Western Railway has decided to cancel/partially cancel/short terminate/regulate few trains plying over Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway between Unjha to Bhandu Motidau stations of Mahesana to Palanpur section for three days from 23^rd January to 25^th January, 2018. The block will be undertaken   for five hours on Tuesday, 23^rd January, 2018, for three hours on Wednesday, 24^thJanuary, 2018 and for three hours on Thursday, 25^th January, 2018, respectively.

Trains Cancelled/Partially Cancelled

• Train No. 79431/79437 Ahmedabad Junction – Mahesana Junction – Abu Road from 22/01/2018 to 25/01/2018.
• Train No. 79438/79432 Abu Road – Mahesana Junction – Ahmedabad Junction from 23/01/2018 to 26/01/2018.
• Train No. 19411/19412 Ahmedabad Junction – Ajmer Junction – Ahmedabad Junction from 23/01/2018 to 25/01/2018.
• Train No. 54805 Ahmedabad – Jaipur Passenger will remain cancelled between Ahmedabad to Abu Road stations from 23/01/2018 to 25/01/2018.
• Train No. 54804 Ahmedabad – Jodhpur Passenger will remain cancelled between Ahmedabad to Abu Road stations 23/01/2018 to 26/01/2018.

Trains Short Terminated

• Train No. 54803 Jodhpur – Ahmedabad of 23/01/2018 to 25/01/2018 will be short terminated at Abu Road and will remain cancelled between Abu Road to Ahmedabad Junction stations.
• Train No. 54806 Jaipur – Ahmedabad Passenger of 22/01/2018 to 25/01/2018 will be short- terminated at Abu Road and will remain cancelled between Abu Road to Ahmedabad Junction stations.

WR convey regrets due to the inconvenience caused to passengers.

प्रेस विज्ञप्ति क्र. 2018/01  / मुंबई, 23 जनवरी, 2018

इंजीनियरिंग ब्लॉक के कारण 23 जनवरी से 25 जनवरी, 2018 तक

 पश्चिम रेलवे की कुछ ट्रेनें रद्द/आंशिक रूप से रद्द/शॉर्ट टर्मिनेटेड रहेगी

पश्चिम रेलवे के अहमदाबाद मंडल के कुछ ट्रेनों को महेसाणा-पालनपुर खंड के ऊंझा तथा भांडू मोतीदाउ स्टेशनों के बीच 23 जनवरी से 25 जनवरी, 2018 तक लिये जाने वाले इंजीनियरिंग ब्लॉक के कारण रद्द/आंशिक रूप से रद्द/शॉर्ट टर्मिनेटेड रखा जायेगा। मंगलवार, 23 जनवरी, 2018 को पाँच घंटे का, बुधवार, 24 जनवरी, 2018 को तीन घंटे का तथा गुरुवार, 25 जनवरी, 2018 को तीन घंटे का ब्लॉक रखा जायेगा।

रद्द ट्रेनें/आंशिक रूप से रद्द ट्रेनें

• 22/01/2018 से 25/01/2018 की ट्रेन सं. 79431/79437 अहमदाबाद जं.-महेसाणा जं. आबू रोड पैसेंजर
• 23/01/2018 से 26/01/2018 की ट्रेन सं. 79438/79432 आबू रोड-महेसाणा जं.-अहमदाबाद जं. पैसेंजर
• 23/01/2018 से 25/01/2018 की ट्रेन सं. 19411/19412 अहमदाबाद जं.-अजमेर जं.-अहमदाबाद जं. एक्सप्रेस
• 23/01/2018 से 25/01/2018 की ट्रेन सं. 54805 अहमदाबाद-जयपुर पैसेंजर अहमदाबाद से आबू रोड स्टेशनों के बीच रद्द रहेगी।
• 23/01/2018 से 26/01/2018 की ट्रेन सं. 54804 अहमदाबाद-जोधपुर पैसेंजर अहमदाबाद से आबू रोड स्टेशनों के बीच रद्द रहेगी।

शॉर्ट टर्मिनेटेड ट्रेनें

• 23/01/2018 से 25/01/2018 की ट्रेन सं 54803 जोधपुर-अहमदाबाद पैसेंजर आबू रोड स्टेशन पर शॉर्ट टर्मिनेटेड होगी तथा आबू रोड से अहमदाबाद के बीच रद्द रहेगी।
• 22/01/2018 से 25/01/2018 की ट्रेन सं 54806 जयपुर-अहमदाबाद पैसेंजर आबू रोड स्टेशन पर शॉर्ट टर्मिनेटेड होगी तथा आबू रोड से अहमदाबाद के बीच रद्द रहेगी।

