A fashion student from the UK has gone viral for trying to sell a rail company’s social distancing signs as crop tops. Mhari Thurston-Tyler turned social distancing seat covers from Chiltern Railways into crop tops and tried to sell them on shopping app Depop for 15 pounds each, reports BBC.

Depop said the item “clearly violates our terms of service” and warned Ms Thurston-Tyler not to sell prohibited items on the app.

The blue seat covers from Chiltern Railways – a British train operating company – encourage passengers to maintain social distancing and read: “Keep this seat free to maintain social distancing when possible”.

Ms Thurston-Tyler’s Depop listing, which has now been removed, advertised the seat covers as “social distancing railway crop top.”

“Got a few of these, can do sizes,” she wrote. “Message me before buying or with questions / offers.”

The listing went viral on social media after being shared by Depop Drama’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.

She told Metro News that she found the signs discarded on the floor outside London’s Marylebone station.

“I am struggling financially and thought I could try and make some money off it so put it on Depop,” she said. “‘I also thought it would be an interesting article of clothing a few years down the line as it is quintessentially not normal and extraordinary as a concept to me.”

She said she refunded a customer who bought the crop top for 15 pounds and took down her listing as she did not want to be accused to theft.

Comments “I didn’t steal it but I understand it’s not right to re-sell it,” she said.

Indian Railways authorities have increased the maximum speed to 130 km per hour for operating trains on the 1,280 km long route out of the total 1,612 km long Golden Quadrilateral – Golden Diagonal (GQ-GD). The route covers the entire GQ-GD route over the South Central Railway zone, except the Vijayawada – Duvvada section, where a signaling up-gradation task is in progress, according to a recent statement released by the Railway Ministry. According to the approved plan of increasing the speed of trains to 130 km per hour, the South Central Railway zone will boost the maximum speed limits along the following routes:

1. Golden Diagonal (Grand Trunk) Route – 744 route km:
Ballarshah to Kazipet – 234 route km
Kazipet-Vijayawada-Gudur – 510 route km

2. Golden Quadrilateral Route (Chennai-Mumbai section) – 536 route km:
Renigunta to Gooty – 281 route km
Gooty to Wadi- 255 route km

The maximum speed limits along the high-density network between 132 km section of Secunderabad – Kazipet had been increased to 130 kmph. Including both the up and down rail lines in these sections, a total of 2,824 kms or 1412 route km is now capable to operate trains with a speed of 130 kmph. It covers the entire Golden Quadrilateral – Golden Diagonal route over South Central Railways, except the Vijayawada – Duvvada section, where the signaling up-gradation task is in progress.

Comments Meanwhile, the Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways network recently announced that the speed of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai – Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Superfast special or the Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express has been decided to be increased, including the provision of an additional halt at Gwalior on the route. It would result in reducing the overall travel time of the journey and improving passenger’s experience.

Indian Railways has extended the time limit beyond six months and up to nine months from the date of the journey for cancellation of passenger reservation system (PRS) counter tickets and for claiming refund of fare across reservation counters. According to a statement released by the Railway Ministry, the time limit is extended for the tickets between the journey period – March 21, 2020 to July 31, 2020. The relaxation has been given for the submission of PRS counter tickets up to six months from the date of the journey. This relaxation is applicable only for the regular timetabled trains cancelled by Indian Railways.

In case of those train tickets cancelled through 139 or through the official e-ticketing IRCTC website, the time limit for surrendering of such tickets for the above-mentioned journey period, across reservation counter, is upto nine months from the date of journey. After the lapse of six months from the date of the journey, many railway passengers may have deposited the tickets to the claims office of zonal railways through ticket deposit receipt (TDR) or through the general application along with original train tickets. The full refund of fare on such PRS counter tickets will also be allowed for such passengers.

Earlier, the guidelines for cancellation of tickets and refund of fare in view of the COVID-19 situation were issued. As per instructions for trains cancelled by Indian Railways, the relaxation has been given for submission of the PRS counter tickets upto six months from the date of journey, instead of three days excluding the day to journey. In case the PRS counter tickets are cancelled through 139 or through the IRCTC website, the refund across the counter will be provided upto six months from the date of journey.

The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) introduced a new rule for train ticket booking in November 2020. Seats are now available five minutes before the train leaves the station, as the railway authorities restored the pre-COVID system of preparing the second reservation chart half an hour before the departure time of the train.

Indian Railways freight loading in December 2020 registered an 8.56 per cent growth as compared to figures recorded in the same month of 2019. According to a statement released by the Railway Ministry, Indian Railways freight loading was 118.13 million tonnes last month, which is 8.54 per cent higher as compared to 108.84 million tonnes loaded in 2019 for the same month. Indian Railways authorities earned Rs 11788.11 crores from the freight loading which is also ₹ 757.74 crores, almost 6.87 per cent higher as compared to earnings in the same month of 2019, which was reported at ₹ 11030.37 crore.

With these figures, Indian Railways freight loading for the month of December 2020 breached the loading figures and earnings registered during the same month in 2019. The total freight loading of 118.13 million tonnes registered last month, included 50.67 million tonnes of coal,  6.13 million tonnes of foodgrains, 15.31 million tonnes of iron ore,  4.3 million tonnes of mineral oil, 5.23 million tonnes of fertilizers, and 7.46 million tonnes of cement (excluding clinker).

Meanwhile, recently, the first fully operational section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor’s (EDFC) Bhaupur – Khurja section was inaugurated on December 29, where Indian Railways’ indigenous Alstom’s WAG 12 e-locomotive was flagged off for the opening run on the freight corridor. The section has a 351 km long track and has been built at a cost of ₹ 5750 crore. The Bhaupur – Khurja section will increase the speed of goods trains and decongest the Kanpur-Delhi rail line.

Along with the freight corridor, an operation control centre situated at Prayagraj was also inaugurated, which will be the nerve-center of the entire eastern dedicated freight corridor project. It is one of the world’s largest centres for railways and is built by multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom.