Metro railway services in Kolkata resumed this morning after disruption throughout Tuesday evening owing to a suicide and derailment of a coach of an empty rake.

A metro spokesperson said services started from 6.45 am as per schedule and normal services have been maintained since then.

The turning of trains towards opposite direction at that station was necessitated owing to the death of a man on the tracks at Shyambazar station after he allegedly jumped before an incoming train.

A purported video of a death-defying stunt by a Kashmiri man, in which he lies on a railway track while a speeding train passes over him, has taken the social media by storm, prompting calls for strict action to prevent it from becoming a trend.

The undated video, which emerged on social media late this evening, shows the phiran-clad (a traditional Kashmiri cloak) man lying face down in the middle of the track as the train passed over him.

He let’s out a celebratory shout after the stunt to his friend who recorded the video, which is being widely shared the internet, even as several social media users called for action against him.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah also called out the “stupidity” of the act.

“There is something drastically wrong with this sort of adventure seeking. I can’t believe the stupidity of these young men,” Omar wrote on Twitter.

“There should be strict action against this stupid boy, ” a Facebook user wrote.

Administrators of many WhatsApp groups have urged their members not to circulate the video, saying it can influence impressionable minds the wrong way.

Government officials were not immediately available for a comment on the video.

A man today died after allegedly jumping before a metro railway train at Shyambazar station, a metro official said.

Metro services were disrupted for 35 minutes from 6.01 pm after the man, aged around 25 years, allegedly jumped before an incoming train on the down track at Shyambazar in the northern part of the city.

Power to the third rail was stopped at the station to retrieve the body from under the wheels.

A household face on Marathi television, Praful Bhalerao, died in a train accident in Mumbai early this morning. 22-year-old Praful’s body was found on the track near Malad in Mumbai suburbs. The Railway police told news agencies that they received a call at 4.30am saying a person has been found lying on the track. Praful was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead. The mishap took place when Bhalerao was on his way to Goregaon from Malad in the western suburbs, a police official said.

The Borivali Railway Government Police told news agencies that the actor was trying to board a fast moving train at platform number two in Malad station; he may have slipped and fallen on the track and injured his head. Praful’s body was sent for post mortem and a case of accidental death has been registered said police, though they are investigating further. Reports say eyewitnesses described how Praful was leaning outside while the train gained speed after leaving the platform.

Praful Bhalerao shot to fame as a child actor for his role in the popular TV series ‘Kunku’ – a story of the journey of a village girl Janki from rural Maharashtra to Mumbai. In the family drama, Praful played the role of Janki’s brother. The actor became very popular for his sensitive performance in ‘Kunku’. The young actor had also featured in other Marathi TV serials like ‘Tu Majha Sangati’, ‘Nakushi’ and ‘Jyotiba Phule’.

Praful had just stepped from the small to the big screen with a key role in ‘Barayan’, directed by Deepal Patil. The film on education and youth was released on January 12, the National Youth Day, marking the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has confirmed that his ministry is considering a proposal for transferring the Railway Protection Force (RPF) from Railways to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Goyal on Sunday visited the Matunga railways station, which is entirely run by women, to felicitate the staff after the station entered the Limca Book of Records for the feat.

Later, while addressing the media, Goyal when asked about the rumours of RPF being transferred to the MHA, said, “We are very much considering the transfer of RPF from Railways to MHA.”

He used the occasion to caution the RPF personnel against continuing with the associations formed by them, calling such associations are illegal and out of place.

Asking them to voluntarily dissociate with such associations, he said the RPF, being a national security force, was not permitted to have such groupings. Forming associations for the purpose of socio-cultural activities was alright but the association set up by the RPF personnel was actually acting like a union, he said.

“My appeal to all RPF officers and staff is to disband the association so that we can continue to have them under the Railways otherwise my hands will be forced for take some drastic steps,” Goyal said.

A senior official from RPF pointed out that at present, the force has an association which influences transfers, and thus encouraging indiscipline in the force.

Under MHA, any security agency will be banned from forming any kind of association. A senior officer pointed out: “The move will further benefit Indian Railways as the cost incurred by the railways in maintaining the RPF, which is now to the tune of Rs 500 crore, will then be taken care by MHA.”

The Bibek Debroy Committee on restructuring of the railways had recommended transferring RPF to MHA.

