Page 14 - Indian Railways

'All unmanned level crossings on railways' broad gauge track eliminated'

The railways has eliminated all unmanned level crossings on its broad gauge track network, but metre gauge and narrow gauge track sections still have 559 such crossings with Gujarat having the highest at 262, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Sharing data on level crossings, both manned and unmanned, in the country in a written reply, Railway Minister Ashwini Vishnaw said that "all unmanned level crossings (UMLCs) on running lines of the broad gauge (BG) network of the Indian Railways have been eliminated by 31.01.2019". "Only 559 UMLCs on metre gauge (MG) and narrow gauge (NG) sections exist on Indian Railways, which are planned for elimination during gauge conversion of sections," he said. He was replying to questions raised by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and BJD MP Achyuta Samanta on the status of railway level crossings in the country. The minister said that "as on 01.04.2023, there are a total 18,477 level crossings on the running lines of the Indian Railways network, which

Railways gave Rs 59K cr subsidy on passenger tickets in 2019-20: Vaishnaw

The Indian Railways offered a subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore on passenger tickets in 2019-20 and the concession still continues, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Vaishnaw shared the information in response to a question by Congress MP Anto Antony from Kerala regarding restoring pre-Covid concessions for different categories of railway passengers. "The Indian Railways always strives to provide affordable services to all strata of the society and gave a subsidy of Rs 59,837 crore on passenger tickets in 2019-20," the minister said. "This amounts to a concession of 53 per cent on an average to every person travelling on Railways. This subsidy is continuing for all passengers," he said. According to Vaishnaw, concessions beyond this subsidy amount are continuing for many categories like four categories of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans), 11 categories of patients and eight categories of students. About 18 lakh patients and the

Kavach has been deployed in three sections in South Central Zone: Vaishnaw

Kavach, an indigenously developed automatic train protection system, has been deployed in three sections in South Central Railway zone along with 139 locomotives, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Vaishnaw responded to questions raised by two Congress MPs from Kerala - Benny Behanan and Kumbakudi Sudhakaran - on the total number of sections and length under various railway zones that are covered by Kavach. "Kavach has so far been deployed on 1,465 route km and 139 locomotives (including Electric Multiple Unit rakes) on South Central Railway...," Vaishnaw said in a written response. These sections are Lingamapalli-Vikarabad-Wadi and Vikarabad-Bidar section (265 Rkm); Manmad-Mudkhed-Dhone-Guntkal section (959 Rkm) and Bidar-Parbhani section (241Rkm). Vaishnaw said that Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protection system which is highly technology intensive and requires safety certification of highest order. "Kavach aids the loco

Railway ministry raises freight rates for transportation of automobiles

Short-distance rates see major rise in modern auto-carrier wagons

Ram Karan Yadav takes charge as general manager of Central Railway

Senior railway official Ram Karan Yadav has been appointed as the general manager of the Central Railway (CR). Yadav, a 1986 batch Indian Railways Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer, took charge of the office on Friday, the Central Railway stated in a release. Before joining the Central Railway, Yadav was the director general of the Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering (IRICEN) Pune. The senior officer has replaced Naresh Lalwani, who retired from the post on Thursday. Yadav graduated in civil engineering with honours from IIT Roorkee in 1985 and joined the Railways in March 1988. He also earned an M.Tech (Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engineering) from IIT Delhi in 1987. Yadav has served in various posts in the Western, North Eastern, Central and Eastern divisions of the Railways apart from working with IRICEN Pune, Rail Indian Technical and Economic Service (RITES) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Railways to upgrade anti-collision tech Kavach to LTE: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Target for 5000 kms of ATPS commissioning by FY26

No decrease in number of train passengers post Covid: Ashwini Vaishnaw

There has been no decrease in the number of train passengers and by the end of the current financial year, the Indian Railways will touch the pre-Covid passenger traffic of 650 to 700 crore, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. The minister strongly refuted some reports and comments on social media that the number of train passengers has become half of what it used to be in 2010. "Post-Covid lockdown, the Indian Railways started its train services from December 2021 and by July 2022, operations were normalised. In the 2022-23 financial year, 640 crore people used the train network," he said. "This year, according to our conservative estimate, 650 crore people will travel (in trains). The number might go up to 750 crore. So we are back to pre-Covid era when the number of train travellers used to be around 700 crore," he added. He also dismissed reports that the number of non-AC coaches or sleeper class coaches has been reduced. "We have around 60,000 train coaches,

India's first bullet train section to be complete by Aug 2026: Vaishnaw

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor has been making steady progress since its construction began in November 2021

90 train passengers complain of food poisoning, treated at Pune station

As many as 90 passengers on board a special train between Chennai and Palitana suffered from food poisoning, railway officials said on Wednesday. Doctors attended to all the passengers at Pune railway station in Maharashtra on Tuesday evening and provided them necessary treatment. The train left for its onward journey after 50 minutes, they said. The 'Bharat Gaurav' train was privately booked by a group for a religious function at Palitana in Gujarat, Central Railway's chief public relations officer Dr Shivraj Manaspure said. The group had procured the food privately and it was not supplied by the Railways or the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), he said. The food consumed by the passengers was prepared in the pantry car, he said. "Around 80 to 90 passengers from a coach complained of food poisoning between Solapur and Pune. They complained of nausea, loose motions and headache," the official said. At Pune station, a team of doctors attended to all the ...

