Indian Railways Thread

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Aug 2011 10:56

its the same locality where 300 people died in a crash during the kargil war.

crashes in eastern india tend to have more fatalities because the tracks run on high embankments to avoid flood waters, and the coaches tend to fall into ponds and lakes often beside these embankments. there are also LOT more bridges big and small vs a typical line in south or central india. in assam you can hardly go 5km without crossing a noteable railway bridge and 1km without a small bridge. lots of cracks and corners for the faithfool to sabotage should they want. there are around 15 noteable rivers flowing North-South between WB border and Guwahati alone. in one case I spotted the remains of a NH road bridge demolished by flood water lying nearby....50t concrete pieces had been smacked like kids toys and lay in a untidy heap....once the erosion by flowing water starts at the base of pillars, their load bearing capacity reduces in remarkable fashion and collapse is inevitable.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Aug 2011 11:35

Stone pelting at Rajdhani

When it was passing through Sitarampur, someone pelted stones at the train. A stone hit a window of the AC three-tier coach, causing a crack.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Aug 2011 13:03

thats hardly news. even in 2nd class coaches the TTEs will come through at certain "problem spots" asking people to pull the shutters down. the clangs of huge rocks hitting the coach will be heard. all too common. the AC coaches with big black windows are a good target - must be hardly any coach without some damage.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 01 Aug 2011 21:55

..and they did nothing to capture the criminals? or is it that only we can find them through the use of technology?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Aug 2011 14:55

assam tribune: two more incidents of terrorists cutting up rail tracks using gas cutters.

Train services hit after derailments
Correspondent
KOKRAJHAR,Aug 1 – Train services through Kokrajhar district were badly disrupted today due to two acts of sabotage by miscreants on the railway tracks in the district.

According to sources around 5 am today a railway patrolling party detected a 1.5-metre-long railway track near railway bridge pillar no-228/1 between Salakati and Kokrajhar railway station that had been removed by miscreants. The miscreants had used gas cutter to cut the track. As a result movement of down trains was totally stopped. Significantly the Rajdhani Express and many other trains were controlled from New Bongaigaon and Rangiya railway junctions.

On the other hand, a Guwahati-bound goods train derailed at Chachapani near Paroura village between Fakiragram and Kokrajhar railway stations around 7.20 am. Altogether eleven bogies loaded with salt derailed from the track.

In this incident also the primary investigation indicated that railway tracks measuring about two metres were found removed. In this incident too the miscreants had used gas cutter to cut the railway track.

Due to the two incidents both up and down train services remain disrupted till 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Railway sources however revealed that by 3 o’clock the damaged portion near railway bridge pillar no-228/1 between Salakati and Kokrajhar railway stations had been reconstructed and down train services restored. But it would take around 36 hours to restore train services in another track of the double lines at Chachapani near Paroura village between Fakiragram and Kokrajhar railway stations following restoration work on the damaged portion.

Meanwhile, high railway and police officials rushed to the two spots to take stock of the situation and ensure rapid reconstruction and restoration work for early restoration of train services along the area.

Police suspect that the NDFB is behind both the incidents. BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary also visited the spot at Chachapani to take stock of the situation. He expressed concern at the acts of sabotage and said that it was unfortunate if NDFB was behind the incidents.

It may be mentioned here that the NDFB has called a 48-hour railway and national highway bandh in Assam from 5 am today demanding immediate solution of the Bodo tangle.

