Indian Railways Thread

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 11 May 2012 04:45

Trains in India do not run as fast as their counterparts in Europe. Secondly in India, many accidents happen purely because of negligence.

I would say that accidents happen in India due to large pool of unskilled/uneducated people who often make bad judgements. The reason is low quality of practical education.

ldev · Post by **ldev** » 12 May 2012 09:16

saip wrote:Recently I was driving in CA route 99. I saw a long freight train with something like three diesel engines running on the track next to the road. Even though I was driving at 75+ it kept up with me. If these freight trains can go that fast how come even our superfast trains do not go that fast?

A few years ago I was doing a consulting assignment for a logistics company - as part of that assignment I traveled with a long haul trucker in the US from LA to Detroit. At one stage of the trip we left a rest area on Interstate 80 in Wyoming at 5pm. The trucker set the cruise control of the tractor-trailer at 75mph (the speed limit on the highway). 4 hours and 2 minutes later at 9.02pm we stopped at a truck stop at Grand Island in Nebraska, 302 miles away. We had averaged 75mph (120kmph) over a distance of 483 km. This puts the speed of the Shatabdi and the Rajdhani in perspective - I do not think any train in India reaches an average speed of 120kmph between any two scheduled stops.

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 12 May 2012 10:06

^ true.. Average rajdhani trip from mumbai to surat is about 3 hours...distance is 300 km ..so its about 100km/hr.. top speed of rajdhani is restricted to 140km/hr ...though the train rarely goes to even 140km/hr ..as per regulations trains have to slow down whenever they pass through population centres...

they did test trains going at 200km/hr+ speeds ..but decided against using them because we don't have the necessary safety features in place...every day plenty of people are run over by trains in India ..

negi · Post by **negi** » 12 May 2012 10:10

^ Our existing tracks do not support that high a speed.

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 12 May 2012 10:23

besides the tracks we ll also need to get fencing done ...and better signalling etc...someone told me that it ll cost 30-40 billion to get the kind of infra in place that will give us average speeds of 150km or greater...

afaik some HSR corridors are planned..

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 May 2012 11:22

the instantaneous speed tends to vary widely due to signaling, slower trains ahead on the same line not yet cleared into sidings , pop centers , weak old bridges...I once saw a graph a chinese tourist had taken of the mumbai-delhi rajdhani exp and it was all over the map...hardly any noteable period of high speed cruising...mostly spikes and troughs like a particularly volatile internet type stock.

if every old bridge could be replaced with new ones capable of withstanding 150kmph speed AND fencing implemented in pop centers , I suspect even with current locos and signaling our avg speed could increase by 20kmph.

here is the link - a truly epic rail journey by the chinese rail fan
http://www.yaohua2000.org/2010/20101222/en.html

you can see the speed profile here
http://www.yaohua2000.org/2010/20101222/en-4.html

avg cannot be more than 80kmph over the journey

Saral · Post by **Saral** » 13 May 2012 01:09

I don't follow this thread much or have much expertise on the topic but as the son of a railwayman who published his reminiscences in the early 90s, here is a link to a PDF of the manuscript (sans figures and photos). It can be freely distributed. The author, in his early 80s, lives in Nasik Rd and responds to emails. We lived in Chittaranjan in the early to mid 70s and many of the kids in the street landed up in one or the other IITs and in academia/IT-vity etc. (a similar story is likely true of other public sector and govt undertakings but probably not on the scale of the Railways). A far cry from what their dads did. Many smart, hard-working folks with integrity were in the public sector undertakings, right from the beginning and helped create the sense of integration that we feel today as Indians.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v7pnv38vcrcs ... wayman.pdf

The link to download the PDF should appear on the top right. The book is an easy read. I am pasting the table of contents below:

Reminiscences of a Railwayman (S. Natarajan, 1995, sub_natarajan at yahoo dot com)

