Indian Railways Thread

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 26 Mar 2015 09:25

Got an e-mail. I have not gone through the books, but thought I would share it with you all.
---
From: Suresh Prabhu
Sent: ‎26-‎03-‎2015 07:45
To: klumsi@gmail.com
Subject: E-Books on Rail Budget 2015 & Ministry of Railways
Dear passenger,

I am happy to share two documents with you which will bring into focus the work being done on Indian Railways and the work which is envisaged to be done in the future to make your journey more comfortable and safe. The documents are uploaded on the Indian Railways website- indianrailways.gov.in and the links are given below-
http://indianrailways.gov.in/budgetebook/index.html

http://indianrailways.gov.in/ebook15/index.html

I would encourage you to go through them. Your suggestions are very welcome.

Yours Sincerely

Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu
Minister of Railways

Saral · Post by **Saral** » 02 Apr 2015 17:39

Source: Economic Times

The Bibek Debroy Committee in its interim report on the Indian Railways recommends sweeping changes in the way the ailing organisation runs. From encouraging private players to run trains to eliminating the Railway Budget altogether, the report dwells on all that ails Indian Railways and recommends steps to decentralise its operations for effective management.

1) Transition to commercial accounting: According Debroy, the process of accounting in Indian Railways is "very complicated". "It is impossible to figure out what the rate of return on a project is," he said. The report recommends: Refinements in the way Indian Railways prepares and maintains accounts, and costs its businesses, activities and services. The financial statements of Indian Railways need to be re-drawn, consistent with principles and norms nationally and internationally accepted. Casting accounts in standard commercial accounting format and making appropriate financial disclosures would not only facilitate prospective investors in assessment of risk and decision on their possible investment forays into IR but would also help IR to quantitatively assess impact of policy interventions on cost of various services.

2) Streamline recruitment & HR processes: "There is a multiplicity of different channels through which people enter the railway services. We essentially recommended unifying and streamlining the process," Debroy said. What is recommended: At present there are eight organized Group 'A' services in Indian Railways. Deployment to these services is by direct recruitment from UPSC (Civil Service and the Engineering examinations) and also by promotion of Group 'B' officers of the department. There is also a small but significant element of recruitment of Mechanical Engineers through the Special Class Railway Apprentices examination, followed by training. The eight services can be broadly categorized in two bigger groupings viz. technical and non-technical services.<br> <br> IR should consolidate and merge the existing eight organized Group 'A' services into two services i.e. the Indian Railway Technical Service (IRTechS) comprising the existing five technical services (IRSE, IRSSE, IRSEE, IRSME and IRSS) and the Indian Railway Logistics Service (IRLogS), comprising the three non-technical services (IRAS, IRPS and IRTS).

3) Focus on non-core areas: Debroy feels that a lot of tasks carried out by the Indian Railways are not at the core of the prime business of rail transportation. These activities include running hospitals and schools, catering, real estate development, including housing, construction and maintenance of infrastructure, manufacturing locomotives, coaches, wagons and their parts, etc. "Not for a moment have we suggested that you close these down," he said. To this list must be added the Railway Protection Force and Railway Protection Special Force, which carry out functions which should normally be performed by State Police forces, or conveniently outsourced. To maintain and run these diverse sets of peripheral activities, Indian Railways has created a monolith organizational structure. There is a strong case for revisiting these activities. Indian Railways should focus on core activities to efficiently compete with the private sector. It will distance itself from non-core activities, such as running a police force, schools, hospitals and production and construction units. Immediate integration of the existing Railway schools into the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathana set-up. Instead the needs of the children of Railway employees could be met through subsidizing their education in alternative schools, including private schools.

4) Decentralisation: "We have recommended a substantial amount of decentralisation. We are not talking about decentralisation at the level of the GM, who is in charge of a zone. We are talking about decentralisation down to the level of the DRM who is in charge of a division, or station superintendent. A little bit of decentralisation has already happened, but it has only happened at the level of the GM. For the average passenger today, there is no one single person who is responsible for a station," Debroy explained.The report recommends: To ensure proper decentralization, there is a need to delegate enhanced powers, especially in respect of tenders connected with works, stores procurement, service or even revenue-earning commercial tenders, to the DRMs. Some of the suggestions made by the committee are; finance must completely be under the DRM; ADRMs should be an explicit part of the administrative chain; some earnings by the Division should be retained at the level of the Division.

