ProUI

As passengers grapple with the problems, officials look the other way

The Southern Railway, a couple of years ago, introduced the novel facility of “Electronic Fare Repeater Display System” at the reserved and unreserved ticket booking counters in Tiruchi Railway Junction.Under this system, the people can see for themselves the entries being made by the ticketing clerks such as train number, date of journey, boarding, and alighting stations, current status of the ticket and fare on the display board. If any mistake had crept in while the booking staff made the entry, the buyer could alert the official before the ticket was printed. They could keep the fare ready without enquiring for the same with the booking staff.This facility enabled the people verify the ticket details even while it was being processed.Earlier, people noticed mistakes only after the ticket was issued across the counter. The ticket had to be re-processed for correcting any mistake that had taken place. The facility was introduced in five computerised passenger reservation system counters and an equal number of unreserved ticketing system counters at Tiruchi Junction. It reduced the pressure on the booking staff.

This facility lasted only a few months and was done away with, much to the shock of the travelling public. Now, even the electronic display boards have been removed.

The Southern Railway had planned to introduce this facility in the reservation counters of 17 other stations – Tiruchi Fort, Tiruverumbur, Srirangam, Ariyalur, Vriddhachalam, Villuppuram, Puducherry, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore Cantonment, Salem Town, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tirupathiripuliyur, and Chidambaram in a phased manner.

Railway sources said the system was dispensed with because of the huge maintenance cost. This was not the only facility to be withdrawn after introduction of the same with much fanfare.

In 2008, the railways commissioned reverse osmosis plants for supply of purified drinking water, and it proved a boon for passengers. While two plants were established on platform 1, the main platform, one each had been set up on island platforms 2, 3, 4 and 5. Each can treat 1,000 litres of water per hour and 20,000 litres per day. The railway administration spent Rs. 5 lakh for each “membrane-based water purification” plant. Each plant has an overhead tank to store 1,000 litres of treated water. No manpower was required to switch on and off the plants.

The provision of potable drinking water free of cost was widely welcomed by all sections of society and even there was a plea to step up the capacity of the plant to meet the increased demand.

Now, the RO plants are not functioning and the reason given is technical snag and the maintenance cost.

Thanks to sponsors, the railways had installed three platform ticket vending machines and a coin exchange machine, both at the main entrance of Tiruchi Junction, which considerably reduced crowding at the current ticket issuing counters. Since the sponsors did not come forward to get the machines repaired when they developed snags, all the machines were removed.

Touch screen facilities at the main entrance, VIP entrance, Kallukuzhi entrance, and at the PRS centre were used by the passengers to a big extent. While this facility is missing from Kallukuzhi entrance, the one at the main entrance has developed snag.

The main grouse of the passengers against the railways is the non-functioning of the coach indication boards in all the platforms except platform number one. With all the trains originating and passing via Tiruchi are lengthy with 24 coaches and the long distance trains stopping only for a few minutes, coach indication boards are a must, says M. Khaleelur Rahman, a businessman of Palakkarai.

If the Railways could not revive the coach indication boards immediately, it should adopt the old system of displaying the coach position at a central point of the platform, he says.

The second sleeper class waiting hall has been closed recently and the upper class waiting hall has been converted into reserved passengers waiting hall.

Railway sources say that since even common people, apart from the travelling public, were misusing the sleeper class waiting hall, the railways has decided to close it for the time being. It has planned to give a facelift to it and outsource the maintenance of the same to provide better facilities to the passengers.

Tiruchi Junction is a major railway station and handles 120 express and passenger trains and passenger traffic of about 50,000 people a day. More trains have been introduced via Tiruchi junction in the recent past. With the divisional headquarters just a stone’s throw away from the junction, the railways should accord priority for the creation of various facilities and maintaining them properly, says M. Theresnathan, president, Tiruchi District Consumer Movement.

However, the well-maintained pay and use air conditioned waiting hall at a nominal fee of Rs. 10 for two hours and the facilities at basic amenities complex, including an air-conditioned waiting hall, provide more than the needed comfort to the travelling public.

