Indian Railways Thread

abhishek · Post by **abhishek** » 12 Feb 2008 09:01

Sridhar,
As far as I know there a very few stamped parts in any aircraft or European trains. And these few parts do not include large sheet metal panels we are talking here. There are ways to make a sheet metal look as smooth as it came out of an expensive die without actually stamping it. But the cost increases exponentially. Thatâ€™s why we do not have that kind of finish on our trains.

bala · Post by **bala** » 12 Feb 2008 11:01

ICF Perambur is notorious for shoddy work, i knew someone who worked there and he would tell me the kind of junk work done; wrong placement of accessories; overloading on one side under carriage of accoutrements, bad welding, etc. Now I hear that ICF is some ISO 9000 certified, however certification is not quality just consistency of process and time perhaps. The entire carriage works/engine works for IR needs an inspired industrial design from young Indian engineers a la Tata Nano, no amount of tech transfer from LHB/GM is going to work. A complete new concept train is needed, sleek in design from nose to tail, aerodynamic, sturdy, well balanced, good suspension, carriages aesthetically pleasing to the eye both on the outside and inside. There is a lot more innovation awaiting for moving masses efficiently by train. India should lead the way rather than follow or borrow old stuff from others.

Raju · Post by **Raju** » 12 Feb 2008 11:08

that is not a new coach. It's an old one with interiors redone.

bala wrote:This is very upsetting, look at the outside metal panels. So many bumps and dumps, are these hand crafted, not stamped by machines. Pathetic quality for a brand new coach.

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 12 Feb 2008 11:58

http://www.rcfkapurthala.com/html/about_us.htm

Good hi-res pictures of the factory and the tools used to make rail carriages. Gotta love the pic of the furnishing shop floor -- shows a lot of people standing around chatting, rather than working on the carriages.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 12 Feb 2008 20:34

The panel quality is also a function of the quality of steel used.

The problem is that the typicall budget for a rail car in India is around 25 lakh. Or $50,000 or so. Some of the newer all cushion ones approach 35-40 lakh. This is what keeps ticket prices low and installed cost low.

A coach from abroad, eg. the LHB costs some thing like 1/2 million dollars, 2-3 crores so they can afford the Million $ die for a 1000 ton press.

You can get very good quality otherwise too, just have to use modern construction practices.

- First, quit the riveting. Thin sheet metal does not take kindly to it. Use robotic or mechanical spot welding. This is what the car industry uses.
- Second use water jets to cut the steel to prevent deformation. Lasers are good at this too. Plasma tends to warp thin steel. But perambur uses sheet metal shears that tend to distort the edge of the panels as they are cut.
- Next use a good paint booth and shop dip. Perambur still uses manual spray painting. In fact I've seen them lay panels on the work table, paint one side, wait for it to dry, chai-biskoot, flip and paint the other side.

The Delhi metro coaches cost roughly 1 Million $ a-piece, though some are now a bit cheaper.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Feb 2008 20:44

so I guess just following the car industry practices would give a quantum jump in quality. but such automation might reduce the need for labour which is the 1st most important function of IR.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 12 Feb 2008 20:51

Actually, speaking rivetting has more tolerance to thermal expansion/contraction than welding.

Rethinking on the design is more important to acccomodate this warping issue. We can always give room for expansions still appear to be looking in great shape.. its all how much we want to invest into designs.

Also for rivetting, the plates or surfaces could designed in such a manner that the join actually is done in an inter-locking way, so that externally a small line cuts to show the joint and space for expansion, while the inner interlocked design does the rivetts internally with a separate sheet that slides into two u shaped bent plates and then rivett happens while or just after the plates get a hard press. of course these sheets can't be a larger in size, and the strength of these materials needs to be addressed. Perhaps, we could a sheet for every window in the design of the bogies.

on the contrary, they could also think about investing in alloys that has low thermal expansions... even Al alloys works...for lalloo jee,

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 12 Feb 2008 23:43

I dunno.

Oil canning is a huge issue in my field and we specifically reject riveting. Thermal expansion issues can be reduced using tension leveled or resquared sheets, that are stretched beyond the yield point.

Panels should not be manhandled and showed be transported using vacuum, suction banks.

In my field we have move moved increasingly towards Metal Sandwich panels. These are prefab, panels than can be cut and routed to accommodate other components. The finish quality and long term durability is outstanding.

