29 April 2013

STOPPAGE TO NEW DELHI-AMRITSAR - NEW DELHI SHATABDI EXPRESS TRAIN AT RAJPURA


For the convenience of the rail passengers during, Northern Railway has decided to provide additional stoppage to the 12029/12030 ,New Delhi-Amritsar- New Delhi Shatabdi Express Train at Rajpura from 04.05.2013 ,as per the under-mentionedprogramme:

The 12029 New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express Train will arrive at Rajpura at 10.20 a.m., while in return direction the 12030 Amritsar- New Delhi Shatabdi Express Train will arrive at Rajpura at 07.59 pm. with two minutes stoppage in both the directions. The other features like timings, composition, route,
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Cancellation of Passenger Trains Due to Derailment of Goods Train at Renigunta Railway Station yard


Due to Derailment of Goods Train at Renigunta station yard at 23 10 hrs o­n 28thApril, 2013, o­n Guntakal Division,  the following Passenger trains are Cancelled;-





I. Cancelled :



1.     T.No. 77261 Tirupati-Vellore Cantonment Passenger, scheduled to depart Tirupati at 06 45 hrs o­n 29.04. 2013 is cancelled.
2.     T.No. 77264 Vellore Cantonment-Tirupati Passenger, scheduled to depart Vellore Cantonment at 10 15 hrs o­n 29.04. 2013 is cancelled.
3.     T.No. 77263 Tirupati-Vellore Cantonment Passenger, scheduled to depart Tirupati at 13 55 hrs o­n 29.04. 2013 is cancelled.
4.     T.No. 77266 Vellore Cantonment-Tirupati Passenger, scheduled to depart Vellore Cantonment at 18 00 hrs o­n 29.04. 2013 is cancelled
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ADVANCE RESERVATION PERIOD FOR BOOKING RESERVED TRAIN TICKETS REDUCED TO 60 DAYS FROM EXISTING 120 DAYS FROM 1ST MAY 2013


The Advance Reservation Period (ARP) for booking reserved train tickets will be reduced from the existing 120 days to 60 days (excluding the date of journey) w.e.f. 1st May 2013. The details are as below:-

             I.With effect from 01.05.2013, the ARP will be of 60 days (excluding the day of journey) and booking will be done accordingly. However, all the bookings done upto 30.4.2013 under the ARP of 120 days will remain intact.
             II.Cancellation of the booking made beyond the ARP of 60 days will, however, be permitted.
            III.There will be no change in the case of certain day time express trains such as  Satavahana Express, Golkonda Express, Janmabhoomi Express and Thungabhadra Express  etc. where lower time limits for advance reservations are at present in force.

There will also be no change in the case of limit of 360 days for foreign tourists.
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Cancellation / Partial Cancellation / Diversion of Trains Due To Derailment of Goods Train at Renigunta Railway Station yard


Due to Derailment of Goods Train at Renigunta station yard at 23 10 hrs o­n 28thApril, 2013, o­n Guntakal Division,  the following trains are Cancelled/Partially Cancelled/ Diverted:

I. Cancelled :

T.No. 57257  Tirupati – Kakinada Passenger scheduled to leave Tirupati at 01.05 hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is cancelled.
T.No. 57429  Tirupati – Gudur  Passenger scheduled to leave Tirupati at 06.30 hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is cancelled.
T.No. 66033 Tirupati – Nellore Passenger scheduled to leave Tirupati at 11.25  hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is cancelled.
T.No. 57411 Tirupati – Gudur Passenger scheduled to leave Tirupati at 13.45 hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is cancelled.
T.No. 66034 Nellore – Tirupati Passenger scheduled to leave Nellore at 12.30 hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is cancelled.
T.No. 57412 Gudur – Tirupti    Passenger scheduled to leave Gudur at 10.55 hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is cancelled.
T.No. 57430  Gudur – Tirupti    Passenger scheduled to leave Gudur at 17.30 hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is cancelled .
II. Partially Cancelled:

T.No.57258 Kakinada –Tirupati Passenger which left Kakinada o­n 28/04/2013 is partially cancelled between Sri Kalahasti and Tirupati.
T.No.57640 Guntur - Tirupati Passenger which left Guntur at 01.00 hrs  o­n 29/04/2013 is partially cancelled between Gudur and Tirupati.
T.No.57639 Tirupati – Guntur  Passenger scheduled to leave Tirupati at 15.15 hrs o­n 29/04/2013 is partially cancelled between Tirupati and Gudur.
III. Diverted :\

T.No. 12864 Yesvantpur – Howrah Express which left Yesvantpur o­n 28/04/2013 is diverted to run via Katpadi – Arakkonam – Chennai – Gudur.
T.No. 12625 Thiruvananthapuram – New Delhi Kerala Express which left   Thiruvananthapuram o­n 28/04/2013 is diverted to run via Katpadi – Arakkonam – Chennai – Gudur.
     3. T.No.12845 Bhubaneswar- Yesvantpur Express which left  Bhubaneswaron 28/04/2013 is diverted to run via Gudur- Chennai-. Arakkonam – Katpadi.

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26 April 2013

SCR to run Two Special Trains between Tirupati and Karimnagar


Train No. 02761 Tirupati-Karimnagar Special Train will depart Tirupati at 22 40 hrs o­n 01st May, 2013 (Wednesday)and arrive Karimnagar at 11 25 hrs o­n the next day.

In the return direction, Train No. 02762 Karimnagar-Tirupati Special Train will depart Karimnagar at 19 10 hrs o­n 2ndMay, 2013 (Thursday) and arrive Tirupati at 07 55 hrs o­n the next day.

Enroute, these trains will stop at Renigunta, Srikalahasti, Gudur, Vijayawada, Madhira, Khammam, Mahabubabad, Warangal, Jamikunta, and Peddapalli stations in both the directions.

These trains will have 18 coaches viz., consist of o­ne AC II Tier, o­ne AC III Tier, eight Sleeper Class, six General Second Class and two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake Van Coaches.
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Installation of BIO-Toilets in Trains


Indian Railways have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for jointly developing bio-toilets. A total number of 1563 bio-toilets have been installed in coaches up to March 2013 for field trials. It is planned to convert all coach toilets over Indian Railways with these bio-toilets after success of the trials.

On successful development of the bio-toilets, their further time bound proliferation will be undertaken. While it would be Indian Railwaays’ endeavour to install environment friendly toilets/bio-toilets in all its passenger coaches (new as well as existing) at the earliest, the time frame for their full scale deployment cannot be forecast with reasonable accuracy as it will depend upon the changes/modifications necessitated from time to time based on the feedback on its performance, outcome of the fitment trials, exigency of their usage pattern and other service conditions. However, it is planned to induct all new coaches fitted only with environment friendly toilets/bio-toilets from 2016-17 onwards and cover the entire fleet of passenger coaches by 2021-22 provided that there is no technical or operational setback.
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Introduction of Battery Operated Vehicles at Railway Stations


Operation of battery operated vehicles at railway stations has been permitted through the commercial publicity route to carry disabled, old and sick passengers free of cost. These vehicles have been introduced at Mumbai CST, Mumbai Central, Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Sealdah, Howrah, Visakhapatnam, New Delhi, Delhi, Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Salem, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Bengaluru, Yeshwantpur, Mysore and Kota station.

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Central Organization of Railway Electrification landmark of electrifying 937 route kms


Electrification of about 937 RKMs (route kilometre) till March, the Central Organization of Railway Electrification (CORE) is a landmark for the organisation, said Jagdev Kalia CORE general manager addressing media persons on Tuesday.

Earlier, the best electrification record was of about 915 RKM in 2009-10.

He also stated that this year, the organisation has completed commission of railway safety (CRS) inspection of about 1159 RKM, the highest achievement in the history of CORE surpassing previous best of about 992 RKM in 1990-91.
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Separate Reservation Counters for Women and Physically Challenged


Separate reservation counters are earmarked for ladies, senior citizens, former Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly, physically handicapped, accredited journalists, freedom fighters, if the ticket demand per shift is not less than 120 tickets. In case, there is no justification for earmarking of exclusive counter for any of these categories of persons including ladies/physically challenged persons, one or two counters depending upon total demands are earmarked for dealing with the reservation requests of all these categories of persons.

Instructions are also there that at those reservation offices which have not been computerized and where separate counters are not in existence for ladies, female passengers should not be compelled to join the general queues and be attended to separately at the same counter as for general passengers.
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No Day Block WR'S NIGHT BLOCK BETWEEN VASAI ROAD AND BHAYANDAR


A jumbo block of four hours from 00.40 hrs to 04.40 hrs in the night on Sunday, 28/04/2013 on Up and Down Local (i.e. slow) lines will be taken between Vasai Road and Bhayandar stations for maintenance of track, signalling and overhead equipments. During the block all Up and Down trains will be worked on Through (i.e. fast) lines between Vasai Road/Virar and Borivali.

Detailed information to this effect is available with concerned Station Masters. Passengers are requested to take note of the above arrangements.
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Twelfth Five Year Plan Outlay for Railways


An outlay of Rs. 5,19,221 crore has been finalized for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) of the Railways.  the details of the outlay are given below:-
(i)  Gross Budgetary Support  -        Rs. 1,94,221 crore
(ii)  Internal Generation           -        Rs. 1,05,000 crore
(iii) Extra Budgetary Resources        -        Rs. 2,20,000 crore
Total                                        -        Rs. 5,19,221 crore
Outlay of Rs. 5.48 lakh crore was proposed for the Twelfth Plan by Ministry of Railways to the Planning Commission.  Outlay of Rs. 5.19 lakh crore has been approved by the Planning Commission. Outlay for different sectors is decided by the Planning Commission keeping in view the total availability of resources and requirement of resources in different sectors.
For financing the Twelfth Plan outlay, adequate Gross Budgetary Support, mobilization of Extra Budgetary Resources including bonds and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in identified areas and mobilization of internal resources would be necessary.  All efforts are being made for mobilizing these resources.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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25 April 2013

INTRODUCTION OF A NEW AIR-CONDITIONED WEEKLY EXPRESS BETWEEN YESVANTPUR – KOCHUVELI


A new air-conditioned weekly express is to be introduced between Yesvantpur – Kochuveli.  Train No.16561 Yesvantpur – Kochuveli air-conditioned weekly express will be introduced ex. Yesvantpur o­n 02.05.2013 and Train No.16562 Kochuveli – Yesvantpur air-conditioned weekly express will be introduced ex. Kochuveli o­n 03.05.2013.

