ProUI

A special purpose vehicle would be floated by a government agency in which the companies in the estate would be invited to participate, said a government official

Automobile companies in Gujarat have a reason to cheer. Soon, auto-hubs in the state will have direct railway connectivity from the backyard of the manufacturing plants to ports like Mundra and Pipavav.

Now, there would be direct linkage from Sanand to the ports of Mundra and Pipavav, and there are plans to develop similar last-mile connectivity for Maruti Suzuki in Mandal-Becharaji region as well. The idea is to offer best-in-class infrastructure to companies that have decided to invest in the state, claimed a senior official in the state government, adding, "Companies opt for Gujarat over other states because of the infrastructure on offer."

A senior official in the state industry department said the railway line that passes through Chharodi, near Sanand will be extended right to the doorstep of the Tata Motors and Ford India factories in the area. "The Chharodi line will be extended right till the backyard of the Tata Motors plant at Sanand. In the vicinity are plants of Ford India, Hitachi-HiRel and Nestle. All the major companies in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) industrial park that has come up in Sanand would stand to benefit from this move."

He further said a special purpose vehicle (SPV) would be floated by a government agency in which the companies in the estate would be invited to participate. "Already, Tata Motors and Ford India have agreed to to pick up equity in the SPV, other companies in the GIDC estate would also be approached," he claimed. Direct railway connectivity between the Sanand GIDC and the ports of Mundra and Pipavav is likely to take two to three years. Government sources informed that the Gujarat Industrial Development Board or GIDB is likely to float the SPV.

As for the proposed Maruti Suzuki plant, there is a plan of converting an existing metre gauge line into broad gauge. This is, however, a railways project. A broad gauge railway line connecting Viramgam (near Sanand) and Mehsana (near Becharaji where the Maruti plant is to come up) already passes through Detroj in the Mandal-Becharaji region. Apart from this, there is a metre gauge line connecting Katosan Road to Ranuj via Becharaji.

The official said the Indian Railways has already ordered a feasibility study on the gauge conversion plan for converting the metre gauge line into a broad gauge one. "There is a plan to convert the 20-25 km metre gauge railway line into broad gauge, and the Railways has already initiated a feasibility study on the same. There is also plan for a 3-5 km extension so that line connects the Maruti plant," he added.

The Gujarat government is working on attracting investments from Japanese companies near the Maruti Suzuki plant. As Business Standard had reported, the state government had earmarked 500 hectares for Japan-based companies to set up shop in the Mandal-Becharaji region close to the Maruti plant.

"The aim is to draw mid-sized Japanese companies into the park, and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) is playing a crucial role in attracting investment into the cluster," a senior official had informed then.

According to latest developments, JETRO has already appointed Kajima Corporation to conduct a feasibility study on developing a Japanese industrial estate in the region. An industry department source informed that there is a plan to develop an autocomponent park over 1,000 acres in the region.

Japan was one of the partner countries in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit of 2013. A huge delegation led by JETRO, comprising over 150 companies visited the state during the summit. State government sources claimed that primarily companies in the electronics space have shown keen interest in coming to Gujarat.

A recycling solution provider Japan Environment Planning or Jeplan is looking at setting up a mobile phone recycling plant in Gujarat.

While the location is yet to be decided, it could come up at the Japanese cluster planned at Hansalpur, said a government official.

The Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises has expressed concern over the raise in railway freight rate from October 1.Association president J. James has said in a press release that the industries here purchase materials from the northern states and send the products made here to other states through train.The units are already hit by the economic slowdown and the raise in prices of diesel and raw materials. The raise in rail freight charges by 15 per cent now would hit the industries. They would not be able to compete with units that had both raw material availability and production capacity in their states, he said.

Train no. 16649 Mangalore Central-Nagercoil Parasuram Express and 12218 Chandigarh-Kochuveli Express will not be detained on Friday as announced earlier for the doubling of the railway track at Shoranur Junction. But 16345 Lokamanya Tilak Terminus-Thiruvanantha puram Netravati Express will be detained for two hours between Kozhikode and Tanur stations for work on an overbridge.

The South Central Railway will temporarily augment additional coaches on Train Nos. 17225/17226 Vijayawada-Hubli-Vijayawada Amaravathi Express and Train Nos. 17208/17207 Vijayawada-Sainagar Shirdi-Vijayawada Express with two sleeper class coaches from October 3 to 31 for clearing the extra rush of passengers.Train No.17208 Vijayawada - Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express will be augmented with two additional sleeper coaches on October 8, 15, 22, and 29.Train No. 17207 Sainagar Shirdi-Vijayawada Weekly Express will be augmented with two additional sleeper class coaches on October 9, 16, 23, and 30.

