ProUI

The Khurda Road Division of East Coast Railway has penalised 61.53 thousand passengers for travelling without or with improper tickets from April to August this year which is 9.28 thousand more than the corresponding period of last year.

Squads, deployed to identify and penalise people travelling without or with improper tickets in trains, have realised Rs. 2.64 crore which is Rs. 48.89 lakh more than the corresponding period of last year. These special ticket checking staffs have been entrusted with the task of conducting surprise checks at different stations on different days over Khurda Road jurisdiction.

The race for vacant top posts in the Railway Ministry has turned ugly, forcing the senior officers' association to write to the Prime Minister's Office, the Cabinet and the Railway Minister. The letter, sent Thursday by the Federation of Railway Officers' Association (FROA), which represents all Group A officers, states that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is being misused by various lobbies to eliminate competition by raking up old vigilance cases that have already been settled internally.The FROA has demanded that the entire appointment process be recast to ensure there is no manipulation or victimisation of those vying for top posts.It has been alleged that old complaints were dug up by competing lobbies against some of the five contenders for the post of Chairman, Railway Board. Recently, Northeast Frontier Railway General Manager RS Virdi's contention was eliminated after a 10-year-old vigilance case was brought up in the last minute and sent to the CVC.It is learnt that the CVC clearance for Kolkata Metro General Manager Radhey Shyam and South Western Railway General Manager AK Mittal have reached the Railway Board, while clearance for the others is awaited.Stating that such manipulation and victimisation starts at the level of general managers (GM) of zonal railways, since they eventually become contenders for the post of Railway Board members, the letter demands a complete overhauling of the GM appointment process. Presently, seven GM posts in zonal railways and a few production units are vacant, with intense lobbying on for each post.

The federation has sought government intervention to ensure that Railways do away with the age-old "discriminatory" system of dividing GM posts into open-line (zonal railways) and non-open-line (production units). Only open-line GMs are eligible to become Railway Board members. As a result, there is constant lobbying to ensure officials are not posted as non-open-line GMs. The letter seeks to abolish this classification once and for all.

Gurgaon : The first phase of the Rapid Metro Rail network in Gurgaon is likely to be inaugurated on October 2. This was revealed at a meeting to review the progress of the project here today.The meeting, chaired by S.S.Dhillon, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, was attended by top officials of the district administration and Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon Limited.This is the country’s first Metro Rail system developed on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode at cost of about Rs 1,100 crore. The first phase of this Rapid Metro will cover 5.1 km and have six stations, including DLF Phase-II, Belvedere Towers, Gateway Towers, Moulsari Avenue, DLF Phase-III and Sikanderpur. A major part of the rail network is single track. This will provide seamless connectivity to Delhi Metro, thereby connecting DLF Cyber City with the national capital—

e have to face a lot of difficulties travelling in this coach as it is not interconnected with the rest of the coaches of the train,” said Harish, who was travelling from Jainagar in Bihar to Amritsar on the special coach for disabled passengers. He added that the coach remained overcrowded throughout the journey as passengers with waiting tickets entered it in large numbers.After the passage of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, the Railway Ministry added a special coach for disabled passengers in all express trains except in special type of trains like the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto. In addition to that, some seats were reserved for disabled passengers and 75 per cent concession was given on sleeper class tickets with a free ticket for an escort. The Railways have so far designed more than 2,100 of these coaches.However, a close scrutiny of the ground reality would show that the measures have only maximized the difficulties faced by disabled passengers. Firstly, the special coaches are attached either just behind the engine or sandwiched between the luggage and generator car. Being too distant from the platform, people travelling in these coaches find it difficult to get down from the train and access the main platform to buy food and other necessary items. 

Secondly, being not connected to the other coaches through a vestibule, it leaves the passengers completely isolated. They cannot order food from the pantry car as well. The situation worsens on long-distance journeys. Imagine a disabled person travelling from Delhi to Chennai, which takes nearly three days, with no accessibility to food and water for the major part of the journey. 

Thirdly, there are no separate corridors or paths for people with disabilities to easily reach the bogies which are just too far for them. 

Conditions inside these special coaches are appalling. Berth cushions were found torn, toilets were unclean and stank. And this was not the case of a particular train. New Delhi-Darbhanga Sampark Kranti Expess, Saryu Yamuna Express, Lal Quila Express, Poorva Express, Jammu Tawi-Delhi-Jaisalmer Express, Saharanpur-Delhi passenger, Jind-Delhi-Rohtak passenger — similar conditions prevailed in each of them. 

Many disabled passengers now prefer travelling in normal coaches than the special one. It came to light recently when the special coach for people with disabilities on the Amritsar-Saharsa Garib Rath was found locked. According to the railway staff no disabled person had opted to travel in it. In trains like Poorva Express via Gaya which goes to Howrah, these coaches were withdrawn. 

