s Bengaluru Division (SBC).

The trains originating from these railway stations had no longer any reservation charts, and this exercise helped the Railways to save Rs 60 lakh in a year.

Hence, even if reservation charts are stopped at 10 such stations, Rs 6 crore can be saved per year.

Starting March 1st, Southern Railway will stop pasting reservation charts on all trains, and as per estimates, this will help them to save 28 tonnes of charting paper and Rs 1.70 lakh every year, per train.

SBC’s Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Sridhar Murthy has initially mooted this idea, which has now spread to the entire country.

In future, as per incoming reports, the concept of paper reservation chart would be totally abolished, and the passenger will have these 4 mediums to check the status of their ticket, and to find out the berth, coach:

1. Digital Display at platforms
2. Dial 139 and get IVR assistance
3. SMS sent on their phones, with berth and coach number
4. Ask TT of the train, as they will have a physical chart ready (which will soon change to digital gadgets)

In our opinion, this is a good initiative and will set a new example and standard for all other Govt. departments.

Do share your opinions by commenting right here!

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal deserves praise for allocating over Rs 1.48 lakh-crore for capital investment in the Union budget. This is a substantial increase from last year’s allocation.

Track safety is of prime importance, and controlling track, rail and weld failures pose a serious challenge. In the first nine months of the fiscal year 2017, there were 3,006 failures — an increase from 2,404 in same period last year. At close to 10 failures per day, it’s an alarming rate; because each is a potential accident. The budget makes efforts to address these failures by hiking the allocation of track renewals from Rs 9,305 crore in Revised Estimates (RE) 2017 to Rs 11,450 crore in Budget Estimates (BE) 2018. The underlying belief is that the renewal of overaged tracks will reduce such failures.

Without challenging this premise, it needs to be analysed why rails in India crack so much in comparison to other countries.

First, the use of technology for crack detection without engaging trackmen needs to be used much more. This is because manual detection is not entirely foolproof, especially at night. A recent pilot project in the North Central Railway is a welcome move.

Second, it is all about improving the railways’ financials. The capacity utilisation in sections that really matter is already above 100%, leading to delays in running trains, denial of maintenance blocks and difficulty in introducing new trains.

The railways proposes to induct high-speed rolling stock, but this may not be a solution. It would be like driving a new BMW through the packed streets of Chandni Chowk in old Delhi. The answer lies in increasing the average speed of freight trains which is hovering around 23.1 km/hr. The technical advancements so far have primarily concentrated on longer and heavier freight trains rather than faster ones.

The simplest way to make freight trains faster is by focusing on the horsepower (HP) to trailing load (TL) ratio. Using remote radio controls for multiple locomotives will also help. Thus, the time for a technology push is overdue.

Third, the fog during winter plays havoc with train operations. Fog-safe devices now being used have their limitations as they indicate the signal location and not the signal aspect — yellow, red or green. Loco pilots need to slow down for checking this. Cab signalling can solve this problem. This technology is quite common in Europe and Japan, and can be adopted in at least one zone, the North Central Railway, where fog delays are rampant during winter.

Fourth, any Indian who has travelled in a train abroad will lament the poor condition and facilities in Indian trains. Efforts made so far by the railways have got mired in specifications and vendor selection, thereby missing the larger picture. The easier way is to have a government-to-government partnership on the pattern of India-Japan rail cooperation for the dedicated freight corridor or the high speed train project. The funding requirement is also not much and a small beginning, of placing an order of 1,000 coaches, can be made initially. This strategy will deliver coach interiors with international benchmarking with a strong potential for Make in India eventually.

 In a bid to ease traffic situation in Delhi and to give the national capital a comprehensive suburban network, the Railway Ministry is now trying to revive the ring rail system here.

As per a report, the Ministry of Railways has planned to revive and then integrate the ring rail system with the Delhi Metro.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said together as part of the integrated network, the Delhi Metro and the ring rail has the capability to unclog Delhi and send “50% cars off the roads”.

A study has already been commissioned to work out the modalities of the project, the report said.

Further, to reduce the burden on the rail network in Delhi, the ministry is mulling a separate bypass for freight trains passing through Delhi. Goyal said the aim is to let trains, which are not bound for Delhi, to bypass it.

There is a 35-km-long ring rail network in Delhi which touches the Metro rail network at several places. However, no effort has so far been made to link the two. But, this might change now.

The Railway Minister said Metro will be connected to the ring rail network as part of the project, as the former has been “a boon for Delhi”.

