Page 25 - Railways

CCTV cameras, emergency door-opening mechanism: RAPIDX trains features

CCTV cameras, an emergency door-opening mechanism and a button to communicate with a train operator are among the safety features in trains that will ply on the soon-to-open Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor. A media preview of the RAPIDX trains was held on Wednesday ahead of the inauguration of the 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor. The under-construction Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor, being built for a semi-high-speed regional rail service named 'RAPIDX' by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), is a joint venture company of the Centre with the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. These trains are equipped with several safety features besides passenger amenities such as overhead luggage racks, Wi-Fi, and a mobile and laptop charging outlet at every seat. Every coach has about six CCTV cameras, a senior official said, adding, the safety of passengers is a priority on this corridor. Oth

Passenger opens fire inside Sealdah-Rajdhani Express in Jharkhand, arrested

A 41-year-old man allegedly opened fire inside the Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express over an argument with a coach attendant for a seat, a railway official said on Friday. There was no report of any casualty in the incident. The accused, a retired Army personnel, has been arrested following the act that took place around 9.45 pm on Thursday inside the B-7 coach between Dhanbad and Gomoh stations under the Dhanbad division of East Central Railway (ECR), he said. The man, identified as Harvinder Singh, is being interrogated. Prima facie, it appears that he was in an inebriated state when he opened fire, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Dhanbad rail division), Amresh Kumar, told PTI. Singh had a ticket for the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, but he boarded the Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express on Thursday evening at Dhanbad railway station by mistake, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said. After he boarded the train, Singh had an altercation with the coach attendan

Four killed and 30 injured in train crash in Bihar, says Railways

Second major rail accident in 4 months, Commissioner of Railway Safety to conduct probe

Bihar train crash: Fault in tracks likely cause, suggests initial report

Citing a preliminary investigation report, news agency PTI reported that fault in tracks was the possible cause of derailment of the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express

Railway Board examining demand for giving one-time option to women

The Railway Board is examining the demand for giving a one-time option to women drivers and track maintainers to change their job category, and has asked its zones to share the numbers of such employees and pending applications. The board, in a communication to all railway zones on October 4, said the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) had requested for giving women track maintainers and running staff a one-time option to change their job category. "The matter is under examination in board's office and in this regards all zonal railways are requested to provide the number of female track maintainers and ALPs...and the number of requests pending as on date from female track maintainers or female running staff or female staff working in other categories for change of their assigned categories," the board's communication, accessed by PTI, read. Assistant train drivers are also known as assistant loco pilots (ALPs). Women track maintainers and ALPs seek to change their job

Agile policy helped increase freight earnings by Rs 2,706 cr: Railways

The Indian Railways achieved freight loading of 758.2 MT between April and September as against the 736.68 MT recorded in the corresponding period last year, which is an improvement of 21.52 MT. "Railways have earned Rs 81,697 crore against Rs 78,991 crore over the last year, which is an improvement of approximately Rs 2,706 crore as compared to the same period of the last year," the railway ministry said in a statement. "During the month of September 2023, originating freight loading of 123.53 MT has been achieved against loading of 115.8 MT in September 2022, which is an improvement of approximately 6.67 per cent over the last year," it added. The increase in freight loading has translated into an increase in the railways' revenue as it achieved freight revenue of Rs 12,956.95 crore in September 2023 as against the Rs 12,332.7 crore freight earnings in September 2022, thereby showing an improvement of about 5.06 per cent. "Indian Railways achieved loading of 59.7 MT in coal, 14.2

Railways moving towards 100% electrification in few months: PM Modi

The Indian Railways is moving forward with the aim of 100 per cent electrification of all rail lines in the next few months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Tuesday. He was speaking after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 8,000 crore at Nizamabad in Telangana. "Indian Railways is moving forward with the aim of 100 per cent electrification of all rail lines in the next few months," Modi said. Among others, Modi inaugurated the first 800 MW unit of phase 1 of the Telangana Super Thermal Power Project of the NTPC. "Today in Peddapalli district, NTPC's super thermal power plant's first unit was dedicated to the nation. Very soon its second unit will also be operational. After the first and second phases are completed, the plant's installed capacity becomes 4.000 MW," Modi said. "I am happy to note that this plant is the most modern plant of NTPC in the whole country," Modi further said. Telangana will be immense