5) Indian Railway Manufacturing Company: According Debroy, wagons are already produced by the private sector. Coaches and locomotives could follow. Unless they are freed from 59 their constraints, the existing production units will be unable to face this competition, he says. "You have to remove them from the shackles. All the production units which are not core to the Indian Railways operations, all the production workshops whether it is coaches locomotives, put them under Indian railway manufacturing company. We have not said you are privatising it, but you are sort of freeing it from the present system," he says.The Committee proposes that all these existing production units should be placed under a government SPV known as the Indian Railway Manufacturing Company (IRMC). While this remains a government SPV, at least initially, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, making it a government SPV makes it independent of the Ministry of Railways and the government, including in the determination of salary structures, and allows it to borrow.

6) Encouraging private entry: Private entry into running both freight and passenger trains in competition with Indian railways should be allowed and private participation in various Railway infrastructure services and non-core activities like production and construction, should be encouraged by the Ministry of Railways. "The reason private players find it unviable to operate is because they do not have access to the tracks. They do not have access to tracks because as it inevitably happens, Indian Railways gives preference to the Indian Railway trains. Therefore, we recommend having a separate track holding company, which remains public, from that part of Railways which runs trains. This track holding company will be neutral between Indian Railways and the private players," explains Debroy.

7) Independent regulator: Shift regulatory responsibility from the government to an independent regulator as the private sector will only come in if there is fair and open access to infrastructure, recommends Debroy. The independent regulator shall ensure fair and open access and set access charges; establish tariffs in cases where there the market fails to discover a price; and adjudicate disputes between the track-owning organization and train operators; and between competitors. This will make fair and open access a reality and open up both freight and passenger trains, in competition with IR. The report recommends setting up a Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) statutorily, with an independent budget, so that it is truly independent of the Ministry of Railways. The RRAI will have the powers and objectives of economic regulation, including, wherever necessary, tariff regulation; safety regulation; fair access regulation, including access to railway infrastructure for private operators; service standard regulation; licensing and enhancing competition; and setting technical standards. It should possess quasijudicial powers, with appointment and removal of Members distanced from the Ministry of Railways. Debroy feels that the Ministry of Railways should set the policy, whose enforcement and implementation will in turn be done by the regulator. The Railway Board should continue only as an entity for the Indian Railways (PSU).

8. Social costs & JVs to bear them: Constructing new suburban lines should be undertaken as joint ventures with state governments, not otherwise, says Debroy. There are too many Zones and Divisions and thus a rationalization exercise is required. "We have recommended taking out Kolkata Metro from the railway system. No other metro is part of the Railway system, why should Kolkata metro be a part of it?" asked Debroy. Suburban railways should ideally be hived off to State governments, via the joint venture route. Until this is done, the cost of low suburban fares, if these fares are not increased, must be borne by State governments on a 50/50 basis, with MOUs signed with State governments for this purpose The freight rates should be left to market principles, once liberalization takes hold, and no such freight-related social cost should be imposed on Indian Railways.

9) Changing relationship between government & Railways: A separate Railway budget should be phased out progressively and merged with the General Budget, the report says. "Cleanly separate out the relationship between the Union Government and the Railways. End gross budgetary support, end this system of paying dividends and therefore you effectively end the railway budget. You not only end the railway budget, you eventually also end the Ministry of Railways and integrate it into a Ministry of Transport," Debroy explains.

10) Raising resources: For raising resources for investments, an Investment Advisory Committee may be set up, consisting of experts, investment bankers and representatives of SEBI, RBI, IDFC and other institutions. The existing assets of Indian Railways may be leveraged to raise resources and institutions created like InviT, NBFCs. The modalities by which returns can be secured for such investments should also come under the purview of this Investment Advisory Committee.

Other points: From DNA

Investment in IR has a massive multiplier effect in the Indian economy. The Report said, "From the 2007-08 data, it appears that increasing the railway output by Rs 1 would increase output in the economy by Rs 3.3. This large multiplier has been increasing over time, and the effect is greatest on the manufacturing sector. Investing in the IR could thus be good for ‘Make in India’." The Committee has recommended restructuring in a way that the government is only responsible for the Railway sector policy. This will give autonomy to IR and encourage private investment, the Report said. It further said, "A Railway Infrastructure Company should be created as a government SPV (with a possibility of disinvesting in the future) that owns the railway infrastructure, delinked from IR." The Report said that private investments will come only if there is an independent umpire, a regulator, responsible for ensuring fair and open access and for setting access charges on the railtrack. "This RRAI will set tariffs in cases where there is no price discovery by the market. It will adjudicate disputes between competitors. The regulator will ensure safety at all levels in the Railway system," it said. The Report said, "We would suggest that the implementation ownership of this Report should vest in the Minister of Railways alone, with an appropriate reporting mechanism to the PMO. It has to be ensured that once decisions are taken at the apex level, these must be earnestly implemented without delays and within predefined targeted timelines." On the issue of FDI in Railways, it said that foreign money isn't going to come in the present circumstances. " It will come only if the Railway sector is reformed along the lines discussed in this Report and the change in incentives and structure as proposed in this Report are put in place," the Report said.

