Indian Railways Thread

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Sep 2011 18:29

No more Diesel smoke & residue.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... s-efi-rdso

Diesel engines to turn fuel-efficient

The first diesel locomotive equipped with Electronic Fuel Injection was flagged off at diesel locomotive shed by V Ramachandran, director general, RDSO, on Wednesday. It is the first-ever retro fitment of the EFI system on an ALCO locomotive in the world. It also ranks among very few EFI applications on large diesel engines. The engine will not only optimize fuel consumption in Indian Railways but also cut down emissions. In the first phase, railway board would be upgrading at least 100 diesel engines with the EFI system "within a year".

RDSO officers explained that unlike the widely used mechanical injection system, the EFI enables injection of fuel in precise quantity and at appropriate time so as to match the demand of load, optimize fuel consumption and cut down emissions. It monitors the need of fuel on a real-time basis. Besides, EFI loco could lead to savings of more than 2% over the duty cycle of the diesel locomotive. Railways consumes some 2.5 billion litre fuel every year and spends approximately Rs 10,000 crore on it. The EFI loco may help save Rs 200 crore.

The EFI system will also do away with the black smoke. "This will not only protect environment, but also save fuel since black smoke is caused by unburnt fuel," said the DG. It will also prevent the engine from running hot and ensure faster response to driver's action and fault diagnostics.

The engine, with an estimated cost of Rs 24-Rs25 lakh, will have a longer shelf-life of over 36 years. But it will be easier to maintain as large number of its mechanical components have been removed and made into an electronic operation.

niran · Post by **niran** » 21 Sep 2011 12:17

Sachin wrote: 1. This engine driver should be summarily dismissed from service, because he seems to be a careless chap who can yap on a mobile phone, while on duty.
2. Railways should perhaps bring in a work instruction that drivers should not carry cell phones while on duty (or issue cell phones which cannot be used to call the general public).
3. The number of accidents caused by the use of mobile phones is becoming alarming. I know of two cases in Bangalore alone, where people walking on the railway track talking (or listening to music) on mobile phones got run over by trains. And many more cases of idiots crossing roads etc. talking to on the cell phones.

i know of a case where the Train Pilot(PC word) in Japan was dismissed and jailed for using his cell phone while piloting a bullet train, even without any mishaps occurring, there should be zero tolerance for mishaps due to negligence on duty.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 21 Sep 2011 13:04

niran wrote:
Sachin wrote: 1. This engine driver should be summarily dismissed from service, because he seems to be a careless chap who can yap on a mobile phone, while on duty.
2. Railways should perhaps bring in a work instruction that drivers should not carry cell phones while on duty (or issue cell phones which cannot be used to call the general public).
3. The number of accidents caused by the use of mobile phones is becoming alarming. I know of two cases in Bangalore alone, where people walking on the railway track talking (or listening to music) on mobile phones got run over by trains. And many more cases of idiots crossing roads etc. talking to on the cell phones.
i know of a case where the Train Pilot(PC word) in Japan was dismissed and jailed for using his cell phone while piloting a bullet train, even without any mishaps occurring, there should be zero tolerance for mishaps due to negligence on duty.

Yes , I knew that case. I agree that there should be zero tolerance for all such things as it leads to loss of lives.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 21 Sep 2011 13:16

For all the problems with IR, when we see some fantastic goof ups in developed nations (reputed for regular well maintained infrastructure), our IR babus deserve an occasional praise for maintaining a system that handles such large loads (people as well as goods).

In Finland, after revamp of ticketing system, the complete system is dysfunctional for more than a week and expected to be that way for another few days. IT-Vity sometimes gets into their head. The systems could not miniscule loads (total population of Finland is 5 million). They did not foresee the need to deploy it gradually, many passengers delayed, stranded, etc.

A message to our babus which go to europe tours for getting urban planning ideas, to factor in the difference in conditions.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 21 Sep 2011 13:54

prahaar wrote:For all the problems with IR, when we see some fantastic goof ups in developed nations (reputed for regular well maintained infrastructure), our IR babus deserve an occasional praise for maintaining a system that handles such large loads (people as well as goods).

To be frank, I feel most of the people interested in Railways (and kind of monitor news related to it), appreciates the Indian Railways for what it is doing. IR may get critcised by them, but generally these people are also able to appreciate the difficulties etc. In other words, most of such people are not people criticising the sake of it (and offering no solutions, or even looking into the problem a bit deeper).

