Indian Railways has made the online booking of train coaches for special occasions like marriage party or tour easier. According to a circular by the Railway Board, booking of special trains, coaches, saloons on full tariff rate (FTR) shall now be booked through a ‘single window booking system’ of the Indian Railway Tourism and Catering Corporation (IRCTC). Passengers seeking to book trains/coaches on full tariff rate need to approach the IRCTC and the IRCTC will book trains/coaches online on behalf of him/her, stated the circular. IRCTC is the online ticketing arm of Indian Railways.

Here are 5 things to know about Indian Railways booking for special occasions:

1. Any individual/party/government/agency wanting to book trains/coaches/saloons on FTR can approach IRCTC and IRCTC will place indent online on behalf of the individual/party for booking of special trains/coaches on FTR, said the circular.

2. IRCTC shall levy facilitation charges at 5 per cent of total fare for booking of special trains/coaches/saloons on FTR, on behalf of individual/party for co-ordination work, the circular added.

3. According to Indian Railways, priority shall be accorded for booking of special trains/coaches/saloons on FTR over extra coaches to clear waitlisted passengers.

4. Registration of special trains/coaches/saloons shall be made minimum one month in advance and not before six months of the date of proposed journey. Registration in period short of one month shall require special permission of the CPTM of the zonal railways on a case to case basis, the circular further added.

5. Indian Railways has fixed a security deposit of Rs. 50,000 per coach and for special trains a minimum of 18 coaches will be charged. The entire transaction in the new online system will have to be digital, the board said.

The Railways will provide space for electric vehicle charging stations at the parking lots of train stations to promote the use of green energy. To begin with, the parking lots at the New Delhi and Nizamuddin railway stations in the capital have been identified to set up e-vehicle (EV) charging spots and “necessary preparations” are underway, according to a senior Railway Ministry official. According to the plan, there will be five fast-charging DC points capable of charging 10 cars simultaneously at a dedicated place in the parking lots of the two railway stations. While an AC charger takes around six hours to charge an EV, the DC chargers are faster and take only around 40 minutes to an hour to fully charge a vehicle.

According to the Railway Ministry official, the charging points at the two stations will be set up by BSES – Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL).

The scope of work includes funding, procurement and construction, operation and maintenance of the electric charging station infrastructure. It will cost about ₹ 15 lakh to provide charging infrastructure at each station parking lot – at ₹ 3 lakh per charging point.

“An effective charging infrastructure is required for creating the ecosystem for EVs to operate smoothly. And the lack of charging facilities inhibits the growth of e-vehicles in the city,” said the official.

BRPL, which will operate the charging stations, will price the power at Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) tariffs.

The EV charging points at the two railway stations will not only generate revenue for the national transporter, it will also reduce emission of green house gases, “thereby reducing Indian Railways’ carbon footprint and helping the country achieve targets set in Paris Agreement for combating climate change”, said the official.

The Railways efforts are also expected to contribute towards helping the highly polluted capital to breathe a little easier, he added.

The Railways will allocate parking spaces at the station parking lots and will continue to collect parking fees from the vehicle owners as usual.

The promotion of EVs is a strategic goal for the National Democratic Alliance government, which is keen to cut the country’s oil imports.

The Railways is also phasing out diesel engines and replacing them with electric locos to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Besides, the state-run transporter is also promoting solar and wind energy in a gradual manner.

The Railways will provide space for electric vehicle charging stations at the parking lots of train stations to promote the use of green energy.

To begin with, the parking lots at the New Delhi and Nizamuddin railway stations in the capital have been identified to set up e-vehicle (EV) charging spots and “necessary preparations” are underway, according to a senior Railway Ministry official.

According to the plan, there will be five fast-charging DC points capable of charging 10 cars simultaneously at a dedicated place in the parking lots of the two railway stations.

While an AC charger takes around six hours to charge an EV, the DC chargers are faster and take only around 40 minutes to an hour to fully charge a vehicle.

According to the Railway Ministry official, the charging points at the two stations will be set up by BSES – Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL).

The scope of work includes funding, procurement and construction, operation and maintenance of the electric charging station infrastructure. It will cost about Rs. 15 lakh to provide charging infrastructure at each station parking lot – at Rs. 3 lakh per charging point.

