Indian Railways Thread

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 26 Nov 2010 16:46

Sachin-> I think the incident happenned in Krishnagiri (Where Hosur) district and not near Villupuram, Chennai Coimbatore- Gurvayur train passes through CHennai -Arakonam- Jolarpettai- Salem COimbatore.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 26 Nov 2010 19:17

Aditya_V wrote:Chennai Coimbatore- Gurvayur train passes through CHennai -Arakonam- Jolarpettai- Salem COimbatore.

Checked up for station Ulundurpettai (ULU). It is near Villupuram Jn, and on the route towards Vridhachalam Jn. This train may be taking Chennai, Villupuram Jn., Vridhachalam Jn., and then join Salem.

Sridhar K · Post by **Sridhar K** » 27 Nov 2010 10:17

Sachin is right.
1) Guruvayur express takes the Chennai- Villupuram, Madurai, TVM route to Guruvayur and have been on it a few times to Trichy and Virudhachalam. The thing to note is that the train passes through the Vilupuram-ulundurpet section during the day.
2) This is the second similar incident in this area. IIRC, the earlier train was Kanyakumari express.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 27 Nov 2010 11:15

Sachin wrote:
Aditya_V wrote:Chennai Coimbatore- Gurvayur train passes through CHennai -Arakonam- Jolarpettai- Salem COimbatore.
Checked up for station Ulundurpettai (ULU). It is near Villupuram Jn, and on the route towards Vridhachalam Jn. This train may be taking Chennai, Villupuram Jn., Vridhachalam Jn., and then join Salem.

Sorry, my Bad- you are correct, the train probably goes to Chennai-Villupuram-Trichy-Karur-Coimbatore-Gurvayur.

I think I got confused since the day before there was an incidence of stones on the track in Krishnagiri district.

But these instances are happening at an alarming rate.

BTW- why is the Nilambur line such a hot issue in the socialist republic, at best it can save an hour or 2 to Bangalore- forget the enviorment disaster but any train will move very slowly through mountainous terrain.

Besides in North Kerala, isnt the main source of employment in the Gulf and not Bangalore?

For people who stay south of the Coimbatore GAAP- i.e Thrissur, Ernakulam, Quilon, Trivandarum, Kotayum, this line may not too much of an impact.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 27 Nov 2010 13:35

Aditya_V wrote:I think I got confused since the day before there was an incidence of stones on the track in Krishnagiri district.

Read about this incident in today's news paper. But this was as a Good train and a huge stone was kept on the tracks. Incident happened at Uthangarai. Checked up the Railway Atlas. There is no station by that name, so could be the area. It was reported to be between Chennai and Salem, and in Krishnagiri Dt. Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri Districts had a Naxal leaning for quite some time. And Walter Devaram IPS (ex DGP,TN) as a young SP had taught them a few hard lessons.

Looks like there is a systematic attempt all through Tamil Nadu to see what is the optimum size of a stone (or obstacle) to topple a train

.

why is the Nilambur line such a hot issue in the socialist republic, at best it can save an hour or 2 to Bangalore- forget the enviorment disaster but any train will move very slowly through mountainous terrain.

It is just politics and a bad show of politics. The sob story that Kerala is side lined when it comes to Railway development is sure to get people listening. Yes, Kerala has its own genuine set of greviences. The Nilambur line is one good sob story which is not going to cause any harm to any Keralite politician. Because the line goes through a forest area (no Mallu would lose his land there), plus the onus is on the Railway (a Central Govt. organisation) to lay the route, run the train and make it profitable. You can compare this with the proposed Guruvayur->Kuttipuram railway line. Nobody is going to whine much about that, because Railways would ask Kerala Govt. to provide it with the land to lay the tracks. Kerala Govt (and its people) would have to ensure that the land is given.

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 04 Dec 2010 16:54

Railways complete construction of crucial tunnel in Kashmir http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20101204/14 ... -cr_1.html

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 07 Dec 2010 22:17

Sachin wrote:
Aditya_V wrote:I think I got confused since the day before there was an incidence of stones on the track in Krishnagiri district.
Read about this incident in today's news paper. But this was as a Good train and a huge stone was kept on the tracks. Incident happened at Uthangarai. Checked up the Railway Atlas. There is no station by that name, so could be the area. It was reported to be between Chennai and Salem, and in Krishnagiri Dt. Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri Districts had a Naxal leaning for quite some time. And Walter Devaram IPS (ex DGP,TN) as a young SP had taught them a few hard lessons.

