RailEnquiry

  Indian Railways News  / Express delayed by goods train reaches an hour late

The Manmad-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Godavari Express was delayed by an hour on Saturday. A goods train that took a long time to travel between Manmad and Summit railway stations in the morning delayed the departure of Godavari Express from Manmad, leading to its late arrival at Nashik."The train started an hour late from Mamnad, but it did not lose any more time," station manager R K Kuthar said. On the Manmad-Mumbai track, there is a steep gradient between Manmad and Summit railway stations. On Saturday, the goods train, which was carrying a heavy load, took extra time to cross the 5-km stretch."For safety reasons, no train was allowed on the track till the goods train passed Summit railway station. The Manmad-Kurla Godavari Express was thus held up for an hour. The express reached Nashik at 10.30am, 65 minutes after its scheduled arrival, and thereby departed at 10.33am," Kuthar added.The commuters were thus stranded on the station with little or no announcement by the Railways leaving the passengers guessing why the delay was. "We were given no information about the problem, even as the Railways kept on saying the train will arrive soon," said Santosh Lagad, a commuter of the train.

  Indian Railways News  / Rising crimes in trains, on railway platforms spark concern

The recent spurt in crimes in trains and on railway premises in the jurisdiction of the government railway police (GRP) covering Pune, Daund, Kurduvadi, Solapur, Miraj and Ahmednagar highlights the dismal security scenario, besides creating a sense of insecurity among commuters.Cases of crime registered and investigated by the GRP in running trains and on railway premises across these areas have increased by nearly 29% during January to March this year as compared to the same period last year.Shortage of staff in the GRP and over 80 posts lying vacant in the railway protection force (RPF) affect vigilance, say officials.A senior GRP official told TOI that the GRP, Pune, has a total strength of 500 men, out of which some are deployed for patrolling on platforms, in trains and at stations and a few for anti-dacoity points. This is one of the reasons why crime cases have shot up.According to him, about 25 men in plainclothes from departments such as the local crime branch as well as surveillance officers (also called the anti-drugging squads) board trains at random (during periods when the crime trend is highest) from the Pune railway station to detect all types of crimes.About 40 of GRP's uniformed constables patrol trains running in different directions from the Pune railway station, said the official. "In addition to this, 40 constables patrol the platforms at the Pune railway station. Manpower also has to be spared for providing security to VIPs travelling almost every alternate days from the Pune railway station. The number of personnel needed to escort the VIPs depends on their security category. Frequent mock drills also use up many GRP's personnel."The official said that negligence on the part of passengers has also led to an increase in crimes, especially drugging cases, which involve administration of drugs to the victims and robbing them off their belongings.The GRP registered 92 crimes during the first three months of 2011, which increased to 129 between January and March this year. A total of 462 crime cases, including murder, robbery, molestation, drugging, thefts, rape and kidnapping were reported in trains and on railway premises in 2011 as against 436 cases in 2010, which translates to nearly 6% increase.Total crime cases in 2008 were 452, which increased to 540 in 2009. This number dipped to 436 in 2010, but registered a 6% increase in 2011 with 462 crimes, including three murders, seven cases of dacoity, seven cases of robbery, 13 cases of drugging, four cases of molestation, three cases of kidnapping and as many as 391 thefts.A break-up of crimes registered in 2008 in the GRP jurisdiction showed two murders, two attempt-to-murder, four dacoities, ten robberies, five cases of rioting, 11 drugging, one rape, three molestation and 378 cases of theft.In just three months this year, beginning January, the GRP registered 105 cases of theft in trains and railway premises, three cases of robbery, one assault, one rape and a case of molestation.There are as many as 168 railway stations in the Pune railway jurisdiction of the GRP and 235 platforms. The 168 stations fall under the jurisdiction of six railway police stations - Pune, Daund, Kurduvadi, Solapur, Miraj and Ahmednagar. The cases of crime are reported to, registered and investigated by the GRP. The RPF supplements the efforts of GRP by deploying escorts in some trains and stations in the Pune division.An RPF official said, "Out of the 400 posts, including that of constables, hawaldars, sub-inspectors and the like, approved by the government for the Pune division, 80 posts are vacant. Thus, six railway stations and trains operating from there have to be manned by just 320 personnel from RPF. This is too small a number and we need at least 150 personnel more."The GRP official said that there are dacoity-affected areas between Daund and Kurduvadi railway stations such as Jindi, Parewadi, Pophlaj, Dhawlaj and Washimbe. "There are such areas between Daund and Ahmednagar railway stations too. GRP personnel from the local railway police stations in these regions as well as forces from head-quarters patrol stations falling in between these junctions," he said.When contacted, divisional railway manager Vishal Agarwal said there was regular checking at the stations and in trains. "There are around 40 CCTV cameras at different locations at the Pune railway station. The entry and exit of passengers via the parcel office gate has also been stopped. A wall has been built to prevent unauthorized entry," he said.
Harsha Shah, a member of the railway users' group, said, "The CCTV cameras cannot focus on all the directions. There are thousands of people on the platforms doing various things. It is practically impossible to keep a check on all of them. The recent spurt in crime can be attributed to the onset of the holiday and marriage season when people travel and carry valuable jewellery. Thieves know whom to target and when."

