Page 4 - Railway Ministry

Govt laying process of development beyond election cycles: Vaishnaw

The government is laying the process of development which is 'beyond the cycle of elections' for India to be able to grow six to seven times the current level to become a developed nation by 2047, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday. Addressing a symposium by the Indian Foundation for Quality Management (IFQM), the Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT, said one of the key elements of the government's goal of a developed nation is having "a very inclusive and harmonious society". For India to become a developed nation by 2047, the target for measurable parameters is "USD 18,000 per capita income and USD 30 trillion nominal GDP", he said. "Today, we are just shy of USD 4 trillion nominal (GDP), just shy of about USD 3,000 nominal per capita. It means we have a path where we need to grow about '6x' '7x' in the next 25 years," Vaishnaw asserted. Sharing the government's approach to meet the target, the minister said, "It needs a very ...

Railway accidents have reduced to just 40 per year: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Addressing concerns about railway accidents, Vaishnaw mentioned significant advancements in safety measures, including the completion of Kavach 4.2

FM reviews Railway Ministry's capex plan, asks to expedite 'Kavach' system

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday reviewed the capex plan of the Railways Ministry and asked officials to focus on safety and convenience of commuters. Sitharaman also told the officials to expedite the implementation of Kavach system (India's indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system) in a phased manner and meet the allocated capex target in the stipulated timeframe. MoR officials informed the Minister that Kavach-related works are currently in progress in over 3000RKm (route km) on the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai sections. "Underlining the focus of the government on providing 'ease of living' for citizens, Sitharaman urged the officials of the Ministry of Railways to focus on capacity augmentation, safety and commuter convenience, including doubling and electrification of existing railway tracks and also laying of new railway lines across the country as per the capex outlay provisioned in the Union Budget," a finance ministry statement said. Sitharaman als

Bhuj-Ahmedabad Vande Metro has been renamed to Namo Bharat Rapid Rail

The Railway Ministry has renamed the Bhuj-Ahmedabad Vande Metro to Namo Bharat Rapid Rail hours before its inaugural run on Monday, according to a spokesperson. The service will be flagged off from the Bhuj railway station at 4:15 pm virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be present in Ahmedabad, he said. The Rapid Rail, which aims to enhance intercity connectivity, will cover 359 km distance from Bhuj to Ahmedabad in 5:45 hours. In between, the train will stop at nine stations. For the public, the regular service will start on September 17 from Ahmedabad. The total journey will cost Rs 455. "The ministry has decided to rename Vande Metro to Namo Bharat Rapid Rail," the Railway spokesperson said. According to the Railway Ministry, while the other metros cover only short distances, Namo Bharat trains will connect the heart of Ahmedabad with its peripheral cities. Featuring 12 coaches with seating for 1,150 passengers, the Rapid Rail offers a host of innovative features

PM Modi to visit Jharkhand today to flag off 6 new Vande Bharat trains

The six new Vande Bharat trains that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off on Sunday for different locations, offer faster connectivity, safe journey and a range of passenger amenities, the Railway Ministry has said. These new trains would also bolster the rapidly growing fleet of this modern innovation from 54 train sets to 60 with 120 trips daily covering over 280 districts across 24 states and union territories, the ministry said in the statement issued on Saturday. Prime Minister Modi will travel to Jharkhand today and flag off six Vande Bharat trains at Tatanagar Junction Railway Station around 10 am, according to a release by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). "The Vande Bharat Portfolio is ever-expanding with new train services being added for enhanced connectivity," the statement read. "Indigenously designed under the 'Make in India' initiative, it offers cutting-edge features delivering luxury and efficiency to millions of passengers, it added. The six new routes tha

RRB NTPC 2024 notification out for 11,558 posts, registration to begin soon

The Railway Recruitment Board has released the official notification for the RRB NTPC Recruitment 2024. The recruitment drive aims to fill 11,558 vacancies

Indigenous Kavach will be implemented in mission mode in country: Vaishnaw

Modern technology like Kavach that was developed in the country will now be implemented in a mission mode, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said. The minister stated this in his welcome address before the flagging-off of three Vande Bharat trains by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Vaishnaw that India has elected the leadership of PM Modi for the third time that is decisive, visionary and forward-looking and its impact is visible in every aspect of life including in Railways. "It always lacked technology and investment and nothing changed for decades," Vaishnaw said alleging that a technical organisation like the Railways was politicised. "PM Narendra Modi brought extensive changes to it. Investment in Railways was ten times enhanced. He encouraged us to adopt new technologies. And above all he changed our mindset," Vaishnaw said. The minister referred to various initiatives like the electrification of tracks, the introduction of Vande Bharat trains, the trial of Van

Railway ministry approves final location survey of Nashik-Dahanu new line

The railway ministry has sanctioned the final location survey for the Nashik-Dahanu new line via Trimbakeshwar and Vangaon, an official said on Friday. The 100-kilometre line will connect Nashik and Dahanu in Palghar districts and will reduce the travel time considerably between the two important places, a Central Railway spokesperson said. "Currently, to reach Dahanu from Nashik, trains travel via Kalyan-Bhiwandi-Vasai on the south side or Dhule-Nandurbar-Surat via the north side. The new link is expected to reduce travel time and distance between the two cities. It will boost tourism and provide rail transportation to devotees desirous of visiting Trimbakeshwar temple for darshan of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and to Panchavati (where Lord Ram stayed during the exile) in Nashik," a Central Railway release stated. The new line will also provide connectivity from Deccan plateau to Vadhvan port in Dahanu, the foundation stone of which was laid during the day by Prime Minister Narendra

Railways delays ambitious PPP train plan due to capacity, land issues

The Railway Ministry's public-private partnership plan to offer 150 pairs of trains has been pushed further as safety, capacity challenges remain

