INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL RAILWAY'S NEWS

65.

Railway Board appoints 5 new GMs

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/railway-board-appoints-5-new-gms/article5375528.ece

KOLKATA, NOV 21:

The Railway Board has appointed five new General Managers (GMs) — four for opening lines and one for a production unit.

The four new open line GMs are Rajiv Bishnoi for East Coast Railway (Bhubaneswar), Navin Tandon for South East Central Railway (Bilaspur), Hemant Kumar for Western Railway (Mumbai) and P.K. Srivastava for South Central Railway (Secunderabad). Perambur-based Integrated Coach Factory too has got a new GM, A.K. Agarwal. These are all promotions.

Lateral transfers

However, the positions of several other GMs continue to remain vacant. One reason for this is believed to be the delay in considering the proposals for some lateral transfers, reportedly due to objections raised by certain quarters.

Thus the transfer of Radhe Shyam, currently GM of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works with additional charge of Metro Rail, Kolkata, to South Eastern Railway has not been considered.

Similarly lateral transfers of two other GMs, namely, Rajiv Bhargava, now in Wheels & Axle plant, Bangalore, and B.P. Khare, now in Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, too have not been considered, it is learnt.

It might be noted that the GM positions in at least three zonal railways, namely, Central Railway (Mumbai), North Central Railway (Allahabad) and South Western Railway (Hubli), have been lying vacant.

Top-level vacancies

These are in addition to the top-level vacancies persisting for quite some time at Metro Rail, Kolkata, and South Eastern Railway, Kolkata.

The position of GM in Eastern Railway, Kolkata, too will vacant in December and that in West Central Railway, Jabalpur, this month, it is learnt.

santanu.sanyal@thehindu.co.in

64. Tunnels on IR

India's longest railway tunnel through Pir Panjal mountain range

27 Jun, 2013

Agencies

An 11-km-long tunnel across the treacherous Pir Panjal mountain range on the Banihal-Qazigund railway line in Jammu and Kashmir, is the longest such transportation passage in India and second longest in Asia.

The 18-km long Banihal-Qazigund section of the ambitious mountain railway, connecting Kashmir Valley with Jammu region, was inaugurated on June 26. We take a look at some interesting facts about this engineering marvel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_tunnels_in_India_by_length

63.

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | October 11, 2012 12:14 PM IST

Indian Railways Launches Train Tracker on Google Maps

·

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/393126/20121011/indain-railway-railradar-google-map-train.htm

RailRadar,

The Indian Railways on Wednesday launched an online application, RailRadar, which tracks details of 6,500 trains running across the country on a real-time basis on Google Maps. This is the first sort of initiative taken in the history of a railway board.

"The live tracker is shown on an interactive map which permits users to watch the movements of trains running across the country," a railway official said to The Times of India.

The Rail Radar system, a live tracker of the trains, was developed by PSU Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) in a tie-up with Rail Yatri. The system will enable the user to track train timings, locations, stoppages and routes. To track any train on the new system a person is not required to remember the train number or the name, as just the entry of two station names will give the user details of the train.

"You no longer have to remember train numbers," the official said to Press Trust of India, adding "just enter any two station names (like Delhi to Bhubaneswar) and it will bring all the trains available on that route."

At present, the system is introduced as a pilot project and would soon become a permanent facility in the country. The Rail Radar works using a colour code system. When a person tracks a train status by giving necessary information, the trains will be highlighted either in blue or in red. The blue indicates that the train is on time while red points out that the train is running behind the scheduled time.

Besides this, the zoom in and zoom out feature of the system will allow the user to see the exact station where the train was stopped and can also get the information like the expected time to reach a particular station and the departure time.

The Indian Railways operates around 10,000 trains in the country. The users can access the new system, which tracks details over half the number of these trains, through the railway website trainenquiry.com.

62.

Sad News: Er Raj Kumar Vir, IRSEE, Born on September 29, 1928 in undivided Punjab and India, Er Vir graduated as Engineer from BHU. His batch-mate has been among others Prof. Mohinder Singh Sachdev, a renowned Protection Engineer, now settled in Canada,after serving Indian Railways, retired in September 1986 as General Manager, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works,is no more.

The end came at 11:55 am (IST) today, August 13, 2012 (Monday). Cremation has been scheduled tomorrow at 4 pm at Lodhi Road crematorium while Uthala on August 16, 2012 (Thursday) from 3 to 4 pm at Mata Ka Mandir, New Friend's Colony

Railways losses at `2,461cr in FY11

By Yogima Seth Sharma May 15 2012 , New Delhi

Tags: at, Losses, Railways, Economy

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/economy/railways-losses-2461cr-fy11-816

The comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG) on Tuesday flayed Indian Railways for

incurring avoidable losses of Rs 2,460.89crore in 2010-11 due to irregularities in freight concessions, procurement and maintenance operations and time overrun in projects.

CAG’s 2011-12 compliance audit report on Indian railways tabled in the parliament said there was large undue benefit of Rs 1,795.51 crore given to consigners of iron ore though they were not complying with the conditions for availing the freight concessions on traffic booked as domestic traffic.

