Indian Railways News

Indian Railways News

China restores 350 kmph Commercial Bullet Train

China on Thursday restored the maximum speed of bullet trains on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line to 350 kilometres per hour, making it the fastest commercially run train, six years after it reduced the speed due to a fatal accident.

The speed was reduced to 300 kilometres per hour following the deadly accident in July 2011 that killed 40 people.

A Fuxing bullet train departed from Beijing South Railway Station at 9:00 a.m. for Shanghai. The speed hike will cut the 1,318 km journey to 4 hours 28 minutes, cutting the train time by nearly an hour.

China started to run its first 350-kilometres per hour high speed train between Beijing and Tianjin in August 2008 and opened at least three more such high-speed lines nationwide in the following years.

But it has reduced the speed to 250 kilometres per hour to 300 kilometres per hour after the accident in July 2011. Forty people were killed and over 190 injured when two high-speed trains travelling on the Yongtaiwen railway line collided on a viaduct in the suburbs of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province.

The Fuxing trains were unveiled in June and are capable of top speeds of 400 kilometres per hour, state-run Xinhua news agency reported earlier.

On July 27, the Fuxing trains were tested for safety and reliability at maximum speed.

PayU partners with IRCTC, lends online payment services to users

Payment gateway provider PayU on Monday announced its collaborations with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide users a safe and secure option to pay for rail tickets booked via the IRCTC website.

PayU will now be available as a payment option under the Multiple Payment Services or MPS option on the IRCTC website at the payment stage of booking an e-ticket. Clicking on this option will enable users to make a safe and secure transaction via various payment options like internet banking, debit/credit card and e-wallet.

“Our payment gateway operates around 80 percent of the e-commerce business in India today, and this collaboration with IRCTC is aligned with our vision to simplify the payment experience for the growing digital savvy consumers as well as the merchants. Undoubtedly, this is a very large and prestigious mandate for us. IRCTC’s biggest strength, its traffic, combined with the success rate of our payment gateway, which is the best in the industry today, is a great match and has a huge potential to enhance the digital transactions landscape and contribute towards making India a cashless/less cash economy,” said Rahul Kothari, Enterprise Business Head, PayU India.

Can’t blame Railways for stolen luggage unless booked: NCDRC

The apex consumer commission has refused to grant relief to a woman who lost her suitcase while travelling in a train, saying the Railways is not responsible unless the luggage was booked and a receipt was issued. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) set aside the lower foras’ orders asking Railways to compensate the woman, a West Bengal resident, for the alleged theft onboard Lokmanya Tilak Shalimar Express train in 2011. The NCDRC set aside Chhattisgarh state commission’s order that had upheld a district forum’s decision asking it to pay Rs 1.30 lakh to the passenger for the loss of luggage. The apex consumer commission agreed to the contention of the Railways that as per Section 100 of the Railway Act, 1989, it shall not be responsible for the loss, destruction, damage, or non-delivery of any luggage, unless a railway servant has booked the luggage and given a receipt. “We do not find any deficiency in service on the part of the Railway officials. The order passed by both the fora below are clearly perverse in the eyes of law and, thus, are set aside,” a Bench headed by Presiding Member B C Gupta said. The commission said no negligence was attributable to any specific employee. “No booking was made with the Railways and hence, the provisions of Section 100 of the Railways Act, are applicable in the matter,” it added. According to the complaint, Mamta Agrawal was travelling in the train on September 5, 2011, with a suitcase containing articles worth Rs three lakh consisting of three gold chains, two diamond rings and a simple ring along with Rs 15,000 cash and clothes of children. It alleged that when the train arrived near Rourkela, some miscreants stole her luggage. The Railways, however, contended that since the passenger was carrying the baggage with her without booking it, she herself was responsible.

In Bihar, Retired Army Jawan Shot Dead In Train

Unidentified men shot dead a retired Army jawan suspectedly during a bid to loot passengers of a train between Kiul-Bhagalpur section in Bihar, Government Railway Police (GRP) said today.

In course of search of the general bogey of Bhagalpur-Jamalpur passenger train in wee hours today, GRP personnel found a body, Jamalpur GRP police station Officer in-charge (OC) Kripa Sagar said.

The dead person was identified as Umesh Sah, a resident of Tikarampur village of Munger district, he said. The deceased after retirement from Army was engaged in some contractual work in Siliguri in West Bengal.

Police suspects that the accused shot him dead in course of a loot bid in the train.

Railways To Post ‘Young, Brilliant And Dynamic’ Station Directors At A1 Category Stations

Railway administration has decided to post ‘young, brilliant and dynamic’ officers to man the post of Station Directors at major Railway Stations, under the direction of the Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal. These station directors’ officers will be chosen from across different operational services of Railways after due screening and scrutiny. According to the Ministry of Railways, these station directors will be imparted special orientation training focussing on coordination and public dealing.

Ministry has earlier created the post of Station Directors at A1 Category stations numbering 75.

