RailEnquiry

  Indian Railways News  / Railway guard spots crack on track, averts possible disaster

CHENNAI: A possible disaster was averted when a railway guard spotted a crack on the loop track near Arakkonam station, 70km from Chennai, on Thursday. Thanks to his warning, the Trivandrum-Chennai Express train, which was hardly a kilometre from the spot, was halted at Mosur, the nearest railway station. The crack was about seven inches wide, officials said.Around 6.40am, Rahamathualla, a guard on the Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi Express, spotted the crack and alerted station master S Ethirajulu of Arakkonam. Soon, officials in other stations and the Southern Railway headquarters in Chennai were informed and the Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force alerted. Many trains, Yelagiri Express, Barauni Express, Tirupati-Chennai passenger and at least six suburban trains, were stopped at Mosur railway station (nearest station from Arakkonam). A team of railway staff, including engineers and gangmen, reached the spot and the fractured portion was welded into place. Train services resumed around 9.45am.Engineers later said a seven-inch crack could cause a derailment. Expansion of cracks is common during intermittent hot and cold weather , they said.Railway officials said the crack could have widened under pressure. Once train services resumed on the sector, motormen were asked to go at a speed of less than 30kmph between Arakkonam and Tiruvalamkadu stations to help the fractured portion settle. Some also wondered how checks by staff had missed the crack. "This is the first time such a wide crack has been spotted on the Arakkonam sector. Had the guard not spotted it, it could have been a disaster," said a railway official.In February, a gangman noticed a fracture on the track between Maraimalai Nagar and Singaperumal Koil stations and, stopped a Chennai-bound express train minutes before it was to cross the stretch. In March 2011, a Class five student noticed a fracture on the track between Padalam and Karunkuzhali stations near Madurantakam in Kancheepuram and alerted officials.

  Indian Railways News  / Jamia Nagar metro station may be relocated

With Jamia Milia Islamia opposing construction of a Metro station inside its campus, Delhi Metro has ordered a study to explore the feasibility of shifting it from the current location amid indications that the proposed station would come up on one end of the institution.The station, part of which was earlier proposed to be constructed on the gardens of the prestigious university, might be shifted to a new location which is the entrance of Jamia Nagar.A Metro station in the area which has poor transport facilities would help thousands of people in Jamia Nagar, Batla House and Zakir Nagar.Sources told PTI that it was agreed at a meeting today attended by Delhi Chief Secretary P K Tripathi, Delhi Metro chief Mangu Singh and Jamia Vice Chancellor Najib Jung that the station would not come up at the centre of the campus."It was agreed that the station will not be at the centre of the campus, but on one end of the campus," a source said.The source also said that a feasibility study would be conducted by Delhi Metro on shifting of the station from the current location.Findings of the study would be submitted to Delhi Metro in a week's time. The suggested spot is right where Jamia Nagar begins and it would be closer to the residential areas.The decision comes after Jung opposed the station inside the varsity campus saying it would bring in security issues and may disrupt campus life.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid had also raised objections over construction of the station inside the campus, contending it would "spoil the sanctity" of the institute.

The station around the Jamia Milia Islamia campus would benefit at least 20,000 people, including students a day, once Metro operations start on the corridor.

Sources said the Delhi Metro would closely coordinate with university authorities in this regard.

Jung had contented earlier that a station inside the campus will have security issues and may disrupt campus life in the area.

"I have no objection to the Metro. It is a very good idea. Our only objection is to a Metro station being inside the campus because it brings major security issues for us," he said.

  Indian Railways News  / Railways withdraws Kalka-Shimla rail car

Solan: The Northern Railway authorities were forced to withdraw the rail car after its wheels wore off following several decades of continuous journey on the UNESCO World Heritage Kalka-Shimla track.Introduced by the British between 1927 and 1930, it was the last rail car running on this track as three others had been discontinued following similar problems.Rail cars, which looked like buses, were preferred by tourists for the almost non-stop journey, with a 10-minute halt at Barog. Other trains, with several halts, were initially used by upper-class travellers.A rail car ticket was priced at Rs 247. The 4-hour-20-minute journey provided travellers a panoramic view of the Shivalik mountain ranges.With virtually no manufacturer supplying spares of old machines, it had become an arduous task for the Railways to maintain and continue running heritage vehicles of the British era.Though efforts to introduce cast wheels had been made earlier, the idea could not materialise as there was no manufacturer. Officials were hopeful of restarting the rail car after repairs as trial runs were under way.Authorities had been battling scarcity of funds for maintenance of the track.Though 10 trains were being run a day, the track had failed to yield any profit with minimal fare and limited passengers.The railway authorities were yet to initiate construction of the Kandaghat railway station, burnt down in June last year. The 2-foot-6-inch narrow gauge was never expanded.The track had 107 tunnels originally. In 1930, those were renumbered and four discarded. In 2006, tunnel 46 was dismantled, leaving the track with 102 tunnels.

