Indian Railways News

Indian Railways News

Southern Railway announces Train Rescheduling / Restoration / Cancellation and Running of Special Trains

Train No.22639 Chennai Central – Alappuzha express, scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 20.55 hrs. on 09.05.2018, has beenrescheduled to leave Chennai Central at 00.15 hrs. on 10.05.2018 (late by 3 hours and 20 minutes) due to late running of pairing train.

CANCELLATIONS

Train No.15227 Yesvantpur – Muzaffarpur (via Chennai Central) express, scheduled to leave Yesvantpur at 23.55 hrs. on 09.05.2018 and pass through Chennai Central at 09.30 / 10.00 hrs. on 10.05.2018has been cancelled due to abnormal late running of pairing train.

Likewise, due to Arakkonam yard signaling works of Southern Railway etc, the following trains are Cancelled as detailed below:-

  1. Train No. 56011 Arakkonam – Kadapa Passenger is cancelled on 10th May, 2018.
  2. Train No. 56012 Kadapa – Arakkonam Passenger is cancelled on 10th May, 2018.

RESTORATION OF TRAIN SERVICES TO AND FROM ARAKKONAM / TIRUTTANI & CANCELLATION OF PASSENGER TRAINS

ALL SCHEDULED EMU / MEMU SERVICES TO & FROM ARAKKONAM / TIRUTTANI WILL BE RESTORED ON 10.05.2018.

However, some passenger train services will be fully cancelled on 10.05.2018 as detailed below.

The following passenger trains will be fully cancelled on 10.05.2018.

  1. Train No.56008 Katpadi – Arakkonam passenger train, scheduled to leave Katpadi at 04.35 hrs. will be fully cancelled on 10.05.2018.
  2. Train No.56011 Arakkonam – Cuddapah passenger train, scheduled to leave Arakkonam at 07.05 hrs. will be fully cancelled on 10.05.2018.
  3. Train No.56012 Cuddapah – Arakkonam passenger train, scheduled to leave Cuddapah at 14.45 hrs. will be fully cancelled on 10.05.2018.
  4. Train No.56002 Arakkonam – Chennai Central passenger train, scheduled to leave Arakkonam at 22.15 hrs. will be fully cancelled on10.05.2018.

The above mentioned trains, cancelled on 10.05.2018, will be restored on 11.05.2018.

SPECIAL TRAIN FROM CHENNAI CENTRAL TO JOLARPETTAI

A special train will be run today – 09.05.2018 – from Chennai Central to Jolarpettai.

The Chennai Central – Jolarpettai special train will leave Chennai Central at 18.05 hrs. on 09.05.2018 and run to open timings.

This train will have the stoppages of Train No.16089 Chennai Central – Jolarpettai Yelagiri express and will stop at Perambur, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam, Chitteri, Anavardikhanpettai, Sholingur, Walajah Road, Mukindarayapuram, Katpadi, Gudiyattam, Valathoor, Melpatti, Ambur & Vaniyambadi.

CSTM Heritage Building will now be illuminated with Green Energy – yet another Green Energy initiative by CR

Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Heritage Building, Mumbai will soon be illuminated with green energy. The full energy consumption of heritage building and other office buildings of various divisions of Central Railway will be from Green Energy. This is yet another green initiative by Central Railway after recently converting Neral – Matheran section, Asangaon and Mankhurd as fully green energy stations.

The supply of green energy to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus will soon be possible as Central Railway entered into an Agreement with M/s Sri Pavan Energy Pvt. Ltd, a Government of India Undertaking, to provide Power at Rs. 5.18 per unit recently. Under this agreement the power of 6 Mega Watt green energy generated by Wind Turbine by M/s Sri Pavan Energy Pvt. Ltd, under commissioning at Sangli district of Maharashtra will be utilized at 6 different stations of Central Railway and South Eastern Railway i.e Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Manmad, Bhusawal and Nagpur. A Total of 12.93 million units green energy is expected to be generated that will be utilised for the full energy consumption of Heritage building of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and other office buildings of various divisions. The energy will be generated at Sangli district it will be received through the grid connection to various points of Central Railway. This power purchase will be utilized for meeting the requirement of Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) and the agreement will be valid for 25 years. An estimated amount of Rs. 1.5 Crores will be saved on electricity bill through this agreement.