            Train No.16561 Yesvantpur – Kochuveli air-conditioned weekly express will leave Yesvantpur at 15.25 hrs. o­n Thursdays and reach Kochuveli at 06.50 hrs. o­n Fridays.  Train No.16562 Kochuveli – Yesvantpur air-conditioned weekly express will leave Kochuveli at 12.50 hrs. o­n Fridays and reach Yesvantpur at 04.30 hrs. o­n Saturdays.  The composition of the trains will be 1 AC First class, 4 AC 2-tier and 9 AC 3-tier coaches.  The trains will stop at Krishnarajpuram, Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam Town, Kottayam, Chengannur and Kollam.



Advance reservation for the above trains will commence o­n 26.4.2013.
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Advance Reservation Period for Booking Reserved Train Tickets Reduced to 60 Days from Existing 120 Days from 1st May 2013


The Ministry of Railways has decided that the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) for booking reserved train tickets will be reduced from existing 120 days to 60 days (excluding the date of journey) w.e.f. 1st May 2013. The details are as below:-

I. With effect from 01.05.2013, the ARP will be of 60 days (excluding the day of journey) and booking will be done accordingly. However, all the bookings done upto 30.4.2013 under the ARP of 120 days will remain intact.

II. Cancellation of the booking made beyond the ARP of 60 days will, however, be permitted.

III. There will be no change in the case of certain day time express trains like Taj Express, Gomti Express etc. where lower time limits for advance reservations are at present in force.

IV. There will also be no change in the case of limit of 360 days for foreign tourists.
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Mumbai metro: Trial run in 15 days


Trial runs for the first metro rail of Mumbai are likely to be held in the third week of this month.

Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) will inspect the corridor in July so that Mumbaikars get to use part of the route by August 2013.

The Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro rail will be opened to public in two phases, the first phase between Versova and Airport Road station in August and second between Airport Road station and Ghatkopar by December 2013.

The entire 11.4-km-long route will be ready for public use only by the end of December or early next year.

"Representatives from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) will first oversee some of the rolling stock testing at the site and some at factory level, only then other testing procedures will be followed," said sources.

Another official said, "Along with RDSO inspection, trial runs for the metro rail will be carried out from the third week of April."

As installation of Overhead Equipment is currently underway along the corridor between Versova and Marol metro stations.

The test runs will be done only on this eight-kilometre stretch, while the balance three-odd kilometres will be covered only after August.

The procedures for trial runs will take around three months to check and certify various systems and even to thoroughly check the System Integration Testing. Once internal System Integration Testing is done, the commissioner of railway safety will inspect the entire arrangement for desired results and safety standards.

"As per the schedule prepared, the commissioner of railway safety will start supervision only in the first week of July," said the official.

If the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited, Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium, would have received Right of Way as per plans, then the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route would have been completed by March 2012.
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SCR to run Eight Special Trains to Ajmer for Urs


For the convenience of pilgrims attending 800th Annual Urs festival at Ajmer, South Central Railway will run  eight Special trains from various places such as Hyderabad, Kacheguda, o­ngole and Machilipatnam to Ajmer and back as per the following schedule:

1.Tr.No. 07125/07126 Hyderabad-Ajmer-Hyderabad Urs Special Train

Train No. 07125 Hyderabad – Ajmer Special train will depart Hyderabad o­n 12th May, 2013 at 20 10 hrs, arrive/depart Secunderabad at 20 30/ 20 35 hrs and arrive Ajmer o­n 14th May, 2013 (second day) at 10 15 hrs.

In the return direction, Train No.07126 Ajmer-Hyderabad Special train will depart Ajmer o­n 17th May, 2013 at 22.45 hrs, arrive/depart  Secunderabad at 13 00 / 13 10 hrs o­n 19thMay, 2013(second day) and arrive Hyderabad at 14.00 hrs.

 Enroute these special trains will stop at Malkajgiri, Medchal, Kamareddi, Nizamabad, Basar, Dharmabad, Mudkhed, Nanded, Purna, Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad, Manmad, Bhusaval, Khandwa, Itarsi, Bhopal, Sehore, Shujalpur, Berchha, Ujjain, Nagda, Kota, Chenderia, Chitorgarh, Bhilwara, Bijaynagar and Nasirabad in both the directions.

These trains will have 17 coaches viz., o­ne First AC cum II Tier AC, o­ne AC II Tier, o­ne AC III Tier, ten Sleeper Class, two General Second Class and two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake Van coaches.

2.Tr.No. 07129/07130 Kacheguda-Ajmer-Kacheguda Urs Special Train

Train No. 07129 Kachiguda – Ajmer Special train will depart Kacheguda o­n 13th May, 2013 at 22 00 hrs and arrive Ajmer o­n 15th May 2013 (second day) at 04 50 hrs.

             In the return direction, Train No.07130 Ajmer – Kachiguda Special train will depart Ajmer o­n 18th May, 2013 at 19 30 hrs and arrive Kachiguda o­n 20thMay 2013 (second day) at 07 00 hrs.

 Enroute these special trains will stop at Malkajgiri, Medchal, Kamareddi, Nizamabad, Mudkhed, Nanded, Purna, Basmat, Hingoli, Washim, Akola, Malkapur, Khandwa, Itarsi, Bhopal, Ujjain, Ratlam, Mandsore, Chitorgarh,Chanderia, Bhilwara, Bijaynagar and Nasirabad in both the directions.

 These trains will have 18 coaches viz., o­ne AC II Tier, o­ne AC III Tier, ten Sleeper Class, four General Second Class and two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake Van coaches.

 3.Tr.No. 07227/07228 o­ngole –Ajmer – o­ngole Urs Special Train

 Train No. 07227 o­ngole – Ajmer Special Train will depart o­ngole o­n 14thMay, 2013 at 08 20 hrs and arrive Ajmer o­n 15th May, 2013 (next day) at 23 30 hrs.

 In the return direction, Train No. 07228 Ajmer – o­ngole Special Train will depart Ajmer o­n 19th May, 2013 at 18 45 hrs and arrive o­ngole o­n 21st May, 2013 (second day) at 07 00 hrs.

Enroute, these special trains will stop at Chirala, Bapatla, Nidubrolu, Tenali, New Guntur, Vijayawada. Madhira, Khammam, Mahbubabad, Warangal,Manchiryal, Bellampalli, Sirpur Khagaznagar, Balharshah, Nagpur, Itarsi, Bhopal, Ujjain, Ratlam, Jawra, Mandsor, Chittaurgarh, Chanderiya, Bhilwara, Bijaynagar andNasirabad in both the directions.

These trains will have 11 coaches viz., o­ne AC II Tier, o­ne AC III Tier, five Sleeper Class, three General Second Class and o­ne Second Class Luggage Cum Brake Van coaches.

4. Tr.No. 07131/07132 Machilipatnam / Vijayawada– Ajmer - Vijayawada / Machilipatnam Link Urs Special

Train No. 07131 Machilipatnam-Ajmer Special Train will depart Machilipatnam o­n 14th May, 2013 at 09 00 hrs and arrive Vijayawada at 11 00 hrs o­n the same day. Further, the train will be linked to Train No. 07227 o­ngole-Ajmer Special Train, departing Vijayawada at 11 50 hrs o­n the same day.

 In the return direction, Train No. 07132 Vijayawada – Machilipatnam Special Train will be linked to Train No. 07228 Ajmer-Ongole Special train from Ajmer (departing Ajmer o­n 19thMay 2013 at 18 45 hrs) till Vijayawada (arriving Vijayawada o­n 21stMay 2013 at 01 37 hrs ) as per the same schedule. Further the train will depart Vijayawada at 02 30 hrs o­n 21st May, 2013 and arrive Machilipatnam at 05 00 hrs o­n the same day.

These Link Expresses will stop between Vijayawada and Machilipatnam at Chilakalapudi, Pedana andGudivada in both the directions.

 These special trains will have seven coaches viz., five Sleeper Class, o­ne General Second Class and o­ne Second Class Luggage cum Brake Van Coaches.
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EMUs TO RUN ON FAST LINE DUE TO LINE BLOCK; CHANGE IN TIMINGS OF MMC – AVADI EMUs


Due to line block in connection with engineering works between Tiruninravur – Tiruvallur, the following trains will be diverted from slow line to fast line between Tiruninravur – Tiruvallur o­n 27.04.2013, 28.04.2013, 04.05.2013 and 05.05.2013 and will not stop at VEPPAMPATTU AND SEVVAPET ROAD railway stations.



T.No.43217 MMC – Tiruvallur local leaving MMC at 09.35 hrs.
T.No.43219 MMC – Tiruvallur local leaving MMC at 09.45 hrs.
T.No.43705 Chennai Beach–Tiruvallur local leaving Chennai Beach at 09.45 hrs.
T.No.43505 MMC – Tiruttani local leaving MMC at 10.00 hrs.
T.No.43901 MMC – Kadambattur local leaving MMC at 10.30 hrs.
T.No.43411 MMC – Arakkonam local leaving MMC at 11.00 hrs.
T.No.43221 MMC – Tiruvallur local leaving MMC at 11.30 hrs.
T.No.43507 MMC – Tiruttani local leaving MMC at 11.45 hrs.
T.No.43903 MMC – Kadambattur local leaving MMC at 12.00 hrs.  
    10.   T.No.43223 MMC – Tiruvallur local leaving MMC at 12.15 hrs.

CHANGE IN TIMINGS OF MMC – AVADI EMUs

            To improve the punctuality of EMU trains and to minimise their detention at MMC during peak hours, the timings of the following MMC – AVADI EMUs are revised as given below as a trial measurefor a period of 2 weeks from 26.04.2013.

                                                                                                Existing                     Revised

                                                                                                Timings                     Timings

T.No. 66001 MMC – Avadi Local               MMC(d)          09.15 hrs.                  10.10 hrs.

                                                                        Avadi(a)         10.00 hrs.                  10.50 hrs.

T.No. 43013 MMC – Avadi Local               MMC(d)          09.30 hrs.                  10.20 hrs.

                                                                        Avadi(a)         10.10 hrs.                  11.00 hrs.

T.No. 43015 MMC – Avadi Local               MMC(d)          10.15 hrs.                  10.40 hrs.

                                                                        Avadi(a)         10.55 hrs.                  11.20 hrs.

