Page 26 - Indian Railways

PM Modi to lay foundation stone for 28 stations over Eastern Railway on Mon

He said that in Bandel station major redevelopment work is proposed to transform it into a world-class station with all modern facilities and amenities at an estimated cost of Rs 307 crore

Confident of consistent growth at 6-8% for next 10 years: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday expressed confidence that India will continue to have 6-8 per cent consistent growth rate over the next 10 years, as he invited global players to innovate in the country for the domestic and world markets. India is open to the world, and to new ideas, Vaishnaw, the Minister of Railways, Communications and IT, said while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2024. He nudged the global community to "come here, innovate here for India... for the world." "The Indian economy is growing at a consistent clip at a very good rate. In the next 10 years, India will continue to see a 6-8 per cent consistent growth rate... I can say that with a high level of confidence," Vaishnaw said. The building blocks for this are already in place and the results are visible, he said, outlining various initiatives taken by the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Improvement in physical and digital infrastructure, education and skilling, as well as innovation

PM Modi to lay foundation stone of 550 Amrit Bharat stations on February 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on February 26 lay the foundation stone of 550 Amrit Bharat stations to improve facilities at railway stations by developing rooftop plazas and city centres at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. The prime minister will also lay the foundation stone of nearly 1,500 road overbridges and underbridges across different states during a function that will be conducted virtually at over 2,000 railway stations, officials said on Wednesday. The prime minister will join the function via videoconferencing. Prizes will also be given to about 50,000 school students who had participated in speech, essay and poetry writing competitions on the "2047 - Viksit Bharat ki Railway" theme, organised by the Indian Railways across 4,000 schools. Nearly four lakh students participated in different competitions and about 50,000 prizes will be awarded by divisional railway managers and senior railway officers during the function. The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched for the

The NDA approach to PSUs

The Modi govt's equity contribution to public sector units has risen even as their capacity to generate resources has taken a hit

Ten wagons of goods train derail, overturn near Zakhira flyover in Delhi

Around ten wagons of a goods train derailed and overturned on the Patel Nagar-Dayabasti section in the Delhi area on Saturday morning, officials said

48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan section rail link to open on Feb 20

The Indian Railways will start train services on the Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan section, a 48.1-km-long significant segment of the country's most ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, on February 20. "We will get a step closure to realise our dream to connect Srinagar with Kanyakumari," a source in the railways told PTI. "The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project is one of the most ambitious Himalayan railway projects post independence," he added. According to sources in the railways, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the section by virtually flagging off a train from Sangaldan. However, an official confirmation in this regard is awaited. Talking about the project, a senior railway official said, "Spanning the challenging terrain of the Pir Panjal ranges, the USBRL aims at establishing an all-weather, comfortable and economically-feasible transportation network, connecting remote Himalayan areas with the rest of the

Land given to Railways for commercial sites still undeveloped: Parl Panel

The Public Accounts Committee of Lok Sabha in its report has found that the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) failed in its objective to develop railway land sites for commercial use due to various reasons. In the report, presented to the Lok Sabha, the Committee said that it reviewed 17 sites out of 49 entrusted to RLDA by the Indian Railways in 2007 and noted that none of them were developed till 2017. It added that out of 49 sites, only 40 were commercially viable. The Committee, chaired by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, selected the subject Development of Railway Land for Commercial use by Rail Land Development Authority which was based on the Comptroller of Auditor General's (CAG) report laid in the Lok Sabha on July 20, 2018. According to the report, Indian Railway has 43,000 hectares of vacant land out of which it entrusted 49 sites to RLDA from 2007 to 2017 for commercial development to generate revenue. The Committee observed that Audit reviewed the development of 17 sit

IRCTC announces appointment of Sanjay Jain as CMD with immediate effect

Railway PSU IRCTC on Wednesday announced the appointment of Sanjay Kumar Jain as its Chairman and Managing Director with immediate effect. Prior to this role, Jain was Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM) of Northern Railway, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) said in an exchange filing. "...the appointment of Sanjay Kumar Jain has been approved by the Government of India (Ministry of Railways) for the post of CMD on immediate absorption basis...for a period with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post and till the date of his superannuation i.e. 31.12.2026 or until further orders, whichever is the earlier," IRCTC said. Jain has relinquished the charge of PCCM/Northern Railway on February 13, 2024 and has assumed the charge of the post of IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) on regular basis with effect from February 14, 2024. The official is an Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) Officer of 1990 batch. A qualified Charter

Rlys not a deemed distribution licensee, liable to pay surcharges: APTEL

National Transporter May Appeal Decision After Legal Consultation, Say Sources

'Aastha' train carrying 2,000 pilgrims flagged off from Goa to Ayodhya

A special "Aastha" train carrying around 2,000 pilgrims to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh has been flagged off from Goa. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and other MLAs were present at the flagging off ceremony held on Monday evening at Thivim railway station in North Goa district. Sawant said he along with all the state cabinet ministers will visit Ayodhya on February 15 when everyone, including those who have travelled by the train from Goa, will offer prayers to Lord Ram. He said the people of Goa are thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making this dream come true. Devotees have been visiting Ayodhya in large numbers after the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple there on January 22. The Indian Railways had announced "Aastha Special" trains to ferry devotees to Ayodhya from different parts of the country. Tanavade said people from various walks of life will be travelling by this train to Ayodhya. Goans have been excited about visi

PM GatiShakti: Five road, railway infra projects recommended for approval

Five infrastructure projects of roads and railways have been recommended for approval under the PM GatiShakti initiative, the commerce and industry ministry said on Friday. These projects were assessed in the 65th Network Planning Group (NPG) meeting. "The NPG examined the projects from the perspective of integrated planning based on the PM GatiShakti principles. The project details were examined based on the planning/mapping on PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP)," it said. The projects which are evaluated include highway projects in Goa, Meghalaya and Assam; construction of rail-over-rail bulb line in Bihar; and urban metro transit projects in Bengaluru and Delhi/NCR. The inter-ministerial NPG meets every fortnight and appraises infra projects to ensure multi-modality, synchronisation of efforts and comprehensive development in and around the project location. The initiative was launched to develop an integrated infrastructure to reduce logistics costs. All logistics and ..