The illumination of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Building with green energy will add another feather to the cap of Energy Conservation initiatives as a high priority mission in Railways.

छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनस हेरिटेज बिल्डिंगमुंबई जल्द ही हरित ऊर्जा (ग्रीन एनर्जी ) द्वारा प्रकाशमान होगा । मध्य रेल के सभी विभागों,विरासत भवन तथा अन्य कार्यालय भवनों की पूरी ऊर्जा खपत हरित ऊर्जा (ग्रीन एनर्जी ) से होगी। हाल ही में नेरल-माथेरान सेक्शनआसनगांव और मानखुर्द को पूरी तरह से हरित ऊर्जा (ग्रीन एनर्जी ) स्टेशनों के रूप में परिवर्तित करने के बाद मध्य रेल द्वारा यह एक और पहल है।

  छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनस को हरित ऊर्जा (ग्रीन एनर्जी )की आपूर्ति जल्द ही संभव हो जाएगी क्योंकि मध्य रेल ने मैसर्स श्री पवन एनर्जी प्राइवेट जो भारत सरकार की उपक्रम है के साथ इस परियोजना हेतु करार किया है जो मध्य रेल को रु. 5.18 प्रति यूनिट की दर से बिजली प्रदान करेगी । इस समझौते के तहत मेसर्स श्री पवन एनर्जी प्राइवेट द्वारा महाराष्ट्र के सांगली जिले मई स्थापित पवन टरबाइन द्वारा उत्पादित 6 मेगा वाट हरित ऊर्जा (ग्रीन एनर्जी ) की शक्ति का उपयोग  मध्य रेल और दक्षिण पूर्वी रेलवे अर्थात छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनसमनमाडभुसावल और नागपुर के 6 अलग-अलग स्टेशनों पर उपयोग किया जाएगा। कुल 12.93 मिलियन यूनिट की हरित ऊर्जा (ग्रीन एनर्जी )उत्पन्न होने की उम्मीद है जिसका उपयोग छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनस के विरासत भवन, मध्य रेल के  विभिन्न विभागों एवं अन्य कार्यालय भवनों की पूर्ण ऊर्जा खपत के लिए किया जाएगा। सांगली जिले में ऊर्जा उत्पन्न की जाएगीइसे मध्य रेल के विभिन्न बिंदुओं के ग्रिड कनेक्शन के माध्यम से प्राप्त किया जाएगा। इस बिजली खरीद का उपयोग नवीकरणीय खरीद करार (आरपीओ) की आवश्यकता को पूरा करने के लिए किया जाएगा और यह समझौता 25 वर्षों के लिए मान्य होगा। इस समझौते के माध्यम से बिजली बिल पर अनुमानित राशि रु 1.5 करोड़ रुपए की बचत होगी ।

छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनस बिल्डिंग का हरित ऊर्जा (ग्रीन एनर्जी ) के साथ प्रकाशवान होने से रेल्वे ऊर्जा संरक्षण के क्षेत्र में एक और अध्याय जोड़ देगी ।

Northeast Frontier Railway accused of Safety breach

The N.F. Railway has been accused of serious breach of safety of the passengers in the region. If the N.F. Railway Mazdoor Union is to be believed, trains from Dibrugarh station are leaving without proper examination and repair.The number of trains has been increasing from Dibrugarh Railway Station in Banipur but the station lacks required infrastructure, spare parts and adequate manpower for maintenance, repair and examination. Given the number of trains running from and arriving at the station, there is a requirement of another 500 personnel in various departments to carry out proper examination of trains, according to the union.

The central vice president of N.F. Railway Mazdoor Union, Sanjib Bhattacharyya told that the passenger safety is in danger due to improper examination and repair of trains due to lack of adequate manpower, non-availability of adequate spare parts and for not providing the prescribed coach examination time.

“Our union is not against having more and more trains from the station. We are demanding that additional manpower be made available with every increasing train and the time prescribed for examination of each coach be allotted. We are also demanding that spare parts be made available at the workshop,” said Sanjib Bhattacharyya.

It may be noted that over 30 trains originate and terminate from and at Dibrugarh. However, the Dibrugarh station lacks enough stabling (shunting) line to cope up with the increasing number of trains. It also lacks enough washing pit and sick line.