It is felt that the move to bring RPF under the umbrella of MHA will also help modernise the force and enhance its effectiveness as more posts will be created and more funds will flow in.

The move to transfer RPF to MHA will also make way for bringing in the concept of federal policing with one security agency for the railways. At present, the offences of theft of railway property are being looked into by the RPF while the law and order, which is a state subject, is being dealt with by the Government Railway Police (GRP).

The transfer to MHA will also enable the RPF to conduct investigations in an impartial manner without the fear of being accountable to the railway administration in case of conflict of interest.

2018-19 will be women’s safety year: Piyush Goyal

Railway minister Piyush Goyal visited Central Railway’s Matunga station on Sunday, which now boasts of an women staff (51 staff). The minister announced that the year 2018-19 will be the Women safety year for the railways and special emphasis shall be given on preventing of human trafficking, with focus on children and women on railway premises. He also informed that soon we may see elevated railways over national highways.

To work on the safety of women and stop harassment or molestation on railway premises, the suburban local coaches will have CCTV installed. “The footages from the camera will be sent across to RPG, GRP and even local city police,” said Goyal.

In the anti-human trafficking and safety of woman issues, the minister claimed that he has asked the Director General of RPF to have one single number where a complainant can call throughout the country. He also said that “we don’t need just manpower, but also modern CCTV cameras to tackle the issue of security.”

Even as railwaymen resist induction of technology fearing job losses, the Indian Railways has quietly inducted a homegrown robot to better a job hitherto done by humans by risking their lives.

Southern Railway has tied up with a company, incubated by IIT-Madras, that has made a remote-operated robotic vehicle (RROV) which inspects the submerged portions of railway bridges traversing waterbodies. This yellow device is equipped with HD cameras and geo-tagging allowing railway officials identify exact location of defects from their offices. The cameras can also relay the feed from turbid and saline waters.

Lauding the effort, the railway board in a meeting last December directed other zones to replicate the model. Officials have planned to use this technology in Delhi under the Yamuna bridge where the water is turbid. There are 342 bridges across the country which need underwater inspection; 109 of them are in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and under the jurisdiction of Southern Railway. These bridges need a maintenance check every five years.

Earlier, underwater inspection was done by divers, both in-house and contracted. While some of these divers have retired, railway has plans to phase out the process. “They were strapped with 10 vital equipments for their personal safety and inspection, including a camera. The video quality was not good and the exact location of the defect could not be ascertained. The maintenance planned would differ based on the inspection notes which were not consistent across divers,” said a senior railway official.

The underwater piers are at a depth of 10m-25m. The difficulty of inspection and danger to the diver increase with depth. But depth will not affect the RROV, developed by Planys Technologies. It can be lowered till 200m. Southern Railway has used it to check two bridges on the Coimbatore-Ooty and Chennai-Gudur sections in August.

The robot can move 360° across the pier at any depth, not possible during human inspection. Once the robot is tied to a rope, it will be sent under water controlled by a team, that includes a railway engineer, sitting nearby. The team will monitor the video feed on a screen. It comes equipped with a laser-aided crack detection and side-scan sonar system to quantify the defect. The sonar technique, that measures depth of oceans, is modified into a two-directional system where it can measure the length and breadth of the defect, a railway official said.

Railway officials can get the coordinates and size of each defect, which they can compare five years later. This in turn increases the reliability of the maintenance work planned. The final bridge report is also given in a compact innovative format, making it easy for bridge engineers to suggest maintenance work.

MLA Arvind Limbavalli has called for strengthening the rail network between Yeshwantpur and Hosur to run more trains on this stretch to augment the proposed suburban rail network.

In his letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal the Mahadevpura MLA has said this would help ease the growing traffic woes at Whitefield, Bellandur, Marathahalli, Varthur, Sarjapur, Pathanur and Balagere.

His letter had suggested a map of existing network of railway stations that can be added to the proposed suburban rail network. This included sections that could have a grade quadrupling and others that could have the elevated corridor.

Earlier during his visit to the city on Thursday, Mr Goyal had announced a proposal for a 170-km long suburban rail network in the city, with nearly half the distance on elevated corridors. The map proposes grade quadrupling from Chikkabanavara -Yeshwanthpur-KSR Bengaluru Junction, Kengeri to Nayandahalli and Yelahanka to Baiyappanahalli.

