Railways on Wednesday rolled out its first air conditioned three-tier economy class coach which is being touted by the ministry to be “synonymous with the cheapest and best AC travel in the world”.
These coaches, officials said, will be “economical” and in between the current AC three-tier and non-AC sleeper class.

This LHB coach was rolled out from Rail Coach Factory (RCF) Kapurthala to Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) Lucknow for the upcoming trial.

It was conceived by RCF and work on its design started on war footing in October 2020. The new coach can carry more passengers as the berths have been increased from 72 to 83.

“Many innovations have been incorporated in the design of the coach. The high voltage electric switchgear presently installed on board has been shifted below the under frame, thereby increasing the passenger capacity by introducing 11 additional berths,” a statement from the ministry said.

Each coach is provided with a wider and one disabled friendly toilet entry door which is a new initiative, it said.

Several design improvements have also been made for improving passenger comfort like redesigning the AC ducting to provide individual vents for each berth, it said.

The coach also has improved and modular design of seats and berths, foldable snack tables in both longitudinal and transverse bays, injury free spaces and holders for water bottles, mobile phone and magazines, it said.

 

Individual reading lights and mobile charging points are provided for each berth in addition to the standard socket.

A new ergonomically improved design of ladder for accessing the middle and upper berths is also a new feature. There is an increased headroom in the middle and upper berths as well.

The design has been improved for both Indian and the Western style lavatories while public address and passenger information systems have been installed as part of passenger facilities, it said.

“Ambience and ease of access into coach has been improved by aesthetically pleasing and ergonomic entrance. The interior of the coach has luminescent aisle markers, illuminated berth indicators integral with night lights with luminescent berth numbers,” the statement said.

“There is also improved fire safety by ensuring compliance to world benchmark of EN45545-2 HL3 for materials, thus meeting the high requirements of the new fire protection standard,” it said.

The RCF has production plan of 248 such coaches during the current and next fiscal.

“Series production of these coaches will be started from this month. This new 3-tier air conditioned economy class coach is a symbol of aspirational India bringing AC travel to larger number of people and enhancing the capacity of our express trains. Undoubtedly, now every rail journey will become a journey of pleasant memories,” the statement said.

A Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel on Friday saved life of a differently-abled man by preventing him from falling under a moving train at a railway station in Maharashtra’s Panvel.

The RPF shared a video of the incident which took place at around 3:44 PM at Panvel Station, when a differently-abled man tried to board the running train and a passenger was helping him. However, the RPF personnel came in time and pulled him back.

 

The allocation of ₹ 6,636 crore to West Bengal is the highest ever funds earmarked for the state in the history of Indian Railways, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, blaming successive state governments for the delay in rail projects in the state.

West Bengal has 53 ongoing projects including new lines, gauge conversion, doubling projects costing ₹ 48,275 crore for 4,463 km.

“The allocation for West Bengal is the highest ever in the history of Indian Railways. It is 2.5 times the average amount allocated between Budget 2009-2014 and 26 per cent more than last year,” Mr Goyal told reporters.

“Projects there remain incomplete or are delayed because the state governments – first it was the Left front government and now the TMC (Trinamool Congress) – have been unable to provide land to us. Projects which are 45 year old are pending in the state,” he said. “I appeal to Mamata didi to expedite the process and give us land,” he said.

Mr Goyal said due to non-availability of land, as many as 34 projects in the state have received only token allotment in the budget 2021-22.

Assembly election in Bengal is due soon. “I want to assure the people of West Bengal that there is no shortage of funds for projects in the state. Only there should not be any shortage of land and local issues are sorted then projects will be completed on time,” Mr Goyal said.

Mr Goyal took a dig at pre-BJP budgets where the Railway Budget was separate and said that at that time there was a tendency to announce rail projects for political gains and not for the need of the people.

1Comments”Once someone became a minister, he would announce projects without first checking if there were funds available, if land was available and if the project was feasible. That is the reason why none of the projects which were announced then could be completed and there would be major cost overruns. So, inspired by politics this harmed the railways,” he said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced that the central government is allocating ₹ 1,10,055 crores for Railways.

