Indian Railways Thread
Rlys to invest Rs 20K cr for gauge conversion
Indian Railways is likely to invest about Rs 20,000 crore for conversion of 5,500 km of rail track into broad gauge in the coming years.
"We have decided to convert 5,500 km of rail track into broad gauge," Union Railway Minister Laloo Prasad said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for conversion of the Katwa-Burdwan line into broad gauge.
The standard cost of conversion of one kilometre of railway track into broad gauge is estimated to be rupees three crore, a railway official said.
Prasad, however, did not give any timeframe for completion of the gauge conversion plan.
There are about 13,000 km of rail track nationwide, which were yet to be converted into broad gauge. Out of this, 9,000 km was meter gauge and 4,000 km narrow gauge, Laloo said.
The Railway Minister said the conversion of the 51-km Katwa-Burdwan line into broad gauge would be completed by 2012.
The Rs 202-crore project would be shared equally by Railways and the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited.
Indian Railways is likely to invest about Rs 20,000 crore for conversion of 5,500 km of rail track into broad gauge in the coming years.
"We have decided to convert 5,500 km of rail track into broad gauge," Union Railway Minister Laloo Prasad said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for conversion of the Katwa-Burdwan line into broad gauge.
The standard cost of conversion of one kilometre of railway track into broad gauge is estimated to be rupees three crore, a railway official said.
Prasad, however, did not give any timeframe for completion of the gauge conversion plan.
There are about 13,000 km of rail track nationwide, which were yet to be converted into broad gauge. Out of this, 9,000 km was meter gauge and 4,000 km narrow gauge, Laloo said.
The Railway Minister said the conversion of the 51-km Katwa-Burdwan line into broad gauge would be completed by 2012.
The Rs 202-crore project would be shared equally by Railways and the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited.
Faster trains on track soon
The Indian Railways has prepared an ambitious plan to increase the speed of all types of trains including passenger and goods trains, over the next five years. “At present the maximum speed of the train running between Delhi and Agra is 130 kmph.â€
The Indian Railways has prepared an ambitious plan to increase the speed of all types of trains including passenger and goods trains, over the next five years. “At present the maximum speed of the train running between Delhi and Agra is 130 kmph.â€
Railways make a killing on the Net with ticket sales (FE)
[quote]Figures available with FE show the railways sold over Rs 700 crore worth of e-tickets in 2006-07. This constitutes about 30% of the Rs 2,300-crore estimated online transactions by Internet and Mobile Association of India.
Projections for this financial year are a whopping Rs 1,500 crore. In June, for instance, the e-ticketing services of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation sold tickets worth over Rs 129 crore. On an average, it sells about 40,000 tickets daily through the Internet. On July 3, its online sales touched an all-time high of 44,000 purchases. “We have sold tickets worth Rs 319 crore already, and estimate that by the close of the financial year, our ticketing business would have crossed Rs 1,500 crore,â€
[quote]Figures available with FE show the railways sold over Rs 700 crore worth of e-tickets in 2006-07. This constitutes about 30% of the Rs 2,300-crore estimated online transactions by Internet and Mobile Association of India.
Projections for this financial year are a whopping Rs 1,500 crore. In June, for instance, the e-ticketing services of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation sold tickets worth over Rs 129 crore. On an average, it sells about 40,000 tickets daily through the Internet. On July 3, its online sales touched an all-time high of 44,000 purchases. “We have sold tickets worth Rs 319 crore already, and estimate that by the close of the financial year, our ticketing business would have crossed Rs 1,500 crore,â€
Graduates and Post graduates as porters and sweepers in Lalu-land railways
http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/09wr.htm
http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/09wr.htm
ummm... my cousin is a post graduate and he got a job as line man (D Category). He has to lay new track but he is too sophisticated to do that work, so he hired a day labourer to do that job. There are many people who are graduates and post graduates and willing to pay a huge bribe (last I heard it was 100,000 Rs) to get the kalasi jobs in railways. This is just a way to get in and then use internal promotion route to get good jobs. So D cat are not all that bad.
I understand that these people deserve better jobs as they are educated, but then these jobs are offered as compensation. Kin of one person cannot be made a Station Master and another asked to do a porter job. Compensation should be equal and that usually means the lowest job. There is always that route of internal promotions.
Another story: My uncle lives in a small railway village in Bihar and everyone in that village works for railways. His neighbor is a PG in MA, with honors and he got a Kalasi job after paying a bribe. Now kalasi's are required to clean sewage drains and unfortunately for this chap, he was posted to clean drains right in his neighbor hood. Poor chap took an unpaid leave till he could get a different area.
I understand that these people deserve better jobs as they are educated, but then these jobs are offered as compensation. Kin of one person cannot be made a Station Master and another asked to do a porter job. Compensation should be equal and that usually means the lowest job. There is always that route of internal promotions.
Another story: My uncle lives in a small railway village in Bihar and everyone in that village works for railways. His neighbor is a PG in MA, with honors and he got a Kalasi job after paying a bribe. Now kalasi's are required to clean sewage drains and unfortunately for this chap, he was posted to clean drains right in his neighbor hood. Poor chap took an unpaid leave till he could get a different area.
Ad revenue augmenting regular revenue. Now, if only, they can come up with aesthetically pleasing railroad cars and engines and spruce up the dilapidated railway stations.
After branded trains, its branded tickets
After rolling branded trains on tracks, the Indian Railways is set to issue ‘branded tickets’. The ‘adver-ticket’ may come into circulation from the last week of July or first week of August. An officer said the tickets may not remain mere tickets in future. It would offer some gifts or concessions on some Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products.
But there are restrictions on placing advertisements. “Not all can advertise in our tickets. They won’t carry ads on cigarettes, tobacco and liquor. Also obscene ads are not permitted.â€
After branded trains, its branded tickets
After rolling branded trains on tracks, the Indian Railways is set to issue ‘branded tickets’. The ‘adver-ticket’ may come into circulation from the last week of July or first week of August. An officer said the tickets may not remain mere tickets in future. It would offer some gifts or concessions on some Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products.
But there are restrictions on placing advertisements. “Not all can advertise in our tickets. They won’t carry ads on cigarettes, tobacco and liquor. Also obscene ads are not permitted.â€
. can't change railways, try changing the world to be with them. Scientists develop corrosion free rails
Railways' perennial problem of corrosion of rails could soon be a thing of the past as scientists have developed rust-free rails, which are being tested in the coastal areas.
The corrosion resistant steel alloy rails have been developed by scientists of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kanpur in association with the Steel Authority of India.
The rails use a mixture of nickel, chromium, cadmium and other metals that make them corrosion resistant.
Several metal compositions of rails were developed by the scientists. It is only after undergoing various tests at laboratory the present composition was selected, said Prof R Balasubramaniam, a scientist with the Metallurgical Department at IIT, Kanpur.
"It is an economically viable corrosion preventive method. The idea is also to increase life of the tracks," he told PTI.
Corrosion of rails, especially in the coastal regions, is a major problem that Railways have been facing for quite some time as rust reduces the life of a rail by almost one-fourth, Balasubramaniam said.
The Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh has started manufacturing the new corrosion free rails that are being laid over a stretch near Vishakhapattnam for primary testing.
The corrosion resistant rails are expected to save Railways an annual expenditure of Rs 400 crore spent on replacement of rusted rails.
The Bhilai Steel Plant has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur in March this year for developing corrosion-resistant railway tracks.
Railways' perennial problem of corrosion of rails could soon be a thing of the past as scientists have developed rust-free rails, which are being tested in the coastal areas.
The corrosion resistant steel alloy rails have been developed by scientists of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kanpur in association with the Steel Authority of India.
The rails use a mixture of nickel, chromium, cadmium and other metals that make them corrosion resistant.
Several metal compositions of rails were developed by the scientists. It is only after undergoing various tests at laboratory the present composition was selected, said Prof R Balasubramaniam, a scientist with the Metallurgical Department at IIT, Kanpur.
"It is an economically viable corrosion preventive method. The idea is also to increase life of the tracks," he told PTI.
Corrosion of rails, especially in the coastal regions, is a major problem that Railways have been facing for quite some time as rust reduces the life of a rail by almost one-fourth, Balasubramaniam said.
The Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh has started manufacturing the new corrosion free rails that are being laid over a stretch near Vishakhapattnam for primary testing.
