Indian Railways Thread (Dec 2015)

Ashokk · Post by **Ashokk** » 03 Apr 2016 12:43

Gatimaan Express, India's Fastest Train, To Debut On Tuesday

Agra: India's fastest train, the Gatimaan Express, is all set to be launched on Tuesday, opening a new chapter in the history of the Indian Railways.

The inaugural run of Gatimaan Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin, Delhi, to Agra Cantt. is scheduled for April 5, the Divisional Railway Manager's office said in a statement.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will inaugurate the train at 10 am by remote from his office.

But its scheduled will be changed, making it to leave Nizamuddin railway station at 8:10 am and reach Agra Cantt. at 9:50 am, a run of 100 minutes instead of 90 as initially planned.

The train has 12 AC coaches, hostesses in each compartment, free Wi-Fi facility, automatic doors, and several other facilities to offer a comfortable train journey in specially designed coaches.

The train's fare will be more than Shatabadi Express. It will run six days a week except Friday, when the Taj Mahal is closed.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 04 Apr 2016 07:14

This is funny:

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 04 Apr 2016 20:41

vina wrote:

Pretty cool. I didnt know that IR had these enclosed car carriers. I thought it is the "open" type. This seems to be for Namma Bengaluru markets. Glad that our recently bought Ciaz arrived this way (the MRF tyres we got as OEM fitment are kinda iffy though).

From out side look like car trains that I take when I cross English channel. Only difference is European wagons are inter-connected. Very easy to off load.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 07 Apr 2016 07:28

CNBC-TV18 NewsVerified account
‏@CNBCTV18News
EXCL @sureshpprabhu, Railway Minister: Looking to invest at least $142 billion in the next four years.

member_29172 · Post by **member_29172** » 07 Apr 2016 07:31

^^ Those trains have been in service since 2008 iirc, before that an older, less efficient method was used.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 08 Apr 2016 01:32

http://www.ptinews.com/news/7309549_Tal ... -June.html

After sucessfully launching Gatiman Express, Railways is likely to hold trials of high-speed trains manufactured by Spanish firm Talgo that touch a maximum speed of 200 kmph, on existing tracks in June.

Tracks were strengthened between Nizamuddin and Agra stations for the launch of Gatiman, the country's fastest train.

Dispatched in a cargo ship from Barcelona on March 27, currently nine Talgo coaches are on the high seas and expected to anchor at Mumbai port on April 21.

The Spanish train maker has offered to test run itd lighter and faster trains free of cost on the existing Indian Railways network.

After reaching the Mumbai harbour, the Talgo coaches will get customs clearance and then moved to Izzatnagar depot for trial expected to be in June.

According to a senior Railway Ministry official, "The first Talgo train trial will be conducted between Bareilly and Moradabad rail route at a maximum speed of 115 km per hour for oscillation test. This will be followed by another trial between Palwal and Mathura route at a maximum speed of 180 kmph."

The third test will be carried out between Delhi and Mumbai at a maximum speed of 200 kmph.

According to Railways, Talgo trains are capable of running at speeds varying between 160-200 kmph on the existing infrastructure without any upgrade. Railways has to strengthen the tracks and upgrade the signalling system for running Gatiman Express at 160 kmph speed.

Barring minor changes, there will be no need for overhauling the tracks for the Talgo trial run, he said, adding, the cost of import of coaches and custom clearances will be borne by Talgo.

Besides reducing travel time, Talgo's lighter trains consume 30 per cent less energy which will help railways reduce their power bill.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 09 Apr 2016 06:37

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 09 Apr 2016 07:36

shopping area !! restaurant.. to seat 300 people at a time... not enough bogies for passengers and he wants shopping area?

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Apr 2016 08:10

why do you think it should seat 300 people? what is your view of shopping area or restaurant in a dedicated coach?

a healthcare unit is too expensive to carry on? is that a bad facility? what do you mean by not enough bogies?