T.No. 43017 MMC – Avadi Local               MMC(d)          10.45 hrs.                  10.50 hrs.

                                                    Avadi (a)    11.25 hrs.          11.30 hrs.  
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NORTHERN RAILWAY – SCALING NEW HIGHTS OF PROGRESS


As a committed partner in the Indian Railways, Northern Railway has performed exceptionally well during the financial year 2012-13 as compared to 2011-12 in both freight and coaching areas and the good performance is continuing in 2013-14.

Northern Railway attained the various achievements in core functional areas. With total earning of approximately Rs. 14,300 crore this year as against the earning of Rs. 11,621 crore last year 2011-12 thus registering an increase of 23%in the earnings from the last year. Northern Railway became lead Railway in the Revenue earning for Indian Railway, despite of heavy fog for nearly two months in almost the entire North Zone during winter.

In the freight operations, there has been a handsome improvement of 35.22% in freight revenue earning, which is also the highest over Indian Railways i.e. 6348.98 Crores in 2012-13 as compared to 4695.30 Crores in 2011-12.

Similarly, a significant improvement to the tune of 33% was registered by Northern Railway in the punctuality of Mail/Express trains also. The same was 79.4% during 2012-13 compared to 59.8% during 2011-2012.

The current year (2013-14) has begun on a very positive note and the punctuality percentage of Mail/Express trains over Northern Railway during 1st to 24th April, 2013 has been 87.23%, wherein 90% or more was achieved on seven occasions this month and the highest ever punctuality was achieved on the 24th of this month which stood at 97%.
         
Besides, these Northern Railway took important measures for the improvement in its ticketing system and a sharp fall in complaints has been registered.
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Secunderabad-Jaipur Special Train Extended for Four More Services


In order to clear extra rush of passengers, South Central Railway will extend the run of Train No.09735 / 09736 Secunderabad-Jaipur-Secunderabad Special train for four more services to the existing timings and stoppages as per the following schedule:-

 Accordingly, Train No. 09735 Secunderabad-Jaipur Special Train will depart Secunderabad at 22 00 hrs o­n 29thApril and 06th May 2013 (Mondays) and arrive Jaipur at 06 15 hrs o­n Wednesdays.

 In the opposite direction, Train No. 09736 Jaipur-Secunderabad Special Train will depart Jaipur at 21 10 hrs o­n 27th April and 04th May 2013 (Saturdays) and arrive Secunderabad at 07 30 hrs o­n Mondays.

 Enroute these trains will stop at Medchal, Kamareddi, Nizamabad, Mudkhed, H.S.Nanded, Purna, Hingoli, Washim, Akola, Murtajapur, Badnera, New Amravati, Chandur Bazar, Narkher, Amla, Betul, Itarsi, Habibganj, Bhopal, Sehore, Shujalpur, Berchhc, Ujjain, Nagda, Ramganj Mandi, Kota, Sawai Madhopur, Banasthali Niwai and Durgapur stations.

 These trains will have 20 Coaches Viz. o­ne First Cum Two Tier AC, o­ne AC II Tier and four AC III Tier and ten Sleeper Class, two General Second Class and two Second Class Luggage Cum Brake van Coaches.
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TEMPORARY AUGMENTATION OF NEW DELHI- AHMEDABAD RAJDHANI EXPRESS TRAIN


The 12957/12958 New Delhi- Ahmedabad- New Delhi Rajdhani Express Train has been augmented by One Additional A.C. 2 Tier & Two Additional A.C. 3 Tier coaches (total 21 coaches) from upto 30.06.13.2013 when departing from Ahmedabad and upto 01.07.2013when departing from New Delhi. The other features like timings, route, stoppages etc. will remain as unchanged.

The 12397/12398 New Delhi- Gaya- New Delhi Mahabodhi Express Train has been inducted to run with LHB Rakes (state-of-the-art coaches) with immediate effect in both the directions. The other features like timings, route, stoppages, composition etc. will remain as unchanged.
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Secunderabad Division of SCR Collects Penalty from 91 cases for affecting cleanliness of railway premises


The Secunderabad Division of South Central Railway has detected 91 cases of activities affecting cleanliness and hygiene of railway premises and collected an amount of Rs 20,850 towards penalty under Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting cleanliness at Railway premises) Rules 2012 during the period from 1stApril to 23rd April 2013.

As per the Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting cleanliness at Railway premises) Rules 2012, persons indulging in any act affecting cleanliness and hygiene of railway premises are liable for a fine of upto Rs 500.

            Railways are taking all measures to keep railway premises clean by penalizing those indulging in any act such as littering, spitting, urinating, defecating, pasting posters etc., which affect cleanliness and hygiene.

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Reservation Opening Date for 01061 Mau Special leaving Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on 1.5.2013


RESERVATION OPENDING DATE FOR 01061 MAU SPECAIL LEAVING LTT

Bookings for 01061 special of 1.5.2013 (one trip) will be opened from 09.00 am o­n 27th, 28th and 29.4.2013 for WAITLISTED PASSENGERS o­nLY towards Mau who have booked their tickets o­n or before 26.4.2013 for journey commencing o­n 1.5.2013 towards Mau at nominated counters at CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS o­nLY.

Bookings for general passengers will be opened w.e.f. 30.4.2013 at all locations.

BOOKING OPEN DATE FOR OTHER TRIPS WILL BE NOTIFIED LATER.

01061 Special will leave o­n every Wednesday from 1.5.2013 to 26.6.2013 from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 13.20 hrs and arrive Mau at 19.55 hrs next day.

01062 Special will leave o­n every Thursday from 2.5.2013 to 27.6.2013 from Mau at 21.30 hrs and arrive Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 04.10 hrs o­n third day (Saturday)

HALTS: Kalyan, Igatpuri, Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Khandwa, Itarsi, Pipariya, Narsinghpur, Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Satna, Manikpur, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Aunrihar.

COMPOSITION: o­ne AC-2 Tier, o­ne AC-3 Tier, 7 Sleeper Class, 6 General Second Class and 2 General Second Class cum Guard’s Brake Vans.
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Financial Assistance to States for Metro Train Network


The Minister of Urban Development Shri Kamal Nath in a statement laid on the table of the house today said that as per the Report of the Working Group on Urban Transport for 12th Five Year Plan, metro rail projects can be taken up for financial assistance depending upon population, trip length and peak hour peak direction traffic (PHPDT). As per National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP), 2006, Government of India has the following norms of financing including Metro Rail Projects:-

(i) Provide 50% of the cost of preparing comprehensive city transport plans and detailed project reports (for two million plus cities).

(ii) Offer equity participation and/or viability gap funding to the extent of 20% of the capital cost of public transport systems.

(iii) Offer 50% of the cost of project development whenever such projects are sought to be taken up through public-private partnerships.

This policy is applicable to all States and Union Territories and is not State-specific.

The Government of Gujarat had forwarded a proposal in December 2011 for development of metro corridor between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar for a total length of 52 Kms. at a completion cost of Rs. 9,000 crore, with the request to extend Central assistance to the extent of 25% of the total cost of the project. The proposal did not fit into the criteria of funding as per National Urban Transport Policy, 2006. The State Government is yet to submit its final proposal as per Govt. of India norms for funding.
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INTRODUCTION OF AIR-CONDITIONED DOUBLE DECKER EXPRESS BETWEEN CHENNAI CENTRAL AND BANGALORE CITY


A new Air-Conditioned Double Decker Express will be introduced between Chennai Central – Bangalore City from 25.4.2013 o­nwards from both the ends.

            T.No.22625 Chennai Central – Bangalore City Jn. Express will leave Chennai Central at 07.25 hrs. and arrive  Bangalore City at 13.30 hrs.   T.No.22626 Bangalore City - Chennai Central Express will leave Bangalore City at 14.40 hrs. and arrive Chennai Central at 20.45 hrs.  The composition of the trains will be 10 AC Chair Car. The trains will stop at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Ambur, Jolarpettai, Bangarapet, Krishnarajapuram and Bangalore Cantonment.   Train No.22626 will stop at Perambur also.

Advance reservation for the above trains will commence o­n 23.4.2013.
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INTRODUCTION OF A NEW TRAIN SERVICE BETWEEN TIRUNELVELI – DADAR VIA KONKAN RAILWAY


A new weekly superfast express is to be introduced between Tirunelveli – Dadar via Konkan Railway.  Train No.22630 Tirunelveli – Dadar weekly superfast express will be introduced ex. Tirunelveli o­n 01.05.2013 and Train No.22629 Dadar – Tirunelveli weekly superfast express will be introduced ex. Dadar o­n 03.05.2013.  

            Train No.22629 Dadar – Tirunelveli weekly superfast express will leave Dadar at 20.40 hrs. o­n Fridays and reach Tirunelveli at 04.00 hrs. o­n Sundays.  Train No.22630 Tirunelveli – Dadar weekly superfast express will leave Tirunelveli at 07.10 hrs. o­n Wednesdays and reach Dadar at 15.10 hrs. o­n Thursdays.  The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 1 AC 3-tier, 6 second class sleeper, 6 general second class and 2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches.  The trains will stop at Thane, Panvel, Roha, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Kankavli, Thivim, Madgaon, Karwar, Honnavar, Udupi, Mangalore Jn., Kannur, Kozhikkode, Shoranur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar and Kovilpatti.

Advance reservation for the above trains will commence o­n 25.4.2013.
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Frequency of Kanniyakumar-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Kanniyakumari Tirukkural Express Increased from Weekly to Bi-weekly


The frequency of Train No. 12641/12642 Kanniyakumar-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Kanniyakumari Tirukkural Express has been increased from weekly to Bi-weekly as detailed below:-
 Train No. 12641 Kanniyakumar-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Kanniyakumari Tirukkural Express runs o­n Fridays and Wednesdays with effect from 12th April, 2013.
 In the return direction, Train No. 12642 Kanniyakumar-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Kanniyakumari Tirukkural Express runs o­n Mondays and Saturdays with effect from 15th April, 2013.
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SOUTH SUBWAY AT MALAD STATION TO BE CLOSED UPTO 31/05/2013


SOUTH SUBWAY AT MALAD STATION TO BE
CLOSED UPTO 31/05/2013


To carry out the work in connection with extension of bridge towards west to accommodate 6th line, Bridge no.56 i.e Malad subway, which is situated at the south of Malad station will remain closed upto 31st May, 2013.
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GM / SCR Inspects MMTS Section, Services and Reviews MMTS Phase - II Expansion.


