Page 21 - Railways

PM Modi virtually flags off second Vande Bharat train in J-K's Katra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday virtually flagged off the second Vande Bharat train between Jammu and Kashmir's Katra and New Delhi, with LG Manoj Sinha expressing hopes of a railway link between Kashmir and Kanyakumari early next year. Union minister Jitendra Singh, who attended the ceremony in Katra, congratulated the people of the Union territory on the New Year's gift of a second Vande Bharat train and said this was possible because of Modi's commitment to work for the overall development of the region. "In the coming months, the Kashmir-Kanyakumari railway link will be dedicated to the people by the prime minister. Not only the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but the entire country is also waiting for the completion of this historic project," J-K Lieutenant Governor Sinha said. He was addressing the function at the Katra railway station before the flagging-off of the Vande Bharat train by the prime minister. The under-construction 111-km Katra-Banihal section of the ...

Govt issues draft rules to make railways accessible for differently abled

The government has released draft guidelines on accessibility of railway stations, facilities there and in trains for people with disabilities, highlighting the need for integrating technology-enabled features such as text-to-speech and user-friendly pictograms. The Department of the People with Disabilities (PwDs) has asked stakeholders and the public to give their comments, objections and suggestions by January 29 on the proposed guidelines to create a more user-friendly environment. The proposed guidelines also highlight the need for dedicated website features catering to "divyangjans", ensuring a flexible and accessible interface design. These features will follow universal design principles and World Wide Web Consortium guidelines, integrating technology-enabled accessibility features such as text-to-speech and user-friendly pictograms, the draft guidelines state. The draft includes the development of a dedicated mobile app and a one-click template for people with disabilities

People shower flowers as PM takes lap of honour on way to Ayodhya station

PM Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the redeveloped railway station and Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya Dham Airport

PM to virtually flag off Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat service from Ayodhya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the inaugural run of the Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express through video link on Saturday, the Central Railway has said. The CR said in a release on Friday that the PM will virtually flag off the 8-coach service while addressing a function at the redeveloped Ayodhya Dham railway station in Uttar Pradesh. He will also flag off two Amrit Bharat and five other Vande Bharat services between different cities. In its inaugural run, the 02705 Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat train will tentatively depart from the city in the Marathwada region at 11am and will arrive in the metropolis at 6:45pm. As per the release, the train will halt at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, at 11:55 am, Manmad Junction at 1:44 pm, Nasik Road at 2:44 pm, Kalyan Junction at 5.06 pm, Thane at 5.28 pm and Dadar at 5.50 pm before proceeding to CSMT in Mumbai. In its regular run from January 1, the train will leave CSMT at 1:10pm and reach Jalna at 8:30pm, while fro

Two schoolgirls run over by train in Indore, railway minister orders probe

Two Class X girls have died after being run over by a train that was being operated as part of tests on a newly laid track in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, prompting Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to order an inquiry, an official said. Babli Masare and Radhika Bhaskar, both 17 years of age, died in Kailod Hala area on Thursday evening when a newly constructed track was being tested by running a train, an official release said. The girls were run over while crossing the tracks on their way home after tuition. This was the first time a train had passed on the route. Later, MP minister and local MLA Tulsiram Silawat informed Vaishnaw about the accident, following which the latter directed the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ratlam to conduct an inquiry, the release said. DRM Rajnish Kumar told PTI a detailed inquiry will be conducted by the Railway Protection Force (RPF). After the doubling of tracks, people were being warned through different means for the last two days about the .

