Western India Passengers Association in Kerala has submitted a memorandum to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy demanding an additional daily superfast train from Mumbai to this State Capital.
The Association urged the Chief Miniter to take up the issue with the Union Railway Minister immediately to introduce more trains in the forthcoming Railway Budget.
Pointing out that the All India Railway Time Table Committee is meeting at Goa in the first week of January 2013 to finalize proposals for new Trains in the Railway Budget to be presented in February 2013, the Association, in a release here today,claimed the Divisional Railway Manager, Trivandrum, had not recommended any new train from here, this year also.
The demand for a second Daily Mumbai-Kerala train was...
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28 years old, the Association claimed in the Memoranadum.
The promise given then was, as soon as the Konkan Railway (KRCL) was opened, a new daily train would run to Trivandrum via Konkan Railway.
However, what happened was the diversion of the Netravati Express via KRCL and extension up to Trivandrum via Alleppey.
There was no new Daily train till today.
There was still space to run one more train to run between Mumbai and Kerala on the Konkan Railway in which Keral was one of the partners.
A new train from Mumbai through Konkan and another from Malabar to Hyderabad were a bare minimum requirement which the association had discussed with the Railway authorities, they claimed.

SPECIAL TRAINS BETWEEN NEW DELHI-TRIVANDRUM & H.NIZAMUDDIN -MADGAON
For the convenience of rail passengers and to clear extra rush during the winter rush, Northern Railway will run following special trains as per the programme:
04096/04095 New Delhi – Trivandrum – New Delhi Superfast Express Special
The 04096 New Delhi – Trivandrum Superfast Express Special will depart from New Delhi at 11.40 PM o­n 22.12.12 (1 trip) to reach Trivandrumat 5.45 AM the fourth day. While in the return direction the 04095 Trivandrum – New Delhi Superfast Express will depart from Trivandrum at 12.00 Noon o­n 28.12.12 (1 trip) to reach New Delhiat 7.30 PM the third day.
Comprising of o­ne Ist AC,...
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o­ne A.C. 2 Tier, o­ne A.C. 3 Tier, Sixteen sleeper, besides two brake vansthe 04096/04095 New Delhi – Trivandrum – New Delhi Superfast Express train will stop at Mathura, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara, Surat, Basai Road, Panvel, Ratnagiri, Thivim, Madgaon, Karwar, Udupi, Mangalore Central, Kasaragod, Kanhangad, Payyanur, Kannur, Thalassery, Vadakara, Kozhikode, Tirur, Kuttipuram, Shoranur Jn., Thrisur, Aluva, Ernakulum Town, Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Chengammur, Mavelikara, Kayankulam and Kollamstations in both the directions enroute.
04098/04097 New Delhi – Trivandrum – New Delhi AC Superfast Express Special
The 04098 New Delhi – Trivandrum Superfast Express Special will depart from New Delhi at 11.40 PM o­n 21.12.12 (1 trip) to reach Trivandrumat 5.45 AM the third day.While in the return direction the 04097 Trivandrum – New Delhi Superfast Express will depart from Trivandrum at 12.00 Noon o­n 27.12.12 (1 trip) to reachNew Delhiat 7.30 PM the fourth day.
Comprising of o­ne Ist AC, Four A.C. 2 Tier, Twelve A.C. 3 Tier, besides two brake vans the 04098/04097 New Delhi – Trivandrum – New Delhi Superfast Express train will stop at Mathura, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara, Surat, Basai Road, Panvel, Ratnagiri, Thivim, Madgaon, Karwar, Udupi, Mangalore Central, Kasaragod, Kanhangad, Payyanur, Kannur, Thalassery, Vadakara, Kozhikode, Tirur, Kuttipuram, Shoranur Jn., Thrisur, Aluva, Ernakulum Town, Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Chengammur, Mavelikara, Kayankulam and Kollam stations in both the directions enroute.
02450/02449 H.Nizamuddin–Madgaon–H.Nizamuddin Superfast AC Exp. (Weekly) Special
The 02450 H.Nizamuddin – Madgaon Superfast AC Express Special will depart o­n every Friday from H.Nizamuddin at 7.30 AM from21.12.12 to 4.1.2013 (3 trips) to reach Madgaon at 6.10 PM the next day.While in the return direction the 02449 Madgaon – H. Nizamuddin Superfast AC Express will depart from Madgaonat 10.50 AMon every Sunday from23.12.12 to 6.1.2013 (3 trips) to reachNizamuddin at 4.55 PM the next day.
Comprising of Thirteen 3 Tier AC, Three 2 Tier AC besides two brake vans the 02450/02449 H.Nizamuddin – Madgaon – Nizamuddin Superfast AC Express Special train will stop at, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara, Surat, Vasai Road, Panvel, Ratnagiri, Kudal, Thivim & Karmali stations in both the directions enroute.