The CAG audit found that 99 consigners, mainly iron and steel companies, from Kirandul, Bacheli and Jagdalpur stations, had booked consignments from May 22, 2008 to March 31, 2011 either without submitting the required documents or had submitted incomplete documents.

“Despite this, the east coast railway administration had allowed them the benefit of

concessional rates, resulting in undue benefit of Rs 1795.51 crore,” it said.

The CAG report further says that railways have incurred avoidable loss of Rs 284.20 crore due to delay in completion of new rail bridge over Sona river on the Delhi-Howrah route besides incurring losses on account of another avoidable expenditure of Rs 13.64 crore in strengthening of old bridge across river Tungabhadra on Wadi-Guntakal section in lieu of rebuilding a new bridge.

As per the CAG findings, central and western railways had incurred revenue loss of Rs 70.27 crore by allowing movement of steel, coal and salt to be carried on longer route though charging them for the shorter route.

The auditor has accused railway ministry for not finalising tenders within the valid time and its failure in properly assessing the quoted rates, which in turn resulted in avoidable extra expenditure of Rs 52.9 crore towards procurement of steel in the subsequent contracts in March 2009.

The other avoidable expenditure made by railway ministry in 2010-11 include loss of Rs 29.69 crore due to empty haulage of unutilised parcel vans, loss of Rs 15.4 crore owing to sub optimal leasing of parcel cargo express, poor quality of linen service in departmentally managed trains at higher cost resulting in loss of Rs 14.87 crore, non recovery of wagon hire chrages of Rs 26.81 crore at revised rate and loss of Rs 25.77 crore due to heavy detention of wagons.

61.

WR SUCCESSFULLY CARRIES OUT MEGA BLOCK ON 5.02.2012

WR SUCCESSFULLY CARRIES OUT MEGA BLOCK o­n 5.02.2012

COMPLETES DC-AC TRACTION CONVERSION WORK o­n ITS SUBURBAN SECTION

WR successfully carried out the mega block between Churchgate–Andheri to complete the conversion of traction from Direct Current to Alternate Current between Churchgate–Vile Parle o­n Sunday, 5th February, 2012. The mega block was completed at 15.45 hrs, ahead of its scheduled timing of 16.30 hrs. With this, Western Railway has bid farewell to 84 years old DC traction o­n its suburban network which was started in 1928. Shri Mahesh Kumar, General Manager, WR, visited Mahalaxmi electric sub-station and various sites along with senior railway officials and monitored the conversion work which was carried out by a strong men power of 800 workers and engineers of Electrical, Signalling & Telecommunication and Civil Engineering Deptts of WR under the leadership of Shri Mahesh Kumar. During the block, extensive activities were carried out meticulously with the commissioning of two sub-stations at Mahalaxmi and Bandra and seven switching stations at Marine Lines, Grant Road, Mumbai Central, Elphinstone Road, Mahim, Santacruz & Vile Parle. 3 transformers of 30 MVA were commissioned at Bandra sub-station while 2 transformers of 30 MVA have been commissioned at Mahalaxmi sub-station. Shri Kul Bhushan, Member Electrical, Railway Board, New Delhi also inspected the DC-AC conversion work. General Manger, WR was also with him during the inspecton. In the final stage of the block, the DC system was disconnected and AC system was connected and tested successfully. Meanwhile, 124 trains were run between Andheri and Virar while 3 pairs of diesel run special trains were operated in the block section. It was the final leg of DC-AC Conversion of WR's suburban section as the conversion from Borivali–Virar has been completed in 2010 and between Vile Parle–Borivali in 2011. With this feat, new WR's suburban section is integrated with the rest of the country where the OHE is o­n Alternate Current. Alternate Current is the need of the hour as it has more efficiency and capacity and is also economical than Direct Current owing to less loss of energy in transmission.

Now the whole suburban network of WR will operate Alternate Current.

Shri Mahesh Kumar, General Manager, Western Railway visiting the electric sub-station at Mahalaxmi during the mega block between Churchgate–Andheri on Sunday, 5th February, 2012 for DC to AC conversion of traction between Churchgate-Vile Parle. Also seen with him are Shri Suinl Goyal, Chief Electrical Engineer; Shri Girish Pillai, Divisional Railway Manager of Mumbai Division of WR and other senior officers.

Shri Mahesh Kumar, General Manager, Western Railway addressing the electronic media about WRs mega block between Churchgate–Andheri on Sunday, 5th February, 2012 for DC to AC conversion of traction between Churchgate-Vile Parle. Also seen with him are Shri Suinl Goyal, Chief Electrical Engineer, Shri Girish Pillai, Divisional Railway Manager of Mumbai Division of WR.

60.

Indian Railways authorize SMS tickets

http://voicendata.ciol.com/content/news1/112020602.asp

In a step to further make train reservation ticketing system passenger friendly, the ministry of railways has decided to permit Short Messaging Service (SMS) sent by Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) equivalent to Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS).

The decision has come into effect from 1st February, 2012.