The corrosion resistant rails are expected to save Railways an annual expenditure of Rs 400 crore spent on replacement of rusted rails.
The Bhilai Steel Plant has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur in March this year for developing corrosion-resistant railway tracks.
Rlys launch hassle-free enquiry service
the Indian Railways on Tuesday began an endeavour to provide modern and improved facilities to the passengers by launching a new landline enquiry facility, — No. 139. The service can be used by passengers to know the reservation status, the arrival and departure time, the accommodation at Yatri Nivas hotels, etc. There will also be human interaction as call centre executives respond to your queries.
The facility, which will be available only from the MTNL/BSNL landlines at present, would be extended to cover mobile phones too. Costing Rs 1.20 for three minutes, it would be made toll-free after sometime. The new system, based on the public-private partnership model, will be available for the entire country by September. Calls will be handled in four centres (north, south, east and west) under the Integrated Train Enquiry System (ITES). Each centre will comprise of a zonal hub and a call centre.
Besides English and Hindi, multi-lingual service would be available shortly in Marathi/Gujarati for western region, in Bengali/ Oriya/ Assamese for the east and in Tamil/ Telugu/ Malayalam/Kannada for south India.
the Indian Railways on Tuesday began an endeavour to provide modern and improved facilities to the passengers by launching a new landline enquiry facility, — No. 139. The service can be used by passengers to know the reservation status, the arrival and departure time, the accommodation at Yatri Nivas hotels, etc. There will also be human interaction as call centre executives respond to your queries.
The facility, which will be available only from the MTNL/BSNL landlines at present, would be extended to cover mobile phones too. Costing Rs 1.20 for three minutes, it would be made toll-free after sometime. The new system, based on the public-private partnership model, will be available for the entire country by September. Calls will be handled in four centres (north, south, east and west) under the Integrated Train Enquiry System (ITES). Each centre will comprise of a zonal hub and a call centre.
Besides English and Hindi, multi-lingual service would be available shortly in Marathi/Gujarati for western region, in Bengali/ Oriya/ Assamese for the east and in Tamil/ Telugu/ Malayalam/Kannada for south India.
Read in Deccan Chronicle (no link) that AP and TN wants are serious about high speed trains. TN proposes to link Chennai with Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Bangalore. AP proposes to link HYD with Vishakapatham, Vijayawada, all the way to Chennai.
AP's plan include 100% elevataed tracks onlee costing a cool Rs. 70 cr. / km! Looks like it will be the mother of all kickbacks project.
AP's plan include 100% elevataed tracks onlee costing a cool Rs. 70 cr. / km! Looks like it will be the mother of all kickbacks project.
See the Pipavav Rail design double stack containers in electrified routes picture in the article. Nice. Should make operational soon the Indian golden quad rail transport system of double stack containers 24x7.
Railways completes pilot project to transport cars
The Indian Railways has successfully completed the pilot project to move cars in specially designed double stack containers in electrified train routes under electric wire. With this move, the automobile transportation market in India, estimated to be over Rs 1,000 crore per annum can be tapped by the Railways.
The train carrying eight Maruti Suzuki Alto vehicles in two modified containers (one container over the other on a flat wagon) started from the container terminal of Concor at Tughlakabad (Delhi) to Mathura in electrified routes. From Mathura, it came back to Gurgaon via Alwar on the diesel route.
With such a double-stack container train, it will be possible to transport 360 cars per train compared with 120 cars being transported by specially designed coaches, at present by the Indian Railways. “This train would not only provide the car industry an efficient and reliable system for bulk movement but would also reduce the unit costs significantly,â€
Railways completes pilot project to transport cars
The Indian Railways has successfully completed the pilot project to move cars in specially designed double stack containers in electrified train routes under electric wire. With this move, the automobile transportation market in India, estimated to be over Rs 1,000 crore per annum can be tapped by the Railways.
The train carrying eight Maruti Suzuki Alto vehicles in two modified containers (one container over the other on a flat wagon) started from the container terminal of Concor at Tughlakabad (Delhi) to Mathura in electrified routes. From Mathura, it came back to Gurgaon via Alwar on the diesel route.
