An express train mowed down three migrant labourers from Bihar in Odisha’s Ganjam district while they were walking on the tracks to reach a railway station to return home, a GRP official said on Monday.

The incident took place near a level crossing in Haladiapadar area on the outskirts of Berhampur town, he said.

Around 7-8 migrant workers were walking on the tracks to reach Brahmapur railway station on Sunday night when three of them were mowed down by the Visakhapatnam-Tatanagar Express, while the remaining labourers received minor injuries, he said.

The labourers were working in a local firm and were returning to their home state, the official said, adding that the three persons died on the spot and their identities are yet to be ascertained.

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Thursday said it will introduce Vistadome tourist special trains on two popular routes – Guwahati-New Haflong in Assam and New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar Junction in West Bengal from Saturday.

The first train in northeast India fitted with special Vistadome coaches will leave Guwahati station on Saturday for New Haflong Railway Station and will travel through the scenic Dima Hasao district.

This is the third train in the nation, second within the Northeast Frontier Railway, to have the recently launched coaches that provide a 360 degree view of the open sky, mountains, hills and lush green forests to the tourists.

“Introduction of Vistadome trains is meant to help tourists experience the scenic beauty and to display the cultural heritage of the region during the unique journey. The joint effort with the tourism department will help to boost the tourism sector and as well as the local economy,” said Anshul Gupta, General Manager of NF Railway, in Guwahati.

The Vistadome coaches are equipped with state of the art glass windows and all glass roofs and provide a 360 degree view. It also has observation lounges for the purpose of site seeing. The rotational seats of the coach are designed to provide added comfort to passengers. Coaches are also provided with digital entertainment system and Wi-Fi facilities. For safety of passenger, CCTV cameras and fire alarm system are also installed.

Mr Gupta said the train ticket will cost ₹ 1,150.
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Initially, the train will travel twice a week – Wednesday and Saturday – from Guwahati at 6.35 in the morning and reach New Haflong at 11.55 am covering a distance of 269 km. It will have only two stoppages at Manderdisa and Maibong stations.

On return journey, the train will leave New Haflong at 5 pm and reach Guwahati at 10.45 pm.

In Bengal, the train will leave New Jalpaiguri at 7:20 am and will reach Alipurduar Jn at 1 pm covering a distance of 169 km through the Dooars Hill region. During return journey, the train will leave Alipurduar Jn at 2pm to reach New Jalpaiguri at 7pm.

 

It will have stoppages at Siliguri Jn, Sivok, New Mal Jn, Chalsa, Madarihat, Hasimara and Raja Bhat Khawa stations.

The Supreme Court Wednesday extended till September 1 its interim order directing the authorities to maintain status quo on the demolition of around 5,000 ‘jhuggis’ (slums) in Gujarat for a Railway line project.

A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana had on Tuesday ordered status quo till August 25 after the matter was mentioned before it for urgent listing.

The matter came up for hearing on Wednesday before a bench comprising justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna.

Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj told the bench that he is in the process of seeking instruction from the authority and the matter may be taken up after two days.

He said the interim order passed in the matter may continue in the meantime.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also appeared in the matter, said he was making the same request.

“As requested by the Solicitor General, list the matter on September 1,” the bench said, adding, “Interim order to continue till then”.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner, had yesterday mentioned the matter for urgent listing and told the top court that in compliance with the Gujarat High Court’s August 19 order, the authorities were going to start the demolition work on Tuesday itself and evict over 10,000 slum dwellers.

The bench, while ordering status quo, had directed that the matter be listed before an appropriate bench on Wednesday.

Mr Gonsalves had told the bench that the high court had vacated its July 23, 2014 interim order of status quo and permitted the Western Railways to go ahead with the Surat-Udhna up to Jalgaon third Railway line project.