Having failed to achieve their purpose in other express trains, some of these special coaches are these days attached to Rajdhani Express rakes for railway staff usage. Curiously, these coaches wear a clean look. Two staff found sitting inside a similar coach on the New Delhi-Patna Rajdhani Express said, “This coach has been carved out from another train and we have just put a board of Rajdhani Express on it; this train has no special coach for disabled passengers.”

Despite all this, some people have got used to the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in these coaches. Girish, who was waiting for his train to Sitamarhi, Bihar, said, “I have seen the same condition in every train in which I have travelled till date, so I can’t imagine anything better.” 

Successive Railway Ministers in their budget speeches have announced various facilities for disabled persons. These include installing escalators and lifts, affixing Braille stickers indicating coach layouts, making coaches wheel-chair friendly and specially-designed toilets, among others. However, most of these promises have remained on paper only.

The special bogey on express trains for disabled passengers is far from accessible. A picture of neglect and cut off from the rest of the coaches, it makes travelling a nightmarish experience

MUMBAI: Research Design & Standard Organisation (RDSO), a research wing of the ministry of railways based at Lucknow, is actively working on development of a prototype of locomotive based on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).A railway official said, "Once the prototype is proven on field, Indian Railways plan to build another 20 LNG based locomotives on the same concept. With the introduction of such technology, there is going to be 50% reduction in operating cost of locomotives even at the current enhanced LNG prices." The official added that, in addition, there is an elimination of visible smoke from these locomotives and significant reductions in other regulated and unregulated emissions. Once Indian Railways switches over completely to natural gas as fuel for its diesel locomotives, it would amount to only 2.2% of India's annual natural gas consumption of 81 million tons and therefore commercially feasible.

At present, Indian Railways are running its fleet of locomotives on predominantly two fuels, i.e. diesel and electricity. Prices of both these fuels have been rising rapidly due to increasing prices of crude oil/imported coal, and the devaluation of rupee.

Natural gas is emerging as a promising fuel of the future. This natural gas is available in the form of conventional natural gas, shale gas, gas hydrates, etc. With the introduction of economical processes of extraction of shale gas, exploitation of shale gas reserves has become a commercial reality.

India also has substantial reserves of natural gas in the form of conventional natural gas, shale gas and gas hydrates. According to an estimate, India has 1241 billion cubic metres of conventional gas, 7462.5 billion cubic metres of recoverable shale gas reserves and 1890 trillion cubic metres of gas hydrates. USA and Canada have become the world's highest exporters of natural gas on account of their shale gas reserves.

To make use of global reserves of natural gas, India is setting up infrastructure for import of LNG into the country. Even LNG terminals are in various stages of setting-up on the east and west coasts of India, all with railway connectivity.

The race for vacant top posts in the Railway Ministry has turned ugly, forcing the senior officers' association to write to the Prime Minister's Office, the Cabinet and the Railway Minister. The letter, sent Thursday by the Federation of Railway Officers' Association (FROA), which represents all Group A officers, states that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is being misused by various lobbies to eliminate competition by raking up old vigilance cases that have already been settled internally.The FROA has demanded that the entire appointment process be recast to ensure there is no manipulation or victimisation of those vying for top posts.It has been alleged that old complaints were dug up by competing lobbies against some of the five contenders for the post of Chairman, Railway Board. Recently, Northeast Frontier Railway General Manager RS Virdi's contention was eliminated after a 10-year-old vigilance case was brought up in the last minute and sent to the CVC.It is learnt that the CVC clearance for Kolkata Metro General Manager Radhey Shyam and South Western Railway General Manager AK Mittal have reached the Railway Board, while clearance for the others is awaited.Stating that such manipulation and victimisation starts at the level of general managers (GM) of zonal railways, since they eventually become contenders for the post of Railway Board members, the letter demands a complete overhauling of the GM appointment process. Presently, seven GM posts in zonal railways and a few production units are vacant, with intense lobbying on for each post.

The federation has sought government intervention to ensure that Railways do away with the age-old "discriminatory" system of dividing GM posts into open-line (zonal railways) and non-open-line (production units). Only open-line GMs are eligible to become Railway Board members. As a result, there is constant lobbying to ensure officials are not posted as non-open-line GMs. The letter seeks to abolish this classification once and for all.

