Page 17 - Railways

Maruti Suzuki to dispatch 35% of vehicle production via railways by FY31

Maruti Suzuki India plans to utilise Indian Railways to transport 35 per cent of the vehicles produced across its factories over the next 7-8 years, according to MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi. The share of vehicle dispatches through railways scaled to 21.5 per cent in the 2023-24 fiscal from 5 per cent in 2014-15. The country's largest carmaker's vehicle dispatches through railways increased from 65,700 units in 2014-15 to 4,47,750 units in 2023-24. "With our production capacity nearly doubling from about 2 million units to 4 million units by FY 2030-31, we plan to augment the use of railways in vehicle dispatches, close to 35 per cent over the next 7-8 years," Takeuchi stated. Maruti Suzuki has so far dispatched over 20 lakh units through Indian Railways. The automaker ferries vehicles to 20 destinations, serving over 450 cities using Indian railways. Takeuchi said the company pioneered the use of railways for vehicle dispatches over a decade ago by becoming the first company in In

Many long-distance trains rescheduled amid water logging, rains: Railways

Many long-distance trains were diverted, rescheduled or short-terminated on Sunday due to waterlogging amid heavy rains between Kalyan and Kasara stations, Central Railway officials said. The trains that were rescheduled include 16345 LTT-Thiruvananthapuram Express, 12289 CSMT-Nagpur Duronto Express and 12145 LTT-Puri SF Express, they said. Meanwhile, train services on the stretch between Kalyan and Kasara that were disrupted in the morning due to heavy showers have been restored with restricted speed, they said. At around 6.30 am, soil came on tracks between Atgaon and Thansit stations and a tree fall blocked tracks near Vashind station, disrupting rail traffic on the busy route, officials had said earlier. Train services between Kasara and Titwala have been suspended temporarily, a CR spokesperson had said. Another CR spokesperson had said that an overhead equipment (OHE) pole tilted and the pantograph of a train got entangled near Vashind. Suburban services are considered as t

Rahul meets railways loco pilots, drivers complain of 'inadequate' rest

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday met a group of Indian Railways loco pilots, who complained of "inadequate rest due to understaffing". Gandhi met around 50 loco pilots from all over India at the New Delhi railway station in the afternoon and they explained to him their issues, party sources said. Chiefly, the loco pilots complained of inadequate rest, they said. The loco pilots drive trains over long distances, far from home, and are often pressed into duty without adequate breaks, the sources said. This causes great stress and lapses in concentration which is a major cause of accidents, they added. This has been acknowledged by the Indian Railways in multiple reports, including the recent probe in the accident in Vishakapatnam, they further said. The loco pilots demand a weekly rest of 46 hours, which means a train driver returning home on Friday afternoon will return to duty no later than Sunday morning. The Railways Act 1989 and other rules already

Train travel woes to ease: Railways to add 10k non-AC coaches in two years

In FY25, 4,485 coaches will be produced, including 2,605 general coaches, 1,470 non-AC sleeper coaches, 323 SLR coaches, 32 high-capacity parcel vans, and 55 pantry cars, featuring Amrit Bharat models

After Bengal accident, Railways to standardise rules around signal failures

The committee was set up last week and is expected to turn its report in next week, 15 days after its formation

Railways witnesses 10% increase in freight loading in June, shows data

Freight volumes for the national transporter, Indian Railways, had contracted year-on-year for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in June 2023

Forged wheel import holdup: Railways asks SAIL to boost output amid crisis

Steelmaker expects to meet 87% of orders; moves towards Vande Bharat wheels

Railway Board reduces speed of Vande Bharat, Gatiman Express to 130 kmph

The Railway Board has reduced the speed of semi-high speed trains Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat from 160 kmph to 130 kmph till the automatic train protection system gets operational. At present, only Gatiman Express and two Vande Bharat trains run at 160 kmph between Hazarat Nizamuddin (New Delhi) and Agra rail route due to suitable track conditions. On June 24, the Railway Board's executive director (signal) issued a letter to the general manager of NCR zone and said that the issue of speed of these trains was examined. ...it is decided that as advised earlier, Zonal Railways to expedite IR-ATP Kavach works in the section and till the time the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system is operational, trains to run at maximum speed of 130 kmph in the section, the letter said. Directing the NCR zone to ensure the instruction, the letter said that the direction of reduction in speed has also been approved by the Railway Board's Member, Infra; Member, Traction and Rolling Stock; and

Pune bar case: Cops detain 2 persons from Mumbai for alleged drug use

The Pune police have detained two persons from Mumbai in connection with the alleged use of drugs at a bar here, a top official said on Tuesday. The detained duo was seen with a drugs-like substance in a video that went viral earlier, he said. Pubs in the state's second largest city came into focus after the video, allegedly from Liquid Leisure Lounge or L3 on the Fergusson College Road in Pune city, showed some youths with some drugs- like substance. According to the police, the bar was operating till 5 am on Sunday and liquor was being sold beyond permissible time limit. Bars and pubs in Pune are allowed to remain open till 1.30 am. "We have detained from Mumbai a total of two persons who were seen in the viral video with the drugs-like substance," said Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar. Earlier, the police have arrested eight persons in this connection, including an event organiser, and suspended four police personnel after the L3 bar was found operating beyond the ...