Shri D.P.Pande, GM  SCR is seen doing trailing window inpection of MMTS Sections in Twin Cities o­n 22nd April. 2013
Shri D.P. Pande, General Manager, South Central Railway inspected the MMTS Railway Section in the twin cities today i.e., 22nd April, 2013. He inspected Falaknuma- Secunderabad - Lingampalli MMTS Section and also the Sanathnagar - Moul-Ali – Charlapally section via chord line.
He took stock of the present line capacity situation o­n these routes and discussed with thesenior officers o­n the measures to be taken to enhance the throughput. He monitored the running of the MMTS Services and instructed the officials to speed up the debottlenecking works so as to run optimal number of trains.He also inspected the various amenities provided at MMTS Stations and directed the officials to expedite works related to upgradation of passenger amenities in this Section. He emphasized to launch special drives to maintaincleanliness and to impose penalties as per existing guidelines o­nthe passengers whodump garbage and litter thestation premises.He reviewed the security arrangements for the MMTS passengers and directed the officials to strengthen the deployment of security personnel in MMTS trains/stations as required and take stringent action against offenders.
The General Manager was apprised of the MMTS Phase-II expansion Project and its progress by the Chief Project Manager, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), to who this work has been entrusted. The tenders for MMTS phase-II have been invited o­n 11-04-2013 by RVNL in 3 separate packages for works worth `365 Crs in MMTS phase-II corridor.Thedate for opening of thebids is 22-05-2013.
The General Manager was accompanied by Shri Rakesh Aron, Divisional Railway Manager, Hyderabad Division; Shri S.K.Mishra,Divisional Railway Manager, Secunderabad Division; Shri M.Kantha Rao, Superintendent of Police, Government Railway Police/Secunderabad; Shri P.Srinivas, Chief Project Manager, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and other senior officials during the inspection.
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Train Rescheduled due to Line Block at Guntakal Rly Station


South Central Railway has imposed a Line Block for a period of 30 days from 14th April, 2013 to undertake apron work at Platform No. 5 of Guntakal Railway Station o­n Guntakal division. As a result, the following Passenger Trains are rescheduled for 30 days from 14th April 2013 as detailed below:
 
Train No. 57426 Guntakal-Kacheguda Passenger has already been rescheduled to depart Guntakal at 07 45 hrs instead of 05 45 hrs.
Due to late arrival of Train No. 57426 Passenger, Train No. 57473 Kacheguda-Bodhan Passenger is rescheduled to depart Kacheguda at 17 40 hrs instead of 16 10 hrs.
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INTRODUCES NEW WEEKLY TRAIN NO.22629 / 22630 BETWEEN TIRUNELVELI - DADAR


Train No. 22629/22630 will run as a Weekly Train on Regular Basis Ex. Dadar every Friday and from Tirunelveli on every Wednesday.

The Arrival/Departure timings of these trains are as under:-

Train No.

From

To

Departure / Arrival

Date

22629

Dadar

Tirunelveli

20.40/ 04.00 Hrs (On Third Day)

Every Friday w.e.f. 03/05/2013.



   22630

Tirunelveli

Dadar

07.10 / 15.10 Hrs (On Next Day)

Every wednesday w.e.f. 01/05/2013.



Halts at: The trains will  halt  at  Thane, Panvel, Roha, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Kankavali, Thivim, Madgaon, Karwar, Honnavar, Udupi, Thokur, Mangalore Jn, Kannur, Kozikode, Shoranur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar and Kovilpatti. The train will have 16 coaches with Composition of Six Sleeper Coaches, One AC- III Tier, One AC- II Tier, Six General & Two SLR Coaches.
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SHRI PAWAN KUMAR BANSAL, MINISTER FOR RAILWAYS INAUGURATES NEWLY CONSTRUCTED CHANDIGARH- LUDHIANA NEW BROAD GAUGE RAIL LINE & FLAGS OFF SUPERFAST EXPRESS TRAIN BETWEEN CHANDIGARH- AMRITSAR (VIA NEW MORINDA- SANEHWAL)


SHRI PAWAN KUMAR BANSAL, MINISTER FOR RAILWAYS INAUGURATES
NEWLY CONSTRUCTED CHANDIGARH- LUDHIANA NEW BROAD GAUGE RAIL LINE & FLAGS OFF SUPERFAST EXPRESS TRAIN BETWEEN CHANDIGARH- AMRITSAR (VIA NEW MORINDA- SANEHWAL) TODAY
Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Hon’ble Minister for Railways inaugurates newly constructed Chandigarh- Ludhiana New Broad Gauge Rail Line & flags off  Superfast Express Train between Chandigarh- Amritsar o­n newly constructed route (via New Morinda- Sanehwal) from Chandigarh Railway station today. o­n the occasion, Hon’ble Mayor, Chandigarh, Sh. Subhash Chawla, General Manager, Northern Railway, Shri V.K. Gupta, Chief Administrative Officer/Construction, Northern Railway, Sh. B.D. Garg, Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala, Sh. P.K.Sanghi & Other Senior Railway Officials were also present.

             The total length of Chandigarh – Ludhiana new line is 112 Km. The Railway line from Chandigarh to New Morinda stations was opened for traffic in Sep’2006 in Phase-I. The Phase-II, which involved construction of third line from Sanehwal to Ludhianawas opened for traffic in Nov’2012. Finally, the final phase of this line from New Morinda to Sanehwal (52Km) has been opened for traffic today. This section (i.e. final phase) consists of about 52 km. long track, 129 minor & road under bridges and four major bridges. Three new stations are also provided in this section i.e. Khamanon, Samrala & Lall Kalan.

Hon’ble Minister for Railways Sh. Pawan Kumar Bansal flags off the 12241/12242 Chandigarh- Amritsar Superfast Express (Via New Morinda-Sanehwal) with revised timings o­n newly constructed  route. The 12241 Chandigarh- Amritsar Superfast Express Train (Via New Morinda-Sanehwal) will depart from Chandigarh at 05.30 p.m. instead of 06.50 p.m. to reach Amritsarat 09.10 p.m. instead of 11.15 p.m. the same day. In the return direction, the 12242 Amritsar- Chandigarh Superfast Express Train (Via New Morinda-Sanehwal) will depart from Amritsar at 05.20 a.m. to reach Chandigarh at 09.05 a.m. instead of 09.45 a.m. the same day. The train will stop at Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar City & Beasstations enroute in both the directions. With the completion of the Chandigarh – Ludhiananew line, the travel time will be reduced by 45 minutes.  With the flagging off of this Superfast service between Chandigarh-Amritsar (Via New Morinda-Sanehwal), the rail travel between these cities will be strengthened and Northern Railway will also renew its commitment to provide more comfortable & faster train service to rail passengers.
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Approval of Cabinet for permitting use of railway land for development by Rail Land Development Authority for augmenting revenues, permission for Metro crossing, opening of Kendriya Vidyalayas & other schools and exchange of land with government department/ bodies for provision of public utilities.

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the proposal of the Indian Railways for permitting use of its land for crossing metro networks under ground, on the surface as well as elevated/over ground. The Indian Railways will also allow opening of Kendriya Vidyalayas on its land in order to provide adequate educational facilities to children of railway staff/officials placed in remote areas, and where educational institutions are not adequate. Exchange of railway land with central/state governments, department/local bodies for setting up public utilities shall also be entered into by the Indian Railways, wherever considered mutually beneficial. 
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DRM’s Office, Guntakal becomes the First Office in Indian Railways to be 5S Certified By “Quality Circle Forum of India”


Shri T P Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Guntakal Division along with Team Guntakal seen

                         Displaying the 5S certification issued by Quality Circle Forum of India

        The Divisional Railway Manager’s (DRM) Office, Guntakal Division of South Central Railway has become the first DRM office o­n Indian Railways to get the prestigious 5S certification awarded by the “Quality Circle Forum of India”.

5Sis a Japanese technique for workplace organization and housekeeping that uses a list of fiveJapanese  words:seiri(sort),seiton(arrange),seiso(clean),seiketsu(Standardize),andshitsuke(Sustain).Transliterated  or translated intoEnglish  , they all start with the letter "S". It describes how to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, and sustaining the new order. The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how they should do the work.

It has taken seven months of hard work and motivation for Team Guntakalto attain this coveted target. During the course of this process, the Division has been able to dispose of 70 tonnes of old records/files. The Division has also implemented a Software for record keeping, issuing and weeding out. This Software is developed with VB as front end and MS Access as back end upgradable to Oracle.
         Any file/record in DRM office can now be fetched in 30 seconds. Housekeeping has tremendously improved not o­nly for filing but also in other areas like, toilets, parking, gardens, notice boards, homes, hospital, etc.
 Visual Standards in different areas have been innovated by Team Guntakal to ensure that, "Everything has a place and Everything is in its place."

            Shri D P Pande, General Manager, South Central Railway expressed happiness o­n the achievement of Guntakal Division and congratulated Shri T P Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Guntakal Division and his team of Officers for their remarkable work.
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CHANDIGARH- AMRITSAR SUPERFAST EXPRESS TRAIN WILL RUN ON NEWLY CONSTRUCTED ROUTE WITH REVISED TIMINGS FROM 19.4.2013


The Superfast Express Train No. 12241/12242 presently running between Chandigarh- Amritsarvia Morinda – Sirhind will be routed via New Morinda – Sanehwal – Ludhiana, the newly constructed rail line with revised timingsfrom 19.04.2013 as per the  following schedule:-
With the opening of new rail line i.e. New Morinda – Sanehwal – Ludhiana the 12241 Chandigarh - Amritsar Superfast Express Train (Via New Morinda-Sanehwal) will depart from Chandigarh at 05.30 p.m. instead of 06.50 p.m. to reach Amritsar at 09.10 p.m. instead of 11.15 P.M. the same day. In the return direction, the 12242 Amritsar- Chandigarh Superfast Express Train (Via New Morinda-Sanehwal) will depart from Amritsar at 05.20 a.m. to reach Chandigarh at 09.05 a.m. instead of 09.45 a.m. the same day.
The detailed timings of 12241/12242 Chandigarh – Amritsar Superfast Express after opening of New Morinda – Sanehwal new line are as under:-
12241 Chandigarh – Amritsar

Station

12242 Amritsar – Chandigarh

Arr.

