Page 7 - Railway Ministry

Rail would need over 30 bn units of power after full electrification: Govt

The railways would require around 30.13 billion units of electricity after 100 per cent electrification of its broad gauge lines, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed the Lok Sabha. In a written reply on December 13 to a query by BJP MP Rajesh Chudasama who wanted to know the electrification status, he said the railways is progressively procuring renewable energy from different sources for its present and future requirements. Chudasama also sought to know the expected consumption after 100 per cent electrification and "the manner in which Railways is likely to ensure that the increased electricity demand is met through renewable sources". In his reply, Vaishnaw said, "Based on the present electricity consumption for traction purposes of Indian Railways, the expected increase in electricity consumption after 100 per cent electrification is estimated to be about 30.13 billion units. The actual demand will depend on the future passenger and goods traffic over Indian ...

Railways filled up over 294,000 vacancies in last five years: Vaishnaw

More than 90% of the candidates recruited are in safety and operational categories, he added

RBI authorises Bandhan Bank to disburse pension to retired railway workers

City-based private lender Bandhan Bank on Wednesday said it has been authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to disburse pension to retired railways employees. In a statement, the bank said the lender will shortly integrate its system with the railways ministry to operationalise the pension disbursement process. The mandate will give the bank access to around 50,000 retirees each year across 17 zonal offices and eight production units of the railways across the country. Debraj Saha, head (government business), Bandhan Bank, said, "Indian Railways is one of the largest employers in the country. This will help pensioners to get access to competitive rates offered by the bank and other products of the lender.

Western Railway collects Rs 115.71 crore during ticket checking drives

In November 2023, the highest ever monthly ticket checking revenue of Rs 21.20 cr in the financial year 2023-24, was recovered through the detection of 2.94 Lakh ticketless and irregular passengers

Railways decides to stop engine compartment inspection by assistant drivers

To ensure safe operations, the Railway Board has decided to stop the age-old practice of engine compartment inspection by the assistant driver leaving the driver alone in a running train. Train drivers, also called loco pilots or LPs, have welcomed the decision, saying in view of the upgraded and modern cabin (engine), which triggers safety indication for any machine fault, manual inspection of various machine compartments inside the engine has become a redundant practice. "Taking safety as paramount into consideration, it has been decided by the competent authority that inspection of machine room/HT (High Tension) compartment after every neutral section by ALPs/Co LPs on run may be stopped, the board said in a letter addressed to the general managers of all railway zones. Loco pilots said that when engines that run on electricity with the help of overhead equipment (OHE) shift from one phase of electricity to another, they pass through a neural section where there is no power ...

Special Cleanliness Campaign: Railways earn Rs 66 lakh from scrap disposal

The Ministry of Railways generated a revenue of more than Rs 66 lakh through disposal of office scrap during the first 13 days of its Special Cleanliness Campaign 3.0, an official statement said on Sunday. As a result of scrap disposal, the ministry also managed to free 3,97,619 sqft of space that can be utilised for other purposes, it said. The Special Cleanliness Campaign 3.0 started on October 1 and will go on till October 31. The Railways' zonal headquarters, divisional offices, production units, Research Design and Standards Organisation, training institutes and more than 7,000 stations are being covered under the campaign, according to the statement. The Railways has set a target of conducting 10,722 cleanliness drives till October 31. As part of this campaign, special focus is on scrap disposal in offices and workplace, and a target of freeing 3,18,504 sq. feet of space has been set, the statement said. "To achieve these targets, more than 5,297 cleanliness campaigns have b

Railway ministry generates Rs 67 lakh revenue from scrap disposal

Bringing the best out of waste, the Ministry of Railways earned around Rs 66.83 lakh by selling scrap till October 13 under its Special Campaign 3.0

National average coal stock at season's low ahead of festival demand

Coal, rail ministries confident stock will replenish by mid-month

No politics behind orange Vande Bharat trains, says Rly minister Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a recent interaction with journalists dismissed the notion that there is any politics behind launching orange-colour Vande Bharat trains, saying the choice of colours was informed by scientific thought. "For human eyes, two colours are supposed to be the most visible - yellow and orange. In Europe, almost 80 per cent of trains have either orange or a combination of yellow and orange," Vaishnaw said. "There are many other colours, such as silver, which are bright like yellow and orange but if we talk about it from the point of view of visibility to the human eye, these two colours are considered to be the best," he added. Vaishnaw asserted there is no politics behind it and it is a 100 per cent scientific thought. He said it is due to these reasons black boxes in aircrafts and ships are of orange colour. "Even rescue boats and life jackets, which National Disaster Response Force uses, are of orange colour." The Indian Railway launched its first

Higher coal movement takes rail freight growth to 6.7% in September

Much of this growth was led by coal freight, which rose by 9.4 per cent to 59.7 mt in September, owing to higher coal demand at thermal power plants across the country

Rail min sanctions FLS for new line between Japur Keonjhar Road-Dhamra port

The Ministry of Railways has sanctioned the final location survey (FLS) for a new line between Jajpur Keonjhar Road and Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district, a stretch of 96 km, official sources said. The ministry has sanctioned Rs 2.4 crore for conducting the survey. Important religious and tourist destinations like Akhandalamani temple at Aradi Pitha and Navigaya at Birajakhetra, Jajpur district headquarters town will be covered, an official release issued by the East Coast Railways said. Stating that this is a long standing demand of the people of Jajpur and Bhadrak districts, the official said the line will connect tourism spots of Jajpur, Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts. Apart from this, the proposed line will also economically viable for easy transportation of minerals from Keonjhar district, finished products from the industrial belt in Jajpur and Angul districts to Dhamra port and vice-versa. The proposed new railway line is a part of the vision 'Purvoday' of Prime Minister of

