New Delhi: Faced with mounting deficit of over Rs 20,000 crore in the passenger segment, Railways is keen on raising passenger fares between 5-10 paise per km in the coming months to generate about Rs 4,000 crore revenue.

The hike could come close on the heels of Railways finalising the broader contours of the proposed Rail Tariff Authority (RTA), which would be placed before Cabinet in January.

"The passenger fares should be hiked by 5 paise to 10 paise per km in the Rail Budget (2013-14). The financial condition of Railways is not good. We need funds, otherwise Railways will not survive," Minister of State for...
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Railways KJ Surya Prakash Reddy told. The other Minister of State Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also advocated an urgent hike in fare.

"There is an urgent need for passenger hike as Railways' financial condition is bad." Railways has incurred a loss of Rs 22,000 crore in the passenger segment this year, an increase of deficit of Rs 4000 crore from the last year.

However, a senior railway official said, "A decision is yet to be taken whether to increase the passenger fare before the Rail Budget or announce it in the budget."

Asked about the quantum of possible hike, the official said, "It is likely to be between 10 per cent and 15 per cent," something which former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had proposed in the last Rail Budget.

Reviewing the performance of Railways, the Prime Minister's Office has asked the Chairman Railway Board to finalise and submit its recommendations on the constitution of proposed RTA by December 31. RTA is expected to suggest the quantum of hike in passenger fare and freight tariff.

"We are working on it (RTA)," said Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal when asked about the progress on RTA.
Taking note of the financial condition of the national transporter, Bansal had also hinted for a possible fare hike in near future while taking over Railway Ministry two months back.

Railways has earned Rs 67,879.95 crore till end of October as against the target of Rs 70,147.74 crore, 3.23 per cent less than the budgeted provision.

On passenger segment, Railways earned Rs 17,691.43 crore as against the target of Rs 18,196.46 crore, a decrease of 505.03 crore.

Earnings from goods have also witnessed a decline as the national transporter could earn Rs 46,805.48 crore as against the target of Rs 48,580.09 crore till October.

Keeping in view of the shortfall trend, the plan outlay for the current fiscal has been downgraded from Rs 60,100 crore to Rs 55,881 crore.

"There are so many pending projects which railways could not complete because of severe scarcity of funds. We also need funds for safety upgrading and improvement of passenger amenities," Reddy said.

Railways has 347 ongoing projects under new lines, gauge conversions and doubling having a throwforward of about Rs 1.47 lakh crore.

"If you want projects to complete then you need funds. So from where will the funds come? Reddy asked, adding, "People have expectations from the Railways."

Expressing concern over the deteriorating financial health of Railways, All-India Railwaymen's Federation General Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra said, "Railways should not wait for the Rail Budget to announce fare hike. It should be announced without much delay as its financial condition is worsening."

The passenger fares in general, sleeper and AC III classes have not been hiked for the last nine years. Though Railways had proposed 15 per cent passenger fare hike in the 2012-13 Rail Budget, it was rolled back with the resignation of Trivedi.

Kolkata, Dec 16 (IANS) A fake railways job racket was busted with the arrest of four people, including a woman, who used forged documents to cheat people, a railway official and police said here Sunday.
Several forged documents, including forms, appointment letters and identity cards, were recovered from the accused arrested Saturday.
"We have arrested four people who were involved in forging official documents and cheating people by luring them with promise of jobs in railways," Amar Kanti Sarkar, additional director general of police, railways, told IANS.
The accused demanded Rs.20,000 from job seekers for a posting in the railways, police said.
According to police, the accused cheated over 1,000 people, collecting nearly Rs.4.5...
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crore in the process.
"The government railway police Sealdah received several complaints by youths who were duped by the accused, following which raids were conducted and the accused arrested," added Sarkar.