The message will be considered valid only if- it contains all the vital ticket details like PNR, train number, date of journey, class, name and number of passengers, coach and seat number and fare paid; also if possible, the SMS will accommodate the names of all passengers booked on the e-ticket, otherwise maximum number of passengers.

The authorized SMS containing all the mentioned important details when displayed through laptops/palmtops/mobile phones combined with valid photo-id in original, shall be treated as an instrument on par with the ERS.

The railways earlier decided to treat the screen shot of the e-ticket displayed through laptops/palmtops/mobile phones, referred to as virtual reservation Message (VRM) and the Mobile Reservation Message (MRM) for tickets booked on mobile phones combined with valid photo-id in original, as an instrument on par with the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS).

The SMS will have to be displayed during the course of On-board/Off-board checking. If the passenger fails to produce/display this SMS due to any eventuality (loss, discharged mobile/laptop etc.) but has the prescribed proof of identity, a penalty of Rs 50 per ticket as applicable to such cases will be levied.

59.

http://www.railjournal.com/this-month/managers-need-to-get-to-grips-with-new-technology-1466.html

IT appears that some senior railway managers are unaware that a revolution is underway in signalling, telecommunications and train control which will change the way railways and metros are operated and managed.

Whether people like it or not, the technology is here to stay, so managers need to embrace it, take charge of its implementation, and get the best out of it, rather than burying their heads in the sand, continually finding fault and complaining about the cost.

Systems such as Atacs in Japan, Positive Train Control (PTC) in the United States, ERTMS/ETCS in Europe, and communications-based train control (CBTC) for metros are all based on software and radio transmission of data.

When developed to their full potential to include cab signalling and moving block, these systems have the ability to reduce costs and increase capacity and safety. The elimination of lineside signalling, which is expensive to install and maintain, will be a huge benefit in itself especially with the current surge in the theft of copper signalling wires. Many railways are experiencing significant growth in both freight and passenger traffic, and a steady increase in line speeds, while there is potential for greater cross-border operation within continents. But a busier railway puts greater strain on existing infrastructure and safety, and demands a modern solution. Customers - both passenger and freight - are much more demanding than they used to be. They expect high levels of punctuality and frequency, and accurate and up-to-the-minute information. Railways should no longer accept a situation whereby they don't know where their trains are, or only have a vague idea of their location, because of dark territory. As we report this month, PTC has the ability to eliminate this deficiency of North American railroading. It is clearly a huge challenge to develop and implement a radically-new train control system and to ensure that it functions efficiently and safely without degrading operations. To be successful, the development of computer-based train control systems requires much greater cooperation between railways and suppliers, which is a challenge in itself. The technical problems associated with PTC sound very similar to ETCS' difficult and protracted birth. ETCS was originally supposed to be an overlay to existing systems to facilitate interoperability, but it has evolved into a train control system in its own right. PTC is viewed as an overlay but with the primary objective of improving safety.

There is ardent opposition to both systems from some major railways, which cannot see beyond the initially high development costs.

However, other railways have adopted a positive attitude to the new technology. With ETCS, a few railways have simply got on with the implementation to make it work and without the need for fall-back systems, while others have made heavy weather of installing it, encountering huge problems, and consequently lacking the confidence to rely on ETCS alone.

A major difference between the development of PTC and ETCS is that the US Congress has set an arbitrary date of 2015 for the implementation of PTC, which means there is insufficient time to implement advanced PTC architecture which would allow moving or virtual block. Whilst setting deadlines is good for spurring people into action, they must be realistic. Hopefully, Congress will take heed of requests to push the deadline back to allow more time to develop a really-beneficial version of PTC.

The greatest challenge to developing and implementing new technology is not technical but human. There is a natural resistance among many people to change, usually because they do not understand the new technology and therefore fear the unknown. There are also those who subscribe to the philosophy "if it ain't broke don't try to fix it," but this assumes that life remains the same, which it doesn't.

This is why it is so important that everyone in an organisation, from the senior managers down to the people who will install and use the new technology, is fully aware of how it works, what its potential benefits are, and how its implementation will affect the way the railway is run.

The 13-point plan to improve the deployment of PTC, drawn up by Mr Steven Ditmeyer, has some excellent recommendations, many of which can be applied to the implementation of other projects.

Railways have made great strides in pushing the boundaries of railway technology, for example by increasing the axleloads of heavy-haul freight trains and raising the maximum speed of passenger trains. Now is the time to take train control out of the 19th and 20th centuries so that railways can meet the challenges of the 21st century. In years to come we will probably wonder what all the fuss was about.

58.

Rs 14 lakh cr needed to modernise railways: Trivedi

February 02, 2012 19:15 IST

http://www.rediff.com/business/report/rs-14-lakh-cr-needed-to-modernise-railways/20120202.htm

Aiming to take railways to the next generation, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi [ Images ] on Thursday said his department has prepared a blue print envisaging Rs 14 lakh crore investment in the next 10 years.

"The present railway system has outlived its utility. We are in some kind of Victorian age as far as the railways are concerned. Signalling is archaic. We have to embark upon a new generation," Trivedi said.

He said there is a requirement of Rs 14 lakh crore for the next 10 years for modernisation of rail network, which include automation of signalling system, strengthening of track and procurement of modern rolling stock.