Gurgaon : The first phase of the Rapid Metro Rail network in Gurgaon is likely to be inaugurated on October 2. This was revealed at a meeting to review the progress of the project here today.The meeting, chaired by S.S.Dhillon, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, was attended by top officials of the district administration and Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon Limited.This is the country’s first Metro Rail system developed on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode at cost of about Rs 1,100 crore. The first phase of this Rapid Metro will cover 5.1 km and have six stations, including DLF Phase-II, Belvedere Towers, Gateway Towers, Moulsari Avenue, DLF Phase-III and Sikanderpur. A major part of the rail network is single track. This will provide seamless connectivity to Delhi Metro, thereby connecting DLF Cyber City with the national capital—

e have to face a lot of difficulties travelling in this coach as it is not interconnected with the rest of the coaches of the train,” said Harish, who was travelling from Jainagar in Bihar to Amritsar on the special coach for disabled passengers. He added that the coach remained overcrowded throughout the journey as passengers with waiting tickets entered it in large numbers.After the passage of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, the Railway Ministry added a special coach for disabled passengers in all express trains except in special type of trains like the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto. In addition to that, some seats were reserved for disabled passengers and 75 per cent concession was given on sleeper class tickets with a free ticket for an escort. The Railways have so far designed more than 2,100 of these coaches.However, a close scrutiny of the ground reality would show that the measures have only maximized the difficulties faced by disabled passengers. Firstly, the special coaches are attached either just behind the engine or sandwiched between the luggage and generator car. Being too distant from the platform, people travelling in these coaches find it difficult to get down from the train and access the main platform to buy food and other necessary items. 

Secondly, being not connected to the other coaches through a vestibule, it leaves the passengers completely isolated. They cannot order food from the pantry car as well. The situation worsens on long-distance journeys. Imagine a disabled person travelling from Delhi to Chennai, which takes nearly three days, with no accessibility to food and water for the major part of the journey. 

Thirdly, there are no separate corridors or paths for people with disabilities to easily reach the bogies which are just too far for them. 

Conditions inside these special coaches are appalling. Berth cushions were found torn, toilets were unclean and stank. And this was not the case of a particular train. New Delhi-Darbhanga Sampark Kranti Expess, Saryu Yamuna Express, Lal Quila Express, Poorva Express, Jammu Tawi-Delhi-Jaisalmer Express, Saharanpur-Delhi passenger, Jind-Delhi-Rohtak passenger — similar conditions prevailed in each of them. 

Many disabled passengers now prefer travelling in normal coaches than the special one. It came to light recently when the special coach for people with disabilities on the Amritsar-Saharsa Garib Rath was found locked. According to the railway staff no disabled person had opted to travel in it. In trains like Poorva Express via Gaya which goes to Howrah, these coaches were withdrawn. 

Having failed to achieve their purpose in other express trains, some of these special coaches are these days attached to Rajdhani Express rakes for railway staff usage. Curiously, these coaches wear a clean look. Two staff found sitting inside a similar coach on the New Delhi-Patna Rajdhani Express said, “This coach has been carved out from another train and we have just put a board of Rajdhani Express on it; this train has no special coach for disabled passengers.”

Despite all this, some people have got used to the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in these coaches. Girish, who was waiting for his train to Sitamarhi, Bihar, said, “I have seen the same condition in every train in which I have travelled till date, so I can’t imagine anything better.” 

Successive Railway Ministers in their budget speeches have announced various facilities for disabled persons. These include installing escalators and lifts, affixing Braille stickers indicating coach layouts, making coaches wheel-chair friendly and specially-designed toilets, among others. However, most of these promises have remained on paper only.

The special bogey on express trains for disabled passengers is far from accessible. A picture of neglect and cut off from the rest of the coaches, it makes travelling a nightmarish experience

Admitting shortage of railway police personnel to guard women compartments in suburban trains, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil has said he has apprised Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge about it."About 574 compartments out of the total 936 reserved for women on suburban trains do not have railway police personnel," Patil said here recently."RPF personnel are deployed on duty in 362 local train compartments reserved for women.

The 1000 MW Nabinagar captive power plant of Indian Railways in Bihar would be commissioned by March 2015, a top railway official today said.

The plant, which is being set up under a joint venture with NTPC with railways equity contribution standing at 26 per cent, would be a step closer to railways attaining self-reliance in its energy needs, Member (Electric) Railway Board Kul Bhushan told reporters here.

"The first unit would be commissioned by June 2014 and the remaining three units will be made operational in phases by March 2015," he said.

Talking about the second power plant which is coming up at Adra in West Bengal, he said they are awaiting allotment of coal linkages before seeking environmental clearence for the project.

He said the plants are vital for railways as the national transporter is planning to produce its own energy requirement of 4000 MW in the next 10 years.

The other aim is to keep a check on its energy bill with "progressive" electrifiction of the railway network which spans over 64,000 km. During the 12th Plan, the proposal is to electrify 6500 km route.

At present, Railways consume 3000 MW to run its fleet trains on 24,000 km of electrified tracks, spending Rs 9000 crore. In contrast, it spends Rs 16,000 crore for running trains on non-electrified section.

Talks are on with Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Atomic Energy Atomic Energy Commission for a captive nuclear power plant, Kul Bhushan said.