The Committee given a 7-year timeline to completely overhaul IR.

Immediate – Liberalization, or the allowing of private entry; changes in the composition of the Railway Board.

0-2 years – Decentralization to zones/divisions; cleaning up finances between Union government and IR.

2 years – Reform of RPF, schools and medical services; transition to commercial accounting, reform of production and construction units.

3 years – Changes in the Railways Act and the Railway Board Act, setting up a Regulator; unified entry into the Railway services; resolution of social costs.

5 years – Bifurcation between Railway Infrastructure Corporation and rest of IR as train operators; end of the Railway Budget.

7 years – Transition of the IR that operates trains to a government-owned SPV.

Link to 17 MB report

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwa ... Report.pdf

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 02 Apr 2015 18:45

Excellent and far reaching if implemented. It is going to open up the sector just like air travel.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 03 Apr 2015 06:03

Letting Private sector into Railways is a fine idea, but it must be ensured that if they get to run their services on the lucrative routes, then they must take up some of the not-so-profitable and even unviable routes as well.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 03 Apr 2015 06:36

Kashi: Private sector may not necessarily have to be in the passenger segment. There are several maintenance, inspection and such that can be handed to private sector as well as cargo after SLAs at an appropriate levels are agreed upon along with bonuses and/or penalties. If they are profitable, they can enjoy the bonus. Of course it cuts both ways. Losses would have to be eaten. Live by the sword ..., survival of the ..., and all those "good" things of capitalism.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 03 Apr 2015 08:32

vayu tuvan wrote:Kashi: Private sector may not necessarily have to be in the passenger segment. There are several maintenance, inspection and such that can be handed to private sector as well as cargo after SLAs at an appropriate levels are agreed upon along with bonuses and/or penalties. If they are profitable, they can enjoy the bonus. Of course it cuts both ways. Losses would have to be eaten. Live by the sword ..., survival of the ..., and all those "good" things of capitalism.

The Debroy Committee suggests private participation in both freight and passenger segments. I believe it should be ensured that if they are let in, they do not end up with a monopoly on the commercially viable routes for both freight and passenger carriage, while IR is left holding the baby.

I suppose the detailed reports should address these issues.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 03 Apr 2015 19:40

Please read the report carefully. The IR is going to own the tracks. A private party has to pay IR to use the tracks. No one is stopping IR from charging more for profitable routes and use the money for unviable ones. This is the same formula as in airport privatization wherein AAI earns money from private operators and uses it to run smaller less viable airports.

Abhay_S · Post by **Abhay_S** » 06 Apr 2015 07:13

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... m=referral

I thought a similar concept was investigated by Indian Railways(someone sent a letter to PMO) and found unfeasible. whats different here?

saip · Post by **saip** » 07 Apr 2015 07:48

Has anyone used National Train Enquiry System? It sucks big time. Today I checked a train and it said it is at the station and I found it reached that station fully one hour later!

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 07 Apr 2015 09:29

saip wrote:Has anyone used National Train Enquiry System? It sucks big time. Today I checked a train and it said it is at the station and I found it reached that station fully one hour later!

I have used it quite extensively (and use it even now), and have faced this situation numerous times. The most glaring fudging of data happened in a trip from YPR to KCG. There I was sitting on a train and was not even close to Hyderabad Kacheguda, where as NTES saw that the train was on time and will enter the platforms at the right time. The train actually landed up 50 mins later. I checked up my "own position" using my phone GPS and then cross check the NTES data.

Later I figured out why such fudging happens. NTES piggy-backs the internal system which IR uses to track train movements. The movements are generally updated by the section controllers (or their deputies). IR senior management uses some kind of statistical tool to figure out which trains they should focus more on. Any train which is perennially late, gets pulled up for closer look. This is to figure out why the train gets delayed etc. So to avoid all this hazzle the IR folks start fudging the data across a particular journey. This fudged data builds up over the time, and finally NTES would show the "right time" as per the Time table, where as the train is actually kilo meters away.

This whole thing becomes a problem, when I need to pick up people from intermediate stations. I am a person who love to be at the platform, at the exact coach position 5 mins before the train pulls in. So now I use all kinds of analytical tools, like Samit Roychaudhary's Rail Atlas, the trains current position and then even the average speed the train can go on that section. In one such case the train was at least 90kms away, where as the NTES promised that it would pull up at my local RS at the scheduled time in the next 30 mins.

amritk · Post by **amritk** » 07 Apr 2015 23:13

^ sounds like a good candidate for crowd-sourced information, in the absence of official GPS data on train location.

