ProUI

West Central Railway announced Special Trian between Rewa and Beas.

जागरण संवाददाता, नई दिल्ली। त्योहार के मौसम में अपने घर जाने की चाह रखने वाले यात्रियों की एक अद्द टिकट की तलाश भी पूरी नहीं हो पा रही है। ट्रेन में सीट मिलना तो दूर इन दिनों टिकट लेने में भी यात्रियों को खासी परेशानी का सामना करना पड़ रहा है। आरक्षण काउंटर पर लगने वाली लंबी-लंबी लाइनों से बचने के लिए यदि कोई ई टिकट लेने की कोशिश कर रहा है तो इसमें भी कई तरह की दिक्कतें सामने आ रही हैं। जबकि आइआरसीटीसी (इंडियन रेलवे कैटरिंग एंड टूरिज्म कॉरपोरशन) अपनी वेबसाइट में सुधार कर यात्रियों की परेशानी दूर करने का दावा कर रहा है।

त्योहार में घर जाने वाले यात्रियों की शिकायत है कि इन दिनों टिकट बुक करने की प्रक्रिया शुरू करते ही आइआरसीटीसी की वेबसाइट हैंग हो जाती है। कई बार कोशिश करने के बाद यदि सफलता मिलती भी है तो तब तक ट्रेन में जगह नहीं बचती और यात्री वेटिंग लिस्ट की टिकट लेने को मजबूर हो जाता है। कई बार तो टिकट बुक हुए बगैर उपभोक्ता के अकाउंट से पैसे कट जा रहे हैं।

लक्ष्मीनगर निवासी विजय शर्मा के साथ भी कुछ ऐसा हीं हुआ। कई बार प्रयास करने के बाद भी विजय को टिकट तो नहीं मिला, लेकिन हां उनके खाते से पैसे जरूर कट गए। इसी तरह से बदरपुर के रहने वाले आशीष गोयल भी पिछले दो दिनों से ई टिकट बुक करने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं, लेकिन उन्हें सफलता नहीं मिली। बदरपुर के ही प्रवीन दीक्षित बताते हैं कि लगभग 45 मिनट तक कोशिश करने के बाद जब टिकट तो मिली लेकिन कंफर्म के बजाए वेटिंग टिकट से ही संतोष करना पड़ा।

यात्रियों का कहना है कि इस बार रेल बजट में ई टिकट में आने वाली समस्या दूर करने की बात कही गई थी, लेकिन अभी भी परेशानी बरकरार है। ज्ञात हो कि रेल बजट में रेल मंत्री ने घोषणा की थी कि ऐसी व्यवस्था की जा रही है जिससे प्रति मिनट 72 सौ ई टिकट की बुकिंग होगी। लेकिन अभी आइआरसीटीसी की वेबसाइट से प्रति मिनट केवल दो हजार लोग ही ई टिकट ले सकते हैं।

वहीं, आइआरसीटीसी के अधिकारियों का दावा है कि ई टिकट लेने में परेशानी नहीं हो रही है। उनके अनुसार यात्रियों की सुविधा के लिए हार्डवेयर, सॉफ्टवेयर तथा सर्वर को अपग्रेड करने पर दस करोड़ खर्च किए गए हैं। जिससे अब 10 से 12 लाख उपभोक्ता एक साथ वेबसाइट पर जा सकते हैं।

इन दिनों ई टिकट कराने वालों की संख्या भी तेजी से बढ़ी है। पिछले वर्ष जहां रोजाना 3.99 लाख यात्री ई टिकट लेते थे वहीं इन दिनों पांच लाख से ज्यादा लोग ई टिकट ले रहे हैं। टिकट एजेंट सुबह आठ से दस बजे तक एपीआर (एडवांस रिजर्व पर्सनल) टिकट नहीं ले सकता है। एपीआर की अवधि 60 दिन है। उनका कहना है कि किसी को ई टिकट लेने में कोई दिक्कत आ रही है तो वह उपभोक्ता द्वारा प्रयोग किया जा रहा नेटवर्क व ब्राउजर की समस्या है।

