Page 18 - Railways

Rail ministry refutes mismanagement claims, warns against misleading videos

Ministry claims there is a malicious ongoing social media campaign aimed at damaging the reputation of the Indian Railways

No food, no water: Video shows ticketless travel chaos on Kashi Express

Passenger's video of overcrowded Kashi Express goes viral, showing lack of amenities and ticketless travellers, sparking a response from Railway Seva for action

Railways to operate highest ever summer train trips to manage travel surge

The Railway Ministry will operate 43 per cent more train trips this summer as compared to the last year to ensure that more passengers can travel to their desired destinations. To ensure the convenience of passengers and manage the anticipated surge in travel demand during summers, the Indian Railways is operating a record-breaking 9, 111 trips during the summer season, a press statement from the Railway Ministry said. This marks a substantial rise compared to the summer of 2023, where a total of 6,369 trips were offered. This translates to an increase of 2742 trips, demonstrating the Indian Railways' commitment to meeting passenger demands effectively, it added. According to the ministry, the additional trains have been meticulously planned to connect key destinations across the country, ensuring seamless travel on major railway routes. Out of these 9,111 train trips, the Western Railway will operate the highest number -- 1,878 -- followed by the North Western Railway with 1,623 .

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Tracking voter pulse, one station at a time

Each train carriage became a microcosm of democracy, echoing with the voices of passengers from all walks of life - and trains of thought

Over 20 mn travelled by Vande Bharat trains since launch in 2019: Railways

Vande Bharat trains, India's maiden semi-high speed rail service, have carried more than two crore passengers till March 31 this year since the first set of two trains was flagged off between Delhi and Varanasi on February 15, 2019, officials said Monday. The railways on Monday celebrated 171 years of existence as the first train ran on this day in 1853 between Mumbai and Thane. The officials said the railways' journey over the years has been stupendous as it successfully expanded its network to cover almost every nook and corner of the country and, today, Vande Bharat has become a new identity of a modernizing network. Starting from two trains on one route five years ago, today 102 Vande Bharat trains are offering their services on 100 routes covering 284 districts in 24 states and Union Territories, according to data shared by the railways. "The distance that the Vande Bharat trains covered in the financial year in 2023-24 is equivalent to taking 310 rounds of our planet Earth. .

Eastern Railway earned highest freight revenue of Rs 7,774 cr in FY24

The Eastern Railway has earned its best-ever freight revenue of Rs 7,774.62 crore in the financial year 2023-24, an increase of 19.47 per cent over the previous fiscal, an official said here on Monday. The Kolkata-headquartered zonal railway recorded a growth of 8.91 per cent in passenger revenue, earning Rs 3,573.31 crore in 2023-24, he said. It achieved a freight loading of 86.87 metric tonnes in 2023-24, which is nine per cent more than the previous fiscal. Eastern Railway received Rs 7,774.62 from freight revenue in 2023-24, recording a 19.47 per cent increase over the previous fiscal 2022-23, the official said. It also achieved a best-ever scrap sale revenue of Rs 479.98 crore in the just concluded financial year, he said, adding that this demonstrates effective resource management and revenue optimisation strategies by the zonal railway.

168 roads closed as fresh spell of snow, rains lash parts of Himachal

Higher reaches and tribal areas received fresh spell of snow while low and middle hills were lashed by intermittent hail and rains on Saturday as the local MeT office predicted wet spell in Himachal Pradesh till April 4. A Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus turned turtle near Maling in the Kinnaur district after skidding on Saturday morning in the snow but no casualty was reported, an official said. Traffic came to a halt at the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang near Manali following heavy snow. Kalpa and Kukumseri received 5 cm of snow followed by Keylong with 3 cm of snow in the past 24 hours. A total of 168 roads, including three National Highways, were closed for vehicular traffic in the state on Friday night as per the data of the state emergency operation centre. Most of these roads are in a difficult terrain in Lahaul and Spiti, where 159 roads are still to be opened. Intermittent rains accompanied by lightning and gusty winds were witnessed in the state's capital Shiml

India will become a product nation in PM Modi's next term: Vaishnaw

At Business Standard Manthan, Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Centre would create a policy framework for the Global Capability Centres

