Page 26 - Indian Railways

Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express breaches speed limit of 160 kmph

The maximum speed of the Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express reached 161 kilometres per hour during its launch run on Saturday, breaching its expected speed limit of 160 kmph, officials said. The train that cuts the travel time between Bhopal and New Delhi by an hour, touched the speed of 161 kmph between Raja ki Mandi in Agra and Mathura, they added. A small stretch of the track between the Agra Cantonment and Nizamuddin railway stations has been designed in a manner to fit the speed limit. Earlier, the Ministry of Railways had said in an order that the Rani Kamalapati-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express train can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph over the Agra Cantonment-Tuglakabad section. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the 11th Vande Bharat Express train on Saturday. The semi-high speed train was flagged off from the Rani Kamalapati railway station in Bhopal in the afternoon in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Pate

Southern Railway reports highest-ever revenue at Rs 6,345 cr in FY23

Southern Railway on Sunday said it had recorded about 80 per cent jump in its revenue, which stood at Rs 6,345 crore in the passenger segment during the financial year 2022-23, its highest ever. During the corresponding period in the last financial year, it had earned revenues of Rs 3,539.77 crore. The highest revenue registered by Southern Railway before this was in the financial year 2019-20 at Rs 5,225 crore. About 640 million passengers travelled by Southern Railway in 2022-2023, which is a massive increase of 88.5 per cent over the 339.6 million passengers of 2021-22, an official release said. In the freight segment, Southern Railway said it had achieved many firsts, including the highest ever loading of cargo at 4.05 metric tonne, highest ever loading of petroleum at 5.2 metric tonne, and food grain loading at 3.23 metric tonne, among others. The railway zone generated its highest ever revenue from freight during the last financial year at Rs 3,637.86 crore as compared to Rs

Pharmacies to be set up at 270 stations in Eastern Railway zone: Official

Healthcare facilities such as pharmacies and collection centres for pathology laboratories will be established at 270 stations in the Eastern Railway zone by the end of this year, a senior official said here on Thursday. Eastern Railway General Manager Arun Arora said 14 railway stations will also have doctors. "In a bid to spread healthcare facilities to the remotest corner of its network, the Eastern Railway has awarded the contract for setting up healthcare-focused multi-utility stores at 270 stations for a period of five years," Arora told reporters. He said the stores, to be set up in PPP (public private partnership) model, will fetch Rs 16.92 crore over five years as license fee to the railways. These stores will provide services to railway users, railway employees and locals, he said.

Over 979,000 vacant posts in govt, maximum of 293,000 in railways: Centre

Over 9.79 lakh vacancies exist in different central government departments, including a highest of 2.93 lakh in railways, as on March 1, 2021, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. He said the occurrence and filling up of vacancies is a continuous process, as per the requirement of various ministries, departments and organisations of the Central government. "Government has already issued instructions to all ministries/departments for timely filling up of the unfilled posts. Rozgar melas being organised by government of India are expected to act as catalyst in further employment generation," he said in a written reply. Besides railways, there were 2.64 lakh vacant posts in defence (civil), 1.43 lakh in home, 90,050 in posts, 80,243 in revenue, 25,934 in Indian audit and accounts department, and 9,460 in atomic energy department among others, Singh said, citing the annual report of the department of expenditure.

Railway line to Kohima to be completed by 2026: Northeast Frontier Rail

NF Railways CPRO Sabysachi De on Tuesday asserted that the construction work has been going on in full swing and they are fully confident to complete the project within the deadline

CAG raises concerns over 330,000 wagons being operated without NCO approval

More than 3.30 lakh repaired wagons were operated without NCO approval and this has compromised safety, according to a new report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Neutral Control Office in workshops/yards are meant for independent examination of repaired wagons or those that go undergo periodic overhauls before their actual handing over to open line for operations. An NCO approval is vital as wagons repaired in workshops are subjected for a check by the Neutral Train Examiner (NTXR). Only those certified fit can be inducted into service. Those found defective by NTXR are detained for further attention. "More than 3.30 lakh wagons constituting 41 per cent of total were passed locally (without NCO approval) after being repaired at workshops/terminal yards, compromising safety," the CAG report said. It also said that an analysis of the FOIS (Freight Operations Information System) data for 2016-17 to 2020-21 revealed that the halt time was close to half of the total tra

Meet Rosaline Mary, the first woman ticket checker to collect Rs 1 cr fine

Ever since the post was shared, it has garnered over 44.5k views with 836 likes and 395 retweets. Many users appreciated Mary for her efforts and her commitment to her work

Railways restores fare of AC 3-tier economy class travel in trains

Railways on Wednesday issued an order to restore the fare for AC 3-tier economy class travel which had been withdrawn in November last year when it was merged with AC 3-tier. Despite the restoration in price, Railways will continue offering linen to passengers, the order indicated. The present order has withdrawn an earlier circular in which the fare for AC 3-tier economy class ticket had been made equal to the fare of an AC 3-tier ticket. The reason for the merger was stated to be the cost of linen which was initially not provided in the economy air conditioned class. According to the order, passengers who have booked tickets online and over the counter will be given a refund of the extra amount for the pre-booked tickets. The railways, while introducing the 3E as a class in September 2021, had announced that fares in these newly-introduced coaches will be 6-8 per cent less than normal AC 3 coaches, pitching the class of travel as the "best and cheapest AC travel service" in the .

