SECUNDERABAD: In order to clear extra rush of passengers in view of Medaram Sammakka Saralamma Jathara, South Central Railway will run 16 special trains between Secunderabad-Warangal-Hyderabad; Kazipet-Sirpur Kagazhnagar-Kazipet and Sirpur Kagazhnagar-Khammam-Sirpur Kagazhnagar as detailed below:-

1. Secunderabad-Warangal -Hyderabad Special Train (08 services):

Accordingly, Train No. 07014 Secunderabad-Warangal special train will depart Secunderabad at 12:30 hrs on 31^st January, 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd February, 2018 and arrive Warangal at 15:40 hrs on the same day.

In the return direction, Train No. 07015 Warangal-Hyderabad special train will depart Warangal at 17:45 hrs on 31^st January, 1^st, 2^nd& 3^rd February, 2018 and arrive Hyderabad at 21:30 hrs on the same day.

Enroute, these special trains will stop at Moula-ali, Cherlapalli, Ghatkesar, Bibinagar, Bhongir, Raigir, Wangapalli, Aler, Pembarti, Jangaon, Raghunathpalli, Ghanapur, Pindiyal and Kazipet stations in both the directions.

2. Kazipet-Sirpur Kagazhnagar-Kazipet Special Train (02 services):

Train No. 07019 Kazipet-Sirpur Kagazhnagar special train will depart Kazipet at 19:00 hrs on 31^st January, 2018 and arrive Sirpur Kagazhnagar at 23:00 hrs on the same day.

In the return direction, Train No. 07020 Sirpur Kagazhnagar – Kazipet special train will depart Sirpur Kagazhnagar at 05:30 hrs on 4^thFebruary, 2018 and arrive Kazipet at 09:00 hrs on the same day.

Enroute, these special trains will stop at Hasanparthi Rd, Uppal, Jammikunta, Bisgur Shariff, Potkapalli, Odela, Kolanur, Kothapalli, Peddapalli, Raghavapuram, Ramagundam, Peddampet, Mancherial, Ravindrakhani, Mandamarri, Bellampalli, Rechni Road, Repallewada, Asifabad Road and Ralapet stations in both the directions.

3. Sirpur Kagazhnagar-Khammam- Sirpur Kagazhnagar Special Train (06 services):

Train No. 07017 Sirpur Kagazhnagar-Khammam special train will depart Sirpur Kagazhnagar at 05:30 hrs on 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd February, 2018 and arrive Khammam at 11:15 hrs on the same day.

In the return direction, Train No. 07018 Khammam-Sirpur Kagazhnagar special train will depart Khammam at 16:45 hrs on 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd February, 2018 and arrive Sirpur Kagazhnagar at 23:00 hrs on the same day.

Enroute, these special trains will stop at Ralapet, Asifabad Rd, Repallewada, RechiRechni Rd, Bellampalli, Mandamarri, Ravindrakhani, Mancherial, Peddampet, Ramagundam, Raghavapuram, Peddapalli, Kothapalli, Kolanur, Odela, Potkapalli, Bisugir Shariff, Jammikunta, Uppal, Hasanparti Rd, Kazipet Town, Warangal, Chintalpalli, Yelgur, Nekkonda, Intekanne, Kesamudram, Tadlapusapalli, Mahbubabad, Gundratimadugu, Garla, Dornakal, Papatpalli and Mallemadugu stations in both the directions.

The Indian Railway is planning to introduce graded discounts system in passenger tickets on the line of air tickets where those booked tickets early get cheaper deals.

The national transporter is working on the new system by modifying the existing flexi fare, which was earlier introduced in premium trains like Duronto, Rajdhani and Shatabdhi.

In the proposed system, just like air travellers, railway passengers planning their journey in advance could get cheaper deals. However details are still being worked out, an official in the Railway Ministry said.

Earlier, a Committee appointed by Railway Board comprising NITI Aayog adviser Ravinder Goyal, Executive Director (Revenue Management) of Air India Meenakshi Malik, had suggested graded discounts depending on the number of vacant seats in a train.

Similar to the airlines, which offer heavy discounts to passengers if they book their tickets months in advance, the committee, official said recommended discounts from 50% to 20% depending on the number of vacant seats available at the time of booking.

The panel has also proposed discounts for tickets booked after charting. It has said that discounts can be offered in slots from two days to two hours before the departure of the train.

The committee has also said that passengers will have to pay more for choosing lower berths, just like air travellers pay more for front-row seats.

