Page 37 - Indian Railways

Vande Bharat trains register 99% utilisation during FY24 up to June 2023

To ensure maximum utilisation, Zonal railways have been authorised to introduce up to 25 per cent discount on the basic fare in AC chair car and Executive class

'Railways lost Rs 55.6 lakh in damages to stone pelting on Vande Bharat'

Since 2019, the Railways has suffered a loss of more than Rs 55 lakh due to damage caused by stone pelting on Vande Bharat trains, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Wednesday. In a reply to a query in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said that in response to such incidents, 151 persons involved in stone pelting have been arrested. No incident leading to the loss of life of a passenger or theft or damage to a passenger's belongings has been reported, he said. "Some incidents of stone pelting incidents have been reported on Vande Bharat trains. During the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 (up to June), Indian Railways suffered losses of Rs 55.60 lakh due to damage caused to Vande Bharat trains in the incidents of stone pelting," he said. Vaishnaw said that in order to safeguard the lives of passengers and damage to railway property against vandalism, the RPF, in coordination with GRP/District police and civil administration, is conducting OPERATION SATHI in inhabited areas

IRCTC website, mobile app down for hours due to technical reasons; restored

Ticketing service was not available on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation's (IRCTC) website and mobile application for some hours on Tuesday due to "technical reasons", officials said. The booking issue was later resolved, they said. To make the situation worse for passengers, the unreserved ticketing system (UTS) used for purchasing tickets through the Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) also developed an undisclosed problem. Several people faced problems in booking tickets since morning. Some people also complained they faced issues while booking tickets through the IRCTC's ticketing partners. "Due to technical reasons, the ticketing service is not available on IRCTC site and app. Technical team of CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems) is resolving the issue," the IRCTC tweeted. It also advised passengers to book their tickets on platforms like Amazon, MakeMyTrip, among others. A Central Railway (CR) spokesperson said the IRCTC website had a techn

Railways to start new non-AC permanent trains for lower income groups

These trains will have both general and sleeper classes and will be included in the regular time table, said an official

Railways to offer affordable meals to general coach passengers at Rs. 20

The railways has decided to offer affordable meals and packaged water designed specially for general coach passengers to make their travel experience better, officials said on Wednesday. Counters serving these meals would be placed on platforms aligning with the general coaches, according to an order issued by the Railway Board. The meals have been divided into two categories. The type one includes seven 'pooris' with dry 'aaloo' and pickle for a price of Rs 20. The type two meal would cost Rs 50 and offer passengers something from an assortment of South Indian food such as rice, rajma, chhole, khichdi kulche, bhature, pao-bhaji and masala dosa. The Railway Board has issued instructions to officials concerned to make provision of economy meals and affordable packaged drinking water to be served through counters to be placed at platform near GS coaches. GS coaches refers to the general seating coach. It is a second class unreserved coach. Normally every train including mail/express

RVNL, TMH group told to resolve issues in Vande Bharat sleeper train deal

The issues between the companies will soon be resolved and contracts for making trains will be signed, a top government official said

To avert coal woes, Railways to lower coastal shipping freight rates

First-mile, last mile rail freights account for 71% of coastal shipping costs

Northern Railways cancels several trains due to water-logging along tracks

Diverted trains that are scheduled to depart on Saturday include Jammu Tawi- Jodhpur Express, Dehradun-Amritsar, Dehradun -Saharanpur

Odisha train accident: 3 accused railway officials sent to judicial custody

A special court here has sent the three accused railway officials in the Balasore train disaster to judicial custody, after the end of their CBI remand period. Senior Section Engineer (Signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar, who have been placed under suspension by the Railways, were produced before the CBI Special Court on Friday after their remand period ended. The accused were arrested by the CBI on July 7. The special court had granted five-day remand of the accused to the CBI, which is investigating the case, on July 7. Later, on July 11, the court had extended the remand period for four more days at the request of the investigating agency. The next date of hearing is on July 27. The three accused have been booked under IPC Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence), and under Section 153 of the Railways Act. While the CBI is yet to submit its report on the case, the inquiry r

Odisha tragedy: Only 30% opted for world's cheapest travel insurance

Railways' plan, costing just 35 paise per passenger, offers a cover of up to Rs 10 lakh

Weather alert: Check out all the trains canceled due to heavy rainfall

In the midst of severe flooding and water-logging because of constant rainfall, numerous Northern Railroad trains were canceled on Monday

Train fares reduced by up to 25% on several routes: All you need to know

The Railway Board said that the fares have been reduced to optimise the occupancy on several routes

