Page 12 - Indian Railways

Railways on course to achieve Scope 1 net zero in 2025: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Scope 1 emissions are greenhouse gases emitted directly from an organisation's own sources or those under its direct control

Railways' financial health sound, paying expenses from own income: Vaishnaw

Indian Railways' financials are in good condition with continuous improvement efforts underway, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. During a debate on the working of the Railways Ministry, Vaishnaw noted that the national transporter has successfully overcome pandemic-related challenges, with passengers returning to train travel and both passenger and cargo traffic showing growth. During 2023-24, Indian Railways reported a revenue of approximately Rs 2,78,000 crore against expenses of Rs 2,75,000 crore. Major expenditure components include staff costs (Rs 1,16,000 crore), pension payments (Rs 66,000 crore), energy expenses (Rs 32,000 crore), and financing costs (Rs 25,000 crore). "Railways is fulfilling its expenses from its own income because of good performance. ...Overall, the financial condition is good and we are trying to improve it on constant basis," Vaishnaw stated. The minister highlighted that Railways subsidises passenger fares while .

Trains increase coal freight capacity; power units stock up before summer

Sector experts point that demand would be met on the back of thermal power yet again

Railways clears tracks for India's first 40-kilometre hyperloop project

IIT Madras incubated TuTr Hyperloop to launch the world's first commercial hyperloop technology-based project next month

13,000 extra general tickets sold on Feb 15: Vaishnaw on Delhi stampede

Railways sold 13,000 extra general tickets at NDLS on Feb 15, the day of the stampede that killed 18; Rs 2.01 crore in compensation disbursed to 33 affected families, says railway minister

Railways' new safety steps: Smart planning or knee-jerk reaction?

Train-related information must be communicated clearly at the railway stations. At large stations, such as New Delhi Railway Station, more digital screens displaying arrivals and departures are needed

Anticipated cost of connecting Kargil with railways Rs 1.31 trn: Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a Detailed Project Report of the new Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line has been prepared

Improve freight services, diversify beyond coal, cement: Rlys parl panel

The panel suggests a service model similar to the passenger system

Holi special trains 2025: Indian Railways launches 62 trains to ease rush

Indian Railways has announced special Holi trains to avoid the high passenger demand during the festival. Holika Dahan will be on Mar 13, followed by Holi on Mar 14, and a weekend on Mar 15 and 16

Parl passes Railways (Amendment) Bill; Vaishnaw highlights infra, safety

Parliament on Monday passed a bill aimed at streamlining and modernizing railway operations in India with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stating that the government was laying thrust on infrastructure development, safety and technology.Rajya Sabha passed the bill, which had earlier been passed by Lok Sabha.In his reply to the debate, Vaishnaw, who is Minister of Railways, Communications, and Electronics & IT, emphasized the bill's role in empowering field offices, enhancing efficiency, and reinforcing cooperative federalism.He said the bill is designed to simplify existing laws and does not diminish the powers of state governments. Instead, it promotes decentralization by granting full authority to general managers in railway zones to approve projects up to Rs 1,000 crore.Highlighting the government's commitment to railway development, Vaishnaw cited substantial budget allocations in states where the ruling party is not in power. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and West Bengal ...

Focus on automatic train protection system: Parl committee to Railways

Improving crowd management, adopting energy-efficient technologies, and enhancing onboard amenities are some of the suggestions

Opposition accuses govt of trying to control Railway Board via new Bill

Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on Monday accused the government of trying to take control of the Railway Board through the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and alleged that it was avoiding scrutiny by a parliamentary panel. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw moved the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024, for consideration in the Upper House. The bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha in December last year, seeks to enhance the functioning and independence of the Railway Board. With the inclusion of the Railway Board under the 1989 Railway Act, the appointment, qualifications, tenure and criteria for the Chairman and members of the Board will be the responsibility of the central government. The Bill also includes provisions to appoint an independent regulator that will oversee matters like fare determination and ensure the competitiveness of the Railways. "You have just gone for 'governmentalisation' of the Railway Board," Congress member Vivek K Tankha said while initiating ...