PM Gatishakti: 3 upcoming airports on fast track to get rail connectivity

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw have been coordinating in recent months on these projects

Udaipur-Jaipur Vande Bharat Express stopped after noticing ballast on track

According to Captain Shashi Kiran CPRO-North Western Railway, the stoppage was due to the placing of some ballast on the track and of two rods, of one foot each, in the joggle plate of the track

Over 214,000 participated in 1st 14 days of cleanliness drive: Railways

The Indian Railways on Friday said more than 2.14 lakh people participated in 1,934 activities with man hours of 6,62,990 in the first 14 days of the "Swachhata Hi Sewa" (SHS) cleanliness drive. The fortnight-long campaign was launched on September 15 by the chairperson and CEO of the Railway Board, who administered a cleanliness pledge to all the railway employees at the Rail Bhawan here. The participants in the campaign are railway employees, passengers and other stakeholders. The campaign aims at fostering a much greener and more eco-friendly railway system. "Indian Railways, with its extensive nationwide network, plays a vital role in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," the railway ministry said in a statement. This year, the railway ministry has become a part of the joint SHS campaign launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Jal Shakti. "Activities of SHS are integrated with day-to-day activities of Swachhata Pakhwada. The theme for Swachhata Hi Sewa camp

150,000 dedicate 500,000 hours in 9 days for 'Swachhata Hi Seva': Railways

More than 1.5 lakh individuals participated in the first nine days of the 'Swachhata Hi Seva' campaign, dedicating about five lakh man-hours to the exercise since it was launched on September 15, the railway ministry said on Tuesday. The railways runs a cleanliness campaign from September 15 to 30 every year for a cleaner and more sanitised railway system. This year there is a special emphasis on the cleanliness of railway tracks at stations, approaches to major stations, and the elimination of plastic waste from railway premises. "It is a multifaceted approach to ensure that every nook and cranny of the railway network adheres to the principles of cleanliness and sustainability," the ministry said. According to the ministry, the encouraging numbers of people's participation reflects the deep-rooted sense of responsibility and ownership that the citizens have taken towards making the railways cleaner and more hygienic.

Railways union demands productivity bonus on basis of 7th pay commission

Indian Railway Employees Federation (IREF) has written to the railways demanding an enhancement in the productivity-linked bonus (PLB) that the workers get every year ahead of the festive season. The railways pay PLB, which is equivalent to 78 days' wages, to all non-gazetted employees (Group C and Group D) as an incentive to increase productivity and ensure safety. The PLB is calculated on the basis of the minimum salary paid to the lowest grade (Group D) employees. The IREF has argued that though the railways implemented the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission on January 1, 2016, yet the PLB has still been calculated and paid based on the minimum salary fixed by the 6th Pay Commission. The minimum salary paid to Group D employees in the 6th Pay Commission was only Rs 7000 while it was enhanced to Rs 18,000 in the 7th Pay Commission. According to the Federation, all employees of Group C and Group D get only Rs 17,951 which is calculated on the basis of Rs 7000 as the minimum

North Western Railway aims to be Kavach ready in next two years: Official

North Western Railway plans to implement the Kavach anti-collision system in the zone, spread across Rajasthan and Haryana, within the next two years, a senior railway official said on Monday. The North Western Railway operates three Vande Bharat Express trains which are equipped with Kavach, the indigenously developed train protection system, the official said. However, the anti-collision device cannot be used in the railway zone as the system has not been implemented in this part of the country yet. "We have awarded tenders worth Rs 426 crore for Kavach to be rolled out on 1,600 km across the zone," the official said, adding that the LTE survey to ascertain the availability of 4G and 5G networks along the route is underway. Vande Bharat Express are indigenously developed semi-high speed trains that can attain a maximum speed of 160 kmph. Last month, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Parliament that Kavach has been deployed on 1,465 route km on the South Central Railway. H