The study that is underway will evaluate whether new lines or linkages are required to connect the Metro and ring rail systems. The ministry is looking at linkages and interchanges with the Metro system, the report added.

Delhi got its ring rail system in 1975 for freight purposes and was tapped for passenger trains in 1982 when the city played host to the Asian Games.

Due to Line Block to facilitate engineering works between Chennai Beach – Royapuram railway stations, changes will be made in the pattern of suburban train services on 17^th & 18^th February, 2018 as explained below.

A.  The following suburban train services will be fully cancelled on 17^th February, 2018.

1.    MMC – Thiruvallur EMU local, scheduled to leave MMC at 09.30 hrs.
2.    Velachery – Avadi EMU local, scheduled to leave Velachery at 10.15 hrs.
3.    Velachery – Thiruvallur EMU local, scheduled to leave Velachery at 12.15 hrs.
4.    MMC – Avadi EMU local, scheduled to leave MMC at 12.35 hrs.

1.    Thiruvallur – Velachery EMU local, scheduled to leave Thiruvallur at 11.05 hrs.
2.    Avadi – Velachery EMU local, scheduled to leave Avadi at 12.10 hrs.
3.    Thiruvallur – MMC EMU local, scheduled to leave Thiruvallur at 14.40 hrs.

B.  The following suburban train services will be fully cancelled on 18^th February, 2018.

1.    MMC – Thiruvallur EMU local, scheduled to leave MMC at 09.30 hrs.
2.    Chennai Beach – Avadi EMU local, scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 11.10 hrs.
3.    Chennai Beach – Thiruvallur EMU local, scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 13.05 hrs.

1.    Thiruvallur – Chennai Beach EMU local, scheduled to leave Thiruvallur at 11.05 hrs.
2.    Avadi – Chennai Beach EMU local, scheduled to leave Avadi at 12.10 hrs.
3.    Thiruvallur – MMC EMU local, scheduled to leave Thiruvallur at 14.40 hrs.

C.  The following suburban train services will be partially cancelled on 17^th & 18^th February, 2018.

• Velachery – PTMS EMU local, scheduled to leave Velachery at 12.55 hrs., will be partially cancelled between Velachery – Avadi.  The train will run from Avadi to PTMS only.
• Thiruvallur – Chennai Beach EMU local, scheduled to leave Thiruvallur at 13.40 hrs., will be partially cancelled between Avadi – Chennai Beach.  The train will run from Thiruvallur to Avadi only.

D.  The following suburban train services will leave from MMC on 17^th February, 2018.

1.    Velachery – Tiruttani EMU local, scheduled to leave Velachery at 11.20 hrs., will instead leave from MMC at 12.15 hrs.
2.    Velachery – Arakkonam EMU local, scheduled to leave Velachery at 13.35 hrs., will instead leave from MMC at 14.30 hrs.
3.    Velachery – Sulurpeta EMU local, scheduled to leave Velachery at 13.55 hrs., will instead leave from MMC at 14.45 hrs.

E.  The following suburban train services will leave from MMC on 18^th February, 2018.

1.    Chennai Beach – Tiruttani EMU local, scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 12.10 hrs., will instead leave from MMC at 12.15 hrs.
2.    Chennai Beach – Arakkonam EMU local, scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 14.25 hrs., will instead leave from MMC at 14.30 hrs.
3.    Chennai Beach – Sulurpeta EMU local, scheduled to leave Chennai Beach at 14.40 hrs., will instead leave from MMC at 14.45 hrs.

F.  The following suburban train service will be diverted to MMC on 17^th & 18^th February, 2018.

• Kadambattur – Chennai Beach / Velachery EMU local, scheduled to leave Kadambattur at 12.05 hrs., will be diverted to MMC.

G.  Passenger special suburban train service from Avadi to PTMS.

• A passenger special suburban train service from Avadi to PTMS will leave Avadi at 14.20 hrs. and reach PTMS at 14.40 hrs.

CHANGES IN PATTERN OF SUBURBAN TRAIN SERVICES – IN CHENNAI – ARAKKONAM SECTION

Due to Line Block and Power Block to facilitate engineering works between Thiruvallur – Kadambattur in Chennai – Arakkonam section, changes will be made in the pattern of suburban train services on 16^th & 17^th February, 2018 as explained below.

A.  The following suburban train services will be dealt on fast line from Thiruvallur to Arakkonam and will not stop at Senji Panambakkam railway station.

