Page 2 - Railway Minister

Holding talks with states, police to prevent train sabotage bids: Vaishnaw

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said the railway administration is on alert for potential train sabotage bids and is holding talks with the administration and police in several states to prevent any untoward incident. The central government treats security threats with the utmost seriousness and strict action will be taken against anyone attempting to sabotage trains, the railway minister told reporters at the Jaipur airport. "This is our commitment," he added. Vaishnaw arrived here on Tuesday to inspect a Kavach-fitted train to check the efficiency of the automatic train protection system at Sawai Madhopur. According to railway officials, the minister will board the Kavach-fitted engine of a train at 4 pm at the Sawai Madhopur railway station and travel for 45 minutes up to the Indargarh station. He is also scheduled to inspect a roof plaza constructed at the Gandhi Nagar railway station in Jaipur. Speaking to reporters, Vaishnaw said, "There is dialogue going on with

Vaishnaw to travel in Kavach fitted train for efficiency trial in Rajasthan

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will travel in a Kavach-fitted train on Tuesday afternoon for a trial to check the efficiency of the automatic train protection system at Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. According to railway officials, Vaishnaw will board the Kavach-fitted engine of a train at 4 pm at the Sawai Madhopur railway station and travel for 45 minutes up to Indargarh Railway station. "In these 45 minutes, the train will run in (a) Kavach-equipped section at different speeds to see if it stops on its own at red signals without applying brake by the loco pilot," the official said, adding that a team of media persons will also accompany the minister for the trial. The Kavach system, also known as an Automatic Train Protection System (ATP), has been developed by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), and it can apply brakes automatically in an emergency when a train driver fails to act in time. The Railway Ministry has been working on this project for the last .

Kavach rail safety system passes trial, set for nationwide rollout by 2030

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called Kavach the 'future of rail safety,' with plans to install it in 10,000 locomotives and along 9,000 km of tracks in the first phase

Indigenous Kavach will be implemented in mission mode in country: Vaishnaw

Modern technology like Kavach that was developed in the country will now be implemented in a mission mode, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said. The minister stated this in his welcome address before the flagging-off of three Vande Bharat trains by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Vaishnaw that India has elected the leadership of PM Modi for the third time that is decisive, visionary and forward-looking and its impact is visible in every aspect of life including in Railways. "It always lacked technology and investment and nothing changed for decades," Vaishnaw said alleging that a technical organisation like the Railways was politicised. "PM Narendra Modi brought extensive changes to it. Investment in Railways was ten times enhanced. He encouraged us to adopt new technologies. And above all he changed our mindset," Vaishnaw said. The minister referred to various initiatives like the electrification of tracks, the introduction of Vande Bharat trains, the trial of Van

Railways, defence should be above politics, says Union Minister Vaishnaw

Facing political heat over railway accidents, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the national transporter should not be a subject of political blame game as it is the lifeline of the nation. Vaishnaw said some disturbing trends have emerged in some incidents and the railways was carrying out a detailed inquiry in each and every incident. He was responding to questions on incidents of derailment of trains due to placing of boulders and rods on the railway tracks. "There are some disturbing trends in some incidents, which should be taken seriously," Vaishnaw said. "Railways and defence are organizations which should be above politics. I don't believe that railways should be a subject of political blame game," the minister said in an interaction with reporters after the cabinet meeting. Vaishnaw said the railways was the lifeline of the country and if anything negative happens, every effort should be made to ensure that trains run in a very efficient manner. Respon

'Railways adds 14.5 km of new tracks daily': Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Ashwini Vaishnaw made the remarks during a Cabinet briefing in New Delhi and highlighted that a decade ago, the average construction pace in Railways was 4 km per day

Railways: Hygiene-related issues up 500% in 2 yrs; complaints per meal down

In light of these complaints, IRCTC has issued 68 showcause notices, and three contracts were cancelled between January 2021 and March 2024