She also announced an outlay for capital expenditure amounting to ₹ 1,07,100 crores.

Presenting the Union Budget 2021-22, Ms Sitharaman said that the plan of the government is to create a future-ready Railways system by 2030.

“Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Plan for India 2030. The plan is to create a future-ready railways system by 2030 – bringing down the logistic cost for the industry is at the core of a strategy to enable Make in India. I am providing a record sum of ₹ 1,10,055 crores for Railways of which ₹ 1,07,100 crores is for capital expenditure only,” she said.

The Finance Minister said to further strengthen, high-density network and highly utilised network routes of Railways will be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system that eliminates train collision due to human error.

“High-density rail networks and highly utilized rail routes to be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system which will eliminate train collision due to human error100 per cent electrification of rail broad gauge routes to be completed by December 2023,” she added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced that the central government is allocating ₹ 1,10,055 crores for Railways.

She also announced an outlay for capital expenditure amounting to ₹ 1,07,100 crores.

Presenting the Union Budget 2021-22, Ms Sitharaman said that the plan of the government is to create a future-ready Railways system by 2030.

“Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Plan for India 2030. The plan is to create a future-ready railways system by 2030 – bringing down the logistic cost for the industry is at the core of a strategy to enable Make in India. I am providing a record sum of ₹ 1,10,055 crores for Railways of which ₹ 1,07,100 crores is for capital expenditure only,” she said.

The Finance Minister said to further strengthen, high-density network and highly utilised network routes of Railways will be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system that eliminates train collision due to human error.

“High-density rail networks and highly utilized rail routes to be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system which will eliminate train collision due to human error100 per cent electrification of rail broad gauge routes to be completed by December 2023,” she added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced that the central government is allocating ₹ 1,10,055 crores for Railways.

She also announced an outlay for capital expenditure amounting to ₹ 1,07,100 crores.

Presenting the Union Budget 2021-22, Ms Sitharaman said that the plan of the government is to create a future-ready Railways system by 2030.

“Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Plan for India 2030. The plan is to create a future-ready railways system by 2030 – bringing down the logistic cost for the industry is at the core of a strategy to enable Make in India. I am providing a record sum of ₹ 1,10,055 crores for Railways of which ₹ 1,07,100 crores is for capital expenditure only,” she said.

The Finance Minister said to further strengthen, high-density network and highly utilised network routes of Railways will be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system that eliminates train collision due to human error.

“High-density rail networks and highly utilized rail routes to be provided with indigenously developed automatic train protection system which will eliminate train collision due to human error100 per cent electrification of rail broad gauge routes to be completed by December 2023,” she added.

The allocation towards the railway budget is expected to be around ₹ 1.70 lakh crore and the gross budgetary support for railways expected to be around ₹ 75,000 crore, rating agency Brickwork Ratings said in its report titled ‘BWR Pre-Budget Expectations FY22’. Along with the main allocation for Railway Budget 2021, the agency also expects that the allocation of safety fund for the railway network should be increased by 50 per cent from the current ₹ 20,000 crore to ₹ 30,000 crore per year, that will help in boosting the safety infrastructure. (Also Read: Budget 2021: Indian Railways To Seek Investment Of ₹ 30,000 Crore For Running Private Trains )

Railway Budget 2021 is expected to bring policy support for the operations of private trains, new train sets for faster connectivity on new routes, better rail connectivity to tourist and pilgrimage spots, expansion of railway infrastructure for better connectivity in northeastern states. According to the report, a greater allocation is also expected towards green energy initiative by Indian Railways. The expansion of Kisan Rail from the current Maharashtra-Bihar route to other areas of the country is likely to strengthen the cold supply chain of perishable agricultural produce.

As part of the national transporter’s first private investment initiative for operating passenger trains, the Railway Ministry had completed the process of evaluating applications for public-private partnership (PPP) in passenger train services. In this regard, Indian Railways seeks an investment of around ₹ 30,000 crore from private entities.

Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) will finalise the basis of allotment of its IPO shares today i.e. January 25, as per the tentative schedule available in the prospectus. The ₹ 4,633.4 crore IPO was open for bidding for 3 days between January 18 and January 20, thus becoming the first public issue in calendar year 2021.

The public issue of the dedicated market borrowing arm of Indian Railways comprised of a fresh issue of ₹ 3,088.9 crore and an offer for sale of ₹ 1,544 crore by the Government of India through Ministry of Railways.

The IPO was subscribed 3.49 times; the reserved portion of qualified institutional buyers witnessed a subscription of 3.78 times, non-institutional investors (2.67 times) and retail (3.66 times).

The state-owned entity will utilise the issue proceeds to augment its equity capital base to meet future requirements.

Here’s how to check the allotment status of IRFC initial public offering

• Access website of the registrar
• Select IPO (Indian Railway Finance Corporation)
• Select application number
• Select application type (ASBA or NON-ASBA)
• Enter Application Number.
• In case of DPID/Client ID, select depository (NSDL/CDSL), enter DPID and Client ID
• In case of PAN, enter PAN.
• Enter Captcha
• Click on Submit button

CommentsAccess BSE Website

• Select Issue Type (Equity)
• Select Issue Name (Indian Railway Finance Corporation)
• Enter Application Number and PAN
• Click on the ‘Search’ button

India is all set to adopt the European Train Control System (ETCS) in mainline railways for the very first time, with the country’s premier regional rapid rail coming up between Delhi and Meerut. French multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom won a contract worth €106 million to design, supply, and install the signalling, train control, and telecommunication system for the 82.15 km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut regional rapid transit system (RRTS) corridor. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation Ltd. (NCRTC), responsible for executing the RRTS project, awarded the contract to Alstom on January 20, 2021.

According to a statement released by Alstom, the European train control system hybrid level three signalling system will be adopted for the very first time in the country. The Delhi-Meerut semi-high-speed rail line will reduce the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to just 60 minutes, as compared to the current 90-100 minutes, and will run a maximum speed of 160 km per hour. Alstom’s scope of work in the project includes design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of signalling and train control, supervision, platform screen doors, and telecommunication systems for the corridor.

Meanwhile, the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut rapid rail corridor will consist of modern and indigenous ballastless track, suitable for supporting a high design speed of 180 km per hour and operational speed of 160 km per hour. Out of the 82 km long Delhi-Meerut rapid rail corridor, the 17 km-long Sahibabad-Duhai section has been targeted to be operational by the year 2023.

In the first phase of the regional rapid transit system coming up in the national capital region, the other priority corridors apart from Delhi-Meerut are Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar and Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat. The three RRTS corridors will converge at the Sarai Kale Khan station in Delhi. The interoperability of the main corridors will allow seamless commuter movement across corridors. 

Indian Railways has finalized the tender for design, manufacture, development, integration, supply, testing, and commissioning of IGBT-based three-phase propulsion, control, and other equipment for as many as for 44 rakes of Vande Bharat type train sets, with each consisting of 16 cars. According to a recent statement released by the Railway Ministry, the procurement includes a comprehensive annual maintenance contract of five years with the supplier. The specifications were prepared after multiple deliberations with the industry at various levels for manufacturing the train sets indigenously. For the first time, the tender required a minimum of 75 per cent local content requirement of the total value.

According to the Railway Ministry, three bidders participated in the tender for 44 rakes of Vande Bharat type train sets, and the lowest offer was from the indigenous manufacturer Medha Servo Drives Limited who met the minimum local content of 75 per cent of the total value. The tender for 44 rakes of 16 car each was finalised on Medha Servo Drives Limited for all-in cost of ₹ 2211,64,59,644.

These rakes will be produced at three production units of the railway network. 24 of the rakes at Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, 10 rakes will be produced at Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala and the remaining 10 rakes will be produced at Modern Coach Factory (MCF) in Raebareli. According to the Railway Ministry, the delivery schedule for the supply of these 44 Vande Bharat rakes is – first, two prototype rakes will be delivered in 20 months. Upon the successful commissioning of these rakes, the company will be delivering an average of six rakes per quarter.