A1 category stations include New Delhi, Dehradun, Howrah, CST Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Mughalsarai Jn, Agra Cantt, New Jalpaiguri, Jodhpur, Kharagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai central, Bangalore City, Hyderabad and others.

“Station Directors will ensure that the stations function as excellence centers for the customers with the additional objective to ensure vigilant and sensitive customer service and also superior commercial sense,” a statement from Ministry of Railways said.

Prompt, courteous and hassle-free service to customers, proper cleanliness and hygiene at the station and stationary trains, efficient working of booking and reservation office, punctuality of trains at the station, timely placement and withdrawal of rakes at platforms of the station, proper functioning, upkeep/repairs of all passenger amenities at the station, upkeep of passenger enquiry system, display board etc., ensuring efficient, transparent and customer oriented working of parcel office and monitoring the service of catering/vending stall at the station are some of the functions of the Station Directors and their teams.

BHEL eyes rail track electrification orders

State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), India’s largest power equipment maker, is eyeing a major role in the Indian Railways’ track electrification programme to tide over the uncertainties of the Indian power sector.

As part of this strategy, BHEL Chairman and Managing Director Atul Sobti has written to Ashwani Lohani, the newly- appointed Chairman of the Railway Board (CRB) to entrust the Maharatna with electrifying 1,000km of tracks initially.

This follows BHEL’s strategy to pivot from the power sector to transportation as the national carrier plans to electrify 24,000km of rail tracks. The railways track electrification drive stems from its need to reduce dependence on imported fuel and rationalize the cost of energy.

According to the 1 September communication, Sobti wrote, “I understand that Indian Railways is focusing on adoption of energy efficiency measures to reduce its energy cost and greenhouse gas emission. Towards this, electrification of railway tracks has been accorded top priority with a target to electrify tracks of about 22,000km by 2021, and about 4,000km is being targeted in the current fiscal year itself.”

In January, former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had unveiled a plan to save Rs.41,000 crore over 10 years through an integrated energy management system. It was named Indian Railways’ Mission 41k initiative wherein 24,000km of rail track electrification was planned over the next five years by doubling the annual rate of electrification from 2,000km to 4,000km.

“I am confident that with the active support of Indian Railways, we shall be able to meet the electrification targets as envisaged by you in the action plan,” Sobti went on to add.

This comes in the backdrop of BHEL eyeing a major role in the marque Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail project, popularly called bullet train, ranging from manufacturing coaches and civil construction work to laying down rail links.

During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week it was announced that a joint venture (JV) between BHEL and Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) will manufacture rolling stock for the bullet train project.

Experts believe that the public sector unit will have to build in-house capabilities.

“BHEL needs to build in-house focused capabilities. While tying up with a technical partner will help them secure government contracts, they will have to compete with focused and efficient businesses,” said Kaustav Mukherjee, senior partner and managing director of consulting firm BCG India.

“I think BHEL’s interest in railway track electrification builds on their growing interest in this sector. However, I must emphasize that they are entering a new area from their core power business,” said Amit Sinha, partner at consulting firm Bain and Co. Sinha, who leads its industrial goods and services practice at Bain, added “BHEL should be aggressive in building or acquiring the capabilities and technology needed to be successful in the new venture.”

BHEL’s reaching out to the national carrier comes at a time when power sector orders have dried up.

Given that India’s current installed capacity and projects under construction are expected to meet the country’s electricity demand till 2026, BHEL is left with little choice.

A BHEL spokesperson in an emailed response said, “Yes, we have written to them. Discussions are yet to be initiated on the subject.”

“We are examining their proposal,” a railway ministry spokesperson added.

BHEL’s order inflow has become a cause for concern despite its order book of Rs1 trillion. New orders for the first quarter this year amounted to Rs.1,800 crore, down 41% on a year-on-year basis. This is putting pressure on BHEL’s manufacturing capacity of 20,000MW per annum with a limited order inflow.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flag-off Varanasi-Vadodara Mahamana Express from Varanasi

The Indian Railways is starting a new train from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Vadodara in his home state Gujarat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Varanasi-Vadodara Mahamana Express on Friday, when he visits Varanasi on a two-day tour.

Railways minister Piyush Goyal will be present in Vadodara that day while junior railway minister Manoj Sinha is expected to be present in Surat, senior railway officials said on Tuesday. This is India’s third Mahamana Express.

On its maiden journey, the train will run from Vadodara (Gujarat) to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) after the PM will launch it using a remote control, they said.

The Modi government had unveiled the first rake of the Mahamana Express as part of Railways’ Model Rake Project in 2016.

1. ‘Mahamana Express’ is named after former Hindu Mahasabha president Madan Mohan Malviya, also addressed as ‘Mahamana’.

2. Make in India initiative: The Mahamana Express comes with plush interiors. The coaches for the train had been designed by Vadodara-based firm Hindustan Fibre Glass. The model rakes that have been developed are a “refurbished and re-adapted” version of seven types of coaches which have been in use by Indian Railways for the past 10-12 years.

3. Weekly train: Like the other two sister-trains, Varanasi-Vadodara Mahamana Express is a weekly train that will run from Varanasi every Friday at 6.15am and from Vadodara every Wednesday.