Unified train operation safety norms to be issued in next 10 days: Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that for signal failure, a unified train operation safety norm applicable to all railway zones will be issued in the next 10 days. Talking to media persons here, Vaishnaw said the ministry initiated the process of bringing uniformity in subsidiary rules (SR) of all 17 railway zones after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) flagged contradictions in these norms in its investigation report in the Kanchanjunga train accident that took place on June 17. A goods train had hit the stationary Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express in the rear killing 10 people including the loco pilot of the goods train in West Bengal. The CRS had said that differences in subsidiary rules of various railway zones regarding speed restriction during automatic signal failure led to confusion. "We constituted a committee after discussing the matter with the CRS and initiated the work of reviewing all the subsidiary rules of all 17 zones to bring uniformity

After 'derailment min' jibe, Vaishnaw says focus is on railways, not reels

Ashwini Vaishnaw's strong response came after Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi criticised him for not taking moral responsibility for train accidents and called him the 'derailment minister'

9,784 railway bridges sanctioned for repairs, rebuilding: Vaishnaw in LS

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday that the Indian Railways sanctioned 9,784 railway bridges for repairs, strengthening, rehabilitation or rebuilding. Vaishnaw responded to questions raised by nine MPs on whether the government has identified old railway bridges in Maharashtra which are in dilapidated conditions and the details of the repair work undertaken in the last three years. These members were concerned about the status of collapse of railway bridges in the last three years and the number of persons killed and injured as a result of that. They also wanted to know the steps taken by the government to repair all the old railway bridges across the country. "There is a well established system of inspection of railway bridges on Indian Railways. All the railway bridges are inspected twice a year, one before the onset of monsoon and one detailed inspection after the monsoon," Vaishnaw said. "In addition, certain railway bridges a

Ashwini Vaishnaw allocates Rs 70 cr for Odisha's Rayagada Railway Division

The railway ministry has allocated Rs 70 crore for the Rayagada Railway Division in Odisha under the East Coast Railway Zone, officials said Friday. The establishment of the Rayagada Railway Division is poised to bring significant benefits to the region, enhancing connectivity and fostering economic growth, they said. The allocation to the state was informed to Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, who met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi. "I thank the railway minister for addressing the much-awaited and public-centric Rayagada Railway Division issue. We have had thorough discussions with the minister and I am pleased to announce that most of the formalities for the formation of the Rayagada Division is going to be completed. The work will be started soon once the tenders are in place," Majhi said in a statement. The ECoR zone presently has three divisions at Khurda Road, Sambalpur and Waltair. The new Rayagada division will be created by bifurcating Waltair.

Train travel woes to ease: Railways to add 10k non-AC coaches in two years

In FY25, 4,485 coaches will be produced, including 2,605 general coaches, 1,470 non-AC sleeper coaches, 323 SLR coaches, 32 high-capacity parcel vans, and 55 pantry cars, featuring Amrit Bharat models

Railways to invest Rs 1 trn in Odisha over next 5 years, says Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said new railway projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore will be implemented in Odisha in the next five years. Vaishnaw said this while addressing a felicitation programme organised by Odisha BJP here to felicitate the party's 20 MPs and 78 MLAs elected in recently held Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state. The Congress government and then the BJD government have neglected the development of the railway sector in Odisha. So, with the formation of a double-engine government of BJP in Odisha and Centre, now, the gap created during the past years, will be met by creating a new record in these five years, he said. Though many mega railway projects have been sanctioned, those were delayed due to delay in land acquisition by the previous BJD government, said Vaishnaw, adding, "Now double engine government is formed and the pace of the railway projects will be accelerated." The Union minister said the allocation to Odisha in the railway budget has b

Vaishnaw reviews advanced version of Kavach, directs speedy installation

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reviewed the progress of the advanced version of the Automatic Train Protection System (ATP) Kavach 4.0 at the Rail Bhawan here, officials said on Monday. Kavach 3.2 version is being installed on approved high-density routes, the railway officials said, adding that upgrading and installation of the latest version on new routes will go on simultaneously to cover a wider railway network in a shorter period. They said Vaishnaw reviewed the progress of Kavach 4.0 on June 22. "The three manufacturers of Kavach who are in the advanced stage of testing version 4.0 presented its progress report to the minister," a senior railway official said. After reviewing it, the minister directed that Kavach installation be taken up in a planned manner in mission mode as soon as it is ready, he added. The railway ministry maintains that the development of Kavach is a significant milestone in railway safety. In the past, Vaishnaw stated on several occasions durin

Railway min urged to introduce train services on Agartala-Kolkata route

Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting him to introduce train services from Agartala to Kolkata via Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. He also urged the central minister to commence train services from Agartala to Chittagong in the neighbouring country through the railway tracks between the capital of Tripura and Akhaura in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina had virtually inaugurated the Agartala-Akhaura railway link in November last year. However, train services on this route have not been introduced till now, Chowdhury said. "Under your stewardship, we have witnessed significant strides in enhancing the efficiency, safety and reach of our railway network. I request you to introduce the passenger and goods train service from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka and Agartala to Chittagong through the newly inaugurated railway track between Agartala and Akhaura (Bangladesh)," ...