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 10 Apr 2016 09:40

saik ..this restaurant may be a good idea in US train. Now let me take example of Golden Temple mail ( mumbai>Amritsar) ..with maybe around 12 2nd class coaches, approx 5 a/c coaches ( 2 AC, 3 AC) and approx 2 general coaches. this train will have at any time approx 12*72 + 5*60 + 2*100 people = 864+500 = approx 1300 people. a) first question is where will u place this coach in the train..the a/c coaches are in the middle so when the train stops the a/c coaches are in the middle of the platform. assuming instead of pantry car ( which is usually attached to a/c coach) we have the restaurant coach. for 2nd class passenger to access the restaurant..they will have to cross the a/c coaches..imagine the traffic inside a a/c coach? the connection between a/c coach and 2nd class coach is closed at 9.30 pm till 6 am ..so no access to restaurant during this time.. b) how will u give access to the unreserved coach to the restaurant ( not that many people travelling there will access the restaurant ) but if u dont there will be hue and cry abt discrimination. c) how many seating places will there be in the restaurant? in the pantry car, almost 35 to 40% coach area is taken by food preparation area...some area for sleeping bunks of the pantry staff approx 20% ... so u have maybe 40% of the coach area for seating. How many people can u seat ? in this small area?

I feel this idea is not practical in indian context with huge no of passengers in a train. they should have a good sms service where u can order food thru mobile and vendors who deliver food on the train.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 10 Apr 2016 10:18

any facility that requires pax to physically move to that place is impractical on IR, given the pax load, distance to be covered and space provided for moving.

a more practical option would be to have some basic medical + shopping facilities available on board but people avail them through a network -- either an app where people can login with their PNR and request their item/medicine/meal of choice or an on-board facility on each compartment that communicates with the pantry/shopping car.
catering people anyway bring the meals and soft drinks to pax 3-4 times a day. no reason they cant do the same for medicine and basic shopping items.

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 10 Apr 2016 13:17

what would one like to shop for inside the train which is not available on the shops on the platform? i mean i am not looking for rayban or mob phones or laptop in the train? rest all that is important for passengers is available on the station soap, comb, hair oil, etc . Medical services, i mean one can keep a chest of some life saving drugs in the guard compartment or the a/c compartments..and the guards be trained in first aid with access to robust medical services thru SMS, mobiles at stations. what we need is more cleaning staff, PA systems inside trains rather than shopping and restaurants for which there is little need.

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 10 Apr 2016 13:20

in fact i feel they should remove pantry car and have a system wherein u can order either thru a App or thru a onboard dedicated person or at time of reserving a ticket and food is delivered

nawabs · Post by **nawabs** » 10 Apr 2016 13:36

^^ This is happening in plenty of important trains where you can place an order along with your pnr number, pantry cars in these trains have been removed. Just last month, they replaced one of the pantry cars with 3ac in all rajdhanis.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 10 Apr 2016 15:10

I am a little scptical about online ordering of food and being delivered at the appointed station. The problem is while punctuality over all at the destination might be allright (thanks to some liberal buffer time between the last but one halt and the ultimate destination) but trains invariably get delayed along the way. I recently travelled Chennai to Guwahati by Yeshwantpur Kamakhya express. By the time the train reached New Bongaigaon town, it was two and half hours late. So two meals on the train would have been a problem if there had been no pantry car. The problem gets compounded if it is a Duranto train that has even fewer halts unlike other super fast trains.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Apr 2016 18:42

make sense. on the same lines, one could still have the pantry/few tables facilities and go by appointments via some mobile app. we need to modernize the pantry. it is a service industry
- schedule a health checkup or call doc bhai
.. the premium service trains could have the restaurants - at premium (reduce traffic) book your table or dedicated meeting board/game table - TT, chess, caroms, etc. [I'm not talking about poor travelers - think about competing with Air India for high speed rails]
- a library can be made available on check out as well. can be hand delivered to your seat for reading.

and most importantly, we should have at least two cops per train.

cctv, modern toilets, data connections are far more important than these and must.

IR can be the baseline for moving our BPL into vikas plan as well. we can do it.
if 90% of people are employed, we will achieve this.

manjgu, it need not be massan scale.. but purely indic scale. but take their big ideas

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 10 Apr 2016 19:10

>> what would one like to shop for inside the train which is not available on the shops on the platform? i mean i am not looking for rayban or mob phones or laptop in the train?

manjgu, even food is available on stations, so why provide that on-board ?? reality is that for journeys often stretching into days people frequently miss small FMCG items which the caterer can easily arrange for, and pay a fee to IR. it can be done within existing infra and manpower requirements. the pvt caterers even now provide similar services but it is unregulated. regulating would ensure a standard for the pax and earn the IR a bit of extra cash.