With such a double-stack container train, it will be possible to transport 360 cars per train compared with 120 cars being transported by specially designed coaches, at present by the Indian Railways. “This train would not only provide the car industry an efficient and reliable system for bulk movement but would also reduce the unit costs significantly,â€
Railways service charges for e-ticketing reduced
The minimum charge collected by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for the sleeper class has been reduced from Rs. 15 to 10 a ticket. Service charges for issuing e-ticket for the Rail Travellers Service Agents (RTSAs), the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Indian Association of Tour Agents (IATA) members, petrol pumps, ATMs, Electronic Point of Sale (e-pos) and e-seva counters would also be reduced from Rs. 15 to 10 for sleeper/2S classes and from Rs. 25 to 20 for AC.
The IRCTC, authorised to expand e-ticketing facility to outside agencies, has appointed more than 8,000 booking agents including the RTSAs, the RTAs, members of the IATA and the TAAI, petrol pumps of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, district magistrates and Deputy Commissioners of the State Governments, e-seva centres of the Andhra Pradesh Government and e-pos through the ICICI.
The minimum charge collected by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for the sleeper class has been reduced from Rs. 15 to 10 a ticket. Service charges for issuing e-ticket for the Rail Travellers Service Agents (RTSAs), the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Indian Association of Tour Agents (IATA) members, petrol pumps, ATMs, Electronic Point of Sale (e-pos) and e-seva counters would also be reduced from Rs. 15 to 10 for sleeper/2S classes and from Rs. 25 to 20 for AC.
The IRCTC, authorised to expand e-ticketing facility to outside agencies, has appointed more than 8,000 booking agents including the RTSAs, the RTAs, members of the IATA and the TAAI, petrol pumps of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, district magistrates and Deputy Commissioners of the State Governments, e-seva centres of the Andhra Pradesh Government and e-pos through the ICICI.
Rlys invites bids for new diesel loco plant.
New Delhi, Aug 7 The Railways has invited qualifying bids from global loco manufacturing majors for setting up a diesel locomotives factory at Marhowra in Saran district of Bihar. The manufacturing capacity of the factory would be around 100 locomotives per annum. Though the exact power of locos would be decided at the request for proposal stage, the Ministry would procure locomotives with a minimum of 4500 HP at 22.5 tonne axle load and 6000 HP at 25 tonne axle load from the project.
The Ministry, which would have 26 per cent equity in the proposed joint venture, plans to provide a guaranteed yearly offtake of around 100 diesel locos for some 7-10 years initially. The bidder should have manufactured and supplied at least 1000 diesel electric locos to at least three countries. At least 200 or more of such locos should have had over 4000 HP and at least 25 locomotives should have 6000 HP.
New Delhi, Aug 7 The Railways has invited qualifying bids from global loco manufacturing majors for setting up a diesel locomotives factory at Marhowra in Saran district of Bihar. The manufacturing capacity of the factory would be around 100 locomotives per annum. Though the exact power of locos would be decided at the request for proposal stage, the Ministry would procure locomotives with a minimum of 4500 HP at 22.5 tonne axle load and 6000 HP at 25 tonne axle load from the project.
The Ministry, which would have 26 per cent equity in the proposed joint venture, plans to provide a guaranteed yearly offtake of around 100 diesel locos for some 7-10 years initially. The bidder should have manufactured and supplied at least 1000 diesel electric locos to at least three countries. At least 200 or more of such locos should have had over 4000 HP and at least 25 locomotives should have 6000 HP.
Video of the new modern rake (by ICF standards) for tarvelling in Bombay Suburbs.
There is better ventilation for mumbai commuters in addition to the free full body massage.
There is better ventilation for mumbai commuters in addition to the free full body massage.
Bombardier setting up metro coach factory in Vadodara
In a multinationals’ first foreign direct investment in the metro coach manufacturing sector, Canadian firm Bombardier Transportation plans to set up the country’s first metro coach factory in Vadodara by May-June 2008. The company would invest upwards of €25 million for the facility. It has an engineering facility in Hyderabad and a converter (for locomotives of Indian Railways) manufacturing facility in Vadodara. The factory would have a capacity to roll out 40 coaches per month at peak performance and 24 coaches per month usually. he facility would have access to Bombardier Transportations’ latest technology in the sector.
Bombardier will manufacture coach shells and bogies in the new factory and expand its existing factory (which manufactures converters for Indian Railways’ locomotives) to make propulsion equipment for metro coaches.
