Page 16 - Indian Railways

Centre looks to meet freight corridor cost escalation from its own pockets

The executive added that the final cost structure will be ratified when the Union Cabinet approves the revised cost estimate

Twenty-one years later, crowds cheer another Metro moment in Ghaziabad

India's first RRTS has NCR in awe, but only time will tell its actual impact

CCTV cameras, emergency door-opening mechanism: RAPIDX trains features

CCTV cameras, an emergency door-opening mechanism and a button to communicate with a train operator are among the safety features in trains that will ply on the soon-to-open Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor. A media preview of the RAPIDX trains was held on Wednesday ahead of the inauguration of the 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor. The under-construction Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor, being built for a semi-high-speed regional rail service named 'RAPIDX' by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), is a joint venture company of the Centre with the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. These trains are equipped with several safety features besides passenger amenities such as overhead luggage racks, Wi-Fi, and a mobile and laptop charging outlet at every seat. Every coach has about six CCTV cameras, a senior official said, adding, the safety of passengers is a priority on this corridor. Oth

A new beginning

Freight corridors should improve logistics position

Fire guts five coaches of train in Ahmednagar district, no casualties

Five coaches of a diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) passenger train were gutted in a fire that broke out near Narayandoh station in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district on Monday afternoon, but no casualties were reported, Railway officials said. The fire incident took place when the train (No. 01402) was heading to Ahmednagar in western Maharashtra from Ashti station in Beed district in the central region of the state, but its cause was not immediately known, they said. Dr Shivraj Manaspure, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Central Railway, told PTI that no passenger was injured in the blaze, which started at around 3 pm, as all of them alighted safely from the train before the fire spread. "All train passengers got down safely before the fire spread," he stated. The flames engulfed the guard-side brake van and four coaches adjacent to it, said the CPRO. Manaspure said fire engines from Ahmednagar, located around 250km from Mumbai, were immediately called and the flames dou

IRCTC offers 'Vrat ka Khana' during Navratri, check how to book order

IRCTC started a special service called 'Vrat Ka Khana' through an e-catering service. This service will accommodate fasting food, which will include satvik food choices

Special Cleanliness Campaign: Railways earn Rs 66 lakh from scrap disposal

The Ministry of Railways generated a revenue of more than Rs 66 lakh through disposal of office scrap during the first 13 days of its Special Cleanliness Campaign 3.0, an official statement said on Sunday. As a result of scrap disposal, the ministry also managed to free 3,97,619 sqft of space that can be utilised for other purposes, it said. The Special Cleanliness Campaign 3.0 started on October 1 and will go on till October 31. The Railways' zonal headquarters, divisional offices, production units, Research Design and Standards Organisation, training institutes and more than 7,000 stations are being covered under the campaign, according to the statement. The Railways has set a target of conducting 10,722 cleanliness drives till October 31. As part of this campaign, special focus is on scrap disposal in offices and workplace, and a target of freeing 3,18,504 sq. feet of space has been set, the statement said. "To achieve these targets, more than 5,297 cleanliness campaigns have b

Tight spot: Ministry of Railways, DFCC on parallel tracks over GST

Ministry of railways, DFCC planning revenue model for latter as current apparatus has put an 18% GST on the corporation

SAIL to begin trial production of special rails by month-end: Chairman

Steel maker SAIL plans to start the trial production of head hardened (HH) rails, used in metro rail and freight corridor projects, by month-end, its Chairman Amarendu Prakash said. The steel PSU was earlier looking to start the trial production of HH rails in August but deferred it due to the demand for normal rails like 880 grade from the Indian Railways, Prakash told PTI in an interview. "We have the technology. We had planned for it (HH rail production) but then...they (Railways) requested us to defer the trials and now it is at the end of October," the Chairman said. HH rails are special rails used in high-speed freight corridors and metro rail projects. Such rails are manufactured using head hardening technology to bear about 50 per cent higher pressure compared to normal rails. SAIL has set up facilities for the production of HH rails at the new Universal Rail Mill (URM) at its Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh, and the cold trials for the same have already been ...

