Western Railway, under the leadership of Shri Anil Kumar Gupta- General Manager, participated in Dream Run event of Tata Mumbai Marathon- 2018 held on Sunday, 21st January, 2018 in Mumbai. Officers of Western Railway participate in the Mumbai Marathon held on third Sunday of January every year. This event is previous known as Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.

A group of more than 40 officers and and their family members under the leadership of Shri. A K GUPTA -General Manager Western Railway took part in the Dream Run event of Tata Mumbai Marathon 2018.

Western Railway has been participating in this prestigious annual event right from its inception. WR also extends facilities like running extra suburban service early morning and other support to the organisers. The participation in the dream run event by the officers is part of PR exercise by Western Railway.

In addition, about 12 officers completed the Half Marathon and DRM Vadodara Mr Amit Kr Singh and the CPRO WR Mr Ravindra Bhakar completed the full Marathon which is a grueling test of fitness and resolve for officers who are not professional runners.

The participation was coordinated by Shri R.K.Lal President/Western Railway Sports Association and Shri. Sandeep Rajvanshy, General Secretary/Western Railway Sports Association.

Ms. Parul Chaudhary of Western Railway won Bronze Medal in the full Marathon event.

The Mumbai Marathon over the years has become much more than just a marathon. It has become India’s largest showcase of people pushing boundaries of the human spirit, people trying to #BeBetter. Better runners, better fathers, better citizens, better human beings above everything else.

Less than a month after the PMO expressed its displeasure over the non-compliance of ‘Make In India’ policy by certain departments, the Ministry of Railways has made mentioning percentage of ‘local content and list of local makes’ mandatory for bidders to qualify for the Technical Bidding process in the procurement policy of Indian Railways.

The Railways Board, in a letter dated January 12, said, in order to ensure compliance of the Public Procurement (Make in India) Order 2017, bidders would have to mandatoryly provide details of ‘local content’ or elements of domestic manufacturing in the offer form on the e-procurement website for all types of tenders, before quoting rates.

Railways in fact was in the eye of a storm when domestic steel producers had objected to the ministry’s decision to buy rails through a global tender on December 18 for the first time.

It led to the rail and the steel ministries locking horns, with the latter alleging that the move towards a global tender was against the ‘Make in India’ policy.

The government issued the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017, in June last year as part of a policy to encourage ‘Make in India’, and promote manufacturing and production of goods and services in India with a view to enhance income and employment.

In December 2017, a committee formed to oversee the policy said some of the government institutions had included certain restrictive conditions in their bid documents which were highly discriminatory against domestic manufacturers.

Azure Power (NYSE: AZRE), a leading solar independent power producer in India, announced that it has won an additional 20 MWs of solar rooftop projects for Indian Railways, the largest rail network in Asia, owned and operated by the Government of India through the Ministry of Railways. With the new allocation of 20 MWs, Azure Power has become the largest supplier of solar power to Indian Railways with a cumulative awarded capacity of over 66 MWs which includes the 46 MWs of capacity won earlier this year. Azure Roof Power will be used to provide power for 25 years to various Indian Railway facilities across 17 states and union territories. The power will be sold at a tariff range of INR 3.64 – 4.49 (US$ 0.06- 0.07) based on location. In addition, Azure Power qualifies for a capital incentive from Indian Railways which is expected to result in a weighted average levelized tariff of INR 4.88 (~US $0.08) per kWh.

Azure Roof Power offers superior rooftop solar power solution for commercial, industrial, government, and institutional customers in cities across India to lower their energy bills and to meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. With over 150MWs of high quality, operating and committed solar assets across 20 states, Azure Roof Power has one of the largest rooftop portfolios in the country. Azure Power has a well-diversified customer base with the majority of the portfolio contracted with Government of India backed entities. Azure Roof Power customers include large commercial real estate companies, a leading global chain of premium hotels, distribution companies in smart cities, warehouses, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Indian Railways, a Delhi water utility company and various Government of India Ministries.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power said, “Azure Roof Power offers tremendous value to our customers across various segments. We are pleased to expand our Azure Roof Power platform with Indian Railways. With this win, we have once again demonstrated our strong project development capabilities and are delighted to make this contribution towards realization of our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s commitment towards clean and green energy, through solar power generation.”