0 Preface
1 The probationary days
2 My First Boss
3 On Drafting letters and Bogie cracks
4 How is the firm's man present when we are discussing the Tenders?
5 Did they bother you too much ?
6 A subtle message
7 A DEE becomes DOS effectively
8 A Traction Rectifier comes back to life
9 The cheque that was not cashed for months
10 From concept to commissioning - A DC Traction Substation takes shape in ten months
11 A "Cock-and-Bull" story
12 Learning from each other
13 At the Davis Cup Match
14 These things happen
15 The Engine had failed but the DME was smiling
16 A DC EMU operates in AC territory
17 A point of view
18 Patriotism is penalised
19 No information ever goes waste - No work ever goes in vain
20 Faith in Fundamentals
21 Legal advice
22 Contrast
23 The Nomex Mica wrapper - A day's labour achieves a break-through
24 The first Kapton-covered Conductor is made in India
25 Hey, Jagdish ! ( O, God! )
26 The useful role of odd and even numbers
27 I stood upon a table for hours
28 A production crisis averted
29 An Armature Winding is X-rayed - And what a revelation ?
30 Over-emphasis creates problems
31 A bill for tea that was only years late
32 When drops drowned me, a deluge came to my rescue
33 The introduction of Dynamic Braking on WCG/2 Locos
34 How brainstorming helped re-design a carbon brush
35 An indigenous Test Plant at one-fifth the Imported cost
36 The operation was successful - but the patient died
37 The public are our masters
38 A productive meeting
39 A turning point
40 The Manabar Experimental Project
41 A point scored for Railway staff
42 Arbitration
43 Secret Code helps Scrap disposal
44 How Random Numbers helped
45 A Truth that was stranger than fiction
46 A Surprise Inspection produces results
47 The Noting side and its Pitfalls
48 The Hattangadi Chart
49 Systems, Methods and Styles in Management
50 Accidents
51 Hindi - the official language
52 A Faux Pas
53 Moments of Discomfort
54 Food for thought and action
55 I bid good-bye to Railways

Satish_B · Post by **Satish_B** » 13 May 2012 18:13

nsriram wrote:I don't follow this thread much or have much expertise on the topic but as the son of a railwayman who published his reminiscences in the early 90s, here is a link to a PDF of the manuscript (sans figures and photos). It can be freely distributed. The author, in his early 80s, lives in Nasik Rd and responds to emails. We lived in Chittaranjan in the early to mid 70s and many of the kids in the street landed up in one or the other IITs and in academia/IT-vity etc. (a similar story is likely true of other public sector and govt undertakings but probably not on the scale of the Railways). A far cry from what their dads did. Many smart, hard-working folks with integrity were in the public sector undertakings, right from the beginning and helped create the sense of integration that we feel today as Indians.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v7pnv38vcrcs ... wayman.pdf

Hi Sriram

It was a very engaging read. Very well written account of your father in the railways, and relatively easy for a non-technical person like myself to understand.

Please pass on my best regards to the Gentleman.

Regards
Satish

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 14 May 2012 19:53

Singha wrote:the instantaneous speed tends to vary widely due to signaling, slower trains ahead on the same line not yet cleared into sidings , pop centers , weak old bridges...I once saw a graph a chinese tourist had taken of the mumbai-delhi rajdhani exp and it was all over the map...hardly any noteable period of high speed cruising...mostly spikes and troughs like a particularly volatile internet type stock.

if every old bridge could be replaced with new ones capable of withstanding 150kmph speed AND fencing implemented in pop centers , I suspect even with current locos and signaling our avg speed could increase by 20kmph.

here is the link - a truly epic rail journey by the chinese rail fan
http://www.yaohua2000.org/2010/20101222/en.html

you can see the speed profile here
http://www.yaohua2000.org/2010/20101222/en-4.html

avg cannot be more than 80kmph over the journey

He must have used some sort of GPS device to get the speed logs in place. I dont see any other way he would have done it.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 May 2012 20:43

yes I read in one of his posts he had some gps device.

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 15 May 2012 18:45

Maybe someone can shed a light on this. I always have noticed that Indian trains do not drive with their lights on at the front part of the train; only when its dark or hazy, foggy etc..