The plea, filed by Surat-based ‘Utran se Besthan Railway Jhopadpatti Vikas Mandal’, has said that “irreparable injury” would be caused to the slum dwellers, who are residing on the Railway land, if they are not provided with alternate arrangement and once they would be evicted and made homeless, their condition would become more miserable especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The petition, filed through advocate Satya Mitra, has sought stay on the demolition of these ‘jhuggis’ claiming that no breathing time has been given to the slum dwellers and authorities have been forcing them to vacate within 24 hours.

It has also sought direction to the authorities, including the Centre and Gujarat government, to rehabilitate the concerned slum dwellers.

It has sought a direction to the Gujarat government to rehabilitate all those families, which the Western Railways proposes to evict, under the existing state rehabilitation scheme within stipulated time frame.

It said the Western Railways be directed to formulate a rehabilitation policy for slum dwellers of the proposed site within stipulated time frame.

It has also sought to declare the Gujarat slum rehabilitation policy as “discriminatory, arbitrary and unconstitutional” claiming that it does not include slum dwellers residing on the Railway land.

“The impugned order dated August 19, 2021 violates the various judgments laid down by the Supreme Court of India in which the court has held Right to Housing as an important ingredient of Article 21 of the Constitution of India and has emphasized on the rehabilitation of the slum dwellers,” said the plea while challenging the high court order.

It alleged that the order of demolition, without providing rehabilitation scheme for over 10,000 slum dwellers, is “illegal, inhuman” and violates Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution.

It said the petition has been filed for and on behalf of around 10,000 slum dwellers who are living near the Railway lines in the city of Surat.

“They have been residing on Railway land for more than 60 years now. Most of them have proof of residence with them. Most of the residents have their Voter ID cards and Ration cards as proof of identity with them. The slum settlements that would be demolished between Utran to Besthan are 21 in number,” it said.

The plea said the high court, in an order passed in March 2016 in the case, had said that unless a suitable and effective rehabilitation scheme of slum dwellers is framed by the Railway administration it is not possible to permit the demolition to take place
“The High Court has been asking the Western Railway to come up with the rehabilitation policy for the said site since 2016. Even after five years have passed, the Railway authorities did not come up with any rehabilitation plan for the same,” it alleged.

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It said slum dwellers, whose ‘jhuggis’ are on the municipal corporation land, are eligible for rehabilitation and are protected from eviction without rehabilitation but unfortunately, those who are on the Railway land are not covered under the Gujarat Slum Rehabilitation Policy, 2013.

Union minister Raosaheb Danve on Sunday said the Railways has suffered losses to the tune of ₹ 36,000 crore during the coronavirus pandemic, and termed goods trains as the real revenue generators for the national transporter.

He also said that a bullet train project would be executed along the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, which is under construction at present.

The Minister of State for Railways was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of an underbridge at the Jalna railway station.

“The passenger train segment always runs into losses. Since increasing the ticket fares affects the passengers, we cannot do so. During the pandemic, the Railways suffered losses of ₹ 36,000 crore,” he said.

“Only goods trains generate revenue. During the pandemic, these trains played an important role in carrying goods and providing relief to people,” the minister added.

Speaking about bullet train, he said this project would be rolled out along the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway as it is necessary for people.

The Railways has undertaken the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor project, which will connect Navi Mumbai to Delhi, Danve said.

He assured doubling of tracks between Nanded and Manmad stations, and said he would check if the Jalna-Khamgaon railway line was viable or not.

Hitting out at his detractors, Danve said he was being attacked from all quarters. “But I become stronger after facing criticism,” he said.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope, who was also present at the event, said the state government has sanctioned a hospital in Jalna for treatment of those suffering from mental illnesses. He said the facility would benefit the Marathwada region.

The Indian Railways has started the process for updating the bank details of RRB NTPC candidates for refund of examination fees. According to a notification released by the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), one of the hiring arms of the Indian Railways, the link for updating the account details of the candidates who had appeared for the Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) first tier exam will be activated from 10.00 am, August 11. The RRB NTPC examinations were held in 7 phases in 2020 and 2021. Last phase of the RRB NTPC recruitment examination was delayed due to the restrictions announced after Covid-19 cases spiked in the country.