Dep.

Arr.

Dep.



1730

Chandigarh

0905



1742

1744

Sahibzada Ajitsingh Nagar Mohali

0834

0836

1905

1910

Ludhiana

0715

0720

2006

2008

Jalandhar City

0622

0624

2039

2040

Beas

0550

0551

2110



Amritsar



0520

The 12241/12242 Chandigarh- Amritsar- Chandigarh Express train (on newly constructed route via New Morinda- Sanehwal) will stop at Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar City and Beas stations enroute in both the directions and the existing stoppage at Sirhind will be discontinued from 19.4.2013.

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INTRODUCES NEW BHUJ-SHALIMAR(HOWRAH) WEEKLY EXPRESS


WR will introduce new 22829/22830 Bhuj-Shalimar (Howrah) via Bilaspur- Katni from 20th April, 2013 Ex Shalimar (Howrah) and from 23th April, 2013 Ex Bhuj.



Train No. 22830 Shalimar (Howrah)-Bhuj Weekly Express will depart from Shalimar (Howrah) at 20.25 hrs every Saturday from 20th April, 2013 to reach Bhuj at 16.40 hrs o­n Monday.



In its return direction, Train No. 22829 Bhuj – Shalimar (Howrah) Weekly Express will depart from Bhuj at 13.40 hrs every Tuesday from 23rd April, 2013 to reach Shalimar (Howrah) at 10.05 hrs every Thursday.



The train will halt at Santragachi, Kharagpur, Tatanagar, Chakradharpur, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, Raigarh, Champa, Bilaspur, Anuppur, Shahdol, Katni Murwara, Damoh, Saugor, Bina, Vidisha, Bairagarh, Shujalpur, Ujjain, Nagda, Ratlam, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, Dhrangadhra, Samakhiali, Bhachau, Gandhidham & Adipur stations in both the directions.



It will consist of AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier; II class sleeper and II class general coaches.



The booking of Train No. 22829 will open from Sunday, 21st April, 2013.
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EMPORARY CLOSURE OF MATUNGA RAILWAY FOOT OVER BRIDGES FOR REPAIR WORK


TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF MATUNGA RAILWAY
FOOT OVER BRIDGES FOR REPAIR WORK
Matunga Railway colony (north end) old foot over bridge has been closed for repairing work upto 15.06.2013. The repairing work is carried out during night.


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WR INTRODUCES NEW DAILY AHMEDABAD- AJMER INTERCITY EXPRESS


Train No. 19411 Ahmedabad- Ajmer Intercity Express will depart from Ahmedabad at 09.10 hrs from 22nd April, 2013 to reach Ajmer at 18.45 hrs the same day.

            In its return direction, Train No. 19412 Ajmer -Ahmedabad Intercity Express will depart from Ajmer at 06.25 hrs from 23rdApril, 2013 to reach Ahmedabad at 15.35 hrs the same day.

            The train will halt at Sabarmati, Mahesana, Unjha, Sidhapur, Palanpur, Abu Road, Sirohi Road, Falna, Marwar & Beawar stations in both the directions.

            It will consist of AC Chair car, Second seating and Second class general coaches.

The booking of train No. 19411 will open from Saturday, 20th April, 2013.
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Introduction of New AC Weekly Express between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Kamakhya


NEW AIR-CONDITIONED SUPERFAST WEEKLY EXPRESS

BETWEEN LOKMANYA TILAK TERMINUS – KAMAKHYA

Railways have decided to introduce a New Air-conditioned weekly Superfast train between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Kamakhya. The regular services of the new train will commence with effect from 21.4.2013 Ex Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and with effect from 25.4.2013 Ex Kamakhya. The details of service as under –

12519 Weekly AC Superfast Express will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 07.50 hours o­n every Sunday with effect from 21.4.2013 and will reach Kamakhya at 04.15 hours o­n Tuesday.



12520 Weekly AC Superfast Express will leave Kamakhya at 20.50 hrs o­n every Thursday with effect from 25.4.2013 and will arrive Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 17.50 hours o­n Saturday.

HALTS: Thane, Kalyan, Igatpuri, Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Khandwa, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni, Satna, Mirzapur, Mughalsarai, Patna, Begusarai, Khagaria, Naugachia, Katihar, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri, New Coochbehar and New Bongaigaon

COMPOSITION: o­ne AC first class, Three AC 2-tier, 11 AC 3-tier and 2 generators cum guard’s brake vans.



RESERVATION: Bookings for 12519 will open from 20.4.2013.
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Reservation Opening Date for 01061 Mau Special leaving Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on 24.4.2013


Bookings for 01061 special of 24.4.2013 (one trip) will be opened from 09.00 am o­n 19, 20 and 21.4.2013 for WAITLISTED PASSENGERS o­nLY towards Mau who have booked their tickets o­n or before 18.4.2013 for journey commencing o­n 24.4.2013 towards Mau at nominated counters at CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS o­nLY.

Bookings for general passengers will be opened w.e.f. 22.4.2013 at all locations.

BOOKING OPEN DATE FOR OTHER TRIPS WILL BE NOTIFIED LATER.

01061 Special will leave o­n every Wednesday from 24.4.2013 to 26.6.2013 from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 13.20 hrs and arrive Mau at 19.55 hrs next day.

01062 Special will leave o­n every Thursday from 25.4.2013 to 27.6.2013 from Mau at 21.30 hrs and arrive Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 04.10 hrs o­n third day (Saturday)

HALTS: Kalyan, Igatpuri, Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Khandwa, Itarsi, Pipariya, Narsinghpur, Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Satna, Manikpur, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Aunrihar.

COMPOSITION: o­ne AC-2 Tier, o­ne AC-3 Tier, 7 Sleeper Class, 6 General Second Class and 2 General Second Class cum Guard’s Brake Vans.
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38 Special Trains between Dadar and Sawantwadi Road


38 SPECIAL TRAINS BETWEEN DADAR AND SAWANTWADI ROAD

Central Railway has decided to run 38 special trains between Dadar – Sawantwadi to clear the extra rush of Passengers during summer rush. The details are as under –

01003 Special train will leave Dadar at 07.50 hrs o­n every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday from 21.4.2013 to 2.6.2013 (19 trips) and will arrive Sawantwadi Road at 20.15 hrs same day.

01004 Special train will leave Sawantwadi Road at 05.00 hrs o­n every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 22.4.2013 to 3.6.2013 (19 trips) and will arrive Dadar at 16.00 hrs same day.

HALTS: Thane, Panvel, Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Sangmeshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Vilawade, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal and Zarap

COMPOSITION: o­ne AC chair Car, 8 Second Class seating, 2 General Second Class and 2 General Second Class cum guard’s brake vans.

RESERVATION: Bookings open from 19.4.2013.
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WR INTRODUCES BANDRA (T) – BHUJ TRI-WEEKLY SUPERFAST AC EXPRESS


The inaugural service will be run as Train No.02903 Ex Bandra (T) at 16.30 hrs o­n 19th April, 2013. It will reach Bhuj at 07.00 hrs the next day. The inaugural service from Bhuj will be run as train no 02904 o­n 20th April,2013 at 15.05 hrs , arriving Bandra Terminus at 04.55 hrs the next day.

            In its regular run, Train No. 22903 Bandra (T)-Bhuj Tri-weekly Superfast AC  Express will depart from Bandra (T) at 23.55 hrs o­n every Wednesday, Friday & Sunday from 21st  April, 2013 to reach Bhuj at 13.15 hrs o­n Thursday, Saturday & Monday.

            In its return direction, Train No. 22904 Bhuj-Bandra (T) Tri-weekly Superfast AC Express will depart from Bhuj at 15.05 hrs o­n every Thursday, Saturday & Monday from 22nd April, 2013 to reach Bandra (T) at 04.55 hrs o­n every Friday, Sunday & Tuesday.

            The train will halt at Borivali, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Gandhidham stations in both the directions.

            It will consist of Ist AC, 2 tier AC & 3 tier AC.

            The booking of inaugural Trains No. 02903/02904 will open from 19th April,2013 while booking of regular Train Nos. 22903/22904 will open from 20th April,2013.
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Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Hon'ble Minister for Railways renovated Base Kitchen & Facilitation Centre at Mumbai Central


Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Hon'ble Minister of Railways inaugurated renovated Base Kitchen and newly commissioned Customer Facilitation Centre at Mumbai Central o­n 16th April, 2013. Shri Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board and other senior railway officials were also present o­n this occasion.

Mumbai Central is o­ne of the most important terminuses of Western Railway. It serves as the southernmost terminus for outstation trains in Mumbai. Trains from Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab originate from and terminate at this station. About 17600 passengers start their journey from here every day. India's premier Rajdhani trains depart from here for Delhi. Other popular trains include Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express, Karnavati Express, Ahmedabad & Indore Duronto trains, Gujarat Mail, Golden Temple Mail etc. The total average daily passenger earning at Mumbai Central is Rs. 90.29 lakh.

            Renovated Base Kitchen:

            As per catering policy 2010, the base kitchens should be constructed as state-of-the-art, confirming to the international standards like ISO-22000. In order to provide hygienic and quality food to its valued passengers, Western Railway has renovated its Base Kitchen at Mumbai Central. It has a total area of 727.77 sq meters. It has separate area/section for Cooking, Washing, Gas Room, Tray set up, Packing & Dispatch and for Storing various commodities. The Base Kitchen is equipped with high capacity Induction Cook Tops, Induction Kadais, Refrigerators, perforated storage racks, Kitchen Utility Trolleys etc. It is further being provided with Vegetable Washers, Veg Cutters, Spider Dough kneader, 2 Door Refrigerators etc in this Kitchen. The Base Kitchen has been renovated with all necessary appliances, equipments and facilities to provide better catering to the passengers.

The Base Kitchen at Mumbai Central supplies meals & snacks in the two most prestigious trains of Western Railway – Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and Mumbai Central-Nizamuddin August Kranti Rajdhani Express. o­n an average, 1100-1150 meals per train are being supplied to Rajdhani Express and August Kranti Rajdhani Express. The average ratio of Veg & Non-Veg meal is 3:1.


Western Railway has two Base Kitchens at Mumbai Central and Ahmedabad respectively, for supplying meals to prestigious Rajdhani trains. Surat, Vadodara and Ratlam have been identified for setting up new Base Kitchens.



