Page 33 - Railways

Lovlina, Nikhat win national boxing gold, Railways lift team trophy

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen registered contrasting wins to clinch gold, while Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) lifted the team trophy with 10 medals at the Elite Women's National Boxing Championships here on Monday. Assam's Lovlina beat Arundhati Choudhary of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) 5-0 in the 75kg final, while Nikhat faced a stiff challenge from RSPB's Anamika in the 50kg clash before the 26-year-old Telangana pugilist tilted the match in her favour 4-1 to defend the title. World Championships silver medallist Manju Rani, who led RSPB's domination on the final day, outpunched Tamil Nadu's S Kalaivani 5-0 in the 48kg final. Shiksha (54kg), Poonam (60kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg) and Nupur (+81kg) were the other gold medallists for RSPB, who also bagged three silver and two bronze medals. Madhya Pradesh, with one gold, two silver and five bronze, and Haryana (two gold and two bronze) claimed the second

Top headlines: Telcos get green signal, states start mock drills, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Nepal considers China's offer of building cross-border railways under BRI

Nepals caretaker government has expressed its reservations over a Chinese proposal for a feasibility study of an ambitious cross-border railway under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

Railways to roll out up with Vande Metro train by 2023: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Railways is manufacturing Vande Metro train which will replace those designed in 1950s and 60s, Railways and Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday. He also said that the first indigenously designed and built hydrogen train would roll out in December 2023. "We are designing and the design should be out by anywhere by May or June -- We are designing a worldclass Vande Metro which will be a great leap forward," Vaishnaw told reporters during an interaction. "These Vande Metro train will be manufactured in such large numbers that across the country, the trains which were of 1950s and 1960s designs will all be replaced," he added. Stressing that these Vande Metro will take care of middle-class and the poor, the Union Minister said the focus is not on the high-end customer. "Rich people can always take care of themselves. The Central government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi focuses on middle and lower classes people who are not able to afford," he ...

Vaishnaw says Railways' expenses high, hints at no senior citizen allowance

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday hinted that the concessions given to the senior citizens in the railways may not be restored as of now as he said that Rs 59,000 crore subsidy for the passenger services were given last year and pension and salary bills of the public transporter are very high. Vaishnaw was responding to a question by independent MP from Maharashtra Navneet Rana in Lok Sabha on when the concessions given to the senior citizens in train travel will be restored. It has been suspended since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The minister said the railways had given Rs 59,000 crore subsidy for passenger services, which is a big amount and larger than the annual budget of some states. He said the annual pension bill of the railways is Rs 60,000 crore, the salary bill is Rs 97,000 crore while Rs 40,000 crore is being spent on fuel. We have given Rs 59,000 passenger subsidy last year, new facilities are coming. If new decisions are to be taken, we will

Railway ministry drops proposal for monetisation of stations on PPP mode

The ministry of railways has dropped its proposal for monetisation of stations on public-private partnership mode, and projects are now being taken up under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode, a source said. The source also told PTI that the ministry of railways has been asked to expedite monetisation of other assets, including trains, goodsheds, hill rail, stadiums, railway colonies and railway land parcels among others. "Largest asset class (stations) dropped. Stations earlier proposed on PPP mode are now being taken up under EPC mode," the source said. The ministry has so far raised only Rs 1,829 crore against the target of Rs 30,000 crore in the current financial year, the source added. "Likely realisation from asset monetisation of Indian Railways assets under NMP (National Monetisation Pipeline) in the current fiscal has been now estimated at Rs 4,999 crore," the source said. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a meeting with Niti Aayog CEO Parameswaran

12 big telcos enquired about telecom stack, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

He said the government's Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) would be slowly enlarged to Rs 3,000-4,000 crore over a number of years, from the current Rs 500 crore per year

CBI raids arrested Railway engineer's premises, seizes Rs 1.38 cr in cash

The CBI has seized more than Rs 1.38 crore in cash from Arun Kumar Mittal, deputy chief engineer of Northern Railway posted in Lucknow, who was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe from a contractor, officials said on Tuesday. The agency conducted searches after arresting Mittal last week, during which cash worth Rs 1.38 crore was recovered in addition to Rs 1.13 crore found in the bank accounts of the engineer and his family members, they said. Of the total Rs 1.38 crore, 38 lakh were seized during searches immediately after his arrest, they said. The agency conducted further searches at his premises, leading to an additional cash recovery of Rs 1 crore. They said that most of the money stashed in bank accounts were cash deposits made over time. "Gold jewellery worth Rs 11 lakh (approx); documents related to various property and monetary/material transactions allegedly related to various parties, including Railway Vendors/Contractors, have also been unearthed," a CBI spokesperson

