by the Central Railway and Railway Board. However, the Hubli–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Kurla) Tri-Weekly Express via Miraj and Pune had been announced in the Railway Budget 2013 and it would be introduced shortly, he said.

11 MPs of petition committee will hear parties, visit spot on Saturday

The petition committee of Parliament, which has 11 MPs from various parties as its members, would visit Pune to review the ground situation and look into the long-pending demand for the railway overbridge at Ghorpadi. Shiv Sena group leader in Lok Sabha, Anant Gite is president of this committee.

Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP from Shirur, Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil said that since the defence ministry officials did not respond to his four-and-half-year efforts in this regard, he had to approach the petition committee of Parliament and exercise his right as an MP.

The MP said the issue of railway overbridge was pending for a long time and he had written many letters to the defence ministry officials in this regard.

He said there had been many meetings with the defence officials as well, however, no decision had been taken at the meetings.
The petition committee would visit Pune on Saturday and discuss the issue of the railway overbridge with elected representatives from Ghorpadi, Mundhwa, BT Kawade Road as well as officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation.

The committee would also visit the spot at which the overbridge could be built and after its Pune visit, the committee would submit its report to the Union government.

Mayor Chanchala Kodre, deputy mayor Bandu Gaikwad, MLAs Mahadev Babar, corporators Surekha Kawade, Santosh Kawade, Srikant Mantri, Dilip Kawade and Colonel Gupta are to present their views before the committee, said Adhalrao-Patil.