त्योहारी सीजन में आफत

रेल बजट में हुई घोषणा पर अमल करने के लिए लगभग एक सौ करोड़ रुपये खर्च किया जा रहा है। अगले वर्ष की पहली तिमाही तक घोषणा के अनुरूप ई टिकट बुकिंग की क्षमता बढ़ जाएगी। -प्रदीप कुंडु (आइआरसीटीसी के जनसंपर्क उपमहाप्रबंधक)

दिन - टिकट बुकिंग

एक सितंबर - 4.69 लाख

दो सितंबर- 5.72 लाख

तीन सितंबर- 5.62 लाख

चार सितंबर- 5.51 लाख

पांच सितंबर- 5.31 लाख

छह सितंबर- 5.58 लाख

सात सितंबर- 5.25 लाख

आठ सितंबर- 4.30 लाख

Junior railway minister Adhir Chowdhury on Wednesday alleged that work on a Metro project was stalled as the Trinamul-run Calcutta Municipal Corporation was not taking any initiative to dismantle a defunct water pipeline under BT Road between Barrackpore and Baranagar.

The Rs 2,296-crore Barrackpore-Baranagar-Noapara Metro project, work on which started in end-2011, has made only 10 per cent progress because of the impasse over the pipeline.

The minister also referred to another hurdle — the government’s reluctance to evict around 500 families who are illegally occupying railway land near Dakshineswar, which falls between Noapara and Baranagar on the Metro stretch.

“Despite the railways having paid for the dismantling of the pipeline, the CMC has not done anything. Work can’t be started because of this,” Chowdhury said at a campaign rally for Congress candidates in the civic polls in Panihati, North 24-Parganas.

Asked about the minister’s allegation, mayor Sovan Chatterjee said the civic authorities have not yet been able to trace the pipe that once used to carry water from Palta to the Tallah reservoir.

“There is a lot of complication in dismantling the old pipeline. We don’t know its exact alignment as there are no records. We are trying our best to find out its exact alignment. But it is difficult to say how long it will take or when we can hand over the site for the Metro construction,” said Chatterjee.

According to an October 2011 memorandum of understanding between the CMC and the railways, the civic body was to dismantle the old pipeline and hand over the land over it, along BT Road, by August 2012.

The pipeline runs 12.5km from the Dunlop crossing till Barrackpore under BT Road, which is more than 63 per cent of the 19.7km Metro route.

Metro engineers said there were two parallel conduits of 60 inch and 42 inch diameter. “Unless these are dismantled, even piling work to raise pillars along the alignment can’t start,” said an official.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had in September 2012 inaugurated a Tallah-Palta pipeline that replaced the old one.

As for the eviction of the 500-odd families, the junior railway minister alleged the state government was not doing anything about it. “The state government is not extending any help to evict the encroachers,” he alleged.

A senior official of the state government said several meetings were held with the railway authorities on the issue but a solution proved elusive. “We are against forceful eviction. The families have to be shifted after the railways promises a proper rehabilitation package,” he said.

The urban development department has taken an initiative to complete a survey in Salt Lake’s Duttabad to shift several families for the East-West Metro. “But in other projects, such as Joka-BBD Bag and Barrackpore-Baranagar-Noapara, the government is not taking any initiative to remove the bottlenecks,” said an official.

The Union Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury today hinted at fare hike of Kolkata Metro Railway to offset the “huge losses” in revenue.

Mr Chowdhury said that the Railway Board was considering increase in the metro fares with a view to meet the cost of additional rakes that have been put into service.

“The Railway Board is having a talk on a hike in the Kolkata Metro Railway fare. I am also of the view that a hike is necessary for the increased number of rakes and other facilities. The Kolkata Metro is suffering huge losses,” Mr Chowdhury told reporters.

The fares of the country’s first underground railway service have not been increased in the past 15 years, Mr Chowdhury pointed out.

He said that a decision would be taken in this regard by the Railway Ministry.

West Central Railway announced Special Trian between Rewa and Beas.

Junior railway minister Adhir Chowdhury on Wednesday alleged that work on a Metro project was stalled as the Trinamul-run Calcutta Municipal Corporation was not taking any initiative to dismantle a defunct water pipeline under BT Road between Barrackpore and Baranagar.

The Rs 2,296-crore Barrackpore-Baranagar-Noapara Metro project, work on which started in end-2011, has made only 10 per cent progress because of the impasse over the pipeline.