Unaffected coaches of Kanchanjunga Express reach Sealdah with survivors

The unaffected coaches of the Kanchanjunga Express, which was hit by a goods train near New Jalpaiguri, leaving 10 dead and several injured, arrived at Sealdah station here on Tuesday morning with nearly 850 passengers, according to an Eastern Railway official. At least four rear coaches of the train were severely damaged in the collision at Rangapani, about 10 km from New Jalpaiguri station, on Monday morning. "Around 800 to 850 passengers arrived at Sealdah at 3.16 am," ER spokesperson Kausik Mitra said. The unaffected coaches began their onward journey from the accident site on Monday afternoon. The passengers were provided with medical facilities, food, and water at various stations, including Malda Town and Sealdah, he added. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, West Bengal Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty, and Divisional Railway Manager of Sealdah Division Deepak Nigam were present at Sealdah station to help passengers reach home safely, Mitra said. Train 13174 Kanchanjunga .

Kanchenjunga train mishap: Railways to hold inquiry in Bengal on June 19

A passenger who was present on the train when it met with an accident expressed concern and fear as she recalled the tragic incident

Kanchanjunga express accident: 9 killed, 41 injured, says railway ministry

Seven passengers and two railway staffers were killed and 41 more injured in the Kanchanjunga Express accident in West Bengal's Darjeeling district on Monday, according to figures released by the railway ministry. In a statement, the ministry said nine people suffered grievous injuries and 32 simple or minor injuries. The "Up line" has been cleared and train operations have started, it said and added that "the 'Down line' will also be cleared shortly". The Kanchanjunga express, going to Sealdah in West Bengal from Agartala in Tripura, was on the "Down line" and a goods train rammed into it from behind near the New Jalpaiguri station, around 600 km from Kolkata. According to initial ground reports based on the statements of the local police, 15 people were said to have lost their lives in the accident. However, the ministry clarified that the number of deaths is nine, so far. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the accident site in the afternoon, the ministry said.

Kanchanjungha Express accident: Signal was defective since 5.50 am

The automatic signalling system between Ranipatra Railway Station and Chattar Hat Junction in West Bengal, where a goods train hit Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express in the rear, was defective since 5.50 in the morning, according to a railway source. "Train No 13174 (Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express) departed Rangapani station at 8:27 am and stopped between Ranipatra railway station and Chattar Hat due to automatic signalling failure from 5:50 am," the source told PTI. According to another railway official, when the automatic signalling system fails, the station master issues a written authority called TA 912, which authorises the driver to cross all red signals in the section because of the defect. "The station master of Ranipatra had issued TA 912 to Train No 1374 (Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express)," the source said. He added, "Around the same time, a goods train, GFCJ, departed Rangapani at 8:42 am and hit 13174 in the rear portion resulting from the derailment of the guard's coach, two ..

'Utter mismanagement' of railway ministry: Kharge on WB train accident

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday slammed the Modi government for "utter mismanagement" of the Railway Ministry as he condoled the loss of lives in the West Bengal train accident. "Extremely distressed by the Kanchanjunga Express train collision accident in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, where many people have lost their lives and several have been injured," he said. "The scenes of the accident are painful. Our heart goes out to the families of the victims. In this hour of grief, we express our solidarity and condolences to each one of them. We wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Immediate and full compensation must be provided to the victims," he demanded. Kharge alleged that in the past 10 years, the Modi government has indulged in "utter mismanagement" of the Railway Ministry. "As a responsible Opposition, it is our bounden duty to underline how the Modi Government has systematically converted the Rail Ministry into a platform of 'Camera-driven' self-promotion," the .