उपरोक्त व्यवस्था के कारण यात्रियों को होने वाली असुविधा के लिए पश्चिम रेलवे द्वारा खेद व्यक्त किया गया है।

Railway Board has approved the extension of Train No. 12775/12776 Kakinada Town – Secunderabad – Kakinada Town ( Tri- weekly express)  & Train No. 12737/12738 Kakinada Port – Secunderabad – Kakinada Port  Gautami express  up to Lingampalli  with effect from 8^th April, 2018 from Kakinada and 9^th April, 2018 from Lingampalli with revised timings:-

The present and Revised Timetabl

Timings of  Train No 12775 Kakinada Town – Lingampalli Tri- weekly Express:

Station	Present Timings of Train No. 12775 Kakinada Town – Secunderabad ExpressArrive/Departure	Revised Train No & Timings of 12775 Kakinada Town – Secunderabad ExpressArrive/Departure
Kakinada Town	20:10	20:15
Rajahmundry	21:05/21:08	21:10/21:12
Tanuku	21:49/21:50	21:49/21:50
Bhimavaram Town	22:29/22:30	22:29/22:30
Akividu	22:54/22:55	22:54/22:55
Kaikalur	23:15/23:16	23:15/23:16
Gudivada	23:57/23:58	23:57/23:58
Vijayawada	01:00/01:15	01:00/01:15
Khammam	02:19/02:20	02:19/02:20
Warangal	03:55/03:57	03:55/03:57
Secunderabad	06:55	06:45/06:50
Begumpet	—	06:59/07:00
Lingampalli	—	07:30

 Timings of Train No 12776 Lingampalli – Kakinada Town  Tri- weekly Express:

Station	Present Timings of Train No. 12776 Secunderabad – Kakinada Town Tri-weekly ExpressArrive/Departure	Revised Timings of 12776 Lingampalli  – Kakinada Town Tri-weekly Express Arrive/Departure
Lingampalli	—	20:00
Begumpet	—	20:24/20:25
Secunderabad	20:45	20:40/20:45
Warangal	22:48/22:50	22:48/22:50
Khammam	00:08/00:10	00:08/00:10
Vijayawada	01:50/02:05	01:50/02:05
Gudivada	02:56/02:57	02:56/02:57
Kaikalur	03:26/03:27	03:26/03:27
Akividu	03:51/03:52	03:51/03:52
Bhimavaram Town	04:17/04:18	04:17/04:18
Tanuku	04:51/04:52	04:51/04:52
Rajahmundry	05:50/05:52	05:50/05:52
Kakinada Town	07:25	07:18

Timings of  Train No 12737 Kakinada Port – Lingampalli Gautami Express:

Station	Present Timings of Train No. 12737 Kakinada Port – Secunderabad ExpressArrive/Departure	Revised Timings of Train No.12737 Kakinada Port –  Lingampalli   ExpressArrive/Departure
Kakinada Port	20:20	19:10
Kakinada Town	20:28/20:33	19:18/19:23
Samalkot	20:49/20:50	19:36/19:38
Dwarapudi	21:10/21:11	20:00/20:01
Rajahmundry	21:35/21:40	20:25/20:27
Kovvur	21:52/21:53	20:40/20:42
Nidadavolu	22:06/22:07	20:54/20:55
Tadepalligudem	22:22/22:24	21:13/21:14
Eluru	22:56/22:57	21:46/21:47
Vijayawada	00:15/00:30	23:00/23:20
Madhira	01:22/01:23	00:01/00:02
Khammam	01:48/01:50	00:32/00:33
Dornakal	02:13/02:14	00:54/00:55
Mahabubabad	02:34/02:35	01:12/01:13
Nekkonda	02:50/02:51	01:34/01:35
Warangal	03:28/03:29	02:08/02:10
Kazipet	03:44/03:45	02:23/02:25
Zangaon	04:29/04:30	03:09/03:10
Aler	04:50/04:51	03:26/03:27
Bhongir	05:14/05:15	03:49/03:50
Secunderabad	06:35	05:20/05:25
Begumpet	—	05:33/05:34
Lingampalli	—	06:05

Timings of  Train No 12738 Lingampalli – Kakinada Port  Express:

