Indian Railways Thread

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 03 Sep 2008 02:17

ah...the well known jhatka....one of those once caused me to land on the lap of one well endowed (in mass and years) madamji with CEP of 0, who was none too pleased by my unintentional HALO jump.

Harish wrote: - The coaches shake crazily at high speeds. Whatever happened to shock absorbers and stabilizers? You can be literally thrown off the floor – try walking around at night when the drivers notch up the throttle.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 03 Sep 2008 02:22

LHB - the increased jerks and NVH is probably because they are lighter and designed for a ultra
smooth track not our usual tracks. on some politically favoured stretches like delhi-kanpur some
bideshi track layers and aligners are used to keep it upto the std...but not all over india.

p_saggu · Post by **p_saggu** » 03 Sep 2008 03:04

And also no allowance is made for the hordes of beggers and coolies to fleeece the hapless travellers.
Anyone who has had to trust his luggage to the coolies of NDLS will know, they start by asking for 200 - 300 bucks to take the luggage a few platforms across, all the while the faded signboards and station announcement says the rate is Rs 25 or so

I think laloo and the coolies are in a major conspiracy against the passangers, they ensure that every railways station has hugely elevated overbridges with lots of small stairs to ensure that people with luggage, the elderly are inconvenienced to the maximum and have no option but to trust their fate with the coolies and their exhorbidant demands.
IIRC, bangalore was the only railway station I have seen which has an underground passageway between the platforms with a functioning lift. The other is Kanpur but here there is a begger infested passageway with a sloping ramp on each station.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 13 Sep 2008 02:38

Crores wasted as Rlys abandons work on J&K link, goes back to drawing board

Crores wasted as Rlys abandons work on J&K link, goes back to drawing board
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Raghvendra Rao Posted: Sep 13, 2008 at 0201 hrs IST
New Delhi, September 12 It’s now official. Indian Railways has decided to abandon a substantial chunk of the work it did over the past five years — spending around Rs 750 crore — on the Katra-Qazigund section in Jammu and Kashmir. It says “nobody” should be blamed for this massive waste of public money, and is now studying options for aligning the route afresh.

This section of the line was supposed to have been completed on August 15, 2007. Very little work has been done, however, and the Railways ministry is now talking of “survivability of the line” and “difficulties in construction” as justification. Besides the monetary losses, the delay may have pushed the project back by nearly a decade.

As first reported in The Indian Express, the ministry had recently asked Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd (KRCL), the agency constructing this section, to suspend work. A fresh order has now been issued, asking KRCL to stop work altogether. “We realized that contractors were sittling idle at our cost, and that is why we have now asked them to stop all work,” S K Vij, Member Engineering of the Railway Board and the man behind the rethink, said.

The order has also effectively scrapped the 359-metre high Chenab Bridge, touted as the world’s highest. Around Rs 150 crore of the projected cost of Rs 520 crore has already been spent. “The location of the Chenab Bridge will have to be changed, and moved around two kilometers upstream,” Vij said.

How does the Railways justify the huge waste of public money? Vij said: “You cannot hang on to Rs 150 crore and waste another Rs 2,000 crore on something which may endanger the survivability of the line.” The “geology of the area had not been studied thoroughly”, he said, and the Railways “were using conventional wisdom”.

Asked if this could have been prevented, Vij said, “We didn’t get time for planning.”

Himalayan blunder

Start, stop

• January, 2003: Work begins.

• August 15, 2007: Deadline for completion of project.

• September 2008: With 15% of work completed, Railways abandons project

What this means

• Works worth Rs 500-600 cr abandoned

• ‘World’s highest bridge’ shifted, after Rs 150 cr

• Railways have to deal with contractor’s claims for Rs 700 cr

What next

Options to modify alignment being explored. But there are fears the new alignment will touch just 8 major villages instead of the earlier alignment’s 50 villages.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 25 Sep 2008 02:09

Slowly, but still on track for a Valley train

Slowly, but still on track for a Valley train
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Toufiq Rashid Posted: Sep 25, 2008 at 0108 hrs IST
Srinagar, September 24 Though Northern Railway has for the time being abandoned work on the Himalayan stretch in Jammu, linking the Valley to the rest of the country, work on the other side of the Banihal tunnel still is on, though at a slower pace. The effort is to ensure that Kashmir gets at least a local train by 2010.