Rudranathh · Post by **Rudranathh** » 21 Feb 2008 12:01

South-West Rly expects Rs 576 cr to be sanctioned for creating better infrastructure

Bangalore : The South Western Railway (SWR) expects that around Rs 576 crore will be sanctioned for the division in the railway budget to be presented on February 26. Most of the amount will be used for creating better infrastructure.

In an interview to Deccan Herald, SWR General Manager Praveen Kumar said Rs 480 crore was allocated for the division during 2007-2008 and it expected a 20 per cent increase this time.

â€œOf course, what we got last year was a major increase from the Rs 320 crore allocated in the financial year 2006-2007,â€

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 22 Feb 2008 06:26

Agartala connected by rail to the rest of India now

However, it beats me as to why IR should lay a metre-gauge track. If we can have BG lines in the Jammu-Udhampur-Qazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla section, why not Tripura ?

For the first time since Independence, the state Capital will be connected with the rest of the country by rail. A metre-gauge track has been laid to connect the city to Ambasa hill station and the train service is likely to start by this year-end.

Added Later

Found the answer in a reply by Railway Minister in the Parliament.

Kumarghat-Agartala new line(109 kms) has been approved as National Project and part funds are provided over and above the normal budgetary support as additionality. Kumarghat-Agartala New Line is being constructed to broad gauge standard with four rail seat sleepers and the line would be initially commissioned on meter gauge.Later on it would be converted to broad gauge once Lamding-Silchar-Jiribam and Badarpur to Kumarghat is converted to broads gauge.

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 22 Feb 2008 07:41

Survey work for Sikkim's first railway line complete

The proposed broad-gauge line will be 52.7-km long, connecting Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo on the West Bengal-Sikkim border. Bohra added that as much as 51.7-km will fall in West Bengal with only 1 km lying in Sikkim. . .

At a later date, the Sevoke-Rangpo line will be extended by another 40 km up to capital city Gangtok - a measure that will boost rail connectivity within the state. Incidentally, National Highways Authority of India is already constructing a 41-km highway section on NH-31A from the Sikkim-West Bengal border to Gangtok. The project, which falls under Phase-A of Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North-Eastern region (SARDP-NE), is targeted for completion by March 2009. The highway will be two-laned with paved shoulders.

John Snow · Post by **John Snow** » 22 Feb 2008 09:21

Folks >> I wanted to talk about IR carriage manufacturing, BEML manufacturing etc. But did not know where to sart.

Anyway, having seen very closely sub way in Madrid Spain, Paris France London England, NY/NJ transit systems. I can say this

IR may have facination for riviting,the other do it the same way with sheet metal but instead of riviting , the are spot welded and ground and painted, or they are using counter sunk screws on plates with some points spot welded. But all of them have rolled sheet metal, mostly SS.

You must see to believe how antiquated the IR shops are.. I supplied lot Godrej Machine tools to SCR, and SC..... weldings in foreign made rakes /coaches I suspect are robotic/automated ( Madrid, and Paris).

Incidentally the NJT rakes were made by GEC ALSTOM, for IR Kaputhala Coach factory is makeing the same

The Madrid Subway cars were built by

Adtranz ( ADtranz, ABB Daimler Benz Transportation) was a German-Swedish rail road) this company was involved in Chitaranjan Locos electric. Also built Philadelphi Subway SEPTA.

We are ngetting there, but more importantly Civic sense of public/user is aleast 60 yrs behind the hardware....

http://www.mscsoftware.com/support/libr ... _Coach.pdf

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 22 Feb 2008 15:51

Amtek Auto and American Railcar Industries plan railcar JV

MUMBAI: Amtek Auto and American Railcar Industries plan 50:50 joint venture for manufacturing railcars.

American Railcar Industries is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a variety or railcars in North America. It also repairs and refurbishes railcar, provides fleet management services and designs, manufacturers and markets certain rail cars and other industrial components used in this field.

This agreement is part of Amtek Autoâ€™s expansion strategy by setting up four transportation systems division and this JV will be part of that new division.

The transportation division, which includes railways, aerospace and surface transport, is expected to report sales of Rs 1,500 crore in the next 4-5 years.

Amtek is currently investigating other opportunities and acquisition for the transportation division both in US and European markets.

In view of the country wide railway expansions for both intercity and intracity metro railway systems, Amtek has planned an outlay of over Rs 500 crore in its railways business, which would include this JV with American Railcar.