Being said that:-
1. The case of engine drivers talking on mobile phone, this is sheer negilgence. Some examples need to be set so that other drivers (and running staff get the message).
2. In Kerala, a recent order from the RPF chief was that vending of food & beverages on the platforms is banned due to security reasons

. That is no more "chaai.. coffee..idly..vada" business on the platform. It seems this is for security. The net effect is:-
a. Lot of poor daily wage workers/contractors lost their means of livelihood. They even said that, they can get themselves verified and identities ascertained. No, but the RPF chief's idea was that people who wanted food, should goto the canteens serving food.
b. Passengers in long trains, often pulled into platforms having no food stall forced to run helter skelter looking for the food stall, and purchase what every they want.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 21 Sep 2011 14:12

Green light for Gurgaon-Mundra double-stack container train

This will be the second such route having double stack containers after first route between Pipavav and Jaipur.

"All necessary preparations including approval from Research Designs and Standards Organisation and safety clearance to run the double-stack container train in this route are complete now," said a senior Railway Ministry official.

The 19 feet high double-stack train will ensure fast clearance of containers from the port thereby increasing the traffic handling capacity of the port.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 21 Sep 2011 15:34

Last 24 hrs having trouble using the IRCTC online booking service.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Sep 2011 19:23

I read in a local Tamil newspaper today that there is a possibility of momentary signal malfunction when after the first two signals (two yellow followed by one yellow), the third was green for a brief period before turning red (by which time the engine had crossed). Let's wait for more details. Of course, the engine driver should be proceeded against for negligence for talking on the phone. That is a separate issue.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 21 Sep 2011 20:27

Though the driver was talking on the phone, but i think it was also a signal failure which lead to the accident, that's why the authorize are a bit reluctant to jump to conclusion. They have not even suspend the driver yet.

negi · Post by **negi** » 22 Sep 2011 09:25

Way to go

Indian Railways Accepts Virtual Reservation Message; No Printouts Needed

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 04 Oct 2011 03:11

India's 1st double-decker AC train flagged off

The first double decker air conditioned train between Howrah and Dhanbad was flagged off on 1 Oct 2011.
...
The train has complete sitting accommodation with each coach having a capacity of 128 passengers as compared to 78 passengers in Shatabdi chair cars, thus increasing the sitting space by almost 70 per cent.
...
After the train is launched on the Howrah-Dhanbad route, the next AC double-decker train will run on the Delhi-Jaipur line as an inter-city service.
...
The coaches are fitted with control discharge toilet system.

wig · Post by **wig** » 05 Oct 2011 16:13

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111005/edit.htm#4

a thought provoking article by a retired General Manager of Indian Railway on the Poor state of Indian Railways and the Factors behind its drift into failure. the article is worth readin in full. for reasons that the author best knows he has neglected to dwell on the rampant corruption that plagues the procurement procedure of the railways. the author has also not commented on the lacunae that led to total subversion of the e booking facility in favour of agents that could have been possible only with connivance at the top level. freight booking and clearing especially in the bulk freight segment is also a segment which merited closer observation.
excerpts

Poor financial health should logically have led to curtailment of new investments. Instead, it has led to curtailment of operation and maintenance expenses because ministers do not want to abandon the projects that they feel will affect their electoral prospects. The result of this has been depletion of all the essential reserve funds. There is no money in the Depreciation Reserve Fund used for asset replacement. Similar is the condition of Development and Capital Funds used for passenger amenities and certain new assets. And the most alarmingly of all is the negative balance even in the Pension Fund.

In the past, railway zones knew at the beginning of every quarter the amount they could pay out to suppliers and contractors during the next three months. Today they get to know on a month-to-month basis. This has upset the procurement of operational supplies and maintenance spares.

In short, IR is truly into bankruptcy, which is apparent from the severe cash crunch that it has to manage. Something has to be done urgently for the reason that people in the field are now being compelled to take decisions, which are trade-offs between operating safely and operating at all.

Another reason for this state of affairs is the breakdown in the management of the cadre because of numerous court cases. Most of these cases have arisen from bending rules when promoting individuals. This needs urgent attention at the highest levels of government if higher direction of IR is not to suffer.