Railways decided to introduce a pair of train No.22859/22860
Puri- Chennai-Puri weekly super-fast express train with effect
from 22.07.2012.
1. Train No.22859 will leave Puri o­n Sundays with effect from 22.07.2012 at 05.30 p.m., will reach Visakhapatnamon the next day (Monday) at 01.30 am (mid-night)., leaves at 01.50am and will reach Chennai the same day at 02.55 pm.
2. In the return direction Train No.22860 will leave Chennai on Monday at 04.15 pm will reach Visakhapatnam on Tuesdaysat 06.15 am leaves at 06.35 am and will reach Puri the same day at 03.05 pm.
Enroute, this pair stop at Khurda Road, Balugaon, Chatrapur, Brahmapur, Sompeta,...
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Palasa, Srikakulam Road, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Samalkot, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Vijayawada, Tenali, o­ngole, Nellore, Gudur, Nayudupeta, Sullurupeta.

Train No.19406/19405 Ahmedabad – Yeshvantpur AC Weekly Express

The inaugural service of this train will be run as Train No.09406 Ex Ahmedabad o­n 18/3/2012 at 13.30 hrs to reach Yeshvantpur at 23.50 hrs o­n Monday.
In its regular service, 19406 Ahmedabad – Yeshvantpur AC Weekly Express will depart from Ahmedabad at 21.40 hrs o­n every Saturday from 24/03/2012 and will arrive at Yeshvantpur at 06.40 hrs o­n Monday.
In its return journey, Train No. 19405 Yeshvantpur – Ahmedabad AC Weekly Express will leave Yeshvantpur at 10.45 hrs o­n every Monday from 26/03/2012 to reach Ahmedabad at 19.20 hrs o­n Tuesday.
It consists of IAC,...
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AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier coaches.
It will halt at Anand, Vadodara, Ankleshwar, Surat, Vapi, Vasai Road, Kalyan, Lonavala, Pune, Solapur, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Badami, Gadag, Hubli, Devangere & Arsikere in both the directions.

Train No.19407/19408 Ahmedabad-Varanasi Weekly Express
The inaugural service of this train will be run as 09407 Ex Ahmedabad at 12.30 hrs o­n 18/03/2012 to reach Varanasi at 00.30 hrs o­n 20/03/2012.
In its regular service, Train No. 19407 Ahmedabad – Varanasi Weekly Express will depart from Ahmedabad at 21.00 hrs o­n every Thursday from 29/03/2012 and reach Varanasi at 05.45 hrs o­n Saturday.
In its return direction, Train No. 19408 Varanasi – Ahmedabad Weekly Express will leave Varanasi at 15.30 hrs o­n every Saturday from 24/03/2012 to arrive at Ahmedabad at 23.55 hrs o­n Sunday.
It consists of AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier, Sleeper and Second Class general coaches.
It will halt at Sabarmati, Mahesana, Palanpur, Abu Road, Falna, Marwar, Ajmer, Jaipur, Alwar, Rewari, Gurgaon, Delhi Cantt, Delhi Jn, Moradabad, Bareilly, Lucknow, Nihalgarh, Sultanpur and Jaunpur in both the directions.

The booking of Train Nos. 09406 (inaugural run), 19406 (regular service), 09407 (inaugural run) and 19407 (regular service) will open from 17/03/2012.

The Union Cabinet today approved the setting up of a new Rail Coach Manufacturing unit at Palakkad in Kerala to manufacture 400 coaches per annum at an estimated cost of Rs.550 crore (excluding the cost of land) as a Joint Venture in which Railways shall contribute 26% of the equity.
The new coach building plant will be set up at Palakkad in Kerala where land to the extent of about 239 acres is available for use which will be purchased by the Railways from the Government of Kerala.
This will help Indian Railways in ensuring timely availability of passenger coaches to meet the increasing demands of passenger transportation. It shall also ensure induction of state of the art aluminium coaches on Indian Railways.
...
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The work on this project will commence during 2012-13 and will be completed within a period of 36 months.