Rail passenger revenue zooms 76% YoY, speeds past pre-Covid levels

Unreserved tickets garner 422% more; bookings still 72% of pre-pandemic period

Indian Railways seeks quicker land acquisition for stalled projects

Zonal Railways asked to designate more works as special projects for quicker clearance

Vande Bharat: WR to spend Rs 264 cr to build fences amid cattle hit cases

The Western Railway (WR) on Friday said it would install fences along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route by May next year to stop animals from straying onto the tracks and getting run over by trains, a move coming in the backdrop of the prestigious Vande Bharat Express hitting cattle four times since its launch on September 30. Addressing a press conference at the railway zone's headquarters at Churchgate here, WR General Manager Ashok Kumar Misra said tenders have been invited for the construction of the fences on the 620-kilometre-long route, which is expected to cost Rs 264 crore. The third semi high-speed Vande Bharat Express, flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 30 between Gandhinagar in Gujarat and the country's financial capital, has hit cattle four times so far, leading to minor damage to the aerodynamic nose of the state-of-the-art rake. The latest incident occurred between Udvada and Vapi stations in Gujarat on Thursday evening. According to Western Railway .

Railways ferries 124-mt freight in Nov, clocks 5% rise since last year

Officials peg FY23 freight between 1500-1550 mt

Japan trade body praises PM Gati Shakti plan as a 'game changer' for biz

PM Gati Shakti focusing on easing logistics will be a game changer for businesses and will attract foreign investments, Kazuya Nakajo, Executive Vice President, Japan External Trade Organisation said

Indian railways far from 'carbon neutral 2030' goal; lags in clean energy

The organization had installed renewable capacity of 142 megawatts of rooftop solar and 103.4 megawatts of wind energy as of August

Railways to build walls on worst-impacted routes to contain cattle hits

Plans are to build 1,000 km of walls across sections, no change on Vande Bharat nose panel, damage to which brought the issue of cattle hits to the fore

Cattle run over cases: Railways to build walls in worst-affected sections

The Railways will build 1,000 km of boundary walls over the next six months in sections of its network where maximum cases of cattle being run over by trains are recorded, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. According to official data, cattle run overs affected 200 trains in the first nine days of October. As many as 4,000 trains have been affected so far this year. "We are working seriously on the issue of building boundary walls. We are looking at two different designs. While we have approved one, which is a sturdy wall, over the next five to six months, we plan to build 1,000 km of such walls across sections to determine if the design works," Vaishnaw said. He also stated that conventional boundary walls will not be able to solve the problem of cattle run over but will end up affecting villagers around the area. The minister, however, did not give any information on the material that will be used for building the boundary walls to make them sturdy enough to not

Udaipur railway explosion: Police doubt Asarwa-Udaipur Express sabotage

An explosion occurred on a railway track here on Sunday, hours before the recently inaugurated Asarwa-Udaipur Express train from Ahmedabad was supposed to pass. The police said they were investigating all angles, including sabotage. Officials said mining explosives were used to damage the tracks on Odha bridge near Kewda Ki Naal, which comes under the Jawar Mines police station of Udaipur. "Local people informed us about the explosion in the morning. We have found some explosives on the track and efforts are being made to identify those responsible," local SHO Anil Kumar Vishnoi said. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the incident was worrying and ordered Director General of Police Umesh Mishra to investigate the matter thoroughly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the inaugural run of the Asarwa-Udaipur Express from the Asarwa railway station in Ahmedabad on October 31. Following the explosion, the train was halted at the Dungarpur station, a railway spokesperson ...

Ironman 70.3 Goa: Athletes from 33 countries will test endurance on Sunday

1,450 athletes would be participating in the eight-hour triathlon

End of the stone age: Railways to upgrade rail tracks at select stations

The current tracks have greyish ballast stones scattered around them to keep the tracks in their place and curb derailments. But these stones require regular monitoring and replacement

COP27: Indian Railways mulls solar power push to meet net-zero norms

This is in line with the commitment of the national transporter to be net carbon-zero by the end of this decade