Cabinet approves six multi-tracking projects worth Rs 12,000 crore

Projects likely to add 87 million tonnes of cargo for rail

Railways had to spend over Rs 75 cr extra due to delays: PAC report

Delay in the provisioning of Availability Based Tariff (ABT) Metres by the West Central Railway resulted in an additional expenditure of Rs 75.10 crore on power purchase, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. The committee, which tabled its report in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said the Railway Ministry had issued instructions in March 2015 to all zonal railways to get direct power from generating companies through open access and ensure the provision of ABT metres. The Ministry's instructions were aimed at reducing the traction tariff to optimise the unit cost of transportation. "Despite entering into an agreement in March 2016 under open access, power supply commenced only from January 2017 mainly due to a delay in the provisioning of ABT metres.The delay in shifting to open access resulted in an extra expenditure on power purchase amounting to Rs 75.10 crore," the report, which was based on a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report laid in Parliament in .

Railways lost Rs 25.5 cr due to injudicious procurement: Parl panel

Injudicious procurement of an additional CNC horizontal boring and milling machine by Patiala Locomotive Works cost a financial loss of Rs 25.43 crore to the Railways, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said in its report in the Lok Sabha. The PAC, in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, carried out a detailed examination based on the CAG report, which was laid on the table of the House on December 21, 2022. Titled "Injudicious procurement of an additional CNC horizontal boring and milling machine: Patiala Locomotive Works", the report recommends the ministry to establish a mechanism for periodic review of procurement policies in line with evolving directives to prevent recurrence of such infructuous expenditure in future. The matter pertains to the manufacturing and rebuilding of Diesel Locomotives for Zonal Railways and Non-Railway Customers by the Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW) as the Railway Board assigns the work for manufacturing and rebuilding of various type

Railways' mismanagement behind cost overrun in Hajipur-Sagauli project: Rpt

The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned in 2003-04 at an estimated cost of Rs 24.66 crore, registered a huge cost escalation of Rs 2,066.78 crore in January 2019 due to indecisiveness of the Railway Administration, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. Tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the report titled 'Loss due to indecision of Railway Administration in the matter of land acquisition: East Central Railway' was based on one of the findings of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of 2021. After carrying out a detailed examination, the PAC observed that the railways' lack of prudent decision-making and timely payments resulted in avoidable extra expenditure, underscoring the importance of meticulous financial planning and adherence to land acquisition policies. "The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned by the Ministry of Railways in 2003-04, underwent a series of financial oversights and lapses in land acquisition processes, leading to

Railways mismanaged land purchase for Hajipur-Sagauli project: House panel

The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned in 2003-04 at an estimated cost of Rs 24.66 crore, registered a huge cost escalation of Rs 2,066.78 crore in January 2019 due to indecisiveness of the Railway Administration, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. Tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the report titled 'Loss due to indecision of Railway Administration in the matter of land acquisition: East Central Railway' was based on one of the findings of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of 2021. After carrying out a detailed examination, the PAC observed that the railways' lack of prudent decision-making and timely payments resulted in avoidable extra expenditure, underscoring the importance of meticulous financial planning and adherence to land acquisition policies. "The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned by the Ministry of Railways in 2003-04, underwent a series of financial oversights and lapses in land acquisition processes, leading to

Railways made Rs 6.85 cr irregular payment to foreign vendor: House panel

The Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) of Indian Railways purchased equipment from a foreign vendor worth Rs 6.85 crore in 2017 for diesel locomotives whose production was already stopped, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. The committee, which tabled its report in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, expressed surprise that the vendor had delivered the equipment beyond the delivery schedule in violation of the purchase agreement and BLW would have rejected the supply. However, it agreed to buy at approximately 36 per cent discounted price, the report said. The issue relates to the purchase of 660 channel air boxes in November 2018 for manufacturing diesel locomotives. According to the report, in view of increasing electrification of routes, the Railway Board decided in May 2016 to manufacture electric locomotives at BLW and this was started from February 2017. From 2019-20, the production of diesel locomotives at BLW was completely stopped. The committee said that in May 2016,

82 Vande Bharat trains operational, work on to enhance speed to 160 kmph

The number of Vande Bharat trains has been increased to 82 and work is underway to increase the speed of these trains to 160 kilometres per hour on the New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah routes, the government informed Parliament on Wednesday. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha to questions raised by 10 MPs regarding the services of the Vande Bharat trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "As on January 31, 2024, 82 Vande Bharat train services are operating across the Indian Railways, connecting states having Broad Gauge (BG) electrified network." "Besides, provision of stoppage of train services and introduction of new train services, including Vande Bharat, are ongoing processes on Indian Railways subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, resource availability etc.," he added. "Train-wise and state-wise revenue generated is not maintained," the minister said to questions on the state-wise average income generation from the Vande Bharat trains. Vaishna

Freight target miss in FY24 set to dent Railways' ambitious growth plan

Grappling with capacity concerns, this is the first post-pandemic Budget where the railways will miss its targets set at the beginning of the financial year

10 Vande Bharat sleeper trains to be rolled out from March this year

The Vande Bharat trains will have sleeper coach express trains for a more comfortable journey. The first 10 Vande Bharat Sleeper coaches trains will run on track from March 2024