However, officials say that senior citizens, people with disabilities and pregnant women could be allotted the seats free of charge.

The committee has also recommended that instead of having flat fares, the railways should increase fares during festive seasons, and reduce them during lean months. The government may not implement all the recommendation in its new system instead some suggestions will be incorporated, said the officials.

The Ministry had formed the panel to review the existing flexi fare system where base fares increase by 10% (up to 50%) after every 10% of berths booked. The current flexi fare system received lot of criticism from certain quarter as the premium train fare shoots up to 50%.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) celebrated the 69th Republic Day on Jan. 26. A press release issued by the public relations officer of the NFR at Maligaon on Friday stated that the programme was conducted at the Maligaon Railway stadium.

The General Manager of the NFR Chahatey Ram unfurled the national flag. He is said to have inspected a march past by RPF contingents, Territorial Army contingents, civil defence; school children and Bharat Scouts and Guides.

An impressive cultural programme depicting the idea of India’s unity in diversity is also said to have taken place during the celebration.

In his speech Ram emphasised on the need to be in harmony with the vision of the prime minister and Railway minister to make the Indian railways a ‘growth engine’ for the nation. He said that the safety of railway passengers was of utmost concern; a paramount duty that should not experience any laxity or compromise as far as safety is concerned.

Also, the general manager called keeping trains and premises clean and hygienic a big challenge for the Indian Railways. “Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat” mission has imbibed cleanliness and environmental conservation consciousness, the updates added.

Also, the general manager informed that water-vending machines have been installed at 10 stations while 24 brands of packaged drinking water have been shortlisted to be sold in railway stations, besides free WiFi services at 14 stations.

In view of the ever-increasing demand of passengers for new train services, seven new passenger-carrying trains including prestigious services such as the Shatabdi Express is said to have been introduced in the current year; 12 conventional rakes were replaced with DEMU rakes.

During the current year, 450 children are said to have been rescued from the clutches of traffickers while contraband worth INR 1.6 crore is said to been recovered by the RPF.

The Republic Day event was celebrated in all the five divisions of the NFR.

NEW DELHI: The Railways today launched a one-of-its-kind touch-screen kiosk as a single-point enquiry station for answering all queries of passengers including about navigation for accessing various facilities available at the New Delhi railway station.

The Railways today launched a one-of-its-kind touch-screen kiosk as a single-point enquiry station for answering all queries of passengers including about navigation for accessing various facilities available at the New Delhi railway station. Chairman Railway Board Ashwani Lohani launched the ‘Rail Yatri Guide Kiosk’ at the station, designed by the Delhi division. The system comprises touch-screen kiosks with a 40-inch display of 3D-digitized railway station map and helps the passenger at the touch of the screen. “In all, 15 such kiosks will be provided at New Delhi station over next two months and gradually this system will be proliferated over major railway stations of the Indian Railways,” Lohani said. The national transporter also took a trip down memory lane today bringing alive the magic of steam-hauled trains.

Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain took a ride on the Fairy Queen hauled two-coach train, the Ganrajya Express from the New Delhi railway station to the Delhi Junction station.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday urged the youth to refrain from taking selfies on rail tracks, days after a 22-year-old man from Hyderabad suffered grievous injuries during one such attempt. In his message, Goyal has appealed to citizens to avoid selfies or stunts near railway tracks.

“In the last few days, I have seen news and videos in which there have been accidents of youth taking selfies or showing stunts near railway tracks. It is very disheartening to know about these accidents.

“You all are the future of the country and my appeal is to avoid putting your life at risk and stay alert around the railway tracks. Follow the rules and signs and pay attention while approaching rail crossings,” he said.

Along with the message, the ministry has also issued a number of posters with references from popular Bollywood songs like “Zindagi maut na banjaye sambhalo yaaron” (Be cautious, life can turn into death) from the film Sarfarosh, accompanied with images of people leaning out of trains.

There is another which says “Sun raha hai tu na” (Are you listening) from the film Ashique 2, accompanied with a picture of a young boy with earphones walking on the tracks with the message – “Listening to songs is fine, but not on the tracks.”

In the video of the Hyderabad incident which has gone viral on social media, the man identified as Siva is seen standing on the edge of the railway tracks holding up his phone with its front camera facing him and a train can be seen approaching him from behind.

Railway official are seen cautioning him to move away while he is seen asking them for a minute more. A case under 147 IR Act and trespassing has been registered against him by the Railway Police Force, officials said.

