Title - Southern Railway Division's Earnings up

Tiruchirapalli, Aug 15 : The Tiruchirapalli division of the Southern Railway has earned Rs.69.98 crores as against Rs.64.59 crores during the period last year which is increase of about 8per cent .

Freight business of the division has earned Rs.151.87 crores in the first four months compared to Rs.64.19 crores for the corresponding period last year. This is an increase of 61 per cent, according to Ms Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager. She announced this while participating in the independence day celeberations here at the Railway Grounds she also said that passenger and freight put togther, the Division earned Rs.234.22 crores in the first four months of 2012-2013 when compared to the same period last year of Rs.173.06 crores which translates to a 35 per cent increase.

She reiterated the railways' commitment to safe train operation and said efforts by the Division in this direction will instill total confidence in the customers. Railway staff are working round-the-clock to ensure safe and punctual train journey. Safety inspections are being carried out and lacunae discovered during such inspections are set right. Regarding security measures, she said Railway Protection Force (CRPF)is equipped with state-of-the art gadgets for surveillance of railway premises, luggage screening and explosive detection and disposal.

For the convenience of passengers, she said that they provided Plasma Screen Coach Indication Boards and 'Electronic train Arrival/Departure Boards' on platforms. UTS (Unreserved Ticketing System) and IUTS (Integrated Unreserved Ticketing System) were introduced in several stations.Introduction of new trains, extension of trains services and additional stoppages provided to the trains at various stations helped the Division to provide better service to the passengers, she added.