Indian Railways News

Indian Railways News

GPS based 3-Phase Indigenous EMU Train with CCTV Cameras in Ladies’ Coaches in Suburban Section Flagged off

To upgrade the facilities and services to the suburban commuters, South Eastern Railway put into service newly built GPS based 3-phase indigenous EMU (Electrical Multiple Unit) train in Suburban Section of Kharagpur Division this afternoon (22.03.2018).

Sri S N Agrawal, General Manager, South Eastern Railway and Sri K R K Reddy, Divisional Railway Manager, Kharagpur graced the occasion while the senior most Motorman, Sri Kamal Ahmed flagged off the newly built GPS based 3-phase indigenous EMU train.

3-phase (Alternating Current) EMU rake with Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) based propulsion system is being introduced in suburban service of S. E. Railway. Following are the salient features/advantages of this new rake in comparison with existing single phase EMU rakes.

Safety for woman passengers:

  1. CCTV camera: To increase woman passenger’s safety CCTV cameras have been installed in Ladies Compartment.
  2. Flasher light indication with buzzer: Flasher light indication unit with buzzer has been provided outside Ladies & disabled passenger coach. In case of passenger alarm chain pull (ACP) this unit outside that coach will start glowing with buzzer sound and information will be available to both the motorman & guard.

Passenger comfort:

  1. Better Ventilation: For better ventilation inside coach, Roof mounted ventilation unit (RMVU) have been provided in each coach along with 450 mm sweep fan.
  2. Better illumination: The full rake is equipped with LED light for better illumination & energy saving as compared to normal fluorescent light provided in conventional rake.
  3. GPS based Passenger Information System (PIS) with in coach display:GPS based Passenger Information System (PIS) with in coach display unit, in-coach speaker and LED based Head code has been provided in this rake. This system announces as well as displays the present station, next station and various safety messages.
  4. Compartment Doors : The rake is fitted with easy to slidelight weight sliding doors supported by imported sliding mechanism including user friendly locks, latches and maintenance free rollers.

Passenger safety items:

Various passenger safety items have been incorporated in this rake such as anti slipping arrangement (knurling) in doorway vertical bar (for easy gripping), safety net in every window, ladder in every coach etc.

Aesthetics: Aero-dynamic design, magenta-white PU paint and all stainless steel furnishing gives this rake a pleasant aesthetics.

Another 3 rakes of these types is ready for commissioning and it has been planned to induct within a week. Total 6 rakes have been allotted to South Eastern Railway and all the 6 rakes will be brought into service in a very short span.

Railways plan to use GIS Portal to monitor, maintain and manage its Assets

Indian Railways have large number of assets including land assets that need to be effectively monitored, managed and maintained.  As railway operations have wide spatial coverage, GIS mapping of assets on Indian Railways can be used for better management.

All Indian Railways assets are to be mapped and these will be subsequently used to develop Indian Railways’ GIS portal.  Work is in progress for GPS based mapping of Indian Railways assets including land assets on GIS platform likely to be completed by December, 2018.

MOU has been signed with Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) to this effect and CRIS is developing this Application.

In this Application land plans of Indian Railways will be available for viewing overlaid on Satellite Imagery.  Satellite imagery is being taken from Bhuvan Platform of ISRO.  MOU between Ministry of Railways and ISRO has been signed for mutual cooperation in various phases.

After development of GIS portal, it may be possible to identify new encroachment all around station by comparing the images of Satellite Imagery which are updated by ISRO after a regular interval.

Seminar on ‘Achieving Safety Through Modern Signalling in Railways’ held at Chennai

The Institution of Railway Signal and Telecommunication Engineers, Chennai Chapter, Southern Railway organised a seminar on ‘Achieving safety through Modern Signalling in Railways’ today (20th March, 2018).

Shri R.K. Kulshrestha, General Manager, Southern Railway inaugurated the seminar and Shri M. Elavarasan, Principal Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer, Southern Railway gave the presidential address.

Shri R.K. Kulshrestha, General Manager, Southern Railway during his keynote address said that the Signal & Telecommunications Department of Southern Railway is an important and modern department.  This department plays a vital role in enhancing the safety of train operations.

The General Manager emphasised that utilisation of Data Loggers and other devices have enhanced the reliability of signalling.  The General Manager was also happy to state that instances of signal failures in Southern Railway have come down remarkably.  During the occasion, the General Manager also released posters and booklet on safety.