Train cancelled: Due to security reasons in parts of Assam and following cancellations of the UP trains due to the accident near Malda and goods train derailment near Kokrajhar, several trains have been cancelled, an NFR press release stated. Passengers travelling on August 2 may enquire about the train schedule with the railway authorities, our Staff Reporter adds in Guwahati.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 06 Aug 2011 20:29

Marten wrote:The double decker solution sounds really good, but is there enough space to make a platform that will support the numbers? (16 people per sq mtr will also occur on the elevated platform itself). Crowd control measures will backfire with people being shoved into them and others clambering over them to get in. The need to make a living is stronger than caring for the others around. People who do not realize the financial impact the trains have on the lives of Mumbaikars have to wait outside at VT or Churchgate stations on any morning (between 8am and 11am) to see how large the crowds are. Saddest part is that this lot will continue to suffer since there are no real alternatives. Increasing capacity with 16/18 bogies also requires extensions of all stations (and this is simple not possible in many areas). The solution might indeed rest in a hybrid mode.

passenger density on upper platform can be lowered somewhat by making the upper compartment with more seats and hence less standing passengers. it can be designated as a separate class if needed. entry to the upper platform can be controlled more easily (because people can't just cross a line and jump onto the platform) and metro style automated ticket checking machines can be implemented as well.
obviously, the entry and exit points from the upper platform would have to be different from those for the lower platform, to avoid congestion. a system of elevated walkways would be necessary for passengers to move from one platform to another and to enter or exit the station. clearly, some stations would be in a better position to implement these than others, depending on available space and neighbouing area. now whether some stations would find it completely impossible to implement this is something that can only be answered by planners intimately familiar with the suburban railway system.

btw, here's a very very crude representation of my interpretation of nukavarapu's idea.

Theo saar, Rahul M, how expensive would a two tiered hybrid-metro system be? As in, is it possible to build a two tiered track system in a financially efficient manner?

I thought there's no more space available to add another track, even with pillars ?

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 06 Aug 2011 20:34

Virupaksha wrote:
Bade wrote:Why cannot the basket carriers to local subzi mandis have a freight onlee cars attached. Why the need to mix different needs into the same car.
cost

I take it neither of you have actually used a local train ?

dedicated vendor compartments are present on IR EMU's since 1960's.

negi · Post by **negi** » 06 Aug 2011 20:44

Well at least the new stations being made in navi mumbai are a bit better i.e. enclosed with ventilation fans and platform on both sides of the track so boarding/unboarding times should go down for a given size of the crowd. Double decker is possible provided there is no option for 'standing' then the height of each section can be limited to say at most 6-7 feet and hence keep CG low.

negi · Post by **negi** » 06 Aug 2011 20:57

I also propose we have a IR constable akin to bus conductor for every coach who will ensure that no one boards the coach after it's full; with so much population I don't think manpower is an issue in our country .

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 06 Aug 2011 21:59

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110729/j ... 304820.jsp

Haldia & Calcutta on high-speed rail radar
JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY

New Delhi, July 28: India’s first high-speed train, supposed to travel at 250-300km per hour, would run between Haldia and Calcutta, railway sources have said.

An interim study for the high-speed service has been submitted by a Spanish consortium to the government for the 135km Calcutta-Haldia stretch.

Officials said since the Haldia stretch was the shortest of the six proposed high-speed corridors for which the studies were being done, its report “came in the first and will probably take the least time to set up”.

The railway ministry is also readying a cabinet note to set up a National High Speed Authority that will monitor and implement the project.

Railway officials said the high-speed trains would cut down a six to seven-hour train journey by more than half. Haldia, which is a four-hour local train ride from Calcutta, would barely take an hour to reach then.

The fastest train in India now is the Shatabdi Express that has a maximum permissible speed of 140kmph.

The rail officials also said the high-speed trains had 7.7 times lower carbon emission compared to airlines and 4.5 times less than cars. Laying the tracks would take lesser land than what a government would require to make an expressway.

Last year, during her tenure as railway minister, Mamata Banerjee announced the plan for high-speed rail corridors in her budget speech. Apart from Haldia-Calcutta link, the other proposed routes were Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai, Chennai-Bangalore-Ernakulam and Delhi-Agra-Varanasi-Patna.

The high-speed train service has got a push from the Prime Minister’s Office as well.

Neighbouring China has set up a high-speed rail network, with Shanghai’s Maglev train service running at a 430kmph and most of its other railway longer high speed network running at between 200-300 kmph.

Japan’s bullet trains run at the top speed of 300km per hour.

