Indian Railways News

Indian Railways News

India has more Traditional & Cultural bonding with entire Asia. Govt to extend Rail links to many Asian Nations: MOSR

The Centre has plans to connect the Indian Railways with Asian countries for effective implementation of the BJP-led government’s Act East Policy, Union Minister Rajen Gohain said on Friday. He also said that India is more strongly connected with Asian nations than China in terms of traditional and cultural bonding since ages unknown. “India has been the mother of culture and traditional heritage across the entire Asian region. India is the heart of entire Asia”, he said.

The North Eastern Region is being connected with neighbouring Bangladesh through the Agartala-Akhaura rail line, and survey was underway in Manipur for extension of railways up to Moreh on the India-Myanmar border, he said.

Tripura’s capital on Friday was linked with Bengaluru by “Humsafar Express”, becoming the second city in the northeast to get a newly introduced train, equipped with modern facilities. Gohain, the Union Minister of State for Railways, was speaking at the flagging-off ceremony of the Agartala-Bengaluru Cant Hamsafar Express from the Agartala railway station here. Friday’s event was a formal inaugural and services for the public will start on January 9. The weekly train will link the two state capitals via Kamakhya, Howrah, Cuttack and Vijayawada.

He said that the entire North Eastern Region was growing fast in terms of rail and road connectivity due to centre’s Act East Policy.

Gohain, however, said rail works were progressing faster in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, but progress in Sikkim and Meghalaya was slow owing to land acquisition problems.

The Agartala-Bengaluru Cant Hamsafar Express, with 11 air-conditioned three-tier coaches, would initially run once a week, but the frequency would be increased within a short span, the minister said.

It would cover a distance of over 3,000 km in 64 hours.

The Rajdhani Express, which also runs once in a week, would be made more frequent, he said.

Gohain added that work for electrification of 30,000 km tracks across the country is underway to make trains faster and modern.

“By 2020 all the remaining state capitals would be linked by broad gauge railway line.” The capitals of Agartala, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam are already connected by broad gauge railway lines. Works for extension of railway lines in Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland are going on with top priority basis, while in Sikkim and Meghalaya, some land related problems have become a hurdle.

The 3,030 km train service was launched from Kamakhya (near Guwahati) to Bengaluru on December 25, 2016. Now it has been extended to Agartala.
According to the Northeast Frontier Railways’ (NFR) General Manager Chahatey Ram, the train, the first connecting southern India with Tripura, will halt at seven stations between Agartala and Guwahati and at 28 stations in between Agartala and Bengaluru Cantonment station in its 3,614 km long journey across six states.

The Humsafar Express train, which is a fully AC 3-tier service, has 14 coaches, provided with on board Wi-fi and infotainment, he said.

“Better than the Rajdhani Express, ‘Humsafar Express ‘ train coaches are equipped with facilities like GPS (Global Positioning System) based passenger information system, and fire and smoke detectors,” said Ram, adding that they will also have mobile charging points and reading lights for each passenger along with easy upper berth climbing arrangement.

The Humsafar Express, promised in the budget, will also have facilities like baby nappy changing pads, and tea and coffeemakers.

The railway authorities since 2016 are operating the Kanchanjunga Express — between Agartala and Sealdah (Kolkata) via Assam’s Silchar and Guwahati twice a week, and the weekly Tripura Sundari Express between Agartala and Delhi’s Anand Vihar station besides Rajdhani Express.

The NFR is now extending the railway lines up to southern Tripura’s border town Sabroom, 135 km south of Agartala.

Gohain, in the presence of Tripura Transport Minister Manik Dey and other Members of Parliament, also flagged-off the passenger train services on the newly-laid 9.2 km track between southern Tripura’s temple city Udaipur and Garjee.

This new broad gauge section is a part of Agartala-Sabroom railway project being executed to get access the Bangladesh’s Chittagong sea port, which is just 72 km away from Sabroom.

Revenue from Passenger Fare up by 5%, Freight by 8%: Railways

The revenue of the railways from both passenger traffic as well as freight movement has gone up by more than five and eight per cent respectively between April-December 2017 as compared to the same period previous year, a senior official of the railway board said on Friday.

