RailEnquiry

  Indian Railways News  / Bihar bandh: 3,000 arrested; rail, road services hit - nearly 27 trains, including long-distance one

Nearly 3,000 persons, including Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad and his Lok Janshakti Party counterpart Ramvilas Paswan  were arrested during a 24-hour Bihar bandh on Monday which hit rail and road services in the state and witnessed stray incidents of stone pelting.

East Central Railway Zone, CPRO, Amitabh  Prabhakar said that nearly 27 trains, including long-distance ones, were stranded at different places like Jehanabad, Sheikhpura, Darbhanga and Madhubani.

  Indian Railways News  / Auto and taxi strike today

Extra deployment of DTC buses during the day With the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh calling for an auto and taxi strike in Delhi on Tuesday on the issue of installation of GPS in the vehicles, the Delhi Government on Monday went into overdrive to make the protest toothless by roping in 14 auto unions to keep their vehicles on the roads and announcing extra deployment of Delhi Transport Corporation buses during the day.The Delhi Government said in view of the “auto-rickshaw and taxi strike” called by some auto-taxi unions, main among them being the BMS led by Rajinder Soni, the Delhi Transport Corporation has made all arrangements to clear the extra rush of commuters.Delhi Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami said the Depot Managers and Regional Managers have been directed to ensure maximum out-shedding of buses so that passengers could reach their destinations easily.He said the DTC will deploy extra buses across the city and in particular focus on services at the railway stations, inter-state bus terminals, airport and hospitals.The Government also held discussions with a delegation of Rashtriya Rajdhani Kshetra Tipahiyaa Chalak Union Delhi which is affiliated to the All-Indian Trade Union Congress and got the support of 14 unions who avowed to keep their vehicles on the roads during the “strike’’.

The Delhi Government said the associations which would be plying their vehicles include the Delhi Auto Rickshaw Driver Welfare Congress, Rastravadi Janata Tipahiyaa Chalak Union, Janshakti Tipahiyaa Taxi Chalak Sangh and Auto Taxi Chalak Sewa. A delegation of these unions led by Ram Sharan Rajput said they would keep away from the strike during the festive season.

The Minister while lauding their gesture assured the unions that their genuine demands would be addressed to their satisfaction within a fortnight.

Meanwhile, Kishen Verma of All Delhi Auto-Taxi Transporters Congress Union claimed that the strike had been called by those who are hand in glove with the “auto financing lobby’’. “When the autos are sold at a premium, they do not make a noise. All they want to do is hold the government to ransom. This is not the right approach. Last year we had organised a big fast on the issue of installation of GPS and got its rate reduced from Rs.15,000 to Rs.7,500. If there is an issue at hand, it should be settled across the table first,’’ Mr. Verma said.

  Indian Railways News  / Mumbai-Nagpur bullet train study

The state has asked the Railways to study feasibility of the Mumbai-Nagpur bullet train.Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan sought a report after a presentation by German consulting firm Vossing on Monday.
The consultants proposed a 1,000-odd km high-speed network covering Mumbai-Navi Mumbai-Pune-Aurangabad-Nagpur-Beed-Nanded-Yavatmal-Wardha-Nagpur.With trains at a maximum speed of 350 kmph,the corridor is expected to cut Mumbai-Nagpur travel time from 11 hours (Duranto) to four hours.To be fully air-conditioned,the fare would be Rs 900-3,600.
State finance minister Jayant Patil,a strong advocate of the project,pushed for its implementation at the meeting.But sources said the Railways are not keen on the project,which is estimated to cost Rs 1.30 lakh crore.Sandeep Ashar

  Indian Railways News  / Railways order probe into Gulbarga train fire

The Railways on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the Gulbarga train fire incident in which two people had died, and also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs.1 lakh to the next of the kin of the dead. Nine other people suffered severe burns when the general coach of the Solapur-bound Falaknuma Express train coming from Hyderabad caught fire during a halt at the Gulbarga Railway station. "An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire in the general coach of the Solapur passenger train. The inquiry will be conducted by Commissioner Railway Safety Chetan Baxi and submit the report at the earliest," Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said. Railways have also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs.75,000 for the seriously injured and Rs.5,000 for those with minor injuries. "The service of fire brigade was immediately pressed to douse the fire which was noticed at around 1 PM in the coach. Senior officials have already rushed to the spot and fire has been extinguished completely by 2.15 p.m.," Saxena said.

  Indian Railways News  / Rail coach factory staff strike work

Kapurthala : Employees of different unions of the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, today protested against the Union Railway Ministry's (Railway Board) move for privatisation of the factory.A large number of employees under the banners of RCF Employees Union, RCF Mazdur Union and RCF Men's Union today observed a tool-down strike on the factory premises and criticised the government's move for introducing public-private-partnership (PPP) mode in the factory.The unions claimed that the RCF was a profit-generating unit of the Railways and it had produced a variety of coaches, including double-decker coaches. They claimed that the "dedicated" employees had created history by recording the highest-ever production of 1,602 coaches in 2010-11.The decision for corporatisation of the factory has caused a widespread resentment among the employees, claimed union leaders Paramjit Singh Khalsa, Suresh Pal and Rajbir Sharma. They have requested the Ministry to review the decision.