“An effective charging infrastructure is required for creating the ecosystem for EVs to operate smoothly. And the lack of charging facilities inhibits the growth of e-vehicles in the city,” said the official.

BRPL, which will operate the charging stations, will price the power at Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) tariffs.

The EV charging points at the two railway stations will not only generate revenue for the national transporter, it will also reduce emission of green house gases, “thereby reducing Indian Railways’ carbon footprint and helping the country achieve targets set in Paris Agreement for combating climate change”, said the official.

The Railways efforts are also expected to contribute towards helping the highly polluted capital to breathe a little easier, he added.

The Railways will allocate parking spaces at the station parking lots and will continue to collect parking fees from the vehicle owners as usual.

The promotion of EVs is a strategic goal for the National Democratic Alliance government, which is keen to cut the country’s oil imports.

The Railways is also phasing out diesel engines and replacing them with electric locos to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Besides, the state-run transporter is also promoting solar and wind energy in a gradual manner.

Indian Railways offers catering services at both stations and trains. Indian Railways catering services are owned by IRCTC and include tea/coffee, breakfast and standard meals. Official twitter handle of Ministry of Railways- @RailMinIndia posted a video on its timeline which shows the itemised price list of all items sold on Indian Railways, with the detailed specification of what it includes. According to the Railways Ministry, passengers can avail fresh, hygienic and healthy food and beverages at economical prices.

1. Janta meal includes seven pooris, aloo dry curry and pickle is priced at Rs. 15 on all stations and at Rs. 20 inside the rail coaches.

2. Coffee in disposable cups is priced at Rs. 7 on both stations and trains, while coffee in pots is sold for Rs. 15 at both places.

3. Packaged rail neer (1 litre) is available at Rs. 15 on both stations and trains and 500 ml of packaged rail neer is available at Rs. 10 on both stations and trains.

4. Standard tea is available at Rs. 5 on both stations and trains while tea with tea bags is priced at Rs. 7. Tea in pots is available at Rs. 10.

5. Standard casserole veg meal is priced at Rs. 45 on stations and Rs. 50 on trains.

6. Non veg casserole non veg meal is priced at Rs. 50 on stations and Rs. 55 on trains.

7. Veg breakfast (that has various options that include bread butter and cutlet, idli and vada, upma and vada or pongal and vada) priced at Rs. 25 on stations, and Rs. 30 on trains.

8. Non-veg breakfast (that includes bread, butter and omelet) is priced at Rs. 30 on all stations and Rs. 35 on trains.

9. Standard thali of veg meal, which is available only in AC rooms of stations, is available at Rs. 35.

10. Standard thali of non-veg meal is priced at Rs. 40 and is available only in AC rooms of stations.

Ministry of Railways has directed Zonal Railways to discontinue pasting of reservation charts on the reserved coaches of all trains at all erstwhile A1, A & B category stations as a pilot project for 6 months starting from 1 March, 2018. Physical/digital charts will continue to be displayed at the platform of the train. At those stations where electronic charts display plasma have been installed and the same are functioning properly, physical reservation charts at such platforms can be stopped.

Earlier, pasting of reservation charts on the reserved coaches of all trains was discontinued at New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Mumbai Central, Chennai Central, Howrah and Sealdah Stations of Indian Railways on experimental basis for a period of 3 months.

Special trains

Indian Railways is set to operate Holi special trains to cater to high demand around the festival. The Central Railway has announced eight weekly trains between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Mumbai) to Barauni (Bihar) on special charges. The move is aimed to “clear the extra rush of passengers during Holi Festival”, the Central Railway said. This year, the Holi festival is on March 2. Bookings for train number 05540 will open from Friday, according to a press release dated February 14 by the Central Railway – which caters to one of the zones served by the Railways.

Jobs At Railways

Recently, Indian railways was in news for the 89,000 jobs that are up for grabs. A Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) employment notification has been issued earlier in the week for recruitment of 62,907 staff in Level 1 pay scale and out of these, apprentices trained in Railway establishments will be given preference to the tune of over 12,000 vacancies which is in line with the recent amendments made in the Apprentices Act, 1961. Another RRB notification of Ministry of Railways in a Centralized Employment Notification had also invited applications for filling up 26502 jobs in Post of Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) & Technician Categories. The recruitment process of these jobs are also open now.