The revenue from passenger fare rose to Rs 37,134 crore in 2017 as compared to the revenue of Rs 35,295 crore generated in the corresponding period in 2016. This shows a growth of 5.2 per cent, Mohd Jamshed, Member, Traffic, Railway Board, told reporters here.

He also said that earning from freight went up by 8.39 per cent during the same period. While in 2017 (April- December), it generated Rs 80,691 crore, in the same period in 2016, it earned the railways Rs 76,288 crore.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal recently said that the railways had set a target to triple its freight traffic to three billion tonnes by 2030 from the existing 1.1 billion tonnes.

Invited ‘Global Tender’ to meet Shortfall in Supply of Rails from SAIL: Railways

The Indian Railways had to invite a global tender for procuring more than four lakh metric tonne of rails to meet the shortfall of supply from SAIL, Parliament was informed on Friday.

Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain informed the Rajya Sabha that the requirement of rails for Indian Railways for year 2017-2018 was 14.59 lakh metric tonnes.

“SAIL as per their latest projection has given commitment to supply 9.5 lakh metric tonne rails during 2017-2018. To meet the shortfall of supply from SAIL, Railway has invited a global tender…”, Gohain said.

The pre-bid conference for this tender was held on November 21. The technical bids of tender for procurement of 4,87,000 metric tonnes of 60 kg-UIC rails was opened on December 22, 2017, he said.

This was the first time that the national transporter floated a global tender for procuring rails. State-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has always been its sole supplier.

The additional rail tracks will help the railways towards clearing the track renewal backlog, officials said.

The railways has a track length of around 1,15,000 km, making it the world’s largest network under a single management.

Rs. 10 Lakh Accident Insurance Cover On Railway Bookings On IRCTC

Indian Railways offers accidental insurance to passengers who buy tickets online from IRCTC. The Indian Railways had launched an Optional Travel Insurance Scheme with effect from September 1, 2016. The insurance scheme is available on optional basis for all reserved classes (SL, 1AC, 2AC, 3AC) and trains except passenger trains and sub-urban trains. But the only condition is that the tickets should be booked online on the IRCTC websites.

This insurance scheme provide financial support to the family/legal heir in case of death/injury of reserved passengers due to train accident/untoward incidents as defined under section 123 read with Sections 124 and 124A of the Railways Act, 1989, subject to the qualification that the coverage will be valid from the actual departure of train from the originating station to actual arrival of train at the destination station including ‘process of entraining’ and ‘process of detraining’ the train.

The sum insured to be given to passengers are as follows: (A) Rs. 10 lakh in case of passenger’s death (B) Rs. 10 lakh in case of permanent total disability of pasenger (C) upto Rs.7.5 lakh in case of permanent partial disability (D) Rs. 2 lakh in case of hospitalization expenses for injury (E) Rs. 10,000 in case of transportation of mortal remains.

There is no increase in fare. The Insurance Scheme is optional for passengers and if any passenger opts for scheme then only the premium of Rs.0.92 (inclusive of taxes) per passenger is charged. The accident insurance scheme was launched on pilot basis in 2016-end.

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Limited: Recruitment Through GATE For Project Engineer Post

NEW DELHI: On the basis of GATE 2017 score, Indian Railways will recruit for Project Engineer post at Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd (MVRC). Online registration for the recruitment has begun and candidates can apply till 27 January 2018. A total of 18 vacancies are open in the disciplines of Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electronics & Telecommunication. ‘Though the project tenure is for 5 years, the initial appointment will be made for two years on contract basis with consolidated emoluments. The period of contract is extendable by three years with enhanced emoluments, depending upon the project requirements and performance of the candidate,’ clarifies the recruiting body.

Applicants must not be more than 30 years of age as on 27 December 2017.

Candidates must have qualified GATE 2017 and should have Bachelor Degree in the relevant engineering discipline with minimum 60 percent marks from recognized Govt. Universities or Institutions through full time regular courses only.

‘Engagement will be made on the basis of scores of Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering-2017. Based on GATE-2017 score and Organizational requirement, candidates will be short listed for verification of documents and discussions.’