Asked how the massive amount will be generated, Trivedi said, "I am hopeful of getting the Planning Commission to support the modernisation plan. I am in constant touch with the Commission and they are aware of it. I will be also meeting the Prime Minister for this."

Besides the Planning Commission, he said, "A part of it will also be from internal generation and private investment through public-private partnership (PPP) model."

On the commission's role, he said, "Our plan should be in tune with the Planning Commission. If we are not in tune with it, then the Planning Commission becomes redundant. The commission has a bird's eye view." Trivedi also favoured a national policy for railways.

"I am for a national rail policy taking the opposition on the board. Let it be a collective decision." Linking the national transporter with GDP growth, he said, "If the railways are not modernised, then there is no way we can hold to our GDP growth. Whether it is seven per cent or eight per cent, the railways have a major role to play."

On passenger safety, Trivedi said, "The signalling system has to be automated. At the moment there is human intervention at every stage. As long as there will be human intervention, there will be human error also. We have to minimise the human intervention with complete automation in the system."

Giving comparisons with other railways, he said, "I am visualising Indian Railways as a totally modern... as modern as European rail system or like Japan [ Images ]. In Japan for 47 years there was not a single train accident."

Referring to Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), he said, "In order to prevent accidents, TPWS is a must."

He expressed dismay over the time being taken for putting into use the anti-collision device (ACD) system. "ACD trial is going on for the last ten years as a pilot project. A pilot project cannot go on for ten long years."

Advocating for e-tendering and e-auctioning as part of the modernisation exercise, Trivedi said the file movement should be less in the railways and "we should be doing it on e-mode because e-tendering and and e-auctioning are more transparent. Our scrap should be sold through e-auction only."

He also mooted the idea of expanding the Railway Board to a nine-member body. Currently, it is a seven-member body including the chairman, he said, adding, "There should be a member revenue and member safety also."

57.

E. Sreedharan: Railway Board Needs To Shed Some Of Its Executive Powers

by E. Sreedharan

http://forbesindia.com/article/reimagining-india/e-sreedharan-rocky-rails/32120/1

Former managing director of Delhi Metro E. Sreedharan feels that the Railway Board needs to delegate authority to zonal railways to improve efficiency and safety

ailways is the lifeline of the nation. It has been doing a wonderful service so far. But it has not been keeping pace with the advances made in rail technology worldwide. Today, I am not confident of sending my family on a train given the number of accidents. So, improving safety of the railways is a very urgent necessity. But to be truly world class, the Indian Railways also needs to improve its speed.

For safety, the Railways urgently needs to adopt the automatic signaling systems, which improve safety by almost 80 percent, [and ensure they] are installed throughout the country. Such systems also help run more trains on different lines, thereby contributing to the overall efficiency of the network. We also need to replace level crossings with rail over-bridges. As of now, more than 300 people die each year in level crossing accidents.

For better speed, Railways needs to disaggregate freight traffic from passenger lines. The Dedicated Freight Corridor project is already planned and is a step in the right direction. Similarly, at a number of places in the country, additional lines to carry freight should be built. High-speed trains are also required to improve on transit time and a pilot project is already underway in Kerala. The speed of goods trains should be improved from around 70 kmph to 120 kmph.

There is also the issue of passenger comfort and overall hygiene. The toilets installed in trains are a huge eyesore and we need to move towards discharge toilets such as the ones used in planes. The passenger trains should have better coaches that provide better comfort to passengers. But to implement these ideas, decision making has to be quick and effective.

Today, the pace at which decisions are taken by the Railway Board is slow. This is because the Board has centralised control. Powers have to be delegated to general managers and other officers in order to improve the ability of the railways to deliver. I am not advocating corporatising the Railways. It is a service organisation and therefore should be under government control. However, the organisation has to be run on business lines.

Across the world, many railways have undergone a process of privatisation. But fortunately, the Indian Railways is still under government control. If you study the privatisation efforts in the rail sector in these countries, one will notice that although they have managed to modernise at a fast pace, the role of the Railways in the transport sector is coming down in such places due to tariff issues.

However, structural reforms are required at the Railway Board. Today, the Board serves as the ministry as well as the executive. There is a need for the Board to preserve its role as the ministry and shed its executive powers. There is no need for the Board to approve every tender that needs to be floated by the ministry. This leads to a slow system of decision-making, which in turn, causes delays in ordering equipment and completing important projects on time.

The railway bureaucracy today takes decisions that are not in line with its commercial interests as well. For instance, after handing over the charge of catering to the IRCTC, one fine day the ministry decided to take over. If a particular organisation has been given charge of running a particular business, it needs to be given support as well. Political interference in day to day matters is another cause for concern and the officials should have spine and be able to argue their point.

In my opinion, the Railway Board needs to shed some of its executive powers and delegate authority to the zonal railways in order to ensure that the Railways modernises and improves its efficiency and safety.