Besides the railcar JV, Amtek is also planning to set up forgings, casting and machining facilities by itself to manufacture components for the railcar and other railway application.

At 10:08 am, Amtek Auto shares were up 1.50 per cent at Rs 310.50 on BSE.

ET

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 22 Feb 2008 20:17

Vick wrote:Survey work for Sikkim's first railway line complete
The proposed broad-gauge line will be 52.7-km long, connecting Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo on the West Bengal-Sikkim border. Bohra added that as much as 51.7-km will fall in West Bengal with only 1 km lying in Sikkim. . .

At a later date, the Sevoke-Rangpo line will be extended by another 40 km up to capital city Gangtok - a measure that will boost rail connectivity within the state.

This is just survey to satisfy politicians. Nothing will come of it.

The british built this line along the Teesta many many years ago only to have devastating floods wash it away. It was finally abandoned in the 50's.

To give you an idea of the terrain se the pic below where the Teesta and Rangit meet. This would presumably be where the line would end.

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 22 Feb 2008 22:33

Theo_Fidel wrote:
To give you an idea of the terrain se the pic below where the Teesta and Rangit meet. This would presumably be where the line would end.

This is actually a relatively sedate part of the terrain. The Darjeeling Railway goes over far more rugged route. Should not be too difficult considering what we have done in Kashmir. More importantly, it will bolster the logistics for Nathu La etc, not to mention the psy ops of having an Indian Railways broad guage line going upto the Tibet border.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 23 Feb 2008 07:57

it looks no different from Lumding --- Haflong --- Silchar MG route that is
being slowly converted to BG on NFR -> North Cachar hills. it was made
by british and has ~20 tunnels one of which is 5km long.

key is to be good at tunneling and bridges.

Raju · Post by **Raju** » 23 Feb 2008 08:26

Recently (not that recent actually) a new problem has arisen in the Railways dep, all over the information counters all over India are being manned by Bihari people. They mostly do not know the local language, so much so that in many parts of Kerala the Railway Information Counter now sports boards requesting passenger *Not to ask questions in Malayalam*,

similar things have been reported from Maharashtra as well.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 23 Feb 2008 08:58

yes that issue is there, in various parts of India, candidates of Bihar were
attacked or turned back when attempting to attend RRB exams from other centers...in BLR also, karnataka rakshana vedike activists did that..in GAU, the local jobless youths pounced on them (the media wrongly projected that as "ulfa" yeah right get ur DU st stephens educated head out in the sunshine madam!)

this issue will continue to fester until
(a) IR ceases to be a bihari fiefdom with all factories and largesse going
mainly to bihar with railway ministers barring jaffer sharief in all instances
being bihar

(b) bihar ceases to be bottom of the pile in economic development.

abhishek · Post by **abhishek** » 23 Feb 2008 17:59

Karnataka had four Railway ministers in the past,

1. Hanumanthaiah
2. Poonacha
3. Reddy
4. Jaffer Sharief

and George Fernades is also from Karnataka but gets elected from Bihar.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 23 Feb 2008 21:46

Singha wrote:it looks no different from Lumding --- Haflong --- Silchar MG route that is
being slowly converted to BG on NFR -> North Cachar hills. it was made
by british and has ~20 tunnels one of which is 5km long.

key is to be good at tunneling and bridges.

There's a reason the british used meter gauge.

Absolutely. It can be built. But over 50% in BG will end up in a tunnel or on a bridge.

The Lumding Silchar conversion has been going on for 20 years or so with little progress. This after declaring it a national project.

We should go to Gangtok rather than stopping it in some wilderness like this line will end.

Just pointing out that a survey for 50 kms is pointless.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 23 Feb 2008 21:48

pls correct me but I thought Shariefji was the only hiatus in a unbroken and undistinguished line of six Bihari railway ministers counting back from now?