The links are provided on the official websites of the RRBs that includes RRB Chennai, RRB Mumbai, RRB Bangalore, RRB Kolkata and RRB Chandigarh.

The “Update Bank Account Link” will be available till August 31.

The RRB NTPC notification has also said SMS and email will also be sent to the candidates who had attended the Computer Based Test or CBT-1 held from December 28, 2020 to July 31, 2021 in seven phases to their registered email id and mobile number to provide their correct bank account details.

One help menu will be provided to get any clarification or help in case of any trouble while submitting the bank details, it said.

A total of 1.26 crore candidates had registered for the RRB NTPC exam which is being held to fill 35,208 vacancies in various NTPC posts of Indian Railways which are Junior Clerk cum Typist, Junior Time Keeper, Accounts Clerk cum Typist, Senior Clerk cum Typist, Junior Account Assistant cum Typist, Senior Time Keeper and other posts.

The RRBs had notified earlier that the candidates who appear for the recruitment exam are entitled to get the refund of their examination fee (which was ₹ 250 for SC, ST, ExSM, PwBD, female, minority, EBC and transgender candidates, and ₹ 400 for others), after deduction of banking or service charges as applicable.

1 Comments Candidates would need their registration details to login to the RRB NTPC application page.

Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) announced its April-Juen quarter results for the financial year 2021-22, reporting a net profit of ₹ 1,501.95 crore, compared to Rs 891.81 crore for the corresponding quarter in the last year. The net profit of the Railway Ministry’s wholly-owned subsidiary increased 68.42 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

The company’s revenue from operations in the June quarter stood at Rs 4581.61 crore, compared to Rs 3669.22 crore in the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 24.87 per cent year-on-year, according to a regulatory filing by the firm to the stock exchanges.

By the end of the April-Juen quarter, IRFC’s net worth stood at Rs. 37,416.50 crore, compared to ₹ 31,192.96 crore, marking an increase of 19.95 per cent year-on-year. The net profit of the public-sector enterprise in the preceding January-March quarter of the financial year 2020-21 stood at Rs 1,483 crore, while revenue from operations came in at Rs 15,770 crore.

“The investment outlay by Indian Railways has been the main driver of growth at IRFC, as a significant portion of the funding requirement is to be met through IRFC,” said Amitabh Banerjee, Chairman, and Managing Director, IRFC

Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) announced its April-Juen quarter results for the financial year 2021-22, reporting a net profit of ₹ 1,501.95 crore, compared to Rs 891.81 crore for the corresponding quarter in the last year. The net profit of the Railway Ministry’s wholly-owned subsidiary increased 68.42 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

The company’s revenue from operations in the June quarter stood at Rs 4581.61 crore, compared to Rs 3669.22 crore in the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 24.87 per cent year-on-year, according to a regulatory filing by the firm to the stock exchanges.

By the end of the April-Juen quarter, IRFC’s net worth stood at Rs. 37,416.50 crore, compared to ₹ 31,192.96 crore, marking an increase of 19.95 per cent year-on-year. The net profit of the public-sector enterprise in the preceding January-March quarter of the financial year 2020-21 stood at Rs 1,483 crore, while revenue from operations came in at Rs 15,770 crore.

“The investment outlay by Indian Railways has been the main driver of growth at IRFC, as a significant portion of the funding requirement is to be met through IRFC,” said Amitabh Banerjee, Chairman, and Managing Director, IRFC

In view of the massive railway infrastructure investment envisaged as per National Rail Plan 2030, IRFC can foresee a sustained growth in revenue and profitability in the coming years, in view of IRFC financing a major portion of the CAPEX outlay of Indian Railways, especially over the last six years

As Mumbai gears up for resuming suburban train services for the fully vaccinated public from August 15, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday started an offline verification process for fully vaccinated people and began issuing monthly passes at 53 railway stations.

