The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has increased the number of its personnel in Kashmir following the terror attack in Pulwama to ensure the safety of train passengers and to protect railway property, a senior official of the force said.

A total of 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir when a Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.

“We had a meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday where the decision was taken to increase the presence of RPF in the region,” said RPF DG Arun Kumar.

“The chairman railway board also had a detailed security briefing with all zonal and divisional RPF officers on the security of railways. It was decided that a company of RPF will be sent to Kashmir for additional security,” he said.

While four companies of the RPF are stationed in Kashmir, one more, with 125 personnel, will be airlifted from Jammu to the area, he added.

The RPF has also upgraded its all India security helpline number 182 to provide a single point access to rail users in distress.

A goods train derailed between Khalari and Ray stations near Jharkhand’s Ranchi today, disrupting train movement in Dhanbad Rail Division, a statement issued by the Railway Protection Force or RPF said.

The incident happened in the Central Industrial Chord (CIC) section of Dhanbad Rail Division under East Central Railway zone of Indian Railways, the statement said.

At least 12 wagons and the engine of the goods train derailed, a senior railway official said today.

“The derailment happened when the driver of the goods train applied brakes after he heard a blast-like sound. But the police found that the accident took place following defect in the tracks. However, the exact cause of the derailment will be known only after an investigation,” the Dhanbad Rail Division said in another statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in his constituency, Varanasi, today to flag off the world’s first diesel to electric locomotive. The project was completed by the Diesel Locomotives Works in record time. PM Modi took keen interest and went around the factory and inspected the engine from inside.

The conversion of the diesel locomotive into an electronic one was a landmark achievement of the Indian Railways, as part of its efforts to completely electrify the broad gauge network in the country.

The high profile project of the Railways was part of its Mission 100 per cent electrification and de-carbonization agenda. The work on the project began in December 2017 and from conceptualizing to building the electric locomotive was carried out in just 69 days, said a Railways official.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took to Twitter and congratulated the engineers involved in the project. “Congratulations to our engineers on making world’s first Diesel to Electric Locomotive Engine at DLW, Varanasi,” said Mr Jaitley.

After the inauguration, PM Modi interacted with the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana – Ayushman Bharat at the Banaras Hindu University. He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Later in the day, the PM Modi inaugurated the newly constructed Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre of the Banaras Hindu University. The hospital aims to provide affordable cancer care to patients in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand and even Nepal. He is also scheduled to inaugurate Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Lehartara.

With the inauguration of the two cancer hospitals, Varanasi is set to become an important centre for quality treatment of the disease. The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of several projects worth several hundred crores in Uttar Pradesh.

PM Modi also visited the Sant Ravidas Temple and participated in the birth anniversary celebrations of the poet and philosopher.

Chopped body parts suspected to be of a child have been found near a railway track in Thane district of Maharashtra, a police official said on Monday.

Kalyan police received information on Sunday evening about some body parts lying in the bushes near the railway track in Titwala area, he said.

The police reached the spot and seized the highly decomposed head and legs, believed to be of a child around 10 to 12 years of age whose gender was yet to be ascertained, the official at Kalyan police station said.

The other body parts were still missing, he said, adding that a gunny bag was also found near the spot.

The official said they suspect that the culprit killed the child, chopped the body into pieces, packed them in the bag and threw it from a running train.

Efforts were on to identify the body, he said.

A case was registered for murder and causing disappearance of evidence of offence and a search for the killer was on, he said.

The much-awaited Metro rail link to Hi-Tec City, the IT hub of Hyderabad, is set to become operational soon with the Inspection and Safety Certification from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) likely in about a week.

Trial runs between the Ameerpet and Hi-Tec City 10km stretch of Hyderabad Metro corridor-III have been going on since November last year.

“We are expecting CMRS (Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety) Inspection and Safety Certification in about a week. After that the inaugural date will be decided by the government,” Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) Managing Director N V S Reddy told PTI.

The Ameerpet and Hi-Tec City stretch has eight stations.

“Opening of the 10 km Ameerpet to Hi-Tec City stretch will be a game-changer not only for the Metro project but for Hyderabad city itself. In the next few years, it will make a huge difference in the travel characteristics of the city and improve the competitiveness of Hyderabad,” Mr Reddy said.

He further said work is progressing well in Corridor-II between JBS and MGBS (10 km stretch) and the civil work will be completed by July 2019 and systems works by November 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 30 km stretch (between Miyapur and Nagole) of the 72 km long elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail project, in November 2017.

With the operationalisation of a 16-km stretch of Hyderabad Metro Rail between Ameerpet and LB Nagar in September last year, the Hyderabad Metro Rail is covering 46 km.

The liver of a 53-year-old man, declared brain-dead, was transported in a suburban train from Thane to Dadar on Friday afternoon to transplant it in a patient at a city hospital, railway officials said.

This was possibly the first instance when a human organ was ferried on the suburban rail network, considered Mumbai’s lifeline, for transplant.

After the donor was declared brain-dead Friday, his liver, as per his wish, was donated and was carried in an ice box from Thane’s Jupiter Hospital to Parel’s Global Hospital, where the recipient was admitted, an official said.

He said the decision to transport the liver in a local train was taken after considering it was the fastest mode and faced no traffic snarl issues.

The 31-km distance between Thane and Dadar stations was covered in just 38 minutes during non-peak hours. It took another 20 minutes for the organ to reach the designated hospital in Parel through a green corridor.

The entire exercise was completed smoothly due to coordination between traffic police personnel and railway officials deployed at Thane and Dadar stations.