>> what we need is more cleaning staff, PA systems inside trains rather than shopping and restaurants for which there is little need.

reminds me of arguments "we need education and food security, not the military".
frankly, we need both. similarly, railway pax need a better experience for their money than they get now. currently there are no medical facilities on-board trains. the RM is trying to address that but all efforts so far are ad-hoc and wont survive a change in IR leadership. heck, I would suggest keeping a doctor on call on long distance trains.
even a paid medicine facility would address much of that. that can be done within existing infra.
I dont see why we should sacrifice that for PA and clean-up crew. both are needed.

======
nandakumar, pantry cars even now are more into packaging of food than they are into preparing it. IR has progressively reduced the practice of cooking food on-board in favour of loading cooked food onto trains.

======
psyche, premium or not, trains in India are overbooked and cant satisfy 100% demand. they have no space to divert to such activities. if there is any extra coach space it will go to creating more seats. that is the situation for foreseeable future.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Apr 2016 19:19

^that sure mean, the supply side must increase. meaning additional trains or more coaches and engines to support the demand. however that is entirely a different issue than services. just because I have not added additional passenger coaches, it doesn't mean we need to cut down services.

imho, we should add coaches and engines to support the additional thrust required to fix that problem. it is always easy to detach few based on demand.
--
PS: also means we need to extend all IR station platform lengths.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 10 Apr 2016 19:36

I think the online ordering is an added feature - not a substitution for your meals in trains with pantry cars. you can choose to take it or not in place of your std meal.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 10 Apr 2016 19:38

There are some good points on both sides of SaiK saar's suggestions. Ultimately, having a mix of all will help, given the 1000+ passenger strength on each train. Let me respond to a few of them here.

manjgu wrote:what would one like to shop for inside the train which is not available on the shops on the platform? i mean i am not looking for rayban or mob phones or laptop in the train? rest all that is important for passengers is available on the station soap, comb, hair oil, etc . Medical services, i mean one can keep a chest of some life saving drugs in the guard compartment or the a/c compartments..and the guards be trained in first aid with access to robust medical services thru SMS, mobiles at stations. what we need is more cleaning staff, PA systems inside trains rather than shopping and restaurants for which there is little need.

Saar, consider this. Our trains journeys are in the order of days sometimes, folks will need toothpaste, soaps, books, magazines, batteries, etc. Also, while most of these are available on the platforms, the problem is time. Most of the halts are 5 mins long, except a few that are technical in nature (loco/crew change, etc.). So there is usually not enough time to go purchase something on the platform. Also, our junctions have multiple platforms, and these stores are not available on all platforms in all stations. Then trains like Rajdhani have even shorter halts, and some trains like TN run for 5-6 hours at a stretch without stops. Same with Durontos. In light of these things, having a small convenience store on board is not a bad idea at all.

nandakumar wrote:I am a little scptical about online ordering of food and being delivered at the appointed station. The problem is while punctuality over all at the destination might be allright (thanks to some liberal buffer time between the last but one halt and the ultimate destination) but trains invariably get delayed along the way. I recently travelled Chennai to Guwahati by Yeshwantpur Kamakhya express. By the time the train reached New Bongaigaon town, it was two and half hours late. So two meals on the train would have been a problem if there had been no pantry car. The problem gets compounded if it is a Duranto train that has even fewer halts unlike other super fast trains.

Yes, this is an issue. That's why IR while preferring to replace all pantry cars with hot buffet cars (airline style), they are moving slowly on this. As of now, only Rajdhani/Duronto style all-AC trains have hot buffet cars. They may extend it to some trains that are punctual, but complete phasing out of pantries are a long way off. I would suggest retaining them on a few trains and moving to electric stoves for better safety. Also, daytime intercities will continue to have pantry cars, as they do a roaring business and is not feasible to load only meals at a designated point. Who will serve all the bajjis and bondas?

SaiK wrote:- a library can be made available on check out as well. can be hand delivered to your seat for reading.