PM Modi to soon flag off Amrit Bharat train with Push-Pull tech: Vaishnaw

Vaishnaw highlighted the innovative push-pull technology, which he claims significantlyincrease the speed of the trains as well as passenger comfort

RailTel to implement integrated communication system in NFR's new line

PSU RailTel has been tasked with implementing an integrated tunnel communication system along the new single line Bhairabi-Sairang section of the Lumding division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), an official statement said on Saturday. The public sector undertaking will also undertake emergency call arrangements in tunnels and integrated passenger information systems at railway stations along the section. The total project will cost Rs 66.83 crore and will cover 32 tunnels with a total length of about 12,643 metres (12.6 km), it said. The Bhairabi-Sairang line in Mizoram is one of the toughest sections where problems of road approach, non-availability of materials, higher cost of transportation and tough terrain make it a very challenging work to execute, the statement said. The project also includes provision of supply and installation of IT data networking infrastructure, PA and emergency/SOS call points system and IP-based CCTV surveillance system. This state-of-the-art

Indian Railways sets target to become net-zero carbon emitter by 2030

The Indian Railways has set a target of becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030 and is committed to taking steps for energy conservation, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday. Talking about the initiatives taken to achieve the target, Vaishnaw said, "Broad gauge networks of 60,814 kilometres have been electrified up to November 2023. Of these, 39,013 kilometres have been electrified during the period from April 2014 to November 2023 against 5,188 kilometres during 2004-14." He presented zone-wise details of the electrified network, according to which the Northern Railway -- at 6,799 route kilometres -- has achieved the highest electrification. Vaishnaw was responding to questions from MPs Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Chandra Sekhar Sahu and Pritam Gopinath Munde, who wanted to know whether the Indian Railways was working towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 to become the world's largest "green" railway. They also wanted

Budgetary allocation to road ministry jumps to Rs 2.7 trillion in 2023-24

The average annual budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has increased by 940% from Rs 25,872 crore per year during 2009-14 to Rs 2.7 trillion during 2023-24

Rlys sticks to white-blue colour for second Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat

The second Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat train, which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, is of the same white and blue colours as the first one. A day before, the Northern Railway (NR) had circulated brochures to journalists in which the train was shown in saffron and grey. "We have plans to convert the present white-blue Vande Bharat into saffron-grey colour in the future because they are in the process of manufacturing at coach factories," a senior NR official told PTI. "Keeping in mind the future scenario, we put a saffron-grey coloured Vande Bharat on our brochures," the official said. Highlighting the train's on-board features, the NR in a statement said, "The train has superior passenger amenities such as on-board WiFi infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, plush interiors, bio-vacuum toilets with touch free conveniences." It also has "diffused LED lighting, charging points beneath every seat, individual touch-based reading lights and

800 train passengers stranded in Tamil Nadu due to floods, rescue op on

Due to floods, approximately 800 train passengers were stranded at Srivaikuntam in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, an official said on Monday. The passengers of a Chennai bound express train from the temple town of Tiruchendur were stranded for nearly 20 hours at Srivaikuntam, which is in the worst flood-hit region. An official said 'all efforts are on to rescue them' and NDRF authorities have also been alerted. The Tiruchendur-Chennai Egmore Express (Train No 20606) departed from Tiruchendur to Chennai at 20.25 hours on December 17. The train was, however, stopped at Srivaikuntam railway station, about 32 km away from Tiruchendur due to heavy rain and flood situation, a railway official said here. In total, 800 passengers are stranded and of them, approximately 500 are in the Srivaikuntam railway station and about 300 are in a nearby school, he added. The passengers could not, however, venture outside as the entire area was heavily inundated. Southern Railway announced traff

Varanasi-Delhi Vande Bharat Express: Check features, schedule and more

PM Modi will inaugurate the second Vande Bharat Express train on Friday, which will run between New Delhi and Varanasi, beginning on December 20

Railways spent Rs 1 trillion on renewing safety assets: Ashwini Vaishnaw

RRSK was introduced in 2017-18 for the upgradation of critical safety assets with a corpus of Rs 1 trillion for five years

515 injured in Beijing rail collision as heavy snow hits Chinese capital

Two subway trains collided in heavy snow in Beijing, sending 515 people to the hospital, including 102 with broken bones, authorities said Friday. The accident occurred Thursday evening in Beijing's mountainous west on an above-ground portion of the sprawling subway system's Changping line. Slippery tracks prompted automatic braking on the leading train. A train following from behind was on a descending section and went into a skid and was unable to brake in time, the city transport authority said in a statement Friday on its social media account. Emergency medical personnel, police and transport authorities responded, and all passengers were evacuated by about 11 p.m., it said. Twenty-five passengers were under observation and 67 remained hospitalized on Friday morning, the authority said. Unusually heavy snow that began falling on Wednesday has prompted the suspension of some train operations and school closures. Alerts remain in place for icy roads, extreme cold and further ...