Indian Railways earned Rs 1,229 cr from cancelled waiting list tickets

Between 2021 and January 2024, more than 128 million waiting list tickets were cancelled

Reduce unnecessary paperwork of drivers during train ops: Railway Board

The Railway Board has asked all its zones to reduce paperwork of drivers and assistant drivers while they are operating trains so that they can focus more on safety aspects and signals. "Loco pilot and assistant loco pilot have to maintain a memo book and an engine log book. While the memo book is a personal diary in which they note down details such as arrival-departure of each station, speed restrictions at various points, guards' details and all other things which they feel like while operating the train," a senior railway official said. "The engine log book is an official record which they fill at the time of relieving from the shift. Here, they mention their shift timings and all other issues which come across during operating the train," the official said. Loco pilots say that they have to maintain these personal records so that if any dispute comes up later on regarding any issue they can refer to their personal notebook to support their version. "So many things happen durin

Centre plans to introduce 50 additional Amrit Bharat trains in 2024-25

ICF and RCF will manufacture 492 Amrit Bharat coaches each, while MCF will manufacture 246 coaches

Railways on track to record best-ever freight business, track laying: Govt

The Ministry of Railways on Friday said it is on track to register its best-ever performance in terms of freight loading, overall revenue collection and track laying in the financial year 2023-24. In a press statement, the ministry said, "As per the preliminary data, IR (Indian Railways) has crossed an originating freight loading of 1500 MT today on 15th March, 2024. Previously, IR had achieved the best ever freight loading of 1512 MT during FY 2022-23. "During FY 2023-24, total revenue of Indian Railways stands at Rs 2.40 lakh crore as on date. Last year on 15th March, total revenue was Rs 2.23 lakh crore, an increment of Rs 17,000 crore. Total expenditure of Indian Railways stands at Rs 2.26 lakh crore in FY 2023-24," it stated. According to the ministry, the number of passengers during FY 2023-24 stood at 648 crore, an increment of 52 crore compared to the figures of the same period of last year. Last year, the total number of passengers travelled was 596 crore, it said. So far

India set to become exporter of forged wheels used in railways: Vaishnaw

Sixty to seventy years after being an importer of forged wheels used in the railways, India is all set to become an exporter of the train component, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Thursday. The minister, who also holds the portfolio of Electronics and Information Technology, was here to inaugurate the Chennai Design Centre of US-based semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm, when he said that construction activities for setting up a plant to produce forged wheels for the railways has commenced in Tamil Nadu. The railways has entered into a joint venture with Ramakrishna Forgings Ltd to set up the manufacturing facility at Gummidipoondi near Chennai, at an outlay of Rs 650 crore in the first phase. "As you are aware, Vande Bharat trains have been very successful. The wheels that are used in Vande Bharat trains are of special quality. They undergo a special manufacturing process. The wheels that we use in the wagons undergo a casting process," he told ...

PM inaugurates Marathwada Rail Coach Factory, launches various projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dedicated to the nation the Marathwada Rail Coach Factory and launched various other railway projects in Maharashtra, officials said. As part of launch of the projects via video conference from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, he also inaugurated five Jan Aushadi Kendras (for affordable and quality generic medicines) at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Mumbai), Manmad (Nashik), Pimpri, Solapur and Nagbhir (Chandrapur). He also inaugurated four rail coach restaurants at Nashik Road, Akola, and Mumbai's Andheri and Borivali stations, the railway officials said. The PM inaugurated and dedicated to the nation 506 projects, including the Latur-based Marathwada Rail Coach Factory, a wagon repair workshop at Badnera and Vande Bharat chair car maintenance-cum-workshop depot in Pune, they said. The Marathwada Rail Coach Factory will ensure supply of the Vande Bharat Train sets (16 car formation) to the Indian Railways in co-ordination with its technology partners, t

Prime Minister Modi flags off 10 new Vande Bharat trains, extends 4 routes

There are now more than 50 Vande Bharat trains, covering 45 routes nationwide. Check new routes and extensions here

