Page 47 - Indian Railways

300-400 new Vande Bharat trains to be announced in upcoming Union Budget

According to a railway ministry official, there will be an announcement for provision of 300-400 new Vande Bharat trains in the Union Budget 2023-24 which will be the highest ever allocation

Railways to run 14 special trains to clear rush on Mahaparinirvan Diwas

The Central Railway (CR) on Thursday said it will run 14 unreserved special trains to clear the extra rush of passengers travelling on the occasion of Dr B R Ambedkar's death anniversary, observed as Mahaparinirvan Diwas, on December 6. A CR press release said of the 14 special trains, 3 trains will run from Nagpur to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Mumbai), 6 from CSMT Mumbai/ Dadar to Sewagram/Ajni/Nagpur, 2 between Kalaburagi and CSMT, 2 between Solapur and CSMT and one from Ajni to CSMT. Besides, the Railway has decided to augment train no 11401 CSMT-Adilabad Express departing on December 6, with one general second class coach for the benefit of passengers traveling on the occasion of Mahaparinirvan Diwas, said the release. The South Central Railway will also run a special train from Adilabad to Mumbai which will be notified in due course, it said. Every year, thousands of people converge at Chaityabhoomi in central Mumbai, where Ambedkar's last rites were performed, to .

Target of 475 Vande Bharat trains in 3 years: Railway Minister Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said that the plan for the production of 475 Vande Bharat trains in the next three years is on track. The minister, speaking at the Times Now Summit, said that Bullet Trains will be fully functional by 2026. On the redevelopment of railway stations, the minister said that master plans for 138 stations have been made, while designs have been finalised for as many as 57 stations. "The target of having 475 Vande Bharat trains...is on track. In the last budget, 400 trains were sanctioned and before that 75 had been sanctioned. We will be achieving the entire target in the coming three years," he said. The minister that Vande Bharat has evoked good interest among many countries and its quality parameters match world-class trains. Replying to a question on safety aspects amid incidents of cattle hits involving Vande Bharat trains, the minister said that the train's 'crumble zones' are designed to absorb the impact, restricting damage to the

Top Headlines: Economic survey in Jan, railways' coal projects, and more

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran is looking to put his stamp on his first Economic Survey, and to that end, the 2022-23 Survey, which will be released on January 31

Railways eyes Rs 94k cr coal connecting projects as part of Energy Corridor

National transporter targets FY24 to close critical project pipeline

Vivek Express: Country's longest train to operate twice a week from Nov 22

The services of the country's longest train, Vivek Express, that connects Assam with the southernmost tip of Tamil Nadu will be available twice a week beginning November 22, a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said on Saturday. The Dibrugarh- Kanyakumari Vivek Express, which was flagged off on November 19, 2011, covers a distance of 4,189 km and traverses through nine states in over 80 hours. Train no. 15906 (Dibrugarh Kanyakumari) Vivek Express which previously used to run on Saturdays, will now operate additionally every Tuesday from November 22, a press release issued by NFR said. Train no. 15905 (Kanyakumari Dibrugarh) Vivek Express which currently runs only on Thursdays, will now be available even on Sundays from November 27, the release said.

Not so fast: Infrastructure woes slow down Vande Bharat trains

Besides cattle run-overs, fencing and track quality reasons for trains moving at an average 83 kmph

Railways announces pay grade upgradation for 80,000 field officers

Around 80,000 railway employees facing stagnation in their jobs now have an opportunity to improve their pay scale with the national transporter announcing a new provision under which its supervisory cadre will have a chance to reach higher pay grades equivalent to Group A officers. Announcing the new provision on Wednesday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said there was stagnation of supervisory cadre of railway in Level-7 and the scope of their promotion was negligible. "There was a long pending demand for upgradation of supervisory cadre since the last 16 years. The only scope of promotion was selection in 3,712 vacancies by giving exam in Group 'B'. Now provision has been made for 50 per cent people from Level 7 to go to Level 8. "Provision has been made for promotion of 50 per cent people in non functional grade from Level-8 to Level 9 in four years," he said at a press conference here. The move is expected to benefit 40,000 such supervisor grade employees like station maste

Railways to build walls on worst-impacted routes to contain cattle hits

Plans are to build 1,000 km of walls across sections, no change on Vande Bharat nose panel, damage to which brought the issue of cattle hits to the fore

IRCTC allowed to customise menu for diabetics, infants, health aficionados

The Railway Board has given its catering and tourism arm IRCTC the flexibility to customise its menu to include local and regional cuisines as well as food suitable for diabetics, infants and health aficionados. According to a note sent by the Railway Board to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the move is aimed at improving catering services on trains and give passengers more options. "As a measure to improve catering services on trains, it has been decided to give IRCTC the flexibility to customize the menu so as to include items of regional cuisines/preferences, seasonal delicacies, requirement during festivals, food items as per the preferences of different group of passengers such as diabetic food, baby food, health food options, including millet-based local products among others," the note said. At present, the IRCTC has to get the menus, comprising mostly of standardised food items and beverages, approved by the Railway Board before it can introduce

IRCTC Q2 PAT up 43% YoY to Rs 226 crore, revenue from operation rises 99%

Total income of IRCTC grew 97.55% to Rs 831.79 crore from Rs 421.05 crore YoY

End of the stone age: Railways to upgrade rail tracks at select stations

The current tracks have greyish ballast stones scattered around them to keep the tracks in their place and curb derailments. But these stones require regular monitoring and replacement