Technical sessions were conducted during which discussions on various topics such as Data Loggers, Surge Protection Devices, Bio metric devices for reliability and safety of signalling gears, etc. were held.  Shri N. Ramachandran, Senior Divisional Signal and Telecommunication Engineer gave descriptive details regarding the present maintenance and also his vision for achieving safety and reliability of signalling.  The role of telecommunication in modern signalling was also discuss

Flagging Off of newly built GPS Based 3-Phase Indigenous EMU Train with CCTV Cameras in Ladies Compartment

South East Central Railway informed Media about GPS based 3-Phase technologically upgraded EMU Local having CCTV Cameras in Ladies Coach to be flagged off from the New Complex of Howrah Station on 22/3/2018 at 13.00 hours, in the presense of S.N.Agrawal, General Manager, KRK Reddy, Divisional Railway Manager, Kharagpur, South Eastern Railway.

The coaches of this 3-Phase EMU Local are fitted with LED lights, CCTV Camera in ladies compartment and many other attractive features. The new 12-coach rake with carrying capacity of 6050 passengers will be utilized in suburban sections of South Eastern Railway. With introduction of this 12-Car new rake, the passengers of suburban section will be greatly benefitted.

SECTIONAL SPEED ON SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY INCREASED DUE TO MASSIVE ENGINEERING WORKS

South Eastern Railway has also undertaken massive Track Renewal and Engineering Works spreading over all its sections. As a result of these track renovation and engineering works, the mobility of trains has been increased considerably. This has been done by reducing permanent speed restriction, expeditious removal of temporary speed restrictions to maintain long restriction free stretches, running of trains with right powering to the extent possible, restriction free stretches 50 Km or more and sectional speed acceleration.

The raising of speed in some important sections  i.e. :  Bokaro N cabin-Talgoria section raising from 50 kmph to 60 kmph, Shyamchak –Kharagpur 3rd line from 100 kmph to 110 kmph, Muri to Kotshila from 105 kmph to 110 kmph, Kotshila-Rajabera from 105 kmph to 110 kmph, Chandil-Muri from 95 kmph to 110 kmph, Rajharkharswan-Mahalimarup 3rd line from 100 kmph to 110 kmph, Adityapur-Gamharia 3rd line from 90 kmph to 110 kmph, Posoita-Manoharpur 3rd line from 80 kmph to 110 kmph, Bhojudi –Gomoh from 105 kmph to 110 kmph, Burnpur-Joychandipahar from 100 kmph to 110 kmph, Adra-Bhojudih from 100 kmph to 110 kmph, Muri-Barkakana from 95 kmph to 110 kmph, Pendrasali-Jhinkpani 3rd line 80 kmph to 90 kmph etc. along with some other sections over South Eastern Railway.

As a result the movement of freight trains will be increased without any hurdles achieving reduction of transit time under the jurisdiction of South Eastern Railway. The passenger trains over all sections of South Eastern Railway will also gain speed. The works have also been done in all suburban sections and the train movements in suburban sections will be smoother without any loss of punctuality.

Chairman/Railway Board assures to retain Heritage character of DHR

The Railway Board Chairman, Ashwini Lohani has assured of preservation of the heritage character while restoring Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) that is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Lohani today visited the UNESCO World Heritage Railway to take stock of the ground realities of the famous hill railway and railway’s efforts to make it sustainable. Soon after arriving at New Jalpaiguri, Lohani started his inspection of the entire narrow gauge section from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling on a special train. He has visited Tindharia workshop, Kurseong station and Loco shed, Ghum station and museum and Darjeeling Station and Loco Shed.

Lohani said that all restoration works in Darjeeling Himalyan Railway would be done by preserving the heritage character of the hill railway. In order to bring a heritage, feel, he ordered that all DHR staff be dressed in the original uniform being worn in early pre-Independence days.

He assured that he would look into the possibility of reduction of fares in the narrow-gauge hill railway to make it more economical and added that second-class coach service would be started to make the journey on the train more accessible for general public.

He inspected Tindharia workshop and ordered for a facelift of the workshop to be completed by 1st April this year. He also said that Senior Supervisors working in DHR would be sent for foreign training to make them aware of the superior standards being practised in maintenance and operation of narrow-gauge railways abroad. He instructed that two rail buses be made in the workshop within next six months.

In a significant decision, Shri Lohani stated that all 14 steam engines, which are the primary USP of the Hill railway, would be revived. He also said that, air-brake modification of steam engine to be done to increase efficiency and reduce manpower requirement. It may be mentioned here that railways have already entered into a MoU with Heavy Engineering Corporation for design, fabrication/manufacture and supply of spares for the steam locomotives in DHR.