RailTel shares gain 8% on securing new order worth Rs 52.66 crore

RailTel order book at the end of the June quarter stood at Rs 4,682 crore

Sabarmati Express derailed due to object placed on track, says Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the engine of the Sabarmati Express train hit an "object placed on the track" and derailed near Kanpur at 2.35 am on Saturday. Twenty coaches of the Sabarmati Express passenger train derailed near Govindpuri station in Kanpur, rail officials said. There is no report of any loss of life or injury in the accident. Vaishnaw, in a post on X, said, evidence related to the accident has been protected and the IB and the Uttar Pradesh Police are investigating it. The engine of Sabarmati Express (Varanasi to Amdavad) hit an object placed on the track and derailed near Kanpur at 02:35 am today," he said on X. He added, Sharp hit marks are observed. Evidence is protected. IB and UP police are also working on it. No injuries to passengers or staff. Train arranged for passengers for onward journey to Amdavad." Rescue and relief operations at the site are underway, officials said. Railway Board officials said involvement of miscreants or anti-social

Unified train operation safety norms to be issued in next 10 days: Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that for signal failure, a unified train operation safety norm applicable to all railway zones will be issued in the next 10 days. Talking to media persons here, Vaishnaw said the ministry initiated the process of bringing uniformity in subsidiary rules (SR) of all 17 railway zones after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) flagged contradictions in these norms in its investigation report in the Kanchanjunga train accident that took place on June 17. A goods train had hit the stationary Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express in the rear killing 10 people including the loco pilot of the goods train in West Bengal. The CRS had said that differences in subsidiary rules of various railway zones regarding speed restriction during automatic signal failure led to confusion. "We constituted a committee after discussing the matter with the CRS and initiated the work of reviewing all the subsidiary rules of all 17 zones to bring uniformity

Ashwini Vaishnaw allocates Rs 70 cr for Odisha's Rayagada Railway Division

The railway ministry has allocated Rs 70 crore for the Rayagada Railway Division in Odisha under the East Coast Railway Zone, officials said Friday. The establishment of the Rayagada Railway Division is poised to bring significant benefits to the region, enhancing connectivity and fostering economic growth, they said. The allocation to the state was informed to Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, who met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi. "I thank the railway minister for addressing the much-awaited and public-centric Rayagada Railway Division issue. We have had thorough discussions with the minister and I am pleased to announce that most of the formalities for the formation of the Rayagada Division is going to be completed. The work will be started soon once the tenders are in place," Majhi said in a statement. The ECoR zone presently has three divisions at Khurda Road, Sambalpur and Waltair. The new Rayagada division will be created by bifurcating Waltair.

Texmaco Rail and Engineering buys Jindal Rail Infra for Rs 615 crore

Mega deal makes Texmaco biggest rolling stock maker in India

'Accident in waiting': Report blasts Railways for Kanchenjunga collision

Loco pilot was given incorrect authority document, finds Railway safety commissioner

Railways looks to get monetisation proceeds on track with Rs 17K cr goal

Ministry may generate revenue by leasing out land parcels belonging to Indian Railways

Railways to invest Rs 1 trn in Odisha over next 5 years, says Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said new railway projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore will be implemented in Odisha in the next five years. Vaishnaw said this while addressing a felicitation programme organised by Odisha BJP here to felicitate the party's 20 MPs and 78 MLAs elected in recently held Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state. The Congress government and then the BJD government have neglected the development of the railway sector in Odisha. So, with the formation of a double-engine government of BJP in Odisha and Centre, now, the gap created during the past years, will be met by creating a new record in these five years, he said. Though many mega railway projects have been sanctioned, those were delayed due to delay in land acquisition by the previous BJD government, said Vaishnaw, adding, "Now double engine government is formed and the pace of the railway projects will be accelerated." The Union minister said the allocation to Odisha in the railway budget has b

Kanchanjunga accident: ECR halts issuing of T/A 912, urges cautious driving

The East Central Railway has directed station masters in its area not to issue the note that authorises train drivers to cross signals in case of failure of the automatic signalling system, days after the Kanchanjunga Express-goods train collision in another zone killed 10 people. The decision to suspended the issuing of the T/A 912 written authority letter was taken at a safety meeting of the East Central Railway (ECR), according to a circular issued by the zone on June 21. On June 17, the goods train rammed into the passenger train in West Bengal's Darjeeling District that falls under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone. Drivers of both trains had been issued the T/A 912 as the automatic signalling on the Ranipatra station-Chattar Hat Junction was "defective", officials had said. While the Railway Board in its initial response had said the now-deceased goods train was over-speeding, driver unions have claimed there is no speed restrictions mentioned on the note and its member was

Kanchanjunga crash: Goods train was moving at 4 times permitted speed

Kanchanjunga train crash updates: As many as 10 people, including the driver of the goods train died in the accident, which took place near New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal

Cong says govt destroying railways, asks for Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation

Accusing the government of "destroying" Indian Railways, the Congress on Tuesday demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation in the wake of the Kanchanjunga Express accident and said that he has no moral right to remain in the position. The opposition party also took a swipe at Vaishnaw for reaching the accident site riding pillion on a motorcycle, asking whether he is a rail minister or a "reel minister". Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said whenever there is a train accident, Modi government's railway minister reaches the spot under the glare of cameras and behaves as if everything is fine. "Narendra Modi ji, tell us who should be held accountable, the Railway Minister or you?" the Congress chief asked. Kharge posed seven questions to the government and demanded answers. After a major accident like Balasore, why was not even a single kilometer of the much-hyped "Kavach" anti-train collision system added, he asked. "Why are nearly 3 lakh posts vacant in the ..