(As told to K.P. Narayana Kumar)

Read more: http://forbesindia.com/article/reimagining-india/e-sreedharan-rocky-rails/32120/1#ixzz1l66qgLCJ

Read more: http://forbesindia.com/article/reimagining-india/e-sreedharan-rocky-rails/32120/1#ixzz1l66NHBk0

56.

Railway to get 10 locomotives in 18 months

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=35506

Bangladesh Railway penned a Tk 349 crore deal with an Indian company, RITES Ltd, on Tuesday to procure 10 broad gauge diesel electric locomotives from India in next one and a half years.

As per the agreement, the Indian company will supply two locomotives to Bangladesh in first 13 months. The railway will receive the rest of the engines in five months after receiving the first supply.

Additional Director General of railway Khalilur Rahman and Executive Director of RITES Ltd VK Jain signed the deal at Railway Bhaban in the city.

Railways Minister Suranjit Sengupta, Railways Secretary Fazle Kabir and acting Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Bhattacharyya were present, among others, at the ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Suranjit Sengupta said they asked the Indian company to provide the engines in the stipulated time.

The locomotives are being purchased under a small project of $ 1 billion credit given by India to Bangladesh for different infrastructures development.

Of the total 349 crore project, Tk 246.39 crore will come from the Indian credit while the rest will be provide by the Bangladesh government.

55.

Railway minister calls for National Policy on RailwaysPankaj Doval, TNN | Jan 31, 2012, 04.01PM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railway-minister-calls-for-National-Policy-on-Railways/articleshow/11699265.cms

NEW DELHI: Railways minister Dinesh Trivedion Tuesday underlined the need for a national policy for railways that lays down a clear road-map for a revenue model, accents on customer orientation and creates a culture of zero tolerance towards accidents.

Speaking at the 'India PPP Sumit 2012' organized by industry chamber Ficci, Trivedi said, ""The time has come to de-politicise the Indian railwaysand modernise the system which is obsolete for today's time. Automation is to be introduced in a big way to reduce human intervention in the running of the railways as safety is a paramount concern and the main imperative.""

Trivedi observed that while improving the carrying capacity of the railways is critical, it is equally important to look at changes in passenger fare and freight structure with a view to making them customer-centric.

The Railway minister favoured the setting up of an independent Railway Stations Authority to oversee the makeover of railways stations by way of shopping malls, eating places and other amenities for the travelling public. This has the potential of generating 30 per cent of the overall revenue for the railways, he added.

"We need a revenue model that is built around customers' needs."

In this context, he said that even the Railway Board may have to be revamped by bringing in Members in charge of revenue, customer service and freight.

54.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/railways-going-the-air-india-way/904348/0

Raghu Dayal : Fri Jan 27 2012, 03:09 hrs

It is an old ploy of governments that inconvenient issues are referred to committees, to languish there till forgotten. The Indian Railways (IR) are already the most studied and analysed wing of government. The problem is the guardians refuse to administer the medicine to the patient. Today, only because it manages to limp along cannot hide the serious concern at its ailment getting terminal.There is much talk of the social obligations and responsibilities of railways. Under cover of this useful catch-all label, all manner of blatant chicanery takes place. Clear examples of IR being bled by free-loaders are unviable rail lines, increasing passenger services straining infrastructure, and static lower-class passenger fares. IR must be allowed to function mainly as a commercial carrier, to earn well to grow and adequately serve the economy.It is important to insulate IR’s long-term strategic action plan from the whims and vagaries of individual railway ministers. IR needs to reorganise the management structure by businesses — segregating freight from passenger; reform and upgrade its accounting and costing systems; ensure quality in investments; revamp railway R&D; corporatise and privatise development and manufacture of railway equipment; and designate dedicated management teams for projects from inception to end. There is a lot it has to invest in; there is far more for it to divest and disinvest.The amalgamation of the railway budget with the general budget is long overdue; a separate rail budget today is a glaring anachronism; the rationale of a dominant share in country’s traffic or its scale of revenues is no longer valid. It has just become a peg for every new rail mantri to hang his/ her personal agenda on and enjoy the euphoria of jagirdari.Building new lines with sound economic purpose is important; maintaining them is more important. Let there be a moratorium on all new rail lines for now, except those required for defined capacity increases, viable industrial projects or strategic considerations.

There is no silver bullet, no single solution. What is required is a greater clarity on policy objectives and strategies, and expeditious implementation. IR needs to benchmark against productivity on Chinese railways, its only comparable peer. It must build an ethos of zero defect, zero failure of assets.

IR’s own White Paper and Vision 2020 Documents explain how, consistent with a rail renaissance worldwide, it must strive for larger modal share of freight and passenger traffic against its steadily shrinking share of just 30-35 per cent of nation’s freight and 10 per cent of passenger market. Traffic for rail has been smothered; capacity crunch has been endemic. Capacity enhancement on the saturated corridors is indeed the paramount need. Trains have to be longer, heavier and faster like what is happening on several systems: against IR’s heaviest freight trains of 4,500 tonnes with 22.5t axle load wagons, Chinese railways runs 20,000 tonne coal trains.