Indian Railway Finance Corporation Q2 profit surges 14% to Rs 1,714 crore

Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) on Thursday reported a 14 per cent increase in its profit at Rs 1,714 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2022. The company, which is the dedicated market borrowing arm of the Indian Railways, had earned a profit of Rs 1,501 crore in the same quarter of previous year. The revenue from operations for Q2 FY23 also grew by 23.88 per cent to Rs 5,810 crore as against Rs 4,690 crore reported in the same period of last year, IRFC said in a statement. Net worth stood at Rs 43,549 crore and Assets Under Management (AUM) at Rs 4,39,070 crore as on September 30, 2022, it said. The board of the company also approved an interim dividend of 8 per cent of face value of Rs 10 each, that is Rs 0.80 per share for 2022-23, it said. The cumulative funding to the Indian railway sector by IRFC has crossed Rs 5.05 lakh crore mark by the end of the Q2 FY23.

Survey work going on for bullet train project in Varanasi: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Survey work is going on to start bullet train services here, Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. The proposed alignment of the high-speed rail corridor will pass through Greater Noida, Agra, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Varanasi, he said. Speaking on the first bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Vaishnaw said, "New things are being learnt through this (project). As this project develops, there will be more development. "More bullet train corridors will be built in the country. Survey work is going on in Varanasi to start a bullet train." Vaishnaw, who is visiting Varanasi, also inspected Kashi station and Rajghat bridge. Kashi station in Varanasi district will be developed at a cost of Rs 350 crore to boost economic activity. Its design should be done keeping in mind Kashi's religious and temple culture, Vaishnaw told reporters. Plans are also afoot to connect Kashi station with air and water routes and its design is being worked on, he said. Once the desig

RPF arrests 319 offenders in month-long special drive: Indian Railways

In a month-long campaign to expedite the execution of warrants and production of absconders and accused before courts, the RPF arrested 319 offenders, including 52 absconding for the past 10 to 15 years, the Railways said Friday. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is responsible for the security of Railway property. Cases of theft of railway property are registered and enquired by RPF under the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act. It also launches prosecution under Railways Act 1989. "Delay in execution of warrants or arrest of named accused persons causes a delay in disposal of cases, puts additional pressure on judiciary and law enforcement agency and adversely interferes with the administration of justice," the Railways said. To ensure expeditious execution of warrants and production of the absconders and accused persons before courts, a month-long pan-India drive focusing on the execution of warrants was conducted over the Indian Railways from October 1 to 31. "During th

Mumbai: Technical snag delays local trains on Western Rail's fast corridor

The local services in the Western Railway's fast corridor in Mumbai were delayed for a brief period on Friday morning due to the failure of a track-changing point, an official said. There was a "point failure" (track-changing point) at Goregaon on Up and Down fast lines at 6.20 am. The problem was resolved at around 7.23 am, a spokesperson of the Western Railway said. The trains running on the fast corridor were delayed during the morning rush hour because of the technical snag, he said. "Due to this technical problem, all up and down fast suburban locals are running late by 15 to 20 minutes. Inconvenience caused is deeply regretted," the Western Railway's divisional railway manager of Mumbai division tweeted. The suburban local trains, which are termed as Mumbai's lifeline, ferry around 35 lakh commuters every day.

After Diwali, Chhath, Northern Railways rolls back platform ticket hike

Tickets are now cheaper at Lucknow, Varanasi, Barabanki, Ayodhya Cantt, Ayodhya Junction, Akbarpur, Shahganj, Jaunpur, Sultanpur Junction, Rae Bareli, Janghai, Bhadohi, Pratapgarh and Unnao Junction

Northeast Frontier Railway clocks 4% jump in freight unloading in October

Northeast Frontier Railway on Thursday said it has registered a nearly four per cent rise in freight unloading at 1,218 rakes during October this year. NF Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De said 1,218 freight-carrying rakes were unloaded during October 2022 as compared to 1,176 rakes in the same month last year. "NF Railway is continuously registering a steady growth in freight unloading. From April to October of the current financial year, 8,317 freight-carrying rakes were unloaded. This is an increase of 10.13 per cent in comparison to the corresponding period of last year," he added. The local division of the Indian Railway transported goods like FCI rice, sugar, salt, edible oil, food grains, fertilizer, cement, coal, vegetables, automobiles, and other items during the month and unloaded them in different goods sheds within its jurisdiction. "During October 2022, 673 rakes of freight carrying trains were unloaded in Assam, out of which 329 were loaded with ...

14 station redevelopment projects in tendering stage: Ministry of Railways

The station redevelopment project has been accelerated by the Ministry of Railways and the tenders for 14 more stations are likely to be awarded in the next four-five months, the national transporter said on Thursday. The redevelopment of these stations envisages provisions for a spacious roof plaza on the station premises, facilities such as food courts, waiting lounges, playing areas for children and a designated space for local products. The project will integrate various modes of transport, such as metro and bus services, with the railway stations. The construction of the station infrastructure will adopt green building technology and facilities for differently-abled people. The stations will be developed on the concept of intelligent buildings with state-of-the-art facilities for the passengers. The project will also create "City Centre-like spaces" at the stations for the railway commuters as well as the general public. The Rani Kamalapati station of the West Central Railway,

Railways to invite bids for redevelopment of 4 stations in 3-5 mths: Report

The stations are Anand Vihar in Delhi, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Thane and Mumbai Central in Maharashtra