Looks like there is a systematic attempt all through Tamil Nadu to see what is the optimum size of a stone (or obstacle) to topple a train .

Its near Utthangarai, Nearest station is Samalpettai on Katpadi -Jolarpettai line.The NH 66 from Puducherry via Tindivanam -Gingee -Thiruvannamalai-Utthangarai -Samalpettai-Krishanagiri-Hosur goes towards Bangalore.Area is a rocky terrain and boulders are easily available .

Its a Single BG track and could be tested by LTTE sympathisers. Naxals are not that prominent yet can't be ruled out.

Though , would like to know what happened to Bihari mazdoors who were caught doing mischief on similar pattern.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 22 Dec 2010 10:02

Another incident of stone-placing....

Kanyakumari-Mumbai Express hits boulder
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tam ... 968330.ece
This time it is at Koolipalayam between Uthukulli and Tiruppur stations. This surely is not a joke, or some sort of experimentation by "Bihari labourers". Last time the police theory was that a group of labourers had experimented on what would happen when a boulder is placed on the railway tracks

.

Christopher Sidor · Post by **Christopher Sidor** » 22 Dec 2010 15:22

With this Gujjar agitation, Indian Express is reporting that 21 trains have been diverted. While ToI is reporting that passengers are not informed of the delays/route diversion, etc leading to hardships.

This brings to one mind the nature of our railway infrastructure. In the early 2000 while talk of a Dedicated Freight corridor was in the air, certain experts had suggested that instead of augmenting the existing tracks, alternatives to the existing alignment be found. For example instead of Delhi-Bombay track going via Gujarat a new alignment from Ratlam to Manmad be laid.
This would free up the Vadodara-Bombay route considerably as the traffic from Saurashtra/Kutch/GujaratSouthern Rajasthan towards Bombay is massive.
This would also provide an alternative and in certain cases a shorter route, to the existing north-south connectivity which currently hinges on the Bhopal-Warangal alignment.

Consider this, the route Bombay-Calcutta has no alternative for a east-west connectivity. The alternative route of Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Kota-Guna-Bina-Katni/New Katni-Bokara is only there on paper, why because Udaipur to Ahmeadabad is still on meter gauge and this entire route is single line, with max-speed restrictions nowhere near the existing Calcutta-Bombay route. The situation in the north-east is even more worse with only a single route lying between Kolkata and north-eastern states.

Laying of alternative routes would also help us deal with the fallout of any Gujjar-like-agitation incident.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 23 Dec 2010 09:49

Banihal tunnel interior.

Bit dated but interesting image on tunnel construction.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 23 Dec 2010 09:55

Looks cold.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Jan 2011 10:06

Longest Goods Train Passes through Katpadi

An 84-wagon goods train, the longest one, 1.3-km-long, which is a combination of two 42-wagon goods trains, passed through the Katpadi railway station, for the first time in the Chennai Division of the Southern Railway, on Thursday.

S. Anantharaman, Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai told newspersons at the Katpadi station that the train, containing empty wagons, was operated on instructions from the Railway Board. The objective of combining two trains was to save a path, and to increase the throughput. Two paths would be required if two trains were to be operated. Since the two trains were combined, the single 84-wagon train was operated on a single path, thus saving another path.

Earlier in the morning, a 42-wagon train started from Salem, and one more 42-wagon train was joined at Jolarpet, after which the two trains were operated as a single train with two engines, one in the front, and the other in between the two trains. The train would be handed over to the South Central Railway at Renigunta for loading of the wagons. Based on the success of the operation, the Railway Board would issue orders for operating more such trains, he said.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 07 Jan 2011 10:20

SSridhar wrote:The objective of combining two trains was to save a path, and to increase the throughput. Two paths would be required if two trains were to be operated. Since the two trains were combined, the single 84-wagon train was operated on a single path, thus saving another path.

Good move

. Only problem (which I am sure the Railways had foreseen and mitigated) would be the availability of long sidings, if this Goods Train had to be shunted to the side, for letting through any other higher priority trains.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 10 Jan 2011 11:08

Hmmm, werent we told how Lalu and UPA-1 has made the Indian Railways a super efficient system. that was until the white paper came out, now here is true situation.

