Indian Railways’ Oxygen Express is all set to embark towards Bangladesh, which would be the first time ever that it will be going to a neighbouring country, carrying 200 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO).

On July 24, an indent was placed at Tata in Chakradharpur division under South Eastern Railway to transport 200 metric tonnes of LMO to Benapole, Bangladesh.

Indian Railways had begun operating the Oxygen Expresses on April 24, 2021 to transport oxygen cylinders across the country and especially to those states which were facing acute shortage during the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.

More than 35,000 metric tonnes of LMO was transported to 15 states and around 480 Oxygen Expresses were operationalised, official sources said.

Mumbai:Rescue operations are on in several districts of Maharashtra after relentless rain caused flooding and huge property damage across the Konkan region of the state.

Visuals of waterlogged streets, submerged cars and struggling people emerged from the state as the downpour continued. Incessant rain has ravaged the Konkan region for several days causing major rivers in Ratnagiri and Raigad districts to overflow above the danger levels.

Several long-distance trains have been stopped, cancelled or rescheduled on the Konkan Railway route. According to rail officials, around 6,000 passengers were stranded in trains which were regulated at various stations on the Konkan Railway route.

Many areas of Ratnagiri district have been severely affected with Chiplun bearing the brunt of the rain.

Rescue operations are on in flooded Chiplun, around 240 km from Mumbai, and is possibly the worst affected in the state. Stranded locals are being moved to safety by the Indian Coastguard. The Mumbai-Goa Highway has also been shut due to severe flooding in the town.

The Vashisti River as well as a dam overflowed last night, alarming residents as floodwater began rising rapidly. In scary visuals, buses can be seen completely submerged under water – only the tops are visible. The local market, bus station and railway station are all submerged in Chiplun.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier placed Mumbai on a “yellow alert” after it predicted intense to very intense rains in the city, Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts on Wednesday.

Several parts of Mumbai were waterlogged this morning as heavy rainfall continued overnight in the city.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a review of the situation in Ratnagiri and Raigad – the worst affected coastal districts – the chief minister’s office (CMO) said.

17 Comments Mr Thackeray has asked the authorities to remain alert and keep monitoring the levels of overflowing rivers and evacuate residents to safer places. He also urged the locals to take all necessary precautions.

 

The Railways has started rolling out Rajdhani Express with upgraded Tejas coaches equipped with intelligent sensor-based systems, the ministry said on Monday.

These bright golden hued coaches, with enhanced smart features, are being introduced to run Railways’ prestigious Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express train.

“This new rake made its maiden run from Monday, July 19, 2021. The existing rakes of Train No. 02951/52 Mumbai – New Delhi Rajdhani Special Express, one of the most prestigious and premium trains of WR have been replaced with brand new Tejas type sleeper coaches,” the statement from the Railways said.

Two such Tejas type sleeper coach rakes have been made ready to run as Rajdhani Express. Out of these two rakes, one rake comprises of exclusive Tejas Smart sleeper coaches, which is first of its kind to be introduced by the Indian Railways.

The new train will have special smart features for enhanced passenger safety and comfort. The smart coach aims to provide world-class facilities to passengers with the help of intelligent sensor-based systems.

It is equipped with passenger Information and Coach Computing Unit (PICCU) provided with GSM network connectivity, which reports to the remote server. PICCU will record the data of WSP, CCTV recording, toilet odour sensors, panic switch and other items integrated with fire detection and alarm system, air quality and choke filter sensor and energy meter.

“With the use of Tejas SMART Coach, the Indian Railways aims to move to predictive maintenance instead of preventive maintenance. The introduction of this modern Tejas Sleeper type train for long distance journey, is another paradigm shift by the Indian Railways for enhancing the travel experience for passengers,” the statement said.

Additional smart features include passenger announcement/passenger information system, digital destination board, security and surveillance monitoring, automatic plug door, fire alarm, detection and suppression system.

It also has emergency talk back for medical or security emergency, improved toilet unit, toilet occupancy sensor, panic button in lavatories, HVAC – air quality measurement for air conditioning system. It also has improved interiors, roller blind on window and upper berth climbing arrangement among other facilities.

Heavy rain lashed parts of Mumbai and its suburbs since early morning on Friday, leading to water-logging on tracks at a few places and affecting the local train services, officials said.

The suburban trains on the Central Railway’s main line as well as the Harbour line are running 20 to 25 minutes behind their schedule, an official said.

Local train services are currently running only for personnel engaged in health and other essential services, and are out of bound for general commuters in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A civic official said that the city has been witnessing downpour since early morning, but its suburbs have reported more rainfall.

In three hours ending 7 am, Mumbai”s island city recorded 36 mm rainfall, whereas its eastern and western suburbs recorded 75 mm and 73 mm rainfall respectively.

An official of the Central Railway said that due to water-logging on tracks near Kurla station in eastern Mumbai, suburban services on the main line (between Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajTerminus and Kurla) and the Harbour line (CSMT-Vashi-Panvel) have been affected since morning.