This had existed in the 70s. TN exp when it was launched had a functioning lending library on board, up to 80s, I believe. Not sure why it was discontinued.

As Rahul M saar said, we cannot have a model where people traverse the entire train to avail these facilities. It's simply too far! Pantry staff are the better option. Having said that, I am still inclined to offer some space where some of the passengers can choose to go have some coffee/food/reading in comfort. If done right, it will be successful: the roof can be lined with fibreglass, or have larger windows to enhance views. It will turn the long journey into an experience. Of course, given the size and crowd on our trains, it's not feasible to have such facilities on all trains. At first, they can be tried on Rajdhanis, most of which are 17-20 coaches long (full permitted length is 24). Alternatively, they can be made a paid facility on other trains to regulate the rush.

Lastly, there is the point about not having space for extra coaches offerring such services. Let me offer an alternative suggestion. Why not make all hot buffet cars (which are there anyway) double decker? The tech exists - simply connect a DD coach to a regular rake. And since they are hot buffet cars, no cooking is going to happen on board anyway, so less issues with heat, smell, etc. The top part can be made into the library/convenience store/coffee shop, etc. Throw in paid wi-fi facilities also if needed. Problem solved?

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 10 Apr 2016 21:29

saar.... r u telling me u run out of soap and toothpaste on a train trip..i dont think any trip lasts more than 80 hours on IR? i have been also travelling on trains since last 51 years..first time during indo pak war in sept 1965 from assam to delhi as a baby in my moms arms..never did i need to buy soap, toothpaste or FMCG items on the train. I always buy newspaper from where i board or when there is a halt..i have even brought oranges from the market outside Nagpur statation during train halts !! medicines, FMCG all are available at train stations.. dont u carry toothpaste, soap when u r travelling to a distant place ?? maybe the pantry staff can sell this kind of stuff...on many trains though i have seen paper soap being sold by folks.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 10 Apr 2016 22:08

saar ji, not everybody is as organised as you.

If I had a rupee for everytime I had to break fast on a train with only fingers to brush my teeth, I could afford a decent dinner at the least.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 10 Apr 2016 22:26

Train halts are my worst nightmare.......curtsy Bollywood. In so many films story gets twist when somebody boards a wrong train,or misses or gets in contact with shoddy characters ...................everything happens on train halts. I can never imagine myself stepping out of train on halts.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 10 Apr 2016 23:15

manjgu saar, for sure senior citizens will find it useful. They cannot alight and search for, walk up to and purchase stuff and walk back to the coach within 10 min. Also, please keep in mind my earlier point about all facilities not being available on all platforms on all stations.

Sure, those who can and want to, can purchase from the platforms. I definitely do that, considering I cannot help but get down on every halt

. I have to get down, walk about, and purchase some water, magazine or bonda (Itarsi has the best, btw). But we should have the option of on-board purchases for others, that's all.

That's why I led with this statement above:

arshyam wrote:There are some good points on both sides of SaiK saar's suggestions. Ultimately, having a mix of all will help, given the 1000+ passenger strength on each train.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 11 Apr 2016 05:17

mobile haspathaal can add benefits to remote villages where facilities does not exists. of course, they have to time it. each railway station can be a nodal point for healthcare service. when you get a network done, you will see the importance. it depends on how much we need healthcare made available. I am pretty positive there is at least one case that need service per hour in each train owing to our huge rail traffic.

there is no end to vikas.. all you have to do is start it., make the designs organic enough to grow.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 11 Apr 2016 05:58

http://www.asianage.com/delhi/stirs-for ... n-year-136
Regular gatherings of protesters on railway tracks to press for their demands have led to cancellation of 2,500 trains, with an increase of 900 additional cancellations in the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway in the financial year that ended on March 31. Financial year 2015-16 witnessed 2,500 cancellations of passenger and goods trains due to several agitations held on railway tracks.

How do you ban this?

rahulm · Post by **rahulm** » 11 Apr 2016 06:52

Almost every conceivable and imaginable commodity from comic books to underwear and everything in between that travellers might possibly need in this life time and even the next is sold by casual vendors yelling at 70db from 6 AM as they work their way through the carriages.