“…in order to make it convenient for the citizens to travel in local trains and obtain railway monthly pass, an offline verification process for COVID-19 final vaccination (completed 14 days after second dose) will start from August 11 at 53 railway stations in BMC jurisdiction area and at total of 109 railway stations in Mumbai Metropolitan Region. It will be functional in two consecutive sessions from 7 am to 11 pm,” BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said.

“…This will be facilitated both online and offline. The process of creating an app and starting the online process may take a little more time. Hence, the offline process will start from August 11, so that there is no inconvenience to Mumbaikars,” Mr Chahal added.

The offline process of issuing monthly season passes will continue on all seven days of the week, until further notice.

Mr Chahal informed that the process will begin at 53 suburban railway stations in the BMC jurisdiction area, including stations on the Central, Western and Harbour Line.

“Citizens who have completed 14 days after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can go to the nearest railway station with a hard copy of the Final Vaccination Certificate (second dose) along with proof of photo identity. Citizens should note that if they do not have both or even one of these documents, they will be denied entry by the railway administration at the railway station,” the BMC notice read.

Further, it has been informed that the desks will be functional in two consecutive sessions, 7 am to 3 pm and from 3 pm to 11 pm. “The BMC or the concerned Local Self Government staff at the help desk will check the validity of the Final Vaccination Certificate (Second Dose) of the concerned citizen on the CoWin app. They will also check the photo ID proof. Once the verification is completed and both the documents are found to be valid, the certificate and the identification proof will be stamped in the prescribed format,” it stated.

Once the COVID Certificate is stamped, a railway monthly pass would be issued by the Railways, on its basis. It is important to note that the pass will only be valid from August 15 onwards.

The notice also mentioned that those who are not vaccinated, or have just received a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, would not be allowed to travel on suburban trains at present.

“Strict police action under the Epidemic Control Act/Disaster Management Act/ Indian Penal Code, will be taken if a citizen tries to produce fake/bogus Covid Vaccination Certificate,” the BMC notice read.a

Arrangements will be made at 65 railway stations in Mumbai, where quick response or QR code-based passes will be issued to people who have taken both doses of COVID-19 vaccine and wish to travel in suburban local trains, city mayor Kishori Pednekar said on Tuesday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had announced that fully vaccinated citizens can travel in local trains from August 15, but a gap of 14 days from the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine is necessary to avail the facility.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, the mayor said, “Citizens should not indulge in altercations, as long queues are likely at ticket counters. People should cooperate and follow the COVID-19 norms.”

Ms Pednekar further said that arrangements are being made to issue QR code-based passes to passengers at 65 railway stations that come under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) jurisdiction.

The state government had restricted local train travel to government employees and people employed in essential service staffers, since April 2021, to control the COVID-19 spread during the second wave.

When asked about Ganeshotsav Kruti Samiti’s demand of permitting fully-vaccinated citizens to participate in Ganpati immersion processions, the mayor said the chief minister will take a decision in the matter after consulting the COVID-19 task force.

The mayor also warned hotel and restaurant owners of strict action if COVID-19 rules are not strictly followed.

“Even if hotels and restaurants are allowed to function till 10 pm, the rules must be strictly followed. If the rules are not followed, the owners may land in trouble,” she said.

The state government has appealed to the Centre to increase the supply of vaccines, and the authorities are also focusing on ways to increase vaccination through CSR funds.

The Central Railway announced a few days ago that it will run 40 additional trains ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi. The authorities have decided to run these “Ganapati Festival Specials” to cater to the extra rush of passengers towards the Konkan region. The extra trains are in addition to the 72 festival specials already announced to ply during the Ganapati festival 2021. Bookings for the special trains, announced on August 4 as well as the ones announced earlier, began on August 7 on the IRCTC website and at computerised reservation centres.