Indian Railways headed for bankruptcy

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article ... id=4782782

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 10 Jan 2011 12:10

Aditya_V wrote:Hmmm, werent we told how Lalu and UPA-1 has made the Indian Railways a super efficient system.

There was some reports even then that this may be a case of "cooked reports". I am not a financial expert, but remember reading one report. Railways generally ear-mark a huge fund for giving pensions to retired employees. This is generally considered as a liability, but Laloo's accountants tried this to show as surplus funds

(or assets). This would have got exposed any ways as sooner or later Railways would have to use this funds for its actual purpose. But at that time Laloo would not be the Railway Minister.

PS: Pensions seems to be becoming a big problem for many organisations. Banks seems to have started the concept of "contributory pensions", and got out of its responsibility to mark funds for pensions.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 10 Jan 2011 12:16

Sachin-> I was just saying for Pun, it was all crooked accounting and false praise, the white paper in early days of UPA-II brought it out. What the media and Lalu did for railway accounts was as bad as Raju did for Satyam.

vic · Post by **vic** » 17 Jan 2011 18:57

A query to better informed persons:-

Do we have equivalent of Konkan (western railway) on the eastern coastal side?

Also what is the status of J&K railway line to Srinagar?

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 17 Jan 2011 19:09

There was a gap between Mangalore and Roha on the western side.Konkan Railway filled the gap.Trivandrum to Mangalore has been there for long time.(part MG/part BG later converted to all BG).Then Trivandrum-Kanyakumari was laid.From Churchgate to Vasai Road has been there for long time.

On the eastern side,there has been the Madras-howrah line for a very long time.The orissa section of the South Eastern Railway upto vizag has been hived off as east Coast Railway with bhubhaneshwar as headquarters.From Vizag to gudur,it is part of South Central Railway with HQ at Hyderabad.

Just go to IR website or IRFCA web site.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 17 Jan 2011 20:10

svenkat wrote:On the eastern side,there has been the Madras-howrah line for a very long time.

Was'nt this the route of the once prestiguous Coramandel Express?. I have heard from elders that during those days seven block stations used to be always in Line clear position for Coramandel Express to zip through. This was during the days of steam though.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 17 Jan 2011 20:38

Coramandel introduced in c.1970s had diesel locomotive right from inception.it fits the description given.

the train is still operational.The old train on the route is the Madras-howrah mail and also the Circar Express to Kakinada.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 19 Jan 2011 08:21

3 Diesel Locomotives for Myanmar

Three in-service metre gauge diesel locomotives were exported to Myanmar on Tuesday after being refurbished at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop here {Tiruchi}.

Based on the satisfactory performance of 10 locos supplied to the Myanmar Railways in the year 2000, it has sought 20 more for its traffic needs through Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES), a Government of India Enterprise.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Jan 2011 10:55

Coromandel exp is still the fastest train on east coast perhaps. in my era (mid 90s) it had only stops in vijaywada, rajamundry, vizag, bhubaneswar, kharagpur and maybe a couple more. for long hrs the train would speed through without a single halt like the long stretch from bhubaneswar to kharagpur. always crowded and the usual indic rail problems though...none of the shatabdi/rajdhani spit n polish deal.

the east coast exp Howrah-Hyd and Madras mail were definitely many hours slower.

while I preferred to catch the kerala-assam trains at vijaywada, some of my batchmates who wanted stuff to move quicker took coromandel exp to howrah and then kanchenjunga or kamrup exp to guwahati.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 19 Jan 2011 13:03

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chennai/ ... %80%99-861

The case is in reference to a news report in Junior Vikatan(a mainstream investigative journal) on the investigation on the boulders in tracks in one particular case.

Junior Vikatan is not veda Vak(u),but it has pulse close to the ground and generally pro-kalaignar.What has angered kalaignar? Since the report appeared a year back,i dont have access to that issue.Can anyone enlighten?

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 19 Jan 2011 23:32

when first started , Coromandel , one of the earliest Superfast trains, had only three stops Bhuvaneswar, vizag and Vijayawada with ongole/Khurda road as technical stops for pantry. It had distinct color and liveries. now it has 12 stops and still zips through long stretches and gets Block sections All clear for seven blocks.. Its fastest train on east cost as singha garu pointed out. Recently I noticed it has improved services , but nothing like rajdhani as it used to have in olden days. food is , of course not included in fare unlike rajdhani.
I think IR had many services in old days, not found now such as restaurant , library etc.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 20 Jan 2011 03:10

I think the duronto's will be the fastest trains between any 2 cities, provided there is one. AFAIK these have no stops between the origin and destination. there is one between howrah and yesvantpur which covers much of the same route coromandel exp does.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 20 Jan 2011 10:14

chaanakya wrote:when first started , Coromandel , one of the earliest Superfast trains, had only three stops Bhuvaneswar, vizag and Vijayawada with ongole/Khurda road as technical stops for pantry.