Once again, the Northern Railways has breached the deadline for much awaited 25-km Udhampur-Katra railway line which was set to be commissioned in the month of September this year or before Navratras.             Official sources told Greater Kashmir that most of the formalities as well as construction work on the railway line has been completed, but it still awaits the final clearance by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS).  The CRS team could not conduct the mandatory inspection for the trial run on the section before throwing it open for passenger trains, sources said. “Safety clearance from CRS is mandatory for making new line operational,” they said, adding that the Chairman Railway Board and General Manager of Northern Railway will conduct thorough inspection of the hilly track before it is made operational. Sources added that after inspecting track and construction work, the Ferozpur division gave approval to the 25 kilometer long track and wrote a letter on August 19 to CRS for conducting final inspection but nothing has been done so far.     “Now the track awaits only final inspection by CRS authorities” sources said and added that the reason for delay was well known to higher ups.        The track consists of 11-km of tunnelling passage, nine major bridges, 29 minor bridges and 10 rail under-bridges. The tallest bridge on the section is 85 metres and the longest tunnel is 3.15 km. Pertinently, the inauguration of the 25-km long railway track by Prime Minster on June 25 was postponed because the Chairman Railway Board had found some technical snag along the track. Earlier, the rail link between Udhampur and Katra was scheduled to be completed by 2005. The survey on the rail project was conducted in 1998 but the actual groundwork was started in 1999 setting 2005 as deadline to connect Katra with the rest of the country. Sources said that the Katra Railway station has also been completed with modern facilities including tourist guide counter, cloak room, waiting hall, VIP lounge, escalators and lifts, besides parking space on either                                                   side. They said that the Railway authorities were  mulling to extend Jammu mail and Samparak Kranti trains up to Katra, besides introducing new trains including Katra-Kalka (Chandigarh) Express (bi-weekly), Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Udhampur Express, (fully air-conditioned) and Ahmedabad-Udhampur Express. They said a set of local trains from Jammu to Katra and Pathankot to Katra are also likely to be introduced to cater to the rush of Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims from Jammu and Pathankot to Katra.

MUMBAI: Train services on the Konkan Railway (KR) route was affected today due to a derailment of the locomotive and brake van of Mandovi Express near Khed railway station.Said KR senior spokesperson Vaishali Patange: "The derailment of the locomotive and the brake van of CST-Madgaon Mandovi Express between Diwankhavati and Khed stations occurred at 12:30 pm. On this account, only one train, namely Sawantwadi-Diva passenger train, has been terminated at Ratnagiri and there is no cancellation of any services. However, the trains may be running late due to this and the public may call 022-27561721, 27561723, 27561725 for information.""There is no injury or casualty. Our officials had rushed to the spot of derailment for expeditious restoration of the traffic. The work is going on in full swing and the engineers and the staff are working on a war footing," she said. The commissioner of railway safety was apprised of the incident and an inquiry has been instituted, officials said. "The inconvenience caused to the public is deeply regretted," a senior official added.

Vijayanagaram: Curfew has been imposed in Vizianagaram town with police given the orders to shoot at sight in the wake of large-scale violence by anti-bifurcation agitators, police said in Hyderabad. Additional forces have also been rushed to the district. More than 50,000 employees of the electricity department have threatened to boycott work. As a precautionary measure, the railways have cancelled fifteen passenger trains. "In view of the prevailing situation in Seemandhra and also the commencement of strike by the electricity department employees, this morning railways have cancelled 15 passenger trains on Vijaywada to Kanchipet and also to Vijaywada, Gonur, Renigunta, Tirupati sections," said Railway PRO K Sambasiva Rao.

Southern Railway has cancelled a number of trains between Chennai and Andhra Pradesh tomorrow due to agitation by some workers of Andhra Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation over the Telangana issue.

The Jan Shatabdi Express running between Chennai Central and Vijayawada, scheduled to leave the city tomorrow, has been cancelled, a Southern Railway release said.

Similarly, tomorrow's Chennai Central-Gudur Passenger, Vijayawada-Chennai Central Pinakini Express and Bitragunta-Chennai Central Passenger have also been cancelled, the release said.

Rail passengers will have to pay more for tickets from Monday with Railways implementing the biannual Fuel Adjustment Component (FAC)-linked revision in passenger fare and freight tariff.

While the proposal mooted in the Railway Budget 2013-14 was implemented in the case of freight tariff from April this year, passenger fares were kept out of the purview of the FAC-linked revision on the ground that the fares had been revised upward after a decade on January 22.

In the case of passenger fares, there will be no increase in either second class ordinary (suburban) or second class monthly season ticket fare. The fare for second class ordinary (non-suburban) will go up by a maximum of Rs.5 in select distance slabs, while in other distance slabs there will be no change in the fare.

In all other classes, the revised fare will be only about 2 per cent higher than the existing fare. With the exercise, Railways anticipate an incremental earning of around Rs.450 crore in the remaining six months of the fiscal.

The fares will be same in case of all distances within that distance slab. The fare for minimum distance of 200 km in Sleeper Class will not be applicable in case of Sleeper coaches declared as unreserved coaches by zonal Railways on notified trains and in specified sections. In such cases, actual fares will be levied/charged from the passengers.