But the work in the Valley stretch has slowed down after the turmoil caused by the Amarnath land row forced many skilled labourers to flee the state. According to officials, while around 2,000 workers are required on the stretch, the labour strength has down to 25 per cent now.

Labourers are needed for linking the tracks as well as manning the machines. “There is no threat, but the labourers didn’t want to continue. So at present we have a shortage of skilled labourers trained in track linking. We are doing whatever we can with the local labour. At present we are doing the fabrication,” said the official. The approaching winter and the festival season are also keeping the labourers away.

“We have not abandoned work in the Valley and are hopeful of meeting our 2010 deadline,” said a senior official of IRCON, the agency responsible for the Valley link.

In fact, at a meeting between Governor N N Vohra and Railway officials on September 17, IRCON had asked the Government for more security along the stretch. It has asked for 100 more PSOs as well as new placements for the CRPF men. The Kashmir rail link is being guarded by 10 companies of CRPF and about 100 PSOs at present.

A major part of the work—about 70 km—has been completed in the first two phases of the 119-km Qazigund-Baramulla stretch. Officials are also hopeful that the work on the third phase would start soon. Track fitting has been completed from Anantnag in South to Rajwansher, Tangmarg in North Kashmir.

Work is also progressing on the Qazigund-Banihal stretch, which includes a 11-km underground tunnel cutting through the Pir Panjal mountain range—the natural barricade cutting off the Valley from the rest of India. Once completed, it will become the longest railway tunnel in Asia. With work underway from both sides, about 40 per cent of the work has been completed.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 03 Oct 2008 18:06

Survey work of Leh railway network to start soon: Dhumal

Dharamsala, Oct 3 (PTI) The survey work on the strategically important railway track leading upto Leh in neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir would start soon, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here today.

He said the work would start soon after getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the government of both the states.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the President's Office have already given a green signal to the Leh railway project, the chief minister said.

Dhumal is credited with pursuing the project sincerely with the Centre which he said would strengthen the country's defence vis-a-vis China and also boost tourism in the area.

The project involves broadgauging Pathankot-Jogindernagar railway line and extending it further to Rohtang and Leh.

Himachal Pradesh has received terrorist threats like other parts of the country, he said adding the security has been tightened at all important places.

John Snow · Post by **John Snow** » 03 Oct 2008 20:11

Harish>>
Did you feel swayed during the ride?

Was the jerk(

) lateral to the direction of motion?
Was it a jolt? (in case of your seating arrangement next to bare wires it could be volt not jolt

)

The resons could be

1) The track was not good for that speeds, RDSO Luknow has all the necessary equipment such as Track recording cars excetra to detect track flaws.

2) the braking system of the coaches could be suspect. Was it only in one coach (you being the Lucky one, oh by the way did you pay full NRI fare or desi fare being NRI?

)

3) problem with buffers of the coach before and after your bogie. Imagine zaradari buffered by BB and SP!

4) The Locomotive engine it self could have problems with braking, transmission.

Most importantly this being a train heading to ND there could be power shortage due to illegal tapping into overhead lines, which causes the voltage to fluctuate there by causing jolting as it accelerates and decelerates.

Hope it is not a diesel electric locomotive, if it was then adultrated diesel can cause sudden increase in power or somebody is illegally taping into the generator of the locomotive.

One final possible cause could be the engine driver could be laid of civil airline pilot and was hitting air pockets as if in a aircraft flying in bad weather.

Dont Blame Lalloo, He has taught students of LSE Kellog Business school faculty, trust his faculty!

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 06 Oct 2008 20:08

A question about Garib Rath

1. Being a fully air conditioned train, I assume that they do provide blankets, pillows etc. inside this train. Or is it that being 'Garib' passengers are expected to bring their own blankets etc.?
2. Is food served in these trains, and are they charged etc.? (I mean ticket charges do not include food).

p_saggu · Post by **p_saggu** » 06 Oct 2008 21:55

You buy your own food on Garib Rath.
The quality of the bogies is HORRIBLE, and likewise the Passangers around you. It would probably be better to travel normal fare in a superfast express / Rajdhani for the best experience that IR can offer.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 11 Oct 2008 17:32

Dream of Kashmiris fulfilled, PM flags off first ever train

Srinagar, Oct 11 (UNI) The dreams of the people of the Kashmir valley finally came true today when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flagged off the valley's first ever train, equipped with snow cutting type cattle guard, from Srinagar station at Nowgam, about 10 km from here in central Kashmir.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, Governor N N Vohra, former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and other senior civil and police officials were present on the historic occasion when Dr Singh gave a green signal to the first rail in Kashmir.