He felt that doubling of rail line from Devanahalli to Yelahanka Junction and Nelamangala to Chikkabanavara and connecting the metro to railways at K.R. Puram will strengthen the proposed suburban network.

Currently the suburban trains cover Yelahanka,Baiyappanahalli, Marathahalli, Bellandur, Carmleram, Heelalige, Chandapura, Anekal and Hosur areas. It can also be synchronized with Baiyappanahalli and Yeshwanthpur metro. The move would benefit several corproates, BPOs, SEZs, malls, residents, educational institutions, hospitals along Outer Ring Road, easing traffic on Silk Board junction and Tin Factory.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sought Rs 6,500 crore for Railway projects in the state in the Union Budget for 2018-19.

In a letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Patnaik said such a package will help both Odisha and Indian Railways in furthering their goals of economic and social justice.

“This packages includes detailed proposals for the ongoing projects, sanctioning new lines, station modernisation, introduction of new trains, extension of existing trains, improved passenger amenities at stations and others,” the letter said.

He said Odisha generates annual revenue for Indian Railways in excess of Rs 15,000 crore and yet the average route length, with a rail density of 16, in the state is much less than the national average of 20.

Patnaik also urged the upgrade of Bhubaneswar and Puri stations to world class facilities as promised by the Railway Ministry in 2009-10 budget. The railway budget was merged with the general budget from 2017-18.

Railway officials skip deal sign meet: Allege Odisha State Government officials

The pact between development authority and East Coast Railway (ECoR) for execution of the ambitious railway station multi-modal hub at Master Canteen Square area could not be inked on Saturday because the railway officials did not turn up, said state government officials.

The ECoR general manager, who was supposed to represent the railways, cited health problem for not being able to make it to the deal-signing meeting at the secretariat. However, the BJD saw it as a conspiracy to stall the project.

The railway station multi modal hub is an ambitious project that will provide a facelift to the station area here. The venue and time for the agreement-signing ceremony was fixed days ago and the government had put up advertisements on various platforms such as newspapers. “It is a conspiracy on part of the railways to delay the project. Citing health issues, the senior railway official said it was not possible for him to come. We inquired and found he was all right,” said BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb.

The state government had in 2013 decided to develop a world-class railway station in the city. However, due to approval problems from the Centre and the railways in particular, the project did not work out. Later, the plans were amended and an agreement was decided to be signed between the works department and the railways. The Smart City Mission came up for execution in Bhubaneswar and the plans for the railway station redevelopment was amended for the second time. With the new plans, the state government in November last year came up with a revised agreement to be signed between the ECoR and the BDA.

The Railway Board has given its nod to the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to extend the communication-based train control (CBTC), an improved signalling system, to the main lines of the Central Railways (CR) and Western Railways (WR), under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-3A). Until January 12, the plan was to implement the system only on the CSMT-Panvel Harbour line.

A senior official from MRVC, which will implement MUTP-3A, said, “We are collating this data and will submit it to the finance ministry so that MUTP-3A can get approved in the forthcoming General Budget.”

Executing CBTC on the Harbour line would cost Rs 1,391 crore. However, according to sources, CBTC would cost Rs 5,677 crore if it is undertaken on the CSMT to Kalyan route on CR and Rs 4,223 crore on the Churchgate to Virar route on WR.

“Initially, CBTC will be implemented on the Harbour line and then extended to rest of the network,” said R Khurana, Chairman and Managing Director, MRVC.

Currently, the headway time between two locals on the Western Line is 3.5 to 4 minutes. With the CBTC’s introduction, it can be brought down to 2 to 2.5 minutes. Similarly, the headway time on Central (main) and Harbour Line can also be brought down to 2 to 2.5 minutes from the current 4 and 6 minutes respectively.

CBTC makes use of the telecommunications between the train and track equipment wherein chips are installed inside the rake and track. Thus making it possible to determine the exact position of a train and maintain distance rather than the traditional fixed signalling systems. This results in efficiency in maintaining headway and managing rail traffic.

Under the current system, trains move from one signalling block to the next, the previous block shows red signal and those behind it a yellow, double yellow or green. This separation of distance prevents trains from running at full potential.