COMMENTSGATE 2018: Admit Cards Released, Download Now

Candidates shall have to send their application in the prescribed format and email it to gate2017mrvc@gmail.com along with scanned copies of GATE 2017 admit card, GATE 2017 score card, Engineering Graduation Marksheet, Engineering Graduation Certificate, Date of Birth Certificate/Age proof and Caste Certificate (If belonging to reserved community.)

Luxury Travel On Railway Saloons Could Soon Be A Reality

Travelling in a private two bedroom, lounge, kitchen and toilet setup aboard a train could soon be a reality with the Railways exploring ways to facilitate such luxurious journeys.

It will come at a price though, which officials say could be “exorbitant”.

Railways is set to give non-railway personnel a taste of traveling in its saloons or inspection coaches, and is exploring ways to promote it.

In a first of its kind meeting between Chairman Railway Board Ashwani Lohani and travel and trade associations held in Delhi today, the issue of how the luxurious saloons could be promoted for the use of the general public who want to travel in style, was raised.

Mr Lohani conceded that there was a demand for this kind of travel and asked his officers to plan to make at least two such saloons available in Delhi for tourism purposes.

He also asked IRCTC to chalk out routes on which they can be made operational. Mr Lohani also asked the railways’ tourism and catering arm to come out with a brochure on such coaches.

Officials say that saloons or inspection cars, perfect for two families to travel, are adequately built to facilitate stay for up to five days.

They comprise two bedrooms, a lounge, a pantry, a toilet and a kitchen.

They are now most commonly used by senior railway officials to reach accident sites and remote railway lines not connected by road or air.

The closest to this kind of luxury that a common passenger can avail is the tourist car, which can be booked by large groups, but has amenities essential only for an overnight journey.

COMMENTSThe Railways has a total of 336 saloon cars across railway zones, among them 62 are air-conditioned. Railway officials, however, ruled out using more such saloon cars for works other than official.

“This does not mean that we will push all our saloon cars for this purpose. They are extremely significant for inspection purposes and cannot be spared. With these two, we just want to give the common man an experience of travelling in luxury,” said an offici

IR Tech Mission: Railway Ministry ties up with HRD, Science Ministries

Three Central Ministries have come together to drive a technology mission for the Railways, which will be beneficial for both the national transporter and academic and research institutions.

A memorandum of understanding on Technology Mission for Indian Railways was signed on Thursday by the Ministries of Railways, Human Resource Development (HRD) and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The agreement will “facilitate collaboration and cooperation” between the Ministries.

“While the Railways will get world-class technologies, academic and research institutions will get involved in numerous applied research projects which will help them in reorienting research towards national objectives,” Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani said.

Co-financing plans

“This MoU will facilitate the co-financing of Technology Mission for Indian Railways by investment sharing for identified railway projects for applied research,” he added.

The Railway Ministry will fund 30 per cent of the project, while the other two ministries will put in 25 per cent each.

Lohani further said indigenous technologies will be developed with “win-win scenario” to all the consortium members. The Technology Mission will take up research and development projects in the areas of heavy haul, safety, energy, environment and urban railways.

The projects will be implemented through a Mission Implementation and Coordination Committee having members from the three ministries, academia and the industry. The projects will be implemented in the national R&D labs and academic institutions.

Global tie-ups

Collaborations, wherever essential, will be entered into with similar foreign institutions.

The MoU was signed by TMIR chairman Professor N S Vyas, Alok Kumar, co-chairman, TMIR, on behalf of the Ministry of Railways, R Subrahmanyam, Additional Secretary, on behalf of Ministry of Human Resource Development and Dr Neeraj Sharma, Adviser, DST on behalf of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Integrated Development of Tirupati & Nellore Railway Stations: GM/SCR holds meeting with RLDA, NBCC & State Govt Officials

Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, South Central Railway held a meeting with Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) and State Government Officials on 4th January, 2018 at Tirupati. Vijay Pratap Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Guntakal and R. Dhananjayulu, Divisional Railway Manager, Vijayawada were also amongst the officials present.

