RailEnquiry

  Indian Railways News  / Staff crunch hits special train services

KOLKATA: Thanks to the lack of attention paid to filling up of vacancies, Eastern Railway (ER) is finding it difficult not only to run additional services but maintain regular ones. According to the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA), nearly 3,000 posts of loco pilots (LPs) and assistant loco pilots (ALPs) are lying vacant in ER alone."If you take into account the new trains, this figure may go up to 4,000. Of a sanctioned strength of 67,000 for the whole country, the actual strength of LPs and ALPs is about 50,000. Even after trains are introduced, new posts are not sanctioned in a proper manner. This results in extreme pressure on the existing staff."After our agitation in 1973, it was ordered that LPs and ALPs would work for 10 hours a day. This was never implemented. It is normal for LPs and ALPs to work for 14 hours a day. In some cases, this goes up to 18 hours even. The safety of passengers is compromised in this manner," said M N Prasad of the AILRSA.Though ER officials denied this, sources revealed that the Sealdah division recently wrote to the ER headquarters, stating that running of special trains for IPL spectators may not be possible due to the shortage of staff. After giving the first match on April 5 a miss, ER finally decided to run a couple of trains on Friday when the Kolkata Knight Riders take on Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens. The official statement issued by ER was that the decision was governed by the lack of patronage rather than the shortage of staff.

Over the last few years, the AILRSA went in for several agitations as a result of which some ALPs have been recruited. According to Prasad, it will take nearly a year longer for these recruits to join service. "Unlike other departments, loco pilots have to undergo proper training. I don't see any quick fix solution to this problem," he said. While staff in other departments can be posted after basic training, ALPs have to undergo proper training and route learning before they can be assigned to trains. Only after ALP posts are filled up will some of the seniors be upgraded to the post of motormen.

Leaders of the Eastern Railwaymen's Union claimed that the situation at Sealdah is so bad that even medical leave has been cancelled till June 30.

"There is a severe shortage of staff in the safety category. Of the total vacancies across the country, nearly 1.5 lakh would be in the safety category. Such is the shortage of staff that a circular has been issued in the Sealdah division, informing staff that no leave will be allowed on the basis of private medical certificates till June 30. We have information that railway doctors have also been instructed not to issue Railway Medical Certificates (RMCs) and declare staff unfit," said ERMU leader S K Brahma.

  Indian Railways News  / New-look train to Delhi rolls out

Bangalore:The new-look Hazrat Nizamuddin Express left from Bangalore City station at 8pm Friday. The train sported new coaches designed by the German company Linke Holfmann Bush (LHB).The coaches are painted red and and distinctive panoramic style windows.
    The 16-coach train includes two power cars. The first-class AC coach has 24 seats and five 2-tier AC coaches with 52 seats and seven 3-tier AC coaches with 72 berths.
    “The pantry car is of superior quality and serve hot and fresh food,” said S Mani, divisional railway manager, Bangalore division, South Western Railway.

  Indian Railways News  / Disruption in services may cause Central Railway a loss of Rs 17 crore

Central Railway has run up severe losses owing to the disruption of services caused by the Kurla fire and is certain to suffer more over the next few days. Officials said CR lost out on about Rs 1.75 crore due to a drop in ticket sales over just two days and is expected to suffer a further loss of about Rs 15 crore due to suspension of freight traffic.A short-circuit in underground cables between Kurla and Vidyavihar caused a fire after Tuesday midnight that quickly spread to the signalling cabin at Vidyavihar and the route relay interlocking cabin at Kurla.The damage from the blaze to signalling panels, buildings and material alone is expected to cost CR about Rs 5 crore."The financial year has begun on a bad note for us," said a senior railway official. "On April 18, the earnings from sale of tickets was Rs 2.17 crore, down from Rs 3.16 crore on the same date last year. Though figures are yet to be compiled for April 19, the earnings from ticket sales are estimated to be around Rs 75 lakh less."The bigger loss has been because of suspension of freight traffic, which is a major source of revenue for the railways. The movement of freight trains has come to a standstill since Wednesday because the signals at the 25-30 points between Kurla and Vidyavihar have been clamped by the CR. This has disallowed trains from switching tracks. Goods trains usually change to the Main line or to the Harbour line (if they are heading to Trombay) at Kurla from tracks coming from the Mumbai port. The signals are likely to remain clamped for the next few days."Two to three rakes of coal come from the Mumbai Port Trust every day. But since freight operations have come to a halt, four rakes of coal are still standing at the port," said. V A Malegaonkar, the Central Railway's chief public relations officer. "It is difficult to provide the revenue loss due to stoppage of these operations. The committee appointed to inquire into the April 18 fire incident will be able to calculate the exact loss."Other officials were more forthcoming. "The average daily loss is approximately Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore. If the traffic does not operate for, say, seven days, the total loss could be in the region of Rs 14-15 crore," said one official. "These are conservative estimates and are likely to be higher when actual calculations are made."Another official said, "We are not even thinking of touching the points for a few days. There is a fear that any disruption while carrying restoration could derail the local services again, inviting public wrath."Kurla has a complicated layout as more than 900 train, including goods and mail express trains, pass through this spot. CR also transports fertilizers to Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilizers in Trombay and oil from refineries.
Leaking cylinder sparks fire at same Kurla spot
The railways, it appears, does not learn from past mistakes. A minor fire broke out on the roof of the Kurla signalling cabin on Friday, which was damaged due to a blaze earlier this week, leading to the city's lifeline getting affected. A Railway Police Force personnel said the Friday fire occurred on the terrace of the cabin around 5.15pm because of "a leak from a LPG cylinder used for preparing food for workers". Two fire engines and an ambulance were rushed to the spot, but by then, since the fire was minor, railway employees and others present at the site were able douse it in minutes.

  Indian Railways News  / Unannounced signal testing derails train traffic

CHENNAI: A day after electric multiple unit (EMU) services were disrupted on the Beach-Tambaram section, railway authorities on Sunday tested the signals, affecting suburban train services for more than three hours.
Commuters had a harrowing time because of the unannounced testing. EMU trains were abruptly halted at various railway stations. According to eyewitnesses, passengers in trains halted at railway stations, including Nungambakkam and Kodambakkam, chose to continue their journey by other modes of transport.
When some trains arrived as late as 30 minutes, passengers rushed to board the already congested coaches. The few trains operating on the main line did little to ease the rush. Commuters were only forced to run from one platform to another, resulting in chaos on several stations between Beach and Tambaram.
Disruptions were reported between 10.35 am and 2.05 pm. It was alleged that signal failure caused large-scale disruptions in train services on Saturday, the second time in the past week. While some officials claim that the reason for the signal failure was cables damaged by miscreants, others are of the view that it was a technical snag.

  Indian Railways News  / Red Ribbon Express stops at Palakkad station

The Red Ribbon Express, an exhibition train to create awareness of HIV/AIDS, was received by M.B. Rajesh, MP, at the Palakkad railway junction here on Monday.The exhibition train with eight coaches had started its journey from Delhi on January 12.The train will visit various railway junctions in the country to create awareness of the killer disease.As part of the Red Ribbon Express, two life buses were operated to 16 centres in four blocks in the district on Monday.A huge crowd, including women and students, was present to receive and visit the exhibition train at the Palakkad railway junction.The exhibition was inaugurated by Mr. Rajesh.Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager Piyush Agarwal was the chief guest at the inaugural function.District panchayat president T.N. Khandamuthan presided.Kerala State AIDS Control Society project director K. Shailaja delivered the keynote address.The train left for Kannur on the next leg of its journey.