As part of its perceived social obligations, lR runs some 3,000 short-distance passenger services daily, including on branch lines. These slow sectional passenger trains are the worst offenders for loss-making; they also devour scarce capacity on high-density routes. IR must rationalise and drastically reduce the number of these trains. It may well have an autonomous corporate body manage all suburban and special passenger services as well as sectional passenger trains through an optimal modal mix. IR will thereafter be better placed to address the acute short supply of inter-city passenger services, substantially accelerating them, to run at 160-200 kmph, and developing a whole panoply of modern terminal and maintenance facilities. Simultaneously it can ill-afford to dither in regard to high speed “bullet” trains on selected corridors.

IR’s investment requirement in the decade 2011-20 is estimated at Rs 47 lakh crore ($950 b). It needs to raise revenues and cut costs. For justifying a special government stimulus package, it must sincerely squeeze and trim the apparatus. Excessive operating costs arise from a combination of operational inefficiencies, inadequate maintenance of assets, over-staffing, and poorly targeted capital investment. The myopic framework to keep raising freight tariffs has hurt IR. Ludicrously low fares for ordinary second class maintained for years at 14.9 paise/ pkm are wholly untenable.

IR must perforce induct substantial private investment. The much desired PPP is no free lunch — no private firm will volunteer for a project that will probably fail to cover its costs through freight and fare revenues. The Railway Reforms Committee’s advice some two decades ago that renewals and replacements of assets be accorded the highest priority has been often flouted. In fiscal 2009-10, Mamata Banerjee’s first budget, IR’s annual accounts registered the lowest ever net profit of Rs 0.75 crore; an amount of Rs 29,564 crore was withdrawn from the Depreciation Reserve Fund, Development Fund, Pension Fund and Capital Fund for the balance sheet to look somewhat healthy.

How do we ignore the stark reality of Air India, once the nation’s pride and the region’s envy, going down and under? Aren’t we pushing IR too hard towards a similar abyss? India can well survive without an Air India; it is inconceivable it can ever do without a healthy IR. IR’s ills are as multifarious as they are well known. Remedies too are not unknown. The need is to scrupulously follow the prescription. It will have to prioritise and pick up its ailments for cure — by surgery, if necessary.

The writer was the first MD of the Container Corporation of , express@expressindia.com

..

53.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/now-photo-id-must-for-ac-train-travel/901327/

After considering the matter for over a year, the Indian Railways has finally made photo identity cards compulsory for passengers travelling in the air conditioned compartments. The move is expected to check widespread menace of travel on transferred tickets sold by touts.From February 15 this year, AC I, II and III passengers will have to produce a government-approved identity card even if he or she has purchased a ticket from the counter. Currently, only electronic and tatkal tickets require such IDs and counter tickets, sold from passenger reservation systems, are not covered under this.The Indian Express had reported about the policy decision on December 13.Now, AC compartment passengers will have to carry photo-ID cards, and if asked, show it to the ticket examiner. The move is also meant to ward off unauthorised use of train travel since every ticket will be booked with a government-sanctioned photo ID.In the run up to the decision, zonal-railways were asked for feedback, including possible impact on passengers and feasibility. In response, 11 of the 14 zonal railways favoured the move while some advocated starting it in a phased manner or on trial basis. Railway Board Member, Traffic, K K Srivastava gave the final go-ahead last week.While non-AC travellers have been kept out of the new policy’s ambit, sources said that the decision on photo IDs may be widened in future so that every passenger on board a train has a valid identity card.

52. Indian Railways launches mobile ticketing

By Kumar Anshuman

Story Dated: Monday, January 2, 2012 17:52 hrs IST

INTERVIEW/E. Sreedharan, former MD, DMRC;

http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?programId=1073754900&contentId=10742735

50.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/news/2011/12/111230_sreedharan_sa.shtml

दिल्ली मेट्रो रेल कॉरपोरेशन के प्रमुख ई श्रीधरन 16 वर्षों के सफल कार्यकाल के बाद 31 दिसंबर को अपने पद से रिटायर हो रहे हैं. श्रीधरन के बाद उनकी जगह उनके सहयोगी मंगू सिंह दिल्ली मेट्रो के प्रमुख का कार्यभार संभालेंगे. वर्ष 1995 से दिल्ली मेट्रो से जुड़े 79 साल के श्रीधरन शनिवार को मेट्रो भवन में होने वाले एक कार्यक्रम में मंगू सिंह को ये ज़िम्मेदारी सौंपेंगे.56 साल के मंगू सिंह ने रुड़की से सिविल इंजीनियरिंग की पढ़ाई की है. वे 1981 बैच के इंडियन रेलवे सर्विस ऑफ़ इंजीनियर्स के अधिकारी हैं.

India's first certified indigenous MSS system for defense and aerospace applications has been developed by Avantel and the first 12 unit of system including four spare systems is to be delivered to Boeing Company under a contract worth about $ 2.2 million. Supplied by the American aircraft company to Indian defense forces, these MSS systems would be fitted on 8 P-8I Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft.

The Boeing Aerospace in compliance with Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) standards produced the MSS system for the P-8I. According to the company, it has been qualified by the Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification (Cemilac). Rao said that the system involving the technology is same for the aircraft and Indian Railways. The MSS-based tracking system is planned to be implemented in the Railways across the country once its pilots demonstrate its efficiency.