Railway gives priority to passenger safety, invests 54% more funds on it

Prioritising the safety of train passengers, the Indian Railway has made approximately 54 per cent more fund utilisation in the last five months compared to last year's corresponding period. Besides safety, it has also made considerable fund utilisation in various infrastructure projects, such as new lines, doubling, gauge conversion and enhancing passenger amenities, between April 1 and August 31, the railway ministry said on Saturday. "Indian Railways has witnessed approximately 48 per cent capital expenditure utilisation (highest ever) in the first five months of this financial year till August 2023," according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Railway. "Safety of the passengers is paramount in Railways. A significant sum has been invested in enhancing safety-related works. The capex utilisation is approximately 54 per cent in comparison to the last year's corresponding period," the statement added. During this period, the national transporter has earned a revenue o

Railways to prepare fresh proposal for Hubli-Ankola railway line in K'taka

The Karnataka High Court has disposed of a batch of petitions challenging the Hubli (Hubballi)-Ankola railway line project after the Railways submitted that a fresh proposal is being worked out, and work will start only after all necessary permissions are obtained. The public interest litigations (PILs) by Giridhar Kulkarni and others had challenged the project on grounds that it would fragment the tiger habitat in the region. The Deputy Chief Engineer, Construction-1, South Western Railways, Hubballi, filed an affidavit before the court stating that as per directions of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), a mitigation plan will be worked out in consultation with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and a fresh proposal will be submitted. The affidavit stated that the work on the project shall commence only after getting all the necessary clearances and approvals as required under law. The Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice M G S Kamal on Thursda

Need to collaborate on digital security to contain risks: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said the global interconnectedness has created shared security risks requiring the urgent need to collaborate on digital security. Addressing the G20 Digital Economy Working Group Ministers Meet, Vaishnaw said three priority areas have been selected by the Indian presidency for the digital economy Working Group, which will help in the democratisation of technology. "Global interconnectedness creates shared security risks. Therefore the need to collaborate on digital security has become more urgent," the Minister, who holds Railways, Electronics and IT portfolios, said. Appreciating the efforts of the digital economy working group of G20, he said the group has been diligently engaged in discussions for steering the member nations towards common ground. In this context, Vaishnaw said, "The three priority areas selected by the Indian presidency for the digital economy Working Group are digital public infrastructure (DPI), security in the ...

Govt planning to sell 11.36% shares in Indian Railway Finance Corp via OFS

The government is planning to sell a part of its holding in state-owned Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC) through an offer for sale (OFS) in the current fiscal, an official said on Wednesday. The government currently holds an 86.36 per cent stake in the financing arm of the Indian Railways. The official said that an inter-ministerial group (IMG) comprising senior officers from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Railways Ministry has started consultations to decide on the quantum of stake dilution. To make the central public sector enterprise compliant to Sebi's minimum public shareholding (MPS) norm, the government has to dilute 11.36 per cent stake in IRFC. As per MPS norm, a listed entity must have a minimum public float of 25 per cent within five years of listing. "We are assessing investor appetite before deciding on the quantum of dilution," the official told PTI. Shares of IRFC were trading at Rs 50.97 a share, up 0.14 per cent over ..

Plastic industry should focus on manufacturing quality, exports: Goyal

Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday urged the plastic industry players to focus on manufacturing quality and sustainable products with new technology and innovation to become globally competitive and increase exports. "...we are introducing quality checks and quality control on orders to stop the production or consumption, whether domestic or imported, of sub-standard and low quality, under-priced goods, which tend to hurt the plastic industry, our consumer interests and hamper the overall reputation and image of our country," the minister said at the 2nd 'Technology Conference for Growth of Plastic Industry' organised by industry body AIPMA. Goyal said, the government is very sensitive to the potential of the industry as well as about the problems of the plastic industry. "We are looking at how we can support the recycling of plastic waste or reuse of plastic raw material, and how we can make plastic disposable more effective and efficient. The global average rate

Titagarh Rail hits new high on positive outlook; stock up 379% in a year

While TRSL is India's undisputed leader in the wagon manufacturing space, now it is also among India's very few integrated manufacturers of passenger rail systems.

4 wagons of goods train on way to Vedanta plant derail in Odisha's Rayagada

Four wagons of a goods train got derailed in Rayagada district of Odisha on Saturday. There was no official confirmation from the East Coast Railway about the incident.

Death toll rises to 291 in Odisha's Balasore three-train train accident

The death toll from a three-train crash in Odisha's Balasore reached 291, officials said on Saturday

Ramkrishna Forgings-Titagarh Rail consortium bags Rs 12,227 cr order

A consortium of Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd and Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd has bagged an order worth about Rs 12,227 crore from the railways ministry to supply 15.40 lakh forged wheels under the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The contract spans over 20 years, with the delivery of 40,000 forged wheels in the first year, 60,000 in the second year, and 80,000 wheels annually thereafter, Ramkrishna Forgings said in a statement on Friday. "Ramkrishna Forgings Limited (RKFL) and Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) consortium has won a contract to supply 15,40,000 forged wheels under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative by Ministry of Railways," it said. The wheels will be used for LHB coaches, WAG9 locomotives, Vande Bharat Express trains, and other platforms and the total contract value is Rs 12,226.5 crore, the company said. The consortium will be establishing a facility to manufacture these forged wheels, with a total annual production target of 2,00,000 wheels when fully ...