Page 29 - Railways

Critical industrial capacity woes in Kavach rollout: Railway Chairman

Industry needs to step up for faster execution of anti-collision system, says Lahoti

Railways withdraw statement on mental condition of accused RPF constable

The Railways on Wednesday said in a statement that no mental ailment was detected in the last periodic medical examination of the RPF constable accused in the Jaipur-Mumbai train shooting incident but withdrew it within hours. Railway Protection Force (RPF) Constable Chetan Singh (33) is accused of gunning down his senior colleague Tika Ram Meena and three passengers aboard the moving train near Palghar railway station on the outskirts of Mumbai in the early hours of Monday with his automatic weapon, officials had said. He was nabbed later. Following media reports claiming that the constable suffered from "abnormal hallucinations" and was diagnosed with serious anxiety disorder, the Ministry of Railways in a statement said that the matter is being investigated by the Government Railway Police (GRP), Borivali. "In this regard, it is stated that there is system of Periodical Medical Examination (PME) of Railway Protection Force constables, and in the last PME, no such medical ailment/

Railway Board forms high-level panel to probe train firing that left 4 dead

The Railway Board has set up a high-level committee to conduct a "comprehensive inquiry" into the firing on board a Mumbai-bound train in which a Railway Protection Force Assistant Sub-Inspector and three passengers were shot dead allegedly by an RPF constable near here on Monday, an official said. The senior Railway official said the committee, headed by Additional Director General (ADG) of the RPF, has five members and it has been asked to submit a report to the board in three weeks. The official, who did not wish to be named, said committee members are likely to land in Mumbai on late Monday night or Tuesday to probe the incident. On early Monday morning, an RPF constable shot dead his senior and three passengers in two bogies and a pantry car on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra, officials said. Constable Chetan Singh (34) killed RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with his ...

Railway Board accords FLS approval for 140-km-long Zubza-Imphal project

The Railway Board has accorded its approval for the final location survey (FLS) of the 140-km-long new railway line project between Zubza in Nagaland and Manipur's capital Imphal. The Zubza-Imphal project will provide direct connectivity between the two northeastern states, resulting in better railway traffic mobility, a North East Frontier Railway (NFR) release said on Friday. The direct connectivity will reduce time of travel and cost and distance of transportation of materials, giving a major socio-economic boost to the region. Infrastructural development such as new stations, road connectivity and goods yards will lead to overall economic growth of the nearby districts, the release stated. Goods movement will become seamless leading to major cost reduction for existing businesses using freight services, it said. Work for the Dimapur-Kohima new railway line project from Dhansiri station of Assam to Zubza adjacent to Kohima is also in progress. Also, work on the Jiribam-Imphal

Railways to start new non-AC permanent trains for lower income groups

These trains will have both general and sleeper classes and will be included in the regular time table, said an official

Railways to offer affordable meals to general coach passengers at Rs. 20

The railways has decided to offer affordable meals and packaged water designed specially for general coach passengers to make their travel experience better, officials said on Wednesday. Counters serving these meals would be placed on platforms aligning with the general coaches, according to an order issued by the Railway Board. The meals have been divided into two categories. The type one includes seven 'pooris' with dry 'aaloo' and pickle for a price of Rs 20. The type two meal would cost Rs 50 and offer passengers something from an assortment of South Indian food such as rice, rajma, chhole, khichdi kulche, bhature, pao-bhaji and masala dosa. The Railway Board has issued instructions to officials concerned to make provision of economy meals and affordable packaged drinking water to be served through counters to be placed at platform near GS coaches. GS coaches refers to the general seating coach. It is a second class unreserved coach. Normally every train including mail/express

Railways might resume temporary trains between Shimla, Solan today

The railway is likely to start temporary trains in the Shimla and Solan region as the train operations in the Kalka-Shimla track has been suspended since July 9

Ircon bags Rs 144 crore order from N F Railway Construction in Manipur

Ircon International Ltd on Monday said it has bagged orders worth Rs 144 crore from N F Railway Construction in Manipur. The company received the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) from N F Railway Construction on July 17. In a regulatory filing, Ircon International Ltd (Ircon) said it has has been awarded the work for supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of integrated tunnel communication systems, optical fibre cable-based industrial grade network system. The laying of the optical fibre cables and other cables for the railway network will also cover tunnels and stations in the Jiribam-Khongsang section of the Jiribam-Imphal new railway line project. The Rs 144 crore-order, bagged through a competitive bidding, is to be completed within 365 days from the date of issuance of the LoA. Ircon, under the Ministry of Railways, is a leading turnkey construction company.

