A satellite-based system will now alert road users at unmanned level crossings about approaching trains and also help in tracking train movement on a real-time basis.

The space technology, adopted with the help of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will warn road users through hooters once a train approaches an unmanned level crossing. The railways is installing ISRO-developed integrated circuit (IC) chips on 10,000 locomotives of trains.

About 500 metres before the level crossings, the hooter will be activated through a signal from the IC chip, warning road users as well as the train drivers near the crossing.

The hooter will become louder as the level crossing nears, and will fall silent after the train has passed.

On a pilot basis, two level crossing gates in Sonepur division on the Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani route are to be equipped with the ISRO system, to be followed by a few gates on the Delhi-Mumbai route shortly.

Trials would be conducted on these two busy rail corridors and, according to the plan, all level crossings will be equipped with the ISRO system in phases, said a senior Railway Ministry official who did not want to be named.

Besides alerting road users, the satellite-based system will also be used for tracking trains for disseminating information about their movement on a real-time basis. At present, train movement related information is maintained manually, leaving scope for inaccuracies.

The trial for real-time train information system is already being carried out on Mumbai Rajdhani and Guwahati Rajdhani services, said the official.

Safety at unmanned level crossings is a cause of serious concern for railways as these crossings witness maximum mishaps. The public transporter had explored various ways to address the issue before settling for the ISRO system.

A few locos are being equipped with the device and installation of hooters at unmanned level crossings gates on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Guwahati routes is being carried out gradually.

There are about 7,254 unmanned railway crossings in the country which account for around 40 per cent of accidents involving the railways. There are about 18,000 manned level crossings.

While the Railways had eliminated 1,148 unmanned crossings in 2014-15 and 1,253 in 2015-16, it has scaled up its target and now plans to eliminate all such crossings in the next two to three years.

Once all unmanned level crossings are eliminated, the hooter system would be shifted to manned level crossings as per the plan.

The satellite-based system will also help railways in mapping the area and the technology will come in handy at the time of accidents when it can be used to ascertain the exact location of trains and topography.

Coal India is talking to the Railways to increase rake loading from an average of 216 so far since April to 250 by the end of the fiscal year, as it seeks to meet increased demand with both power and non-power sectors facing a short-supply of the dry fuel.

At present, the state-run monopoly has been focusing on supplying coal to the power sector, which is struggling with dwindling stocks and falling generation at many plants.

“The effort to increase rakes has started to show result. This month, average loading of coal on rakes for power has been 214 (238 including to non-power sectors) while last November, 199 (235 in total) rakes were being sent to the power sector,” a senior CIL executive said on Tuesday.

“In fact, on Monday, we managed to achieve loading on 249 rakes, close to the target. Of these, 224 went to the power sector,” he said. “However, we need to achieve loading on 250 rakes on a regular basis so that demand from both the power and non-power sector can be handled.”

Over the past few months, reduction in generation from non-thermal sources like hydel and wind resulted in increased demand for thermal power.

This led thermal power generators, which were witnessing damp demand during April and May, to ask for additional coal since they were using up stocks at a faster pace.

“Supplies could not be increased overnight as Coal India faces logistics constraints. This resulted in falling coal stocks and generation. In fact, a few generation units had to shut. In order to make sure the situation is not repeated in the future, Coal India is working hand in hand with the railways to increase rake loading to 250 on a daily basis,” the executive said.

At present, coal stocks at power plants are good for six days and 22 plants have critical stocks. Total stocks at power plants is about 8 million tonnes, compared with 18 million tonnes a year earlier when only 4 plants had critical stocks.

We do need to proactively liberalise fuel supply. Now that we have a policy on commercial mining, captive coal miners need to be encouraged to expand supply to more than one customer. It would boost economies of scale in mining and evacuation, and make sense nationally. We do need forward-looking policy so that the more efficient producers can readily seek custom.

A Japanese railway operator has issued a deep apology for the “tremendous nuisance” caused by a train departing 20 seconds early, surprising even a nation renowned for both punctuality and politeness.

The Tsukuba Express train linking Tokyo and the capital’s northern suburbs pulled out of Minami Nagareyama Station at 9:44:20 instead of 9:44:40.
“We deeply apologise for causing tremendous nuisance to customers,” said the Tsukuba Express company.