The minister also referred to another hurdle — the government’s reluctance to evict around 500 families who are illegally occupying railway land near Dakshineswar, which falls between Noapara and Baranagar on the Metro stretch.

“Despite the railways having paid for the dismantling of the pipeline, the CMC has not done anything. Work can’t be started because of this,” Chowdhury said at a campaign rally for Congress candidates in the civic polls in Panihati, North 24-Parganas.

Asked about the minister’s allegation, mayor Sovan Chatterjee said the civic authorities have not yet been able to trace the pipe that once used to carry water from Palta to the Tallah reservoir.

“There is a lot of complication in dismantling the old pipeline. We don’t know its exact alignment as there are no records. We are trying our best to find out its exact alignment. But it is difficult to say how long it will take or when we can hand over the site for the Metro construction,” said Chatterjee.

According to an October 2011 memorandum of understanding between the CMC and the railways, the civic body was to dismantle the old pipeline and hand over the land over it, along BT Road, by August 2012.

The pipeline runs 12.5km from the Dunlop crossing till Barrackpore under BT Road, which is more than 63 per cent of the 19.7km Metro route.

Metro engineers said there were two parallel conduits of 60 inch and 42 inch diameter. “Unless these are dismantled, even piling work to raise pillars along the alignment can’t start,” said an official.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had in September 2012 inaugurated a Tallah-Palta pipeline that replaced the old one.

As for the eviction of the 500-odd families, the junior railway minister alleged the state government was not doing anything about it. “The state government is not extending any help to evict the encroachers,” he alleged.

A senior official of the state government said several meetings were held with the railway authorities on the issue but a solution proved elusive. “We are against forceful eviction. The families have to be shifted after the railways promises a proper rehabilitation package,” he said.

The urban development department has taken an initiative to complete a survey in Salt Lake’s Duttabad to shift several families for the East-West Metro. “But in other projects, such as Joka-BBD Bag and Barrackpore-Baranagar-Noapara, the government is not taking any initiative to remove the bottlenecks,” said an official.

Work on the proposed new road overbridge (ROB) at Viralimalai Road intersection near the Railway Junction in Tiruchi is set to takeoff in the next three to four months as the Highways Department finally called for tenders for the project recently.

The project has been in the planning stage for the past three to four years. The new multilevel ROB will replace the existing narrow bridge that has turned a traffic bottleneck in the city. The State government had sanctioned the ROB at an estimated cost of Rs.74 crore. The ROB would run 1.8 km.

The existing bridge, leading from the Aristo Hotel Traffic Island and the Railway Junction, runs across railway lines leading to the Chennai Bypass and the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway (NH 45-B).

It leads to the Central Bus Stand and the Tiruchi-Dindigul National Highway (NH 45). The narrow bridge has steep gradients and the police in recent years had to install multiple signals to regulate the traffic flow across the bridge.

Notwithstanding the traffic signals and the policemen on duty, chaos prevails on the bridge as vehicles pile up from different directions. To ease the congestion, the Projects Wing of the Highways Department came up with a plan to build a trestle and embankment bridge. The bridge has been designed taking into account the traffic volume at the Aristo Hotel Junction, the Railway Station Junction, and the Madurai highway Junctions.

The ROB will have seven arms each with two to three lanes leading towards the Chennai Bypass, Aristo Hotel Junction, Dindigul Highway, Central Bus Stand, Railway junction, Madurai Highway, and a new road to be laid near the MSP camp. The arms towards Chennai Bypass Road and Aristo Hotel junction would have three lanes each at the higher and lower levels.

Service roads would be provided at the ground-level along all important arms. Last week, the Highways Department had called for tenders for the first stage of the project under which a new three-lane ROB with five arms will be built at a cost of Rs. 44.28 crore adjacent to the existing bridge.

“Traffic will continue to the allowed through the existing bridge until the structure was ready. In the next stage, the old bridge will be dismantled and a new bridge with two arms will be built in its place.

Work on the project will begin after the completion of the tendering process in the next three months,” said an officer in the Highways Department. The Railways will build the portion of the ROB across the tracks.

The Highways Department recently completed the demarcation of land to be acquired or alienated by different government agencies for the ROB and the district administration is actively pursuing the acquisition/alienation process.