Azure Power (NYSE: AZRE) is a leading solar power producer in India with a portfolio of over 1,300 MWs across 23 states/union territories. With its in-house engineering, procurement and construction expertise and advanced in-house operations and maintenance capability, Azure Power provides low-cost and reliable solar power solutions to customers throughout India. It has developed, constructed and operated solar projects of varying sizes, from utility scale to rooftop, since its inception in 2008. Highlights include the construction of India’s first private utility scale solar PV power plant in 2009 and the implementation of the first MW scale rooftop project under the smart city initiative in 2013.

The Steel Ministry is in talks with the Railways Ministry to ensure the adequate availability of rakes for industries that have been saying the problem has led to a shortage of raw materials at plants, according to Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh.

Railway rakes are those wagons which carry various raw materials like coal and iron ore to industrial plants.

Coal-based steel, power and aluminium plants have been complaining against railways for raw material supply-related issues due to unavailability of adequate rakes.

On being asked about the measures the Steel Ministry is adopting to sort out the railway rake shortage issue, the minister said, “This is a problem. We are talking to the Railways Ministry [in this regard],” Singh told.

The government understands that a market is very important for business, and for a market, transportation is essential, the minister said.

Power industry body Indian Captive Power Producers Association (ICPPA), whose members include players from key sectors such as steel and aluminium, had urged the government to ensure coal availability, saying most captive power producers (CPPs) are facing severe shortage of the fuel which may lead to closure of plants.

Besides, railways is also doing “choosy deliveries”, it said.

To meet their loading targets, the zonal railway is making deliveries to plants which are near pits and this is something which is not justified, ICPPA secretary general Rajiv Agarwal had said.

Captive power producers are already facing shortage from one body of the government, which is Coal India and now this practice of Railways makes the matter worse, he added.

Big steel players like JSPL had also complained about issues related to railway rakes.

JSPL chairman Naveen Jindal had said supply and production of steel, aluminium, cement and captive power producers have been hit due to shortage of railway rakes and this situation needs immediate correction, Jindal said.

The government should ensure that performing steel assets do not face any shortage of raw material, he added.

Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday that the upcoming budget would be historical for Railways and capital investment plans were expected to increase by three times.

“The capital investment plans of the Indian Railways are expected to almost triple between 2013-14, the last year of the Congress government and 2018-19, the last year the 1st term of our government. The upcoming budget will (be) historical for Railway,” Goyal told ANI.

“Prime Minister Modi and his government have been committed to development. The first four budgets had also focused on the rapid development of the country. This budget will be no different it will focus on the well being of the people of Indian, every section of people of India. It will be focused on development, good governance,” said Goyal.

Goyal further averred that Mumbai local train would be soon revamped and all issues would be solved in the coming five years.

“I am a Mumbaikar myself. I totally understand the expectations of Mumbaikars from Budget and my dream would be to provide best facilities to them. Our experiment of AC local train was a great success. Forty-seven more AC local trains have been ordered. To develop the Suburban Mumbai Railways is our dream, passion,” the minister added.

Earlier in the day, as part of the ritual, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley p

As part of the Southern Railway’s initiative to go green and save on electricity costs by producing 4 MW of solar power, rooftop solar plants will be installed at 11 stations in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram railway divisions.“As far as the Railways is concerned, it is a win-win situation,” said G Suryanarayana, divisional electrical engineer (general services) Palakkad Division. “Currently, the Railways pays a tariff of Rs.8.10 per unit to the KSEB. Once the solar energy is produced, the Railways will need to pay only Rs.3.64 per unit for 25 years as per the deal agreed with Azure Power Rooftop Solutions Pvt Ltd.”

Rooftop solar plants with a total installed capacity of 390 kilowatt peak (kWp) will be set up at seven stations in Palakkad division — Kozhikode, Mangalore Central, Kannur, Palakkad, Shoranur, Mangalore Junction and Thalassery — and four plants with a total capacity of 300 kWp in Thiruvananthapuram division — Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Nagercoil and Thrissur. Central Electronics Ltd, which is the implementing agency for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, had floated tenders to install, operate and maintain the solar plants.

The tender document lists A1 category stations such as Ernakulam as well as A and B category stations in the state for the implementation of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic systems atop Railways office buildings and stations. The bids of Azure Power Rooftop Solutions has been finalised for Kerala, revealed Railways officers.