Let the Railways come out with a proper business model after calculating the optimum return on investment spread over the whole year and Coal India is prepared to pay for the idle rakes. — S. NARSING RAO, CMD, COAL INDIA LTD
India’s coal reserve is huge and the state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) is the world’s largest coal producer. Yet, availability of coal has been a matter of concern these days. More than production it is the transportation and distribution of coal which is critical for the economy, says S. Narsing Rao, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of CIL, in an interview to the Business Line.
Rao, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (1986 batch, Andhra Pradesh cadre) has been tormented by two issues ever since he took over as the...
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CMD CIL in April this year — how to boost CIL’s production and , perhaps more important, how to step up despatches of the coal produced.
“There is no point going on producing unless we can ensure timely delivery of what we produce at the doorsteps of our customers”, Rao observes. “Holding huge pithead stocks is no fun”.
RAILWAY DESPATCHES
CIL was holding pithead stocks of 71 million tonnes (mt) when he took over. “Since April, we liquidated the stocks by 29 mt to 42 mt thanks to improved railway loading”. In past eight months, as he points out, railway despatches improved by 11.5 per cent to 145 mt as compared to 130 mt in the same period of the previous year. Last year, the railway despatches were up by a meagre three per cent or so.
“I’m in touch with the top brass of the Railway Board almost on a daily basis and the Prime Minister’s Office has constituted a high-power committee headed by the Railway Board Chairman to expedite coal movement,” he says.
But then he also concedes there are problems facing the Railways. In first two weeks of December, CIL’s pithead stocks increased by 1.5 mt to 43.5 mt. The railway despatches in first half of this fiscal were good, but not so any more. The average rake availability so far has been 176 per day, which, it is felt, should be at least 200 per day.
This being the busy season, the demands for rakes from various sectors virtually skyrocket. “Coal being the single-largest item of traffic of the Railways we can genuinely claim special favour, which is never granted”, he remarks. “No rail freight concession for transportation of coal.”
DEMAND MISMATCH
There is a mismatch in CIL’s rake demand in the first half and second half of every fiscal with demand dipping in the first and jumping in the second.
The coal production and, with it, the despatches suffer during the monsoon months. The mines would get flooded and there would be safety concerns. The coal rakes idle. “Let the Railways come out with a proper business model after calculating the optimum return on investment spread over the whole year and Coal India is prepared to pay for the idle rakes,” he makes it clear. “The Railways is a monopoly, so are we; where can we go unless we look after each other.”
POOR EXECUTION
Rao, however, is unsparing in his criticism of the Railways when it comes to implementation of three projects designed to facilitate coal transportation.
The projects are Tori-Shibpuri (93 km) under East Central Railway, Raigad-Mand (300 km) under South East Central Railway and Vasundhara mines-Jharsuguda (55 km) under South Eastern Railway.
“These three projects, each capable of handling 100 mt annually, if implemented, will not only benefit CIL, but will also boost the Railways’ earning substantially, by an estimated Rs 9000 to Rs 10,000 core annually,” he says, adding, “I use every possible forum to highlight the criticality of early implementation of these projects.”
Tori-Sibpuri project was conceptualised in 1999 with an estimated cost of less than Rs 400 crore, which has since shot up to an estimated Rs 2,000 crore.
The Raigad-Mand project will cost Rs 4,000 crore and the Vasundhara-Jharsuguda project another Rs 600-700 crore. “Except the Raigad-Mand project, which is being implemented by a JV between IRCON, South Central Coalfields Ltd and Chhattisgarh Government, the two other projects will be funded entirely by Coal India and in fact we’ve already provided Rs 150 crore each for the first and third projects but the pace of work leaves much to be desired.”
Even right now, as it is pointed out, an estimated 100 mt of production is locked up due to non-availability of railway connections — 40 mt under Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, another 40 mt in North Karanpura and 20 mt in Korba areas. “All the clearances are available for starting work in these places but we cannot as there are no rail links,” he says. “There have to be two kinds of links, one is arterial link with trunk routes and the other is siding and we pay for everything.”
RIGHT CHOICE
At present, the Railways accounts for the transportation of the bulk of CIL’s production, more than 50 per cent, followed by road, around 26-27 per cent, and MGR (Merry Go Round) accounts for the balance 20 per cent or so. The road movement is mainly for road bridging, that is, for carrying coal from pitheads to nearest railheads.
“Frankly, I want the road sector share to drop substantially due to various reasons such as environmental issue, safety concerns, pilferage and muscle flexing of the road lobby with the back up support of politicians and others,” he observes.
“Besides, it is a colossal national loss to burn a costlier fuel to carry a cheaper mineral but I’m helpless and I sincerely want the railway projects to come up fast.”
Rao does not think IWT (inland water transportation) mode could provide any worthwhile solution to burgeoning demand for coal transportation.
“IWT might be okay for handling a few million tonnes of imported coal but we’re talking about millions and millions of tonnes,” he observes. “The prospects of IWT mode for domestic coal movement do not appear too promising for another reason — none of our collieries is located close to any river system.”