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 26 Feb 2008 12:57

IR budged highlights

1) Coolies promoted to gangmen
2) 10 new Garib Raths, 53 new trains
3) One more rail captive power plant in Bihar
4) Divisional railway hospitals in Jaipur, Hubli to be upgraded
5) N Railway hospital in Delhi to be fully AC
6) New rail coach manufacturing unit in Kerala
7) 50% concession for AIDS patients travelling in trains
Staff benefit fund to be upped 10 times in 2009
9) Mother Child Health Express to be started
10) Gangmen to man level crossings
11) Container train operators to be up to 50-55 trains
12) SC,STs given more jobs than quota alloted to them
13) Free Rajdhani, Shatabdi travel for Ashok Chakra winners
14) Sr women citizens concession up 50% from 30%
15) Free season tickets for girl students till graduation
16) Ticket confirmation via mobiles likely
17) 16,548 old rail tracks to be renewed
18) All unmanned crossings to be manned now
19) Metal detectors, baggage scan at key stations
20) NDLS, Mumbai Cent, Patna to become world-class

21) Heightened security at sensitive stations
22) CCTVs at major railway stations
23) Electrification of more routes in North India
24) Pvt cos can make terminals on rail land
25) New policy for wagon leasing
26)Touch screen, colour TVs at railway stations
27) No ticket queues in 2 years
28) In talks with foreign cos for new wagon design
29) Lifts and escalators at 50 stations
30) High-level platforms in 135 stations
31) Rs 40 bn kept for on discharge-free train toilets
32) New coaches in all Rajdhani trains by 2010
33) New coaches in Shatabdi trains by 2011

34) Plan to provide ticket booking via mobile phone
35) Smart card system to all railways
36) Electrification of more routes
37) Raise platform levels in phased manner
38) Railways to issue wait-listed e-tickets
39) 50 big stations to have lifts, escalators
40) Stainless steel coaches for mail, express trains
41) Only stainless steel coaches to be produced after 2010
42) To up auto ticket sale machines to 6,000 in 2 yrs
43) Automated ticket vending machines at 250 now
44) Upgradation of 203 medium-level platforms
45) Upgradation of 281 low-level platforms
46) 195 stations to get foot overbridge
46) Indian Railways employees at 1.4 mln in 2007-08
47) Railways planning SMARTCARD-based ticket system
48) 'Go Mumbai' cards to be sold at bus depots
49) 560 platforms to be lengthened for long-distance trains
50) Arrival time to be printed on tickets
51) Express trains to have public address systems
52) Long-distance trains to display next station

IR posts profit of 25000 Cr in current fiscal year.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 26 Feb 2008 15:17

A five per cent cut in passenger fares in second class in long distance trains and a reduction in upper class fares has been proposed in the Rail Budget for 2008-09 which also has no across-the-board increase in freight rates.
Prasad raised the concessional travel for senior women citizens from 30 to 50 per cent in all classes while men above 60 will continue to enjoy only 30 per cent concession.
A joint venture with NTPC for 1000 MW thermal power plant at Nabi Nagar in Aurangabad district in Bihar

[/list]

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 26 Feb 2008 15:54

the profit is mostly paper and not transferred to passenger amenities.

RIL is bidding for a total overhaul of NDLS which will bring it upto a
IJN standard.

there are still rats and roaches roaming in AC coaches if you look, ....
food is same, toilets havent improved much,....platforms are the usual
shambles and unsafe/unclean.

I wish all of IR could be dragged upto SCR Vijaywada standard!

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 26 Feb 2008 16:07

Either Railways was being run by incompetent morons before since Independance and before Laloo, or this is creative accounting or better still a combination of both.

Its a bit hard to digest that Railways staff have suddenly become more efficient to the tune of 25000 crore profit. I know that Laloo (rather the babus in Railway ministry) did some re-organization of the way goods wagons are scheduled and loaded, but if that alone is contributing a major chunk of 25K crores, then previous incumbents of these babus and railway ministers should be pulled up for gross negligence and dereliction of duty.

derkonig · Post by **derkonig** » 26 Feb 2008 16:31

^
bah,
Its surely a case of laloo logic (birather of lahori logic).
I wudn't be surprised if IR actually reported a loss of 25k crs. for 07-08.
Isn't laloo a dyed in the wool sekoolarist/socialist? Doesn't that make "Profit" a dirty word for him? So how can his ministry make even a paisa of Profit?

Besides, all that "profit & turnaround" has made no difference to the passenger..
How bout laloo (on behalf of the UPA traitors) answer the very same question that con-gress tom tommed around the last time "aam admi ko kya mila?" Advaniji & BJP could you pl. raise this issue & rub it in....

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 26 Feb 2008 17:52

'Go Mumbai' cards to be sold at bus depots

La-loo hitting out at...