IR has been drifting into overall failure owing to the lack of appropriate political direction. Like any complex organisation, IR has to survive in an environment where resources are scare, especially capital. Imprudent and thoughtless expenditure of resources for some time has resulted in the difficult situation IR finds itself today. It is for the political executive to provide a vision, the resources required for achieving the objectives and for its protection from harmful outside influences. Perhaps for sound electoral reasons, political direction has focused more on social justice than on the operational, maintenance and investment needs of IR. This cannot go on any longer since the system has no further capacity to absorb such expenditure.

saip · Post by **saip** » 06 Oct 2011 06:50

I was trying to book a ticket on Indian Railways but when I tried to register I was told I must have an Indian mobile no. Why is this so? I can buy a domestic air ticket from the USA.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 06 Oct 2011 07:02

saip wrote:I was trying to book a ticket on Indian Railways but when I tried to register I was told I must have an Indian mobile no. Why is this so? I can buy a domestic air ticket from the USA.

confirmation codes are sent to it

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 06 Oct 2011 17:30

chandra, laloo didn't have the load of 6th pay commission on him, take that away and mamata's budget would likely look better. he increased profit by running IR to death, damaging it in the long run. mamata was equally clueless.

the current one, dinesh trivedi is better educated and seems to be at least trying to do a good job.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 06 Oct 2011 18:23

Powerful 5500 horsepower diesel locomotives to roll out next year to move more freight.

With the aim of moving more freight at higher speeds, the Railways plan to roll out technologically advanced 5500 horsepower (HP) diesel locomotives early next year.

The new high HP locos will also have air-conditioning and toilet facilities for the engine drivers, a first of its kind in the Indian Railways.

"The 5500 HP locos are being manufactured at Diesel Locomotive Works at Varanasi and we are expecting the first lot early next year," said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the modern loco project.

Called as WDG5, the locos, which will have a new design, will be equipped with several technlogically advanced features including those to guard against accidents.

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi has said, "AC and toilet facilities in the driver's cabin are aimed at providing the required comfort to locomotive drivers," according to the official.

WDG5 has been designed by Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Diesel Locomotive Works at Varanasi with the help of US-based Electro-Motive Diesel.

"They are likely to replace two conventional locos of 3300 HP each to move freight trains because of their high HP and tractive power," said the official, adding they will have solid state or electrically driven equipment to save power and improve reliability.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 06 Oct 2011 18:24

Rahul M wrote:chandra, laloo didn't have the load of 6th pay commission on him, take that away and mamata's budget would likely look better. he increased profit by running IR to death, damaging it in the long run. mamata was equally clueless.

the current one, dinesh trivedi is better educated and seems to be at least trying to do a good job.

Lalu also deliberately excluded 6th Pay commission from his budget although it was certain the amount was to be paid.

As long he was bringing enough seats and was Sonia loyalists a setting sun in the West was shown as a rising sun in the east.

What people dont realise one of mail factors in increasing freight revenue was the increase in oil prices since 2003 which made the diffrential and truck traffic much higher. It was not due anything Lalu did.

saip · Post by **saip** » 06 Oct 2011 18:44

Looking at the passenger fares, I am very much surprised at the number of discounts being offered by Indian Railways -- Artists,Seniors, Teachers, Industrial Workers, youth, Kisans etc. Who is left out? Does anyone pay full fare? There is every case to remove these discounts and increase the fares and improve the railways.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 07 Oct 2011 21:05

saip wrote:Looking at the passenger fares, I am very much surprised at the number of discounts being offered by Indian Railways -- Artists,Seniors, Teachers, Industrial Workers, youth, Kisans etc. Who is left out? Does anyone pay full fare? There is every case to remove these discounts and increase the fares and improve the railways.

That would mean losing voters, would any politician do it. I doubt I would do it if I was in thier shoes.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 08 Oct 2011 07:15

You forgot railway employees and RPF. Most abuse the free passes like anything

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 14 Oct 2011 19:27

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 354892.cms

India's longest railway tunnel unveiled in Jammu & Kashmir
M Saleem Pandit, TNN | Oct 14, 2011, 05.50PM IST

BANIHAL: The northern railways on Friday opened India's longest railway tunnel piercing through the Pir Panjal range in Jammu & Kashmir.