The message from Goyal also comes on a day an equally disturbing video of a Kashmiri man lying down on a railway track under a running train has gone viral.

The train punctuality and the overall financial performance of the Southern Railway zone, spread over Tamil Nadu and Kerala, has declined in the past few years.

In his Republic Day speech on Friday, General Manager R K Kulshreshtha said the Zone’s punctuality in the first nine months of 2017-18 was 83.7%, which was 88% during the corresponding period in the previous year. It was 85.5% up to July 2017 and 87% during the 2016-17 financial year.

Trains running through the Palakkad and Trivandrum divisions of the zone have been severely delayed in the past few months owing to large-scale track maintenance works, which has adversely affected the train punctuality, said senior officials.

The figures are likely to drop further as the railway board last month asked for digital recording of train arrival and departure timings, dissuading Southern Railway from manually fudging the figures to show higher numbers.

Chennai Division’s punctuality performance shows slight improvement in the last few years, which is largely due to better on-time performance of suburban trains. Data shows that the division’s punctuality was 74.5% in 2015-16, 78.25% in 2016-17, while it was at 83% in the first nine months of 2017-18. The punctuality of suburban trains has gone up from 81.1% in 2016-17 to 87.5% in 2017-18.

In terms of train punctuality, Tiruchirapalli division has recorded the best performance in the zone (96%) in the first nine months of the fiscal. It was 97.5% in 2016-17, 94% in 2015-16 and 94.1% in 2014-15.

“Punctuality is dependent on many factors like no run-over accidents, absence of unmanned level crossings, mechanical and signal failures and maintenance blocks as well,” said a senior official in the traffic wing.

The operating ratio, which is a measure of the financial performance of the zone, is 168.07 in the April to December 2017 period. This number was 165.8 up to July 2017 and 146.9 for the financial year 2016-17. For 2015-16, the zone had an operating ratio of 134.9.

The operating ratio is the amount spent by the zone to earn every Rs 100.

This is mainly because the zone’s earnings have decreased by around Rs 80 crore in the current year as compared to the previous year where it stood at Rs 5,505 crore. Sources said that while passenger traffic and earnings have gone up, freight traffic has not picked up. There has also been an increase in expenditure for various capacity addition works, which has escalated the operating ratio.

SECUNDERABAD: South Central Railway celebrated the 69^th Republic Day with gaiety and patriotic fervour at Railway Sports Complex Grounds, Secunderabad today (26^thJanuary, 2018). Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, South Central Railway, who was the Chief Guest o­n the occasion, unfurled the National Flag and received the Guard of Honour presented by contingents of Railway Protection Force, Civil Defence, National Cadet Corps, Scouts and Guides etc. A big gathering of Railway Officers and Staff, their family members and the public were present on the occasion.

Delivering his address after inspecting the Parade, the General Manager, Shri Vinod Kumar stated that the Republic Day offers South Central Railway an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to serve the Nation as a core transport service provider. Utilizing the occasion to share the performance and achievements of SCR in the current fiscal, the General Manager stated that the originating gross earnings of the Zone reached Rs.9472 crore till December, 2017 in the current financial year, around Rs.700 crore higher over the previous year.

Elaborating on the priorities of the Zone, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav said that timely execution of infrastructure projects is high on the agenda for SCR. During the current fiscal till date, 113 kms of new railway line, 17 kms of doubling of railway line, 490 kms of electrification has been completed, which is a record for any single year. A core area for attention for SCR is the safety of train operations, towards which a Zero tolerance policy is in implementation to maintain nil accident record. Security and passenger amenities too has been given importance, the General Manager informed.

Stressing on the need for environmental protection, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav stated that water conservation, development of full-fledged green environment at work places and railway stations, cleanliness in trains and at stations in tune with Swachh Bharat mission is high on the priority list for SCR. He spoke of promoting Digital transactions on SCR in a big way, which goes in tune with the achievement of the Zone as the first on Indian Railways to implement the concept of DigiPay station.

The General Manager highlighted welfare measures being undertaken for the employees including sending employees from the Group C&D categories on a subsidised Holiday cum educative trip to Singapore and Malaysia. Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav called upon the entire SCR workforce to perform to their best, drawing inspiration from the spirit of Republic Day celebrations, so as to play their role in the Nation’s journey of progress.

A host of cultural events signifying patriotism, Dog squad show etc., marked the culmination of the program.