“Due to heavy rain and water-logging on the slow lines near Kurla-Vidyavihar, local trains are running 20-25 minutes late,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of the CR.
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Tomatoes scattered across a road near Dahisar Subway.

The slow line train traffic between Kurla-Vidyavihar has been diverted to the fast line, he said, adding that the locals on the Harbour line are also running 20-25 minutes behind schedule.

 

However, trains are running as per their normal schedule on the Thane-Vashi Transharbour route, he added.

The Central Railway runs suburban services on four separate suburban corridors in the Mumbai metropolitan region. Before the outbreak of the pandemic, it used to operate over 1,700 suburban services and ferry over 40 lakh passengers on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier predicted moderate to heavy rainfall in the city and suburbs with the possibility of very heavy rainfall at the isolated places on Friday.

IRCTC Tejas Express services will resume services from next month between the national capital and Lucknow after being suspended from operations due to low occupancy and other reasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRCTC Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express – the country’s first train operated by a private player, is set to start services four days a week, starting from August 7, 2021, according to notifications by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)

IRCTC Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express – Details of train timings, train number, route: 

• According to Indian Railways’ subsidiary IRCTC, the train number 82501/82502 Lucknow Junction – New Delhi – Lucknow Junction will start services from August 7
• The train will run four days a week – Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, according to the Indian Railways e-ticketing arm
• During the journey, the train will cover Ghaziabad Junction, New Delhi, Lucknow Junction, Kanpur Central railway stations.
• For booking Tejas Express train tickets, passengers can log on to the official IRCTC website or use the IRCTC Rail Connect app.
• The tickets for IRCTC Tejas Express can be booked 30 days in advance, according to IRCTC.

Comments
The semi-high speed IRCTC Lucknow – New Delhi Tejas Express train service was flagged off on October 4, 2019, and is the first train to be fully operated by IRCTC. It is fully air-conditioned and offers passenger-centric facilities such as LCD entertainment screens, modular bio-toilets, on-board infotainment, coffee, tea vending machines, sliding doors, among others. The train covers the journey between the two cities in six hours.

A 48-year-old man from Delhi was found dead on the railway tracks at the Old Faridabad station, hours after he was reported missing by his family members following a police station visit.

The deceased was identified as Yogesh Gupta, police said, adding no suicide note was found at the spot.

Police said Gupta had come to the Ambedkar Nagar police station on Sunday night to join the inquiry in connection with a case lodged against him in February this year.

The case was filed against him based on a complaint from Neeraj Pahadia, a resident of Madangir, who alleged that Gupta did not return him ₹ 12.23 lakh that he had invested into a committee run by him.

According to the complainant, Gupta was running the committee and he later closed it without informing the members.

The complainant and Gupta had agreed to settle the matter amicably and again join the inquiry, according to police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said the complainant joined the inquiry on Sunday and Gupta was also called to the police station. After inquiry, Gupta left the police station at about 8 pm, the DCP said.

However, around 10.30 pm, Gupta’s son visited the police station and informed that his father had not reached home and accordingly his missing report was registered, he said.

“As our teams started tracing Gupta and also circulated his photographs in various groups, it came to notice from GRP Faridabad that Gupta had allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train at Old Fridabad Railway station. The family members of the deceased were informed accordingly,” the police officer said.

Gupta’s family and a few others had also gathered outside the Ambedkar Nagar police station to voice their concerns but dispersed later after they were assured by the police that their grievances will be looked into.

“An inquiry into the matter is ongoing,” the DCP said.

Staging protest outside the police station, Gupta’s daughter said, “My father was beaten up by police officials. He can never commit suicide.

My mother was told yesterday that my father was inside the police station. When she came to the police station to enquire about him after buying medicines, she was told that he had left the premises around two hours ago.”

According to Gupta’s family, he was was picked up by the policemen on Sunday afternoon.

His son Shivam Gupta said, “My father’s body was found from railway track at Faridabad railway station. Three policemen came to my shop on Sunday afternoon and picked up my father. We came to the police station around 3 pm and were waiting here till 6.30 pm but they (police) did not allow us to meet my father. They told us to go home and said my father will return home soon. But when he did not return, I came here again to enquire and later was informed that my dad died on railway track.”

The Karnataka government on Thursday (July 1, 2021) announced that passengers coming from Kerala by flight, bus, train or taxi will have to show a negative RT-PCR certificate, not older than 72 hours for entering the state. The Karnataka government’s order said that the airlines should issue boarding passes only to the passengers carrying RT-PCR negative reports not older than 72 hours. In case of trains, railway authorities shall be responsible for ensuring that all passengers travelling by trains carry negative RT-PCR report.

The state government on Friday (July 2, 2021) added that passengers from Kerala who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be exempted from this rule as long as they can provide the certificate for the same.

The order issued by the state government is in regard to special surveillance measures. The order also added that in case of emergencies, like the death of a family member, the passengers shall be allowed even without these requirements after collecting their swabs along with details of identity.

Important aspects of the order:

– The airlines should issue boarding passes only to the passengers carrying RT-PCR negative reports not older than 72 hours.