The first phase of the Real Train Information System, based on the satellite imaging for rail navigation has been opened by the Railway. It has been mutually developed by the Research Design and Standards Organization and IIT-Kanpur. Despite the fact that the locomotives are fitted with GPS equipment, the system runs on Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication technology that is used in mobile phones. After the implementation of new system the movement and location of each train will be tracked on a realtime basis. Rao said, "Once the system is in place several value-added services like providing passengers with accurate information on train arrival time among others will be developed around it,"Avantel has also come up with ultra high frequency (UHF) communication systems and products, and it will be delivered to Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) under a contract for

25-crore in the next six months.The Indian army extensively uses the MSS system mainly on the Navy warships and Cost Guard vessels. The MSS system for defence applications are developed from various platforms like submarines, torpedoes, ground-based vehicles, ships, and aircraft. Founded in 1995, Aventel had started developing Type-C terminals for one-way messaging following a technology transfer agreement with Isro in 2000. A turnover of Rs 24.5 crore was recorded for the BSE-listed company in 2001 and revenue of

26 crore is expected for the present year. Its share closed up at

58.25 whereas its 52-month price stood at 69.5 and 41 respectively.

48.

चीन के दो बड़े व्यवसायिक केंद्रों शेंजन और ग्वांजो शहरों के बीच हाई स्पीड रेल सेवा शुरु हो गई है. एक शानदार समारोह में रेल सेवा का उदघाटन किया गया. ये ट्रेन 300 किलोमीटर प्रति घंटा तक की रफ़्तार से चलेगी. दोनों शहरों का 102 किलोमीटर का फ़ासला मात्र 35 मिनट में पूरा हो जाएगा. ट्रेन के अंदर सब सुविधाएँ लोगों को मिलेंगी. कुछ वर्षों में ये ट्रेन हॉंगकॉंग तक भी जाएगी.चीन ने रेल के मूलभूत ढाँचे को विकसित करने के लिए काफ़ी पैसा लगाया है. लेकिन दो हाई स्पीड ट्रेनों में जुलाई में हुई दर्घटना के बाद रेल सुरक्षा को लेकर चिंता भी जताई जा रही है. http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/multimedia/2011/12/111226_china_train_va.shtm

47. Bullet Train Between Chennai And Hyderabad To Reduce Travel Time

Posted by Niranjana Sridharudu on December 9, 2011 http://www.crazyengineers.com/bullet-train-between-chennai-and-hyderabad-to-reduce-travel-time-1424/

The travel between Chennai and Hyderabad in just more than two hours may soon be possible with the Indian Railways planning to introduce a bullet train in that route. A senior railway ministry official spoke of the possibility of having a bullet train soon running in the route. He said that Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) and Oriental Consultancy along with Parsons Brinkhoff India have bagged the contract that is to perform the pre-feasibility report of running the high speed train in that route(Hyderabad-Vijaywada-Chennai) . If it all goes well, in few years the fast travel will make travelers happy since it will be terribly cheaper than the air travel.

The rail distance between Chennai and Hyderabad is 664 km and the train travelling at 300 kmph will take just a little over two hours. This development has made the Southern Railway Officials happy and eager. “Besides reducing the travel time between the two cities by almost 12 hours, the bullet train will transform the economy of the region as well as greatly contribute to the economic growth of both Hyderabad and Chennai,” SCR chief PRO K Sambasiva Rao told.There were 13 companies including Korean, French, British and Spanish consultants bidding for this contract. The selected consortium has said that they’ll be submitting their report, which is estimated to cost 3.5 crore, in seven months. The high speed trains Shinkansen is known to operate at speeds up to 300 kmph. They are also punctual, efficient and ensure the comfort and safety of the passengers.To execute this project quickly and efficiently Railways is now forming the National High Speed Rail Authority. A study has also showed that the cost for constructing one km long High Speed corridor is 100 crore. This project will be executed in Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis. So State governments and financial institutions are to be the stake holders.It is also worth mentioning that similar studies are being taken up for the rail routes in other parts of the country as well. UKbased consultant Mott McDonald will be conducting the pre-feasibility study of the longest Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna (991km) route.

46. Senior divisional operating manager of Danapur Adhar Raj suspended

Minister seeks report on denial of Rajdhani berths to MPs

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Minister-seeks-report-on-denial-of-Rajdhani-berths-to-MPs/articleshow/11024946.cms