We have to have patience for scuh an analysis this time like this

======

INDIAN RAILWAYS TURNAROUND: A MYTH- Jagdish Madan -Retd Col- IA

Laloo Brags

Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has been trumpeting from atop the Red Fort that he has got the railways to perform and earn a profit of Rs 21,578 crores during 2006-7, surpassing the ONGC. As it later turned out, the turnaround story was one third true, one third media hype and one third jugglery of figures. A close scrutiny of railways accounts reveals a net profit of Rs 11,000 crores. Even this amount was earned at the expense of unsuspecting passengers and at risk to their safety. A large amount of money reflected as profit is not available to be ploughed back. Part of it is suspense account, money promised to the railways but not yet in its kitty.

Disturbing Facts
Laloo Prasad claimed the railways made a profit of Rs 21,578 crores.
Actual profits work out to Rs 11,000 crores.
Rs 9000 crores pension fund shown as profits.
Miscellaneous funds â€“ Rs 2,500 crores included in profits.
Rs 1,700 crores meant for lease of wagons reflected as profits.
Profit figures inflated by advance earnings for 2007-8 in last yearâ€™s balance sheet.
Funds promised by Finance Ministry, but not yet received, included as profits.
Excess tonnage carried ignoring safety concerns fetched Rs 5000 crores.
Hidden costs to passengers earned Rs 325 crores.

The Subterfuge
The railway under Laloo has altered the way the balance sheet is presented. It has shown a remarkable creativity to artificially inflate revenues while at the same time degrading the quality of service. Consider the following:
Diluting Tatkal. 10 % seats meant for those traveling in emergency earned Rs 100 per ticket. This has now been changed to 30 % seats with a surcharged of Rs 250 per ticket.
Declaring Trains Superfast. Over 100 trains have been declared Superfast without any change in running time or facilities. The Superfast tag fetches Rs 75 crores.
Doubling Cancellation Charge. Added profits Rs 100 crores.
Costlier Return Tickets. Profits Rs 30 crores.
Onward Journey More Expensive. One can no longer buy a single ticket if one has to change trains for an onward destination.
Safety Surcharge. Was to be levied only upto Mar 2007, Laloo converted it to â€˜Development Surchargeâ€™ without cabinet approval. Profits 2,500 crores.
Licence Fee. Rs 550 crores for running container trains converted to profits.

The Actual Profits
The railways primarily did two things: substantially increased the load carried by freight trains and put in place a slew of ticketing rules which extracted money from passengers even as Laloo Prasad claimed he had not raised fares.

The chunk of the profits, Rs 5000 crores, came by increasing the carrying capacity of container wagons by ten tones each. In private, however, experts have questioned on grounds of safety. The rail infrastructure â€“ tracks, wagons, engines can only be stretched to a limit. While the loads carried increased there was no corresponding enhancement of maintenance standards/schedules. Earlier, train examination was done every time a train returned to its base station, irrespective of the distance traveled. This was changed to every 7,500 Km. As a result; various zonal divisions reported increased rail fractures, stress on old bridges and wagon coupler failures due to increased axel loads and less frequent maintenance. The axel loads were increased without any trials, checks, tests or technical analysis. It is ironic that Laloo Prasad could increase the axel loads because of infrastructure upgradation executed by his predecessor, Nitish Kumar.

False Propaganda
The much projected IIM Ahemdabad report concealed the remarks of Professor G Raghuraman that without safety and infrastructure enhancement, the profits are not sustainable and that the turnaround has failed in terms of improvement in amenities and facilities for the passengers.

Visiting students from Harvard Business School, Wharton and MIT in 2006-7 claimed the interaction with Laloo was organized by the hosts and not connected with any academic project. The visits were deliberately made much of to claim false credit.

Conclusion

In the light of the foregoing, it is unfair to compare Lalooâ€™s performance with that of his predecessor, unless the previous yearsâ€™ accounts are placed in the same format. Once again, the â€˜Fodder Scamâ€™ tainted minister has managed to get the better of the country.

sugriva · Post by **sugriva** » 26 Feb 2008 17:57

The chunk of the profits, Rs 5000 crores, came by increasing the
carrying capacity of container wagons by ten tones each. In private,
however, experts have questioned on grounds of safety.

The blogger is being economical with the truth here. The truth of the matter is
that railway officials were in any case allowing the extra tonnage for
baksheesh. Laloo figured that since this already happens it was better to
allow the railways to earn the money rather than the babus themselves.

bart · Post by **bart** » 26 Feb 2008 18:02

Tanaji wrote:Either Railways was being run by incompetent morons before since Independance and before Laloo, or this is creative accounting or better still a combination of both.