Newly Commissioned Customer Facilitation Centre:

            With a view to provide better facilities to the passengers and also to improve the public interface system at the station, a Facilitation Centre has been commissioned recently. This Centre has been designed as such to provide all necessary information and facilities to the passengers at o­ne window that are expected when a passenger arrives at the station or someone comes to receive the passenger.

The salient features of newly commissioned Customer Facilitation Centre are as under:-

ØEnquiry Counter for General inquiries of the passengers

ØCurrent Reservation Counter for ticket booking after the charting depending o­n the last minute availability of berths.

ØElectronic Display of Reservation Charts.

ØDisplay Arrivals/ Departures of trains.

ØRetiring Room booking facility.

ØPlatform tickets availability.

ØAvailability of Wheel Chair/ Battery Operated Car

ØAvailability of Passenger Operated Enquiry Terminal (POET)

ØWindow for differently abled passengers.
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NEW TRAIN BETWEEN PURI-BIKANER INTRODUCED


A new train between Puri & Bikaner will be introduced w.e.f. from 24th April 2013 from Puri and w.e.f. 28th April 2013 from Bikaner.
 14710/14709 Puri-Bikaner-Puri Weekly Express will leave Puri at 05.00hrs o­n every Wednesday and will arrive at Bikaner at 22.45hrs o­n the next days. In the return direction, this train will leave Bikaner at 17.15hrs o­n every Sunday and will arrive at Puri at 10.15hrs o­n every Tuesdays.
           This train has O­ne AC-2 tier, Two AC-3 tiers, Seven Sleeper Class Coaches, Six General Second Class Coaches and Two Guard cum Luggage Vans in its composition having stoppages at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Boinda, Rairakhol and Sambalpur in East Coast Railway jurisdiction. This train will also stop at Jharsuguda, Bilaspur, Anuppur, Shahdol, Katni Murwara, Damoh, Sagour, Ashok Nagar, Guna, Baran, Kota, Sawai Madhopur, Banasthali Niwal, Durgapur, Jaipur, Phulera, Markana, Degana, Nagaur and Nokha between Puri and Bikaner.
However, o­n the inaugural run, Bikaner-Puri weekly Express will be inaugurated from Bikaner Station o­n 18th April 2013 and will run as a special train o­n open fast times towards Puri.
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17 April 2013

The complete story of Indian Railways - Indian Railways complete 160 years on April 16, 2013


As  a Google Doodle celebrates Indian Railways 160 years on April 16 and Mumbai playing host to the national programmes on railways. Here’s a story of how it all started.



If it was trade of wool that prompted the journey of the first ever passenger train in England between Stockton and Darlington in 1825, it was trade of cotton, among other things, that prompted the journey of the first ever train on the Indian sub-continent.



Indian Railways, which had a modest beginning in 1853, has since then been an integral part of the nation -- a network that has held together a population of one billion. A self-propelled social welfare system that has become the lifeline of a nation, Indian Railways has woven a sub-continent together and brought to life the concept of a united India.



The railways in India are the largest rail web in Asia and the world’s second largest under one management. With a huge workforce of about 1.65 million, it runs some 11,000 trains everyday, including 7,000 passenger trains. The tale of how railway communication gained foothold in India, where the locomotive was once considered as a “fire-spitting demon”, is indeed an interesting one.



World premiere



The earliest recorded illustration of a railway dates back to 1320, showing a small wooden mine trolley running in recessed stone guides, possibly originating in ancient Greece.



The railway, in its true sense, emerged in the early seventeenth century when the first wooden tracks were laid at Wollaton, England, in 1604 to be used for running of horse-drawn carriages.



It was only in February 1804, a good two centuries later, that Richard Trevithick, an engineer, ran the world's first steam engine successfully on rails. The locomotive, with its single vertical cylinder, 8-foot flywheel and long piston rod, managed to haul ten tonnes of iron, seventy passengers and five wagons from the ironworks at Penydarren to the Merthyr-Cardiff Canal. This was, however, a trial run and cannot be termed as first railway passenger service train.



In 1821, Edward Pease, a wool merchant, during his travels of buying and selling wool, felt that a railroad with wagons drawn by horses to carry coal from the collieries of West Durham to the port of Stockton would be of great help. The same year, Pease and a group of businessmen formed the Stockton & Darlington Railroad company.



However, Nicolas Wood, the manager of Killingworth Colliery and his engineer George Stephenson, had a better idea. They met Pease and suggested that he should consider building a locomotive railway instead. And after some thought Pease did agree.



The Stockton & Darlington Railroad was opened on 27 September, 1825. The engine, built by George Stephenson, pulled 36 wagons, including twelve wagons of coal and flour, six of guests and fourteen wagons full of workmen. This has been recorded as the first passenger train in the world.



But, this is disputed and some claim the Liverpool-Manchester Railway of 1830s as the first passenger railway. However disputes apart, railway communication gained popularity in the 1830s and since then there has been no backward journey.



Evolution in India



In 1846, there was a major failure of cotton crop in America. Following this, textile merchants at Manchester and Glasgow in Great Britain had to seek alternative markets. It was then that traders in the UK turned their attention on the cotton crop in India, one of British colonies then, rich in cotton crop.



However, cotton was produced in various parts of the Indian sub-continent and it took days to bring it to the nearest port to transport it to England through ships, the only major means of international communication then. The British then had to build a link from the hinterland to India’s major ports for quicker transport of cotton and other goods as demand soared. This expedited matters for the British to introduce a railway in India.



The British also felt that organising and dispersing the growing native population faster deployment of troops could be better handled by a railway.



As early as 1843, Lord Dalhousie had first conceived the possibility of opening up of India by means of railway communication. He had proposed to link the three ports of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras by a railway.



The same year he sent George T. Clarke, an engineer, to Bombay to assess the possibility. A few years later in 1845, a strong lobby in Bombay supporting railway communication formed a body called the Bombay Great Eastern Railway. As matters started to gain momentum, the Bombay Great Eastern Railway locally prepared plans for constructing a railway line from Bombay to the Deccan. But the British already had a concrete plan in their minds and soon things began to take shape.



The earliest proposal for laying railways in India was made some time around in the 1830s. Inspired by the railway mania in England, some eminent citizens in Madras had proposed the idea of a railway but plans remained on paper and the project did not see the light of the day then.



Conditions in India were quite different from those in Britain. Many British and Indians, who had a better understanding about India’s topography and geography, opposed the construction of railways as a "premature and expensive undertaking" and a "hazardous and "dangerous venture". Certain opponents doubted the feasibility of introduction of railways in India citing poverty, extreme climate with torrential rains, violent storms, high mountains, sandy deserts and dense forests.



But the process of building a railway network that would one day not only captivate the nation but the whole world had already begun.



First Railway Company



The bill to incorporate India’s first railway company, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Company [G.I.P.R] (later it was rechristened as Peninsula), came up before the British Parliament twice. First in March 1847 and later in 1849.



In March 1847, the East Indian Company, which then ruled India, opposed the bill on certain clauses forcing it to be withdrawn. Matters dragged on till 1849 when Lord Dalhousie, who had experience in railway matters in England, took over as the Governor-General of India. On August 1, 1849, the Act to incorporate the Great Indian Peninsula Railway came into being.



The original contract made on August 17, 1849, between the East India Company and the Great Indian Peninsula Railway stated that the capital of the GIP Company shall be 5 lakh pounds, but can be subsequently increased to one million pounds in case the railway line has to be extended beyond Callian (Kalyan) and across the Thull and Bhor Ghats. The railway line has been referred to as an “Experimental line of Railway” throughout the contract.



The first train in India



The line in Bombay was ready by November 1852 and on November 18, 1852, a few engineers and directors of the GIP Company had a trial run between Bombay and Thane. However officially, the first train in India (and in Asia) was flagged off on April 16, 1853, a Saturday, at 3:35 pm between Boree Bunder (Mumbai) and Thane, a distance of 34 kms. The importance of the day can be gauged from the fact the Bombay government declared the day as a public holiday.



The train, hauled by three engines -- Sindh, Sahib and Sultan -- carried as many as 400 passengers in its 14 coaches on its debut run. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway had ordered a set of eight locomotives from Vulcan Foundry, England, for the purpose. A suit of Durbar Tents erected at Thane welcomed the first train and a cover for four hundred persons was built with tables laid with menu literally groaning under every delicacy of the season.



India had, however, spotted one of its earliest locomotives as early as December 22, 1851. The first steam engine, Thomason, hauled some wagons containing mud and earth during the construction of the Solani aqueduct near Roorkee. The second one, Lord Falkland, named after a Bombay governor, was seen a year later near Byculla, Bombay, doing shunting duties. The third one was used for the trial run of the passenger train in November 1852. And it was only after all this that the much-publicised “official” first train saw the light of the day on April 16, 1853. Wasn’t it a long, long journey before the “official” first train saw the light of day.



And since then there has been no looking back.



The north, south and the east



By late 1850, agreements had been signed to prepare trial lines to run inland in Bombay (The Great Indian Peninsula Railway), Calcutta (East Indian Railway) and Madras (Madras Railway).



Calcutta, the then capital of India, on the western coast of the sub-continent was also in the race to be first to introduce railway into India. The survey from Calcutta to Delhi for the East Indian Railway was carried out during 1945-46. But the construction of railway line from Howrah to Raniganj was sanctioned only after three years.



But fate denied Calcutta the privilege of being the first city to have a railway in India. Locomotive and carriages for Bombay and Howrah were despatched from England almost at the same time. But the ship carrying the loco for East Indian Railway, HMS Goodwin, was misdirected to Australia. The other ship carrying carriages for Howrah sank at the Sandheads.





Yet another problem that besieged east India was the dispute over the French territory of Chandernagar (Chandannagar) through which the railway line was to be aligned. The settlement of this dispute with French rulers took considerable time and Bombay won over Calcutta in the railway race.

It was finally on August 15, 1854 that the first passenger train in the eastern section ran between Howrah to Hooghly (24 miles). The section is soon extended to Pundooah.

In the south, the Madras Railway Company was formed in London as early as July 8, 1845. The shareholders held a general body meeting in February 1846 to construct a railway line from Madras to Arcot , known as Wallajah Nagar.

But matters were delayed and the actual construction begun on June 9, 1853. The first train between Royapuram and Wallajah Nagar steamed out on June 26,1856. The Bangalore section was opened an August 1, 1864. Railway lines to Nagari, Raichur, Bellary were completed subsequently,

In the north, the first train ran between Allahabad and Kanpur, a distance of 180 km, on March 3, 1859, six years after the first train.