Inspecting the museum at Ghum, Lohani appreciated railways effort to showcase the heritage of the hills railway for the benefit of the visiting tourists and enthusiasts.

The Quali-Tea of Mercy: Chaiwala Association approaches SC challenging Railways Rule (Download Petition)

Though Modi embraced his humble roots much to the dismay of those who ridiculed him, it appears that the Union Railway Ministry has done little in the way of making life easier for people who earn their livelihood as the Prime Minister once claims to have done.

An organisation called the Chaiwala Welfare Association has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging a rule restricting the operation of stalls/trolleys on railway station platforms.

By way of background, the Railways has been issuing Catering Policies with a view to streamlining how railway stations across the country function optimally. A common theme of the past few policies has been the decongestion of railway platforms, which are usually choc-a-bloc with vendors and stalls. To this end, the Catering Policy 2010 sought to restrict the renewal of licenses of these stalls and vendors.

On being refused renewal of their licenses, a few of these vendors approached the High Court of Judicature of Hyderabad, which in 2013 directed that their licenses be renewed by the railway authorities. On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court judgment in 2016, albeit with the following caveat:

“We, however, make it clear that only those licensees may be eligible for renewal of their licenses who can declare on affidavit that they do not have the license of more than one shop or kiosk in their name or benami license at the railway stations with periodical reasonable increase of license fee.”

Subsequently, the Railway Ministry issued the Catering Policy 2017, which was initially not in tune with the Supreme Court ruling. However, a circular was later issued stating stipulating that only those units would be eligible for renewal of their licences who declare on affidavit that they don’t have license for more than one refreshment room/catering stall/trolley etc.

Later, as it was found by various vendors’ societies and co-operative firms representing individual vendors, the railway authorities were granting only one license for each society/firm, and refusing affidavits submitted by the individual vendors that form these organisations. This, the petition states, is a violation of the individual vendors’ fundamental right to livelihood.

The petition, filed through Advocate-on-Record LR Singh and drawn by Wasim Qadri, reveals,

“It is humbly submitted that in the said judgment this Hon’ble Court took a pragmatic view and directed that only one unit will be renew in respect of one individual vendor, with an object to eliminate the concentration in one hand. However said direction is not applicable to Association/Partnership Firms for obvious reason that the trolleys/ Shops are given to the Society/Partnership Firms, which consist of its member who don’t own anything individually…

…the members thereof jointly form a body corporate and they run the Co-operative Society/ Firms jointly but by individual efforts and the members are poor section of the society and need protection in consonance with the principle laid down under the Directives Principles of State Policy.”

Apart from the Chaiwala Welfare Organisation, other societies have already approached the Supreme Court over the very same issue. A Bench of Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao had issued notice in that petition, which was argued by Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid. It has been prayed that the present petition be heard along with the existing one.

It has also been prayed that the Court direct the railway administration to not eliminate individual vendors who have been selling food and beverages on railway platforms for decades.

LHB Airbrake Workshop inaugurated at Perambur

Centre of Excellence, a state-of-the-art maintenance facility for Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) air brake system was inaugurated at Perambur Carriage Works recently.

According to sources from Railways, Southern Railway General Manager R K Kulshreshta inaugurated the maintenance facility during his annual inspection to the workshop and also gave an cash award of Rs 50,000 to the centre in recognition of good work being done by them.

Perambur Carriage Works has been maintaining LHB coaches of Southern Railways for the past seven years. Railway Board had advised to identify key areas for development as Centre of Excellence.

Owing to the increasing trend of LHB coaches holding in Indian Railways, it was felt to develop an indigenous overhauling facility to maintain airbrake system of LHB coaches and Centre of Excellence in Carriage Works, Perambur was taken as a pilot project.

With the establishment of this facility, it not only scales down the dependency on OEM but also improves the sustainability in maintenance of airbrake system of LHB coaches.

Perambur Carriage works has developed all the gadgets and test stands in-house which are required for the overhauling and testing of air brake components and valves.

The Centre of Excellence will focus on overhauling of centrifugal air strainer/filter, check valve, emergency brake accelerator, valve,  BP/FP hose coupling, brake cylinder, wheel sliding protection, brake indicator and others.

This facility will result in considerable reduction in maintenance cost (Rs 70 lakh approximately) of one coach during its life time.

