Page 8 - Railways

BEML wins Rs 866.87 crore contract to build 'Made in India' bullet trains

BEML's Bengaluru factory will make the train sets for delivery by the end of 2026

Special train affected by Bagmati Express collision arrives in Darbhanga

At Darbhanga station, passengers recounted their terrifying experiences and expressed gratitude to God for their survival. Many praised the support they received from the railway, local administration

PM GatiShakti: 208 infra projects of Rs 15 trn recommended for approval

As many as 208 big-ticket infrastructure projects of different ministries, including roads and railways, worth Rs 15.39 lakh crore have been recommended for approval under the PM GatiShakti initiative so far, a top government official said on Saturday. These projects have been recommended by the Network Planning Group (NPG) constituted under the PM GatiShakti initiative launched on October 13, 2021. "So far, 208 projects have been assessed under the initiative worth Rs 15.39 lakh crore," Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Amardeep Singh Bhatia told reporters. There are several benefits of using the system, including significant cuts in time and cost for planning these infrastructure projects, he added. The maximum number of projects recommended by the group are related to roads (101), railways (73), urban development (12), and four from the oil and gas ministry. The inter-ministerial NPG meets every fortnight and appraises infra projects to

Rail expansion, ops safety, high-speed train on parliamentary panel agenda

The parliamentary panel on the railways has selected "ensuring safety in Indian Rail operations", expansion of its network in the North East and UTs, and high-speed train network as among the subjects the panel will take up in its tenure. The 31-member committee headed by BJP MP C M Ramesh will also examine a number of other issues, including improvement of public facilities at the railway stations, increasing freight-related earnings and the development of dedicated freight corridors, passenger reservation system and the promotion of railway-based tourism, an official bulletin said. Safety in the running of trains has always been a sensitive issue and the opposition parties have cited some recent accidents to accuse the government of compromising on this crucial aspect. However, the Railway Ministry has insisted that the overall accident rate has come down drastically during the Modi government's tenure. High-speed or bullet trains is an ambitious agenda of the government, which ha

At 97%, Railways draws close to full electrification of broad gauge network

The Centre has allocated Rs 6,500 cr towards electrification in the current financial year

NITI Aayog raises asset monetisation target for FY25 to Rs 1.9 trn

Govt may still miss the Rs 6 trillion NMP target

Loco pilots to hold protest on running allowances, duty hours on Oct 18

The loco pilots unions have urged its members to hold a protest before the office of General Managers of 17 railway zones on October 18 in support of their demands including an increase in running allowance, reduction in vacant posts and regularization of duty hours. The office bearers of these unions said that after their continuous agitation, the Railway Ministry had constituted two high-level committees a few months ago to look into their demands, particularly regarding the fixing of duty hours and periodical rests. "While constituting these two committees, the Railway Ministry had directed that their reports would be submitted within one month. But even after three months, there is no update on the decisions of the committees," L. Mony, President, of All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA), said. Mony added, "Besides duty hours and periodical rest, our other demand was a 25 per cent increase in the running allowance from January 1, 2024. Every loco pilot is losing ...

Railways directs zones to take action on officials for wrong train data

The Railway Board has asked all 17 zones to take action against officials who cause inconvenience to passengers by not feeding any data or by providing incorrect data in the passenger information system on the status of trains. The board has also directed the zones to integrate various passenger information display boards installed at stations with the National Train Enquiry System (NTES) to bring consistency and ensure correct and reliable display of train information. The NTES website provides real-time train running status and coach composition among other information. Besides this, train indicator boards installed on platforms display train numbers, their names and running status. Passengers can also locate the coach position of the arriving trains through the coach guidance system on the platforms. The Railway Board, in its letter to the zones dated September 27, stated that passenger information systems like coach guidance systems and train indicators boards at rail stations a

Kishan Reddy flags off Secunderabad-Vasco Da Gama biweekly express

Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy flagged off the Secunderabad-Vasco Da Gama inaugural Express at the Secunderabad railway station here on Sunday. Pointing to the long pending demand for an exclusive train to Goa from Hyderabad, he said the express train to Vasco Da Gama is being operated from Secunderabad twice a week, fulfilling people's wishes. The service provides travel options for the people of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to visit Goa and it also caters to the requirements of those who wish to travel to major cities of Karnataka like Ballari, Hospet, Hubbali and Dharwad, he said. Highlighting railway development works in Telangana, Reddy said the Secunderabad railway station is being redeveloped with world-class standards at an estimated cost of Rs 700 crores and that the works are expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The Secunderabad station stands second after the New Delhi railway station in operating the highest number of Vande Bharat Express services,

PM Modi to launch infra projects, agri schemes in Maharashtra on Saturday

The projects include the first phase of Mumbai Metro Line 3 Aqua Line, which is built at a cost of Rs 14,120 crore. The overall cost of the project is stated to be Rs 37,276 crore

Vaishnaw announces Rs 35 crore for upgrading RPF zonal training centres

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced a grant of Rs 35 crore for upgrading and modernising zonal training centres of the Railway Protection Force, the Railway Ministry said. Special focus will be on facilities for women personnel at the training centres, said Railway Minister Vaishnaw at the 40th Raising Day Parade of the RPF in Nasik. An additional grant of Rs 5.5 crore was sanctioned for the zonal training centre for the RPF dog squad in Tamil Nadu, aimed at strengthening the specialised training infrastructure, the ministry said in a statement. During the event, the Union minister felicitated 33 RPF personnel who were awarded the prestigious police medals for meritorious service and Jeevan Raksha medals for their courageous efforts in saving passengers' lives during 2023 and 2024," it said. The awards reflect the exemplary service of the RPF in safeguarding the nation's railway network and are set to inspire other members of the force to continue their dedicated .