Visibility. Drivers cabin is dark and the driver adjusts his/her vision when it gets darker. With light on one can only see/ focus only a few tens of meters ahead so situational awareness becomes limited. Even ships navigate with all lights off. It's not a good idea for trains to run with headlights beaming. I doubt trains run even in the West with their head beams on..maximum they'll switch it on while passing through civilian areas or entering stations. Am i right?

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 17 May 2012 07:49

harbans wrote:
Maybe someone can shed a light on this. I always have noticed that Indian trains do not drive with their lights on at the front part of the train; only when its dark or hazy, foggy etc..
Visibility. Drivers cabin is dark and the driver adjusts his/her vision when it gets darker. With light on one can only see/ focus only a few tens of meters ahead so situational awareness becomes limited. Even ships navigate with all lights off. It's not a good idea for trains to run with headlights beaming. I doubt trains run even in the West with their head beams on..maximum they'll switch it on while passing through civilian areas or entering stations. Am i right?

Not just trains, cars or even buses at night always switch off their cabin lights

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 23 May 2012 07:18

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/and ... epage=true
Combination of mistakes

The Divisional Railway Manager of the South Western Railway, headquartered in Bangalore, said the incident might have been the result of a combination of mistakes by signalling personnel as well as the driver of the train.

I just can't hear this anymore...

and

WTF!

there is no proactive thinking left in the country.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 23 May 2012 10:23

It has become the norm to lay the blame on persons who can not defend themselves in such situation. The higher-ups who are responsible for systemic inaction, commissions and omissions leading to such accidents go scott free. The article linked below gives an account of this malady.

http://www.moneylife.in/article/the-hi- ... 25836.html

And within six hours of the accident, the inquiry is finalised and the Parliament gets to know that the Engine pilot was at fault since he jumped signal?! The speed of the buck being passed down will compete with the fastest trains in the world.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 23 May 2012 10:43

And what about THE MINISTER who has claimed Railways never needed to increase any fares but will run effiently in 2004.

Well I wonder what those who felt being burnt in GOdhra felt- have we ever heard thier side of the aurgument, did the press treat the Kar sevaks who died that day as Humans- no apprently as press and Railway judical persons they were evil Trishul carrying, keresone carrying carrying self imolaters who died in an accident by the will of Allah.

Aditya Watts · Post by **Aditya Watts** » 23 May 2012 14:29

harbans wrote:
Maybe someone can shed a light on this. I always have noticed that Indian trains do not drive with their lights on at the front part of the train; only when its dark or hazy, foggy etc..
Visibility. Drivers cabin is dark and the driver adjusts his/her vision when it gets darker. With light on one can only see/ focus only a few tens of meters ahead so situational awareness becomes limited. Even ships navigate with all lights off. It's not a good idea for trains to run with headlights beaming. I doubt trains run even in the West with their head beams on..maximum they'll switch it on while passing through civilian areas or entering stations. Am i right?

Thanks for your reply.
Please note I am talking from the public point of view and not the driver's point of view.
Concerning trains in the west, I must say that it is certainly the case that trains in most western and northern European countries have their lights on at all times. See also some of the pics that I have posted as an example.
See also the post from Theo_Fidel about "Spatial recognition". This is exactly my point I was making for the light policy. And especially because IR-engines usually are darker both by color and dust/filth, it would be beneficial to turn the lights on.
Your point about ships is not really relevant because they rely on sophisticated navigation equipment mostly and don't have the problem of general public/bystanders on their route.

As I said even in with regular automobile traffic, the authorities often strongly advise to keep the lights on due to better visibility for public, especially when your car has a dark color. Science has proven that a person notices the moving objects much earlier when it has its lights on. I can imagine that in India this issue is difficult because the culture of light is really different here and the focus in India is more on audible signals.
People are often not aware that lights also have other function other than illumination. It is also a method for orientation to make better judgements of physical separation from moving objects.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 23 May 2012 16:42

BTW, I knew only now that the Engine Drivers association (All India Loco Running Staff Association) had a web site and blog for themselves. Lots of folks from Socialist Republic Kerala found in the union as well

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 23 May 2012 18:31

When the Vellore MEMU happened the same thing occurred. The fact that a motorman used a cellphone was used to pillory him. When I weakly tried to point out that in a modern railway system a single mistake by a motorman should not kill 10 people I was pretty much shouted down. These things will keep occurring because the system is unforgiving and depends on flawless human behavior. No other modern engineered system functions that way. There is failsafe within failsafe. It would take some truly egregious behavior to cause an accident, not in-attention for 5 seconds.