“There was no complaint from customers over this incident,” said the firm, which added that no one missed the train due to the premature departure.

Japanese railway services, including shinkansen bullet trains, are famous for their world-beating punctuality. Even the slightest delay prompts an effusive apology from the train guard, which often lasts longer than the hold-up itself.

With trains running the same route every few minutes to cope with huge numbers of passengers, even brief delays can back up the whole network causing overcrowding.

Stations in Toyko employs dozens of staff — with their famous white gloves — to ensure the prompt departure of trains and to manage the crush during rush hour.

The bullet trains in Japan are also famed for their customer service, with one offering passengers an onboard footbath to soothe their travelling woes.

The train firm said it was “surprised” by the attention the story was getting, saying: “We have issued similar apologies for trains that departed earlier than scheduled before.”

A spokesman told AFP the apology was issued because strict safety procedures were not followed.

“What matters is not the 20 seconds… The point is that our formal procedure should be this: A sound rings 15 seconds before the departure, followed by an announcement asking for caution due to the closing doors, and then the doors shut,” he said.

Lax management could cause safety problems in the future, the spokesman said. “There are sometimes passengers who try to jump on the train… they could be caught in doors” if the doors shut without warning, he said.

But the apology had several social media users scratching their heads.

“This is surprising even to Japanese,” said one user with the handle @takamin_.

“A weird country in which a 20-second difference prompts a sincere apology while faking quality data on aluminium and steel products or misconduct on car check-ups are done just like that,” another tweet read.

This was a reference to a recent string of corporate scandals that has floored the reputation of Japan Inc.

Car giants Nissan and Subaru have admitted that uncertified staff had inspected vehicles while Kobe Steel has been embroiled in a quality data-faking scandal.

Locals residing near the railway tracks at Poisar were shocked to see crows with a human ear and finger in their beaks on Monday. They immediately informed the police.

A police team from Samtanagar police station arrived and took the human body parts along with them after doing a punchnama. The officials also searched for a body but they did not find it. They then called the Borivali GRP and learnt that on Sunday night a youth had met with an accident on the railway tracks. His body was cleared from the tracks but some severed body parts were left behind, said an official from Samtanagar police station.

A 24-year-old youth Vivek Sharma, allegedly met with an accident and died on Sunday night between Kandivali and Borivali stations near Poisar subway while crossing the railway track.

Sharma hailed from Jaunpur District of Uttar Pradesh and stayed at Krantinagar in Kandivali east in a rented house. He was a fashion designer by profession and worked in a workshop situated in Malad. “An ADR has been registered at Borivali GRP,” said Police inspector Abhang Rao.

The trend of optimisation has spanned beyond the fields of electronics, technology and media, reaching key verticals in the transportation sector such as the railways. With the evolution of sensors and wireless connectivity, remote management of railways is becoming more accurate. Railways management systems are being developed on a range of new technologies that can potentially augment the operational performance of railways administration.

Considering how railways will remain to be the backbone of logistics, infrastructure, and the overall economy of a country, administrative authorities are expected to adopt railways management systems for bolstering this commodity. According to Future Market Insights, the global market railways management systems in anticipated to gain traction in terms of revenues over the period of next five years.

During this forecast period (2017-2022), advent of new and improved technologies and subsystems will continue to transform the efficiency of railways management systems. The report projects that by the end of 2022, the global market for railways management system will be worth nearly US$ 5 billion.

According to the report, North America is anticipated to represent the largest market for railways management systems. Robust railway infrastructure in the US, increasing interests of North American railway administration towards adoption of advanced technologies, and extended railway budgets will continue to factor the soaring adoption of railways management systems in this region through 2022.

Traffic planning solutions to make headway through 2022

On the basis of solutions facilitated through railways management systems & subsystems, the global market is anticipated to witness higher demand for traffic planning solutions. In 2017, close to one-third of revenues procured in the global railways management system market are anticipated to be accrued from the adoption of traffic planning solutions.

Advanced traffic management systems for railways are expected to enable local administration adapt to the changing traffic patterns of regional railways. Management and planning of narrow track traffic will continue to be a key concern for railways administration, especially in metropolitan environments.

Primarily, railway administrations are adopting fully-integrated railways management systems built around the operational plan of local, interstate and regional railways. The report further projects that adoption of track management systems will witness robust traction over the foreseeable future. These solutions are expected to provide better efficiency in management of high speed and conventional speed trains, as well as their long-hauling rolling stocks.