Station	Present Timings of Train No. 12738 Secunderabad  – Kakinada Port ExpressArrive/Departure	Revised  Timings of Train No.12738 Lingampalli – Kakinada Port ExpressArrive/Departure
Lingampalli	—-	20:30
Begumpet	—-	20:51/20:52
Secunderabad	21:15	21:10/21:15
Bhongir	21:54/21:55	21:54/21:55
Aler	22:14/22:15	22:14/22:15
Zangaon	22:24/22:25	22:24/22:25
Kazipet	23:18/23:20	23:18/23:20
Warangal	23:33/23:35	23:33/23:35
Nekkonda	00:00/00:01	00:00/00:01
Mahabubabad	00:21/00:22	00:21/00:22
Dornakal	00:54/00:55	00:54/00:55
Khammam	01:08/01:10	01:08/01:10
Madhira	01:39/01:40	01:39/01:40
Vijayawada	03:00/03:15	03:00/03:15
Eluru	04:06/04:07	04:06/04:07
Tadepalligudem	04:39/04:40	04:39/04:40
Nidadavolu	04:57/04:58	04:57/04:58
Kovvur	05:10/05:11	05:10/05:11
Rajahmundry	05:37/05:39	05:37/05:39
Dwarapudi	06:01/06:02	06:01/06:02
Samalkot	06:30/06:31	06:30/06:31
Kakinada Town	06:50/06:55	06:50/06:55
Kakinada Port	07:30	07:24

Special Trains From Narsapur to Secunderabad

In order to clear extra rush of passengers, SCR will run one Special Trains from Narsapur to Secunderabad as detailed below:-

Accordingly, Train No. Train No. 07255 Narsapur – Secunderabad special train will depart Narsapur  at 21.10 hrs on 28^th January, 2018  and arrive Secunderabad at 08:25 hrs on the next day.

Enroute this special train will stop at Palakollu, Bhimavaram Jn, Bhimavaram Town, Akividu, Kaikalur, Gudivada, Vijayawada, Guntur, Piduguralla, Miryalaguda and Nalgonda stations.

This special train consist of AC II Tier, AC III Tier, Sleeper Class and Brake van cum Luggage Coach.

Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, South Central Railway undertook inspection of Parli-Nanded-Mudkhed Section on Nanded Division today i.e., 23^rd January, 2018. He was accompanied by Shri Trikalagya Rabha, Divisional Railway Manager, Nanded Division.

Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav commenced Annual inspection with Manned Level Crossing Gate between Parli-Wadgaon of Nanded Division. He interacted with Gateman and checked the working system and inspected the safety equipment available with Gateman. At Gangakher, General Manager inspected Railway Station covering entire Circulating Area, Waiting Halls, Yard and Railway Colony. He inspected major bridge at Gangakher railway station. He inaugurated Solar Battery Room, Children’s Park in the colony and planted saplings as part of green initiative. The General Manager met public representatives and discussed issues at Gangakher railway station.

At Parbhani, the General Manager extensively inspected station premises, circulating area, passenger amenities, CCTV room, Retiring room, Goods shed etc. He briefed the media personnel about developmental plans on Nanded Division. He stated that SCR is according high priority to electrification, doubling of Nanded Division. He also stated that additional Road Over Bridge and Ladies Waiting Hall will be constructed soon. Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav reviewed ongoing Escalator Works at Parbhani station. The General Manager met public representatives and discussed issues related to Parbhani railway station. He conducted a speed test between Pingli-Mirkhel stations.

At Purna, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav inspected station, Divisional Engineering Training Centre, Permanent-Way Office and stores etc. He also inspected Community Hall and launched online web portal for booking of Railway Institutes and Community Hall. The General Manager inspected Combined Crew Booking Lobby and Running Room and checked the facilities made available for Loco Pilots and interacted with staff. Public Representatives from Purna region met Shri Vinod Kumar and submitted their representations

At Nanded, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav inaugurated renovated subordinate Rest House, renovated TTE’s Rest Room in the station. He also inaugurated Renovated Electrical Sub-station and Water Plant for Railway Hospital. He inspected Running Room and enquired about facilities available, CCTV room in the platform. The General Manager declared and announced the Nanded Railway Station as 100% LED lit station. He also inspected Mudkhed railway station and passenger amenities.

Shri Ram Kripal, Commissioner of Railway Safety; K. Siva Prasad, Principal Chief Engineer; Shri N. Madhusudana Rao, Principal Chief Operations Manager; Shri Vijay Agarwal, Chief Administrative Officer (Construction); Smt Purna M Cherla, Financial Advisor & Chief Administrative Officer (G); Shri Arjun Mundiya, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer; Shri V.M.Srivastava, Principal Chief Signal & Telecommunications Engineer; Shri A.A.Phadke, Principal Chief Electrical Engineer; Shri P.K.Sahu, Chief Commercial Manager (C&PS); Shri Sanjay Sankrityayan, Chief Security Commissioner and other Officials also accompanied the General Manger and conducted department wise inspection.