Women loco pilots increase fivefold on Indian Railways in 10 years

Indian Railways has traditionally been a male-dominated sector, with long working hours, challenging terrain, solitary work, and extended duty periods-sometimes stretching 40 to 60 hours

Indian Railways to implement new crowd control measures at 60 busy stations

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announces permanent waiting areas, wider FOBs for passenger safety. New cameras will be installed in stations and nearby areas for better crowd control

Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor: NCRTC invites bids from consultants

The deadline for bid submissions is March 20, following which the consultant will be appointed to oversee the strategic implementation

East Coast Railway starts Rs 1,000 cr fencing project to boost train speed

In a bid to enhance railway safety and facilitate increased train speed, East Coast Railway (ECoR) has initiated a more than Rs 1,000 crore fencing project along the tracks in various sections across its jurisdiction. A total of 2,792 kilometres of safety fencing work at a cost of Rs 865 crore has been undertaken to enhance safety, the ECoR said in a statement. This apart, Rs 207 crore was under sanction for track safety fencing works between Titilagarh & Lakholi and between Balangir-Theruvali-Singapur Road rail sections. These works aim to ensure safe train operations, prevent trespassing, and restrict the movement of cattle and wild animals near railway tracks, an official statement said. The ECoR has three divisions - Khurda Road, Sambalpur and Waltair. Under Khurda Road Division, the railways sanctioned Rs 388.85 crores for track safety fencing works for 1025.3 km stretch. In the next phase, a proposal is in place for safety fencing in the Jakhapura-Kendujhargarh-Nayagarh ...

Indian Railways' slow growth in container volume raises concerns for Q4FY25

Despite Indian Railways reporting a 3.1 per cent Y-o-Y rise in container volumes for the nine months, this growth lags behind the 10 per cent Y-o-Y increase in total Indian port volumes

Favouritism driving railway promotions, employee union tells Vaishnaw

The Indian Railway Signal and Telecom Maintainers' Union (IRSTMU) has alleged that promotion in Railways comes with almost mandatory transfer and favouritism plays a crucial role in it. The IRSTMU, in a letter dated February 27 and written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, highlighted these anomalies and suggested that employees should be allowed to give their preferences for vacant positions and decisions should be taken keeping that in mind. IRSTMU general secretary Alok Chandra Prakash in the letter said though promotion norms are well-settled in railways, a lot of employees refuse to get promoted because they are aware that they would be transferred to far off places and undesirable destinations. "Only those who are in the good books of their seniors get desirable places while the rest are sent to distant places which disturb and sometimes destroy their family lives," Prakash told PTI. The IRSTMU believed that the employees who suffer mental and physical pain due to such ..

Railways to start exporting locomotives from Dahod in next 3 yrs: Vaishnaw

The electric locomotive manufacturing unit at Dahod in Gujarat will start producing a sufficient number of high-speed freight train engines in another three years so that India can export them, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Saturday. Vaishnaw, who was on a day-long visit to Gujarat, went to Dahod to review this yet-to-be fully functional manufacturing unit as well as the production status of the first 9000 horsepower (HP) engine from here. He inspected the engine and said it will be ready to serve the Indian Railways in another few months. The foundation stone of the unit at Dahod was laid in April 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore. According to the railways, increasing the speed of freight trains is a vital concern for which high horsepower and high-speed locomotives are required to be inducted. "Hence, the Ministry of Railways had decided to manufacture 9000 HP high-speed freight locomotives, at Rolling Stock Workshop

T'gana tunnel: South Central Railway joins rescue teams with metal cutters

South Central Railway has joined the rescue teams that are engaged in locating the eight persons who remain trapped in the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel for the past six days, with necessary equipment, a senior official said on Friday. Railways has the expertise in cutting heavy metals using equipment such as plasma cutter and Brocho cutting machine, South Central Railway (SCR) Chief Public Relations officer A Sridhar said. "District Collector, Nagar Kurnool sought the help of South Central Railway in rescue operation by clearing iron and steel debris that have been hindering the rescue works at the site, A Sridhar told PTI. He further said that the SCR quickly responded to the call and deployed two teams of metal cutting experts in the rescue mission. The first batch led by S Murali, Divisional Mechanical Engineer, consisting a senior Section Engineer, 13 Welders and two technicians from Secunderabad have reached the site and have taken up the required works. The second batch o