According to Railways sources, contracts and tenders floated for installing the rooftop solar plants were based on developer mode, wherein the project developer will do the site survey, design, manufacture, erection testing and commissioning, including warranty, operation and maintenance of the solar panels.

The Railways has signed a long-term contract for power purchase from these solar plants with the bidder at Rs.3.64 per unit for 25 years.

The cost of installing a 10 kWp plant is Rs.7.3 lakh.

In Palakkad, a 10 kWp plant at the divisional railway manager’s office and two 10 kWp plants at the Divisional Railway Hospital are already producing power. Similarly, a 10 kWp plant has been commissioned at the office of the divisional railway manager in Thiruvananthapuram also.

The Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunication (IRISET) Secunderabad, the premier Centralized Training Institute under Ministry of Railways for imparting training in Signal and Telecommunication Engineering will host the Passing Out function for Probationary Officers of IRSSE (Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers) 2015 batch who have completed their training on 22^nd January, 2018 at its premises.

The Passing out Batch of IRSSE Engineers comprises of 17 Probationers out of which, 04 are Women Officers.  These officers were selected through UPSC Group- ‘A’ Combined Engineering Services in Electronics & Communication Branch and joined Indian Railways in August-2016 at IRISET. They have underwent intensive training of 78 weeks covering 52 weeks of Institutional training at National Academy of Indian Railways, Vadodara and at IRISET, Secunderabad.  During the course of their training, the Officers were also deputed to various Zones spread over Indian Railways for field training. These Probationer Officers will be reporting to their respective Zonal Railways for their first posting.

The Probationary Officers had called on Shri Ram Nath Kovind, Hon’ble President of India on 10^th January, 2018 at Rashrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The President complimented them for joining Indian Railways, which provides a unique opportunity to serve the nation and millions of citizens each day.

Shri Akhil Agarwal, Director General (Signal & Telecommunications), Railway Board will be the Chief Guest at the Passing out Function and will present Certificates and Mementoes to these 17 IRSSE Probationers. Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, SCR along with Shri H.K.Agarwal, Additional Member (Telecom) and Shri N. Kashinath, Additional Member (Signal) will be Guests of Honour. Shri L.P.Sinha, Director, IRISET will deliver the welcome address.

In a first of its kind initiative on Indian Railways, Guntakal Division of South Central Railway has started a novel mechanism in association with noted Kalamkari artist Shri Niranjan for promoting local tourist attractions near Dharmavaram and Anantapur Railway stations, bringing to use digital technology.

The mechanism is to depict a picture of tourist locations along with a QR code at vantage locations in the premises of the two railway stations.

All that a passenger who alights or visits Dharmavaram and Anantapur Railway Stations has to do is to scan the QR bar code present on the picture of the tourism spot, which will take them to a page giving a brief description of the location and the available train connectivity. In addition, a 3-D virtual tour of the tourist attraction is also available for tourists.

The two railway stations have also been beautified with Kalamkari paintings to present aesthetically pleasing ambience.

1. Train No. 12669 Chennai Central-Chapra Ganga Kaveri Express scheduled to depart 17:40 hrs on 20^th January, 2018 is rescheduled to depart 20:00 hrs on the same day.
2. Train No. 12512 Thiruvananthapruam – Gorakhpur Raptisagar Express scheduled to depart 06:15 hrs on 21^st January, 2018 is rescheduled to depart 11:30 hrs on the same day.

MUMBAI: Western Railway has decided to run two additional services stopping at all stations during midnight of 20^th and 21^stJanuary, 2018 between Virar and Churchgate to facilitate participants attending the TATA Mumbai Marathon 2018. The station to station timings of these trains are as under: टाटा मुंबई मैराथन 2018 में भाग लेने वाले प्रतिभागियों की सुविधा के लिए पश्चिम रेलवे द्वारा 20 एवं 21 जनवरी, 2018 के बीच पड़ने वाली मध्य रात्रि को अप दिशा में विरार से चर्चगेट के बीच सभी स्टेशनों पर ठहरने वाली 2 अतिरिक्त सेवाएँ चलाने का निर्णय लिया गया है। इन विशेष लोकल ट्रेनों की समय सारणी निम्नानुसार है:- 