Notified

Railways have notified the basic fares. All other miscellaneous charges such as reservation fee, superfast charge, catering charge, and service tax, wherever applicable, will be levied additionally. Chargeable fares, as obtained after adding miscellaneous charges to basic fare, will be rounded off to the next higher multiple of Rs.5.

With effect from Monday, quarterly season ticket fares will be 2.7 times the monthly season ticket fare. Season tickets beyond 150 km will be issued only for sections where this facility was enjoyed prior to April 1951.

Railways have also notified lean seasons as the period from February 1 to March 31 and August 1 to August 31. The peak season period will be from April 1 to July 31 and from September 1 to January 31.

In the “popular” trains’ segment, the peak period fares shall be applicable throughout the year in case of journeys undertaken in air-conditioned First and air-conditioned 2-tier classes.

Children under five years of age will be provided food in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express trains without any charge, as per a railway circular issued to ticketing staff.

Bed-rolls will be supplied free to passengers in air-conditioned First Class, air-conditioned 2-tier and air-conditioned 3-tier classes on all trains, except Garib Rath Express. Those needing bed-rolls on Garib Rath Express trains and in sleeper class of Mixed Duronto Express trains will have to pay stipulated charges.

Corporation striving to bring down project cost

Those who feared that their property would be acquired for the second phase of Namma Metro Phase 2 can now be hopeful, as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd., (BMRCL) has decided to minimise land acquisition for the project.This decision is one among the several to cut down project cost, which was estimated at Rs. 26,405 crore at the 2011 rates.The corporation had estimated that about 2,000 properties spread over about 200 hectares of land would be required for the 72 km Phase 2 for construction of four extension lines of the East-West and North-South corridors of Phase 1 and two new lines. Acquisition would be restricted for land required for viaduct and stations alone.

Only two levels

Another important decision taken to bring down the land requirement and project cost was constructing two levels of elevated stations instead of the three-level stations constructed on Phase 1. Ground floors of elevated stations on Phase 1 have passenger amenities and some commercial space, first floors are used for passenger concourse and the second floors have train platforms.

Though the station would be on a lower elevation to tracks with this decision, the metro trains are powerful enough to move with ease from the station to the elevated track, said a senior BMRCL official. A train comprises two motor-driver coaches at both the ends and one trailer coach in the middle. The driver-motor coach is powered by four 220 kVA motors, equivalent to 1,000 horse power, he said.

With the conservative five per cent increase in the project cost every year, the cost of Phase 2 is likely to cross Rs. 30,000 crore when project implementation begins in a few months.

Cost escalation

The central government, a partner in Namma Metro, would bear the cost escalation only if it is due to increase in central duties and cess. Cost escalation for any other reason including delay, would have to be borne by the State government and hence this decision by BMRCL.

Exact estimation to be made

With this, the land requirement now would now be lesser than the estimated 200 hectares, said the official, though the exact estimation is yet to be made.

BMRCL has already appointed M/s Jones Lang Lassalle as the consultant to assist the Land Committee headed by retired IAS officer C. Krishnappa to determine the market value of the properties.

The official said the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), which is acquiring land for Namma Metro, has issued three preliminary notifications: for 24 hectares of private and three hectares of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) land for the Mysore Road Terminal-Kengeri line, for 7.8 hectares of private land between Byappanahali and Mahadevapura on the Byappanahalli-Whitefield sector and for 1 hectare of land for construction of Ragigudda and Central Silk Board Stations on the R.V. Road Terminal-Bommasandra line.

Rail passengers will have to pay more for tickets from Monday with Railways implementing the biannual Fuel Adjustment Component (FAC)-linked revision in passenger fare and freight tariff.

While the proposal mooted in the Railway Budget 2013-14 was implemented in the case of freight tariff from April this year, passenger fares were kept out of the purview of the FAC-linked revision on the ground that the fares had been revised upward after a decade on January 22.

In the case of passenger fares, there will be no increase in either second class ordinary (suburban) or second class monthly season ticket fare. The fare for second class ordinary (non-suburban) will go up by a maximum of Rs.5 in select distance slabs, while in other distance slabs there will be no change in the fare.

In all other classes, the revised fare will be only about 2 per cent higher than the existing fare. With the exercise, Railways anticipate an incremental earning of around Rs.450 crore in the remaining six months of the fiscal.

The fares will be same in case of all distances within that distance slab. The fare for minimum distance of 200 km in Sleeper Class will not be applicable in case of Sleeper coaches declared as unreserved coaches by zonal Railways on notified trains and in specified sections. In such cases, actual fares will be levied/charged from the passengers.