  Indian Railways News  / पाटलिपुत्र से संपूर्ण क्रांति समेत चार प्रमुख ट्रेने

पटना जंक्शन की भीड़ को कम करने के साथ ही सोनपुर पुल बनने के बाद ट्रेनों के आवागमन को व्यवस्थित रखने के लिए पाटलिपुत्रा स्टेशन का निर्माण किया गया है। दानापुर से पाटलिपुत्रा स्टेशन के बीच की छह किमी रेलवे लाइन का निर्माण भी पूरा कर लिया गया है। रेल प्रबंधन ने संपूर्ण क्रांति समेत चार प्रमुख ट्रेनों को यहीं से चलाने की घोषणा भी कर रखी है। परंतु मुख्य संरक्षा आयुक्त की हरी झंडी का इंतजार है। पूर्व मध्य रेल के नए महाप्रबंधक बीपी खरे ने बुधवार को अधिकारियों के साथ समीक्षा बैठक करते हुए इस स्टेशन को शीघ्र चालू करने का निर्देश दिया। महाप्रबंधक श्री खरे ने मुजफ्फरपुर रुन्नीसैदपुर, बैरगनिया-छोड़ादानो एवं मधेपुरा-मुरलीगंज के बीच भी ट्रेन परिचालन शीघ्र शुरू करने का निर्देश दिया। समीक्षा बैठक के दौरान महाप्रबंधक ने रिक्तियों को भरने, स्थानांतरण मामले का त्वरित निष्पादन व तकनीकी उन्नयन से सरप्लस हुए पदों का सही उपयोग करने का निर्देश दिया। पूर्व मध्य रेल के 13 स्टेशनों पर इंटीग्रेटेड सिक्योरिटी सिस्टम स्थापित करने की प्रक्रिया जारी है। प्रथम चरण में राजेन्द्र नगर, पटना जंक्शन, धनबाद, मुगलसराय, मुजफ्फरपुर, समस्तीपुर एवं रक्सौल समेत सात स्टेशनों तथा द्वितीय चरणों में दानापुर, डाल्टेनगंज, बरकाकाना, दरभंगा एवं नरकटियागंज समेत छह स्टेशनों पर इस व्यवस्था को शुरू किया जाएगा। बैठक में अपर महाप्रबंधक अजय शुक्ला, आरके सिंह, संजय कुमार, बीपी गुप्ता आदि उपस्थित थे। दानापुर-पाटलिपुत्र के बीच दौड़ेंगी ट्रेनें

  Indian Railways News  / Yelahanka railway station cries for attention

BANGALORE: Are you one of those who wants to board a train at Yelahanka Railway Station? If so, ensure that you attend to the nature’s call before entering the railway station because the toilet facilities are unavailable if the railway authorities are unapproached.Around 2,200 passengers visit Yelahanka Railway Station to reach various destinations in the country and 15 trains make a brief halt here daily.There is only one toilet for men and the other for women. However, these toilets are locked. The railway authorities are kind enough to indicate that key of the toilet is available with the station master on duty. “It is ridiculous to ask the station master for key to use the toilet,” said Jagan Mohan, who was waiting for the train at the station.If the broken concrete block of foot-over-bridge at the station is any indication, one can imagine the apathy of railway authorities. Instead of filling the gap with a new concrete block, the authorities had filled the gap with a name board of Yelahanka Railway Station.“It is disgusting to walk on the name board of Yelahanka Railway Station. I do not know what made the railway authorities to use the name board to fill the gap. I expect them to remove the name board and fill the gap with a concrete block,” said N Murali of Yelahanka.The residents of Yelahanka have been demanding the railway authorities to construct an underpass to make it convenient for them to reach Doddaballapur road.

“The railway crossing is closed permanently. We have already submitted memorandums to the then railway ministers such as Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and minister of state for railways like Basan Gowda Patil and General Manager, South Western Railways requesting them to construct an underpass or railway under bridge. It will be the nearest route from Yelahanka Old Town to Yelahanka New Town. We are also demanding the railway authorities to ensure Kurla Express, Rajadhani Express, Samparka Express and Nagarcoil Express trains to stop at Yelahanka station for the benefit of Yelahanka residents,” said AB Shiva Kumar, president, Forum for Citizens’ Rights, Yelahanka.

Meanwhile, S Mani, Divisional Railway Manager,  said that the passengers can avail the toilet key from the station master on duty. “It was locked to avoid misuse by people from nearby areas. We planned to handover it over to  a contractor to convert it pay-and-use toilet,” said Mani.

On construction of a railway under bridge near the station, the divisional railway manager said that the railways have many plans for the development of Yelahanka Railway Station. He added, “We will take all measures to add more facilities for railway passengers at the station.”

However, the residents of Yelahanka Old Town are not ready to trust the railway authorities since the demand was pending since many years. Will the railway authorities pull up their socks to improve the amenities at the station apart from constructing the much needed railway under bridge? The citizens of Yelahanka have to wait and watch.