The US, Spain, France, Germany and Russia have high-speed rail networks too. running at speeds between 200 kms per hour to 570 kmph.

India will either have to import or buy designs for the high-speed locomotives and will also have to work on new stainless steel coaches using fire-retardant materials and which have electro-pneumatic brake systems, in order to introduce any high speed train project.

Officials said many in the railways preferred the trains to run at 200kmph-250 kmph in the beginning “as this is something new for us”, but the government may choose to run them at a higher speed — around 350 kmph — to demonstrate that India can bridge the technology gap as other Asian rivals have.

India is a major player in railway exports, selling railway consultancy, construction and railway engines and coach sets to Asian and African countries.

Separately, the Kerala government has approached the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for a high-speed train project. The DMRC is carrying out surveys to connect Kasargode to Thiruvananthapuram.

I hope they have a provision for running hi-speed goods trains on this route as well. with a higher load than pax trains but lower speed. otherwise the route would not be economical IMO.

anyone has any idea what kind of tech we are looking at for HSR ?

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 07 Aug 2011 04:04

Rahul M wrote: I take it neither of you have actually used a local train ?

dedicated vendor compartments are present on IR EMU's since 1960's.

I have used it at least once to go to Diamond Harbour to witness Halley's comet.

I used to walk by the Tollygunge station to get to the metro station, and have witnessed people falling through the dunlop bridge overpass on at least one occasion from a running train.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Aug 2011 10:17

aerodynamics alone can give some boost to train speeds, in addition to various design challenges from tracks to wheel on rails. IR could send a study cum tie up tech with http://www.spiegel.de/international/bus ... 45,00.html
for the bullet trains.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Aug 2011 10:24

was in blr central last week midnight to see someone off, spotted a mouse inside jan chair car ac of lalbagh exp parked on platform and rats as big as small cats running on platform.

do we really want bullet trains to run off such quality of infra in a major indian metro

parking lot shambles, smelly paid toilets, the reek and pungent aroma of urine and sweat at all hours....

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Aug 2011 10:51

aah! thought about that.. and the only way to avoid is to super impose a plan that is visually and sensually impossible with current setup. gradual change does not work. we need an asteroid strike to eliminate old setup, and bring in new, or build entirely new setup to cater to new audience.

India has enough market for high speed rails. The bandicoots and sewer can continue to rot till every one graduates in their life style to use advanced setup.. we have to eliminate many social factors... IR is a big family representing down trodden to higher class, and these feelings will emanate for sure.

Now, the pathetic situation and hygiene concerns must be eradicated at all thoughts, and operational sense. It should be made mandatory, with a right to live clean constitutional change. BTW, some simple design and operations can throw 90% of the problem out.. don't dump sh!t on tracks in the first place.

neerajb · Post by **neerajb** » 10 Aug 2011 11:58

SaiK wrote:don't dump sh!t on tracks in the first place.

That's the very reason of those fat rats prosperity.

Cheers...

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Aug 2011 12:18

imo if we are to run such TGV style trains the stations will need to be at the standard of airports because the people who can afford to pay such tickets will expect and demand such infra else they will not consider it.

so rather than attempt the impossible task of cleaning up and reforming the british era stations to world class standard, they might as well build some new special stations on land beside the old stations and use it only for the desi shinkansens.

imo its a lost cause this sprucing up and repainting business....the entire stations and adjacent parking and commercial areas have to be scrapped and new buildings laid from the plinth level upwards. alert and well trained CATS will have to be deployed to get rid of Pakrats attempting to cross the LOC from nearby congested commercial areas....or go the BIAL route and create these shinkansen stations in a controlled zone far away from the city wherein people would go just like a airport trip, but instead of plane they will check onboard the train.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 10 Aug 2011 20:27

I don't think a massive station out of town is the answer. Stopping litter on tracks and Conditional Discharge Toilets are the things we need to eliminate the rats the size of bandicoots. The real problem areas are the big city stations, Chennai, Bangalore, Trivandrum (Yes I'm looking at you), Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta, etc. Esp. the ones with completely covered concourses where the sun doesn't shine.