1.    MMC – Arakkonam EMU locals, scheduled to leave MMC at 08.20, 09.10 & 11.05 hrs.
2.    MMC – Tiruttani EMU locals, scheduled to leave MMC at 10.00 & 11.45 hrs.
3.    MMC – Kadambattur EMU local, scheduled to leave MMC at 12.00 hrs.

B.  The following suburban train services will be dealt on fast line from Thiruvalangadu to Thiruvallur and will not stop at Senji Panambakkam railway station.

1.    Arakkonam – MMC EMU locals, scheduled to leave Arakkonam at 08.55, 10.50 & 12.00 hrs.
2.    Arakkonam – Avadi EMU local, scheduled to leave Arakkonam at 11.20 hrs.
3.    Tiruttani – Velachery EMU local, scheduled to leave Tiruttani at 08.50 hrs.
4.    Tiruttani – MMC EMU local, scheduled to leave Tiruttani at 09.40 hrs.
5.    Kadambattur – Velachery EMU local, scheduled to leave Kadambattur at 12.05 hrs.
6.    Kadambattur – MMC EMU local, scheduled to leave Kadambattur at 13.40 hrs.

Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is the nodal agency under Ministry of Railways for providing Information Technology services to the Indian Railways (IR). CRIS designs, develops and implements IT systems covering different domains on diverse technologies. CRIS has strength of approximately 600 technical professionals working in multiple projects and on varied technologies. For effective job performance, CRIS felt the need for continuous upgradation and acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities through Training and Development programs.

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RPS Consulting Private Limited has been empaneled as one of the choicest Technology Trainings partner by the Centre for Railway Information Systems for a period of 3 years for delivery of trainings on various types of core and critical Information Technology areas for the technical staff of CRIS, based on the technical capabilities. As part of the empanelment, RPS shall render the technical trainings to CRIS staff on the course categories / sub categories including implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS) in CRIS.

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Indian Railways (IR) may be making all the right noises about public-private partnerships (PPPs) in railway projects (expert committees had pitched for broad-basing PPPs, having private train operators paying rentals to IR for track access, proposals which haven’t materialised), but the share of PPPs in extra-budgetary resources (EBR) has declined from 51% in 2016-17 to 33% in 2018-19 (budget estimate). This is even as EBRs have become the mainstay of railway capex over the last few years, as support from the central Budget stagnated. EBRs increased from 47% of capex in 2016-17 to 56% in 2018-19 (BE).

“The capex is happening through EBRs which are basically loans even as internal accruals are reducing over the years,” said a former railway official, on condition of anonymity.

Of EBR, loans mobilised through the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) and taken from financial institutions including Life Insurance Corporation of India and multilateral bodies like the World Bank are on the rise.

PPP investments for 2016-17 were Rs 26,834 crore; these are pegged at Rs 24,000 crore for 2017-18 (revised estimate) and projected to be Rs 27,000 crore in 2018-19. This means, say analysts, the government has almost given up on the plan to accelerate PPPs in railway projects.

Station redevelopment has been an area identified for massive PPP investments but a plan to award 400 station-projects to private operators has come a cropper as the Swiss challenge method for auction hasn’t attracted investors. Only four station redevelopment projects have been awarded thus far while an effort is on to sweeten the terms for investors.

According to an analyst with a consultancy firm, while higher exposure to loans is not a problem per se if they can be serviced, IR lacks focus and pragmatism in PPP ventures and will have to redo schemes. “If you look at the roads sector, the hybrid annuity model has done well and the toll-operate-transfer model is also expected to gain traction. In comparison, a lot of railway projects relating to capacity augmentation and station redevelopment did not take off,” said the analyst.

The DK Mittal committee which had submitted report in 2014 suggested PPP investments in core operational areas of the railways. All wagons could be owned by the private sector, it said, adding that passenger trains could be either fully owned by the private players or taken on lease basis from IR.

IR, it said, should cease to make direct investments in wagons, locomotives and passenger trains and let the private sector fund the rolling stock.

Currently, IRFC, which borrows for the railways, owns the rolling stock procured and receives lease rentals from the transporter. Under the PPP model envisaged, private companies as train operators can realise revenue as passenger fares and freight from users and share it with the the railways as track access charges. Whatever limited PPP investments that occurred relate mainly to port connectivity and logistics sectors.