The commercial run of the train, all weather dependable transport service, will began from tomorrow between Rajwansher in the central Kashmir district of Badgam to Anantnag in south Kashmir, a distance of 66 kms.

As Dr Singh gave the green signal (waived green flag), the driver of the train started first dream run from the station which is a stunning three-storey building having beautifully carved wooden panelling and chandeliers and is surrounded by landscaped gardens.

The other VVIPs were also waiving green flag when the train moved forward from the station, writing another chapter in Kashmir's history.

Unprecedented security arrangements had been made to foil any militant attempt to create any disturbance during the inauguration of the train.

However, connecting the Kashmir valley to the rest of the country through rail still remained a distant dream though work on the Udhampur-Qazigund project was going on war footing.

The distance of 66 km from Rajwansher in Badgam to Anantnag will be covered in 1 hour and 35 minutes on each side and a passenger will have to pay Rs 15, several times less than the rate being charged by other mode of surface transport.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Oct 2008 07:17

Historic day as Kashmir is put on Rail map

In the first phase, it will cover 66 km from Anantnag in the south to Rajvansher in central Budgam district. The train is part of a Rs. 11,200-crore project, which will connect Kashmir with the rest of the country.

Mr. Prasad said the work on the remainder of the project would be speeded up. Railway Ministry sources said the Qazigund-Baramulla rail link would be completed by the year-end.

Railway officials said the fare for travel from Rajvansher to Anantnag was Rs. 15. The regular service would begin on Sunday. {That's very cheap indeed}

The eight-coach DEMU would run twice a day on either side. Each coach would carry 90 passengers. Like the state-of-the art Delhi Metro, a public information system with display and automatic announcement was provided in the coaches.

Extra measures were being taken to ensure security of the train. Apart from frisking arrangements, the Railway Protection Force had been deployed at all new-look stations. The J&K police would assist the RPF in ensuring security. The Qazigund-Baramulla rail link is the first ever train project inside Kashmir, for which the foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister I.K. Gujral in 1998. With a liberal funding of Rs. 2,400 crore out of the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan for Jammu and Kashmir, work was taken up at high speed. But out of 15 stations, six are yet to be completed to connect Qazigund town in south Kashmir with Baramulla in the north.

The Udhampur-Katra section involves 10.98 km of tunnelling, construction of nine major and nine minor bridges and 10 overbridges. The approximate cost of this section is Rs. 680 crore. The 148-km Katra-Qazigund section is the toughest stretch, full of tunnels and bridges.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Oct 2008 07:36

Nilgiris Mountain Railway centenary celebrations

Though several proposals were mooted since 1854 for construction of a rail line from the foothills of the Nilgiris at Mettupalayam to the Udhagamandalam peak, it took over three decades for it to become a reality. In 1882, Swiss inventor M. Riggenbach’s proposal for construction of the line on the ‘Rigi pattern’ found acceptance.

The Nilgiri Rigi Railway Company Ltd was formed in 1885 with a capital of Rs.25 lakh and the mandate to undertake construction of the Mettupalayam-Coonoor railway line. The work began in August 1891 and was completed on June 15, 1899. The extension from Coonoor to Udhagamandalam was completed at a cost of Rs.24.4 lakh and opened for passenger traffic on October 15, 1908.

The metre gauge train, a popular tourist attraction, operates with four coaches. Each has two hand brakes, one for adhesion and the other for pinion. A brakeman travels in each coach and applies the hand brake when the train travels from Mettupalayam to Coonoor, the steepest gradient of the NMR

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Oct 2008 17:01

Kashmir train a hit on the very first day

. . . .forcing the railway authorities to refund the tickets to many who could not board the train due to heavy rush.