Madurai & Salem had the cleanest stations I saw recently. Chennai central felt like a hell hole coming from Madurai.

Secunderabad has the cleanest station in the South IMO. For that matter the entire lot of SCR stations are easily the cleanest in India. Must learn from them.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 10 Aug 2011 23:56

The Navi Mumbai stations are mostly Suburban/local only right. Not a good comparison to the 'wet' stations.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Aug 2011 07:59

for some reason, indeed SCR was well run even in early 1990s. vijaywada was the cleanest station I ever saw then, with huge wide platforms, spic and span cleanliness and good amenities. this despite handling around 150 express trains a day then and plenty of inter-AP short haul trains.

shows that with right leadership it can be done, even on IR funds.

negi · Post by **negi** » 11 Aug 2011 08:12

^ Yeah when we used to travel between Dilli and Chennai (GT or TN express) Vijaywada along with Nagpur was the cleanest station. Of all the metros I had a soft corner for the Chennai terminal because of good food stalls and less crowd.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 11 Aug 2011 08:27

my favourite station is satna in MP. the platform shone like mirror and the snacks were excellent.

singha ji, it is not at all impossible to clean up the larger stations. even much maligned howrah is much better nowadays with systematic parking facilities, foodcourt etc.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/10 ... 2s3sc.jpg/

vasu_ray · Post by **vasu_ray** » 11 Aug 2011 08:41

With the Dreamliner Jet using plastics, passenger railway coaches can use plastics lowering the weight resulting in energy savings or higher speeds, and the volume offered by IR is way high so it can be considered as cost effective

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Aug 2011 10:13

howrah

sbc(blr) needs a no-fly zone and regime change

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 11 Aug 2011 10:15

Marten wrote:In terms of quality, the stations at Navi Mumbai set a good example - they were built 15 years ago

Agree with you after I saw the Vashi station some 8-9 years back. It was totally different from the typical railway stations. But I found it was very practical. Places which have large number of employees (IT Tech. Park?) etc. were housed on floors right above the stations. At that point of time, I felt how lucky would be the folks working there that they have to just goto the basement for boarding their trains

.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Aug 2011 10:27

Continuing with the stone throwers . . .
The Stone Pelter Menace

Commuters of a Beach-bound Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) were in for a rude shock when a sharp stone was pelted on the train, after it crossed the Nungambakkam railway station on Monday afternoon. Though none was injured in the uncrowded compartment, a regular passenger complained that such stone pelting incidents were a routine feature in the Nungambakkam-Chetpet section.

Further inquiries revealed the involvement of the school children in the incident. According to a Railway Protection Force (RPF) official, school children residing in Shastri Nagar, a slum situated on the banks of the Coouam River are indulging in this sort of nuisance for fun. “Excited over the speed of the trains, they throw stones to match the speed of the EMU with tiny stones. On many occasions, the stones enter bogies causing panic among the commuters,” the official added.

Ironically, most of these children are in the age group of less than 12 years and do not understand its consequences. With more complaints pouring in, the RPF personnel often identifies the children and counsel them in the presence of their parents. “As they are juveniles, we don’t bring them to the RPF stations. Instead, they are being taken to the Gopalsamy Nagar Coaching Depot for counselling. We also invite parents to advise their wards,” an official stated.

During counselling, it was observed that most of these children don’t get parental attention because either of the parents is dead. Also, most of these students pelt stones largely during closed holidays.

The RPF personnel have also conducted camps at Shastri Nagar, in an attempt to prevent the children from committing such acts. “The camps have resulted positive with the frequency of incidents pertaining to vandalising having come down. RPF men are also being sent for patrolling,” the official added.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 13 Aug 2011 11:07

SSridhar wrote:Continuing with the stone throwers . . .
The Stone Pelter Menace
Commuters of a Beach-bound Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) were in for a rude shock when a sharp stone was pelted on the train, after it crossed the Nungambakkam railway station on Monday afternoon. Though none was injured in the uncrowded compartment, a regular passenger complained that such stone pelting incidents were a routine feature in the Nungambakkam-Chetpet section.

