Wearable tech has found a key use — to make Indian Railways safer.

To ensure those responsible for the upkeep of tracks are doing their duty, railway authorities have come up with a wearable GPS device, resembling a fitness band, for track maintainers, earlier known as gangmen.

The track maintainers have to keep the device on during duty hours and their movement can be traced through a mobile application IR-PMS (Indian Railway Patrolling Monitoring System). The move is also aimed at preventing seniors from asking track staff to do odd jobs.

“This has been done to ensure that the gangmen are doing their job and also it will help them in sending alerts in case they find a problem with the track,” a railway spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Indian Railways, the world’s fourth-largest rail network, which carries 23 million people daily, has seen a lot of wear and tear over the years, as the bulk of the network was laid during the British time.

The government has turned to tech and innovation to expand the network and also to make it safe.

The app will allow senior officials to monitor the location and speed of the person carrying the GPS device. In case of an emergency, a trackman can send a text message or make a call that goes directly to officials concerned with track safety and the control room.

Around 600 track staffs of the Bhopal division of the Western Railways are already using the GPS device and there are plans to take it to the country’s remaining divisions, a rail ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“The execution will start by the end of this year and depending on the response, more employees — keymen, patrolmen, ticket checkers, etc — will be given GPS bands,” the official said.

The app also allows direct communication with the person wearing the device through registered mobile numbers, another ministry official said, requesting not to be identified.

“A report containing all relevant information is generated and saved for further analysis. For instance, if during inspection, some deficiency is found, the next person on patrolling can check whether it has been rectified. The history of the inspection will be useful for repair,” the official said.

The trial run, on since January, has been good. Based on feedback, new features are being added to the app.

There are about 200,000 gangmen, many of whom also man gates at rail crossings besides patrolling tracks.

पश्चिम रेलवे महिला कल्याण संगठन की मुंबई मंडल इकाई तथा “आई कैन विन फाउंडेशन” के सहयोग से महिला कर्मचारियों तथा समिति के सदस्यों के हित में मुंबई सेन्ट्रल स्थित मंडल रेल प्रबंधक कार्यालय के गूंज सभागृह में शुक्रवार, 20 अप्रैल 2018 को स्तन स्वजागरुकता शिविर का आयोजन किया गया । पश्चिम रेलवे महिला कल्याण संगठन, चर्चगेट की सदस्या श्रीमती रश्मि मिश्रा की पहल से आयोजित इस शिविर में प्रख्यात कैंसर सर्जन तथा जे.पी.अस्पताल के अपर महानिदेशक डॉ. पवन गुप्ता ने इससे संबंधित एक घंटे तक का प्रस्तुतीकरण दिया, जिसके अंतर्गत इस  बीमारी के मुख्य कारणों, लक्षणों तथा इसकी सरल स्वपरीक्षा की तकनीकी जानकारी दी गई । श्री गुप्ता ने बीमारी की रोकथाम के लिए महिलाओं को अपनी जीवनशैली  बदलने पर जोर दिया । इस जागरुकता शिविर में लगभग 80 महिला रेल कर्मियों ने भाग लिया । इस शिविर में महिला कर्मचारियों को स्तन कैंसर पर नःशुल्क लीफलेट तथा तंबाकू से बचने के  बुकलेट (युवाओं को जागरुक करने हेतु)वितरित किए गए । कैंसर के प्रति किसी शंका को दूर करने हेतु एक प्रश्नोत्तरी सत्र का भी आयोजन किया गया । पश्चिम रेलवे महिला कल्याण संगठन, मुंबई मंडल की अध्यक्षा श्रीमती रेणु जैन ने इस आयोजन का आमंत्रण स्वीकार करने तथा रेल कर्मियों के हित में इस शिविर में व्याख्यान देने हेतु डॉ. पवन गुप्ता को धन्यवाद दिया ।

Indian Railways is planning to replace all AC 2-tier coaches from Duronto and Rajdhani express to AC 3-tier coaches in some sectors.