About 4,600 square metres of private lands are to be acquired for the project apart from alienation/transfer of lands from Tamil Nadu Special Police Battalion grounds (about 18,500 square metres), the Railways (about 7,300 square metres), the P&T Quarters (about 350 square metres) and Defence lands (about 2,500 square metres). Since most of the land required is held by government agencies, land acquisition is not expected to pose much of a problem for the project.

Work on the proposed new road overbridge (ROB) at Viralimalai Road intersection near the Railway Junction in Tiruchi is set to takeoff in the next three to four months as the Highways Department finally called for tenders for the project recently.

The project has been in the planning stage for the past three to four years. The new multilevel ROB will replace the existing narrow bridge that has turned a traffic bottleneck in the city. The State government had sanctioned the ROB at an estimated cost of Rs.74 crore. The ROB would run 1.8 km. The existing bridge, leading from the Aristo Hotel Traffic Island and the Railway Junction, runs across railway lines leading to the Chennai Bypass and the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway (NH 45-B).

It leads to the Central Bus Stand and the Tiruchi-Dindigul National Highway (NH 45). The narrow bridge has steep gradients and the police in recent years had to install multiple signals to regulate the traffic flow across the bridge.

Notwithstanding the traffic signals and the policemen on duty, chaos prevails on the bridge as vehicles pile up from different directions. To ease the congestion, the Projects Wing of the Highways Department came up with a plan to build a trestle and embankment bridge. The bridge has been designed taking into account the traffic volume at the Aristo Hotel Junction, the Railway Station Junction, and the Madurai highway Junctions. The ROB will have seven arms each with two to three lanes leading towards the Chennai Bypass, Aristo Hotel Junction, Dindigul Highway, Central Bus Stand, Railway junction, Madurai Highway, and a new road to be laid near the MSP camp.

The arms towards Chennai Bypass Road and Aristo Hotel junction would have three lanes each at the higher and lower levels. Service roads would be provided at the ground-level along all important arms.

Last week, the Highways Department had called for tenders for the first stage of the project under which a new three-lane ROB with five arms will be built at a cost of Rs. 44.28 crore adjacent to the existing bridge. “Traffic will continue to the allowed through the existing bridge until the structure was ready. In the next stage, the old bridge will be dismantled and a new bridge with two arms will be built in its place.

Work on the project will begin after the completion of the tendering process in the next three months,” said an officer in the Highways Department. The Railways will build the portion of the ROB across the tracks.

The Highways Department recently completed the demarcation of land to be acquired or alienated by different government agencies for the ROB and the district administration is actively pursuing the acquisition/alienation process.

About 4,600 square metres of private lands are to be acquired for the project apart from alienation/transfer of lands from Tamil Nadu Special Police Battalion grounds (about 18,500 square metres), the Railways (about 7,300 square metres), the P&T Quarters (about 350 square metres) and Defence lands (about 2,500 square metres). Since most of the land required is held by government agencies, land acquisition is not expected to pose much of a problem for the project, unlike several other ROB projects that ran into land acquisition delays in the city.

South Central Railway to Run 104 Special Trains for Dussehra and Diwali

South Central Railway will run 104 special trains for Dussehra and Diwali for the convenience of the passengers.  These will run between Secunderabad-Vijayawada, Secunderabad-Mumbai, Secunderabad-Kolkata and Kachiguda-Mangalore. Hyderabad: South Central Railway decided to run 104 special trains for Dussehra and Diwali festivals.  These trains will run between Secunderabad-Vijayawada, Secunderabad-Gowhati, Secunderabad-Mumbai, Secunderabad-Kolkata, Kachiguda-Mangalore and Tirupati and Aurangabad. This was informed by south central railway CPRO K. Sambasiva Rao.