"The train is already full with all the eight coaches packed .... most of the passengers have bought tickets upto Anantnag which makes it unlikely for passengers from other stations to board the train," a railway official at Srinagar railway station told PTI. . . .There is already a demand from general public that the frequency of the train be increased so that the service can be beneficial for people.

p_saggu · Post by **p_saggu** » 12 Oct 2008 21:15

Do they have a single line in the valley? Hope it is a double line.
Also hope that the Udhampur - Anantnag section is Double lines too.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 25 Oct 2008 09:10

Key Railway stations to have security systems under BOOT model

Railways will implement the integrated security system at key stations and all suburban stations in metros such as Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai under build-own-operate and transfer (BOOT) model. The Railway Board has approved the implementation of the integrated security system at important railway stations under BOOT model.

Some stations will also have security systems on outright purchase model with annual maintenance contract for CCTV system, electronic access control, personal and baggage screening system and explosive detection and disposal system. The outright purchase model with annual maintenance contract has been approved in two phases. Railways has identified 185 stations in 45 divisions, including 17 stations of Kolkata Metro Railway, as sensitive or vulnerable.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 25 Oct 2008 09:19

Survey for India-Nepal rail link

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 29 Oct 2008 20:21

UK Railway Archives
A good web site which archives the history of UK Railways. I really liked the part of archiving every train accident (and other problems) enquiry commission reports. Does Indian Railway have such a practise?

Abhijit N · Post by **Abhijit N** » 01 Nov 2008 03:41

UK Railway Archives

Lovely Site - Thanks Sachin!

vishwakarmaa · Post by **vishwakarmaa** » 01 Nov 2008 05:22

Sachin wrote:UK Railway Archives
A good web site which archives the history of UK Railways. I really liked the part of archiving every train accident (and other problems) enquiry commission reports. Does Indian Railway have such a practise?

Yes. All accident commission reports are maintained in offline records. Not sure about online.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 01 Nov 2008 20:33

vishwakarmaa wrote:Yes. All accident commission reports are maintained in offline records. Not sure about online.

I can understand that Railways do keep a record of all these commission reports. But what I liked of the UK Archives is that it is easily available for the general public. People can read it up and understand the situation for an accident, and the findings and recommendations. Rather than reading every thing through press reports (with their own interpretations and suggestions), this just comes from the horse's mouth.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 10 Nov 2008 17:46

L&T to implement monorail in Mumbai

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 05 Feb 2009 05:01

Passengers unhappy, Rlys decides to drop extra berth in coaches

New Delhi: Having already introduced a third foldable berth between the two side berths in around 7,000 AC-3 and Sleeper class coaches in the past few months, the Indian Railways, facing immense flak over passenger discomfort, is ready to give the idea a quiet burial.

Even as the Railway Ministry recently sought a feedback on the move from the travelling public by putting up a feedback form on its reservation website, senior Railway Ministry officials told The Indian Express that an “in principle” decision has already been taken that no new coaches manufactured from now on will have the additional berth.
...

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 05 Feb 2009 13:26

RaviBg wrote:Passengers unhappy, Rlys decides to drop extra berth in coaches

This was a decision which was long over due. And my sincere thanks to Railways for taking back this stupid idea of adding an extra berth. I have heard rumours that Laloo had dedicated an IIM team to come up with solutions to generate some profits for Railways. This was one of those IIM ideas

. Typical MBA idea of "making profits at any cost"

.

I have first hand experience about this middle side birth. A person who is taller than 5 ft. 7 inches cannot even sleep decently in this berth. He will have to bend himself to an S shape and lay in that position for that whole night. If he tries to sleep on his back, the legs would hit the top berth. It is more like sleeping in a slave galley.

The two berths in the side was too good (I always preferred that one). I take the lower berth, watch out for railway signals, the gang men working and the general scenery flashing across you. The other chap can conviniently sleep on the top birth.

Dileep · Post by **Dileep** » 05 Feb 2009 15:18

The Coffin Berth was inspired from the well "Case Studied" MBA Miracle of American Airlines' saving millions by reducing one olive from the salad.

As it is, the side berths are MURDER. I am not a tall man by any measure, but I can't sleep on them. The only consolation there is that the airspace above you is much better than the other berths. Have you ever tried drinking water while on the berth?