Not connected to Indian Railways, but Railways in general. Two days back saw two video clips on a UK based train "The Elizabethan". It was way back in the 1950s and when it was BR. This train was from London X Cross to Edinburgh Waverly.

Starting from London X Cross at 9:30AM it reached Ediburgh Waverly by 4PM. That is 6 1/2 hours, and the distance was some where like 630kms. So the average speed was some where around 100kmph. This train was hauled by steam loco, but did not have any stops in between. There were two sets of engine drivers and fire men, and one set drove the train the other took rest inside the first coach of the train. The tender attached to the steam loco had a small tunnel through which the crews could swap their places while the train was on the move !!. They also had a mechanism setup by which the steam locomotive could fill up its water tender again when it was on the move.

A movie was made on this train, for me it was a pleasure to watch. Having travelled on the same route a couple of years back, it was good to see the older London X Cross, New Castle upon Tyne & Edinburgh Waverly.

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 20 Jan 2011 20:55

Rail connectivity to all NE capitals within 7 yrs
http://www.zeenews.com/news681949.html

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 20 Jan 2011 21:10

^^ sachin , thanks for wiki links for the Elizabeth. Its incredible that train ran at 100 kmph with steam loco non stop point to point service during that period.

However in India several trains used to run at 120 kmph top speed besides Rajdhani and De-Lux Tri weekly. The avg speed was less due to stoppages. Now due to track conditions speeds are restricted despite better designed coach available such as telescopic coaches for superfast. Incidentally IR is thinking of all steel coaches.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 21 Jan 2011 05:37

Northeast Frontier Railway

At present, there is a network of only 2,447-km rail line in the entire north-eastern region, which accounts for 4 per cent of the national network. Of the total railway network, about 97 per cent is in Assam and 2 per cent in Tripura. Therefore, a very accelerated programme of rail connectivity is required to provide the basic infrastructure capacity for the NE to realize its economic potential. At present, there is a plan to connect Itanagar and Agartala during the 11th Plan whereas Aizawl, Imphal and Kohima would be connected during the 12th Plan, the sources said, and added that Shillong and Gangtok were expected to be connected in the 13th Plan. According to the sources, India is going to construct the Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) line to connect Tripura to the Bangladesh railway network. It has been decided that the projects of the Railways designated as national projects will be supported by the Government of India in the ratio of 75-25. It has also been decided to create a fund for development of rail infrastructure in the north-eastern region.

vic · Post by **vic** » 22 Jan 2011 19:48

svenkat wrote:There was a gap between Mangalore and Roha on the western side.Konkan Railway filled the gap.Trivandrum to Mangalore has been there for long time.(part MG/part BG later converted to all BG).Then Trivandrum-Kanyakumari was laid.From Churchgate to Vasai Road has been there for long time.

On the eastern side,there has been the Madras-howrah line for a very long time.The orissa section of the South Eastern Railway upto vizag has been hived off as east Coast Railway with bhubhaneshwar as headquarters.From Vizag to gudur,it is part of South Central Railway with HQ at Hyderabad.

Just go to IR website or IRFCA web site.

Re Venkat, thanx for your answer. Can you tell us something about the rail link in J&K upto Srinagar also. I think the earlier plan had too much of the route on the side of the mountains, prone to landslide + some very high bridges. Then it was proposed to abandon this plan and go in for a shorter route with lot more tunnels/tunnelling. Latest I heard/read there was a compromise between the two options. So what is up at present?

vic · Post by **vic** » 22 Jan 2011 20:14

Gagan wrote:The Jammu Srinagar Baramula Railway

The railway line passes through some of the most inhospitable terrain across the Pir Panjal mountain range. This line includes the longest tunnels in the Indian Railways route, and the world's highest bridge. (Although some news reports suggest that after spending several hundred crore rupees on the world's highest bridge, the mega arch steel Chenab Bridge at 359m, the site is being abandoned because of frequent landslides and loss of life of construction workers ) The chenab bridge will instead be constructed 1.2 km upstream and the height of the bridge will be lower as proposed in the new alignment. The proposed cost of the project overall (even accounting for the several hundred crores spent on the abandoned chenab bridge) will be lesser because the track length, number of tunnels and bridges needed is drastically reduced.