Anandpur Sahib:
Local Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu flagged off the Hazoor Saheb-Nanded Express train here today.The weekly train will depart from the Nangal dam at 4.20 pm every Thursday, halt at Chandigarh at 7:08 pm and reach Nanded at 11:45 pm the following day.The train will return on Saturday. It will start from Nanded at 11 am and reach the Nagal dam at 8:25 pm the next day.The train will halt at Anandpur Sahib, Ropar, Morinda, Mohali, Chandigarh, Ambala Cant, Panipat, New Delhi, Mathura, Gwalior and Basmat. It will traverse a distance of 1,870 km.
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president Rana KP Singh and Ambala Divisional Regional Manager (DRM) AK Kathpal were among those present on the occasion.Bittu said the train connecting two Takhts would facilitate Sikh pilgrims. He said it was on public demand that the Railways had agreed to provide a two-minute halt at the Morinda station.

He would now work for town's rail link with Amritsar, the MP added.

Chandigarh: The weekly Amritsar-Lalkuan train was flagged off from the city railway station by former Railway Minister and MP Pawan Kumar Bansal today. The train will directly connect city to Uttarakhand.However, representatives of the Kumaon Sabha, who were present during the flagging off ceremony, said most of the halts of the train were in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and not in Uttarakhand. The train will depart from Chandigarh every Wednesday at 10.30 am and will reach Lalkuan at 8.50 pm. On its return journey, the train will leave Lalkuan every Wednesday at 11.15 pm and will reach Chandigarh at 9 am the next day. The train will have halts at Beas, Jalandhar City, Phagwara, Ludhiana, New Morinda, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Chandigarh, Ambala Cantt, Jagadhari, Saharanpur, Roorkee, Laksar, Nazibabad, Moradabad and Kashipur stations.Bansal said the new train would not only cater to the needs of Uttarakhand residents but also tourists from Punjab and the region as Lalkuan is close to Nainital.

The State government will release Rs. 150 crore this month to expedite work on the ongoing railway projects taken up on cost-sharing basis with the Ministry of Railways.Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who on Thursday chaired a meeting of officials of the South Western Railway, Infrastructure Development, Revenue and other departments concerned, said that Rs. 100 crore had earlier been released and Rs. 150 crore more would be released this month.The Chief Minister reviewed 18 projects taken up by the Railways in the State and directed Deputy Commissioners to expedite land acquisition process.The State government has spent Rs. 1,500 crore on railway projects. It has agreed to take up 10 projects on cost-sharing basis.In addition to the Rs. 373 crore set aside in the State budget 2013-14, the government would have to provide another Rs. 200 crore as its share as Railway Minister M. Mallikarjuna Kharge has announced additional funding for such projects in the State, the Chief Minister said. The Railways released Rs. 328.84 crore in 2013-14.Minister of State for Infrastructure Development Santosh Lad said that the State would give within a week a list of projects to the Railways to be taken up on priority.

The Railways has been completing work on 100-km network a year and Mr. Kharge has instructed the Railways to increase this to 180-200 km a year in the State.

Like previous years, this year also the Railways have made additional arrangements to tackle the rush of passengers going to have darshan of Ma Bamleshwari at Dongargarh during the Navratri festival between October 5 and 14.In this series, while some of the long distance trains passing through Raipur and Dongargarh, both up and down, have been given temporary stoppage at Dongargarh. These trains include 12130/12129 Hawrah- Pune Azadhind Express, 12812/12811 Hatia – Kurla Hatia Express, 18473/18474 Puri-Jodhpur Jodhpur Express, 12906/12905 Howrah- Porbandar Express and 17008/17007 Darbhanga- Sikandarabad Express.Besides, between October 5 and 14 12855 Bilaspu-Nagpur Intercity Express has been given temporary stoppage at Kamthi station.The Railways have also extended services of some passenger trains up to Dongargarh temporarily during Navratri festival. These trains are 58208 Bhawanipatna- Raipur Passenger, 58204 Raipur-Gevara Road Passenger, 58818 Tirodi-Tumsar passenger, 58817 Tumsar-Tirodi Passenger.

According to a communiqué of the SECR, services of 68741 Durg-Gondia Passenger and 68742 Gondia-Durg Passenger have been extended up to Raipur . Timing of the two Passenger trains between Gondia and Durg will however remain unchanged.

During the Mela period in 18239/ 18240 Gevara Road-Nagpur-Bilaspur and 12855/ 12856 Bilaspur-Nagpur Intercity Trains one extra general coach will be attached for the convenience of passengers.

To tackle the Puja and Diwali rush, the railways have decided to attach one extra AC II coach in 12442/ 12441 Bilaspur-New Delhi-Bilaspur Rajdhani express from October 1 to December 2, 2013. This extra coach will be attached in train leaving delhi on October 1 and in the train leaving Bilaspur on October 3.

Likewise, in view of great rush during Puja and Diwali on Mumbai Howrah route, railways have decided to alter the composition of coaches in 15612/ 15611 Kamakhya-Lokmanya Tilak terminus and Kurla-Kamakhya Karmabhoomi Express. Between October 5 and November 27, the train will run two SLR/SLRD coach, 8 General Coaches, three Sleeper Coaches, 2 AC III, and one AC II coach.

A special purpose vehicle would be floated by a government agency in which the companies in the estate would be invited to participate, said a government official

Automobile companies in Gujarat have a reason to cheer. Soon, auto-hubs in the state will have direct railway connectivity from the backyard of the manufacturing plants to ports like Mundra and Pipavav.

