Title - The Hindu : Cities / Tiruchirapalli : Tiruchi division registers 35% rise in passenger and freight e

Tiruchi Railway Division has a promising start in the current financial year and has registered 35 per cent increase in the passenger and freight earnings put together in the first four months of this year.

The division’s combined revenue earnings in the first four months of this year is Rs.234.22 crore, compared to Rs.173.06 crore it managed during the same period last year.

The division has earned Rs.69.98 crore through passenger traffic from April–July this year, against Rs.64.59 crore during the same period last, registering an increase of about eight per cent.

Through freight business, the division earned Rs.151.87 crore in the first four months compared to Rs.64.19 crone for the corresponding period of the last year. This is an increase of 61 per cent, Manjula Rangarajan, Divisional Railway Manager, Tiruchi Division, said addressing Independence Day celebrations at Kallukuzhi ground here on Wednesday.

Safety inspections are being carried out and lacunae discovered during such inspections are set right.

Ms. Rangarajan said Railway Protection Force is equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets to maintain surveillance of railway premises, luggage screening and explosive detection and disposal.

The DRM said plasma screen coach indication boards and electronic train arrival/ departure boards have been installed on platforms. UTS (unreserved ticketing system) and IUTS (integrated unreserved ticketing system) were introduced at several stations.

Earlier, Ms. Manjula Rangarajan hoisted the National Flag. Accompanied by K. Kumaran, divisional security commissioner, the DRM took the salute at the parade presented by the RPF personnel.

R.Soundararajan, Chief Medical Superintendent, S. Jayakrishnan, Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer, S.Rajakumar, Senior Divisional Engineer (coordination), R. Subbian, Senior Divisional Safety Officer, D. K. Yadav, Senior Divisional Signal and Telecommunication Engineer, and S. Venkateswaran, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer, were present.