It is interesting to note that attention to the air brake system of the LHB coaches plays a vital role in safe operation of coaches.

Indian Railways hands over 18 microprocessor controlled Indian locomotives to Myanmar Railways

As per vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Indian Railways is playing a pivotal role in developing cordial relations with the neighboring countries. India and Myanmar have been long enjoying cooperation in the Railway sector over the last two decades.

To further boost the cooperation between two countries, Shri Rajen Gohain, Minister of State of Railways attended the formal handing over ceremony of 18th AC-DC 1350 HP diesel electric locomotive to Myanma Railways, supplied by RITES and manufactured by Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, India.

These 18 locomotives are fitted with micro-processor control based system. 1350 HP AC/DC main line diesel locomotives with maximum speed of 100 KM PH have been customised for Myanma Railways, built by Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, India. They are extremely fuel efficient are eqquipped with the latest features. Most of these supplies in the railway sector have been carried out under Indian Line of Credit. As per the agreement schedule, all locomotives were to be delivered by September, 2018. They have been delivered six months ahead of the schedule.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rajen Gohain, Minister of State of Railways expressed his pleasure on the close cooperation between the two railway systems on regular basis since last 20 years. He congratulated Indian Railways in completing the project, much ahead of delivery schedule and providing locomotives with many contemporary new features over the earlier supplies. He thanked the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for their full coordination and assistance with the Myanmar authorities in easy facilitation of the project. The Minister said that this association will help strengthen friendly border relations with India.

On the occasion, HE U.Thant Sin Moung, Minister of Transportation and Communication mentioned the valued cordial relationship between the two countries and how it can go beyond the present interaction. He showed keen interest in the training programmes offered by the Indian Railways and on the Signaling and Telecommunication systems.

RITES, a Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways is the export arm of the railways undertaking various projects worldwide. RITES has engaged in the supply of Railway rolling stock (locomotives, coaches, wagons, permanent way maintenance vehicles), maintenance of railway infrastructure, technical studies, training of Myanmar Railway officials. Soon, RITES would take up the study for upgradation & maintenance of workshops. A team of experts from Diesel Modernization Works, Patiala would visit Myanmar soon.

Robertsganj Railway Station on Allahabad Division renamed ‘Sonbhadra’

The Robertsganj railway station in Uttar Pradesh has been renamed Sonbhadra, an official has said.

The Union home ministry has given its approval for the renaming of the British-era railway station in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.
Even though the railway station falls under the district, there is no place in the name of Sonbhadra. The Robertsganj station has been renamed Sonbhadra, the home ministry official said.
This is the second time a railway station in Uttar Pradesh has been rechristened. The Mughalsarai railway station was renamed after RSS ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya in last August.
The iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus in Mumbai also saw the word “Maharaj” added to its name early last year.

L&T wins Rs.28.6 Billion worth package for Eastern Freight corridor

Construction work on the eastern railway freight corridor has picked up the pace with construction order for the single-track corridor from Khurja to Pilkhani was awarded to engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T).

L&T on Friday said it has won a single-track corridor package on the eastern dedicated freight corridor worth Rs 28.64 billion for construction of the 222km line.

“This is Larsen & Toubro’s first EPC Civil, Structure & Track project in the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. In the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, L&T already has a share of 71 per cent in the civil packages and 100 per cent share in the electrical packages,” the company said in its statement to BSE.

“The scope of work includes construction of single railway track including yards, 75 major & 588 minor bridges, 1 rail over bridge modification, 4 rail flyovers, 21 stations along with construction of all associated works. The project is planned to be executed using completely mechanized means of track linking using the latest technology in railway construction,” the company said in its statement.

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) is a special purpose vehicle of the Indian Railways, mandated to build dedicated freight corridors. The project won by L&T will be funded by World Bank (WB) and is a part of the 1856 km Eastern Corridor.

The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor consists of two distinct segments: an electrified double-track segment of 1409 km between Dankuni in West Bengal & Khurja in Uttar Pradesh & an electrified single-track segment of 447 km between Ludhiana (Dhandarikalan) – Khurja – Dadri in the state of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. DFCCIL has completed awarding of all civil, electrical and signalling and a telecom contract have been awarded for the western corridor and is in the process of completing awards for the eastern side.

According to DFCCIL, Rs 519.06 billion worth of contracts have been awarded so far. The dedicated freight corridor is to be developed in phases, of which the first phase is to be completed in November this year and the last phase is to be ready by end of 2020.

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