Railways minister Piyush Goyal said here on Sunday that his ministry had approved a budget for a new rail line between Una-Hamirpur Railway Line (50 Kms).

He said Rs.10,200 crore would be spent on laying 254km rail line in Himachal Pradesh. “Also, four other railway projects would be started in the state soon; their detailed project reports are being prepared,” he said.

The Union minister also attacked the Congress’s state leadership, saying that it was engulfed in corruption and had been divided. “Its state government could not live up to the expectations of people,” he said. “If elected to power, the new government under Prem Kumar Dhumal will speed up development.” Goyal said Himachal Pradesh had immense potential for tourism-related activities and a BJP victory was certain in the state.

Apart from the above, projects like Amb-Andaura to Daulatpur Chowk (16 kms), is also being considered for expediting.

The Defence Ministry has declared four railway lines of National Strategic Importance including Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Beri-Manali-Leh broad gauge line.

During the year 2013-14, the then Railway Minister had announced that a railway station will be established at Basal in Una district but the announcement never saw the light of the day, he said and requested the minister to provide sufficient funds for the these projects.

Passengers of Rajdhani and Shatabdi will now get text messages on their mobile phones if their scheduled trains get delayed by more than an hour.

Currently, the SMS messages are being sent to wait-listed passengers after the confirmation of their berths.

Railways made the much-needed facility operational on Saturday for all Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains, said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project, adding that the SMS facility would be extended to other trains too in a phased manner.

Developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the information technological arm of the Railways, the SMS facility is considered to be an important service for passengers.

The official said in order to avail this facility, passengers are advised to mention their mobile numbers on the reservation slips.

It is a passenger-friendly free service for which the Railways bear the cost of SMS.

There was a trial run of the service on a few Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.

There were a few glitches found during the trial run which were addressed. Now the service is fully operational in all Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains, he said.

There are total 23 pairs of Rajdhani and 26 pairs of Shatabdi trains running across the country.

Though Railways has increased the speed of many trains to reduce travel time, some trains are running late due to various reasons like track repair.

Eco-Friendly, Disposable Towels & Pillow Covers in Rajdhani

Passengers of the recently introduced Rajdhani between Bandra Terminus and Hazrat Nizamuddin will now enjoy an eco-friendly journey with the Western Railways’ newly launched disposable, eco-friendly hand towels and pillow covers.

These towels and pillow covers were introduced on a trial basis on the Mumbai-Central Jaipur line where it received positive feedback.

While a standard towel can cost anywhere close to Rs 6 per piece including the procuring, washing and handling costs, this disposable towel costs Rs 4.75 a piece. Similarly, the cost of a disposable pillow cover comes up to Rs 8 inline with the traditional railway pillow covers.

Therefore, the rationale behind the Western Railways’ move of introducing these disposable, eco-friendly hand towels and pillow covers for the third Rajdhani passengers is to not only tackle complaints related to hygiene but also save money due to the numerous towel theft cases on train journeys.

Statistics by the Western Railways reveal that an average of five complaints are filed related to linen hygiene per month only at its Mumbai division. And over 70 towels get stolen per month on each WR train operating between Mumbai and other cities. Over 2,300 pillow covers and hand towels made of biodegradable cotton are being distributed per round trip.

The much awaited Jaisalmer (in the Jodhpur Divison of NWR) to Bhabhar (in the Ahmedabad Division of WR) rail link project has been shelved by the Union railway ministry, said Union minister of state for railways Rajen Gohain said in a letter to the BJP parliamentarian from Barmer.

In the 2016-17 rail budget, the then Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu had sanctioned ₹ 5,000 crore for the project, which was considered as a big economic boost for the limestone industry in the desert region.

In 2012-13, the North Western Railway had conducted three surveys for the 339km-long rail link.

In October 2016, a MoU was signed between the railways, Rajasthan and Gujarat governments for laying a new railway line from Jaisalmer in Jodhpur division of the North West Railway to Kandla Port in Ahmadabad division of the Western Railway in Gujarat.

Barmer MP Sonaram Choudhary raised a question in Parliament in November 2016 about the status of the proposed Jaisalmer-Bhabhar rail link.
On September 27, in his reply to the question, Union minister of state for railways Rajen Gohain said in 2012-13, a survey was conducted for the rail link in which the project was found financially non-viable with 7.74% negative rate of return.