The railways have announced an alternate track alignment which cuts down the distance from 125Km to 70Km eliminating many tunnels and bridges.

There were many firsts for Indian Railways in the Jammu-Udhampur-Katra section itself. The Highest bridge at 77 m; longest span of PSC Girder of 102 m; highest embankment of 42 m; maximum dia of well foundation of 15 m; maximum load on bearing of 4100 MT (Seismic) as well as long welded rail and ballastless track on 5 degree curve; high beam sleepers with zero restraint fastening system and flash butt welding by mobile plant.

In comparison with Konkan railways, the Jammu-Udhampur has tunneling of 190 m/km than 103; bridging of 97 m/km which is nearly thrice than that of 32.7 of Konkan and longest span of steel girder of 102 m in comparison with 122m of Konkan railways.

Gagan

I think above was the last post on the issue here

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 22 Jan 2011 21:12

http://telegraphindia.com/1110122/jsp/b ... 474642.jsp
Indian Railways bids adieu to Star inspector sahib - Sniffer dog posted at Katihar rail division retires after 10 years of service

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 27 Jan 2011 20:53

Found an interesting link when browsing through the Railway Fan's web site.
An old Military coach used by IR

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 27 Jan 2011 22:27

Railway Construction in the Banihal Valley.

Tunnel. Note the drop off. How do they construct in such places!!

Tunnel exit into Banihal Valley. Note pile of dirt. Tunnel exit is just to the right if you look carefully.

The other side of Pir Panjal. Approaching Qazigund. Look at those mountains!! Forbidding!

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 28 Jan 2011 20:05

is it going to be a single line ? or is there a second line close by ?

kmc_chacko · Post by **kmc_chacko** » 28 Jan 2011 22:39

last photo is superb

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 29 Jan 2011 00:38

It will be a single line.

Major tunnels and bridges are wide enough for future doubling. Provisions for future electrification (height) have also been made. AFAIK the gradient is still 1:100 so no bankers and speed limit of 60 kmph. Trains will be racing thru the terrain.

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 31 Jan 2011 11:12

That last photo is spectacular. I promised myself I would travel in this train the day the project's first photos arrived on BR many years ago.

Found this two week old photo of the train from Anantnag during the snow, don't see a lot of Indian Railways photographs with snow - Copyright: The Hindu

Train service resume in Anatnag 55 KMS from Srinagar on January 15, 2011. kashmir valley received fresh snowfall during the intervening night bringing much saught relief to the people who were reeling under intense cold wave.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 02 Feb 2011 09:26

3-Phase Electric Loco Launched

The first three-phase electric locomotive ( WAG-9, Loco No. 31291) fitted with CAB air-conditioning system, manufactured in Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, was flagged off and put to service by the General Manager, Mr Amar nath, at a function held at a workshop on Monday, according to a CLW release.

This is a first of its kind electric locomotive produced by CLW for the Indian Railways. The principal officers, senior officers and members of staff council among others were present, the release adds.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Feb 2011 16:53

Woes of Chennai-Coimbatore Duranto

One look at the recently introduced non-stop Duronto Express trains, running between Chennai and Coimbatore, and pop comes in mind the adage: ‘Old wine in new bottle’. For, they are all run with old coaches — a blatant violation of railway norms that only new ones must be used.

The decision to use old coaches may have been taken in haste. Reliable sources claimed that the rakes sourced from Northern Railway were much worn out because of their constant use in the past.

When contacted, a senior official with the railways said the Duronto service was launched as part of the budget announcement for the current fiscal. “The inauguration might have been delayed for two years, roughly, if we had waited for new rakes.” {Is this an excuse ? How can the Government itself compromise the security of passengers and also charge exorbitantly for worn out coaches with non-working toilets, broken glass panes which are temporarily, dangerously and shabbily fixed etc. ?}

As things stand today, new coaches were likely to be added as and when they arrive, the official remarked.

Southern Railway's trains running south and west have the worst coaches I have ever travelled. Apparently, all condemned coaches are being sent to Southern Railway and these people have been accepting them meekly.