Vriksh · Post by **Vriksh** » 08 Apr 2015 10:24

Abhay_S wrote:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... m=referral

I thought a similar concept was investigated by Indian Railways(someone sent a letter to PMO) and found unfeasible. whats different here?

The wind generated in tunnels is due to the motion of a piston in cylinder: the train itself acting as a piston and tunnel as the cylinder. Harnessing this wind implies that the wind which had free exit will be blocked by windmills. Essentially it will increase wind resistance of the train which will have to draw more electricity from the grid to overcome the added load. Net effect will be more inefficiency.

Elon Musk has proposed evacuating tunnels and other advanced features to reduce wind drag and improve efficiency in his hyperloop concept.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 08 Apr 2015 21:36

OK, so it seems our hope of seeing modern trainsets may happen soon. Tenders are going out for modern trainsets.

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_dis ... _id=310254

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 08 Apr 2015 22:22

Supratik wrote:OK, so it seems our hope of seeing modern trainsets may happen soon. Tenders are going out for modern trainsets.

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_dis ... _id=310254

From this link some data

An imported 24-coach train set costs $20 million or Rs.125 crore. But after they are manufactured in India, the price is likely to come down substantially.

In comparison, laying a bullet-train corridor could cost up to $16 million (Rs.100 crore) a kilometre, which would increase with the added infrastructure required for signals and other equipment.

The proposal for introducing train sets was first mooted in 2012 in the Railway Budget presented by Dinesh Trivedi. But nothing moved. Now Suresh Prabhu has given the move an impetus.

The Chinese and Japanese are keen to launch their bullet trains in India. French Railways, SNCF, has also carried out the feasibility study for a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The government, though, has yet to give its nod to bullet trains.

With Rs 8000 Crores budget they can replace all 64 major express trains with these new 24-coach train set in next 2-3 yrs. Brings better service sense to IR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Express_trains_in_India

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 17 Apr 2015 15:21

Railways to E-auction 100 stations for redevelopment via public-private partnership

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways is on track to take the e-auction route for the first time for redevelopment of stations through public-private partnership (PPP).

The cash-strapped operator is working on a policy for e-auctioning contracts for about 100 railway stations in a bid to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles faced by private companies while undertaking PPP projects, a top railway board official said. The official, who did not wish to be named, said private players will be able to sub ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... aign=cppst

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 18 Apr 2015 05:17

Japan's magnetically levitated vehicle train sets new speed record

Japan’s magnetically levitated (maglev) train has set a new speed record, hitting 366.61mph on a test track.Central Japan Railway Co., which is developing a vehicle that it sees as the long-distance, mass transportation system of the future, is aiming to break the 600km per hour (372.82mph) in more tests scheduled for next week.The seven-car maglev surpassed the previous record, which it sent in December 2003, for a period of 19 seconds on JR Central’s test track in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, on Thursday.The company is pushing ahead in its development of the maglev, which uses magnetic pulses to propel the carriages, doing away with the need for wheels, axles and bearings, after being granted approval to construct a track between Tokyo and Nagoya.The reduction in the number of parts that come into contact with the track gives the maglev dramatically less friction, providing a smoother and quieter ride at a faster speed.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 21 Apr 2015 11:23

xpost >>

rahul tripathi ‏@rahultripathi 2h2 hours ago Noida, Uttar Pradesh

#cbi digs into new railway scam during #UPA. http://m.economictimes.com/industry/tra ... 994583.cms …

In what could snowball into another scam during the UPA regime, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a probe into the alleged loss of Rs 4,200 cr to the Railways in freight. The agency said it conducted surprise checks at 65 locations last week where its officers found that goods being transported in trains are underweight in connivance with the railway officials and private companies.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 21 Apr 2015 19:35

More news of modern trains - tenders are going to go out. To be introduced in 2017. They want to first replace the Shatabdis and Rajdhanis. There is a make in India component to it.

http://www.railnews.co.in/ir-publish-te ... ers-month/

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 22 Apr 2015 20:04

Supratik wrote:More news of modern trains - tenders are going to go out. To be introduced in 2017. They want to first replace the Shatabdis and Rajdhanis. There is a make in India component to it.

http://www.railnews.co.in/ir-publish-te ... ers-month/

Very good development, not only semi speed rail is more easily implementable using modifications to existing rail lines but also more feasible than high speed bullet train.

nawabs · Post by **nawabs** » 22 Apr 2015 20:32

Indian Railways first in line to raise rupee bonds offshore

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 619_1.html

Indian Railways Finance Corp, the finance arm of Asia's largest rail network, plans to raise up to $1 billion through offshore rupee bonds, making it the first domestic issuer to eye so-called "masala" debt to diversify its source of funds.