All extra capacity will go to seats. One additional shayanyaan (sleeper) coach clears a wait list of 72 authorised and many more illegal travellers and a General coach at least 3 times as many. Demand stress means any additional capacity will go towards clearing those crazy wait lists.

Panoramic carriages are appealing; trouble is IR struggles to keep basic windows clean and in India dust and grime is a constant problem. Everything new looks ancient within 1 year.

In December I crossed the Alps and the Swiss-Italian border on the Bernina Express from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy. Spotless trains with glass panoramic carriages, impeccable service and run with ruthless efficiency. Very TFTA. A real treat.

It would be lovely if IR could run something similar in the Kashmir valley and maintain the carriages after the Cheep Minister inaugurates the run. Quite unpleasant to look up and find fresh and stale crow and pigeon poo mixed in with diesel soot from JAT homed stock.

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 11 Apr 2016 07:06

...ok. if u want to have a shop on board so be it. i have heard people complain abt bad toilets, bad food, etc on the train but never about not getting toothpaste on the train.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 11 Apr 2016 18:46

manjgu, certain facilities are mandatory. those are not just complains but pure 100% basic requirements that previous governance failed to establish!

eat+sleep+poop.- get the basics here right.

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 11 Apr 2016 19:34

saik..i think rahulm put it very succinctly. i dont wish to add anything to it. the only thing i purchase on a train is paper soap. and u didnt get me..i meant its imp to get the sleep, eat , poop right only was not sure abt a shop, restaurant on board.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 11 Apr 2016 19:37

no he didn't.. people would not be screaming at 70db for their lives, when they can find better ways of living. you don't have to believe me, but I am dead sure all people like vikas

Picklu · Post by **Picklu** » 11 Apr 2016 23:28

rahulm wrote:Almost every conceivable and imaginable commodity from comic books to underwear and everything in between that travellers might possibly need in this life time and even the next is sold by casual vendors yelling at 70db from 6 AM as they work their way through the carriages.

The real charm of Indian rail.

Garam Chai, Jhalmuri and my favourite - Dalimer Hazmi Guli

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 11 Apr 2016 23:40

Indian Railways Rs 8 lakh crore infrastructure development plan to be rolled out soon

Plagued with a long spell of underinvestment, Indian Railways is firming up a plan for infrastructure development with an ambitious target of pumping in more than Rs 8 lakh crore over the next four years.

The massive investment plan would involve high-speed rail connectivity, station redevelopment and capacity augmentation across the country.

We are drawing up concrete plans for investment of about Rs 8.5 lakh crore in the coming four years for modernisation of rail infrastructure, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Hoping that a lot of opportunities for economic growth will follow modernization of the public sector behemoth, the official said the National Plan for Railway Infrastructure Development is being formed factoring in funding of projects for the coming years.

As per the plan, while part of the funding will come from the capital expenditure provided for in the Rail Budget, a major chunk is expected to come from outside the budget through PPP and multilateral funding.

Indian Railways capital expenditure has increased from Rs 57,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 97,000 crore in 2015-16 and, in the current fiscal, it has been pegged at Rs 1.21 lakh crore.

Talking about huge opportunities for investment in the sector, the official said while LIC is lending Rs 1.5 lakh crore for rail expansion, avenues for funds from other countries are also being explored.

“We have agreements with 13 countries for cooperation in the rail sector. Railways has already signed a Rs 97,636 crore deal with Japan for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project,” he said.

Besides the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, Indian Railway is planning to link all metros with high-speed trains as part of its Diamond Quadrilateral project which requires huge private funding.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 12 Apr 2016 10:56

By the way, the first "water tanker" train have arrived at drought hit Latur, Maharashtra (from Kota, via Miraj). The second one is getting readied and set to roll on April 15th. Grand welcome to the drivers & the guard at Latur. As per NDTV news in the morning "communal" forces have started decorating one of the coach and putting flex boards appreciating the CM. "Secular" cadre (mainly Congress) folks also seems to be roaming around the vicinity.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 12 Apr 2016 22:51

Instead of having a shopping arcade, health area, etc on the Coach why not in railway stations?