Railway capex budget rules encourage finance ministry to expand model

National transporter is managing its expenditure better after Ministry brought in a new model

IRCTC website down: E-ticket booking services resume after 2-hour outage

At around noon on Thursday, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation website was down, causing inconvenience to lakhs of passengers

Trains temporarily cancelled, diverted due to traffic: Northern Railways

As per Northern Railways, Balamau - Lucknow Special, Lucknow-Sahajahanpur Special andSahajahanpur-Lucknow Special has been cancelled

TMS Ep568: Rlys' Chhath woes, news broadcast on mobile, Tata

Why can't Indian Railways manage the annual Chhath rush? What will be the impact of direct-to-mobile broadcasting? Is Tata Tech IPO worth your money? What is GRAP? Find answers here

Mamata Banerjee demands Railways give priority to safety of passengers

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday demanded that the railways give more attention to the safety and security of travellers and roll back the dynamic pricing of train tickets. Banerjee, a former Railway minister alleged that train fares were sometimes higher than flight tickets. "Sad to find that railway passenger fares are steeply increasing and even in Suvidha trains the fares are sometimes higher than air fares!! Where will common people go in case of emergencies?!, she posted on X handle. "Fare hike must be curbed and reduced! And attention must be given to safety and security issues," she said. Talking on the number of rising railway accidents in the country, Banerjee also questioned why the anti-collusion devices and other anti-accident measures which she had introduced during her tenure as Railway Minister, were not used to keep a check on mishaps. "During my tenure as Railways Minister, I had introduced anti-collusion devices and other anti-accident measur

Railways announces special trains from Mumbai for CWC final in Ahmedabad

Western Railway and Central Railway will be running six Cricket World Cup special trains for fans who will be travelling from Mumbai to Ahmedabad to watch the final of the Cricket World Cup.The World Cup final will be played between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.Central Railways will be running a Cricket World Cup special train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CSMT) to Ahmedabad and back. Train No 09049 Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad Special will depart from Mumbai Central on Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 23.55 hrs and will reach Ahmedabad at 08.45 hrs, the next day.Similarly, Train No. 09050 Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Special will depart from Ahmedabad on Monday, 20th November at 06.20 hrs, & will arrive at Mumbai Central at 14.10 hrs, the same day.Train No. 09035 Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Special will depart from Mumbai Central on Sunday, November 19, 2023, at 05.15 hrs. & will reach Ahmedabad at 10.40 hrs, on the same day.Similarly,

Passengers asked to refrain from carrying inflammable materials on trains

In the wake of fire accidents occurring on trains across the country, an appeal has been made by two divisions of the Railways to passengers asking them not to carry inflammable materials on trains. South Central Railway Zone's Vijayawada Division and East Coast Railway's Waltair Division on Friday urged passengers not to carry inflammable materials such as gas cylinders, petrol, diesel, kerosene, stoves, matchboxes, cigarette lighters and any detonating substances, including firecrackers. "Carrying inflammable and explosive articles on railways is a punishable offence and stern action would be taken under Sections 67, 164 and 165 of the Railway Act, 1989 with penalties of up to Rs 1,000 or imprisonment for up to three years or both," Narendra A Patil, divisional railways manager (DRM), Vijayawada Division, said in a press release. Besides the penal provisions, he said the culprits will also be held responsible for any loss, injury or damage caused due to their actions. Around ..

Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train: Indian railways starts train from Mumbai today

The motive behind the theme-based circuit Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train by Indian Railways is to offer smooth and inexpensive services to people willing to visit various parts of the country

Indian Railways plans to eliminate waiting lists in 4-5 years: Report

In comparison to pre-COVID days, an additional 562 trains are now operational on a daily basis across the IR network.

Three-fold increase in special train trips this festive season: Vaishnaw

Dismissing reports of a shortage of berths for passengers opting for non-AC coaches, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said there has been a nearly three-fold increase in the number of special train trips this festive season as compared to last year. The railways is operating 6,754 additional train trips this festive season between October 1 and December 31 to clear the rush of passengers as compared to 2,614 in the same period last year, he said. Till date 2,423 trips have been completed and the remaining trips will be made in the coming days, the minister said. "Every year we do a very serious planning to make arrangements for passengers for Diwali and Chhath. We monitor the reservation and waiting list trends three months before the beginning of the festive season and take a call on making arrangements for the additional train trips," Vaishnaw said during an interaction with journalists. The railways also takes into account last year's passenger figures in the planni

95.3% railway passengers between April-October were in non-AC classes

As much as 95.3 percent of the total 390.2 crore railway passengers between April and October 2023 travelled in general and sleeper classes, while just 4.7 percent were in AC coaches, officials said on Wednesday. The railways registered a significant increase in the number of general and sleeper class passengers between April and October this year compared to the corresponding period last year. The Railways said in a press release that it received a total of 390.2 crore passengers across categories in these seven months this year, which is 41.1 crore more (11.7 percent up) than 349.1 crore passengers during the corresponding period of 2022. Out of these 41.1 crore passengers, 38 crore (92.5 percent) travelled in non-AC classes (general and sleeper classes) and the remaining 3.1 crore preferred the air-conditioned coaches. The break-up of AC and non-AC travellers from the total number of passengers, ie, 390.2 crore reflects the similar trend as 372 crore travelled in non-AC coaches