Indian Railways to begin trials of India's first hydrogen train in Dec 2024

Indian Railways has collaborated with Germany's TUV-SUD for a safety audit of its first hydrogen train, with trial operations set for December 2024, marking a green transport milestone

Union Cabinet approves Rs 2,028 cr bonus for 1.17 million Railway staff

The Union Cabinet has sanctioned Rs 2,028 crore performance-linked bonus for 1.17 million Railway employees, but unions push back, calling for an update to align with modern pay structures

Railway accidents have reduced to just 40 per year: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Addressing concerns about railway accidents, Vaishnaw mentioned significant advancements in safety measures, including the completion of Kavach 4.2

Railways to run nearly 6K special trains this festive season: Vaishnaw

As the festive season approaches, Indian Railways has decided to run nearly 6,000 special trains to help more than one crore passengers get home for Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath festivals. Besides, additional general coaches have been added to 108 trains and 12,500 coaches have been sanctioned to take care of the extra rush witnessed during festivals, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told a select group of journalists here. Several train routes, especially those destined for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal witness heavy rush during Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath festivals. Vaishnaw said a total of 5,975 special trains have been notified so far for this year's festival season, up from 4,429 last year. "This will facilitate more than one crore passengers to go home during this puja rush," he said. Durga Puja begins on October 9, Diwali will be celebrated on October 31 while Chhath Puja will take place on November 7 and 8 this year.

NFR expands network, introduces new initiatives to promote tourism

One of the key initiatives adopted by NFR towards promoting tourism is the introduction of tourist trains with Vistadome coaches

Kavach rail safety system passes trial, set for nationwide rollout by 2030

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called Kavach the 'future of rail safety,' with plans to install it in 10,000 locomotives and along 9,000 km of tracks in the first phase

Bittu sticks to remark against Rahul, asks Cong to protest against leader

Targeted by the Congress over his comments against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu defended his stand and said the opposition party should instead protest against Gandhi's remarks in the US on Sikhs. A few days ago, Bittu had attacked Gandhi over the statements he made in the US about the condition of Sikhs in India, saying if those "manufacturing bombs" were supporting the Congress leader, he was the "number one terrorist". An FIR has been registered in Bengaluru against Bittu for his remarks based on a complaint by one of the officer-bearers of the Congress' Karnataka unit. Bittu, the minister of state for Railways, who was here on Monday to inaugurate the 57th Inter Railway Shooting Competition at the Jagatpura Shooting range, said, "Rahul Gandhi himself goes to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib so many times. Who stops him? Therefore, this is not a matter of the party, it is above the party." "The Air Force chief wears a turban and the CI

Railway track tampered with in Surat, police suspect sabotage attempt

Unidentified persons allegedly tampered with a railway track by removing fish plates and loosening several bolts in an attempt to derail trains in Gujarat's Surat district on Saturday, police said. The sabotage attempt came to light before a train could pass through the affected track between Kosamba and Kim railway stations as a lineman detected the damage and alerted the railway authorities in the early hours of the day, officials said. Unidentified persons removed two fish plates that bolted the ends of two rails on the railway track and placed them on the parallel track, Superintendent of Police, Surat (rural), Hitesh Joysar said. They also loosened some 40-50 bolts, he said. Deputy Superintendent of Police RR Sarvaiya said a lineman inspecting the track discovered the tampering around 5.30 am and alerted the railway administration. "Railway engineers and other staff reached the site and repaired the line, and the movement of trains resumed," he said. Sarvaiya said the railwa

Northern Railway cancels, diverts 29 trains after freight train derailment

The Northern Railway has cancelled three and changed the routes of 26 express and mail trains originating from various stations in Delhi due to the derailment of a freight train near Vrindavan Road Station between Palwal-Mathura section in Uttar Pradesh. Releasing a list of diverted and cancelled trains, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, CPRO, NR said that due to derailment of train between Vrindaban Road - Ajhai Station on Mathura Jn - Palwal Section of Agra Division over NCR several trains will remain temporarily cancelled or diverted. Some of the prominent trains whose routes have been diverted are New Delhi-Hyderabad, New Delhi-Tambaram, Hazrat Nizamuddin-Mumbai Bandra Terminus, Amritsar Jn-Mumbai Bandra Terminus, Hazrat Nizamuddin-Mumbai CSM Terminus and Hazrat Nizamuddin-Jabalpur among others. On September 18, 25 coal-loaded wagons of a freight train derailed near Vrindavan Road Station blocking three rail lines and, according to Railways, only one line is available for rail traffic