From today onwards i.e. 15th February 2012, anyone of the passengers/the passenger booked on the ticket issued from computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS counters) and Internet (i-ticket) undertaking journey in AC-3 tier, AC-2 tier, 1st AC, AC Chair Car and Executive Classes will have to carry one of the nine prescribed proofs of identity (in original) during the journey. The passengers of these AC classes would be required to produce the Identity Card in original as and when required failing which all the passengers booked on that ticket will be treated as without ticket and charged accordingly. However, the Identity Card (in original or its photocopy) will not be required at the time of purchase reserved AC tickets from PRS counters or i-ticket. These instructions are valid for all categories of trains, with the above mentioned classes of travel. The Ministry of Railways has taken...
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this decision to prevent misuse of Reserved Train Tickets and reduce cases of travelling on transferred tickets, Ministry of Railways has decided that with effect
In case of passengers who are automatically upgraded by the system from sleeper Class to Air-conditioned class and in case of passengers who are upgraded by on-board ticket checking staff on realization of difference of fare, the condition of carrying proof of identity during the journey will not be applicable.
These fresh instructions are in addition to the existing instructions under which the passengers with Tatkal tickets and e-tickets are already required to carry original proof of identity during the course of Railway journey. In case of Tatkal tickets, self attested photocopy of the Identity Card is required at the time of purchase from the PRS counters or Identity Card details (Number etc.) are to be entered at the time of purchase from internet.
A message on this count will be indicated on the ticket issued in the above said classes through computerized PRS/I-ticket.
Center for Railway Information System (CRIS), an organization under Ministry of Railways, has been asked to make necessary provisions in the software.
The list of valid proofs of identity are as under:-
Ø Voter Photo Identity Card issued by Election Commission of India.
Ø Passport.
Ø PAN Card issued by Income Tax Department.
Ø Driving License issued by RTO.
Ø Photo Identity card having serial number issued by Central/State Government.
Ø Student Identity Card with Photograph issued by recognized School/College for their students.
Ø Nationalized Bank Passbook with Photograph.
Ø Credit Cards issued by Banks with laminated photograph.
Ø Unique Identification Card “Aadhaar”.
The scope of the term “photo identity card having serial number issued by Central/State Government” permissible under the scheme is very wide and it covers a large number of photo identity cards, some of which are as under:
Ø Pension Pay Orders (PPO)
Ø Ration Card with photographs
Ø Senior citizen cards.
Ø Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards.
Ø ESI Cards (with photograph) issued for taking treatment in ESI dispensaries.
Ø CGHS Cards (with photograph) issued to individual family members of Central Government employees

Ending the suspense of the past five months, Railways have finally posted a Chief Administrator Officer (CAO), Construction, to expedite development of the railway network in Kerala.
Principal Chief Engineer, North Central Railway, Jaipur, Dani Thomas has been posted as the CAO, Construction. He will be based in Thiruvananthapuram with jurisdiction over the entire State, official sources told The Hindu .
It is the first time that Railways are posting a CAO for Kerala. The decision comes within days of the State announcing its willingness to hand over 239 acres of land at Kanjikode for the proposed coach factory to Railways at a cost of Rs.33 crore and weeks before the Railway Budget is presented in Parliament.
The post of the CAO is...
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equivalent to that of Additional General Manager and above Divisional Railway Managers. Railways will have to set up a full-fledged office for the CAO.
Sources said the posts of financial advisor and chief accounts officer or a deputy financial advisor would have to be created for the smooth functioning of the CAO's office.
Hailing from Central Travancore, Mr. Thomas served as Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuram, for two years from 2000.
An Indian Railway Service Engineer of the 1979 batch, he officiated as Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuram, for six months before taking up assignment outside the State.
Development projects
Development projects to the tune of Rs.2,500 crore are pending in the State and several key projects such as doubling of railway tracks are delayed.
The post of the CAO was announced by Union Minister for Railways Dinesh Trivedi at the conclusion of a meeting convened by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in September last to speed up rail development in the State. The announcement was made to contain the clamour from all quarters for the creation of an exclusive rail zone for Kerala.
Railways wanted to dilute the office of the CAO announced for the State to that of a nodal officer or a liaison officer.
The CAO has vast powers to execute development works at the zonal level. Earlier, there were two CAOs in Southern Railway at Chennai and Bangalore. Now, only a CAO in the AGM rank functions at the zonal level from Chennai Egmore.
The office of the CAO, Construction, in Bangalore, set up at the initiative of then Union Railway Minister Jaffer Sharief, came handy for improving the rail network in Karnataka.
When a separate South Western Railway was formed, it helped Karnataka in a big way. Similarly, in the North Frontier Railway, the post of General Manager (Construction) helped in executing projects for Rs.2,000 crore.
Sources said the plans and drawings of the rail projects in Kerala were done at Chennai and officials had to shuttle to Chennai often.