4. Train halt points: Mahamana Express will cover 1,531-km journey between the two cities in 27 hours 30 minutes at an average speed of 55.7 km/hr. It has stops at Bharuch and Surat in Gujarat; Amalner and Bhusawal in Maharashtra; Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni and Satna in Madhya Pradesh; and Chheoki in Uttar Pradesh.

5. Plush design: Some other special features of the Mahamana Express include modular panels, ergonomically designed ladders for climbing to the upper berths, aesthetically appealing toilet modules with big mirror, platform washbasin, controlled discharged water tap, odour control system, exhaust fan, LED lights and dustbin inside the toilets. The train has LED lighting across the coaches, special berth indicators-cum-night-light in reserved coaches to assist passengers boarding train at night.

6. Train coaches: This train will have 18 coaches – one AC 1st class, two 2nd class AC, eight sleeper, four general, one pantry car and two guard brake vans. There is no AC-3 tier coach in the train.

7. Fire extinguisher: Necessary facilities like fire extinguisher in all coaches, electrically operated chimney in pantry car and stainless steel panelling in luggage compartment have also been provided in the train.

Railways to post Station Directors at 75 major Railway Stations

Indian Railways has decided to post station directors at 75 major (A1 category) railway stations. These officials will be young officers from Group A railway services who’ll be posted as station directors immediately after completion of their training.

“Station Directors will ensure that the stations function as Excellence Centers for the customers with the additional objective to ensure vigilant and sensitive customer service and also superior commercial sense,” as senior Railway Board official said.

They will also monitor the safety and repair works on stations and the nearby blocks. All staff at railway station including the station manager and superintendents will report to the director.

“They will also be actively involved in the process of raising revenue from non-fare box like the commercial advertisement at that station,” the official said.

The decision to post young officers as station directors was taken by rail minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday.

The officers will be chosen from across different operational services of Railways after due screening and scrutiny. Also, they would be given Special Orientation Training focussing on coordination and public dealing..

Some of the A1 Category Stations are New Delhi, Dehradun, Howrah, CST Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Mughalsarai, Agra Cantt, New Jalpaiguri, Jodhpur, Kharagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai central, Bangalore City, Hyderabad among others.

Railways set to double Lease Tenure for station upgrades

The Indian Railways is set to more than double the lease tenure under the station redevelopment programme—raising it to 99 years from 45—in an effort to make the scheme more attractive for investors whose response has so far been only lukewarm.

A top Railway Board official told ET that the decision was taken in a recent meeting called by railway minister Piyush Goyal to review measures aimed at securing private investment in the cash-strapped national carrier.

“The long contract period will make it lucrative for private players to invest in small stations as well,” the official said, requesting anonymity. “Investors will also be allowed to commercially utilise space on the platforms.”

The railways is offering up to 400 stations to private entities in, what it has called, the biggest station redevelopment programme in the world. The scheme envisages a minimum investment of Rs 1 lakh crore.

Under the scheme, companies winning the bids will have to modernise the stations and provide world-class passenger amenities, for which they will, in return, get the ancillary land on lease for 99 years. The companies can build malls, hotels and other commercial complexes on the land to recover their investment.

It is also working on a plan to secure the infrastructure project status for station redevelopment, which will enable the developers get easy and economical loans from banks.

The stations will be awarded under the Swiss challenge method, where a proposal is invited online and rivals can offer counter-bids. The method cuts the long-drawn tendering process currently used by the railways.

An expert committee will accept the best proposal and the original proposer will get an opportunity to match it.

A senior railway official said the 99-year lease offer will make it the longest tenure for any public-private partnership project in the country.

“In the rail ministry’s consultations with stakeholders, several big infrastructure companies were willing to invest in stations in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru,” this official said. “However, there were no takers for small stations.”

The railways is also planning to bring in a revenue sharing agreement with the concessionaire, where the latter will have to share some revenue with the railways every year.

Food Served Must Carry Details Of Quantity, Supplier: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has asked officials to ensure that meals served on board trains carry information about quantity and the contractor supplying it, as the national carrier continues efforts to improve catering services.

In a letter addressed to all zonal general managers, the railway board has said that Mr Goyal has asked that food served to passengers has the name of the supplier or contractor, weight, date of packing and a distinct symbol indicating if it is vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

As of now, the packets only mention if the food is veg or non-veg.

“Honourable Minister of Railways has decided that each food box/casserole in which food is packed and sold on trains must have these details,” said the letter from Sanjiv Garg, Additional Member (Tourism and Catering), Railway Board.

The letter, which was issued on Tuesday, said the guidelines should be implemented with immediate effect.

The communication comes days after another letter was sent to the IRCTC and all general managers of Zonal Railways on the instructions of Mr Goyal, asking them to crackdown on overcharging by catering contractors and staff.

The September 5 letter also said that special emphasis should be laid on ensuring hygiene and quality of food served to passengers.

These measures come in the backdrop of a CAG report earlier this year which was severely critical of meals served by the railways.