In order to clear extra rush of passengers during summer season, 78 weekly special fare special trains between Puducherry –Santragachi (Kolkata), Chennai Central – Santragachi and Santragachi – Chennai Central  will be run as detailed below:-

Train No. 06010/06009 Puducherry – Santragachi – Puducherry Special fare Special Trains (26 services):

Train No. 06010 Puducherry-Santragachi (Kolkata) Special fare Special Train will depart Puducherry at 19:15 hrs on 7^th, 14^th, 21^st, 28^th April, 5^th, 12^th, 19^th, 26^th May, 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd and  30^th June, 2018 (Saturdays) and arrive Santragachi at 04:30 hrs on Mondays.

In the return direction, Train No. 06009 Santragachi (Kolkata) – Puducherry Special fare Special Train will depart Santragachi at 14:10 hrs on 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th April, 7^th, 14^th, 21^st, 28^th May, 4^th, 11^th, 18^th, 25^th June, and 2^nd July 2018 (Mondays) and arrive Puducherry at 21:45 hrs on Tuesdays.

Enroute these special trains will stop at Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Tambaram, Chennai Egmore, Gudur, Nellore, Ongole, Chirala, Tenali, Vijayawada, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Duvvada, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam Road, Palasa, Brahmapur, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur stations in both the directions.

These trains will have AC II Tier, AC III Tier, Sleeper Class, General Second Class and Luggage cum Brake Van Coaches.

Chennai Central – Santragachi- Chennai Central Special Trains (26 services):

Accordingly, Train No. 06058 Chennai Central – Santragachi Special Fare Train will depart Chennai Central at 15:15 hrs on 4^th, 11^th, 18^th, 25^th April, 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th  May, 6^th, 13^th,  20^th and  27^th June, 2018 (Wednesdays) and arrive Santragachi at 19:00 hrs on Thursdays.

In the return direction, Train No. 06057 Santragachi- Chennai Central Special Fare Train will depart Santragachi at 23:50 hrs on 5^th, 2^th, 19^th, 26^th April, 3^nd, 10^th, 17^th, 24^th, 31^st  May, 7^th, 14^th,  21^th and  28^th June, 2018 (Thursdays) and arrive Chennai Central at 05:30 hrs on Saturdays.

Enroute these special trains will stop at Gudur, Nellore, Ongole, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Anakapalle, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Brahmapur, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur stations in both the directions.

These trains will have AC III Tier, Sleeper Class, General Second Class Coaches and Luggage cum Brake Van Coaches.

Santragachi- Chennai Central-Satragachi Weekly Special Trains via Vijayawada (26 services):

Train No. 02841 Santragachi-Chennai Central Superfast Special Train will depart Santragachi at 12:40 hrs on 1^st, 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th April, 6^th, 13^th, 20^th,  27^th  May, 3^rd, 10^th,  17^th and  24^th June, 2018  (Sundays) and arrive Chennai Central at 15:20 hrs on Mondays.

In the return direction, Train No. 02842 Chennai Central-Santragachi Special Train will depart Chennai Central at 18:20 hrs on  2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th April, 7^th, 14^th, 21^th,  28^th  May, 4^th, 11^th,  18^th and  25^th June, 2018  (Mondays) and arrive Santragachi at 23:30 hrs on Tuesdays.

Enroute these special trains will stop at Kharagpur, Bhadrak,  Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Vishakapatnam, Duvvada, Rajahmundry,  Vijayawada  and  Nellore and stations in both the directions.

These trains will have  AC III Tier,  Sleeper Class and  Luggage cum Brake Van Coaches.

Rajen Gohain, Union Minister of State of Railways (G) visited Southern Railway and conducted performance review meeting at Southern Railway Headquarters in Chennai on Monday.

R.K. Kulshrestha, General manager, P.K. Misra, Additional General Manager, Principal Heads of Departments and Naveen Gulati, Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai Division of Southern Railway participated in the review meeting.

In his address, Rajen Gohain appreciated the initiatives of Southern Railway in providing various novel passenger amenity works over Southern Railway, an official statement said. The minister called for a customer-friendly approach to attract traffic to the fullest potential. He observed railways has taken effective steps in improving rail connectivity Pan-India and Southern Railway will be able to operate train services smoothly in future once the Chennai – Madurai doubling and electrification is completed.