– For trains, railway authorities shall be responsible for ensuring that all passengers travelling by trains carry negative RT-PCR report.

– For buses, the bus conductor will have to ensure that all the passengers possess negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours.

– Students or businessmen, who are visiting Karnataka on daily basis need to undergo RT-PCR test once in 15 days and possess a negative test report.

The order also directed the Deputy Commissioners of the Districts bordering Kerala State, i.e., Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Mysuru and Chamarajanagara to make necessary arrangements to ensure proper implementation of the order.

Meanwhile, Karnataka on Thursday reported 3,203 new cases of COVID-19 and 94 deaths, pushing the infection count to 28,47,013 and toll to 35,134, the health department said. Thursday also saw 14,302 discharges, taking the total recoveries to 27,46,544.

Indian Railways statutory body Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is in the process of inviting online bids for leasing seven land parcels for commercial development in Chennai, as the city has emerged as a realty hub with the growth of the IT sector in the past few years. Apart from inviting bids for the land parcels, a request for proposal (RFP) for the redevelopment of the Egmore railway colony will also be invited soon, according to Rail Land Development Authority.

Out of the seven identified land parcels, three parcels are situated at the Ayanavaram site and the bid opening date for those three is set as August 24, 2021. The fourth land parcel is at the Waltax road site which spans across an area of 1,116.67 square metre and the reserve price of the site is kept at ₹ 4.19 crore for a lease period of 45 years. The last date of e-bid submission for the Waltax road site land parcel is set as August 12, 2021.

The fifth land parcel is at the Pulianthope site which spans 2.09 acres and the reserve price for which is kept at ₹ 11.60 crore to be leased for a period of 45 years. Another land parcel is located at the  Victoria Crescent site, which is surrounded by high-end institutional and residential establishments. This site is located in the CBD region of the city. The reserve price for this parcel is kept at ₹ 41 crore and will be leased out for a period of 99 years. The bids for this site have been invited and will be opened on September 2, 2021.

Comments The Egmore Railway colony site is a promising location for commercial development as it is situated in the heart of the capital city of Tamil Nadu. The parcel will be available for lease for a period of 45 years, according to Rail Land Development Authority.

The North Central Railway zone registered the highest ever growth in freight loading and collection of revenue through freight operations in the April-June quarter of the financial year 2021-22. Headquartered the Allahabad, the railway zone recorded the best ever freight loading in the first quarter of any fiscal year, said VK Tripathi, General Manager of the North Central zone in a recent press conference.

During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the originating freight loading stood at 4.32 million tonnes, compared to 3.24 million tonnes in the corresponding period of last year, marking a growth of 33.3 per cent year-on-year for the north-central zone.

During the three months, the originating good earnings stood at ₹ 437.57 crore, compared to ₹ 352.33 crore in the same period last year, recording a growth of 24.19 per cent year-on-year. The railway zone witnessed a significant increase in the loading of cement, containers, fly ash, among others.

The national transporter recently announced its freight loading figures for June 21, registering an increase of 20.37 per cent year-on-year to 112.65 million tonnes. Its’ freight loading for the same month last year stood at 93.59 million tonnes. Moreover, in June 2021, the sector registered its highest-ever freight loading in 10 months – between September 2020 – June 2021.

Comments Indian Railways earned ₹ 1,11,86.81 crore from freight loading last month – 26.7 per cent higher, compared to the corresponding month last year, when it earned ₹ 8,829.68 crore. In the financial year 2020-21, Indian Railways registered double-digit growth in freight traffic and a 10 per cent increase in freight loading, compared to the previous fiscal 2019-20.

An empty gas truck veered off from the Mumbai-Nashik national highway in Maharashtra after suffering a tyre burst and came on the parallel railway tracks on Monday evening, forcing suspension of traffic on the Kasara-Kalyan section which resulted into holding up of some long-distance and suburban trains for almost two hours, officials said.

Fortunately, no train was passing when the incident occurred near Atgaon station, around 95 kms from Mumbai, they said, adding trains on both Up and Down tracks were just a station behind.

Central railway said the incident occurred between Asangaon and Atgaon stations around 7.30 pm.

“A gas tanker truck from the road entered on the tracks between Atgaon-Asangaon section. For safety reasons the Up and Down lines in the north east section have been suspended for traffic from 7.40 pm onwards,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer, Central railway.

Mr Sutar said the help of the Maharashtra Disaster Control was sought for removal of the gas tanker from the tracks, apart from sending railway’s relief cranes and vehicles to the spot.

“Road cranes and other relief trains/vehicles have been moved to clear the section as soon as possible,” Mr Sutar said.

The tanker was removed from the tracks with the help of cranes.

“Down line traffic (trains going towards Kasara side) resumed at 9.10 pm and Up line at 9.30pm,” Mr Sutar said, adding over half a dozen long distance trains and some suburban locals were detained owing to the incident.

According to railway officials, the gas tanker was empty and hence they did not face much difficulty in removing it from the tracks.