The tunnel is part of the ambitious Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla rail link project of Northern Railways. At 10.96km long, the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel is India's longest and Asia's 2nd longest tunnel, aimed at reducing the travel distance between Quazigund and Banihal to only 11 km and providing a hassle-free travel up to Baramulla.

The 10.96 kms tunnel, which is aligned straight from north to south, is 100 percent water-proof and is also equipped with fire fighting system throughout its entire length.

According to project manager Hindustan construction corporation S Yala, the construction of the tunnel started in November 2005 and was complete in 2011. The total cost of the tunnel was Rs.391 crores.

The train would take 6.6 minutes to travel this distance from Banihal in south side to Qazigund in north side of the mountain and thus would take passenger from Jammu region in to Kashmir region just six minutes.

The fascinating fact about the tunnel excavation is that the total excavated quantity was equal to one mountain, says Vikram Singh Tanwar, PRO HCC.

He said, 1500 workers, employed to excavate the tunnel piercing the Pir Panjal mountain would meet one another when they dig out last spade of the muck tomorrow.

Interestingly, this railway tunnel is below Jawahar tunnel- meant for vehicular traffic only- which usually gets blocked during winters owing to heavy snowfall in the region.

The tunnel day-lighting was witnessed by A.P. Mishra - Member of Railway Board, Mohan Tiwari, Managing Director IRCON, B.D. Garg, CAO - Northern Railway, H. Khanna, Director (Works) IRCON, Achal Jain, Chief Engineer - Northern Railway. IRCON International Ltd, an autonomous constructing agency for Indian railway, was given the task to construct the part of Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla rail link project from Dharam to Baramulla section.

The railway line from Quazigund to Baramulla (119 km) was already completed by IRCON and it is operational to public since October 2009. In order to accelerate the balance work, the total length between Dharam to Quazigund section was divided into 6 Zones and the contract for the Zone - IV & V was awarded to HCC, project manager Yala said.

Yala said , due to the changing geological strata of the young Himalayan rock, New Australian Tunneling Methodology (NATM) was adopted for the construction. During survey, eight different types of geological strata were found in the entire length of the tunnel.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 14 Oct 2011 19:44

^ Awesome. The first pic looks amazing.

Q: Is it a one-way lane only or two-way lane?

I am proud of this -

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 14 Oct 2011 20:07

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/n ... 61805.html

The Kashmir rail link project took a significant leap today with the completion of excavation work of a 11km-long tunnel, the longest in the country, underneath the rugged Pir Panjal mountains. The Pir Panjal tunnel, which constitutes a vital link between Udhampur and Qazigund of the national project, runs below the existing Jawahar road tunnel and promises to reduce the travelling distance between Banihal and Qazigund from 35 km to only 11 km. "It is one of the modern tunnels of the world, which also has provision for a 10-feet wide parallel road running adjacent to the rail track for carrying out rescue work," said Member (Engineering), Railway Board, A P Mishra this afternoon. Given its length, proper ventilation has been provided and measures will be taken to provide mobile connectivity for seamless communication even while travelling through it, he said, adding the entire tunneling work will be completed within six to seven months. Considered a major engineering achievement for railways, the tunnel, which is the second longest tunnel in Asia after China's Wushaoling tunnel (20 km) in Gansu, was executed by Hindustan Construction Company at a cost running close to Rs 1,100 crore. "In other words, Rs 100 crore was spent for constructing a km of the tunnel," Mishra said. The total excavated quantity from the tunnel is equal to a mountain, said officials of the construction firm. "There were several challenges like the unpredictable nature of the rock, the strain and ingress of water and harsh weather but we overcame them through careful planning and efficient use of technology," said project manager of the construction firm, Sharanappa Yalal.

csaurabh · Post by **csaurabh** » 14 Oct 2011 21:47

Just wanted to rant on IRCTC website.. again. The thing is an abomination of unparalleled proportions. About 9 times out of ten it dumps you rightaway with 'Session Expired'. The few times you get in, you have to enter station name.. then wait as the site slooowly comes up with matching stations. Then another station. Then click for availability ( Half the time it will give communication error here ). Then booking ( Captcha gets screwed ), Make payment, netbanking, finish. AT ANY POINT the system can dump you with 'Session expired' and you will have to start over again. And if by any chance you paid but it got interrupted? Forget it, your money's gone. Start again.