“The railways have a long list of ongoing rail projects and since the project was not found financially viable due to which further consideration for sanctioning the project was not taken,” Gohain said in the letter.

Considering the strategic importance of the project, the view of the defence ministry is vital, the minister said, adding that a proposal has been to the ministry for its consideration.

“Until now the railways have not received any reply from the defence ministry.”

In April, this year, chief minister Vasundhara Raje, too while signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the ₹ 43,129 crore Barmer oil refinery with the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, demanded a rail connectivity between Barmer and Kandla port for transporting fuel and petrochemical products.

Choudhary said it is not possible for the railways scrap the project.

“How can the railways scrap a project that the Prime Minister mentioned as an achievement during his recent visit to Rajasthan,” said Choudhary.

“I will soon meet railway ministry official to know about the status of the project.”

The railways will showcase its first ‘Swarn’ train (gold standard) on Monday. The New Delhi-Kathgodam Shatabdi Express will be the first to be launched as part of the railways’ ‘Swarn’ project which aims to renovate India’s premium trains, including Rajdhanis and Shatabdis.

From new on-board entertainment to trolley service for catering, new coach interiors and clean toilets with automatic doors, these elite trains are being upgraded at a cost of Rs 50 lakh each.

Security systems will also be enhanced by installing CCTVs and deputing more RPF personnel. Punctuality of these trains has also been identified as a focus area. Around 30 trains — 15 Rajdhanis and 15 Shatabdis — will get a complete overhaul at a cost of Rs 25 crore under the project launched during the tenure of Suresh Prabhu as railway minister.

While planning a complete makeover of the Kathgodam Shatabdi, Northern Railways focused on three key areas — aesthetics, hygiene and entertainment.

Interiors have been redone with vibrant vinyl wrapping and the compartment aisle has been marked with fluorescent strips for guidance of travellers. Anti-graffiti coating has been done on the exteriors.

Toilets have been upgraded with features such as dustbins and personal seat covers. Automatic odour and hygiene control systems have also been installed in all coaches. Disposable headrest covers have been provided for executive class while all coaches will have integrated Braille signage.

Passengers will be able to enjoy HD streaming through Wi-fi hotspots. “This will be the first ‘gold standard’ train of the Railways. I urge people to cooperate in upkeep of various amenities,” a senior official said.

The Railway Board has sanctioned 30 foot overbridges for the Mumbai suburban section on an out-of-turn basis. Of this, 14 FOBs will be built on the CR suburban section, and 16 under the jurisdiction of the WR.

Also, wherever space permits, most of these FOBs will also be fitted with escalators, railway officials said.

According to a letter written by Ashish Kumar, Director, Railway Board, to the General Managers of WR and CR, on November 3, 2017, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd (MRVC) assigned construction work on 30 FOBs in the suburban section of the city. Mirror has the copy of the letter.

When contacted Sanjay Singh, Executive Director (planning), MRVC, he said, “We received the letter of the Railway Board, and are now planning to construct these FOBs at the earliest.”

In the last three years, MRVC has constructed 27 FOBs in the city suburban network, which is why they have been handed this responsibility. When as

However, a senior Indian Railways officer said that Piyush Goyal, central minister of railways, wants to complete the construction work on new FOBs within a year. “That’s why the Railway Board has decided to assign construction work of 30 FOBs to the MRVC,” the officer said.

“We are going to organise an open interactive session on November 10. All technical experts in the construction field are invited to attend it,” said an MRVC officer. “The purpose of the session is to find new techniques to minimise the timeframe.” Apart from these, MRVC will also build around 20 more FOBs under MUTP.

L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) has announced that trial runs between Begumpet to S.R. Nagar via the Ameerpet interchange station are now ready to commence with the Government of India’s Chief Electrical Inspector D.V.S. Raju according sanction for energisation of Overhead Electric Traction System (OETS).

Earlier on Monday, Mr. Raju conducted the statutory inspection of the overhead power systems where electricity is drawn from the 132/25Kv receiving station at the Uppal depot. The incoming supply to this is from the 220/132Kv main substation of TS Transco.