The railways then were built on a Guarantee System, which meant that the railway companies were guaranteed a certain rate of interest on its capital investment. The guarantee was to be honoured by the East India Company.

Battle of gauges



Lord Dalhousie, while formulating the railway policy for India, had suggested that a uniform gauge system should be adopted for the entire Indian Railway network. The gauge, the distance between the two inner faces of the rails of a railway track, selected for India was of 5 feet six inches.



Lord Dalhousie had stated that an intermediate gauge between 4'-8 ½" and 7'-0" was the best gauge especially for India which would substantially command all the possible benefits of the latter." The Court of Directors accepted 5'-6" as the gauge for India and the Government of India further confirmed their decision in favour of 5'-6" and in 1851, it was accepted as the standard gauge for the railways in India.





An official change in gauge



The uniformity of gauge was maintained till 1862. But Lord Mayo, the then viceroy of India, was a great enthusiast of the metric system. He encouraged the building of metre gauge lines in India during his tenure. It was seen as a compromise between proposals for narrow gauge for use in areas with limited traffic.



It was decided that the subsidiary lines to the main railway system, on which large traffic was not expected, should be constructed on narrow gauge light system and subsequently connected to a broader gauge. Thus, the metre gauge came into existence.



Such was the craze of Lord Mayo for metric systems that he even wanted to replace other existing systems in the country, but was prevented by doing so by strong British bureaucracy. In fact, it was his predecessor, Sir John Lawrence, who had initiated the process of laying the metre gauge lines in India, which Lord Mayo took up with such zeal.



Now, each time a railway line was proposed in India, fresh controversy over the gauge to be adopted arose.



By 1889, the mileage of different gauges was -- broad gauge (5 feet six inches) 8,000 miles, metre gauge (I metre) 5,000 miles and narrow gauge 250 miles.



Today, India has four major gauges -- broad (five feet six inches), metre (three feet three inches), two feet six inches (narrow gauge) and two feet (narrow gauge).



The Gaikwad Baroda State Railway



In 1863, just ten years after the first train ran in India, the Gaikwad of Baroda state built a railway, which was of just two and a half feet gauge. Baroda was rich in cotton and following the American Civil war during1861-1865, the Gaikwad decided to grab the opportunity of exporting cotton from his state to the markets in England.

The maiden line of the Gaikwad Baroda State Railway (GSBR) was constructed quickly between Dhaboi and Miayagam. The Durbar of Baroda had financed the project. The Gaikwad was in such a hurry to commence the project to export cotton that he employed bullocks -- bullmotives -- as engines to run trains instead of waiting for the actual steam locomotives to arrive from England.



In those days, it took days to transport goods from England to India as the only international mode of communication was ships, which followed the time-consuming sea route round the Cape of Good Hope. GSBR’s steam locomotives arrived in India only in 1873. This was the first narrow gauge railway in India.



The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway



The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, opened in 1880, is an engineering feat. This little railway has a gauge of 2 ft. and a length of fifty-one miles, with steep gradients and amazing loops.



Work on building the line began in May 1879, and in March, 1880, the Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton, had a journey on the train. In August 1880, the line was opened for passenger and goods traffic as far as Kurseong, 4,864 ft. above the sea and thirty-two miles from Siliguri. In July 1881, the line was opened throughout to Darjeeling station.



On December 2, 1999, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway became the second railway site in the world to be designated a World Heritage site. The railway has been added as a world heritage site with “outstanding universal value” by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee.



The Nilgiri Mountain Railway



The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, also known as the Blue Mountain Railway, is a 46-km long 1000 mm gauge railway connecting Mettupalayam (1,069 ft) to Ooty (7228 ft). Its first section up to Coonoor was completed in 1899 by the Nilgiri Railway Company and was extended to Ooty in 1903.



This railway has a gradient of 1 in 12 with curves as sharp as 18 degrees. Due to the gradient and the curves, the permanent way had to be built of the Abt Rack type. This means that two steel racks, the teeth of which break pitch, are laid in the centre of the track and are carried by pedestals, which are firmly bolted down to the sleepers. This is the only rack railway in India.



Patiala State Monorail



In 1907, the first section of an unusual railway on the "Ewing System" connecting Bassi and Sirhind (6 miles) started in Patiala state. Colonel  Bowles, who designed the system, was the state engineer. He was responsible for laying the Patiala State Monorail Train ways. The line was laid for about 50 miles between Sirhind to Alampura and Patiala to Bhawanigarh. The track was a single rail along one side of the road. Today, one can ride this train at the National Railway Museum, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.



Railway raj



Between 1854 and 1860, India had eight railway companies – Eastern India Railway, Great India Peninsula Company, Madras Railway, Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway, Scindia Railway, Eastern Bengal Eastern Railway and Calcutta and South Railway Company. In the years between 1869 and 1881, the British government took up the responsibility of laying railway lines in India from the East India Company. And thereafter, things began to move rapidly.



Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus/Victoria Terminus - country’s pride, neighbour’s envy



The administrative headquarters of today’s Central Railway, then known as GIP Railway, is presently known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station. Work on the construction of the building, now declared as an Grade-1 heritage structure, commenced in 1878 under the guidance of noted architect Fredrick William Stevens.



The building has been considered as one of the finest station buildings in the world and architecturally one of the most splendid and magnificent Italian Gothic edifices existing.

Old records mention that some stone work for the building was done by Indian craftsmen and students of the Bombay School of Arts.



When the first train ran between Bombay and Thane on April 16, 1853, the place from where the debut train initiated its journey was known as Boree Bunder. It was a small place for the landing of country boats. The original structure of Boree Bunder station from where the first train ran was somewhere near the existing imposing Victoria Terminus station building. To build the new building, land had to be reclaimed from the sea.



Work on the building began in May 1878. During the first half of 1879, the foundations for booking and administration offices were considered and detailed estimates for the whole project were sent to the Government of India for a sanction.



The cost of the construction of the terminus was Rs 16,35,562. The first ones to occupy the new building were establishments of chief engineer and police superintendent. The booking hall, the station master’s office could not be brought into use for some time initially for want of connection with the municipal sewer.



The building took ten years for completion and was officially renamed as Victoria Terminus after Queen Victoria on Queen’s Golden Jubilee Day on June 20, 1887. Today, the terminus has been renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.



An all-Indian locomotive



It was as late as 1895 that India saw the birth of its first locomotive. The locomotive, an F class 0-6-0 metre gauge numbered F-734, was built at Ajmer for the Rajputana Malwa Railway. It weighed 38 tonnes. The locomotive, to be used for hauling mixed trains, was built at a cost of Rs 15,869.



This locomotive has outside connecting rods and side rods. It was also used on the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI) network. Today, the locomotive has been stored as one of the outdoor exhibits at the National Railway Museum, New Delhi.



Electrifying the network



In 1904, the idea to electrify the railway network was proposed by W.H White, chief engineer of the then Bombay Presidency government. He proposed the electrification of the two Bombay-based companies, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway and the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (now known as CR and WR respectively).



Both the companies were in favour of the proposal. However, it took another year to obtain necessary permissions from the British government and to upgrade the railway infrastructure in Bombay city. The government of India appointed Mr Merz as a consultant to give an opinion on the electrification of railways. But Mr Merz resigned before making any concrete suggestions, except the replacement of the first Vasai bridge on the BB&CI by a stronger one.



Moreover, as the project was in the process of being executed, the First World War broke out and put the brakes on the project.  The First World War placed heavy strain on the railway infrastructure in India. Railway production in the country was diverted to meet the needs of British forces outside India. By the end of the war, Indian Railways were in a state of dilapidation and disrepair.



By 1920, Mr Merz formed a consultancy firm of his own with a partner, Mr Maclellan. The government retained his firm for the railway electrification project. Plans were drawn up for rolling stock and electric infrastructure for Bombay-Poona/Igatpuri/Vasai and Madras Tambaram routes.



The secretary of state of India sanctioned these schemes in October 1920. All the inputs for the electrification, except power supply, were imported from various companies in England.



And similar to the running of the first ever railway train from Bombay to Thane on April 16, 1853, the first-ever electric train in India also ran from Bombay. The debut journey, however, was a shorter one.  The first electric train ran between Bombay (Victoria Terminus) and Kurla, a distance of 16 kms, on February 3, 1925 along the city’s harbour route.



The section was electrified on a 1,500 volts DC. The opening ceremony was performed by Sir Leslie Wilson, the governor of Bombay, at Victoria Terminus station in presence of a very large and distinguished gathering.



India's first electric locos (two of them), however, had already made their appearance on the Indian soil much earlier. They were delivered to the Mysore Gold Fields by Bagnalls (Stafford) with overhead electrical equipment by Siemens as early as 1910.

Various sections on the railway network were progressively electrified and commissioned between 1925 to 1930.



In 1956, the government decided to adopt 25kV AC single-phase traction as a standard for the Indian Railways to meet the challenge of the growing traffic. An organisation called the Main Line Electrification Project, which later became the Railway Electrification Project and still later the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification, was established. The first 25kV AC traction section in India is Burdwan-Mughalsarai via the Grand Chord.



The first railway budget



In 1920, a committee was formed headed by William Acworth, who was a world-renowned authority on railways, to suggest administrative changes in the expanding railway network of the sub-continent.

The Acworth Committee consisted of 10 members, all experts either in Railway matters or finance and administration. The committee supported the case for state management of the Indian Railways in their report published in September 1921. The landmark decision about the separation of railway finances from general finances was also the outcome of this report. The railway board was also subsequently expanded to have a financial commissioner, a member in-charge of ways, works, stores and projects, and a member in charge of administration, staff, and traffic.All this eventually led to the presentation of the first ever railway budget in 1925.



Another war



In 1939, World War II put the Indian Railways under immense strain again. Locomotives, wagons, and track material were ruthlessly dismantled and taken from India to the Middle East. Railway workshops were used to manufacture military equipment.



The partition



In 1947, the British quit India dividing the nation into two countries, India and Pakistan. As a country was divided, so was its railway system. Two big railway systems, Bengal Assam Railway and North Western Railway, were broken up.

A part of the Jodhpur Railway was given to West Pakistan. Much of the Bengal Assam Railway went to the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The Assam Railway was isolated from the rest of the Indian system. Much of the railway infrastructure was damaged in the partition process as violent mobs attacked railway stations and trains carrying refugees.