Its a bit hard to digest that Railways staff have suddenly become more efficient to the tune of 25000 crore profit. I know that Laloo (rather the babus in Railway ministry) did some re-organization of the way goods wagons are scheduled and loaded, but if that alone is contributing a major chunk of 25K crores, then previous incumbents of these babus and railway ministers should be pulled up for gross negligence and dereliction of duty.

I think a big chunk of the profit comes from his re-work of the freight rules, and the key IAS officers under him should get most of the credit. But at least he has done something different, empowered his IAS officers and is making a profit and hasn't totally destroyed IR as many had predicted.

Till Laloo every single Railway Minster of any govt has done nothing but fill own coffers, pamper chamchas, launch trains to their own constituency while neglecting more critical routes, set up unnecessary factories at the most unproductive regions in the country just because they happen to be from the same state, announce populist fare cuts subsidized by taxpayer money, and run the railways at a huge loss overall. I would take Laloo over them any day.

bart · Post by **bart** » 26 Feb 2008 18:06

sugriva wrote:
The chunk of the profits, Rs 5000 crores, came by increasing the
carrying capacity of container wagons by ten tones each. In private,
however, experts have questioned on grounds of safety.
The blogger is being economical with the truth here. The truth of the matter is
that railway officials were in any case allowing the extra tonnage for
baksheesh. Laloo figured that since this already happens it was better to
allow the railways to earn the money rather than the babus themselves.

Spot on. He maybe a shady character but as they say it takes a thief to catch a thief. Perhaps he can be gainfully employed as a consultant, outsmarting corruption in other ministries.

gogna · Post by **gogna** » 26 Feb 2008 18:55

Train to Kashmir in 2008-09
Srinagar, Tuesday, February 26, 2008:

The complete construction of a railway line in Indian administered Kashmir will be completed by 2008-09, Indian railways minister Laloo Prasad Yadav said Tuesday.

He was introducing the Railway budget 2008-09 in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian bicameral parliament.

Yadav said that the railway line between Kakapora area of south Kashmir and Budgam district of central Kashmir has already been completed.

New Delhi has been planning a better connectivity to Kashmir since decades.

Former Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi had promised train to Kashmir when she was in power.

However the project never materialised despite the interest of New Delhi which wanted a better connectivity to Kashmir, primarily for better access of its troopers to the area

, which has its borders with India's nuclear neighbours Pakistan and China.

New Delhi has a long history of strained relations with both Islamabad and Beijing.

Kashmir is connected to India only through a fair weather 294 km long Srinagar-Jammu highway, which often gets blocked with heavy rainfall or light snowfall.

The project was first proposed by oppressive Dogra ruler Maharaja Pratap Singh in 1898. He had wanted a rail link to Srinagar, but no headway was made. The ruler used to shuttle between Srinagar and Jammu, the summer and winter capital to escape harsh cold in Srinagar winter and scratching heat in Jammu summers.

In 2001, the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared the proposed rail link to Kashmir as a "national project".

The Rs 11,000-crore project envisages laying tracks from Udhampur in Jammu to Baramulla in north Kashmir, the entire 290-km route. Now, trains end at Udhampur.

Work on the stretch, undertaken by Konkan Railway, involves construction of 80 tunnels, including one that will run for 12 km â€” the longest in India.

"Besides a 1.3-km bridge on the river Chenab at a height of 359 m from the riverbed is being constructed. This will be the highest railway structure in the world," a senior railway officer said.

In addition to the tracks, 500 km of roads will be constructed to access the rail links from various places.

http://www.kashmirnewz.net/n000313.html

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 26 Feb 2008 20:14

gogna wrote:....scratching heat in Jammu summers....

Oh! My! Talk about getting a rash..

bala · Post by **bala** » 26 Feb 2008 20:39

Laloo for all his warts, has managed to turn around the finances for the railways. It takes a thief to catch a thief, in the later case the corrupt IR officials who pocketed the profits. All the populist nonsense is not going to do much. The real hard part is the actual reforms. IR has a long way to go in this aspect. The good news is that the finances are there to make it happen. Railways stations need a complete overhaul, in look and feel and convenience. The railway trains themselves need a revamp, too many old outdated dabbas out there, Coaches, engines, convenience, fit and finish, non-leak toilets, etc. Signals and crossings need a thorough revamp. Of course the gauge conversion project needs completion. Many outlaying areas need to double the tracks and also every stations require a bypass for fast moving traffic. All these dont come cheap, massive investments ($10B+) are needed and they need to happen quickly.