Southern Railway appealed to the minister to allot more MEMU, DEMU and other passenger coaches to meet the growing demands, being a passenger-oriented railway.

Rajen Gohain is on his way to lay the foundation stone for three major doubling/electrification projects covering Trivandrum-Nagercoil-Kanniyakumari-Tirunelveli-Madurai and inaugurate/dedicate a host of passenger amenities at a function at Nagercoil Junction Railway station today i.e 23rd January, 2018.

With analysts forecasting Container Corporation of India Limited (NSEI:CONCOR) to register solid earnings growth of 12.19% in the coming 12 months, let’s stop and think through this strong vision. Investors should consider the forces that are spurring this projected increase, as there are certain implications that can impact on shareholder return. To get a preliminary understanding, this article will interpret Container of India’s margin performance to assist in analysing the revenue and cost anatomy behind the earnings expectations for the future and the impact it has on shareholder returns relative to the wider industry.

What does CONCOR’s profit margin tell us?

Attractive margins generally indicate a desirable ability to translate sales revenue in to earnings, and return for shareholders. CONCOR’s profit margin will help us understand the extent of this ability, as well as identify the forces behind earnings expectations.

The past five years have seen Container of India’s margin contract, as a result of average revenue growth of 8.47% outstripping average net income growth of 1.01%, which suggests that a smaller percentage of revenue falls to the bottom line despite the fact revenue has increased over the previous 5 years. The current 14.34% margin seems to continue this movement, which could imply that increasing revenue has driven earnings growth rather than enhanced cost management.

How is Container of India’s margin expected to behave in the future and what could it mean for shareholders?

Forward looking projections suggest margins will shift towards expansion, with an expectation of 12.08% in annual revenue growth and annual net income growth forecasted at 18.73%. This suggests the previous earnings stability is expected to transition in to stronger growth through enhanced cost efficiency alongside revenue increases. But as a result of improved cost efficiency, net income growth is expected to exceed revenue growth, which is causing the expectation for margins to expand. Nonetheless, those watching the stock must know margin expansion can mean different things for different companies, thus more detailed research is essential.

Profit margins are commonly useful when employed as a comparitive measure to judge a business’ profit-making ability against its industry. For CONCOR, it is expected that profit margins will expand simultaneously with margins in the Transportation industry, whilst at the same time, CONCOR’s forecasted ROE and the expected ROE of the industry is roughly equal at 10.35% and 9.85% respectively, (note that relative debt levels need to be considered in this observation). This serves as an indication that analysts covering the stock expect the nature of Container of India’s earnings will result in a return per dollar of equity that is similar to the industry. However, margins use items on the income statement that are prone to being manipulated by various accounting measures, which can distort our analysis. Thus, it is essential to run your own analysis on Container of India’s future earnings whilst maintaining a watchful eye over the sustainability of their cost management methods and the runway for top line growth.

Margin Calculation for CONCOR: Profit Margin = Net Income ÷ Revenue; ∴ Profit Margin = 8.56 Billion ÷ 59.71 Billion = 14.34%

Intraday reports for Container Corporation of India Ltd.(CONCOR, 531344) Stock & Share Prices – January 23, 2018

Opening Bell !

Updated at 10.08 AM

The order worth Rs 360.58 crore is for six-laning of Davanagere-Haveri section of NH-48 in Karnataka and will be completed in 24 months.

Dilip Buildcon shares gained 3 percent intraday Friday on bagging orders from IRCON International and NHAI.

The road developer informed exchanges that it has received letter of award from IRCON International Limited’ (A Government of India Undertaking) for an EPC road project in the state of State of Karnataka.

The order worth Rs 360.58 crore is for six-laning of Davanagere-Haveri section of NH-48 in Karnataka and will be completed in 24 months.

The company further said today it has received letter of award from the National Highways Authority of India for an EPC road project in Madhya Pradesh.

On Thursday, Dilip Buildcon said it had been declared L-1 bidder by the National Highways Authority of India for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) road project in Madhya Pradesh.

The project worth Rs 730 crore is for construction of four laning from km 624.480 to km 653.225 of NH-7 in Madhya Pradesh.
At 14:37 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 949.70, up Rs 12.75, or 1.36 percent on the BSE.

In its endeavour to provide a safe and secure travel experience to passengers, Indian Railways is pitching for the procurement of about 12 lakh CCTV cameras to ensure state-of-the-art surveillance systems in all trains and stations across the country.