The Reserve Bank of India gave Indian companies the green light to raise bonds offshore in rupees earlier this month, a move seen as a small step towards full rupee convertibility, one of the objectives set by Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan when he took charge in 2013.

Rajan has since said full capital account convertibility, which would allow foreign investors to repatriate money at will, could happen in "a short number of years".

IRFC plans to use the cash to build and renew infrastructure, and is informally talking to bankers to understand the appetite and pricing in the market for rupee offshore bonds.

"We have a board approval to raise $1 billion from offshore market, but we are yet to decide how much to raise via rupee bond after we see the detailed notification from RBI," said Managing Director Rajiv Dutt at IRFC.

IRFC plans to borrow a total of Rs 17,655 crore ($2.81 bln) in 2015-16 from domestic and offshore markets.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 22 Apr 2015 22:27

Karthik S wrote:
Supratik wrote:More news of modern trains - tenders are going to go out. To be introduced in 2017. They want to first replace the Shatabdis and Rajdhanis. There is a make in India component to it.

http://www.railnews.co.in/ir-publish-te ... ers-month/
Very good development, not only semi speed rail is more easily implementable using modifications to existing rail lines but also more feasible than high speed bullet train.

Only assembly. If we're getting so many coaches, we have to get a serious amount of offset!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 22 Apr 2015 23:45

The choice of contractors is probably motivated by a desire for tilting train technology, given that our current lines cannot be realigned easily, but can be augmented with better rail beds, bridges and culverts, and signaling. All of these get massive funding in the current 5 year plan under railway minister Suresh Prabhu, and tilting trains can help achieve higher speeds on such improved tracks despite existing constrained curve radii . Talgo, Alstom and Bombardier have plenty of experience with this technology.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 23 Apr 2015 00:17

Suraj wrote:The choice of contractors is probably motivated by a desire for tilting train technology, given that our current lines cannot be realigned easily, but can be augmented with better rail beds, bridges and culverts, and signaling. All of these get massive funding in the current 5 year plan under railway minister Suresh Prabhu, and tilting trains can help achieve higher speeds on such improved tracks despite existing constrained curve radii . Talgo, Alstom and Bombardier have plenty of experience with this technology.

If IR indeed moves into such high tech stuff (tilting technology), it will entail a revolution in railway operations. Sounds logical in terms of track alignment (land being the biggest bottleneck). The methodology for maintenance/repair/operations will all need to change from ground up. Almost like moving from Spitfires to Mirage 2000. Having used Pendolinos/TGV quite often and the operational problems, indicate that even in relatively skilled places like Norway/Finland/Italy/France, these things are quite brittle. A small sensor problem leads to doors getting locked, one incorrect coupling leads to the train not able to "start".

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 23 Apr 2015 01:14

Suraj wrote:The choice of contractors is probably motivated by a desire for tilting train technology, given that our current lines cannot be realigned easily, but can be augmented with better rail beds, bridges and culverts, and signaling. All of these get massive funding in the current 5 year plan under railway minister Suresh Prabhu, and tilting trains can help achieve higher speeds on such improved tracks despite existing constrained curve radii . Talgo, Alstom and Bombardier have plenty of experience with this technology.

Yeah something like Pendolino http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_390 will do. Remember some program about it saying similar issues such as limitation of straightening the rail lines laid down during Victorian era.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 23 Apr 2015 01:41

It depends on what kind of tilting technology is used. Passive tilting depends on inertia, while active tilting is computer controlled. Either way it's not simple, and yes, tilting trains are a significant maintenance cost center.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 23 Apr 2015 02:42

bet this will be a big hit if it works

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 753_1.html

Fulfilling yet another commitment of the Railway Budget 2015-16, the Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched Mobile Application for Paperless Unreserved Ticketing through video conferencing on Egmore-Tambaram Suburban Section of Chennai. Referring his Railway Budget announcement, the Railway Minister said that for the passenger, the Indian Railways is committed to 'Operation Five Minutes' - that is, purchase of an unreserved ticket within five minutes and today's launching of Paperless Unreserved Mobile Ticket is the first step in this area. He said that it will allow the passenger to buy a ticket on the move and allow him or her to board the train with the ticket secured on his or her mobile phone, without any need for printing the ticket. Shri Suresh Prabhu commended all the members of CRIS to develop the Paperless Unreserved Ticketing Mobile Application and hoped for speedy implementation of other IT projects in the pipeline.