It took me about an hour to reserve a ticket. There is NO problem with my connection. I have high speed internet in the heart of Mumbai. Just imagine what it is like in some remote place. I once tried it from Jamshedpur and it was completely impossible as nothing loads fast.

If it were not for the fact that my only other option is to wake up early in the morning and stand in a queue for an hour, I would never use it. The funny thing is, it used to be way better 5 years ago. I think the server is spammed by DDOS calls by touts/agents who then resell the tickets for double the price.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 Oct 2011 21:51

I believe they did try once to make it a more modern web based thing but it failed. the back end is still CMC code developed in early 90s and clearly showing its age.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 14 Oct 2011 22:00

cs, get it from eticket agent, the service charge is nominal.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 14 Oct 2011 22:07

The Banihal tunnel is designed for double track but will probably remain single track + 10 foot road. Traffic just will not be there. NHDP is planing a 4 lane road tunnel at about same elevation and about 8 km as part of expressway network. God alone knows when that will be done.
--------------------------------------

Singhaji,

Sounds like you need to propose a crash program to fix the IR reservation code. Oracle/Sybase or something along those lines.

100 punyams and 10 coconut at Tirpati to who ever upgrades the code/server.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 14 Oct 2011 22:09

Theo_Fidel wrote:The Banihal tunnel is designed for double track but will probably remain single track + 10 foot road. Traffic just will not be there. NHDP is planing a 4 lane road tunnel at about same elevation and about 8 km as part of expressway network. God alone knows when that will be done.
--------------------------------------

Singhaji,

Sounds like you need to propose a crash program to fix the IR reservation code. Oracle/Sybase or something along those lines.

100 punyams and 10 coconut at Tirpati to who ever upgrades the code/server.

Another tunnel? Isn't this tunnel below the jawahar tunnel which is roadways?

anishns · Post by **anishns** » 14 Oct 2011 22:33

Singha saar Airline reservation systems (notably Travelport) in maasaland are still somewhat on Mainframes and code written in Cobol. That should hardly be an excuse...

Singha wrote:I believe they did try once to make it a more modern web based thing but it failed. the back end is still CMC code developed in early 90s and clearly showing its age.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 15 Oct 2011 00:13

Railways increase freight charges.

Facing financial crunch, railways have sought Rs 2100 crore bridge loan from the Finance Ministry to meet the development expenditure. The cash reserve has also dwindled to Rs 75 lakh.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 15 Oct 2011 06:21

This is a GREAT ACHIEVEMENT!!! I remember traveling to Srinagar in 1977 as a child with my parents. Banihal tunnel had flowing water from above that soaked our luggage atop bus. It was a one way tunnel which means that one side had to wait until all the traffic from other side has passed through.

I always wondered why isn't India government doing enough to connect Kashmir to India!! this is a great step!! do not forget that it was started by BJP under Atal Bihari's government.!!!

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 15 Oct 2011 13:53

csaurabh wrote:Just wanted to rant on IRCTC website.. again. The thing is an abomination of unparalleled proportions.

+1. IRCTC web site has reached a stage where it cannot be relied upon. I tell this from my personal experience in the last 6 months. The site has only worked for me, when I tried booking the tickets at non-peak hours. The site as far as I know is developed using a tool BroadVision, and this tool has its own limitations. And yes, if you make one singe mistake you are logged out. The mistake could be as simple as clicking on the "Search" button again, when you find that the site is taking ages to bring you a list of trains running between two stations.

If it were not for the fact that my only other option is to wake up early in the morning and stand in a queue for an hour, I would never use it. The funny thing is, it used to be way better 5 years ago. I think the server is spammed by DDOS calls by touts/agents who then resell the tickets for double the price.

Railways have been time and again saying that Touts would not be tolerated or strict actions would be taken against them. But at least in case of Tatkal tickets, booking is a very sad affair if you use IRCTC.com. You have to make sure that you have logged in before 8AM (and also make sure that you dont make a mistake, so that the site throws you out with "Session Expired"). Then the search for the stations should work. And then you should also see how many berths are available in Tatkal Quota. I have seen with my own eyes

. When I started off the availability was around 100+ berths in Tatkal quota, and by the time I made the payments it had become W/L. I still feel that there are ways to book Tatkal tickets in bulk, and it is being executed pretty neatly by the touts or agents.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 15 Oct 2011 18:00

Train driver held in accident case

The Railway Police on Thursday arrested A. Rajkumar, driver of a suburban train that met with an accident near Arakkonam on September 13, under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC, police sources said.