Construction work for the factory would start by September-end this year and the factory is expected to be ready by May-June 2008. “By end-2008 or early-2009, we expect to roll out the first metro coaches,â€
In a multinationals’ first foreign direct investment in the metro coach manufacturing sector, Canadian firm Bombardier Transportation plans to set up the country’s first metro coach factory in Vadodara by May-June 2008. The company would invest upwards of €25 million for the facility. It has an engineering facility in Hyderabad and a converter (for locomotives of Indian Railways) manufacturing facility in Vadodara. The factory would have a capacity to roll out 40 coaches per month at peak performance and 24 coaches per month usually. he facility would have access to Bombardier Transportations’ latest technology in the sector.
Bombardier will manufacture coach shells and bogies in the new factory and expand its existing factory (which manufactures converters for Indian Railways’ locomotives) to make propulsion equipment for metro coaches.
Construction work for the factory would start by September-end this year and the factory is expected to be ready by May-June 2008. “By end-2008 or early-2009, we expect to roll out the first metro coaches,â€
Railways plans low-emission trains to earn carbon credits
Seeking to benefit from monetary spin-offs of efforts to check climate change, Railways is gearing up to earn carbon credits by running new generation trains on clean fuel.
"The new trains would be fuel-efficient, recyclable and low-emission," Ramesh Chandra, Chairman Railway Board told a news agency. "This would enable us to reduce the pollution level to a great extent besides earning carbon credits," he added.
According to the Kyoto protocol, one carbon credit can be earned by reducing a ton carbon dioxide. "One carbon credit is worth $10 as per the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) guidelines," said Chandra.
Indian Railway will be signing soon a Letter of Intent with the World Bank for getting carbon credits. "This is the first such project in transport sector where railways will earn carbon credit worth millions," said Chandra.
Railways is also trying to negotiate with a few global train manufacturers to acquire a few next generation environment friendly trains.
Railways to quit using BSNL and move to its own network for Passenger Reservation connectivity
Railtel Corporation of India Ltd (RCIL), a public sector unit under the Ministry of Railways, proposes to switch over from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) network to the Railways’ Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) network for its Passenger Reservation System (PRS) in a phased manner.
This is because Railways has created their own OFC network spanning 31,000 km connecting 2,896 towns/cities across the country. Therefore, it will not only economical to run the PRS on Railways’ OFC network resulting in considerable saving on rental, but it will also enhance the reliability.
However, BSNL’s network will also be utilised wherever there is unavailability of Railways’ own network or as a standby network for important PRS locations.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways, Mr R. Velu, in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha .
Not quite Indian Railways but a trip from say Chennai to Bengaluru should be achievable within 2hrs (220 miles or 350Km).. Start at 7am, in office by 9am, leave at 5:30pm home by 7:30pm, that would be ideal for distributed locations working elsewhere.
Faster Eurostar train sets record on London-Paris route
Eurostar set a new record on Tuesday for train travel between Paris and London when an inaugural service completed the journey in just over two hours.
The 18-coach train left the Gare du Nord, France, at 10:44 a.m. French time and arrived at the newly refurbished St. Pancras train station in central London two hours, three minutes and 39 seconds later. The train traveled at speeds of more than 200 mph (320 kph) in France and reached the maximum of 186mph (298 kph) on the British section.
Faster Eurostar train sets record on London-Paris route
Eurostar set a new record on Tuesday for train travel between Paris and London when an inaugural service completed the journey in just over two hours.
The 18-coach train left the Gare du Nord, France, at 10:44 a.m. French time and arrived at the newly refurbished St. Pancras train station in central London two hours, three minutes and 39 seconds later. The train traveled at speeds of more than 200 mph (320 kph) in France and reached the maximum of 186mph (298 kph) on the British section.