Added: Saw this later on. Not bad $10B / yr is slated.

Railways plans Rs. 2.5 lakh crore investment in 5 years

Lalu Prasad on Tuesday proposed a massive investment of Rs.2.5-lakh crore in the next five years. In his budget speech, Mr. Prasad also announced the biggest-ever annual Plan for the Railways, proposing an investment of Rs. 37,500 crore, which is 21 per cent more than the previous year.the Railway Minister hoped that Rs. 1-lakh crore would come from private players through the public-private partnership (PPP) route. Through open competitive bidding, PPP partners would also be selected for setting up diesel loco, electric loco and rail coach factory at an estimated cost of Rs.4,000 crore. Money will be invested on building world-class stations, setting up of state-of-the-art rolling stock production units, terminals and constriction of multi-model logistic parks.

As usual the left clowns are opposing the PPP route since that would mean less control over the railway unions.
This from courtesy ssc

Very interesting to see railways hauling entire lorry traffic, saves diesel pollution immensely. However should this not be containers with the tractors at home base to hitch onto the container hauling. So long haul is by IR and short spoke is local transport.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 27 Feb 2008 07:49

Indian Railways cash surplus at Rs 250 bn
Reuters
Posted online: Tuesday , February 26, 2008 at 1244 hrs IST

New Delhi, February 26: Indian Railways has a cash surplus of Rs 250 billion in the 2007/08 financial year, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav told Parliament in his budget speech on Tuesday.

And the real miracle is that Lalu hasn't stolen all of this cash yet.
(Maybe that's why he wants more railway cars -- to help it haul it all away)

Ananth · Post by **Ananth** » 27 Feb 2008 10:36

bala wrote: Very interesting to see railways hauling entire lorry traffic, saves diesel pollution immensely. However should this not be containers with the tractors at home base to hitch onto the container hauling. So long haul is by IR and short spoke is local transport.

Thats Ro-Ro (roll-on roll-off) service pioneered in Indian by Konkan railways. Seems it is catching up with rest of IR.

bart · Post by **bart** » 27 Feb 2008 11:41

Wouldnt it be more efficient if they had containers instead, so they dont need to haul the whole truck? Better capacity, logistics, and load per wagon. What is preventing that? Cost?

rajkumar · Post by **rajkumar** » 27 Feb 2008 13:52

bart wrote:Wouldnt it be more efficient if they had containers instead, so they dont need to haul the whole truck? Better capacity, logistics, and load per wagon. What is preventing that? Cost?

What's preventing full 'containerisation' is the inability of most roads to handle a multi-axle HGV. In a place like Patna for example the HGV just won't be able to make it. Hence you have to haul these trucks.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 Feb 2008 14:09

perhaps the answer is the sub-caliber container suitable for dry bulk and packed goods of the std 20ft x 8ft x 8ft ? this already exists and is used in India. its the one step down from the 40ft marine container.

vina · Post by **vina** » 27 Feb 2008 15:36

Singha wrote:perhaps the answer is the sub-caliber container suitable for dry bulk and packed goods of the std 20ft x 8ft x 8ft ? this already exists and is used in India. its the one step down f rom the 40ft marine container.

Singha 20 ft is the standard marine container.. Check up capacities of container ships and they will be quoted in TEU aka Twenty Equivalent Units. The Forty foot thing is just a commonly used double of the TEU as well.. All forty foot container capacity trucks are sized to carry two twenty foot units. Just more efficient that is all. The problem is that for India, TEU is just a little bit small for the normal sized truck which doesnt get fully loaded up and the Forty foot thing is too big for our roads. You need something like a 20 + 10 thing .. to fit into out stuff.

Kartman · Post by **Kartman** » 27 Feb 2008 17:21

bart wrote:Wouldnt it be more efficient if they had containers instead, so they dont need to haul the whole truck? Better capacity, logistics, and load per wagon. What is preventing that? Cost?

Birathers: most of the time, this Ro-Ro thing is meant to utilize the empty wagons when they're returning to the container port or transshipment hub after delivering containers. So railways get some revenue from their rakes that would otherwise run khaali... with overall energy savings all around. Win-win

IIRC, that was the main motivation for Konkan Rail's Ro-Ro...