स्टेशन Station	Special-1	Special-2
विरार VIRAR	2:45	3:05
नालासोपारा NALLASOPARA	2:51	3:11
वसई रोड VASAI ROAD	2:56	3:16
नायगाँव NAIGAON	3:01	3:21
भाईंदर BHAYANDAR	3:06	3:26
मीरा रोड MIRA ROAD	3:11	3:31
दहिसर DAHISAR	3:15	3:35
बोरीवली BORIVALI	3:19	3:39
कांदिवली KANDIVALI	3:23	3:43
मालाड MALAD	3:26	3:46
गोरेगाँव GOREGAON	3:30	3:50
राम मंदिर RAM MANDIR	3.33	3.53
जोगेश्वरी JOGESHWARI	3:35	3:55
अंधेरी ANDHERI	3:38	3:58
विलेपार्ले VILE PARLE	3:41	4:02
सांताक्रुज SANTACRUZ	3:44	4:05
खार रोड KHAR ROAD	3:47	4:08
बांद्रा BANDRA	3:50	4:11
माहिम MAHIM	3:53	4:14
माटुंगा रोड MATUNGA ROAD	3:56	4:17
दादर DADAR	3:59	4:20
एलफिंस्टन रोड ELPHINSTONE ROAD	4:02	4:22
लोअर परेल LOWER PAREL	4:05	4:25
महालक्ष्मी MAHALAKSHMI	4:08	4:28
मुंबई सेंट्रल MUMBAI CENTRAL	4:11	4:31
ग्रांट रोड GRANT ROAD	4:14	4:34
चर्नी रोड CHARNI ROAD	4:17	4:37
मरीन लाइन्स MARINE LINES	4:20	4:40
चर्चगेट CHURCHGATE	4:23	4:43

WESTERN RAILWAY’S JUMBO BLOCK BETWEEN ANDHERI AND BORIVALI ON SUNDAY, 21^ST  JANUARY, 2018  (पश्चिम रेलवे का रविवार, 21 जनवरी, 2018 को अंधेरी तथा बोरीवली स्टेशनों के बीच जम्बो ब्लॉक)

रेल पथ, सिगनलिंग प्रणाली तथा ऊपरी उपस्करों के रख-रखाव हेतु पश्चिम रेलवे द्वारा रविवार, 21 जनवरी, 2018 को 10.35 बजे से 15.35 बजे तक अंधेरी तथा  बोरीवली स्टेशनों के बीच अप तथा डाउन फास्ट लाइनों पर जम्बो ब्लॉक लिया जायेगा। ब्लॉक के दौरान अप तथा डाउन दिशा की सभी फास्ट ट्रेनों को अंधेरी तथा बोरीवली स्टेशनों के बीच अप तथा डाउन धीमी लाइनों पर चलाया जायेगा। ब्लॉक के कारण कुछ अप तथा डाउन उपनगरीय ट्रेनें रद्द रहेंगी। ब्लॉक अवधि के दौरान बोरीवली की ट्रेनों को बोरीवली स्टेशन पर प्लेटफॉर्म सं. 1/2 एवं 4 पर तथा विरार ट्रेनों को प्लेटफॉर्म सं. 3/5 पर लिया जायेगा। मेल/एक्सप्रेस ट्रेनों को बोरीवली में प्लेटफॉर्म सं. 8/9 तथा 5 पर लिया जायेगा। इस ब्लॉक की विस्तृत जानकारी स्टेशन मास्टरों के पास उपलब्ध है। यात्रियों से अनुरोध है कि वे यात्रा प्रारम्भ करते समय उपरोक्त व्यवस्था को ध्यान में रखें।

A jumbo block of five hours will be taken from 10.35 hrs to 15.35 hrs on Sunday, 21^st January, 2018 on UP and DOWN Fast lines between Andheri and Borivali stations for the maintenance of track, signaling and overhead equipments. During the block period, all trains running on ‘Fast Lines’ will run on ‘Slow Lines’ between Borivali and Andheri and some UP and DOWN local trains will remain cancelled. During this block period, Borivali trains will be dealt on Platforms 1, 2 and 4 and Virar trains on Platform 3 & 5 at Borivali station. Similarly, Mail/Express trains will be dealt on Platform 8, 9 and 5 at Borivali station. Detailed information to this effect is available with concerned Station Masters. Passengers are requested to take note of the above arrangements.