Good point SSridhar. However, Metro connections or the Karporate Helo can save some precious time. Travel time issues are major pain points. Big time thinking is required to coordinate mass transport systems efficiently. Worker productivity is major upcoming topic that India has to solve. Recently in Massa Land a bridge was closed over the weekend and the contractor was given tight deadlines to finish on time. He beat the deadline by 11hrs. The cost of delay was huge, 100,000 vehicles losing xx hrs not acceptable.
considering the glacial progress on the token 10km elevated railway from MG road to bypanahalli - pray why why why didnt they create 1st phase to whitefield - I am doubtful of any soln to BLR traffic woes. btw I just crawled in half dead from a 2 hr morning commute of which 30 mins was spent in a railway level crossing which got jammed because autos and bikes wouldnt stay in their lane. when train passed, both sides were totally blocked.
one side even had a 18 wheel rig trying its luck on the village level road.
bypanahalli terminus is useless for most people. it should have straight on
to ITPL, and from ITPL down whitefield road to vartur lake, the back
to marathalli and up to KR puram in 1st phase itself.
these jokers always find the solution for problems 10 yrs after the fact.
ORR should have a metro rail today and so too IRR upto old madras road.
one side even had a 18 wheel rig trying its luck on the village level road.
bypanahalli terminus is useless for most people. it should have straight on
to ITPL, and from ITPL down whitefield road to vartur lake, the back
to marathalli and up to KR puram in 1st phase itself.
these jokers always find the solution for problems 10 yrs after the fact.
ORR should have a metro rail today and so too IRR upto old madras road.
Railways to change Wagon design.
Seeking to wean away more freight from road transport, Railways is changing the design of its wagons to increase their number in a rake carrying trucks.
Currently, one rake carries 40 wagons while the proposed new design would accommodate 57 wagons on a trip.
The service of carrying trucks on rail, known as "Roll on and Roll off", is operational between Mumbai and Goa on the Konkan Railway system on an experimental basis. There is a plan to make this system operational in other parts of the country as well once the new design is approved.
"We have submitted the new design to the Resource Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) for its approval. Once approved, the new look rake would carry 57 trucks on a trip," Anurag Mishra, Managing Director of Konkan Railway, told reporters.
The 430-km distance between Mumbai and Goa is covered in 10 hours on rail while it takes longer for truckers to commute the distance.
"Basically, it is a cost-effective synergy link between railways and road. Besides reducing the transit time, it reduces the risk of accident on roads," said Mishra.
"There are other advantages of this system. While it reduces pollution, it also offers benefits of secure transit with adequate relief from harassment caused by inspecting authorities on roads," said Mishra.
The roll on and roll off services are common in Europe. "However here it is picking up in India gradually, said V C Sinha, Chief Commercial Manager, Konkan Railway. "We have now extended the service between Kolad and Surathkal and Akola and Surathkal."
Konkan Railway earned Rs 21.38 crore from the service. "The earnings will go up once the rolling stock is modified as pay loads would be increased from 1,000 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes."
This is a fuel-efficient system since the service saves the precious diesel. For the transporter, the service is a practical alternative in terrorist-prone areas where chances of truck getting waylaid on highways is much higher, rail officials said.
Seeking to wean away more freight from road transport, Railways is changing the design of its wagons to increase their number in a rake carrying trucks.
Currently, one rake carries 40 wagons while the proposed new design would accommodate 57 wagons on a trip.
The service of carrying trucks on rail, known as "Roll on and Roll off", is operational between Mumbai and Goa on the Konkan Railway system on an experimental basis. There is a plan to make this system operational in other parts of the country as well once the new design is approved.
"We have submitted the new design to the Resource Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) for its approval. Once approved, the new look rake would carry 57 trucks on a trip," Anurag Mishra, Managing Director of Konkan Railway, told reporters.
The 430-km distance between Mumbai and Goa is covered in 10 hours on rail while it takes longer for truckers to commute the distance.
"Basically, it is a cost-effective synergy link between railways and road. Besides reducing the transit time, it reduces the risk of accident on roads," said Mishra.
"There are other advantages of this system. While it reduces pollution, it also offers benefits of secure transit with adequate relief from harassment caused by inspecting authorities on roads," said Mishra.
The roll on and roll off services are common in Europe. "However here it is picking up in India gradually, said V C Sinha, Chief Commercial Manager, Konkan Railway. "We have now extended the service between Kolad and Surathkal and Akola and Surathkal."
Konkan Railway earned Rs 21.38 crore from the service. "The earnings will go up once the rolling stock is modified as pay loads would be increased from 1,000 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes."
This is a fuel-efficient system since the service saves the precious diesel. For the transporter, the service is a practical alternative in terrorist-prone areas where chances of truck getting waylaid on highways is much higher, rail officials said.