For instance if in-cab signals are used, the motorman would typically have 8 seconds to apply the brake in judicious manner. Or the system would apply it in an emergency manner for him. The same in-cab system would also have wheel counters and line sensors that would easily tell the system that that the line is fouled and an operator or computer or rear engineer could also apply the brake instead of the motorman.

The key is not to ask just for flawless human performance, though high levels of training minimize human error. Key is to pick-up the human errors before catastrophe.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 23 May 2012 21:40

IR is like mass movement for India.. It is vital for middle to aam class journeys. One of the most important contribution is making the system fool proof by using devices and technolgy, including gagan or gps for god sake.

Another important reflection is the public hygiene and toilets on IR trains.. this needs a massive change. we want this now, and not in the future. this is shame.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 24 May 2012 11:37

IR needs funds right now and in an honest way, not through touts and Taktal techniques. Govt should bite the Bullet and increase fares by 20% accross the board to undo Lalu Damage

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 24 May 2012 11:41

Theo_Fidel wrote:The key is not to ask just for flawless human performance, though high levels of training minimize human error. Key is to pick-up the human errors before catastrophe.

I was reading it some where (long time back) that when British introduced the "block system" the idea was that for an accident to happen at least 3 people should have goofed up. Though I have not verified this on the ground

. But now that more modern technologies are available I think we should try to prevent human errors as well.

There was a news report which had the observations from the Loco Running Staff association. They also had a few points to add:-
1. The rest period for drivers are not given as per the laid down rules. The railways conveniently include the waiting time as "rest time". That is when they are practically on duty, and are just waiting for their engines to arrive.
2. Earlier drivers attached to one division used to drive within that division only. That is now changed.
3. Currently the punishment meted out to the driver for SPAD (Signal Passed at Danger) is very harsh. So there would be attempts to push such incidents below the carpet. Where as it would have been better to give the driver a chance to state his position and to see if there are other problems for that even to happen (a signal which is not placed at a good location, chances of mistaking one's own signal with the one on the neighbouring tracks etc.).

But as I see it I dont think Indian Railways have any plans for doing major upgrade on signalling systems. Motor men and other folks like Section controllers, station masters and points men etc. would the scape goats. People would also be happy as these are the folks who they actually "running" the trains.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 27 May 2012 18:55

L&T to train youth in rail construction

Kancheepuram:Larsen & Toubro will train diploma and degree holders to become professionals in rail construction.

Students need not pay anything to learn. Instead, the company will pay a monthly stipend and even provide them jobs in various rail construction projects sites, including new line and electrification.

While business for the company from rail construction is growing fast, there is a lack of qualified professionals, Mr K.V. Rangaswami, Advisor to the Chairman, L&T, said.

Through the newly inaugurated Competency Development Centre in Kanchipuram, 75 km west off Chennai, L&T hopes to provide onsite training to nearly 300 technicians and 180 middle level managers/engineers every year, he told newspersons at the centre.

Mr A.P. Mishra, Member, Engineering, Railway Board, inaugurated the facility, which is India's first rail construction training centre. The company has created replicas of railway station, electrical line and signal systems to provide an integrated approach on construction of composite railway projects.

The facility will augment the competency of construction workforce in rail construction jobs and develop a talent pool of skilled workmen capable of delivering global standards in rail construction. L&T employs nearly 3,000 workers in various rail construction works across the country. In the last six years, it has done rail construction projects worth Rs 2,000 crore and has another Rs 1,700 crore in hand, he said. This does not include the Hyderabad Metro, he said.

According to Mr Mishra, the Indian Railways' network is over 64,400 km. Every year, 2,500 km of new rail line should be added to meet the future growth. However, due to shortage of funds with the ministry, the target could not be achieved in the last couple of years. Every year only 700 km of new line was added to the network, he said.