Frederic · Post by **Frederic** » 23 Apr 2015 02:45

Saar, simple pooch on the Indian Railways Financial Corp's overseas bonds:

*Will I be able to buy the bonds hassle-free from Khanate with Massa dollars?

*What is the expected lock-in period and expected interest rate?

*Article says "full convertibility". Does it mean I can repatriate my bond + whatever interest back to Khanate?

*Tax implications?

Thanks in advance.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 26 Apr 2015 15:31

Indian Railways Year Book 2013-14

Cheers

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 04 May 2015 05:55

As I had suggested a few posts earlier, Bangalore-Hyderabad line is single line and totally saturated and needed to be doubled. Railways has sanctioned double lining of Bangalore-Penukonda (122 km) a few days ago. Project starts Oct 2015 with completion in 3 years. I had hoped they tunneled through Makalidurga and saved the track making a loop as demonstrated by that ludicrous video I had posted of some chaps, catching Karnataka Express three times in that loop. But this is not part of the project unfortunately. Nevertheless yard remodelling, full electrification of Bangalore-Hyderabad route( it is partially) right upto Hyderabad will help in Bangalore's connectivity with North India. The route is used by Bangalore Rajdhani, Sampark Kranti, Karnataka express. SWR has done poorly with respect to line doubling and electrification. Only Bangalore-Bangarapet on SWR is doubled and now Bangalore-Mysore.
Bangalore-Mysore 1.5 km remains to be doubled as Tippu Sultan's armory at Srirangapatna is in the way. Finally a US company has been given the contract to jack the armory up and move it 100 metres away out of the way of the second track. ASI and IR had been going at each other for years. Apparently the armory is built with limestone and mortar and cannot be disassembled brick by brick and reconstructed elsewhere. Another route that is over capacity is Bangalore-Hubbali which struggles with single line. I am not sure beyond Dharmavaram the track is doubled or even beyond Gooty towards Hyderabad. Was on Hampi Express to Hampi Jan 2014, but got up at Ballary for coffee to disembark at Hospet bright-eyed so did not see. Guntakal-Gutti is doubled for sure. Building capacity should be the cornerstone of rebuilding IR.

http://www.railnews.co.in/doubling-of-y ... t-tracked/

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 04 May 2015 05:55

The tussle between IR and ASI has been going on since 2008 and even earlier over the relocation of the armory of Tippu to facilitate double lining of Bangalore-Mysore.

From 2008, will not be re-located:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 341650.ece

ASI quarrels but cannot protect what it quarrels about, Armory is a toilet and a Bangladeshi newspaper creates hulla,

http://www.thedailystar.net/tipu-sultan ... ilet-58186

Injineers study how to relocate Armoury, 2 years ago, study group etc etc, Force analysis, chai pani, Thevenin, Mohr circle going on, with Jhukovski lift caliculation, 2013

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/ ... 752567.ece

Sadanand Gowder has done Mohr circle caliculation in 2014 as Rail mantri, armoury will be shifted and double lined by March 2015
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 014_1.html

And you people talk about LCA coming in on time. I wont bet that this jacking up and moving will happen on time, but I am an optimist. I have stayed with Air Marshal Matheswaran for 24 hours in a railway compartment from Mumbai CST to Cawnpore, he was a squadron leader with No 5 Tuskers based in Gorakhpur. he even signed my address book, I still have it, c/o Officer's mess Gorakhpur. So you see I was an optimist in 1987, even when what I heard was grim. Oh the tales I have of that journey, with my mother

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 07 May 2015 05:21

Achievements on the Indian Railways:
http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=59098

panduranghari · Post by **panduranghari** » 07 May 2015 17:13

^^
Suresh Prabhu ki Jai

Though only 36 days have passed in the current financial year 2015-16 (1st April, 2015 to 30th March, 2016), 39 announcements have so far been implemented which are listed below:-
1. New department for housekeeping created. It will address the issue of cleanliness in a more integrated and coordinated manner.
2. Disposable bags for garbage disposal have been started as a pilot project in Mumbai-Amritsar Punjab mail.
3. New non-AC coaches being manufactured in ICF have dustbins from 1st of May, 2015.
4. NIFT, Delhi has been engaged for designing of bedroll etc.
5. 03 new mechanized laundries have been started at Kochiveli, Malda town and Santragachhi to supply clean linen taking total of such laundries to 33. Twenty nine more locations have been identified.
6. Passenger Helpline 138 already functional. It will work as an interface for queries/complaints related to medical emergency, cleanliness, food & catering, coach maintenance, linen etc.
7. Security Helpline 182 already functional to report any unsavoury incidents. This service is very important public service and may play an important role in emergencies like crime against women, onboard unlawful activity, train accidents, medical attention required and fire etc.
8. An application and a portal to redress railway related complaints has been developed where online tracking of complaints is also possible.
9. Operation 5 minutes launched i.e. to purchase unreserved tickets within 5 minutes. It has been launched as pilot project on Chennai suburban railway where passengers can buy paperless unreserved tickets on their mobile.