The union members are of the opinion that authorities must either stop introduction of more new trains or stop taking over primary maintenance of any more train without arranging additional manpower, spare parts and other infrastructure. “The existing staff is already overburdened and any further stress could be dangerous. The existing staff must not be harassed for the fault of the Railways to recruit additional manpower,” said Paresh Hazarika, Dibrugarh branch secretary of the N.F. Railway Mazdoor Union.

The union, which has launched 72-hour hunger strike at the workshop campus of Dibrugarh Station in Banipur in support of their various demands, has also asked the Railway authorities to stop outsourcing and privatization of regular nature of jobs.

Tech Talk held at Rail Nilayam/Secunderabad on ‘Block Chain Technology and its Applications’

The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) organized a Technical Talk o­n ‘Block Chain Technology and its Applications to crypto currency’ today i.e., 8th May, 2018 at Rail Nilayam Auditorium.

Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, South Central Railway was the Chief Guest o­n the occasion. M.Ravi Babu, Regional General Manger, CRIS, Secunderabad co-ordinated the program.

Speaking o­n the occasion, Vinod Kumar Yadav stated that Technological Innovations and systemic developments needs to be applied in the working of public oriented organizations for better services. The Tech Talks organized by CRIS are very useful in updating the technical knowledge. The concept of block chain technology and the core concepts underlying the system needs to be examined for implementation in the general distribution systems, he opined.

Dr.N.V.Narendra Kumar delivered an elaborate presentation on “Block chain Technology and its applications to crypto currency” with reference to Bit Coin etc. He stated that Bit Coin system is realized by a clever combination of cryptography, P2P networking, distributed consensus and fault tolerant computing. However, being a public network, Bit Coin was not considered to be suitable for institutional usage where privacy and scalability play a vital role. The core concepts underlying the Bit Coin system were found to be very useful for general distributed system. Ethereum, another public system and crypto currency, demonstrated how general purpose distributed computing can be achieved through smart contracts on the block chain technology. Finally, the permissioned private block chain technology was born for institutional usage, where participating entities are assigned specific roles and responsibilities.

Dr.N.V.Narendra Kumar obtained M.S and Ph.D. Degree in Computer Science from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. His research areas are Design, Modeling, Analysis and Development of Secure Computer Systems. He is recipient of “Microsoft Research India Rising Star Award” for his Ph.D thesis on Malware detection by behavioral approach and protection by access control. He has a U.S. patent on “Decentralized Information Flow Securing Method and System for Multi Level Security and Privacy Domains”. He is currently working on building a Model Block Chain platform at a centre for payment systems.

John Thomas, Additional General Manager, N. Madhusudana Rao, Principal Chief Operations Manager, South Central Railway and other Heads of the Departments and employees participated in large number.

Central Railway to complete pre-rain preparatory works by May end

The Central Railway’s (CR) Pune division will complete its monsoon preparatory works by the end of May to ensure uninterrupted services even in case of heavy rain.

CR-Pune division public relations officer Manoj Jhanvar said work has begun to avert waterlogging on the tracks and near the stations. “Tree branches along the tracks are being trimmed. In some cases, we have to cut trees if there is no alternative,” he said.

“Water channels on bridges are being cleaned and loose boulders on hills and hillocks near the tracks are being removed to ensure that landslides do not affect the rail services. We are also removing the small stones too close to the tracks,” Jhanvar added.

The monsoon preparatory works are in progress on the tracks measuring 503.39km in length. The entire stretch includes 133.50km of Lonavla-Pune-Daund, 328.21km of Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur and 41.68km Daund-Baramati sections.

“Railway employees will conduct monsoon patrolling on the tracks at important bridges like the ones at Dapodi and Shivajinagar and in the ghat sections from 10pm to 6am. We will also co-ordinate with the irrigation department to be aware of the discharge from the dams and monitor the Met department alerts,” Jhanvar said.

Digital India: Arunachal Chief Minister launches free Wi-Fi facility at Naharlagun Railway Station

Being surrounded by books is a matter of routine for civil services aspirants, but Sreenath K, a coolie who cleared the written test of the Kerala State Public Service Commission, the preparation is just about his phone and earphones as he goes about his job.