The Railways need a large skilled workforce to meet the target. Training centres such as L&T's can play a vital role in meeting the requirement with more private players engaged in rail construction, he said.

The centre offers a two-level training module. A specialised 90-day course for technicians will cover specific trades in rail construction.

A basic, three-week course will be offered for middle level managers and engineers to give an overall exposure on rail construction. After training, employment opportunities are provided at the company's project sites, Mr Rangaswamy said.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 31 May 2012 17:29

bad news again - Doon exp derails in UP, 8 people lost life.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 31 May 2012 21:45

^^^

Apparently intense heat caused the Rail track to deform causing the train to derail.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 31 May 2012 21:58

kind of hard to believe that one. I thought welded rails with gaps every 100m or so were the norm countrywide now.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 18 Jun 2012 10:26

Chenab Rail Bridge will be Blast-proof

The job of constructing the most challenging 70-km stretch between Katra and Dharam has been vested with the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited while the Northern Railway is executing the portion connecting Udhampur and Katra. IRCON has the responsibility of laying the track from Dharam to Baramulla via Srinagar.

The focal feature of the 328-km all-weather route from Katra to Baramulla is the 1,315-metre long rail bridge across Chenab — an engineering marvel.

A Finnish consultant is now revising the design to make the bridge — which will be supported by a 467-metre steel arch structure — blast proof, KRCL executive director Rajesh Agarwal told a team of visiting journalists. Even if somebody throws an RDX bomb from a running train, the bridge being constructed with 25,000 tonnes of special steel of 63 mm thickness, will withstand the blast.

The concrete pillars too have been subjected to special treatment to bear the brunt of explosives. Given the bridge's crucial location, a ring of air safety network has been cast against any aerial attack. The bridge, with a lifespan of 120 years, will be the first in the country to get such a sophisticated ring of security.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 18 Jun 2012 10:28

No human error in Mumbai locals collision

Some passengers pulled the chain on the Churchgate-bound local around 10.53 p.m. The driver halted the train and restarted. Again, some passengers pulled the chain. This time, the driver stopped a little ahead of the signal. Effectively, most of the coaches of the train were behind the signal, but the engine moved ahead. According to the rules, a route can be sent for cross-movement if the driver has cleared the signal. “There is eight to 13 metres overlap after the signal. If he stops within it, there is no indication that the train has stopped,” a senior officer said.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 19 Jun 2012 21:03

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/ndtv-i ... 6272?hphin

Rail development in Kashmir and connectivity to rest of India...

nawabs · Post by **nawabs** » 21 Jun 2012 16:47

Abuse of PAN No for Tatkal bookings, Do not quote

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.ca/

Do not quote PAN for Tatkal bookings. Indian Railways display PAN as identity proof for Tatkal bookings.The Railways have collect PAN for Tatkal bookings and display the PAN + name, sex and age of passengers on reservation charts pasted on railway compartments.

This is a boon for benami transactions. It is mandatory for traders like jewellers to collect tax (TCS) from customers on purchase of jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh & bullion worth Rs 2 lakh. While complying with TCS rules for collection, payment and uploading of TCS information (e-filing of TDS returns) jewellers have to furnish PAN of customers. For certain customers it is not convenient to provide PAN. To accommodate high net worth customers, traders have a easy source of benami PAN numbers, name, sex and age from reserved railway compartments. A traveller recently noticed a chap copying PAN particulars along with name, age and sex pasted on reserved compartments, and when confronted with the help of railway police, he admitted that he gets Rs 10 per PAN particulars from jewellers. These persons are copying PAN information of senior citizens, women etc from sleeper class with the intention that passengers in sleeper class are not serious tax payers and generally salaried class.

This wrong usage of a PAN number is known only to the regular tax payers, who regularly check their tax credit on form 26 AS provided by the Income Tax department on their website. This form 26 AS is updated only on filing of e-TDS returns by the traders. There is almost 6-12 months time delay for the PAN holder to know that a transaction of above nature has taken place on his name and that too only if he goes through form 26 AS. On noticing the tax credit of above nature while reconciling form 26 AS for tax credits for filing the return during subsequent financial year i.e. July / September, the tax payer has an option to exclude the same and go ahead in filing the return. In that case the department will first initiate action from the tax payer's side asking him to explain the sources of money for the above transaction done in his name and also to prove that he has not carried on the above transaction. The onus lies on the genuine tax payer for the fault committed by the traders. This dispute may even take more than 2 years to be settled.