Make decent bathrooms, Shopping areas, hygienic eateries, Dispensary/Doctor's area, etc on the Station itself.

disha · Post by **disha** » 13 Apr 2016 10:05

SaiK wrote:

Congrats! Good idea - at least will be discussed!

You should have asked for paid shower stalls!! My doc-bhai cousin always looked like daku-bhai cousin after long distance IR travel!! First thing he would head for would be a shower!!

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 13 Apr 2016 12:51

IR has a tough task on its hand. At one end of spectrum is low paying capacity crowd, who are dependent on railway services, the middle spectrum is the class which can pay a bit more for clean surroundings. The upper end is composed of upper middle class which can also at least occasionally afford air travel. These three groups have significantly different needs, this board comprises substantially the third category. If IR can provide value for money (not necessarily cheap services), the third category would not mind cross subsidization of the first category.

IR and temples are the only places where the rich and the poor share the space in close proximity. And both these places, we here almost similar set of complaints (too crowded, dirty, etc.), not saying that it is untrue. It is like designing a network which is optimized for basic browsing, large background downloads and high quality real-time VR streaming.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Apr 2016 17:11

we are getting used to the "paid" prefix eh!~

#presstitution has flavors!.. must think of SDRE ways to have some security or club service wala to collect money.

automation is a problem. how do we do some coin operated door opening? you take a shower, take some coins with you to open back again. if you forget to carry enough, and take a long shower, you are are stuck!

solution could be: the system gives you 2 min warning to dress up! and 30 second beeping to open the door automatically and remains open until you put in coins. it can be disastrous for women.

better option would be premium first class studio cabin all for yourself... a shower, a microwave, a small fridge to keep your liquids(alcohol), memory foam bed with bamboo viscous sheets, 1080p tv with all channels, and other 5* beck&calls.

next in the wish list: americans/nris traveling in such facility calling for bachelor party or even marriage party, including suhag raat.

just kidding - but of course completely doable market. that is how RV went a big hit in the massan lands

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 14 Apr 2016 06:09

The pace at which projects are getting off the ground for capacity augmentation is quite astonishing. Within 6 months of sanction by Niti Aayog etc. the tendering process begins and less than a year construction starts. This is quite impressive. A year ago I had posted videos of the bridge at just foundation level being constructed across the Godavari at Manchiryal(Telangana) on Delhi-Chennai trunk route, and third line between Balharshah and Kazipet.
A recent video shows all the piers ready and the bridge ready for placement of spans. This is a crucial trunk route.
Also Ramagundam super thermal power plant is here as is Singareni collieries. With the gauge conversion between Gondia and Jabalpur also taking place, the Balharshah route between Chennai and Allahabad-Gorakhpur will also take off, so capacity augmentation by third line construction here is of paramount importance.

Here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIMFRvO6ZR4

Next Arasikere-Tumkur doubling has taken of really fast within 7 months of sanction on the busy Hubli-Bangalore route. Here are recent videos: ( between Karadi and Arasikere)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... etAmAMFOB0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... R7NOCh4jYM

Penukonda-Bangalore doubling has also started, to decongest, Bangalore-Hyderabad, Bangalore-Delhi and Bangalore-Mumbai. No videos yet.

Doubling on Kayanakulam--Ernakulam( via Kottayam) section between Trivandrum-Ernakulam is also moving fast with many sections close to inspection by CRS.

Vaikom rd. to Piravom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILKw0gO2W-U

same section updated 2 weeks ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGJ0LMfwHrU

Karnataka government is still unable to give the 15 acres of land needed for 4km of tracks needed to finish Bangalore-Hassan new line and direct port connectivity to Mangalore. What a pity. These negotiations are dragging endlessly. The new line is a direct path to Mangalore from Bangalore and 50km shorter than the current railway link. New line follows the bus route.

Three days ago the last DC suburban rake ran on the Harbor line in Mumbai. Here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4tYgHvyrsE

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 Apr 2016 09:16

>> Karnataka government is still unable to give the 15 acres of land needed for 4km of tracks

no other govt in the country is as ineffective in all matters as the current one. so not surprising. it is not a govt, it is a official anarchy with no Sauron on top to shape things and make sure linear orders are followed...imagine Mordor without Sauron, all the uruk hai elites will form their own bands and fiefs, the orcs will likewise ....