Balasore rail tragedy: 3 accused railway officials sent to judicial custody

A Special court here on Friday sent the three accused railway officials in the Balasore triple train accident to judicial custody after the end of their CBI remand period. The three - Senior Section Engineer (signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar who have been placed under suspension by Railways were produced in the CBI Special court here after the end of their remand period. The accused were arrested by the CBI on July 7. The Bhubaneswar Special CBI Court had granted 5-day remand of the accused to the CBI, which is investigating the case, on July 7. Later, on July 11, the court had extended the remand period for 4 more days at the request of the investigating agency. While sending the accused persons to judicial custody, the court has scheduled the next date of hearing of the case on July 27. The three accused were booked under IPC Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) and u

Waterlogging: Over 300 mail, 406 passenger trains cancelled from July 7-15

More than 300 mail and express trains and 406 passenger trains have been cancelled between July 7 and July 15 due to waterlogging on tracks following heavy rainfall over the past few days, officials said on Thursday. Overall, about 600 mail and express trains and over 500 passenger trains have been affected, including some cancelled, diverted, short-terminated and others short-originated, due to waterlogging, they said. Northwest India saw incessant rainfall over three days from Saturday, with many areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan recording "heavy to extremely heavy" rains. This resulted in overflowing rivers, creeks and drains that massively damaged infrastructure and disrupted essential services in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. The Northern Railway, which caters to this region, cancelled around 300 mail/express trains, short-terminated 100 trains and diverted 191 more. It also ...

Walkie-talkies: Rlys gets exemption from Make in India procurement policy

This comes after locally sourced technology provided poor communications over increased distances

Heavy rains: 17 trains cancelled, 12 diverted, says Northern Railways

The Northern Railways has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others as heavy rains pounded several parts of the region. In a statement, a Northern Railways spokesperson said traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging. These include sections between Noganwan (Ambala)-New Morinda, between Nangal Dam and Anandpur Sahib and between Kiratpur Sahib and Bharatgarh. "Strict watch is being kept to run trains from the Delhi area safely because of non-stop heavy rains. Eight pumps are being run at the Delhi-Sabzi Mandi area and the station's trainable area to pump water out of tracks. Trains running in the Delhi area are still normal," CPRO Northern Railway Deepak Kumar said. The cancelled trains include Firozpur Cantt Express, Amritsar Super Fast Express, Chandigarh Intercity Express and Chandigarh to Amritsar Junction Express. Those which have been diverted include Mumbai Central to Amritsar Express, Amritsar Express, Daulatpur Chowk Express. In the last

Railways to slash fares of AC chair car, executive classes by up to 25%

Fares of AC chair cars and executive classes of all trains, including Vande Bharat, and those with Anubhuti and Vistadome coaches will be reduced by up to 25 per cent, depending on occupancy, a Railway Board order has stated. The fares will also depend on those of competitive modes of transport. With a view to optimising utilisation of accommodation, the rail ministry has decided to delegate powers to principal chief commercial managers of railway zones to introduce discounted fare schemes in trains with AC seating. "This scheme shall be applicable in AC chair car and executive classes of all trains having AC seating accommodation, including Anubhuti and Vistadome coaches," the Railway Board order stated. "The element of discount shall be up to a maximum 25 per cent on the basic fare. Other charges like reservation charge, super fast surcharge, GST, etc, as applicable, shall be levied separately. The discount may be provided in any or all the classes on the basis of occupancy," it

95% of Katra-Banihal rail line of USBRL project complete: Officials

Top Northern Railway officials here Saturday said 95 per cent of the work on the 111-km-long Katra-Banihal rail line has been completed. They said Northern Railways General Manager Shobhan Chaudhuri inspected the ongoing work on the Katra-Banihal section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project on Friday. Chaudhuri carried out an intensive inspection of the project and other ongoing works in Jammu and Kashmir. He was accompanied by the USBRL's Chief Administrative Officer S P Mahi, Director R K Hegde and other senior officials. Mahi explained to the team that of the 272-kilometre stretch of the project, 161 kilometres of railway tracks have already been commissioned. "On the remaining 111-kilometre-long Katra-Banihal section, work is completed up to 95 per cent in spite of all geological, topographical, and meteorological challenges," he said. Chaudhuri commenced his inspection from Katra onwards by motor trolley up to tunnel T1 and thereafter, conducted an

Top headlines: Rail freight's 1st dip after Covid, Kharif sowing falls 9%

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Rail freight sees first YoY decline since Covid in June; sea cargo flat

For the Railways, the reduced loading was primarily on account of thermal coal, the mainstay of its freight operations

'Lapses at multiple levels': What led to Balasore train accident on June 2?

The report by CRS has put the primary responsibility for the mishap on the signalling department

Odisha train tragedy: 'Reporting past red flags could have averted tragedy'

A high-level inquiry has found "wrong signalling" to be the main reason for the Balasore train accident and flagged "lapses at multiple levels" in the signalling and telecommunication (S&T) department, but indicated the tragedy could have been averted if past red flags were reported. The independent inquiry report submitted by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) to the Railway Board said notwithstanding the lapses in signalling work, remedial actions could have been taken by the S&T staff if "repeated unusual behaviour" of switches connecting two parallel tracks were reported to them by the station manager of Bahanaga Bazar, the spot of the accident. The report also suggested that the non-supply of station-specific approved circuit diagram for the works to replace the electric lifting barrier at level crossing gate 94 at Bahanaga Bazar station was a "wrong step that led to wrong wiring". It said that a team of field supervisors modified the wiring diagram and failed to ...

Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Section from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot starts this month

The work on 42-km-long Sahibabad to Meerut South station has also been completed

Seek larger share of tech pie as Indian rail infra matures: Wabtec chief

Transit's focus will remain on components, but open to partnerships to scale higher