Railway meting out injustice to managers in terms of pay: Employees' union

The Railway Board is treating train drivers and managers in the "most inhuman manner" and meting out injustice to them in terms of their pay and duty hours, its largest employees' union alleged as it staged protests across the country on Monday. All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) general secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra demanded that the authorities address the long-pending demands and grievances of the "running staff" without any further delay as there is a serious sense of disappointment and resentment brewing among them. According to the AIRF, all loco pilots -- shunting, goods trains, passenger trains, and express/mail -- are placed in a common pay-level under the seventh Central Pay Commission. The shunting loco pilot pilots a loco from platform to shed and back. "Similarly, traffic running staff, or trains managers, are also allotted same pay scale from Trains Manager (Passenger) to Trains Managers (Mail/Express). The pay scales of the loco and traffic running staff have not

World-class rail stations to be set up in Rajasthan, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said world-class stations will be set up in Rajasthan which has seen a multifold increase in grants for the rail sector. Addressing a 'Brahmin Mahapanchayat' called by Vipra Sena, he said, "The grant given to Rajasthan 10 years ago was Rs 600 crore, but this time the state has got a grant of Rs 9,532 crore." Vaishnaw said world-class railway stations will be built in Abu Road, Ajmer, Alwar, Asalpur, Jobner, Balotra, Bandikui, Chittorgarh and Dausa, among other places. "We have to give a new future to Rajasthan," he said. In the programme, the Vipra Sena raised multiple demands such as increasing the 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to 14 per cent, making misbehaviour and assault on priests a non-bailable offence and removing encroachments from temple lands. The BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari said a board for the Hindu religion should be made on the lines of the Waqf board. Former BJP state presi

Top headlines: Rajesh Gopinathan quits as TCS CEO, Rlys plans concessions

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Rlys plans concessions for truckers on dedicated freight corridors

Move aimed at capturing modal freight share from national highways

Ramkrishna Forgings-Titagarh JV lowest bidder for forged wheels tender

Consortium needs to supply 80K of forged wheels annually over 20-year timeline

New payment mechanism of railways: 30 days max, else govt will pay interest

The step is expected to eliminate the "biggest risk" faced by contractors, meaning that railways will ensure that payments are made within the stipulated time, said the railway minister at an event

Another pee-gate incident, this time on train by TTE in Akal Takht Express

Yet another pee-gate scandal took place -- this time aboard the Akal Takht Express between Amritsar and Kolkata

Several trains rescheduled, cancelled for maintenance: Indian Railways

IRCTC website guarantees automatic refunds to passengers for cancelled tickets

Western Railway chugs into 100-million tonnes freight club in FY23

First ever non-coal zone to achieve the feat

Railway Min, Tata Steel ink deal for seating, panelling in Vande Bharat

The Ministry of Railways has signed an agreement with Tata Steel for providing seating system, panelling for 22 Vande Bharat trains as one of its vendors

Railways increases coal transportation for power sector ahead of summer

Expecting a surge in demand for coal by power plants during the summer, the railways increased its coal transportation by 11.92 per cent in terms of tonnage by the end of February, the national transporter said in a statement on Thursday. It also said keeping in view the rising demand in the next few years, comprehensive planning of an energy corridor has been done with planned investment of Rs 1 lakh crore for over around 100 projects. Loading of rakes for the power sector from various sources in the current fiscal -- from April till February -- is 408 rakes a day against 344 rakes a day in last year, an increase of 64 rakes a day, the railways said. In February, 426.3 rakes a day have been loaded for power houses against 399 rakes a day in February last year, an increase of 27.3 rakes, it said. In order to meet the projected demand for rakes by the power sector in the coming fiscal, the railways has taken various steps, including higher induction of coal carrying wagons. From ap

Indian Railways to run 491 trips of 196 special trains during Holi

The Railways will run 491 trips of 196 special trains during Holi for the convenience of passengers and to ease the festive rush, the national transporter said on Monday. These special trains will connect major destinations across the country, they said. "In this ongoing festive season of Holi, for the convenience of rail travellers and to clear extra rush of passengers, Indian Railways is running 491 trips of 196 special trains. "Special trains have been planned to connect major destinations across the country like Delhi- Patna, Delhi- Bhagalpur, Delhi-Muzaffarpur, Delhi-Saharsa, Gorakhpur- Mumbai, Kolkata-Puri, Guwahati- Ranchi , New Delhi- Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jaipur- Bandra Terminus, Pune- Danapur etc.," the Railways ministry said in a statement. The Railways has also put into effect crowd controlling measures by forming queue at the terminus stations under the supervision of RPF staff for orderly entry of passengers in unreserved coaches is being ensured, it ...