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 05 Feb 2009 17:13

Dileep wrote:Have you ever tried drinking water while on the berth?

Hmm...No

. The "drinking water" (

) most likely happens in sitting position (Side Lower berth), or before entering the train itself. Yes, I do agree that Side berths give you more air space. Also nobody is going to ask you get up so that he/she can setup the middle berth and goto sleep.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 09 Feb 2009 08:45

Metre-gauge: out or in ?

Metre-gauge network accounts for an estimated 23 per cent of the 63,000 route km of the Indian Railways and yet the Railways have stopped metre-gauge track renewals and acquisitions of wagons and coaches used on the metre-gauge network. The Railways had ordered some metre-gauge rolling stock with a Kolkata-based firm three years ago but the order was subsequently cancelled. The reason: the ultimate objective of the Railways is to have a broad-gauge network throughout the c ountry. Interestingly, some of the new lines being constructed are in the metre gauge. For example, the Agartala-Dharmnagar network, which was commissioned recently, is metre-gauge connectivity. Out of the about 4,000 km of railway network in the North East, the share of metre gauge will be about 1,800 km. As no metre-gauge rolling stock is being acquired by the Railways any more, the zonal railways still having metre-gauge network under them face an uphill task for maintenance of the tracks and running of the services. However, in the next five years, the metre-gauge network in the country is to drop substantially to around 5,000 km, according to Mr Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of Standing Committee.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Feb 2009 10:25

This was one of those IIM ideas

good riddance to the stupid idea. anyone with common sense tagged it as useless from day1.

these fatcat consulting MBas always fly between destinations. all of the team that wrote this
report should be sandbagged, put in a locked wagon and made to use the side middle berth
for a month while the train moves around india.

thats what happens when you hand engineering and ergonomics decisions to consultants who
abandoned engineering (if they ever were) at the first off-ramp.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 09 Feb 2009 11:11

Sachin wrote:
Dileep wrote:Have you ever tried drinking water while on the berth?
Hmm...No . The "drinking water" ( ) most likely happens in sitting position (Side Lower berth), or before entering the train itself. Yes, I do agree that Side berths give you more air space. Also nobody is going to ask you get up so that he/she can setup the middle berth and goto sleep.

They can ask you to , as a rule you can only sleep from 9 PM to 6 AM

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 09 Feb 2009 15:54

The newly inaugurated, India's first dual voltage air conditioned drivers cab (AC/DC) for EMU trains at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 09 Feb 2009 16:04

krishnan wrote:They can ask you to , as a rule you can only sleep from 9 PM to 6 AM

I feel I did not make myself clear earlier. In case of the non-RAC berths, my issue was that if I could not keep sitting and looking out of the window. The reason being the chap who is using the middle berth decides to sleep off (after 9PM of course). But in case of RAC (side berths) I have no such problems. Can ask the person who wants to sleep to goto the top berth and sleep off. Generally I used to specifically book the "Side Lower" berth. And then I can gleefully watch the Railways @ work. It is only after this "side middle berth" came up that I started asking for Upper berths.

andy B · Post by **andy B** » 10 Feb 2009 04:14

Singha wrote:This was one of those IIM ideas

good riddance to the stupid idea. anyone with common sense tagged it as useless from day1.

these fatcat consulting MBas always fly between destinations. all of the team that wrote this
report should be sandbagged, put in a locked wagon and made to use the side middle berth
for a month while the train moves around india.

thats what happens when you hand engineering and ergonomics decisions to consultants who
abandoned engineering (if they ever were) at the first off-ramp.

In my recent trip to desh I took a train from Baroda to Pune and guess what I got the darn side middle berth. No I am 6"2 and I could hardly accomodate 2/3 of meself in that stupid berth. So I decided to let my feet hang out....hang on it gets better as I did that and almost dozed off...People kept on running into my fee...lol. I mean literally was it because it was night time...dunno. All I do know is it was the most horendous travel experience of my life I woke up completely cramped with no sleep at all. What I would really love is to come across one of these above mentioned a$$es who came up with this idiotic idea to give em a piece of my mind...darn idiots.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Feb 2009 09:43

New trams introduced in Kolkata on Wednesday plying along the city’s streets.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 12 Feb 2009 10:10

hey I got to try that out !
thanks SS for the heads up.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 12 Feb 2009 11:05

wow those trams are a beauty as compared to the dalda cans of yesteryears. Rahul Moshai please ride one at the earliest and provide feedback about ride quality, fares and if these trams still have that ubiquitous bell. In'shallah I shalll ride in 'em end of this '09.