The demand for operation management systems is also expected to soar in the view of increasing incidence of train collisions due to operational flaws. By 2022-end, operation management systems sold across the globe are likely to bring in over US$ 1.1 billion in revenues.

Cloud deployment of railways management system to register highest CAGR

On-premise deployment of railways management system is anticipated to bring in nearly US$ 2 billion in global revenues by the end of 2017. In the approaching years, however, several railway administrations across the globe are likely to deploy railways management system through cloud-based networking models.

For improving compliance of railways management systems across integrated platforms, cloud deployment will be viewed as the best option. Moreover, real-time management and active notification systems will be working more effectively through cloud deployment of railways management systems. Through 2022, global revenues procured from cloud deployment of railways management systems are anticipated to register highest CAGR of 13.2%.

Tracking the competitors in global railways management system market

The report observes that companies namely, Hitachi, Ltd., Cisco Systems, Inc., IBM Corporation, ABB Limited, Thales S.A., General Electric Co., Toshiba Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., GAO RFID, and Amadeus IT Group, S.A will remain active in expansion of global railways management systems market through 2022.

Key developers of railways management systems are expected to focus on full integration and adoption of advanced sensors & monitoring tools. These companies will be compelled to offer comprehensive railways management systems, ones that adapt to every kind of railway traffic density, and across underground lines and conventional railways.

About Future Market Insights: Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.

FMI’s research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

FMI’s team of over 200 research analysts provides market intelligence at global, regional, and country level. Our analysts are committed to provide independent insights, relying on our cognitive defusion training module, which conditions them to look at data objectively and unbiasedly.

The Railway Board has recently approved the provision of installing free Wi-Fi hotspots at 200 rural and remote stations across the country through Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) of the Centre. RailTel, a company under the ministry of railways, will carry out the project. USOF, which comes under department of telecommunications, has an objective to provide widespread and non-discriminatory access to quality ICT (information and communications technology) services to people in rural and remote areas.

Stations like Malatipatpur, Sakhigopal, Birapurusottampur, Delang, Motori, Retang, Mancheswar, Barang, Gopalpur, Balikuda and other small stations under the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) will be provided with free Wi-Fi service through the USOF project.

These stations will get high speed internet facility like Bhubaneswar, Puri and Visakhapatnam. Passengers passing the stations and local people can enjoy the free Wi-Fi facility at these stations. Target for completion of the project is March 2018.

Umesh Singh, ECoR General Manager, has reviewed the progress of Wi-Fi services in different stations and asked all concerned officials to expedite the new work.

The zone has already installed Wi-Fi services at small stations like Keonjhargarh, Paradeep, Tikiri and Bissamcuttack with the help of local industries, corporate houses and social organisations. The zone had decided on its own to request some corporate houses to invest their CSR fund to provide the service at some rural stations. This fund will boost their plan, said a senior railway officer.

Besides this, the ECoR has already installed Wi-Fi hotspots at all A1 category stations like Bhubaneswar and A category stations like Cuttack of the ECoR.

Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao informed that he would explain the necessary changes in the proposals of Bhadrachalam Road-Sattupalli railway line to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s video conference.  At a review meeting in Kothagudem on Wednesday, the Minister laid stress on significant reduction in acquiring forest lands and cut costs by opting for land in plains which makes it easy to go in for alignment.

If the proposals revising all alignments made by the Minister are accepted, the distance would come down by 44.93 km from Bhadrachalam Road to Penuballi, and also by 30 km between Sattupalli and Jeelugumilli. In the proposal I, as revised by the Minister, the Bhadrachalam Road-Kovvur distance would be cut down by 53 km there by cutting the construction costs.

Tummala recalled that in the proposals accepted by the Centre, it was noted that the line passed through forest lands and that it was difficult in the present circumstances to acquire land. He explained that first proposal of the Bhadrachalam Road-Kovvur railway line, as accepted by the Centre in 2012-13, covered a distance of 151 km and to be laid at a cost Rs 923 crore. The cost was to be shared by both the Centre and the State.

