Page 25 - Railways

Local EMU train coach derails in Delhi Bhairon Marg, no injuries: Official

A coach of a local EMU train derailed in central Delhi on Sunday, officials said. A senior police officer said the electric multiple unit (EMU) train coach derailed near Bhairon Marg. "No injury has been reported. No public person was present at the spot. Railway staff members have arrived for repairs," the officer said.

Northeast Frontier Railway bags S Asia Award for 'Micro Project of Year'

The Northeast Frontier Railway on Saturday bagged the PMI South Asia Award for its 'Micro Project of the Year' that is, 'Intrusion Detection System' for saving elephant lives. The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) helps to detect elephants approaching the railway tracks and an alert is sent to the local pilot, station master, also station manager so the accident can be prevented.This marks the first-ever victory for a zonal railway under the Ministry of Railways since the inception of the award in 2009. This year, the NF Railway defeated BEL (Bharat Electronics) to bag this award.Last year, the micro category award was bagged by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Organisations like Bosch, IBM, L & T, Tata, SBI, Reliance, IOCL, BPCL, EIL, etc, participate in this prestigious annual award every year.Sabyasachi De, CPRO of NF Railway said, "For the 2023 awards, PMI South Asia took entry from organisations for projects completed by 31st March 2023. It has four gruelling

G20 meet in Delhi to affect services of over 300 intercity, express trains

The Northern Railway has released a list of more than 300 trains whose services will be impacted due to the G20 Summit to be held in Delhi on September 9 and 10. Keeping in view the advisory issued for security arrangements, these trains have been either cancelled or diverted to other routes or stations temporarily between Sep 8 and 11, an official statement said. According to the Northern Railway, services of 207 trains have been terminated, terminals of 15 trains changed and routes of six trains diverted. Besides, 70 trains, including Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani, Tejas Rajdhani Hazrat Nizamuddin, Varanasi-New Delhi Tejas Rajdhani among others, have been given additional stoppage stations to minimise passenger discomfort, it said. The origin and termination stations of 36 trains have also been changed and three trains will not stop at Delhi's Kishan Ganj during the summit, it said. "People who have planned their travel during these days are advised to check the train timings an

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 achieve freight loading of 634.66 MT between Apr 1 and Aug 31

In the same period, Cement loading is 63.29 MT over 59.44 MT achieved in the corresponding period of last year, which shows growth of 6.48 per cent, Northern Railways said

Balasore tragedy: 3 Railway officials charged with culpable homicide

The CBI on Saturday filed a charge sheet against three arrested Railways officials for alleged culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence in connection with the June 2 Balasore train accident case, officials said. The CBI had arrested the three -- senior section engineer (Signals) Arun Kumar Mahanta, section engineer Amir Khand and technician Pappu Kumar, all posted in Balasore district -- on July 7 in connection with its probe in the accident involving three trains which left 296 people dead and over 1,200 injured. The accident took place on June 2 when the Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary freight train at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district, and some of its derailed coaches fell onto the adjacent tracks and collided with the oncoming Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express. In its charge sheet filed before Special CBI court in Bhubaneswar, the CBI has charged the accused under Indian Penal Code Section 304 part II (culpable homicide not amounting

Railway's freight business up as it faces rising costs and competition

The transport network needs reforms and upgrades to compete in logistics

Escorts Kubota mulls sale of railway equipment unit to focus on tractors

Its railway equipment business makes brake systems, couplers, suspension systems, friction and rubber products. It accounted for 10% of Escorts Kubota's revenue in fiscal 2023, but clocked 32% YoY

NE will have its 1st international cross-border connectivity soon: Railways

Sabyasachi De said that for the overall development of railway infrastructure in the Northeastern region, for the first time, an amount of Rs. 1.20 lakh crore has been earmarked

Balasore tragedy: Level crossing repair done without approval, says CBI

Repair work at a level crossing near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha's Balasore where the June 2 train crash took place was allegedly conducted without the approval of senior divisional signal and telecom engineer and without an approved circuit diagram. The CBI made the submission before a special court in Bhubaneswar alleging that one of the reasons behind the accident was the repair work at level crossing (LC) gate number 94 near Bahanaga Bazar station done by Senior Section Engineer (Signal In-charge) Arun Kumar Mahanta using the circuit diagram of another LC gate no. 79, officials said on Thursday. The allegations were refuted by Mahanta claiming that LC gate no. 94 at KM 255/11-13 had not been working properly, but the higher officials did not take "active action" for the same. He had said that the supervision work in question was entrusted to some other persons, hence he was not responsible for the accident. The CBI had arrested Mahanta and two other railway officia

Railway calls for speedy disposal of transfer requests on spouse ground

The Railway Board has directed the zonal railways to expeditiously dispose of pending requests of employees for transfer to the station or place of posting of their respective spouses. The communication to the principal chief personnel officers of 15 zones on August 17 came after the board received a number of representations from railway employees and their associations about delays or denial on their spouse ground transfer requests despite having a laid down policy. "It is requested that all such pending requests may be examined and disposed of in terms of laid down policy, the letter stated, adding that the respective zones should apprise the board a summary of all pending and cleared requests along with reasons for the delay. The board is of the view that after the digitisation process of Human Resource Management System (HRMS), such requests should not be pending for long. On August 20 last year, the board issued a similar direction asking for "information pertaining to dispos