India train runs over 11 pilgrims
Sorry for the insensitivity, but I'd call that a hard learnt lesson in why not to be selfish, rude and inconsiderate to other people on a train.The incident happened after a passenger train packed with Hindu pilgrims travelling from the city of Gonda to a local festival in Karnailganj town halted after some pilgrims pulled the emergency chain to collect water from the holy Saryu river.
The pilgrims got down from the train and were walking on the tracks when a train bound for the state capital, Lucknow, hurtled down the other track and ran over them.
This bit is hilarious:
One corrupt government organization is touting its benefits to avoid another corrupt government organization."There are other advantages of this system. While it reduces pollution, it also offers benefits of secure transit with adequate relief from harassment caused by inspecting authorities on roads," said Mishra.
Laloo's fraudulent claims on "Record Railway Profits".
Laloo has been claiming that the railways made a profit of Rs 21,578 crore in 2006-07. But the actual figure was Rs 11,000 crore. Here's the secret of Laloo's added profits:
Rs 9,000 crore pension funds shown as cash surplus.
Miscellaneous funds-Rs 2,500 crore-included in earnings.
Rs 1,700 crore due to the Indian Railway Finance Commission as dividend for lease of wagons put in the profit account.
Profits shored up by showing advance earnings for 2007-2008 in last year's balance-sheet.
Monies in the suspense account-funds promised but not yet transferred-reflected in the earnings/profits.
Tonnage carried by freight trains raised despite repeated objections and safety concerns. This brought in Rs 5,000 crore.
Hidden costs to passenger tickets earned the railways Rs 325 crore.
Amazing as it sounded then, Railway Board members now confirm that much of Laloo's success story was more hype than substance. As one official put it, "The turnaround is probably one-third true, one-third well-orchestrated publicity, one-third jugglery of figures."
Laloo has been claiming that the railways made a profit of Rs 21,578 crore in 2006-07. But the actual figure was Rs 11,000 crore. Here's the secret of Laloo's added profits:
Rs 9,000 crore pension funds shown as cash surplus.
Miscellaneous funds-Rs 2,500 crore-included in earnings.
Rs 1,700 crore due to the Indian Railway Finance Commission as dividend for lease of wagons put in the profit account.
Profits shored up by showing advance earnings for 2007-2008 in last year's balance-sheet.
Monies in the suspense account-funds promised but not yet transferred-reflected in the earnings/profits.
Tonnage carried by freight trains raised despite repeated objections and safety concerns. This brought in Rs 5,000 crore.
Hidden costs to passenger tickets earned the railways Rs 325 crore.
Amazing as it sounded then, Railway Board members now confirm that much of Laloo's success story was more hype than substance. As one official put it, "The turnaround is probably one-third true, one-third well-orchestrated publicity, one-third jugglery of figures."
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ratnendrap
- BRFite -Trainee
- Posts: 14
- Joined: 18 Jan 2003 12:31
Anyone with modicum of curiosity and and a little understanding of economics and finance would have understood this all along. The question for likes of outlook and other in media is why they have been misleading people of India with wrong information about state of Indian Railway all these days and created hype of "Railway Turnaround".
Railway to set up logistic parks
NEW DELHI: Bracing to carry more freight and face competition from road and air carriers, Indian Railway will soon set up several integrated logistic parks on unused land across the country.
It will be developed along major stations across the country including one in the eastern sector through public private participation model.
"We have identified some areas in metro cities where such parks would come up along the railway stations. Our equity in the logistic park project would be land," said a senior railway ministry official.
He said the railway would offer the land to private sector for setting up facilities like warehouses, cold storages, banks, repair facilities for trucks, godwons, custom facilities and multi-modal transport system.
The basic criteria for such parks is that they should be near national highways and in metros. Because big cities are also major economic zones, these parks would cater to the growing demand of commercial activities in the cities, the official said.
Railways has a total 4.23 lakh hectares of surplus land out of which 42,846 hectares is vacant and located along rail tracks.
The role of railway will be that of a catalyst by facilitating the process of setting up the parks by giving land and ensuring other support like water and electricity.
Though the number of such parks to be set up has not been finalised yet, there are about 20 possible sites which can be considered for the project, the official said.