According to the Indian Railways official, AC-3 tier coaches always remain in demand, which helps it to raise profits or reach the break-even mark.

As per reports, this move has been initiated due to the flexi-fare system for these premier trains, which came into effect in September 2016.

After the flexi-fare system was introduced, there were times when the fare of AC-2 tier and the economy became almost equal, which resulted in low occupancy in train bookings of AC-2 tier category.

There are around 42 Rajdhani trains, 46 Shatabdi and 54 Duronto trains, and the the flexi-fare system for Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi express depends on the base fare.

As per the reports, 10 percent of the seats get sold on normal fare and the rest keep increasing with every 10 percent of berths sold with the ceiling limit at maximum 50 percent. While for AC-3 tier, it was 40 percent, thus, leading to the introduction of more such coaches in these trains.

To modify further the flexi-fare system, officials said “The Railway Ministry is planning to introduce the rental slabs of Humsafar Express trains for three trains Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi, where the flexi fare scheme is being implemented. The slabs will be introduced with an aim to simplify the flexi fare scheme, which has always faced criticism.”

Waltair Division of East Coast Railway recorded gross revenue of Rs 7154.99 crore during the just concluded financial year 2017-18 which is 10.82 per cent than last year’s Rs.6456.42 crore.

Informing this to reporters here on Monday, Divisional Railway Manager Mukul Saran Mathur said that the Division transported 56.54 million tonnes which is 7.29% higher than last year. Revenue from freight loading at Rs 6515.25 crore is an increase of 11.44% over last year’s Rs 5846.24 crores, and 4.63% over the target set for the fiscal year.

“The Division has carried 35.06 million passengers to their destination generating revenue of Rs 536.43 crore which is 7.51% more than the last year. We also achieved the best operating ratio of 35.28,” he disclosed.

Waltair Division bagged 9 Best Performance Shields, including Overall Performance Shield at the 63rd Railway Week Awards function at Zonal Head Quarters, Bhubaneswar recently. The Division’s consistent performance in all the fields applauded by the General Manager, East Coast Railway, he said.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Suneel Kumar also spoke.

Indian Railways has launched its first ever paint-less train. Imagine a silver looking stainless-steel train running on railway tracks. Yes, the new Antyodaya Express is not the usual red or other typical Indian Railways colour, but is of shiny silver, and its no-paint exterior that actually looks classy, appealing and quite international.

Antyodaya Express is first-of-its-kind without paint train that is manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. This 22 coaches LHB (Linke-Hofmann-Busch) rake was handed over to the Southern Railway division of Indian Railways by the manufacturer.

The first Antyodaya Express service began in the year 2017, which had colourful paint scheme of red and yellow. Apart from being paint-less, all the features remain same in the new Antyodaya Express.

As per ICF, the new silver Antyodaya Express will be made available as an unreserved train for ‘superfast service’ and will only operate on dense routes at a speed of 120 km/hour. On Tamil New Year, it operated between Tambaram and Tirunelveli.

An ICF official said, “The advantage of a paint-less exterior coach is that it saves the cost of paint and that of refurbishing it when it is time for a upgrade”.

Prime features of the new Antyodaya Express

1) These coaches feature a ‘corrugate side wall’ having a 2 mm thick duplex stainless steel.
2) These have paint-less finish, fleet graphic and hydrophobic anti graphic stickers.
3) The roof top is coated with solar heat resistant paint.
4) The new paint less Antyodaya Express has been envisaged for unreserved passengers.
5) There are bio-toilets inside the train and cushioned seats and luggage racks.

Western Railway has launched regular drives against able-bodied persons travelling in the reserved coaches for Divyangs. During the year 2017, a total of 39,602 persons and in the year 2018, a total of 10,159 persons were prosecuted. A special week long joint drive of RPF & GRP was recently launched against unauthorised travel in compartments reserved for Divyangs. Adequate GRP/RPF personnels were deployed for nabbing all offenders travelling in coaches reserved for Divyang persons.