Mizoram incident due to collapse of gantry launched on bridge: Railways

The bridge sagging incident in Mizoram which has claimed 17 lives was due to the collapse of a gantry which was being launched on the under-construction bridge over Kurung river, the Railways said Wednesday. The Railways has constituted a high-level committee to probe the incident involving the under-construction bridge, one of the 130 bridges in the Bhairavi-Sairang New Railway Line project. A Railways spokesperson said the gantry which collapsed was designed by STUP Consultant and proof checked by IIT Guwahati. "High level enquiry committee has been constituted to investigate into the matter," the spokesperson said. Gantries are heavy steel structures used to lift and support bridge segments or girders as they are placed while being supported by the bridge piers instead of the ground. "The bridge did not collapse. It was a gantry which fell while it was being launched on the under-construction bridge," the spokesperson told PTI. While Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga referred

TATA AutoComp signs pact with Skoda group to make transportation components

TATA AutoComp Systems on Wednesday said it has signed an initial pact with Skoda Group for a strategic partnership to jointly produce components for the railways, metro and bus segments. The company in a statement said it has significant play in providing systems and components for electric vehicles and the association with Skoda Group will further strengthen its presence by bringing the latest electrical equipment and components for the three segments. Tata AutoComp is into manufacturing of multiple components, systems and aggregates for passenger and commercial vehicles, two and three-wheelers as well as for farm and off-road equipment, among others. It provides these products and services to domestic and global automotive OEMs as well as Tier 1 suppliers. The agreement with Skoda Group sets the framework for a strategic joint venture aimed at producing components for the growing Indian railway and public mobility market, Tata AutoComp said in a statement. "This association with

1,300 railway stations being modernised under Amrit Bharat scheme: Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said 1,300 railway stations, including Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, are being redeveloped and modernised under the 'Amrit Bharat Station Scheme'. He was speaking to reporters after taking stock of the construction work at Gwalior station. A total of 1,300 railway stations are being redeveloped and modernised, and as part of this, Rs 500 crore are being invested in Gwalior station. The work of converting the narrow gauge line into broad gauge is going on at a brisk pace, the Railway Minister said. The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) will soon inspect the broad gauging work between Gwalior and Sumavali, he said. The work at Gwalior station has been undertaken to keep in mind the rich heritage of the place, he said. Two more platforms will be added to the railway station. It will come up with beautiful designs and modern amenities, Vaishnaw said. He assured that the heritage preservation aspect will be taken care of during the gauge conve

NHPC signs pact with RITES to construct railway siding for 2,880 MW Dibang

State-owned hydro power giant NHPC has inked an initial pact with RITES to construct railway siding for a 2,880 MW Dibang multipurpose project in Arunachal Pradesh. "NHPC signed an MoU with RITES for Construction of Railway Siding at Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh) for NHPC's 2,880 MW Dibang Multi Purpose Project at NHPC Corporate Office on 21st August 2023," a company statement said. According to the statement, the agreement was signed by General Manager (Civil) Dibang and Executive Director, RITES, in the presence of Biswajit Basu, Director (Projects) NHPC at corporate office of NHPC. NHPC's total installed capacity is 7,097.2 MW of renewable power (including wind and solar) through its 25 power stations, including 1,520 MW through its subsidiary. RITES Ltd is a leading player in the transport consultancy and engineering sector in India, having diversified services across sectors and geographical reach. The strategic partnership between NHPC and RITES complements the expertise of b

Most corruption complaints against railways, bank officials in 2022: CVC

The highest number of corruption complaints last year were against employees of the Union home ministry, followed by those working for the railways and in banks, according to the Central Vigilance Commission's latest annual report. In total, 1,15,203 such complaints were received for all categories of officers and employees across central government departments and organisations in 2022, it stated. Of these, according to the report, 85,437 were disposed of and 29,766 were pending -- 22,034 for more than three months. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has prescribed a time-limit of three months for chief vigilance officers, who act as a distant arm of the probity watchdog, to examine complaints, an official said. While the home ministry received 46,643 complaints against its employees last year, 10,580 were received by the railways and 8,129 by banks, according to the report. Out of the total complaints against home ministry employees, 23,919 were disposed of and 22,724 were ..

Fire breaks out in 2 coaches of Udyan Express in Bengaluru, no casualties

A fire broke out in the two air-conditioned coaches of the stationary Udyan Express at the Bengaluru City Railway Station on Saturday morning. However, there were no casualties as no passengers were inside the bogies. According to Railway officials, the train had arrived from Mumbai at 5.45 am and was stationed at platform three of the Bengaluru City Railway Station. "At 07.10 am smoke in B1 and B2 coaches was noticed. Immediately a message was given to the fire brigade. Fire brigade arrived by 7.35 am and extinguished the fire," the Chief Public Relation Officer of South Western Railway Anish Hegde said in a statement. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation. Other sources said fire-fighters broke the window of the coach to extinguish the fire.

Off-track finances

Indian Railways needs better financial control

Union cabinet approves rail expansion projects worth Rs 32,000 crore

Important freight corridor stretch to be built as regular railway track

Cabinet approves funding for railways, e-buses, digital India | Key points

Union Minister Anurag Thakur said Rs 57,613 crores will be spent on PM-eBus Sewa, and the Centre will provide Rs 20,000 crore for the scheme