In conclusion, the only way to protect yourself from these fraudulent transactions, is to avoid quoting PAN details for identity proof.

rahulm · Post by **rahulm** » 27 Jun 2012 10:57

Once again, the very people who are supposed to serve the public abuse power vested by the state in them for their own profit.

Railway Tatkal scam: How touts corner tickets

Exposed: The big Railway Tatkal ticket scam

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 Jun 2012 12:19

their crappy and outdated website and payment gateway only makes things worse.

nothing has improve in the web scalability front for the last 10 ys atleast.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 27 Jun 2012 12:26

funny...they are not allowing non-tatkal ticket booking before 8 AM...they used to allow it even last week

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 27 Jun 2012 13:46

rahulm wrote:Once again, the very people who are supposed to serve the public abuse power vested by the state in them for their own profit.

Not to play a spoil sport here. IBN head lines are as if they have found the root cause of the problem. Where as I find that nothing really out of the obvious is being said here. The fact that touts still have a way to byepass the system and get tickets has been known for quite some time now. The fact that touts place their own folks in the queue much in advance is also known. The only difference I see here is that police men (with their name badges removed) are also out there in uniform to commit a crime. These police men would get say investigated or suspended, but will that stop this malpractise. I dont think so.

With the catchy head line given by IBN, what I was expecting was:-
1. A proof to say that a tout has more access to the railway ticket booking clerk than an average abdul standing in line.
2. The ticket sales (at the counter) generally start at 8:00AM. Does the reservation system (the system used at the counters) allow ticket sales to happen before 8:00PM? If that is possible touts can approach clerks any time they wish.
3. When can an actual Tatkal ticket be booked? For the common man, the time line is 24 hours keeping in mind the counter opening timings as well. Eg: I have an early morning train to catch on 27th. Now I can only try for this ticket at 8:00AM on 26th, because that is the time when PRS counters open and the web site also allows bookings. But can the systems in PRS counters be operated even at 7:30AM (with the ticket windows all closed for general public)?
4. The report mentioned about a web site which the touts use. So do the railway folks have a parallel booking system in place?

habal · Post by **habal** » 27 Jun 2012 15:11

Delhi Police and Traffic Police personnel can be regularly found outside Pragati Maidan (Auto Expo/ITFI) soliciting passers-by who seem to be in want of tickets, with tickets in black. And they do it in style, w/cooling glass in police uniform leaning on their gypsy.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 28 Jun 2012 21:33

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120628/main2.htm

Rs 276 cr, eight years and yet no train from Abohar to Fazilka
Residents suffer as official apathy denies vital rail link between Punjab towns
Prabhjot Singh/TNS

Chandigarh, June 27
On February 1, 2004, there was great rejoicing among residents of the border towns of Abohar and Fazilka in Punjab when the foundation stone of a massive railway project linking the two towns was laid by Nitish Kumar, the then Union Railways Minister, and now Bihar Chief Minister.
Fazilka Station: In ABsence of Train Service, Passenger facilities are rotting here
Fazilka Station: In ABsence of Train Service, Passenger facilities are rotting here

Estimated then at Rs 86 crore, the project involved construction of 42.11 km of railway tracks between the two towns, five new stations and 29 level crossings, besides houses for rail employees at each of the new stations. The project was to be completed in 2007 and trains were to ply on the route the same year.

The project has become a prime example of official neglect and apathy. Eight years later, the trains are yet to start running between the two towns though the five stations, the rail track and the 29 level crossings were largely completed by 2007. The cost by then had ballooned to Rs 276 crore. Every passing year, the liability in terms of damages and non-provision of services that constitute return on revenue is mounting.