10. Instructions have been issued for differently-abled travelers to purchase concessional E-tickets after one time registration.
11. E-ticketing portal in Hindi is ready for launch.
12. E-catering has been introduced. This is a service where a passenger is able to place an order for a meal, to be served at his seat in the train enroute, through a phone call or an SMS. Presently this service is available in 134 pairs of trains.
13. Online booking of retiring rooms functional.
14. 73 pairs of trains have been identified for introducing hand-held terminals to TTEs. Supply is expected to be received by the end of May, 2015.
15. SMS alert for advance arrival of train at destination functional.
16. Centrally managed railway display network is ready for technology demonstration.
17. Pilot project for providing surveillance cameras has been launched in ICF.
18. On board entertainment has been started on Kalka Shatabdi. It is now being extended to other trains.
19. Instructions have been issued to provide mobile charging facilities in all new general class coaches. Mobile charging facilities will be provided in 3000 existing coaches in 2015-16.
20. Quota for lower berths for senior citizens increased from 2 to 4 per coach.
21. E-concierge services started in 22 railway stations.
22. 05 trains have been identified for augmentation of capacity from 24 to 26 coaches.
23. Instructions issued for TTEs to help senior citizens/pregnant women to get lower berths.
24. Instructions have been issued for reserving middle bay for women & Senior citizens.
25. Perishable Cargo center as Azadpur Mandi inaugurated. This perishable cargo centre will help farmers and consumers in a big way and the ripening of fruits and cold storage facilities at this cargo centre will help the farmers get a good price and good market for their product.
26. New instructions have been issued on 10th April, 2015 to liberalize the private freight terminal policy.
27. All pending recommendations made by Kakodkar committee on safety have been examined by the Railway Board.
28. Kayakalp Council formed. Noted Industrialist Shri Ratan Tata to head this Council. The purpose of the Council is to recommend innovative methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the Indian Railways.
29. Taskforce has been constituted for drafting the IT vision for Indian Railways.
30. A committee under Shri Ajay Shankar has been constituted for revamping of the PPP cell.
31. MoU for creating a SPV signed in between Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Coal and Government of Odisha. It will help expedite Railway connectivity projects for coal transportation in Odisha.
32. MoU with LIC signed. It is a landmark achievement with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) providing highest ever funding of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore for Railways. This move will ultimately help railways growth through augmentation of its financial resources.
33. Rail connectivity to Dighi Port approved through PPP.
34. Instructions issued for organizing training of frontline staffs on soft skills.
35. Negotiations for financing railway projects through World Bank commenced.
36. The process for putting in place a regulator has been initiated.
37. MoU signed for Railway Research Centre at Mumbai University.
38. MOU with National Institute of Designing signed. Under this, Railway Design Centre will be set up in the campus of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad. This will help improve customer’s happiness by way of better designed coaches and providing cost effective solutions to problems faced by passengers during train travel.
39. MoU for creating a SPV signed in between Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Coal and Government of Jharkhand. It will help expedite Railway connectivity projects for coal transportation in Jharkhand. - See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews. ... tVpWk.dpuf

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 07 May 2015 17:48

Just PNR enquiry which I have done yesterday. It was much faster than earlier. May be I am imagining.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 07 May 2015 19:55

Hope they'd start work on semi HSR soon.

saip · Post by **saip** » 09 May 2015 20:26

Two weeks ago I made some reservations from Bangalore to Vijayawada and three of us were waitlisted 1-3. Even now there is no movement of the WL. No one seems to have cancelled during that time. Has something changed about cancellations, have they been made more difficult or costly?

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 09 May 2015 20:28

saip wrote:Two weeks ago I made some reservations from Bangalore to Vijayawada and three of us were waitlisted 1-3. Even now there is no movement of the WL. No one seems to have cancelled during that time. Has something changed about cancellations, have they been made more difficult or costly?

What class is it? SL moves faster AC1 and AC 2-tier almost never moves. 3 tier moves slowly but currently it is summer season, so cancellations are rare.