A hospital statement said, “Considering the retrieval was planned for 11 am and the possible transportation leg would have been around 12.30 pm which is peak traffic time for vehicular movement on the Eastern Express Highway the Global Hospital team possibly thought of using the local train network as the fastest and most reliable way of transporting the organ.”

When the liver arrived at Dadar, jawans of the Maharashtra Security Force posted outside along with Matunga traffic police personnel took control of the organ, said an official of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

They handed over the cadaver liver to the Global Hospital team whose members then created a green corridor with the help of traffic police for its further transportation via road, he said.

Former Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani was on Wednesday appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India, according to a government order.

This will be Mr Lohani’s second tenure as Air India chief.

His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday, sources said.

Mr Lohani’s first tenure in Air India was from August 2015 to August 2017, during which he helped pilot the organisation to a financial operating profit.

Mr Lohani, 60, who is an officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), was appointed the Railway Board chairman in August 2017 and retired in December 2018.

One of his first decisions as Railway Board chairman was to ban gifts and ceremonial welcomes and farewells. He is also the man behind Train 18, India’s fastest train that will have its inaugural run from Delhi to Varanasi and will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15.

As the Railways’ senior-most bureaucrat, Mr Lohani brought the prestigious bullet train to India.

As head of both – Railways as well as Air India – he was able to bridge the gap between his office and employees, using WhatsApp groups mostly, say those who have worked with him.

Mr Lohani, who holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering, was also ITDC chairman as well as director of the Rail Museum in the capital.

Train 18’s air conditioned chair car ticket would cost Rs. 1,850 and the executive class fare will be Rs. 3,520 for a Delhi to Varanasi trip, including the catering service charges, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) citing officials on Monday. On its return journey, the chair car ticket will cost Rs. 1,795 and the executive car ticket will be priced at Rs. 3,470, further said the report. While the chair car fares are 1.5 times the price of Shatabdi trains running the same distance, the executive class fares are 1.4 times of first class air conditioned seating in the premium train, the official sources said.

Here are key things to know about Train 18: 

1. The semi-high speed train is scheduled to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15. The train has two classes of tickets — executive class and chair car — and will have differently priced meals.

2. While passengers travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi in the executive class will be charged Rs. 399 for morning tea, breakfast and lunch, travellers in the chair car will need to pay Rs. 344 for the same.

3. From Varanasi to New Delhi, the passengers will be charged Rs. 349 and Rs. 288 in the executive class and chair, respectively for the meals.

4.  However, meals on Vande Bharat Express or Train 18 will not be optional for passengers, unlike in premium trains such as Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Duronto express, where they can choose not to avail catering services, officials said. However, passengers travelling the last leg on the route of the train – Prayagraj to Varanasi – will have the choice of opting out of the meals in advance while booking their tickets.

5. Train 18, developed indigenously by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), will make its first journey between New Delhi and Varanasi, via Kanpur and Prayagraj. The train is a self-propelled on electric traction like metro trains, and will start replacing the existing train fleet of the Shatabdi Express.

Lakhs of devotees are at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj for the second ‘Shahi Snan’ or auspicious dip on ‘Mauni Amavasya‘. Traditionally, today is the most significant of all the scared bathing days at the Kumbh. The crowd is increasing by the hour says reports. From the railway station to the makeshift township of Kumbh Nagari, there is continuous movement of devotees as the loudspeaker guides them towards the bathing ghats.

Over three crore people are expected at the Kumbh for ‘Mauni Amavasya‘, which is a new moon day in the Hindu calendar of Magha month. And it assumes greater significance if it falls on a Monday, which is case this year. It is believed that on this day, sage Rishabh Dev broke his long vow of silence and bathed in the holy waters.

Security has been tightened in Kumbh for ‘Mauni Amavasya‘. The entire area has been divided into 10 zones and 25 sectors, which are being monitored by an Additional Superintendent of Police level officer. Over 40 police stations and as many fire stations have been set up in the Kumbh Nagari to deal with any emergency.

Forty-three fire stations, 15 sub-fire stations, 40 fire watchtowers and 96 control watchtowers have been set up for the day, said an Uttar Pradesh home department official. The entire area is under surveillance of 440 CCTV cameras. For close coordination and prompt communication, an Integrated Command Control Centre and 12 wireless grids have been established, the official said.

Entry of vehicles have been restricted in the 32,000-acre Kumbh Nagri. The administration is running over 500 shuttle buses for the pilgrims to make their way from various parts of Prayagraj to the Sangam – the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati – for the sacred dip.

The Kumbh witnesses a total of three ‘Shahi Snans’, the first of which took place on Makar Sankranti on January 15, when the Mela started, the second is on Mauni Amavasya and the last one is on February 10, that is, Basant Panchmi. The Kumbh Mela comes to a close on March 4.

The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against AAP MLA Madan Lal for allegedly obstructing railway officials from conducting an anti-encroachment drive, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place on January 29 when the officials of Northern Railways were removing illegal encroachments near railway lines between Safdarjung and Lajpat Nagar, they added.

The railway officials have alleged that the legislator visited the spot and opposed the removal of illegal encroachments and obstructed their work after which they filed a complaint, police said.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against Mr Lal on Thursday at Kotla Mubarakpur police station and the matter was being probed, Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Vijay Kumar said.

On January 25, the Northern Railway wrote a letter to the South Delhi Police seeking adequate police force on January 29 to remove illegal encroachments on both sides of the railway tracks between Safdarjung and Lajpat Nagar, he said.

However, when a team of the railway officials reached the spot to carry out their work, locals informed the MLA who immediately reached there and created a ruckus, police said.

Thereby, not allowing the officials from carrying out their work and accusing them of not informing the locals about the drive in advance, they added.