The Chennai Beach-Vellore Cantonment Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU) rammed the Arakkonam-Katpadi passenger train near the Chitheri railway station in Vellore district, which left 11 persons dead and several others injured.

After documentary and technical evidence revealed negligence of the driver, a special team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police V. Ponram arrested Rajkumar at the Moore Market Complex when he was about to board a train to Avadi on Thursday evening, the sources said.

According to the Inspector General of Police (Railways) Sunil Kumar, investigators had adequate evidence against the driver.

Though Rajkumar claimed that he had crossed the signal in green, investigation and statement of experts proved there was no possibility of the signal turning green as there was another train moving in the section. His claim that he had not used the phone were proved wrong by call details records.

Mr. Kumar said there was standing instruction that train drivers should not use their mobile phones while on duty unless in case of an emergency.

Well negligence at its height. Must be awarded exemplary sentence as seemingly simple case of negligence results in deaths of innocent and unsuspecting passengers and injuries to scores of others.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 19 Oct 2011 09:48

I use Indian Railways and I know this will hurt my pocket, but finally some sense after the rubbish of no fare hikes started by Lallu.

The Rail Unions it seems have forced the government to make a sensible decision.

Get set to shell out more for AC train travel

Truth be told second class fares are abysmally low and require a 10-15% correction as a small step.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Oct 2011 17:16

Aditya, I hope that the Railways also cuts down on the free passes it issues to its employees.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 22 Oct 2011 23:05

http://boingboing.net/2011/10/21/compla ... rains.html
Complaining letter that got toilets installed on India's trains
This 1909 letter from Okhil Chandra Sen to the Sahibganj divisional railway office in West Bengal is credited with instigating the practice of installing toilets on India's trains. The image presented here is the version displayed at India's Railway Museum.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 27 Oct 2011 09:54

Sachin wrote:
csaurabh wrote:Just wanted to rant on IRCTC website.. again. The thing is an abomination of unparalleled proportions.
+1. IRCTC web site has reached a stage where it cannot be relied upon. I tell this from my personal experience in the last 6 months. The site has only worked for me, when I tried booking the tickets at non-peak hours. The site as far as I know is developed using a tool BroadVision, and this tool has its own limitations. And yes, if you make one singe mistake you are logged out. The mistake could be as simple as clicking on the "Search" button again, when you find that the site is taking ages to bring you a list of trains running between two stations.

While online booking started by Indian Railways is a pioneering example , it has failed to keep pace with the newer developments, improve reliability of the system and increase response time for query and making final reservation. I suspect that they underestimated the number of queries it would generate before making final reservation. It should be urgently upgraded and IRCTC being a corporation , there should not be a big problem.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 07 Nov 2011 00:50

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111106/haryana.htm#1

Trial of high-speed trains from Nov 15
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Rohtak, November 5
The plying of high-speed trains on the Rohtak-Delhi section of the Railways will be a reality soon due to completion of the electrification of this route by the department concerned.

As the trial run will begin from November 15, the facility is likely to reduce the travel time between this city and the national capital drastically.

This was stated by Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda while addressing a gathering at the local railway station last evening.

He was there to receive the Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi Express, which had its inaugural run on this route. Shatabdi will halt only at Rohtak in the state during its run between Delhi and Ludhiana.

According to the MP, the electrification of the rail route, which had begun about two years ago, had been completed and the Railways would soon be launching electric trains on this section. As the trial run was expected to begin soon, the plying of such trains on this section would help in the reduction of travelling time.

The average time taken by passenger and express trains between Delhi and Rohtak, which had a distance of around 75 km, ranged from 1.45 hours to 2.20 hours at present.

He claimed that the expansion of such a facility would prove beneficial not only to the commuters, but also in promoting commercial activities.

Now, a trader from this town could commute daily to Ludhiana, a hub of hosiery and other industries, as the travelling time had been shortened considerably with the new super fast train.

The starting of the Shatabdi train and electrification of the route would fulfil the aspirations of the railway commuters to quite an extent as plying of the EMU trains was expected to begin soon, he said.