Further inquiries revealed the involvement of the school children in the incident. According to a Railway Protection Force (RPF) official, school children residing in Shastri Nagar, a slum situated on the banks of the Coouam River are indulging in this sort of nuisance for fun. “Excited over the speed of the trains, they throw stones to match the speed of the EMU with tiny stones. On many occasions, the stones enter bogies causing panic among the commuters,” the official added.

Ironically, most of these children are in the age group of less than 12 years and do not understand its consequences. With more complaints pouring in, the RPF personnel often identifies the children and counsel them in the presence of their parents. “As they are juveniles, we don’t bring them to the RPF stations. Instead, they are being taken to the Gopalsamy Nagar Coaching Depot for counselling. We also invite parents to advise their wards,” an official stated.

During counselling, it was observed that most of these children don’t get parental attention because either of the parents is dead. Also, most of these students pelt stones largely during closed holidays.

The RPF personnel have also conducted camps at Shastri Nagar, in an attempt to prevent the children from committing such acts. “The camps have resulted positive with the frequency of incidents pertaining to vandalising having come down. RPF men are also being sent for patrolling,” the official added.

Stone throwing.

A frequent menace in the Bombay local trains though now greatly reduced.

Many unfortunates have lost their eyesight and others have suffered serious injuries.

Now all local trains come with a mesh fitted over the windows to greatly lessen the chances of

the stones actually entering the coaches.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 31 Aug 2011 16:12

Ohh. . .the saga of 'stone pelters'.
An effort to catch the stone pelters leads the RPF to catch bigger criminals.

They became friends over a drink and executed several robberies on the streets in the last few years. But on Monday, the culprits landed in the Railway Protection Force net when they were having fun in a secluded area off the railway track at Saidapet allegedly for hatching new plans for a forthcoming extortion.

"Our personnel picked up the two suspects while they were conducting a routine drive on the track. They picked the suspects on directions from Senior Divisional Security Commissioner S R Gandhi who had issued instructions to the cops to nab those involved in pelting stones on moving trains," {I am glad there is some serious effort on catching stone pelters} said S Maharajan, Sub - Inspector, Mambalam, RPF. "The two were under the influence of alcohol and possessed contraband (ganja). Though we nabbed the duo, a third accomplice escaped from the spot," he added.

"Interestingly, both chose secluded spots around railway tracks for sketching their plans, in order to maintain secrecy of illegal operations. They used a simple modus operandi for robbing valuables from people by assaulting them in the dark," a RPF official said.

Besides, the suspects also used the space around the railway track to celebrate their successful 'robbery operations', abusing women travelling by Electric Multiple Units and pelting stones on the ladies compartment, at times. The duo were booked under two sections of the Railway Act.

In a related development, the RPF sleuths last week apprehended another thief near Kodambakkam, for his alleged involvement in house breaks in the city. The suspect, identified as Selvaraj, was later handed over to the local police.

"With frequent drives against miscreants involved in stone pelting cases, the incidents of pelting stone on trains has come to an end at Mambalam and Saidapet," Maharajan pointed out.

Purush · Post by **Purush** » 31 Aug 2011 18:02

The best railway station in the mid to late '90s was Trichy Jn. Clean, well-lit, properly maintained infra, and everything ran like clockwork. It was a pleasure to use the station.

Sridhar K · Post by **Sridhar K** » 31 Aug 2011 20:51

On a recent visit, found Tirunelveli junction to be pretty good too. When AK Murthy was the MoS for railways during the NDA regime, the stations in TN were pretty decently maintained prompting every one to comment that he was the railway minister of TN.