BHUBANESWAR: A civil society body of Jajpur district has demanded construction of a new rail line for better communication between the deep sea port at Dhamra and industrial area in Jajpur district.

They urged the railways to sanction funds for the project and construct the line for the development of the area.The civil society body, Jajpur Road-Dhamara Railpath Sangram Samiti, will stage dharna in front of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) headquarters here on January 30 to draw the attention of the Railways on the issue.Santosh Das, convener of the Samiti, said the Railways had announced for survey of the Jajpur Road-Dhamra new line in 2012-13.

ECoR had used an organization for survey of the project in 2014.

Later, the ECoR submitted the survey report before the Railway Board in April 2015, he added.”Unfortunately, the Centre has not approved the project yet.

It is not even included in the previous budget.

VADODARA: To avoid and minimise the usage of conventional source of power , the Vadodara railway division of Western Railways has started the process of installing solar panels at railway stations falling under its jurisdiction.As part of the initiative, solar panels will be installed at Vadodara, Anand, Nadiad, Bharuch, Godhra and Ankleshwar railway station among others that fall under the railway division.This initiative has been inspired by union railway minister Piyush Goyal .

Under this campaign, the railway division will install such solar panels not only at the stations but also at service buildings, sheds and other rooftop areas.According to railway officials, under the project, Vadodara railway division has been allotted a total of 1.05 megawatt peak (MWp) capacity solar panels that will be installed across the division.

Shri S.N.Agrawal, General Manager, South Eastern Railway unfurled the National Tri-Colour and took salute at the colourful Ceremonial Parade presented by the smart contingents of Railway Protection Force, S.E.Railway Bharat Scouts and Guides, St.John Ambulance Brigade, Civil Defence etc. While paying profound gratitude to the gallant jawans, freedom fighters and makers of Indian Constitution, Shri Agrawal urged upon all railwaymen to face the challenges confronting the railways unitedly. General Manager also called upon all railwaymen to make all out efforts towards safety and security of passengers and to work diligently to ensure safe and secured rail travel.

Highlighting the achievements & services rendered by South Eastern Railway to its users, General Manager said that S E Railway is poised to achieve the target of 155.50 million tonnes of freight loading fixed by Railway Board in the current financial year with the hard work of the dedicated workforce of S E Railway. Speaking about passenger services and infrastructure development, Shri Agrawal mentioned about the introduction of four New Passenger trains, construction of new lines, running of 1162 special trains for festive occasions, augmentation of important mail/express trains by attaching extra 5536 coaches, extension of services of mail/express trains and huge passenger amenitiy works during the current financial year (2017-18) upto Dec’17.  During the current financial year upto December, S E Railway has generated a Surplus of Rs 4332.59 crores which is 12.27% more over the last year. Shri Agrawal added that South Eastern Railway has been contributing immensely to the country’s socio-economic and industrial development.

This apart, General Manager said that in growing advancement of railways, 358 coaches have been fitted with Bi-toilets & in total 400 coaches are to be provided with Bio-toilets during this fiscal. Abundant CCTVs have been installed at important (A1, A) & B category stations. Lifts and escalators have also been installed in major stations in consideration of aged & sick passengers along with all. General Manager appreciated the role of Recognised Associations for cordial and harmonious relations amongst railway employees and the role played by RPF personnel for security of travelling passengers & railway property. An excellent show was put up by the RPF personnel during the occasion which included Tattoo show, Commando display etc. Dance drama and patriotic songs were also organized by the School Children & Cultural Associations.

Later, Smt. Surbhi Agrawal, President, South Eastern Railway Women’s Welfare Organization (SERWWO) along with other members distributed gifts to the indoor patients of South Eastern Railway Central Hospital, Garden Reach.  An additional Lift for the patients was also inaugurated at S E Railway Central Hospital today. National Flag was also hoisted at the premises of St. John Ambulance Brigade, SER Bharat Scouts & Guides, Railway Schools etc.

Photo Caption:

1. Shri S.N.Agrawal General Manager, South Eastern Railway inspecting the Parade presented by the smart contingents of Railway Protection Force during observance of 69^th Republic Day at S.E.Railway Hqrs. Garden Reach.
2. Shri S.N.Agrawal General Manager, South Eastern Railway addressing a gathering of Railway employees and their family members on the occasion of 69th Republic Day Celebrations at S.E.Railway Hqrs. Garden Reach.