Sreenath has been earning his livelihood carrying heavy luggage at Ernakulam Junction in Kerala for the past five years. Unlike his colleagues, he deftly balances the luggage on his shoulders and listens to his digital coursework at the same time – his teachers speaking to him through the earphones.

A high school pass-out, he takes advantage of the free WiFi Internet service available at Ernakulam station to learn. “I have appeared thrice for the exam and this is the first time I used the WiFi at the station. What I do is put on my earphones and listen to the study material as I carry the luggage or solve questionnaires in my mind. This way I can study while I work. I revise all my work at night when I get free time,” Sreenath said.

The WiFi service, launched in 2016 as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative, provides free Internet to passengers under Railwire, the retail broadband distribution model of RailTel Corporation of India Limited.

As of May 2018, at least 685 railway stations have been equipped with WiFi technology across the country, with the Indian Railways setting a target of providing this facility at all 8,500 stations by March 2019 at a cost of Rs.700 crore.

Sreenath hails from Munnar, a town in the Western Ghats mountain range. Ernakulam is the nearest major railway station from Munnar.

He said the free WiFi service at the station opened up opportunities for him he never thought were available in the first place – reams of practice question papers, downloadable at a speed of 20-40 mbps, easy access to online examination forms, and above everything else, he saves money on books.

If he qualifies for KPSC after interview, he is likely to be a village field assistant under the land revenue department. “I will keep studying. While I work as a coolie because I have the pressure of running my house, I will keep studying and appearing for exams. If I appear for enough exams, I am bound to get a good job,” Sreenath said.

He has also applied for exams advertised recently by the railways for 62,000 Group D posts of trackman, cabinman, leverman, pointsman, gangman and others.

“What is my ideal job? A person of some authority to change things in my village may be,” he said.

NALCO extends Electric Vehicles to Divyangs, Sick & Old persons in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack Railway Stations

After successfully launching Electric Vehicle (EV) service free of cost at Puri railway station in March this year, NALCO has once again extended EV service in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, for the benefit of senior citizens, differently-abled passengers and sick people, in association with East Coast Railways.

The free EV initiative, which comes after receiving widespread appreciation from all quarters, has been rolled out today in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, and will also cater to large number of people who throng the State for tourism and religious purpose every year.

The free EV service was flagged off by Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO and Shri Braj Mohan Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Khurda.

Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO, said, ‘’We are proud that Bhubaneswar is the smartest city in the country. This initiative will be a smart step in that direction. We are sure this will be of great help to the senior citizens, specially-abled persons and sick passengers.’’

One of the significant steps in EV service is its O & M (Operations & Maintenance) by expert agency under the aegis of NALCO.

Praising NALCO for reaching out to people who need it the most, Shri Braj Mohan Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Khurda, said, ‘’This is a noble initiative which will benefit lakhs of people visiting Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. We are proud that a Company of global repute like NALCO, which has grown in the State, is carrying out a number of CSR projects and is contributing to all-round development apart from promoting Brand Odisha, abroad.’’ An MoU was also signed between Railways and NALCO, in presence of senior railway officials and NALCO executives.

It may be noted that in keeping with its objective of inclusivity and all round development of Puri as a Swachh Iconic Place, NALCO launched EV service free of cost at Puri railway station in association with Khurda Railways Division on March 24

Central Railway gets new CAO/Cn and CEE

Shri S. K. Tiwari has taken over as Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), Central Railway, Mumbai. Prior to this he was working as Principal Chief Engineer, Eastern Railway, Kolkatta.

Shri Tiwari holds degree in Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal.

Shri Tiwari belongs to 1980 IRSE Batch. He has varied administrative experience as Chief Engineer (General) and Chief Track Engineer, Western Railway, Mumbai and also worked  on West Central Railway and  RITES on important projects.