After a long time, did a recent trip to Kutrallam on IR from Chennai and a few observations
1) Electrification of the BG line between Chennai and Tiruchi is complete and progressing well towards Madurai.
2) The coaches on southern railway train are not in decent shape.
3) Railway catering is back to private parties and don't see IRCTC anymore.
4) Conversion of the dormant MG line between Tambaram & Villupuram to BG is progressing at a snail's pace.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Sep 2011 11:16

Sridhar K wrote:On a recent visit, found Tirunelveli junction to be pretty good too.

In the last couple of months, visited Bengaluru, Tiruchi, Salem and Kumbakonam. I found all these stations to be well maintained and Salem was very good (now, it is a division)

Sridhar K wrote:1) Electrification of the BG line between Chennai and Tiruchi is complete and progressing well towards Madurai.

It is completed upto Kodaikanal Road, IIRC.

Sridhar K wrote:2) The coaches on southern railway train are not in decent shape.

Have been so for several years now. I suspect that all about-to-be-condemned coaches from other zones are sent to SR for some reason.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Sep 2011 15:41

er i thought NFR was the home of scrap coaches. sr is better having seen both.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 03 Sep 2011 06:14

Indian Railways gives James Bond licence to thrill

But the earlier plan to show both the moving train tops crowded with travellers, will have to be done away with, to comply with conditions put out by the railway ministry.

"One of the conditions for allowing the shoot is that they cannot show India or Indian Railways in bad light and the assurances will have to be given to us in writing. The film will be viewed across the world where it will seem as if all trains here have people travelling on roof tops, which is not true. Also, travelling on the roof of a train is prohibited by law and that cannot be encouraged," railway minister Dinesh Trivedi said, while confirming that the shoot will happen in Goa and in January next year.

While there are other conditions that the filmmakers have to comply to, and are likely to abide by like, keeping the "safety issue" as priority and causing "least inconvenience to passengers," Trivedi has struck a deal for allowing the railways to be used for the Bond film, tentatively titled " Bond 23". He has asked James Bond to be brand amabassador for Indian Railways, for which Trivedi also came up with punch line for a two-minute spot, where 007 will have to say something on the lines of "Indian Railways is stronger than James Bond."

Show these goras exit door if they are here for showing India in bad light. How did slumdog get an approval?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Sep 2011 07:42

Slums near rail track to be removed
It is a daunting task. It may never be done.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 03 Sep 2011 10:07

Sridhar K wrote:On a recent visit, found Tirunelveli junction to be pretty good too. When AK Murthy was the MoS for railways during the NDA regime, the stations in TN were pretty decently maintained prompting every one to comment that he was the railway minister of TN.

After a long time, did a recent trip to Kutrallam on IR from Chennai and a few observations
1) Electrification of the BG line between Chennai and Tiruchi is complete and progressing well towards Madurai.
2) The coaches on southern railway train are not in decent shape.
3) Railway catering is back to private parties and don't see IRCTC anymore.
4) Conversion of the dormant MG line between Tambaram & Villupuram to BG is progressing at a snail's pace.

Durunto atleast on chennai-coimbatore route uses IRCTC

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 03 Sep 2011 11:40

are either IRCTC or pvt parties upto the mark? the look and feel of pantry cars I saw in blr central recently did not um give me a sense of deep comfort to put it delicately.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 03 Sep 2011 11:44

Dunno , they are packed nicely and tastes ok. Have traveled few times and never had any issues. Most who travel this route seems to be happy. But habbits die hard, and we end up paying the catering staff tips , which they openly ask at the end of the journey. I just give 5-10 rs. So even if 50% gives 5 rs thats some amount of money

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 03 Sep 2011 15:06

the food is costly for what we get but decent quality and hot. the taste is variable.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 03 Sep 2011 17:43

food in genral has become costly. A dosa costs 25.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 03 Sep 2011 17:52

it's costlier on trains. as for me, I refuse to use those toilets and survive on buttermilk during long journeys.

Sriman · Post by **Sriman** » 03 Sep 2011 18:29

Travelled from Mangalore to Bangalore by the night train and there was an armed RPF guard in the coach. He locked the doors after Subrahmanya. Wonder if there have been any dacoity attempts on that stretch.