NEW DELHI: Bracing to carry more freight and face competition from road and air carriers, Indian Railway will soon set up several integrated logistic parks on unused land across the country.
It will be developed along major stations across the country including one in the eastern sector through public private participation model.
"We have identified some areas in metro cities where such parks would come up along the railway stations. Our equity in the logistic park project would be land," said a senior railway ministry official.
He said the railway would offer the land to private sector for setting up facilities like warehouses, cold storages, banks, repair facilities for trucks, godwons, custom facilities and multi-modal transport system.
The basic criteria for such parks is that they should be near national highways and in metros. Because big cities are also major economic zones, these parks would cater to the growing demand of commercial activities in the cities, the official said.
Railways has a total 4.23 lakh hectares of surplus land out of which 42,846 hectares is vacant and located along rail tracks.
The role of railway will be that of a catalyst by facilitating the process of setting up the parks by giving land and ensuring other support like water and electricity.
Though the number of such parks to be set up has not been finalised yet, there are about 20 possible sites which can be considered for the project, the official said.
Eco Times
http://in.rediff.com/money/2007/sep/25lalu.htm
Why dont we see projects that will actually benefit people and be profitable? Mumbai and Chennai surely can benefit from these.
Translated it means: rob the money making rail services of the Western corridor and spend the money on inane, non profitable services such as high speed rail links to the minister's chamcha's cousin' town (the minister and the chamcha's town already got the link in previous budgets). Then claim he is the most efficient RM ever."The next budget for the Railways will be unprecedented and astonishing. We want to further expand its network in the country and reach such people who have not yet got the opportunity to use its service,"
Why dont we see projects that will actually benefit people and be profitable? Mumbai and Chennai surely can benefit from these.
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Raju
More trains to Bihar.Tanaji wrote:http://in.rediff.com/money/2007/sep/25lalu.htm
Translated it means:"The next budget for the Railways will be unprecedented and astonishing. We want to further expand its network in the country and reach such people who have not yet got the opportunity to use its service,"
German railway team to visit India
An 11-member expert team from Deutsche Bahn, the German Railway, is coming on a five-day visit to India next month to explore possibilities of technical cooperation with various ongoing projects of Indian Railway.
The team is reaching India on October 8 and slated to visit eight cities including Mumbai, Lucknow, Allahabad, Mughal Sarai, Tughlakabad and Ghaziabad.
The visit is exploratory in nature and the visiting experts would be observing different aspects of Indian railway operation including signalling, track and bridge maintenance, electrification, logistics, terminals and suburban train services here during their visit, an Indian railway official said.
Goldenrock Workshops exports refurbished locos to Mozambique
The GOC has carried out a number of modifications in the locomotives including fitting dual air brake systems, ABB turbo super charger for better fuel efficiency and ergonomically designed driver seat with backrest.
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Theo_Fidel
Railways planning to install ATMs in trains
TOINEW DELHI: With Indian Railways planning to install ATMs in selected trains, you may be able to withdraw money while travelling.
"We already have ATMs in many stations. Now, as a further step, we are planning to install ATMs in some trains as a pilot project," said a senior railway ministry official.
"We are in discussion with some banks to finalise the ATM project", said the official adding a feasibility study is also being commissioned to study the proposed ATM plan.
In the first phase, ATMs would be installed in popular trains and later on depending upon the success of the facility it would be extended to other trains.
However, trains passing through Naxal-affected areas are not being considered for ATM facility for security reasons, the railway official said.
"We have strengthened security measures at railway stations and trains by deploying explosive detection devices, doorframe metal detectors, CCTV and smart video cameras at sensitive stations. Beside acquiring modern security gadgets our dog squads have also been strengthened as there is a need for deploying sniffer dogs at stations", he said.
Steps have been initiated to operate Global Positioning System (GPS) in trains to improve our trains tracking system. A GPS-based system for rail navigation has been planned in coordination with IIT Kanpur. The system provides real time tracking system using GPS.
Beside ATMs and ATVMs, Railway Ministry is planning a major upgradation of entertainment in some inter-city super-fast trains.
As per the plan, the seats of the coaches will be equipped with flat-panel television touch screens with head phones offering passengers options of live and pre-recorded entertainment and movie channels.