Budget 2024: Will the govt bring back fare concessions for senior citizens?

Union Budget 2024: According to RTI disclosures, Indian Railways earned around Rs 2,242 crore from about 150 million senior citizens during the financial year 2022-23

Budget 2024: High allocation expected for railways despite capex pressure

A report, citing government officials, said that the gross budgetary support for railways is set to increase to Rs 2.6 trillion

Indian Railways aims to implement Kavach system across 44,000 km in 5 years

Kavach is an automated train protection safety system designed to prevent collisions on the same track. The Railway Ministry is working on its installation on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes

Sheikh Hasina visit: India, Bangladesh expand rail ties, open trade talks

The Bangladeshi Prime Minister is in India on a bilateral visit

Railway min urged to introduce train services on Agartala-Kolkata route

Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting him to introduce train services from Agartala to Kolkata via Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. He also urged the central minister to commence train services from Agartala to Chittagong in the neighbouring country through the railway tracks between the capital of Tripura and Akhaura in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina had virtually inaugurated the Agartala-Akhaura railway link in November last year. However, train services on this route have not been introduced till now, Chowdhury said. "Under your stewardship, we have witnessed significant strides in enhancing the efficiency, safety and reach of our railway network. I request you to introduce the passenger and goods train service from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka and Agartala to Chittagong through the newly inaugurated railway track between Agartala and Akhaura (Bangladesh)," ...

1.52 lakh safety category posts vacant, says Railways in RTI reply

Out of around 10 lakh sanctioned posts under the safety category in the Indian Railways, more than 1.5 lakh are vacant, the Railway Ministry has said in response to an application under the Right to Information Act in March. Officials, however, have said the safety of trains is of topmost priority and the railways has made significant investments in this matter in the past 10 years while also taking up many structural and systemic improvements that have had a positive impact on safe operations. Safety category posts include train drivers, inspectors, crew controllers, loco instructors, train controllers, track maintainers, station masters, pointsmen, electric signal maintainers and signalling supervisors among others. Being directly involved in the running of trains, personnel in these posts are crucial to safe train operations. "The total number of sanctioned, on roll (working) and vacant posts in safety category of Indian Railways, as available in this office, as on 01.03.2024 ..

Kavach implementation progressing rapidly on 3k km routes: Railway Ministry

A day after the collision of two trains in West Bengal, the Railway Ministry Tuesday said the implementation of Automatic Train Protection System, also known as Kavach, is going on in a rapid manner on 3,000 route kilometer, and once completed it will help prevent such accidents. A goods train rammed into the stationary Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express near Rangapani, 30 km from the New Jalpaiguri station in Siliguri, on Monday morning killing 10 people and injuring around 40. The accident triggered a wave of criticism of the railways over the delay in the implementation of the Kavach. In response, the ministry said Kavach is a very complex system involving six major sub-systems: laying optical fibre cable along the track, installing telecom towers along tracks, installing telecom equipment on these towers and on trains, setting up data centres at stations and integrating them with the signal system, installing equipment on tracks; and finally installing equipment on locomotives

Safety first

Railways must address the basics

Unaffected coaches of Kanchanjunga Express reach Sealdah with survivors

The unaffected coaches of the Kanchanjunga Express, which was hit by a goods train near New Jalpaiguri, leaving 10 dead and several injured, arrived at Sealdah station here on Tuesday morning with nearly 850 passengers, according to an Eastern Railway official. At least four rear coaches of the train were severely damaged in the collision at Rangapani, about 10 km from New Jalpaiguri station, on Monday morning. "Around 800 to 850 passengers arrived at Sealdah at 3.16 am," ER spokesperson Kausik Mitra said. The unaffected coaches began their onward journey from the accident site on Monday afternoon. The passengers were provided with medical facilities, food, and water at various stations, including Malda Town and Sealdah, he added. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, West Bengal Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty, and Divisional Railway Manager of Sealdah Division Deepak Nigam were present at Sealdah station to help passengers reach home safely, Mitra said. Train 13174 Kanchanjunga .

Kanchanjunga crash: Howrah bound trains cancelled, diverted. Check list

Kanchanjunga crash updates: Several trains have been cancelled, diverted or scheduled on the route where the Kanchanjunga Express was derailed after being rammed by a goods train in Bengal on Monday

Yearly average of over 40 'consequential' train accidents since 2018-19

Longer-term trend shows decline in number of incidents