Bihar train crash: Fault in tracks likely cause, suggests initial report

Citing a preliminary investigation report, news agency PTI reported that fault in tracks was the possible cause of derailment of the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express

High-level inquiry ordered into Bihar rail accident, many trains diverted

Indian Railways cancelled ten trains and diverted 21 after several coaches of 12506 Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express derailed near the Raghunathpur station in Bihar's Buxar district on Wednesday killing at least four people and injuring many others. The derailment occurred at 9:53 pm and at least two AC III Tier coaches had toppled over while four other coaches jumped the tracks. Buxar Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar told PTI four passengers had died in the accident. A Railway Police Force official the injured had been shifted to local hospitals. Those with serious injuries were rushed to AIIMS, Patna. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on X "Will find the root cause of the derailment" even as he expressed condolences for the loss of lives. The minister said evacuation and rescue operations were completed and all coaches have been checked. According to a statement issued by the East Central Railway zone, trains that have been cancelled include: Patna-Puri Special (03

Siemens looks at setting up a hub for urban transport solutions in India

India is one of the fastest-growing market in terms of adding incremental revenue

World Cup 2023 India vs Pak: Railways to run special Vande Bharat trains

In a bid to counter exorbitant airfare, lack of accommodations, and high hotel rates, Indian Railways will operate special Vande Bharat trains

'Coming soon': Ashwini Vaishnaw shares pics of Vande Bharat sleeper trains

Vaishnaw's post on social media platform X indicated that the trains will start in early 2024

Higher coal movement takes rail freight growth to 6.7% in September

Much of this growth was led by coal freight, which rose by 9.4 per cent to 59.7 mt in September, owing to higher coal demand at thermal power plants across the country

Indian Rlys' new time table highlights 64 Vande Bharat, 70 train services

The railway ministry on Tuesday released its new time table of trains effective from October 1. The highlights of the new time table are the induction of 64 Vande Bharat trains along with 70 other train services. "The new time table is designed to enhance connectivity between various cities and reduce travel time. Passengers are advised to check the departure and arrival timings as per the new timetable, the railway ministry said while issuing the new all-India railway time table known as 'Trains at a Glance (TAG)'. The new time table has included 64 services of Vande Bharat trains and 70 other train services to offer passengers a comfortable and efficient travel experience," the ministry added. Besides, 90 train services have been extended to other destinations and the frequency of 12 train services has been enhanced. The speed of 22 trains has been increased by converting them into the 'superfast' category of trains. One of the prominent trains, Agartala-Anand Vihar Rajdhani has

TRSL signs contract for 72 standard gauge cars for the Surat Metro

The total order value of the project is estimated to be around Rs 857 crore

Vande Bharat trains will be cleaned in 14 mins from Oct 1 onwards: Vaishnaw

The Indian Railway is introducing the '14 minutes of miracle' concept for speedy cleaning of trains from October 1, starting with 29 Vande Bharat trains at their respective destination stations across the country. It will be formally launched by the Railway Ministry Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Delhi Cantt. Railway Station. Vaishnaw told reporters that the Vande Bharat trains will be cleaned within 14 minutes under the initiative to improve their punctuality and turnaround time. It is a unique concept and happening for the first time in the Indian railways, the minister said. The initiative is based on the concept of '7 minutes of miracle' at various stations such as Osaka, Tokyo, etc. in Japan where bullet trains are cleaned and made ready for another journey within seven minutes. The service has been made possible by enhancing the cleaning persons' efficiency, skills and working attitude without increasing the number of front-line workforce already engaged in this activity, the minis

Railways to introduce ramps for wheelchair users, elderly passengers

Indian Railways is going to introduce ramps in trains for the convenience of wheelchair users and senior citizens, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. Releasing the pictures of the newly designed ramps, Vaishnaw told reporters that these have been used at the Chennai railway station and found to be helpful for passengers who require a ramp. "We will start its use in Vande Bharat trains very soon and later, in all other trains," the minister said, adding that a system is being worked out to let passengers raise a need for a wheelchair at the time of booking tickets. "An alert can be generated and passed on to the respective railway stations for keeping a ramp ready for such passengers," he added. The ramp can be easily placed at train doors and because of its width and low gradient, wheelchair users will find it easy to use it, the minister said. Vaishnaw also said that during its trial, feedback received from passengers was extremely positive and encouraging.

Railways utilised 59% of its capex in first 6 months of 2023-24: Vaishnaw

The Indian Railways utilised 59 per cent of its total capital expenditure in the first six months of the financial year 2023-24, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. This was made possible as the railways carried out 38 structural and procedural reforms in these six months, which helped improve its overall performance, he told reporters. "Our total budget for 2023-24 is Rs 2.4 lakh crore, out of which we have already spent Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the first half of the current financial year. This is 59 per cent of the total budget," Vaishnaw said. On the structural reforms carried out by the railways, he said the whole system of project execution, its finance and monitoring process have been revamped to bring in transparency and quality control. The Item Rate Contract system has been changed to Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts, which is better and more accountable, he added. "Earlier, detailed project reports (DPRs) were made, which was more