“Energising the traction system will help in commissioning the entire 30 km stretch from Nagole to Miyapur. This will also enable testing of other systems of metro rail,” he said. Trains can now be run from Nagole to Ameerpet to SR Nagar and also from Ameerpet to Miyapur with interchange station at Ameerpet.

Trail runs were completed and safety certification obtained for Nagole to Begumpet and Miypur to S.R. Nagar. Ameerpet station has also got power supply connection last week and it has led to the illumination and functioning of lifts and escalators at the interchange station.

L&TMRH MD and CEO Shivanand Nimbargi has informed that all the statutory requirements will be completed by November 20 to make the system ready for commissioning and inauguration while pointing out that the tests will conclude with the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) inspections and clearances.

He, along with Anil Kumar Saini, Head, Railway systems of L&TMRH were with Mr. Raju during his inspection along with officials from the Independent Engineer Louie Berger and HMR.

The differentiators

Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) will certainly stand out when compared to the other metro projects commissioned or under construction in other cities across the country because it has been laying much emphasis on the facilities down below the stations for convenience of the commuters and pedestrians, affirmed MD N.V.S. Reddy on Monday.

“We are concentrating on improving the road and street infrastructure under the stations so that the contrast of ‘palaces’ built overhead is not too much. We are working on signages, putting railings for the entire station stretch to prevent spillover onto the main thoroughfare, service roads, earmarking of parking space based on vehicles priority starting with public transport buses, electric vehicles, etc.,” he informed.

Mr. Reddy was speaking at the ongoing Urban Mobility conference in the presence of transportation experts and other metro rail MDs when doubts were expressed about how the prevailing traffic chaos on the roads can be contained once the metro becomes operational.

Street furniture and pedestrian circulation areas near some stations where there was sufficient spaces for citizens to move around and relax were also some of the unique features of the project here. Footpaths of widths ranging from 15 ft to 50 ft are being provided at different stretches on both sides of the road, he added.

Just having an elevated metro rail project will prove of no help in improving urban mobility in Hyderabad, unless the government develops widespread rail connectivity across the city along with Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS), said Pedro Ortiz, renowned urban planning expert and senior urban consultant with World Bank.

Ortiz was speaking at a plenary session on ‘Smart City and Urban Mobility’ at the tenth Urban Mobility India conference being conducted along with CODATU-17 conference in Hyderabad. At the session, he said that the existing network of railways in Hyderabad (refering to the network of MMTS), is very basic which does not work for a metropolis like Hyderabad.

Ortiz said, “Hyderabad has a commuter train system but you are not using entire potential of the commuter train. It just goes through center(of the city), from one side to the other. There are many more things to do in Hyderabad to integrate the metropolitan transport system as a whole. You are building Hyderabad metro, that is great but when I superimpose the two elements (metro and commuter rail system), I don’t see an interconnection, an intermodality between train and the metro. The metro stations do not go into train stations. You have to get down of the train and get the metro.”

Ortiz further said that commuter railway network plays an extremely strategic role in a metro like Hyderabad and gave examples of metros like London and Stockholm which have a widespread and efficient network of railways, necessary for people to travel large distances in a metro.

It may be mentioned here that the MMTS network in Hyderabad has a length of just 47 kilometers and is inefficient with trains running late most of the times with less frequency.

Ortiz also stressed on the importance of developing bus feeder services for the metro rail simultaneously with construction of metro rail infrastructure and not after the metro is constructed.

However, the current situation is such that there are not enough number of buses with good frequency even on most of the regularly used routes in the city. He said that all the modes of transport need to be developed simultaneously and that these transport systems will not prove helpful unless they are efficiently integrated.

The statutory inspection of the pending 1.5 km stretch of railway line near Srirangapatna – taken up as part of track doubling work between Mysuru and Bengaluru – was completed by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) on Monday.

Though originally scheduled to be held on Saturday, the authorities conducted a spot visit besides the track inspection, complete with speed trials and inspection of the two new railway bridges, across the Cauvery, on Monday.

Sources said the CRS inspection covered all technical issues besides observation of the curvature, points and crossings and no major lacunae have been found. All things being satisfactory, the authorisation for operationalising the track may be issued within a week.