  Indian Railways News  / Work on Bijlinagar railway foot overbridge to be completed next week

Construction work of the railway foot overbridge (FOB) at Bijlinagar near Akurdi is expected to be completed this Sunday as the Pimpri Chinchwad New Township Development Authority (PCNTDA) has received the railways' approval for laying the girders for the bridge. PCNTDA executive engineer V K Patil said, "The FOB will be 55 metres long and 2.5 metres wide. The railways will be implementing a mega block between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday."Though the construction of the FOB began in November 2010, the work has since been dragging. Only the construction of the staircases on either sides has been completed.The railway track near Bijlinagar has a number of residential localities, shops and other establishments on either sides. It was difficult for people to spot an on-coming train because of a curve of the track. The fact that a few people lost their lives on the tracks made the FOB a necessity here.Akurdi resident Seema Jadhav said the PCNTDA should expedite the construction work. Another resident, Kailas Mane, said many accidents have occurred at Bijlinagar due to the absence of an FOB.The footpaths for reaching the FOB have to be constructed. The FOB will be opened in about a month's time, said Patil.PCNTDA has also proposed a new railway subway at Akurdi. At present, a rail underbridge is used by people driving from Akurdi towards Ravet and other areas. However, the rail underbridge is not suitable for vehicular traffic as it is narrow. It also faces waterlogging during rainy season.An official with the engineering department of PCNTDA said bids for a new subway were invited in March 2010. The cost of the project is Rs 8.10 crore. "Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), cars, rickshaws and two wheelers can use the subway. Heavy vehicles will not be allowed in the subway. This subway will benefit the residents of Akurdi, Nigdi, Ravet and nearby areas", the official said.

  Indian Railways News  / All work and no play for ‘harassed’ CR sportsmen

That sportsmen other than cricketers get a raw deal is an open secret. However, DNA found out that it is not only lack of money that is an issue. Players also allege harassment by companies that employ them — Central Railway (CR) for instance.Billiards player Aditya Agrawal who is employed by CR at its Matunga workshop says though the sports department is encouraging, it is difficult for him to improve his game because of harassment by his department members. “My shift is between 9am and 1pm. I have no problem doing my work, but it becomes difficult when I am asked to do work that should be ideally done by someone doing a full-time job. By the time I am done, I am exhausted and this hampers my game,” he said.Agrawal isn’t a one-off case. A CR official said there were several other players facing similar problems. “A new divisional railway manager joined us eight months ago. He feels that everyone, including sports persons, must contribute the same amount of work. It is unfair on the players because they are not qualified officials. They have been hired by CR to play and that is their main job,” the official told DNA.The official said recently over 140 letters had to be sanctioned to allow players to take part in various competitions for CR, but that did not happen. “The players had to take leave from their pending leaves instead of the CR granting them permission to go and play,” he said. Some prominent CR players include long-distance runner Lathika Babbar who came second in the Stayfree DNA I Can Women’s Half Marathon held last month. Several international-level kho kho players and cueists are also employed with CR. The official said the CR general manager had been apprised of the issue. He said he will look into the matter and find a solution so that players are able to play - the reason they were hired by C

  Indian Railways News  / HCC to build Rs.1.62 bn railway tunnel

Infrastructure major Hindustan Construction Co along with Coastal Projects Ltd has been awarded a Rs.1.62 billion project to construct a railway tunnel in Manipur, an official said Thursday.The tunnel will link Kambirom Road and Thingou stations on the new railway line coming up between Jiribam and Tupul in Imphal.The project, involving a single line broad guage railway tunnel 3.30 km long, is expected to be completed in 28 months.This is the third such order HCC has been awarded from the North Frontier Railway on the Jiribam-Tupul section.Two years ago, HCC bagged contracts to construct two tunnels, 3.25 km and 4.70 km long, for a broad guage railway line.HCC is noted for various mega-infrastructure projects including Kolkata Metro, Delhi Metro, the treacherous Mumbai-Pune Express, the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea Link, and power generation and nuclear project