Here’s a list of additional trains announced ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi:

1) Mumbai-Sawantwadi Road special (2 services)

01235 special will leave Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai, at 13.10 hours on September 7, 2021, and arrive at Sawantwadi Road at 02.00 hours the next day.

01236 special will leave Sawantwadi Road at 02.30 hours on September 10, 2021, and reach Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai, at 14.00 hours the same day.

The train will halt at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Roha, Mangaon, Veer, Khed, Chiplun, Savarda, Aravali Road, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Vilavade, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg and Kudal.

2) Panvel-Sawantwadi Road special (4 services)

01237 special will leave Panvel at 14.10 hours on September 8, 2021, and September 9, 2021, and reach Sawantwadi Road at 02.00 hours the next day.

01238 special will leave Sawantwadi Road at 02.30 hours on September 8, 2021, and September 9, 2021, and reach Panvel at 12.00 hours the same day.

This train halts at Roha, Mangaon, Veer, Khed, Chiplun, Savarda, Aravali Road, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Vilavade, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal.

Composition of 01235/01236 and 01237/01238 specials: 11 sleeper class, one 3A+2A, four 3A, six 2S.

3) Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Madgaon special (6 services)

01239 special will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 05.33 hours on September 5, 7, and 9, and reach Madgaon at 20.00 hours the same day.

01240 special will leave Madgaon at 20.30 hours on September 5, 7, and 9, and arrive at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 10.30 hours the next day.

This special halts at Thane, Panvel Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal, Sawantwadi Road, Thivim, Karmali.

Composition: 20-second class seating.

4) Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Kudal special (6 services)

01241 special will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 00.45 hours on September 3, 7, and 10, and arrive at Kudal at 11.20 hours the same day.

01242 special will leave Kudal at 12.10 hours on September 5, 8, and 12, and arrive at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 23.55 hours the same day.

This special train halts at Thane, Panvel Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Savarda, Aravali Road, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Nandgaon Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg.

Composition: one 2A, one 3A, two Sleeper classes, 18 2S.

01243 special will leave Panvel at 00.15 hours on September 4, 8, and 11, and arrive at Kudal at 11.20 hours the same day.

01244 special will leave Kudal at 12.10 hours on September 3, 7, and 10, and reach Panvel at 23.10 hours the same day.

The Panvel-Kudal special halts at Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Savarda, Aravali Road, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Nandgaon Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg.

Composition: one 3A, one 2A, two Sleeper classes, 18 2S.

6) Panvel-Kudal special (4 services)

01245 special will leave Panvel at 00.15 hours on September 5 and 12, and arrive at Kudal at 11.20 hours the same day.

01246 special will leave Kudal at 12.10 hours on September 4 and 11, and arrive at Panvel at 23.00 hours the same day.

This special train halts at Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Savarda, Aravali Road, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Nandgaon Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg.

Composition: one 3A, one 2A, two Sleeper classes, 18 2S

7) Pune-Madgaon/Karmali-Pune special (2 services)

01247 special will leave Pune at 18.45 hours on September 8, and arrive at Madgaon at 10.00 hours the next day.

01248 special will leave Karmali at 15.10 hours on September 10, and reach Pune at 05.50 hours the next day.

This train halts at Lonavala, Panvel, Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Savarda, Aravali Road, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Nandaon Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal, Sawantwadi Road, Thivim, Karmali.

Composition: 11 Sleeper class, o­ne 2AC, four 3AC, six 2S.

8) Panvel-Karmali/Madgaon-Panvel special (2 services)

01249 special will leave Panvel at 00.15 hours on September 10, and arrive at Karmali at 14.15 hours the same day.

01250 special will leave Madgaon at 11.30 hours on September 9, and reach Panvel at 23.00 hours the same day.

The Panvel-Karmali/Madgaon-Panvel special halts at Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Savarda, Aravali Road, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Nandgaon Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal, Sawantwadi Road, Thivim, Karmali (for 01250 only).

Composition: one 3A, one 2A, two Sleeper classes, 18 2S.