He also announced that a new train halt would soon be operational at Lakhanmajra town on the Rohtak-Jind section of the Railways.

Meanwhile, the demand for a halt of the Shatabdi Express at Jind has also been made.

Jind has been a leading train junction on this route after Rohtak.

The arrival of the Shatabdi from Delhi will be at 8.17 am in the morning and it will reach Ludhiana by 12.20 pm.

While the travel time between Rohtak and Ludhiana had been reduced to just four hours, the arrival of the train from Ludhiana would be at 8.27 pm. It will be reaching Delhi at 10.05 pm

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 07 Nov 2011 00:51

Goa Special Train from Chandigarh

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111106/cth1.htm#4

Chandigarh, November 5
In a New Year bonanza for city residents, especially revellers, the Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) today announced a special train to Goa after Christmas in December this year. The train will enable city revellers to be in Goa on the New Year’s Eve.

Each passenger will be charged Rs 5,000, which will cover expenses for travel, food and stay at hotels during night halts at Mumbai and Goa.

Chief Regional Manager (North) RK Sondh said the dates to run the train were being finalised.

He said the train would halt for a night at Mumbai and reach Goa in the morning of the New Year’s Eve. After a two-day halt at Goa i.e. on December 31 and January 1, the train will return to Chandigarh.

Sondh said the tour would offer passengers free meals, accommodation and a horde of other facilities during the trip. The passengers would also be covered under the insurance scheme, he added.

Under the IRCTC’s Bharat Darshan Programme, 12 special trains were planned to be launched next year, which included eight to various destinations in South India, including Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari and Tirupati.

He said two trains would leave for Somnath via Rajasthan. The train would pass through Jaipur, Ajmer Sharif, Udaipur, Mount Abu and Dwarika.

They were also planning to launch a special train to seven Jyotirlingas, besides a special hill chartered luxury train on the Kalka-Shimla section to target foreign tourists visiting the hill station throughout the year.

The Chief Regional Manager said a special train would also be launched from New Delhi to Vaishno Devi and Srinagar. The train would reach Amritsar in the morning and after taking the passengers for sightseeing to Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh Memorial and Attari-Wagah international border, it would leave for the Vaishno Devi shrine. A similar train would be launched from New Delhi to Srinagar.

Rs 5,000 per ticket

Each passenger will be charged Rs 5,000, which will cover expenses for food and stay at hotels during night halts at Mumbai and Goa

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 07 Nov 2011 14:15

SBajwa wrote:Goa Special Train from Chandigarh

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111106/cth1.htm#4

Chandigarh, November 5
In a New Year bonanza for city residents, especially revellers, the Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) today announced a special train to Goa after Christmas in December this year. The train will enable city revellers to be in Goa on the New Year’s Eve.

Each passenger will be charged Rs 5,000, which will cover expenses for travel, food and stay at hotels during night halts at Mumbai and Goa.

Chief Regional Manager (North) RK Sondh said the dates to run the train were being finalised.

He said the train would halt for a night at Mumbai and reach Goa in the morning of the New Year’s Eve. After a two-day halt at Goa i.e. on December 31 and January 1, the train will return to Chandigarh.

Sondh said the tour would offer passengers free meals, accommodation and a horde of other facilities during the trip. The passengers would also be covered under the insurance scheme, he added.

Under the IRCTC’s Bharat Darshan Programme, 12 special trains were planned to be launched next year, which included eight to various destinations in South India, including Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari and Tirupati.

He said two trains would leave for Somnath via Rajasthan. The train would pass through Jaipur, Ajmer Sharif, Udaipur, Mount Abu and Dwarika.

They were also planning to launch a special train to seven Jyotirlingas, besides a special hill chartered luxury train on the Kalka-Shimla section to target foreign tourists visiting the hill station throughout the year.

The Chief Regional Manager said a special train would also be launched from New Delhi to Vaishno Devi and Srinagar. The train would reach Amritsar in the morning and after taking the passengers for sightseeing to Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh Memorial and Attari-Wagah international border, it would leave for the Vaishno Devi shrine. A similar train would be launched from New Delhi to Srinagar.

Rs 5,000 per ticket

Each passenger will be charged Rs 5,000, which will cover expenses for food and stay at hotels during night halts at Mumbai and Goa

Correct me if I am wrong, is there a train from Goa to Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkotta. If such is not there, why is it the case?