Aurangabad-Tirupati services via Secunderabad – 18 services

Train number 07405 special trains will start from Aurangabad on 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th October and 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th dates at 6.40 pm and reach Tirupati the next day at 7.00 pm. 07406 number trains will start from Tirupati on 5th, 12th, 189th, 26th of October and 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th of November at 9.15 pm and reach Aurangabad the next night at 8.30 pm. These trains will halt at Renigunta, Srikalahasti, Venkatagiri, Guduru, Nellore, Ongole, Chirala, Tenali, Vijayawada, Khammam, Warangal, Kazipet, Secunderabad, Kamareddy, Nizamabad and Basara stations. Secunderabad – Vijayawada 18 special services

Special trains with 07203 numbers will start from Secunderabad on 4th, 11th 18th, 25th October and 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th dates at 11.15 and reach Vijayawada the next day at 5.00 am.  Train number 07204 will start from Vijayawada on 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st October and 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th dates at 11.00 pm and reach Secunderabad the next day at 5.20 am. These will halt at Kazipet, Warangal, Khammam and Madhira Secunderabad – Mumbai superfast AC services (16 services)

Train number 02701 AC superfast special trains will start from 6th, 13th, 20th, 20th and 27th October and 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th dates at 11.45 pm and reach Mumbai LT station the next day evening at 5.05 pm. 02702 AC superfast special trains will star from Mumbai LT on 7th, 14th 21st, 28th October and 4th, 11th, 18th and 25thdates at 8.50 pm and reach Secunderabad the next day at 1.45 pm.  These special services halt at Begumpet, Vikarabad and Tandur stations in Andhra Pradesh.  Hyderabad-Shalimar(Kolkata) 16 special services

Special trains with number 07128 starts from Nampally on 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th October and 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th (Sundays)at 9.50 pm and reach Shalimar on Tuesdays at 3.00 am.  Special trains with number 07127 starts from Shalimar on 8th, 15th, 22nd , 29th October and 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th (Tuesday)at 11.05 am and reach Secunderabad at 3.00 am. These trains halt at Jangaon Kazipet, Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Anakapalli, Duvvada, and Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, Srikakulam and Palasa stations. Kachiguda-Mangalore 18 special services

07606 special trains start from Kachiguda on 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th October, 5th, 12th 19th and 26th November at 6.00 am and reach Mangalore Central station at 11.20 am the next day. 07605 special trains start from Mangalore on 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th October and 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th November (Wednesdays) at 8.00 pm and reach Mangalore on Friday at 3.40 am. These trains will stop at Jadcherla, Mahaboobnagar, Gadwal, Kurnool City, Done, Gutti, Cuddapah, Rajampet and Renigunta stations.

The establishment of railway zonal headquarters in Visakhapatnam is a must to ensure development of the region, says Union Minister of Tribal Affairs and Panchayat Raj V. Kishore Chandra Deo.His proposal for relocation of South Eastern Railway (SER) zone headquarters in Bhubaneswar and shifting of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone headquarters from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam is seen as a viable solution to end the decade-long injustice suffered by Waltair Division under the ECoR dispensation.While the proposal is being hailed by the people in Visakhapatnam region, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has raked up an ‘unnecessary controversy’ saying that Odisha would not allow shifting of the headquarters. Kolkata is the headquarters for both Eastern Railway (ER) zone and SER. Kolkata is situated in the eastern part of the country and cannot claim to be a part of South Eastern Region. The reshuffling of zones will ensure equitable growth of both Andhra and Bhubaneswar.“Vishakhapatnam is situated at the centre of the east coast between Kolkata and Chennai. The ECoR headquarters, which should have been located in Vishakhapatnam, was unfortunately established in Bhubaneswar. The SER headquarters should be shifted to Bhubaneswar with the Khurda Division attached to it and ECoR headquarters must be shifted to Visakhapatnam with the addition of Vijayawada Division in lieu of Khurda Division,” Mr. Deo has written to the Antony Committee.

“If they (Odisha leaders) are so attached to the name (ECoR) let them retain it. Waltair Division must be de-linked from ECoR and a new zone can be formed with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, with the addition of Vijayawada and Guntur Divisions to it,” Mr. Deo has told The Hindu over phone from Delhi, when his attention has been drawn to the issue.

Other proposals

Several proposals related to Visakhapatnam that have already been announced in the successive railway budgets have not materialised so far. These include construction of a railway line that could spur the development of the tribal areas, announced in the budget two years ago and introduction of a second train to Araku, announced by former Railway Minister Mamata Bannerjee.

Construction of four additional platforms at Visakhapatnam station, for which a survey has already been made, laying of a third line from Visakhapatnam to Gopalapatnam are some of the other pending proposals.

Relocation of zonal headquarters will ensure equitable development, he says

He says proposals cleared in budget have not been taken up