PM inaugurates, lays foundation stone of Rs 85,000 cr railway projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of Rs 85,000 crore railway projects, including the launch of 10 new Vande Bharat trains. The PM launched the projects from Sabarmati area of Ahmedabad in Gujarat after visiting the Dedicated Freight Corridor's (DFC) Operation Control Centre here. He laid the foundation stone of railway workshops, loco sheds, pit lines/ coaching depots, Phaltan-Baramati new line; electric traction system upgradation work and dedicated to the nation two new sections of the Dedicated Freight Corridor between New Khurja to Sahnewal (401 Rkm) section of the eastern DFC and New Makarpura to New Gholvad section (244 Rkm) of the western DFC; western DFC's Operation Control Centre (OCC), Ahmedabad. The PM flagged off 10 new Vande Bharat trains between Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam, Mysuru-Dr MGR Central (Chennai), Patna- Lucknow, New Jalpaiguri-Patna, Puri-Visakhapatnam, Lucknow-Dehradun, Kalaburagi-Sir M

PM Modi unveils infra projects worth Rs 4,500 cr in northern West Bengal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 4,500 crore in northern West Bengal on Saturday. The PM unveiled the projects at a programme in Siliguri, the region's largest city, during his third visit to the state this month. Governor CV Ananda Bose was among those present at the programme. Addressing the function, Modi said eastern India was ignored after Independence but his government considers it as the growth engine of the country. "Over the last 10 years, the development of Bengal, especially North Bengal, has been a priority for our government," he said. The PM inaugurated multiple projects of railway line electrification that will benefit the people of northern West Bengal and nearby areas, an official statement said. These railway lines are the Eklakhi-Balurghat section, Barsoi-Radhikapur section, Raninagar Jalpaiguri-Haldibari section, Siliguri-Aluabari section via Bagdogra, and the SiliguriSivokAlipurduar JunctionSamuktala section, it

Jupiter Wagons secures manufacturing order worth Rs 957 crore from Railways

Jupiter Wagons on Wednesday said it has secured an order of about Rs 957 crore from the Railways for the manufacture and supply of 2,237 wagons. The offer letter has been received from the Ministry of Railways, the wagon manufacturer said in an exchange filing. "Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) vide its letter dated March 6 has placed an offer to the company for manufacture and supply of 2,237 numbers of BOSM wagons for a contract value of Rs 956,87,67,500," the company said. West Bengal-based Jupiter Wagons manufactures all types of railway wagons and accessories. The company also manufactures containers, commercial vehicle load bodies and commercial electric vehicles. Jupiter Wagons shares dropped by 4.21 per cent to settle at Rs 361.90.

Railways' policies being framed keeping only rich in mind: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that policies for Indian Railways were being framed by the government keeping only the rich in mind, and claimed that trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a "guarantee of betrayal". In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi alleged that by showing the dream of making those wearing "hawai chappal" (slippers) travel by "hawai jahaz" (airplane), Prime Minister Modi is even distancing them from "gareebon ki sawari" (vehicle of the poor) railways. "Amidst a 10 per cent increase in fare every year, loot in the name of dynamic fare, rising cancellation charges and expensive platform tickets, people are being lured by showing them a picture of an 'elite train' that the poor cannot even set foot on," the former Congress chief said. The government has collected Rs 3,700 crore from senior citizens in the last three years by "snatching away" the exemptions given to them, he claimed. Common persons' trains are made to languish to give precedence to the .

Over 1,000 Amrit Bharat trains to be made in coming years: Vaishnaw

India will manufacture at least 1,000 new-generation Amrit Bharat trains in the coming years and the work to make trains that can run at a speed of 250 kmph was on, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. In an exclusive interview to PTI Videos, Vaishnaw also said the Railways has already started working on the export of Vande Bharat trains and the country should see the first export in the coming five years. While speaking on the transformational initiatives taken by the Railways in the last 10 years of the Narendra Modi government, he said the world's highest railway bridge -- Chenab bridge -- and the first under-river water tunnel for Kolkata metro are some of the significant technological advancements that happened in the rail sector. "The railways has a huge social obligation. We carry about 700 crore people every year. Two and a half crore practically every day. The fare structure is such that if the cost of carrying a person is Rs 100, we charge Rs 45. So we give