When The Tribune visited the station in Churhi Wala Dhana, 5 km from Abohar, on June 23 it wore a desolate look. While the platform had been built and the tracks laid in 2007, both have remained unused. The station presents a dismal picture of neglect with thick vegetative growth and most of the sanitary and electrical fittings either vandalised or pilfered. At places even the floor of Platform Number 1 has caved in. The ramp leading to the platform number has been damaged beyond use.

Similar situation prevails in four other stations, including Jandhwala Kharata, Khui Kherra, Ghalo and Burj Mohar, that connect the two towns. Passenger facilities like drinking water, toilets, passenger benches and shelters have been vandalised. Fishplates of tracks, clamps, check rails and nuts and bolts have been either damaged or stolen. The signal boxes have caved in requiring total replacement.

Khui Kherra station: cracked platforms speak of official neglect (left) and links go bad: Damaged signal network at Burj Mohar (L) and Khui Kherra stations.

Ironically, the Railways Ministry did not seem to be aware of the sorry state of affairs. Last year it blissfully announced the start of train services between the two towns and even included it in the official time table released in 1 July 2011. It’s been a year and no train has chugged on these tracks or any personnel hired to man the five stations and the 29 level crossings that are ready.

The shocking state of affairs has evoked strong protests not only from rail users but also a number of other bodies, including Beopar Mandal and social welfare organisations of both Abohar and Fazilka, who have formed the Sanjha Morcha to take their battle to its logical conclusion.

The Sanjha Morcha members point out that there would be huge savings for each family if the trains ran. Currently they are paying Rs 23 to travel by bus from Abohar to Fazilka and if the trains ran it would cost them Rs 6, according to the official Railways timetable. The Morcha charges the Railways of being in collusion with powerful private bus transport lobby in Punjab for not starting the service.

Spearheaded by Dr Amar Lal Bagla, Rajpal Gombhar, Raj Krishan Kalra, Comrade Shakti, Sushil Gombhar, Ashok Gulbadhan, Ramesh Vadhera, Satish Dhingra, Surjit Singh, Amrit Kreer, Jagdish Chander Kataria and Mohinder Partap, the Sanjha Morcha has started a hunger strike from June 1 agitating for the Abohar-Fazilka service to be made operational.

“We are not going to relent. How can an organization like Railways allow its property to be pilfered, vandalised and remain out of use for such a long time. Probably there is no audit control. An independent inquiry must be held to find out why the promised service was not introduced and how come such a huge public investment was allowed to be plundered by anti-social elements?” asks Amar Lal Bagla, president of the Northern Railways Passengers Association (NRPA).

The Sanjha Morcha has already made representations to the Union Railway Minister, Railway Board chairman and Northern Railways general manager. Bowing to public pressure, the Railways Ministry now claims it will start the train service from July 31 this year. It has become hyper-active.

Hundreds of workers have been at work to repair the damaged infrastructure. At every new railway station, workers are busy replacing fishplates, clamps, check rails, nuts and bolts and removing damaged panels, batteries and control panels.

Ferozepore Divisional Railway Manager NC Goel: “All I can say is that this train will start by July 31 this year. Railways have spent over Rs 200 crore on this project. We have identified the staff for the new stations, level crossings and will post them at appropriate time. I cannot say off hand how much loss Railways incurred because of delay in starting the service. There are no confirmed dates for the inspection of the track and facilities by the Commissioner of Rail Safety.” Besides ordering a massive renovation and repair operation of the tracks and connected infrastructure, it has also identified staff to be posted at the new stations and level crossings. While Railways had advanced shortage of staff as one of the prime reasons for delay in commissioning the service, it has now decided to withdraw surplus staff from other areas. It has also put pressure on the Commissioner of Rail Safety for an early visit to the site for clearance.

It is only the Commissioner of Rail Safety who after inspection will determine the security and safety of the service besides recommending speed at which trains would run on this new track. Though officials refused to confirm the dates for inspection, those on renovation work have been told that much awaited inspection would take place by the end of first week of July, tentatively from July 4 to 6. “We are still keeping our fingers crossed till the service is actually made operational. We have our serious doubts that it will be ready,” adds Dr Amar Lal Baghla.