According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer of W.Rly, during the drive, 350 persons were prosecuted by GRP under Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and 995 persons were prosecuted by RPF under the Railway Act, 1989. Similarly, special RPF decoy teams were deployed in innovative manner for prevention and detection of passenger crimes after identifying vulnerable spots and studying their modus operandi. They have busted 28 notorious criminals involved in Fatka Theft/Robbery and 46 bullies for blocking doors and refusing entry to other commuters during peak hours. The Special RPF decoy team detected 68 persons involved in 66 cases of thefts/ robbery in suburban section. Close surveillance and vigilance is kept to monitor all such nuisance over Railway in suburban section. Similar drives will be continued in future for hassle free travel of ‘Divyang’ persons.

Shri Bhakar further stated that, Railway administration is planning to install CCTV in all coaches of suburban trains in near future. Visits and inspections will be regularly done by Railway Officers to sort out other technical issues and problems faced by commuters with special attention of facilities to differently abled persons.

पश्चिम रेलवे द्वारा दिव्यांगों के लिए आरक्षित डिब्बों में अवैध रूप से यात्रा करने वालों के विरुद्ध अभियान की शुरुआत

मुंबई: पश्चिम रेलवे द्वारा दिव्यांगजनों के लिए आरक्षित डिब्बों में अवैध रूप से यात्रा करने वालों के विरुद्ध नियमित अभियान की शुरुआत की गई है। वर्ष2017 के दौरान कुल 39,602 व्यक्तियों को तथा वर्ष 2018 के दौरान कुल 10,159 व्यक्तियों को दंडित किया गया, दिव्यांगों के लिए आरक्षित कोच में अवैध रूप से यात्रा करने के विरुद्ध आरपीएफ तथा जीआरपी द्वारा हाल ही में सप्ताह भर चलने वाला एक विशेष अभियान चलाया गया। दिव्यांग डिब्बों में अवैध यात्रा करने वाले दोषियों को पकड़ने हेतु पर्याप्त संख्या में जीआरपी/आरपीएफ कर्मी तैनात किये गये थे।

पश्चिम रेलवे के मुख्य जनसम्पर्क अधिकारी श्री रविंद्र भाकर द्वारा जारी प्रेस विज्ञप्ति के अनुसार अभियान के दौरान दिव्यांगजनों के अधिकार एक्ट2016 के अंतर्गत जीआरपी द्वारा 350 व्यक्तियों को तथा रेल अधिनियम 1989 के अंतर्गत आरपीएफ द्वारा 995 व्यक्तियों को पकड़ा गया। इसी प्रकार सम्भावित क्षेत्रों तथा उनकी प्राथमिक पहचान के पश्चात अपराधों की रोकथाम एवं पड़ताल हेतु अभिनव तरीकों से आरपीएफ की विशेष डिकॉय टीमों को तैनात किया गया। इस टीम ने फटका डकैती/चोरी में संलिप्तता के 28 गम्भीर अपराधियों तथा व्यस्त समय में दरवाजे पर अवरोध उत्पन्न करने एवं अन्य यात्रियों को प्रवेश न करने देने वाले 48 गुंडों को गिरफ्तार किया। आरपीएफ की डिकॉय टीम ने उपनगरीय खंड में चोरी/डकैती के 66 मामलों में संलिप्त 68 लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया। रेलवे के उपनगरीय खंड पर ऐसे सभी अपराधों की गहन चौकसी एवं मॉनिटरिंग की जा रही है। ‘दिव्यांग’ यात्रियों की सहूलियतपूर्ण यात्रा हेतु निकट भविष्य में भी ऐसे अभियान जारी रहेंगे।

श्री भाकर ने बताया कि निकट भविष्य में रेल प्रशासन द्वारा उपनगरीय ट्रेनों के सभी डिब्बों में सीसीटीवी लगाने की योजना तैयार कर रही है। यात्रियों को विशेषतः दिव्यांग यात्रियों को आने वाली तकनीकी कठिनाइयों एवं समस्याओं के समाधान हेतु रेलवे अधिकारियों द्वारा नियमित दौरे एवं निरीक्षण किये जायेंगे।