Notified

Railways have notified the basic fares. All other miscellaneous charges such as reservation fee, superfast charge, catering charge, and service tax, wherever applicable, will be levied additionally. Chargeable fares, as obtained after adding miscellaneous charges to basic fare, will be rounded off to the next higher multiple of Rs.5.

With effect from Monday, quarterly season ticket fares will be 2.7 times the monthly season ticket fare. Season tickets beyond 150 km will be issued only for sections where this facility was enjoyed prior to April 1951.

Railways have also notified lean seasons as the period from February 1 to March 31 and August 1 to August 31. The peak season period will be from April 1 to July 31 and from September 1 to January 31.

In the “popular” trains’ segment, the peak period fares shall be applicable throughout the year in case of journeys undertaken in air-conditioned First and air-conditioned 2-tier classes.

Children under five years of age will be provided food in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express trains without any charge, as per a railway circular issued to ticketing staff.

Bed-rolls will be supplied free to passengers in air-conditioned First Class, air-conditioned 2-tier and air-conditioned 3-tier classes on all trains, except Garib Rath Express. Those needing bed-rolls on Garib Rath Express trains and in sleeper class of Mixed Duronto Express trains will have to pay stipulated charges.

NEW DELHI: Three years after it lost most of its captive railways' catering business, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has bounced back with over Rs 700-crore earnings, driven by a focus on expanding businesses like catering for corporate clients such as HCL, Samsung and the Jaypee group, tour packages and e-ticketing."We were already serving some ministries but after the new policy, we expanded to other ministries and government offices. We were also in the process of setting up a state-of-the art kitchen (currently operating at a capacity of 10,000 meals per day) and this is serving our corporate clients in the Noida and Greater Noida area," said Rakesh Tandon, CMD of IRCTC, adding that he would also like to expand business to Gurgaon, but the response so far has been tepid.

IRCTC has kept product cost low to break into the market and is aiming at volumes growth to reach break-even. "We expect to break-even in another 2 years," said Tandon.

In June 2010, the railway ministry announced a new catering policy, taking away IRCTC's primary job of catering on trains, resulting in a loss of Rs 400 crore railway catering revenue. IRCTC, which did very little non-railway catering before that, decided to serve corporate clients in 2012.

Its non-railway catering business has grown to Rs 34 crore from Rs 3 crore in the last two years. IRCTC's railway catering business is currently around Rs 230 crore. Also, railways has now allowed IRCTC to serve on all newlylaunched trains.

The loss of catering services meant the overhead costs got distributed to every other product.

A world leader in manufacture of railway wheelsets, Czech company Bonatrans group, will set up a 100 per cent Indian subsidiary to produce the wheelsets in Aurangabad in Maharashtra.The largest manufacturer of railway wheelsets in Europe has been supplying wheelsets to Indian railways since 1992. It has so far supplied 50,000 wheelsets to Indian railways, metros and suburban coaches as well.“We will be investing Rs 200 crore in the project and we plan to roll out wheels from Indian plants by 2015,” Bonatrans managing director Jakub Weimann told Financial Chronicle.“The company has 30-40 per cent share in supply of wheelsets to Indian Railways and metros together and we hope to gradually take it to 50 per cent,” Weimann said.Nine Czech companies participated in the 10th International Railway Equipment Exhibition, displaying leading rail technologies like wheelsets, pneumatic and electric doors, traction motors, components for passenger and freight transport, innovative solutions in logistics and railway storage infrastructure.

The Czech exhibitors included ACRI Association, CSAD Uherske Hradiste, DAKO CZ, Pars Komponenty, PROMAN, Skoda Electric, TOS Kurim OS and VUKV.

The Czech railway industry has a 180-year old tradition of using new technologies with high labour efficiency, which guarantees a stable position within Europe, a Czech embassy statement said.

The members of the Association of the Czech Railway Industry (ACRI) employs more than 22,000 people in the Czech Republic with an annual turnover of more than EUR 3.3 billion, of which exports account for 47 per cent.

“The railway industry has always been pulling the Czech economy up, and nothing has changed,” said Marie Alžběta Vopálenská, executive director of ACRI.

Skoda already has a facility in Aurangabad for manufacture of cars. “Yes, this is one of the reasons for chosing Aurangabad for our plant as well,” Weimann said.

“We have already acquired 80 acres land for the project and work has begun,” he said adding that the demand for wheelsets would grow in India with the ambitious plans of Indian railways to several (7-8) dedicated freight corridors and several cities going in for metro rail projects.

“We would supplying wheelsets for all gauges including broad gauge by Indian Railways and broad and standard gauges used by metro rail,” he said.

Czech railway manufactures export most of their products and services to the EU, but increasingly also to Russia and Asia. Their products, such as train control systems, locomotives and tram cars, are of the highest European standard.