Now, there would be direct linkage from Sanand to the ports of Mundra and Pipavav, and there are plans to develop similar last-mile connectivity for Maruti Suzuki in Mandal-Becharaji region as well. The idea is to offer best-in-class infrastructure to companies that have decided to invest in the state, claimed a senior official in the state government, adding, "Companies opt for Gujarat over other states because of the infrastructure on offer."

A senior official in the state industry department said the railway line that passes through Chharodi, near Sanand will be extended right to the doorstep of the Tata Motors and Ford India factories in the area. "The Chharodi line will be extended right till the backyard of the Tata Motors plant at Sanand. In the vicinity are plants of Ford India, Hitachi-HiRel and Nestle. All the major companies in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) industrial park that has come up in Sanand would stand to benefit from this move."

He further said a special purpose vehicle (SPV) would be floated by a government agency in which the companies in the estate would be invited to participate. "Already, Tata Motors and Ford India have agreed to to pick up equity in the SPV, other companies in the GIDC estate would also be approached," he claimed. Direct railway connectivity between the Sanand GIDC and the ports of Mundra and Pipavav is likely to take two to three years. Government sources informed that the Gujarat Industrial Development Board or GIDB is likely to float the SPV.

As for the proposed Maruti Suzuki plant, there is a plan of converting an existing metre gauge line into broad gauge. This is, however, a railways project. A broad gauge railway line connecting Viramgam (near Sanand) and Mehsana (near Becharaji where the Maruti plant is to come up) already passes through Detroj in the Mandal-Becharaji region. Apart from this, there is a metre gauge line connecting Katosan Road to Ranuj via Becharaji.

The official said the Indian Railways has already ordered a feasibility study on the gauge conversion plan for converting the metre gauge line into a broad gauge one. "There is a plan to convert the 20-25 km metre gauge railway line into broad gauge, and the Railways has already initiated a feasibility study on the same. There is also plan for a 3-5 km extension so that line connects the Maruti plant," he added.

The Gujarat government is working on attracting investments from Japanese companies near the Maruti Suzuki plant. As Business Standard had reported, the state government had earmarked 500 hectares for Japan-based companies to set up shop in the Mandal-Becharaji region close to the Maruti plant.

"The aim is to draw mid-sized Japanese companies into the park, and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) is playing a crucial role in attracting investment into the cluster," a senior official had informed then.

According to latest developments, JETRO has already appointed Kajima Corporation to conduct a feasibility study on developing a Japanese industrial estate in the region. An industry department source informed that there is a plan to develop an autocomponent park over 1,000 acres in the region.

Japan was one of the partner countries in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit of 2013. A huge delegation led by JETRO, comprising over 150 companies visited the state during the summit. State government sources claimed that primarily companies in the electronics space have shown keen interest in coming to Gujarat.

A recycling solution provider Japan Environment Planning or Jeplan is looking at setting up a mobile phone recycling plant in Gujarat.

While the location is yet to be decided, it could come up at the Japanese cluster planned at Hansalpur, said a government official.

There was a festive spirit at Mohanur and Namakkal railway stations as the Palani to Chennai Express Train — via Namakkal — chugged into the district from Karur, amid celebrations on Wednesday night.“We are delighted to welcome the first regular express train service connecting Namakkal,” people who thronged the railway station and distributed sweets said.The train entered the Mohanur Railway Station (the first station in this district) from Palani at 9.24 p.m., from where it came to the Namakkal Railway Station and stopped there at 9.44 p.m.People who gathered in the railway stations to celebrate the arrival of the first regular express train to the district, lighted fireworks and distributed sweets to all the passengers in the train.Department officials said that initially they had planned for only one stop for the train in this district — at the Namakkal Railway Station. “Member of the Parliament (MP) of Namakkal S. Gandhiselvan made a representation to the General Manager of Southern Railways to stop the train at Mohanur, after which a one-minute stopping was introduced in the Mohanur Railway Station,” the officials added.

The officials said that, but for the two passenger trains that ran between Salem and Karur via Namakkal, only six special trains stopped in Namakkal.

“A few weeks ago, the Chennai to Madurai Duronto Express became the first express train to be operated on the Karur to Salem stretch,” the officials said.

However, it did not benefit people of Namakkal district as it does not stop anywhere between the starting point and the destination.

They added that this route helped the railways save travel time by about one hour compared to the earlier route — when the Duronto Express had to take a diversion from Karur to Erode, change the engine at Erode and proceed to Chennai through Salem — and vice versa.

Palani-Chennai train

About the Palani to Chennai Express Train, railway officials said that the train from Palani with Chennai recorded 100 per cent booking on the first day (Wednesday) and the waiting list was mounting for the second day (Thursday night).

Namakkal MP S. Gandhiselvan, the Additional Division Railway Manager (Salem Division) V. Thavamani Pandi, other railway officials and members of the public thronged the railway station to receive the train.

For passengers from Namakkal, an express train connecting them to Chennai was a dream come true.

Train will have stops in Mohanur and Namakkal railway station