श्री एस. के. तिवारी ने मुख्य प्रशासनिक अधिकारी (निर्माण),  मध्‍य रेल के रूप में पदभार ग्रहण किया है। इससे पहले आप पूर्व रेलवे, कोलकाता में प्रधान मुख्‍य इंजीनियर के पद पर कार्यरत थे।

आप मौलाना आजाद नेशनल इंस्‍टीट्यूट ऑफ टेक्‍नोलॉजी, भोपाल से सिविल इंजीनियरिंग  मे स्‍नातक हैं।

श्री तिवारी, भारतीय रेल इंजीनियरिंग सेवा 1980 बैच के अधिकारी हैं। आप के पास पश्चिम रेलवे पर मुख्‍य इंजीनियर (सामान्‍य) तथा मुख्‍य रेल पथ इंजीनियर पदों का गहन प्रशासनिक अनुभव हैं।

आपने पश्चिम मध्‍य रेल तथा राईटस् (RITES) की महत्‍वपूर्ण परियोजनाओं पर भी कार्य किया हैं।

यह प्रेस विज्ञप्ति सुनील उदासी, मुख्य जनसंपर्क अधिकारी, मध्‍य रेलवे, छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनस मुंबई द्वारा जारी की गई है।

Shri S.P. Vavre has taken over as Principal Chief Electrical Engineer, Central Railway.  He is a Senior Officer of Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers of 1982 Batch.

Shri Vavre joined Indian Railways in 1984.  He has worked on North Central Railway, Central Railway, West Central Railway, Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Integral Coach Factory, Chennai in different capacities.  He has wide experience in OHE, Electric Loco Maintenance and Operation, General Service, General Management, EMU Workshop & Production Units working. He has worked on various positions such as Executive Director/RDSO, Additional DRM Bhusaval, Chief Electrical General Engineer, Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, Chief Electrical Loco Engineer, Southern Railway. Prior to taking over as PCEE, Central Railway he was working as Chief Electrical Design Engineer with Additional charge of Principal Chief Electrical Engineer, Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

श्री एस पी वावरे ने मध्‍य रेल के प्रधान मुख्य बिजली इंजीनियर, के रूप में पदभार ग्रहण किया है। आप भारतीय रेल इलेक्ट्रिकल इंजीनियरिंग 1982 बैच के अधिकारी हैं।

श्री वावरे वर्ष 1984 में भारतीय रेल में शामिल हुए। आपने उत्तर मध्य रेल, मध्‍य रेल, पश्चिम मध्‍य रेल,  अनुसंधान डिजाइन तथा मानक संगठन, लखनऊ एवं इंटीग्रल कोच फैक्ट्री, चेन्नई में अपनी सेवाएं प्रदान की है। आपके पास ओएचई, इलेक्ट्रिक लोको रखरखाव एवं संचालन, सामान्य सेवा, सामान्य प्रबंधन, ईएमयू कार्यशाला और उत्पादन इकाइयों में कार्य करने का गहन अनुभव है। आपने कार्यकारी निदेशक / आरडीएसओ, अपर मंडल रेल प्रबंधक, भुसावल,  मुख्य बिजली इंजीनियर (सामान्‍य),  इंटीग्रल कोच फैक्ट्री, चेन्नई, मुख्‍य बिजली लोको इंजीनियर, दक्षिण रेलवे जैसे विभिन्न महत्‍वपूर्ण पदों पर कार्य कर चुके हैं। मध्‍य रेल पर प्रधान मुख्य बिजली इंजीनियर के रूप में पदभार ग्रहण करने से पहले आप इंटीग्रल कोच फैक्ट्री, चेन्नई में मुख्‍य बिजली डि‍जाईन इंजीनियर के साथ-साथ अतिरिक्‍त प्रधान मुख्‍य बिजली इंजीनियर के पद पर कार्यरत थे।

यह प्रेस विज्ञप्ति सुनील उदासी, मुख्य जनसंपर्क अधिकारी, मध्‍य रेलवे, छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनस मुंबई द्वारा जारी की गई है

गरीब रथ एक्सप्रेस के कैटरिंग काँट्रैक्टर पर 1 लाख रु. का जुर्माना

26 अप्रैल, 2018 को ट्रेन सं. 12909/12910 बांद्रा टर्मिनस-हजरत निजामुद्दीन गरीब रथ एक्सप्रेस में खानपान सामग्रियों को दिव्यांग कोच के शौचालय में स्टोर करने सम्बंधी सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल हो रहे वीडियो को पश्चिम रेलवे द्वारा गंभीरता से लिया गया है, जिसके फलस्वरूप अन्य आवश्यक कार्रवाई के साथ इस मुद्दे पर तुरंत आई आर सी टी सी से इस संबंध में चर्चा के बाद ट्रेन सं. 12909/12910 बांद्रा टर्मिनस-हजरत निजामुद्दीन गरीब रथ एक्सप्रेस के लाइसेंसी ठेकेदार मेसर्स कृष्णा इंटरप्राइजेज पर एक लाख रु॰ का जुर्माना लगाया गया है।