A committee headed by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy also advocated private participation in core railway projects given the infrastructure requirements will be going up at a time when gross budgetary support (GBS) is expected to remain a constraint. GBS went down from Rs 45,231 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 40,000 crore in the revised estimate for 2017-18 and is pegged at Rs 53,060 crore for 2018-19.

Facing coal shortage, NTPC worried even as its third Bongaigaon unit is ready. Dipankar Bose, Group General Manager of NTPC’s Bongaigaon operation, blames the Railways for the problem, saying the Railways have not been able to provide rakes to move more quantity of coal to NTPC’s Bongaigaon plant from the Central India Coalfields despite the latter having enough coal.

A severe shortage of coal, caused primarily due to non-availability of Railway rakes, has emerged as a major hurdle for the newly-established Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) of the public sector giant National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC), especially with its third unit ready for commissioning.

“We have been facing a severe coal shortage for the past six months. While we require 5,500 metric tons of coal per day to run the existing two units, a stock for 15 to 20 days very much essential to cope up with any exigency, which we have not been able to build up despite our best efforts,” Dipankar Bose, Group General Manager of NTPC’s Bongaigaon operations told.

Bose blames the Railways for the problem, saying the railways have not been able to provide rakes to move more quantity of coal to NTPC’s Bongaigaon plant from the Central India Coalfields despite the latter having enough coal.

“We are entirely dependent on the Railways for our coal supply. The Railways have some problem in its Asansol-New Jalpaiguri-Bongaigaon route and has been unable to move even two rakes on an average per day,” Bose complained.

While the existing two BTPS units require 5,500 tons of coal per day, the daily requirement will shoot up to 8,000 tons once the third unit is commissioned. “With one rake containing 3,500 tons, we require a little less than two rakes now. But once our third unit becomes operational, we will not only need 8,000 tons per day, but also have to build up a larger stock for the monsoon and flood season,” he said.

The existing two units at BTPS produces 250 MW of power each, and once the third unit is commissioned, NTPC production in Bongaigaon will go up to 750 MW, Bose said. While the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) was originally set up by Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) in the 1980s, it was handed over to the NTPS in 2006 after remaining shut for several years. The first unit of the entirely rebuilt BTPS was commissioned in May 2015.

Railway Board Chairman Aswani Lohani had last month said that the New Jalpaiguri-Bongaigaon and Bongaigaon-Guwahati sections being single-track, were running at about 160 per cent of its capacity because of increased traffic. Delay in track doubling works of the railway lines in Assam and the Northeast has remained a major bottleneck for the region.

New project in Assam

NTPC meanwhile is awaiting for a positive response from the Assam Power Generation Company Ltd (APGCL) on a detailed project report it had submitted for setting up a new 1600 MW coal-based power plant at Margherita in upper Assam. “The Assam government had approached us for a DPR for the 2×800 MW power plant proposed to be set up close to the Margherita coal fields. It has been almost a year now, and we are still waiting for a positive response,” Bose said.

Once given the go-ahead, NTPC would require 40 to 48 months to set up the 1600-MW power plant, which would immensely ease the power situation in Assam and the adjoining states, Bose said. “Since coal available in Coal India’s Margherita coalfields has high sulphur content, the proposed 1600-MW power plant will also require a sulphur separation unit with it,” Bose said.

NTPC Group General Manager Bose said the Bongaigaon power plant was also facing a new problem due to decreasing water-level of the Champamati river due to the construction of a hydro-electric project upstream. “While we have been drawing water from the Champamati for the past three years, the water-level has started receding upstream,” he said.

The State government is ready to concede to the demand by Railways for a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 5 that the Railways had demanded in return for funding 50% of the cost of the Rs 17,000-crore suburban network for the City.

Responding to Union Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ananthkumar’s remark on the Railways seeking an increase in FAR from the existing 2.5 to 5, George announced, “In principle we agree.” FAR refers to the amount of usable floor area permitted for any building.

“Permitting a higher FAR allows the Railways to make more use of its existing land,” explained an official.

Urban Development Minister K J George called upon the Railways to enter into a 50:50 funding pattern to fund the 161-km suburban network. “The first phase is likely to cost Rs 1,800 crore. The Detailed Project Report is being readied. We will start the work at the earliest,” he said.

“The State has already released Rs 100 crore out of the Rs 350 crore required for the MEMU coaches,” he added.

Ananth Kumar called for the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle, B-RIDE for the suburban network on the lines of the Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprise (KRIDE) for the State.

Chairman and Managing Director of BEML D K Hota said the concern was very keen on manufacturing the suburban coaches for the Railways. “We are pitching for it and can deliver it faster than others,” he said.