The Railways will make a provision of around Rs.3,000 crore in its budget for 2018-19 to install CCTV systems in all 11,000 trains, including premier and suburban services, and all the 8,500 stations in the Indian rail network, to provide safety and security at rail premises.

As per the plan, while each coach will have eight CCTV cameras covering the entry gates, aisle and vestibules, all crucial points at stations will have the systems.

Currently, there are about 395 stations and about 50 trains that are equipped with CCTV systems.

“All mail/express and premier trains, including Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto and local passenger services, will be equipped with the modern surveillance systems in the next two years,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Railways is exploring various options to fund the installation of the CCTV surveillance systems – and may even raise resources from the market if needed.

Given the increased number of derailments last year, the Rail Budget this time is slated to give top priority to safety and prevention of accidents – followed by improving passenger amenities to make the journey pleasant.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would roll out the details of provision for strengthening safety mechanism in train operations in his Budget 2018-19.

Elimination of 4,943 unmanned level-crossings, replacement of all old tracks and strengthening of the remaining tracks are among other safety-related proposals that will be highlighted in the budget.

Besides track defects, unmanned level-crossings are among the reasons for a maximum number train accidents. It has been decided to eliminate all unmanned level crossings by 2020, the official said.

South Central Railway (SCR) General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav has said a technical team that consists of officials including the DRM, Vijayawada, would visit Nellore Station in February to make plans for development of Nellore Railway Station. The General Manager visited Nellore Railway station and inspected platforms I and II, and the escalator and noticed sanitation conditions in the premises.

Interacting with the media persons, the GM assured that they would develop Nellore railway station with world class facilities by providing amenities and  maintaining safety precautions for the passengers. He said that they would construct another Foot Over Bridge along with escalator facility. The existing Foot Over Bridge would be widened to 6 metres soon.

Vinod Kumar Yadav informed that they will be constructing platforms in every station and also increase height of the platforms in phased manner.

After laying foundation to food over bridge, he said that they would complete the Foot Over Bridge in Nellore South Station within 6 months. ‘Lands belonging to Railways in Bitragunta Junction will  be utilised,’ he said. We have been working on it and will announce a decision later,’ said the GM.

He also said that a commercial facility would be developed in the Nellore station in around 65,000 sq ft by spending  Rs60 crore. They would check feasibility of constructing another Road Under Bridge in the city as per the request of public representatives. Basic amenities in Nellore South and Kavali stations would also be developed, said the GM.

To incentivise travelling by air-conditioned (AC) coaches, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has proposed to partially air-condition the existing rakes on the suburban railway. According to the proposal, two coaches of the Bombardier-manufactured trains would be replaced with air-conditioned ones.

Both Central Railway and Western Railway operate 250 non-AC coaches. The WR also operates one AC train that sees 12 trips between Churchgate and Virar railway stations every weekday. But officials have complained about the poor daily average ridership in it, which is only 265 passengers.

According to the proposal, the next set of 12-coach Bombardier trains will have six AC coaches each. “We are procuring 20 Bombardier rakes from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. We plan to ensure six coaches of these are air conditioned, which will bear the same configuration as the existing AC local trains. After they are procured, we can replace two non-AC coaches in Bombardier suburban trains with two AC coaches. This way, the system will see the running of 60 rakes in the suburban system fitted with two AC coaches each,” a senior MRVC official said.

Commuters have complained that the frequency of the AC local train is poor. By integrating two AC coaches in the existing suburban trains, more commuters would be able to travel in the AC coaches. “We are going to procure 210 AC rakes over the coming three years. So, this could prove to be a stop-gap arrangement for commuters,” the MRVC official added.

The two AC coaches would be at the middle of a suburban train as the model specifications demand it. “The motorman would be allowed to control its door closure from his cabin. A ticket checker could be deployed. The proposal is still at its nascent stage and requires to be discussed further,” the official added.

Officials hinted that the two AC coaches may also replace the existing first class coaches of the suburban trains. “When there are two AC coaches in a local train, we may not see the need to have a separate first class coach. Transition of commuters from first class to AC coaches could be seen gradually. We hope to see commuters with second class passes also traveling in the AC coaches later,” the senior MRVC official said.

Sanjay Singh, the MRVC spokesperson, said: “The scheme has not been finalised yet. The Railway Board, in consultation with the MRVC and the ICF, is weighing options as to how modifying suburban coaches would yield better results. There is a meeting with the ICF this week to get a better understanding of the plan.”