Following the division of Andhra Pradesh, the two Telugu States had agreed in principle to share the cost. The distance covered in Telangana would be 78.50 km (cost Rs 239.82 crore) and 72.40 km in Andhra Pradesh (cost Rs 221.18 crore). As per the current estimates, the cost of the entire railway line would be about Rs 2,700 crore.

In the second proposal, the entire cost was to be met by Singareni Collieries (except land acquisition cost) with civil works accounting for Rs 586.44 crore, electrical engineering Rs 34.47 crore, signaling & traction Rs 29.90 crore and electrical (TRD)Rs 53.41 crore. The land acquisition cost was to be borne by the railways.

According to current estimates, the cost would now be around Rs 958 crore. In the third proposal, both the Centre and the Railways had approved PPP (Public Private Partnership) concept costing Rs 723 crore, covering a distance of 125 km. The revised cost would now be Rs 2,250 crore.

The Union Home Ministry has taken operational control of security at Rail Bhawan, the headquarters of the Indian Railways, the government said on Wednesday.

Located at 1, Raisina Road, near Parliament House, the Rail Bhawan building’s security and access control is under ‘B’ category deployment cover of Railway Protection Force (RPF).

As per a Home Ministry order to the Railways on November 7, the RPF deployment will continue but its operational control will now be in the hands of the Home Ministry.

The order said access to the building will be regulated as per the Home Ministry norms on security.

“The system of issuing visitor and temporary passes will be as per the Home Ministry procedure. The Ministry will also take care of things like identity cards, validation slips, restrictions, and entry.”

“The reception can continue to be manned by Railway Ministry staff. If so desired, however, they will work under the operational control of the zonal supervisor concerned of the reception organisation of the Home Ministry.”

Growth in transportation of various items, including food grain and mineral oil, as well as rise in prices of some commodities in the markets has brought dividends for the Maligaon-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), with the zone’s year-on-year cumulative revenue earnings from freight traffic witnessing an increase during the first half of the current fiscal.

NFR’s revenue earnings from freight traffic on originating basis went up to Rs 609.35 crore during the April 1 to September 30 period this year, compared to Rs 594.10 crore in the year-ago period, resulting in a growth of 2.57 per cent.

During the period under review, the commodity-wise freight traffic of the NFR on originating basis also went up by 2.78 per cent annually to 4.81 million tonnes (MT) from 4.68 MT in the comparative period of 2016-17.

The increase in freight traffic and the resultant earnings have happened despite the fact that rail traffic from the NFR zone to the rest of the country remained snapped for as long as three weeks in August this year due to massive floods in eastern Bihar.

In the first half of the current financial year (2017-18), the NFR earned Rs 62.49 crore from transportation of 0.30 MT of coal compared to Rs 52.43 crore from transportation of 0.29 MT of coal in the same period of the last fiscal.

Its earnings from other major components like container service and ‘other goods’ also went up on an annual basis.

NFR earned Rs 14.62 crore from transportation of 0.05 MT of container service during the first half of this fiscal as against Rs 13.67 crore from transportation of 0.04 MT of the product in the year-ago period.

Similarly, its earnings from ‘other goods’ went up to Rs 103 crore by transportation of 1.53 MT of such items, compared to Rs 75.96 crore from transportation of 1.25 MT of ‘other goods’ during the first six months of 2016-17.

The zone earned Rs 184.17 crore from transportation of 1.50 MT of mineral oil (petroleum oil and lubricants) during the first half of this fiscal.

In addition, it earned Rs 172.54 crore from transportation of 0.67 MT of food grain, Rs 6.54 crore from 0.11 MT of fertilizers, Rs 17.43 crore from 0.20

MT of cement and Rs 48.46 crore by transporting 0.45 MT of raw materials for steel plants.

Overall, in the first half of the current fiscal, the Indian Railways’ cumulative revenue earnings from freight traffic on originating basis also jumped by over eight per cent on an annual basis to Rs 52,414 crore, while its commodity-wise freight traffic also registered a growth of over five per cent to 559.16 MT.

It is noteworthy that of the 17 zonal railways, as many as 12 registered a growth in the earnings from freight traffic during the first half of the current fiscal.

Railway officials said one of the reasons for the growth registered by NFR this year is the low base.

They added that freight traffic and earnings from it can receive further boost in the NFR zone as work on the double tracking has been taken up and railway services are being extended to remote parts of the north-eastern states.