(With inputs from Praful Chander Nagpal in Fazilka)

Shameful facts

Abohar-Fazilka Rail Link

Project started: Feb 1, 2004

Length of track: 42.11 km

New stations: 5

Level crossings: 29

Original cost: `86 crore

Actual cost: `276 crore

Original deadline: 2007

New deadline: July 31, 2012

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 28 Jun 2012 21:48

Sachin wrote:4. The report mentioned about a web site which the touts use. So do the railway folks have a parallel booking system in place?

I don't know about parallel booking system but railway employees have always been able to get me tickets at any time. If people work their contacts you can get tickets any time, 2:00 AM if you feel like.

member_23629 · Post by **member_23629** » 28 Jun 2012 22:11

With the catchy head line given by IBN, what I was expecting was:-
1. A proof to say that a tout has more access to the railway ticket booking clerk than an average abdul standing in line.
2. The ticket sales (at the counter) generally start at 8:00AM. Does the reservation system (the system used at the counters) allow ticket sales to happen before 8:00PM? If that is possible touts can approach clerks any time they wish.

I have always booked Tatkal tickets through travel agents who in turn have a "setting" with the railway booking clerk. They charge Rs 500 per passenger as "service fee" for air-con berths (second or third AC). This amount is divided between the two, but they almost guarantee that the Tatkal ticket will be arranged. How this works is that once the travel agent recieves the order the day before the booking is to open, he calls the clerk on his mobile and gives the passenger details. The clerk then is ready in the morning in front of his booking terminal. As soon as the Tatkal booking opens, there is a only a two or three minute window in which the ticket can be booked before the seats become full. The clerks generally don't accept more than three names on each ticket, as they say there won't be time to fill up the fourth name. This procedure works every time with me.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 29 Jun 2012 12:25

Theo_Fidel wrote:I don't know about parallel booking system but railway employees have always been able to get me tickets at any time. If people work their contacts you can get tickets any time, 2:00 AM if you feel like.

Hmm.. So looks like other than the time it takes for the daily backups (which I guess happens some time near mid night, every night) the PRS system is open for booking. The system itself does not check if the ticket is booked during normal transaction window.

So rather than going behind the small fishes like touts, the railways should go for a system level check and stop the malpractise once and for all. But I dont think they would really do this, because god knows to what levels the "cuts" are being sent up.

BTW, having contacts in the Railways (preferably more on the office staff and not running staff) for sure does help people get in using Emergency Quota etc.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 29 Jun 2012 19:39

Amendment in Tatkal Scheme

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 29 Jun 2012 20:50

Following up on the above... some welcome changes.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a ... 585356.ece

From July 10, 2012 reservation of tatkal tickets will start from 10 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. and no authorised agents will be allowed to book them during the first two hours, the Railways on Friday said.

“Railways have decided that from July 10 booking of tatkal ticket will start at 10 a.m. on the previous day of journey from train originating station instead of 8 a.m. at present,” said a Railways statement.

The move is being initiated as part of revamping the tatkal scheme amid increased complaints from passengers about touts making good of the loopholes in the schemes and selling tatkal tickets at a premium.

Railways officials felt the development will not only help reduce pressure on counters booking both general and tatkal tickets at the same time, but will also reduce the waiting time of tatkal ticket seekers with the shrinking of the crowd.

The pressure on the e-ticketing site would also reduce considerably. At present, booking for both general and tatkal tickets open at 8 a.m., not only chocking e-ticketing sites but also triggering to long queues in reservation counters.

Officials said separate tatkal booking counters will also be opened soon and CCTV cameras installed to monitor the crowd to check irregularities.

Booking clerks will also be barred from carrying mobiles inside the counters, they said.

At present, tatkal scheme is available in as many as 2,677 trains which translate to around 1.71 lakh berths. In 2011-12, earning from the scheme stood at Rs. 847 crore.

The scheme has seen a several changes in the recent past including reducing the days for reserving tatkal tickets from five days to one day and barring web-based agents from booking tickets during the first hours, but the indulgence of touts has deprived passengers from deriving benefit from the scheme, officials noted.