“BEML can manufacture 800 rail coaches a year. We can use our facilities at KGF and Palakkad too to ensure timely delivery,” he said.

“BEML presently manufacture 30 Metro coaches every month,” he added.

Villagers of Makhuam (Marangching) today threatened to ban and shut down Northeast Frontier Railway related work within the jurisdiction of Makhuam (Marangching) Village of Tamenglong district from the midnight of February 16, 2018 against the inaction to resolve the rehabilitation and compensation of the Makhuam (Marangching) Village, Tamenglong.

Speaking to the media persons at Manipur Press Club, Majorkhul, Imphal, Guangchalung Gangmei, Secretary of Makhuam (Marangching) Village said that villagers of Makhuam (Marangching) Village which has been affected by the Trans Asian Railways has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Manipur on December 10, 2017 to initiate action to the grievances to resolve the rehabilitation and compensation matter of the Makhuam (Marangching) Village however no positive response has been received till date.

With strong condemnation for non-action from the government side despite the submission of memorandum, the villagers took the decision to completely ban the railway works from the midnight of February 16, 2018, he added.

Guangchalung Gangmei also said that the villagers had urged the Chief Minister to recover the compensation amount illegally siphoned by Thaunkulung Gangmei and Kh Lovejoy who had clamied individual ownership over the major portion of lands which legally belongs to Makhuam (Marangching) Village acquired for construction of NF Railway Board Gauge and the illegal withdrawal of the compensation amount due to illegal acts of Armstrong Pamei, Deputy Commissioner of Tamenglong based on nullified copy of the court orders and fabricated documents but their demands are not made till date.

Since the villagers had suffered enough, their demands to the government of Manipur is take full responsibility to recover the compensation amount made to Thaunkulung Gangmei and Kh Lovejoy by setting up a committee consisting of a senior officer not below the rank of Chief Secretary or Additional Chief Secretary, Guangchalung Gangmei added.

Guangchalung Gangmei further said that the government should also take necessary legal action against Armstrong Pamei, Deputy Commissioner of Tamenglong and his subordinate officials involved for causing the siphoning and the loss of public exchequer more than 36 crores including the authority of United Bank of India for allowing the withdrawal of amounts despite the persisting controversy and timely notification on illegal and fraudulent attempts by Thaunkulung Gangmei and Kh Lovejoy for the withdrawel.

Failure to fulfil their demands, villagers of Makhuam (Marangching) Village will imposed total shutdown NF Railway related work within the jurisdiction of Makhuam (Marangching) Village of Tamenglong to Imphal from the midnight of February 16, 2018 and appeals the railways authorities to stop the railway works till the matter is amicably resolved in accordance with the demands of the villagers.

State government and the railway authorities and companies should hold responsible for any untoward incidents, Guangchalung Gangmei asserts.

Mention may be that vehicles were burn down on December of 2017 for failing to meet their demands made in the memorandum by the villagers.

Construction of 52 Road-over-Bridges (RoBs) at railway level crossings will be taken up in Telangana this year. Though the Indian Railways and the State government will equally share the estimated cost of Rs 2,700 crore for construction of these RoBs, the Roads and Buildings Department has been entrusted with the construction works besides taking up development of approach roads on both sides of railway tracks.

In a meeting chaired by Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao at Jala Soudha here on Wednesday, Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao, Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy, Principal Secretary Sameer Sharma, South Central Railway General Manager Vinod Yadav and others participated to review progress of construction of RoBs.

The officials said the RoBs were aimed at reducing accidents and also streamlining traffic near railway level crossings.

In all, proposals have been prepared for construction of RoBs at 460 railway level crossings identified in the State. The Railways Ministry has approved construction of 52 RoBs in the current fiscal and construction of 16 RoBs was nearing completion. The Ministers instructed the Collectors to expedite land acquisition for construction of RoBs and expansion of approach roads to the RoBs.

Nageshwar Rao requested the railway authorities to allocate necessary funds for restoration of old RoBs considering the increasing vehicular movement at various railway level crossings.

He also urged allocation of funds for expansion or construction of four-lane RoBs at level crossings where four-lane roads were being developed.

Railway officials said laying of Medak-Akkampalli railway line would be completed by the end of 2018. They also said proposals for construction of a railway terminal at Miyapur-Patancheru stretch on the outskirts of Hyderabad were under examination, while second phase works of MMTS in Hyderabad city would be completed by the end of December this year.