Walkie-talkies: Rlys gets exemption from Make in India procurement policy

This comes after locally sourced technology provided poor communications over increased distances

Heavy rains: 17 trains cancelled, 12 diverted, says Northern Railways

The Northern Railways has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others as heavy rains pounded several parts of the region. In a statement, a Northern Railways spokesperson said traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging. These include sections between Noganwan (Ambala)-New Morinda, between Nangal Dam and Anandpur Sahib and between Kiratpur Sahib and Bharatgarh. "Strict watch is being kept to run trains from the Delhi area safely because of non-stop heavy rains. Eight pumps are being run at the Delhi-Sabzi Mandi area and the station's trainable area to pump water out of tracks. Trains running in the Delhi area are still normal," CPRO Northern Railway Deepak Kumar said. The cancelled trains include Firozpur Cantt Express, Amritsar Super Fast Express, Chandigarh Intercity Express and Chandigarh to Amritsar Junction Express. Those which have been diverted include Mumbai Central to Amritsar Express, Amritsar Express, Daulatpur Chowk Express. In the last

Piyush Goyal to visit UK for FTA negotiations, review progress of TEPA

The India-UK bilateral trading relationship was worth Pound 34 billion in 2022, growing by Pound 10 billion ( Rs 102 crore) in one year

RailTel bags order worth Rs 39.37 cr from National Informatics Centre

RailTel Corporation of India on Saturday received a work order of Rs 39.37 crores from National Informatics Centre Services Inc (NICSI)

Railways to slash fares of AC chair car, executive classes by up to 25%

Fares of AC chair cars and executive classes of all trains, including Vande Bharat, and those with Anubhuti and Vistadome coaches will be reduced by up to 25 per cent, depending on occupancy, a Railway Board order has stated. The fares will also depend on those of competitive modes of transport. With a view to optimising utilisation of accommodation, the rail ministry has decided to delegate powers to principal chief commercial managers of railway zones to introduce discounted fare schemes in trains with AC seating. "This scheme shall be applicable in AC chair car and executive classes of all trains having AC seating accommodation, including Anubhuti and Vistadome coaches," the Railway Board order stated. "The element of discount shall be up to a maximum 25 per cent on the basic fare. Other charges like reservation charge, super fast surcharge, GST, etc, as applicable, shall be levied separately. The discount may be provided in any or all the classes on the basis of occupancy," it

95% of Katra-Banihal rail line of USBRL project complete: Officials

Top Northern Railway officials here Saturday said 95 per cent of the work on the 111-km-long Katra-Banihal rail line has been completed. They said Northern Railways General Manager Shobhan Chaudhuri inspected the ongoing work on the Katra-Banihal section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project on Friday. Chaudhuri carried out an intensive inspection of the project and other ongoing works in Jammu and Kashmir. He was accompanied by the USBRL's Chief Administrative Officer S P Mahi, Director R K Hegde and other senior officials. Mahi explained to the team that of the 272-kilometre stretch of the project, 161 kilometres of railway tracks have already been commissioned. "On the remaining 111-kilometre-long Katra-Banihal section, work is completed up to 95 per cent in spite of all geological, topographical, and meteorological challenges," he said. Chaudhuri commenced his inspection from Katra onwards by motor trolley up to tunnel T1 and thereafter, conducted an

Railways reviewing fares of some Vande Bharat trains with low occupancy

The Railways is reviewing the fares of some short-distance Vande Bharat trains with low occupancy to make them more viable for people, sources said on Wednesday. Barring a handful of such low occupancy trains, most of the services of this semi-high speed train currently is running with full occupancy, according to official data. Vande Bharat trains like the Indore-Bhopal, the Bhopal-Jabalpur and the Nagpur-Bilaspur express, along with some others are likely to fall in this category, the sources said. According to end of June data sourced by PTI, the Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat service recorded just 29 per cent occupancy whereas the return journey of Indore-Bhopal Vande Bharat Express had only 21 per cent occupancy. The journey between the two cities takes around three hours and costs Rs 950 for the AC Chair car ticket and Rs 1525 for the Executive Chair Car per passenger. The fare of this train could be reviewed, the sources said. The longest journey of the Vande Bharat Express trai

Over 67,000 trains cancelled in South East Central Zone in 3 years: RTI

Indian Railways cancelled 32,757 trains in 2020, suspended the operations of 32,151 trains in 2021, called off 2,474 trains in 2022, and postponed 208 trains in April 2023