Over 89,000 jobs are up for grabs at Indian Railways. A Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) employment notification has been issued earlier in the week for recruitment of 62,907 staff in Level 1 pay scale and out of these, apprentices trained in Railway establishments will be given preference to the tune of over 12,000 vacancies which is in line with the recent amendments made in the Apprentices Act, 1961. Another RRB notification of Ministry of Railways in a Centralized Employment Notification (CEN 01/2018) had also invited applications for filling up 26502 jobs in Post of Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) & Technician Categories. The recruitment process of these jobs are also open now.

Notification — CEN 02/ 2018 — which announced more than 62 thousand jobs has opportunities for Helper (Electrical, Bridge, Civil, P Way, Track Machine, Works, Mechanical, S and T, Signal, Telecommunication, Medical), Track Maintainer Grade IV, Hospital Attendant, Assistant Pointsman, Gateman, and Porter/ Hamal/ Sweeper cum Porter.

Read: RRB CEN 02/ 2018 Recruitment Notification Out; 62907 Vacancies

According to Railways Ministry, for the year 2017-18, about 26,000 training slots for Apprenticeship training have been notified.  This is in addition to over 4000 persons already undergoing training in various establishments.

Last week, RRB of Indian Railways has come up with another major recruitment drive for 62907 vacancies for Group D posts. Candidates in the age group of 18-31 years who have cleared class 10th and/ or ITI or NAC in the relevant trade are eligible to apply. RRB notification is now available at the official websites of the respective RRBs and in last week edition of Employment News.

Online registration for the same has begun and the last date for submission of applications is March 12, 2018. Candidates shall have to apply at the official websites of the respective RRBs.

Read: RRB Clarifies On Age Limit Issue Over CEN 01/ 2018 Recruitment

Before that, on last month, Railway Recruitment Cell of the East Central Railways published a notification for the recruitment of apprentice position in various locations like Patna, Samastipur, Dhanbad and Chandauli. Online applications were invited then from candidates for Apprenticeship in the designated trades at Divisions/Units in the jurisdiction of East Central Railway against 1898 vacancies, said the East Central Railways notification.
The online application for this East Central Railways apprentice recruitment has started from January 30 and it will be concluded by February 28.

As part of Skill India initiative, Ministry of Railways has been contributing in a big way to provide training to Apprentices in various disciplines training in categories like Fitter, Turner, Machinist, Welder, Painter, Carpenter, Electrician, Refrigerator and AC Mechanic, Mechanic (Motor Vehicle/Diesel) etc., since long.  Ministry of Railways has kept a target of training of 30 thousand Apprentices in its 16 Zonal Units and 7 Production Units.

“With a large set up of Workshops and Production Units, Indian Railways has been in the forefront of implementation of the Apprentices Act, 1961.  Railway Workshops have been imparting Apprentices,” said a statement from Railways Ministry.

Apprentices’ Training consists of Basic Training and On-the-Job Training/Practical Training at workplace.

Basic training is an essential component of apprenticeship training for those who have not undergone any institutional training/skill before taking up on-the-job training/practical training.  It counts for 20-30% of overall duration of Apprenticeship Training.  The component of on-the-job training is performed and undertaken in the establishment itself.

The railway minister, however, tweeted saying more than one lakh job opportunities at Indian Railways:

 

CCTV footage from the Repubblica Metro Station in Milan, Italy, shows the moment a toddler fell down on the train tracks and was rescued by a quick-thinking teenager. Lorenzo Pianazza, an 18-year-old student, jumped onto the tracks after he saw a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy fall down just a minute before the train was scheduled to arrive, reports ABC News. Footage captured shows the young boy running towards the tracks from the platform and slipping down while his mother sits on a bench at the platform. Even as the child’s mother and panicked bystanders gathered on the platform, Lorenzo jumped down to rescue him. After picking up the child and handing him to his mother, Lorenzo even found time to retrieve his toy.

Meanwhile, Claudia Flora Castellano, the station manager who saw the incident unfold on monitors in the control room, immediately pressed the red button to stop the train that was about to pull into the station.

The whole incident was captured on camera. Watch it below:

Azienda Trasporti Milanesi, the company responsible for public transportation in Milan, identified the child as Mohamed.

In a tweet shared on February 14, they thanked Lorenzo and Claudia for their courageous gesture.

The Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, invited Lorenzo and Claudia to his office following the incident to thank them.