PATNA: Over one dozen MPs from Bihar created a furore at Patna Junction and Mughalsarai station under the East Central Railway (ECR) over denial of berths in AC-1 coach of the Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani Express (12309) on Tuesday evening. They lodged a complaint with railway minister Dinesh Trivedi about the apathetic attitude of the railways towards during their journey. Trivedi is said to have sought a report on the matter from Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal.According to sources, as many as 27 MPs had given their requisitions for allotment of berths in AC-1 coach on Monday. These MPs were going to New Delhi along with their spouses and companions as they were entitled to travel in AC-1 class under the Indian Railway rules, sources said. There is only one AC-1 coach in the Rajdhani Express, comprising 24 berths. Accordingly, 12 berths were given to these MPs as the rest of the berths were already booked in the names of other passengers."How can the railways allot berths booked for others to MPs? In such a short notice, the railways could manage only 12 berths for them and adjusted other MPs and their companions in AC-2 and AC-3 coaches," said an ECR official.According to Danapur DRM L M Jha, it was unfortunate that the railways could not attach an extra coach of AC-1 to accommodate all the MPs and their spouses. Under the recent directive issued by the ECR's commercial department, any division could give requisition to the headquarters for attaching extra coach to any mail and express train four days in advance. The railways could not attach extra coach in the Rajdhani Express as the requisition was made just a day before departure of the train, he said.The DRM admitted that extra coaches of Rajdhani were available in the division. "I was also kept in the dark by the operating and commercial officials of Danapur division about the demand of extra coach by MPs in the Rajdhani Express," he said, adding the railways would try to check recurrence of such incidents in future.According to sources, the Board has approved the sanction load of 14 coaches for Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani Express which includes AC-1 (one), AC-2 (five), AC-3 ( five), one pantry car and two generator cars, sources said, adding the railways was earlier attaching extra coaches at a short notice to premier trains in which waitlist of passengers was too long.Meanwhile, senior divisional operating manager of Danapur Adhar Raj has been suspended by ECR GM Varun Bharthuar in the wake of the development.

45. AS ON 09-11-2011 NEW GM POSINGS

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=23

This Diwali,WR & CR will celebrate diamond jubilee

Roana Maria Costa TNN

Mumbai: As the city celebrates Diwali this weekend,the railway family will mark a milestone in its existence.On November 5,both Central and Western Railway will enter their 60year of reorganization (diamond jubilee year.)

On one Saturday afternoon more than 150 years ago on April 16,1853,a little train pulled by three engines chugged out of a tiny rude wooden station.This heralded the dawn of the railway era in India.However,since then the Indian Railways organization has witnessed many changes.Even as late as 2003,there were only seven zones in the Indian Railway,which were regrouped to form the current16 railway zones.

Apeek into history shows that the Great Indian Peninsula (GIP) Railway,which is todays Central Railway (CR),was merged with the Indian Midland Railway Company in 1900;this expanded its frontiers to Delhi in the north,Kanpur and Allahabad in the north-east and Nagpur in the east to Raichur in the south-east,which also resulted in the connection of the then Bombay to almost all parts of the great Peninsula.

On November 5,1951,CR was formed by integrating Nizam state,Scindia state and Dholpur state railways with the GIP Railway.These three railways were privately owned.

In October 1966,one more railwaySouth Central Railway was formed by merging Solapur Division from CR with Secunderabad,Hubli,Vijayawada divisions from Southern Railway (SR).On October 2,1977,Solapur Division was remerged with CR and Guntakal Division from SR was included in South Central Railway.Later in 2003,seven more zones were carved out wherein,Jabalpur and Bhopal divisions of CR were included in West Central Railway and Jhansi Division was included in North Central Railway.

At present,CR has 5 divisions including.Mumbai,Bhusaval,Nagpur,Solapur,Pune with a network of 477 stations,672 mail/express /passenger trains run daily,carrying 5.3 lakh people daily.While CR ran 519 suburban services in 1950-51,today it runs 1,559 services.

In the foreword of the book-Western Railway A Glorious Saga by R R BhandariA K Jhingron,ex-GM says WR came into existence on November 5,1951 as a result of the first regrouping of Indian Railways.Bombay,Baroda and Central Indian Railway as well as a large number of big and small state railways were amalgamated into a single unified system.He said that since its inception,Western Railway (WR) had eight divisions that included Ajmer,Jaipur and Kota.In 2002-03,there was another regrouping of the Indian Railways resulting in the formation of new zones.Due to this,three divisions of WR that is Ajmer,Jaipur and Kota were transferred to the newly formed zonal railwaysAjmer and Jaipur to North Western Railway and Kota to West Central Railway.A new division Ahmedabad was carved out.Since October 1,2002 WR has six divisions at Mumbai,Vadodara,Ahmedabad,Rajkot,Bhavnagar and Ratlam.

New Frontiers

Today,CR has 5 divisions including Mumbai,Bhusaval,Nagpur,Solapur and Pune.WR has six divisions comprising Mumbai,Vadodara,Ahmedabad,Rajkot,Bhavnagar and Ratlam

INDIAN Railway IRSEE officer of 1972 batch Sudesh Kumar has taken over as Member (Electrical), Railway Board in ministry of railways. Engineering Graduate of IIT, Khadagpur and India Railway electrical engineering service officer, Mr Sudesh took charge of new office on October 8, 2009. He was now posted as General Manager, North Central Railways with headquaters at Allahabad.During his long career in the India Railways, Mr Kumar has served at important positions which include Chief Electrical Engineer South- Central Railways, Divisional Railway Manager Asansol, Additional Member (Electrical). Mr Kumar has undertaken tours to England, South Africa and Switzerland for enriching professional & technical knowledge, a release said.