The inspection team comprised Manoharan, (CRS) Southern Region; Ashok Gupta, Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), South Western Railways; A.K. Garg, Chief Bridge Engineer, SWR, Hubballi; S.K. Jain, Chief Engineer, (Construction); and R.S. Saxena, DRM, Bengaluru Division. Consequent to the CRS approval for operationalising the track, the running time between Naganahalli and Pandavpura is expected to further reduce by about 7 to 10 minutes.

The CRS inspection also draws the track doubling work between Mysuru and Bengaluru to a close. While the Bengaluru-Ramanagaram section had been doubled earlier, the Ramanagaram-Mysuru section received administrative clearance in 2007 and the authorities took more than 11 years to complete the doubling work on the 93 km stretch.

Though doubling work along the entire section was completed in 2014, work on the 1.5 km stretch was pending owing to the 18th Century armoury belonging to the era of Tipu Sultan which was located along the alignment of the new track, causing the work to be stalled.

Following permission from the Archaeological Survey of India, the monument was translocated in one piece with expertise from the U.S. in March this year, paving the way for completion of the second track as well.

A high-level Chinese team arrived in Kathmandu on Monday for talks with Nepalese authorities on the possibility of extending proposed cross-border railway links, part of efforts to expand connectivity with Nepal.

A Chinese firm has conducted a feasibility study for cross-border railway lines that will link Kerung or Gyirong in the Tibet Autonomous Region to Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha near the border with India.

China’s efforts to build railway links to Nepal are part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a flagship project being pushed by President Xi Jinping.

“After holding talks, the Nepali and Chinese teams will leave for a field visit to the border near Keyrung on Tuesday,” said a Nepalese official who participated in the talks.

A vice minister from China’s National Railway Administration is leading the 23-member Chinese delegation.

Transport infrastructure at Kerung was recently upgraded by the Chinese in order to make inroads into South Asia through Nepal under the BRI.

The feasibility study carried out by the Chinese firm in 2016, which was accessed by Hindustan Times, states that three railway lines will be built between China and Nepal. The total investment is estimated to be around $4 billion.

A German national, who was involved in an altercation with a railway employee at Robertsganj Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh Sonbhadra district, has been arrested for allegedly travelling on a forged visa, the police said today.

Holger Erik Misch, a resident of Berlin, had on November 3 entered into an altercation with railway employee Aman Kumar and had also allegedly attacked two policemen with a stick, they said.
“The German national has been arrested. First of all he did not have a tourist visa and secondly he was carrying a forged visa,” Superintendent of Police, Sonbhadra, RP Singh told news agency PTI over the phone.

An FIR has been registered against him under 14A Foreigners Act (for entry in restricted areas without valid documents), 419 IPC (cheating by personation) and IPC 420 (fraud), he said.

The railway employee alleged that when he greeted Erik by saying “welcome to India”, the German hit him, though Erik made a counter allegation that he was beaten up by Aman.

Circle Officer, GRP, Monika Chadha told news agency PTI that non cognisable reports (NCR) were registered on the complaint from both the sides.

Erik, who was taken to GRP police station in Mirzapur on November 3, had also attacked two policemen with a stick and tried to flee.

“Sub-inspectors Harikesh Ram Azad and Mithilesh Yadav were beaten with a stick by Erik when he got off the police vehicle. Since he is a foreign tourist, he is our guest and that is why we decided not to file a case in this regard against Erik,” Inspector, GRP, Mirzapur Samar Bahadur Singh told news agency PTI.

Police said that earlier an FIR was lodged against the German national on July 5 in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, for allegedly attacking a person with a sharp edged weapon.

“His passport and visa are deposited in the Chief Judical Magistrate court in Kullu,” the police said, quoting Erik.

Uttar Pradesh was in the news recently when on October 22, two tourists from Switzerland, Quentin Jeremy Clerc (24) and Marie Droz (24), were chased and attacked with stones and sticks by a group of five youths in Fatehpur Sikri, Agra triggering widespread outrage.

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Sulkhan Singh has issued a list of guidelines to prevent misbehaviour with foreign tourists.