Shri Deepak Krishan, General Manager, Southern Railway hoisted the National Flag on the occasion of the Nation's 63rdRepublic Day at the Southern Railway New General Office, Chennai.He later inspected an impressive guard of honour put up by the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

Speaking on the occasion, the General Manager said that during the current year, Southern Railway had commissioned new lines between Nidamangalam – Mannargudi (14 km) and Nagore – Karaikal (11 km).Villupuram – Mundiyambakkam (6 km stretch of Chengalpattu – Villupuram Gauge conversion project) and Kayankulam – Cheppad – Haripad (13 km) doubling projects had also been completed and commissioned during the year.

This year, engine rolling has been done on...
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New lines like Namakkal – karur section of 36 km length along with Salem – Namakkal section and Walajah Road – Ranipet section of 6 km length, on Gauge Converted sections of Tirunelveli – Tenkasi of 72 km. length, Dindigul – Palani of 58 km length and Mayiladuthurai – Tiruvarur of 38 km. length & on sections where Doubling works had been done like Nethravathi – Mangalore of 4 km. length and Attipattu – Ennore of 7 km length. CRS inspections are planned shortly.

Further, engine rolling is also planned in the remaining months of the current financial year on the following sections:

ØPalani – Pollachi (62 km), Pollachi – Muthalamada (26 km).This will enable train services between Palani and Pollachi.
ØTiruchuli – Manamadurai (32 km) section of Virudhunagar – Manamaduraigauge conversion (64 km).This will enable direct train services between Virudhunagar and Manamadurai.
ØChengannur – Mavelikara (12 km) double line section is ready and will be commissioned shortly giving lot of relief to trains in Kerala.
ØChengalpattu – Ottivakkam (9 km), Melmaruvathur – Madurantakam (11 km), Perani – Vikravandi (7 km) sections are ready.Vikravandi – Mundiyambakkam section (6 km) will be ready by February.With the above, 40 km out of 103 km of Chengalpattu – Villupuram section would be doubled by March 2012 and the balance 63 km has will been planned for completion in 2012-13.

The year 2011-12 was declared as the ‘Year of Green Energy’ by Hon’ble Minister of Railways.Southern Railway has been able to achieve 4% electrical savings in non-traction purposes in spite of increase in connected load by 1%.

During the current financial year up to December 2011, the originating passengers in Southern Railway was 589.51 million, registering a growth of 42.75 million originating passengers over the corresponding period last year.This was possible by running over 6000 additional Express trains and 1600 passenger trains besides over 1100 special trains during this period.As a result, the Passenger Earnings during April – December 2011 had crossed Rs.2130 crores, registering 9.61% growth.

Punctuality performance of Mail/Express trains during the current financial year up to December 2011 improved to 93%.

The originating loading during the current financial year up to December 2011 was 28.41 million tonnes, registering an impressive growth of 10.77% over the corresponding period last year. With a longer lead in traffic as well as movement of high rated commodities, the originating freight earnings crossed Rs.1,390 crores, registering a phenomenal 15.66% growth over last year.It is a matter of pride that during this period, out of 16 zonal railways, Southern Raiway is one of the four zones to have achieved positive percentage variation in loading target set by Railway Board.

The earnings during the current financial year upto December 2011 is Rs.4075.94 crores, which is 18.52% more than the corresponding period of last year whereas the expenditure stands at Rs.3889.15 cr.
In order to enhance security in the Railways, a system of Integrated Security System which comprises CCTV, Access control, personal baggage scanning and explosive detection & disposal will be installed at 9 stations on this Railway.

Southern Railway is also taking all out efforts to fill up the safety category vacancies and shortly about 4000 persons will be recruited in Group ‘D’.We have also recruited 710 ex-servicemen against Group ‘D’ safety category.

Carriage Workshop, Perambur has been designated as the Metre gauge export hub in August 2011.So far, four DEMU shells have been rolled out to ICF.Carriage Works is also expecting an order of 414 metre gauge coaches for export to Bangaladesh at a cost of Rs.800 cr.Due to the efforts of Goldenrock Workshops, the first indigenous steam locomotive which was commissioned in the month of April 2011 is running successfully.The second locomotive is likely to roll out in February 2012.

To improve passenger satisfaction over supply of linen, an automatic mechanised laundry of 6 ton capacity has been commissioned at Basin Bridge Depot in October 2011.With this facility, the quality of linen will be substantially improved.

100% LED signals which provide better visibility have been provided between Chennai Beach - Tiruchchirappalli both via. main line and chord line and also between Chennai Beach - Jolarpattai, Chennai Basin Bridge - Gudur and Arakkonam – Renigunta, covering a total length of 980 km.