My B-I-L who is TFTA 6ft.3/220lb amirkhani was taken on his first trip to Bombay aboard Rajdhani 3 tier AC sleeper. Why my father did that in his infinite wisdom, only he and Allah know.

Anyhow not only did said B-I-L get the middle berth but it was also the first one inside the door. So all night he had people bang the door on his feet which were sticking out into the corridor...add to that a case of massive delhi belly and imagine his total agony (esp. for a guy who had never ridden in a train in his life and was excited for his first train ride!)

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Feb 2009 14:43

chi chi chi..bahut na-insafi hua. atleast 2AC on the famous "LHB" rajdhani would be prudent.

while we make a song and dance about isolated "LHB" rajdhani's most of the rolling
stock in far east countries incl PRC for long haul trains seems to be of that type.
and they have done a stern job of making railway stns look like our airports though millions of factory workers and traders use it daily like ours.

note: I am not comparing to japan whose trains/infra are on another planet but
more middleweights like malaysia , thailand, PRC, taiwan, Soko.

vina · Post by **vina** » 12 Feb 2009 14:57

SSridhar wrote:New trams introduced in Kolkata on Wednesday plying along the city’s streets.

Oh My God!. Is that Calcutta ? Gulp

. It looks so "phoren" hopefully it is airconditioned. Very cool indeed. The last tram ride I had was in my recent vacation in Turkey and before that when I was living in SF. In Turkey they had a very "posh", Alstom tram set imported from "Phrance" onree. This Kolkata tram , made locally or imported? (do we have any tram making capacity left in India, I wonder) and if so, how is the interiors and fit and finish?.

I still remember the green and yellow dabbas of the yesteryears. They used to look and feel that no one had touched them since the days the brits left!. Defintiely time to retire those old ones.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Feb 2009 14:59

I am sure they have their own bodyshops with unionised employee ratio of 200 people to 1 tramcar.

vina · Post by **vina** » 12 Feb 2009 15:11

Sigh. You are right of course. This looks like a new "body work" on the old tram platform. The only saving grace seems to be the cushioned seats like present day buses, rather than the wooden planks I remember from earlier.

No A/C either!. But I hope they can open the windows. In the Kolkota heat and humidity, people will just die otherwise and crowd in the doorway. No technological progress. No vestibules even. No Plogless Onree Saar!.

From the CTC website.

Arya Sumantra · Post by **Arya Sumantra** » 12 Feb 2009 15:17

Singha wrote: while we make a song and dance about isolated "LHB" rajdhani's most of the rolling
stock in far east countries incl PRC for long haul trains seems to be of that type.
and they have done a stern job of making railway stns look like our airports though millions of factory workers and traders use it daily like ours.

note: I am not comparing to japan whose trains/infra are on another planet but
more middleweights like malaysia , thailand, PRC, taiwan, Soko.

If you talk about railway stations alone then Japan's stations are not really airport quality in appearance. I have seen platforms in remote smaller cities being tar-coated like roads. Even in tokyo suburbs they are minimalistic in aesthetic appearance. But they are ALL spotlessly clean and facility wise they had everything you needed but minimalistic. Also regarding Bullet trains, they are expensive and make losses. Peter Drucker, the management guru who was invited as a consultant by JR said that the world thought Bullet trains were a success but financially speaking they are not.
Regarding chicoms, an acquaintance from there mentioned that their trains are better now but train fares have shot up drastically and this affects the migrants a lot. Their bullet train in Shanghai is a failure because of high fares. Everyone takes a Taxi which is cheaper and goes to heart of the city whereas bullet train just stops near the outskirts.
In Malaysia, railways are unpopular because people are used to travelling by buses or luxury buses as we call. Even between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur the buses are popular than the train.
In the Indian scenario, all modifications and improvements need to be done while keeping the train fares constant so the changes are slow. GoI needs to invest massively to overhaul and upgrade the railway system.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 12 Feb 2009 15:20

vina wrote:

What is that on the top , the box like thing.