Vinod Kumar Yadav addressing the meeting, instructed the railway officials to submit the requirements regarding operational requirements related to Tirupati and Nellore stations integrated development. He also discussed on other issues like traffic congestion, office building plans and passenger amenities covering retiring rooms, FOBs, Subways and Parking area etc. Later, Tirupati Urban Development Authority(TUDA) Vice Chairman and Municipal Commissioner, Tirupati and Traffic police officials joined the meeting and discussed on approach roads, traffic regulations and other issued related to integrated development works and shared their suggestions and views.

The meeting was focused on major and minor issues pertaining to integrated development of Tirupati and Nellore Railway stations. Major issues such as providing of culvert near LC.No.106 near Poojita residency to avoid the inundation of the proposed southern entrance for Tirupati railway station, Railway Under bridge (RUB) at Rayalcheruvu gate and relocation of the railway reservation counter to have better look and feel to the Govindaraj Swamy pushkarini to be taken up under smart city mission etc.

Later, Ms.Sugunamma, Hon’ble MLA, Tirupati and Narsimha Yadav, Chairman, TUDA met General Manager, SCR at Tirupati railway station and discussed on rail developmental issues of Tirupati Railway station etc.

GM/SWR inaugurates ‘Project Saksham’ to upskill Productivity & Efficiency among Railway Employees

A.K.Gupta, General Manager of South Western Railway launched Project ‘Saksham’ at Hubballi on 04th January, 2018. Project ‘Saksham’ is a concentrated capsule of training for all railway employees in short period of time to boost their productivity and efficiency. South Western Railway is thus one of the first Railways to launch this project as per the directives issued by the Chairman, Railway Board.

In his keynote address, Gupta said Project ‘Saksham’ aims to upgrade the skill sets of the workforce with a single drive spanning nine months i.e. till September, 2018. Under Project ‘Saksham’, all employees in the zone will be put through a week’s training in skills and knowledge relevant to their work area. It will be a five day on the job or classroom training in Railway Training centres, depending on the nature of their employment. The nature of short-duration training will range from refresher course, with an eye on evolved global practices in respective areas, to skill in existing line of functioning. Employees from the rank of a peon to higher echelons will undergo the training. The programme will be of immense help to all Railwayman in their endeavour to perform better.

The event was attended by B.B.Singh, Additional General Manager, S.K.Albela, Principal Chief Personnel Officer, P.A.Lamghare, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, John Prasad, Principal Chief Operational Manager, U.S.S. Yadav, Principal Chief Engineer, the Personnel officers from Bengaluru, Mysuru and Training managers of all departments. Mrs. Beulah Sam Rachel, who is the head of department at Global college of Business administration, IT & Commerce, Hubballi gave a Talk on the “Managerial requisites” on this occasion. Under this project, needs of all the railway staff have been identified and a planned training calendar is prepared so as to complete the training requirements of all the staff over the entire South Western Railway in 9 months. Thus about 2 lakh training days has been planned for officials of all ranks and file, spread over the project duration. All the 9 training centers of South Western Railway as well as on the job training will be used for this. The tag line of project ‘Saksham’ at South Western Railway is Excellence through ‘Saksham’.

Further, e-links on Railway works for learning resources was also inaugurated. Various innovative ways of adopting learning were duly emphasized on this occasion.

Electrification of Railway routes took ‘Quantum Jump’ under Modi Govt: Piyush Goyal

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the electrification of railway routes has taken a “quantum jump” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

Since 2014, the railway ministry has been electrifying 1,500 km every year as opposed to only 654 km during 2010-14, Goyal said at an event.

Railway Minister further said, “As Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘It’s not the man that makes the vision; it’s the vision that makes the man’, and our rail officials have the ability to envision a better railway for India.”

According to media reports, the Centre is also likely to announce 2018 as the year of women’s safety in Railways in the upcoming Budget.

The Railways might use part of the Nirbhaya Fund to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in ladies’ coaches and increase the number of washrooms on platforms, among other measures.

According to Goyal, the Railways also wants to increase its share in the overall goods movement to 50 per cent from the current share of around 35 per cent, touching three billion tons of freight traffic from the current 1.1 billion tons by 2030.