I have once suffered with WL1 which did not confirm after 4 weeks.

saip · Post by **saip** » 09 May 2015 20:30

2nd AC. That explains it. Never been in India in summer in a while.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 10 May 2015 12:16

prahaar wrote:I have once suffered with WL1 which did not confirm after 4 weeks.

8-10 years back, I remember getting down at Kalyan Jn. near Mumbai with an AC2 ticket with WL1 position. Right after Dadar or Kurla, the TTE informed me that WL1 is not going to change, as every one is on board the coach. Next stop was at KYN. Luckily the TTE did not do a Gandhi @ Petermarisburg on me. Finally went back to my relatives place at Vashi, booked a flight ticket the next day.

SanjayC · Post by **SanjayC** » 10 May 2015 12:36

'Swachh' drives away stink & mess from New Delhi station

NEW DELHI: Surprise inspections, hefty fines and strict vigil have ensured that New Delhi railway station looks clean and tidy and meets commuters' expectations. When TOI visited the country's largest and busiest station, it was in for a surprise to see clean tracks, stink-free washrooms and comfortable waiting rooms.

Thanks to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Northern Railway has taken a slew of measures to raise the sanitation standard of the station. Arun Arora, divisional railway manager, Northern Railway, said, "Keeping the station premises clean is a collective responsibility of the rail administration, vendors and commuters. He said these initiatives had been taken over the past two months on the lines of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and that the administration aimed at making the station one of the clean stations in the country.

"Our surprise visits have made an impact. The staff have become punctual and perform their duties properly. Also, our teams have intensified efforts to catch those found littering and fine them up to Rs 500. We have also issued strict instructions to the vendors to keep emptying their bins at regular intervals. Stickers and bills have been removed from walls ad metal poles are being polished regularly," Arora added.

He said such steps were helpful in reminding even the commuters to maintain cleanliness at the station premises.

Besides its own staff, the railway administration has engaged three private firms for the sanitation work. These companies have hired 300 workers to clean the tracks, platforms and station buildings. "The three firms — VPSSR Facilities, Primus Solution Enterprises and Apcon India — are working with us. There are 80 railway staff involved in the entire operation," the senior railway official said.

Appreciating these initiatives, commuters said there were some visible changes at the station. "Even though we are yet to achieve international standards in terms of sanitation and cleanliness, whatever the railways have done deserves appreciation. Of course, there are not adequate sitting arrangements on the platforms but people can even sit on the floor as it looks pretty clean. It looks good to see the sanitary volunteers around. It's a rare sight at Indian railway stations," said Mainak, one of the commuters.

Arora said though three companies were involved in sanitation work, a new project would be launched soon. "A comprehensive cleaning contract is being planned by the commercial department. This will replace all the existing contracts given by various departments," he said.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 11 May 2015 12:28

Railway projects: Talks on with multilateral lenders

IR says it has a shelf of pending projects originally estimated to cost Rs 491,510 crore. Of these, priorities such as doubling, new lines, gauge conversion, traffic facilities and electrification is estimated at Rs 208,054 crore. Officials said such prioritization can ensure a sustained flow of funds and focused attention given for completion. These will have a direct bearing on line capacity, ensuring higher earning and asset utilisation.

IR has identified 77 projects worth around Rs 1 lakh crore for being taken up in the first instance. Most of these are line doubling projects, where utilisation is more than 100 per cent of capacity. "One round of meeting with railway public sector units (PSUs) has already happened," said an official.

Suresh Prabhu, the minister, had in his budget speech this February said IR would spend Rs 8.5 lakh crore over five years. "Around Rs 2.5 lakh crore of this would be raised as debt. This includes rolling stock financing through IRFC (the rail finance corporation). As the ministry cannot borrow, we are arranging debt either through IRFC or PSUs," the official said. Lending from multilateral agencies would come through gross budgetary support from the ministry of finance, he added.Freight corridor

The World Bank, it has already been decided, is to fund a stretch of the 1,800-km eastern arm of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project. The money is being planned in three tranches, for the stretches of Khurja-Kanpur, Kanpur-Mughalsarai and Khurja-Ludhiana.

Financing for the 725 km section between Ludhiana and Mughalsarai will be undertaken over three phases by the Bank. The first tranche of this loan, aggregating to $975 million (Rs 6,250 crore), has been signed.Another multilateral lending agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), is funding the western corridor of DFC.

It is providing ¥677 billion (Rs 36,200 crore) as a loan to finance both construction and procurement of locomotives, on soft terms, for 40 years, with a payment moratorium of 10 years. The agreement for a first tranche of ¥90.2 bn for construction between Rewari and Vadodara and funding for Phase-II (Vadodara-Navi Mumbai port) for ¥266 bn has been signed.