9 new Vande Bharat trains launched by PM Modi: Details of routes, timings

While inaugurating the nine Vande Bharat trains, PM Modi said that the new trains will significantly improve connectivity as well as boost tourism across India

Vande Bharat Express ticket prices should be reduced: JMM MP Maji

"If this Vande Bharat train is for the people and we want them to travel by Vande Bharat, it is necessary that the fare prices should be reduced," Mahua Maji said

Railways witnessed unprecedented transformation under PM Modi: JP Nadda

JP Nadda further stated that developments in railways will lead to a new era of connectivity and help make progress in the realisation of a developed India

IRFC posts Rs 6,337 crore profit in FY23, total revenue at Rs 23,891 cr

The Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC) posted a net profit of Rs 6,337.01 crore for the fiscal year 2023, an increase of over four per cent over last year, a company statement said on Friday. Addressing the Annual General Meeting, Shelly Verma, Chairman and Managing Director of IRFC, said the company reported a total revenue from operations amounting to Rs 23,891.28 crore, a 17.70 per cent year-on-year increase over the last fiscal year. The company has declared a total dividend of Rs 1,960.28 crore which works out to 30.93 per cent of profit after tax for FY 2022-23, she added. Verma said IRFC disbursed an amount of Rs 32,392.63 crore in FY23 to the Indian Railways. The asset under management for FY23 stands at Rs 4,66,938 crore, registering a year-on-year growth of 8.63 per cent. The capital adequacy ratio of IRFC continues to remain strong at 512.02 per cent in FY23, she added.

Railways earned over Rs 2,800 cr from revised child travel norms in 7 yrs

Indian Railways has earned an additional revenue of more than Rs 2,800 crore from child travellers in the last seven years by revising child travel fare norms, an RTI response has found. The response from the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act further indicates that the financial year of 2022-23 alone earned Rs 560 crore due to the amended norms making it the most profitable year. CRIS, an organisation under the Ministry of Railways, provides IT solutions in core areas such as ticketing and passengers, freight services, train traffic control and operations, among others. On March 31, 2016, the ministry announced that the railways would charge full adult fare for children of age 5 years and under 12 years if they opted for separate berths or seats in a reserved coach. The revised norm was made applicable from April 21, 2016. Earlier, the railways used to offer separate berths to children between 5 and 12 years while charging only h

Child travel norms: Railways earned over Rs 2,800 cr more in 7 years

Indian Railways has earned an additional revenue of more than Rs 2,800 crore from child travellers in the last seven years by revising child travel fare norms, an RTI response has found. The response from the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act further indicates that the financial year of 2022-23 alone earned Rs 560 crore due to the amended norms making it the most profitable year. CRIS, an organization under the Ministry of Railways, provides IT solutions in core areas such as ticketing and passengers, freight services, train traffic control and operations, among others. On March 31, 2016, the ministry announced that the railways would charge full adult fare for children of age 5 years and under 12 years if they opted for separate berths or seats in a reserved coach. The revised norm was made applicable from April 21, 2016. Earlier, the railways used to offer separate berths to children between 5 and 12 years while charging only h

Improve trains' punctuality during Parl session: Railway Board to all zones

The Railway Board has sent an email to all its zones asking them to monitor and improve the punctuality of all mail/express trains" in view of the five-day Parliament session starting from Monday. An email from the principal executive director (coaching), Railway Board to general managers and other senior officers engaged in the safe rail operations has stressed the need to address all issues that impact the punctuality of trains. According to sources in the Railways, the Board has issued this advisory as several members of Parliament (MPs) travel by train and they have to attend the special session from September 18 to September 22. Asset failures to be monitored and speedy rectification of asset failures to be ensured to minimize the impact on punctuality. Trains to be run at the maximum permissible speed to make up the lost time due to failures and other causes, the email said. It added, Excess engineering speed restriction affecting punctuality to be attended immediately and ..