पश्चिम रेलवे के मुख्य जनसम्पर्क अधिकारी श्री रविंद्र भाकर द्वारा जारी एक प्रेस विज्ञप्ति के अनुसार इस मुद्दे को गंभीरता से लेते हुए भारी जुर्माना लगाये जाने के अलावा आई आर सी टी सी के साथ ट्रेन के काँट्रेक्टर के अनुबंध को रद्द करने के लिए शो कॉज नोटिस भी जारी किया गया है।फॉलो-अप एक्शन के लिए एक टीम का गठन भी किया गया है जो बांद्रा टर्मिनस गरीब रथ एक्सप्रेस में कैटरिडग सेवा की गतिविधियों एवं ऑपरेशन की जाँच करेगा।

पश्चिम रेलवे पर ऐसी घटना को रोकने हेतु विभिन्न स्तरों पर निरंतर निगरानी की जा रही है, जिससे भविष्य में कभी इसकी पुनरावृत्ति न हो। इसके अतिरिक्त पश्चिम रेलवे की सभी ट्रेनों के पेंट्री कार/मिनी पेंट्री कारों की जाँच करने हेतु पाँच दिवसीय अभियान की शुरूआत भी की गई है जिसकी समीक्षा के आधार पर खानपान सेवाओं के सम्बंध में पाई गई कमियों को दूर किया जायेगा।

Catering Contractor of Garib Rath Express has been imposed fine of Rs.1 lakh – Western Railway clarifies on the video in circulation regarding storage of catering items in train toilet of Garib Rath Express

MUMBAI: Following a viral video of catering staff using toilet of Divyang coach of Garib Rath Train no 12909 Bandra T- Nizamuddin Express for storage of water bottles, cold drinks etc on 26th April, 2018, the matter was viewed very seriously and a fine of Rs 1 Lakh has been imposed on the contractor M/s Krishna Enterprises of Bandra Terminus – Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express after WR immediately took up the issue with IRCTC besides taking other remedial actions.

According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar- Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, besides levying heavy fine, a show cause notice has also been served to the contractor of the train for termination of the contract by IRCTC, taking the matter seriously. A team has also been deputed to check & verify the activities & operations of catering service in Bandra Terminus – Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express as a follow up action.

A strict watch is being kept at various levels to ensure that such incident doesn’t recur on WR in future. Further, a 5 days drive has been launched on WR to check Pantry/Mini Pantry in all trains on WR to review, report & rectify the deficiencies regarding catering services.

7th Pay Commission: Railway Employees Union Calls 72-Hour Relay Hunger Strike

Railway employees’ union has called for a 72-hour relay hunger strike across the country from Tuesday against non-implementation of the provisions of the seventh pay commission and the attempted privatisation of the national transporter.

A statement from the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) said on Monday that despite several meetings of the AIRF with leaders of the central government organisations and the home minister, finance minister, railway minister and minister of state for railways, no decision was taken.

“Despite requests to the government of India to consider the demands of the Central Government Employees — improvement in minimum wage and fitment factor after implementation of 7th CPC recommendations, provision of guaranteed pension and family pension to all the NPS (National Pension Scheme) covered employees, irrespective of their date of appointment…contractorisation leading towards wholesale privatisation, no fruitful outcome has emerged as yet despite lapse of around two years’ precious time,” the statement said.

AIRF in its meetings of the General Council and Working Committee, held on March 13-14, 2018, here decided to stage a ‘Mass Relay Hunger Strike’ for 24 hours for three consecutive days – at all the branches of the affiliated unions of the federation all over India.

“All the branches of AIRF affiliates are, therefore, going to stage the aforesaid ‘Relay Hunger Strike’ from the morning of May 8, all over the Indian Railways”, wherein large-number of railwaymen would sit on the relay hunger strike to press on their above-mentioned major demands, the statement said.