 Following was the statistics of the division of railway infrastructure:



Locomotives

Passenger coaches

Goods wagons

Kilometres

India

7,248

20,166

2,10,099

54,376

Pakistan

1,339

4,280

40,221

11,133



Post-partition developments



After the horror of partition, things slowly began to come on track after two years. On January 26, 1950, an indigenous locomotive workshop was set up in West Bengal, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). It had plans to manufacture 120 steam locomotives annually. The first of the successful WG class steam engines (8401 Deshabandhu) was commissioned on November 1, 1950.



Getting things organised

It was in June 1950 itself that the Railway Board put forward a plan to divide the railways in India into six zones to get things organised. However, after some formalities, the actual plan was implemented a year later, by April 1951.



On April 14, 1951, the Southern Railway was formed by merging the Madras Railway, the South Marhatta Railway, the South Indian Railway and the Mysore Railway.

On November 5, 1951, the Central Railway was constituted by bringing together the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR), the Nizam Railway, the ScindiaRailway and the Dholpur Railway.



On the same day, the Western Railway was constituted by merging the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI), the Sourashtra Railway, the Rajasthan Railway and Jaipur Railway.



The merger of Eastern Punjab Railway, the Jodhpur Railway, the Bikaner Railway and some upper divisions of the East India Railway led to the formation of the Northern Railway on April 14, 1952.



Oudh Railway, Tirhut Railway and the Assam Railway formed the North Eastern Railway and the remaining divisions of the East India Railway and the Bengal Nagpur Railway constituted the Eastern Railway on the same day. These were the first six zones of Indian Railways.



First exports



In the late seventees, the Indian Railways, for the first time ever, bagged an export contract for the supply of 15 YDM (metre gauge) locomotives (to be built in Diesel Locomotive Workshop, Varanasi) to Tanzania in January 1976



The steam theme



With the advent of high speed electric and diesel engines, the glory of steam was slowly coming to an end. In 1970, the last steam locomotive, Antim Sitara,(WG-10560) rolled out of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. By late 1973, CLW had put a halt on the production of all steam locomotives.





In fact, the oldest working locomotive in India -- built in 1855, two years after the inception of railways into India, -- is still hale and hearty. It is still functional. Titled the Fairy Queen, the broad gauge locomotive, is one of the oldest working steam locomotives in the world. It was built by Kitson & Co. in January 1855. Historical records also state that this locomotive was used by British troops during the Indian uprising of 1857. It was in 1909 that the Queen, having done yeoman service, was taken out of operations. In 1996, the National Rail Museum took up the challenge of getting the locomotive restored in heritage interest thereby making it the oldest working locomotive in the mainline anywhere in the world.



The restoration and maintenance work took an entire year and in 1997 began to function as a moving train. An exclusive tourist train for a journey back into time was conceived and the Fairy Queen took its first load of delighted passengers on a maiden restoration run.

Much later, it was stored at the National Rail Museum at New Delhi. The Fairy Queen was revived by steam enthusiasts in 1996, and by 1997 it began regularly hauling a tourist train between Delhi and Alwar. The Fairy Queen has found a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records for being one of the oldest working locomotives in the world. In 1999, the Fairy Queen bagged the National Tourism Award for most innovative and Unique Tourism Venture. When the Queen resumed operations for 1999-2000, the International Council of Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) also selected the engine as a heritage venture for award at ITB Berlin on March 14, 2000. On January 13, 1998, the Guinness Book of World Records certified the Queen of Indian Railways as the "oldest working steam locomotive.".



Rail museum



In 1977, the country’s first railway museum was set up at Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The first of its kind in the country, this unique museum covers a land area of over 10 acres, comprising an elegantly designed octagonal building housing nine display galleries and a large open area laid out to simulate a Railway Yard.



With constant emphasis on improvements and additions, the museum can now boast of being one of the finest rail museums in the world and a very popular tourist attraction of the country’s capital. On an average, this museum has around 1,000 visitors daily.

The idea of preserving the long and glorious heritage of the Railways in India took root in the year 1932 when it was proposed to set up a Railway Museum at Dehradun. The first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, had also reiterated the idea to set up a railway museum during the Indian Railways centenary celebrations in 1953. But the idea could take shape as late as 1968 when the Ministry of Railways finally took a decision to set up a Railway Museum at Delhi. The foundation stone of the museum was laid on October 7, 1971 and was formally inaugurated on February 1, 1977.



Consolidating the network



On March 31, 1978, the railways were split into nine zones. The Northern zone with its headquarters at Delhi (Delhi junction), the North Eastern zone with its headquarters at Gorakhpur, the North East Frontier with its headquarters at Maligaon (Guwahati), the eastern zone with its headquarters at Kolkatta (Howrah junction), the south eastern zone with its headquarters at Kolkatta again (Howrah junction), the south central zone with its head offices at Secunderabad, the southern zone at Chennai (Chennai Central) and the Central and Western Railways with their administrative headquarters at CST and Churchgate respectively.



Moreover, each zonal railway has a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. The Indian Railways are today divided into nine zones and 59 divisions

The Kolkatta Metro is worth a mention here as it is owned and operated by the Indian Railways but does not belong to any of the zones. It is administratively considered to have the status of a zonal railway. The Konkan Railway, running along the western coast of the sub-continent and an example of engineering feat, is the latest one to join the IR bandwagon.



Kolkatta metro



Kolkatta metro railway line, running from Tollygunje to Dum Dum, was introduced on September 27, 1995, exactly one hundred and seventy years after the Stockton and Darlington railway in England. The length of the route is around 16.45 kms and initially ran 106 services. The decision to build a metro railway for Kolkatta was taken to provide an efficient, fast, safe and pollution free mass rapid transit system to the people of Kolkatta. The Indian Railways spent over Rs 1,600 crore for the project, which took two decades to complete. The trains here run on third rail of 750 V DC.



Konkan Railway



Work on the line running along the western coast of India began as early as 1964 when a line was laid between Diva and Panvel. It was further extended to Apta two years later in 1966. But then matters got delayed due to political and technical reasons and it was only after twenty years that the route was further extended. The Apta-Roha line was opened in 1986.



But after this, things did gain momentum and two years later in 1989, work on the Konkan Railway officially began.



After nine years of labour, the Konkan Railway was opened for public and the first passenger train along the picturesque sea route was flagged off on January 26, 1998. At present, the route consists of a single line non-electrified 760 kms from Roha to Mangalore along the western coast of India.



Konkan Railway, the largest railway project in this part of the world in the last five decades, threw up a whole range of difficulties technical, financial, emotional and psychological. The rocky Sahyadris had to be bored through, 1,500 rivers had to be forded, a railway line had to be built out of nowhere



The route has India’s longest ever tunnel at Karbude, which is 6.5 km. in length, longer than any other tunnel built in the country before. The route also has a viaduct over the Panval river, a 424m long railway bridge for a single line of broad gauge track, another record.



The other important breakthroughs achieved by Konkan Railway are the anti-collision device and Sky Bus Metro.



Battle of gauges revived – Project Unigauge

It all started in February 1971 when the railways announced that all new lines would be constructed as broad gauge only and that the existing metre gauge would be progressively converted to broad gauge so as to achieve unigauge. But the conversion speed was slow due to the non-availability of resources.



In 1975, a decision was taken to upgrade the metre gauge system, selectively, as an alternative to gauge conversion. But the break of gauges still hampered development and its advantages could not equal those of broad gauge and failed to attract people and investments.



In 1991, a policy decision was taken to expedite the conversion work, which had been progressing at a very slow speed for forty years. Project Unigauge was launched in 1992 and it was made a high priority project. It was aimed at selective conversion of metre gauge/narrow gauge lines to broad gauge in a phased manner based on considerations of capacity requirement, developmental potential and on strategic considerations.

Priority lines for conversion from metre gauge to broad gauge were identified from the view of operational requirements and also to help the development of the backward areas.



For each route, a techno-economic study was done to determine the approximate cost of conversion and the return on capital. An action plan was formulated for conversion of 13,117 km. of metre gauge/narrow gauge lines out of which 6,000 km was targeted to be completed during the eighth five-year plan and the rest during the ninth five-year plan.



Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation



The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, a special purpose body, was established on July 12, 1999 in Mumbai to provide safe, reliable and punctual journey for suburban commuters of Mumbai. The Corporation has an equity of Rs 25 crore subscribed by the



Indian Railways and the state government of Maharashtra. It is basically a government company that would execute the suburban projects identified under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) and other railway projects under its jurisdiction in and around Mumbai.



It changed the face of Mumbai when they introduced the new-age Siemens powered violet coloured local trains.



Rakesh Mohan Committee



One of the recent important developments is the presentation of the Rakesh Mohan Committee report on railway restructuring. The committee has recommend splitting up Indian Railways into an operations and a regulatory body, rationalising fares, closure of unprofitable lines, a corporate approach to finances, manpower reductions, and an aim of privatisation after 15 years.



Former Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had accepted a few major suggestions of the Rakesh Mohan Committee report. The first one to be implemented was levying a safety surcharge on railway. A committee, appointed to suggest ways to use the collected safety fund, has recently submitted its report. The panel has recommended using most of the money for track renewal and upgradation. But how much safety would the new fund actually generate still remains to be seen.



Moreover, the coming railway budget is said to be a “tough one”.



Kakodkar Committee on Safety



The high level safety review committee of Indian Railways constituted under the chairmanship of Dr Anil Kakodkar has said that the situation of deaths on tracks in Mumbai is grim and needs to be addressed on a war-footing.



The report said that the estimate is that almost 15,000 people die on tracks due to unlawful trespassing on tracks every year of which about 6,000 are on the Mumbai suburban section.



‘’Reluctance of the Indian Railways to own the casualties , which do not fall under the purview of accidents, but are nevertheless  accidents on account of trains, can by no means ignored. No civilised society can accept  such massacre on their railway system,’’ the committee that had railway expert E Sreedharan as its advisor, added.



The committee, which also suggested a fare hike among other things, comprised eminent persons/experts in technical and high end technology related fields with expertise, was constituted in September 2011 to provide an independent perspective of the system. A recent RTI had revealed that nearly 40,000 people had died on Mumbai’s tracks and an equal number injured between 2002-2011.



Nevertheless, 160 years later the railways continue to chug non-stop
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