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

Tracking system RTIS covers 8,700 train engines at present: Vaishnaw

About 8,700 locomotives have Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) that helps in tracking the location and speed of trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday. The minister's statement suggests that over 60 per cent of train engines are covered with RTIS since railway sources say there are over 14,000 locomotives in operation in the country. According to the Indian Railways Year Book 2021-22, there were a total 13,215 locomotives by March 31, 2022. This number was 12,734 in 2020-21. Vaishnaw made the statement while answering questions raised by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal regarding the RTIS project. Jaiswal wanted to know if the Railways has signed any agreement with ISRO for a train tracking system in the country" and the number of locomotives identified to be fitted with the said technology and the number of new locomotives being manufactured with the in-built tracking devices. In response, Vaishnaw stated that presently, the

Rajeev Prakash appointed as govt nominee director of BEML's board

State-owned BEML on Tuesday said Rajeev Prakash has been appointed as the Government Nominee Director on its board. Prakash will replace Surendra Prasad Yadav, the company said in a filing. "The President of India has appointed Rajeev Prakash as Government Nominee Director (Part Time Official Director) on the Board of Directors of the company in place of Surendra Prasad Yadav," the filing said. Prakash is a 1995 batch, Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service officer. He has experience in the field of telecommunications and held various important positions at the Centre. He has been working as Joint Secretary (Naval Systems) in the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, since June last year. Prakash is not related to the directors of the company. Shares of BEML settled 2.09 per cent higher at Rs 2,500.75 apiece on the BSE.

Derailed wagons of goods train removed from accident spot near Mumbai

A day after seven wagons of a goods train derailed between Kasara and TGR-3 station near Mumbai on the Central Railway network, the derailed wagons were removed from the accident site, officials said on Monday. Restoration work on the route was underway, Central Railway's chief public relations officer Dr Shivraj Manaspure said. The seven loaded wagons of the goods train derailed between Kasara, nearly 125 km from Mumbai, and TGR-3 station at around 6.30 pm on Sunday, leaving mail express traffic on the Kasara-Igatpuri section on the Down line and middle line affected. "All the derailed wagons have been removed from the accident spot. The movement of remaining wagons back to Kasara yard is going on," Manaspure said. The Down (Igatpuri-bound) main line overhead equipment restoration work was near completion, he said. Some Down mail express trains, which were earlier diverted, are now restored on their proper scheduled path. "They will run on their regular scheduled path, without a

Anti-collision system Kavach deployed on 1,465 route km, 139 locomotives

The sections include Lingamapalli - Vikarabad - Wadi and Vikarabad - Bidar section (265 Rkm), Manmad-Mudkhed-Dhone-Guntkal section (959Rkm) and Bidar-Parbhani section (241Rkm)

Kavach has been deployed in three sections in South Central Zone: Vaishnaw

Kavach, an indigenously developed automatic train protection system, has been deployed in three sections in South Central Railway zone along with 139 locomotives, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Vaishnaw responded to questions raised by two Congress MPs from Kerala - Benny Behanan and Kumbakudi Sudhakaran - on the total number of sections and length under various railway zones that are covered by Kavach. "Kavach has so far been deployed on 1,465 route km and 139 locomotives (including Electric Multiple Unit rakes) on South Central Railway...," Vaishnaw said in a written response. These sections are Lingamapalli-Vikarabad-Wadi and Vikarabad-Bidar section (265 Rkm); Manmad-Mudkhed-Dhone-Guntkal section (959 Rkm) and Bidar-Parbhani section (241Rkm). Vaishnaw said that Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protection system which is highly technology intensive and requires safety certification of highest order. "Kavach aids the loco