“A few minutes ago, I received at Palazzo Marino Lorenzo and Claudia, the two boys who saved the child who fell in the subway. I thanked them warmly…” he wrote in a Facebook post on February 14.

Essere Sindaco di una grande città comporta attimi di grande gioia, che possono affiancarsi a momenti di dolore. Quello che conta è attraversarli insieme, uniti in una grande comunità.
Pochi minuti fa ho ricevuto a Palazzo Marino Lorenzo e Claudia, i due ragazzi che ieri hanno salvato il bambino caduto tra i binari nella metropolitana. Li ho ringraziati calorosamente, sicuro di parlare a nome di tutti i milanesi. Purtroppo però la giornata di oggi è stata segnata anche dal tragico incendio in via Cogne. Siamo ancora con il fiato sospeso per il giovane ragazzo che sta lottando per restare in vita e, nel frattempo, stiamo gestendo la sistemazione delle famiglie che hanno dovuto abbandonare il loro appartamento.

Indian Railways has announced special trains to cater to additional demand expected due to the Holi festival. The Railways will be operating “Holi special trains” on four routes. These include a weekly Jan Sadharan special train service between Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Mumbai, according to a press release dated February 13 by the Northern Railway – which caters to one of the zones served by the Railways. The carrier said the Holi special trains are aimed to “clear extra rush of passengers during Holi Festival”. The Holi festival falls on Thursday, March 2 this year.

Here are five things to know about the Holi 2018 special Gorakhpur-Mumbai train announced by the Railways:

1. The Northern Railway said the weekly Holi special Jan Sadharan service will be operated with train No. 02597/02598.

Gorakhpur to Mumbai Holi special train schedule

2. The train No. 02597 will depart from Gorakhpur every Saturday including February 17 till March 10 at 8:25 am and arrive in Mumbai at 12:15 pm the next day.

3. In the opposite direction, the Holi special train No. 02598 will depart from Mumbai every Sunday from February 18 to March 11 at 2:20 pm to arrive in Gorakhpur at 6:45 pm the next day, according to the Northern Railway.

4. The Holi special train service will comprise sixteen general class and “two disabled friendly cum luggage van coaches”, according to the Northern Railway.

5. Aimed to “clear extra rush of passengers” during the Holi festival, the weekly service between Gorakhpur and Mumbai will stop at stations including Basti, Kanpur Central, Jhansi, Habibganj and Kalyan in both directions. Other halts will include Khalilabad, Lucknow, Itarsi, Bhusaval and Gonda, according to the Northern Railway

Indian Railways has announced special trains between Ramnagar (Uttarakhand) and Howrah (West Bengal) to cater to additional demand due to the Holi 2018. The Railways will be operating “Holi special trains” with on four routes, including Ramnagar-Howrah-Ramnagar, according to a press release dated February 13 by the Northern Railway – which caters to one of the zones served by the Railways. The Holi special trains are aimed to “clear extra rush of passengers during Holi Festival”. The Holi festival falls on March 2 this year.

Here are five things to know about the Holi 2018 special Ramnagar-Howrah-Ramnagar train announced by the Railways:

1. The Northern Railway said a weekly Ramnagar-Howrah-Ramnagar service will be operated with train No. 05007/05008.

Ramnagar to Howrah Holi special train schedule

2. The Holi Special Train will depart from Ramnagar on all Fridays from February 16 to March 9 at 6:15 pm and arrive in Howrah at 07:10 am the third day, according to the Northern Railway.

3. The train (Holi Special train No. 05008) will depart from Howrah every Sunday including February 18 to March 11 at 8:35 am to arrive in Ramnagar at 4:45 p.m. the next day.

4. The train will comprise one AC 2 Tier, one AC 3 Tier, six sleeper class, six general class and “two disabled friendly cum luggage van coaches”, according to the Northern Railway.

5. This Holi Special train will stop at stations including Kashipur, Baheri, Izzatnagar, Bareilly City, Bareilly, Sitapur cantonment, Gorakhpur, Potoree, Barauni, Jasidih, Madhupr, Asansol, Durgapur and Bardhman in both directions. Some other halts include Bhojipura, Bazpur, Pantnagar, Kiccha, Gonda, Khalilabad, Kaptanganj, Chhapra, Tamkuhi Road and Jhajha.