VISAKHAPATNAM: Train fares might go up next year as an increase has become necessary to meet the financial situation of the Railways which was "not sound", minister of state for Railways Kotla Suryaprakasha Reddy said.
"It is necessary to increase the train fares as the financial position of the Railways is not sound. It is essential to raise the fares to take up developmental activities and provide amenities to commuters," he said.
Reddy was addressing a gathering after flagging off Visakhapatnam-Chennai and Visakhapatnam-Shirdi weekly express trains here yesterday.
He said commuters should appreciate this fact. Later, talking to reporters at Rajahmundry, Reddy said there was a proposal to increase the rail fares in the next railway budget.
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He also said Indian trains were the cheapest transport facility in the world and at the same time the number of mishaps on the tracks was very low.
Rs 25,000 crore worth railway projects were pending in Andhra Pradesh, he said, adding, it would take some time to clear them because of financial constraints.

Smt. Poonam Mittal, President, Railway Women’s Welfare Central Organisation (RWWCO) inaugurated the Sports Meet for the children of officers and staff working in Railway Board and the Public Sector Undertakings under the Ministry of Railways here today. Nearly 200 children in the age group of 7 to 15 years participated in the day long event. Shri Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board, who was the Chief Guest at the function, gave away the prizes to the winning children. Around 60 children bagged various prizes in a total of 18 sports events for boys and girls.
In his address, Shri Vinay Mittal, apart from congratulating the winners, complimented the children and their parents for their inspired efforts. He particularly hailed the activities of RWWCO, aimed at welfare of railwaymen and their families in general and women and children in particular. Shri Mittal said...
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that children are the future of the nation and their participation in constructive activities needs to be encouraged. He pointed out that it is necessary for the children to put in their best and do sincere hard work to achieve their goals which will definitely result in the success. The chairman Railway Board also announced an award of Rs. 1 Lakh to RWWCO on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Poonam Mittal elaborated RWWCO’s objective of holding the sports meet that is not only to encourage sporting talent of the children but also to bring their parents and other family members at one place so that they could interact with each other and develop a feeling of belonging to one single rail fraternity. She said that while the primary concern of the RWWCO is the welfare of Railway employees and their families, it has also risen to the call of the society and the nation – be it environmental awareness, family welfare drives, disturbances on the borders or the natural calamities. With a very modest start 48 years ago, RWWCO today has gained importance as one of the foremost voluntary organisations functioning in the country. She said that Indian Railways has given many players who brought laurels to the nation. She hoped that the children of railway person’s will continue to work hard so as to excel in sports and games.
The programmed was also attended by Members of Railway Board, officers of , Northern Railway and Delhi Division, Managing Directors of Railway PSUs and senior railway officers and their family members.

भोपाल | सुप्रसिद्ध उद्योगपति एवं जेपी एसोसिएट्स के कार्यपालन अध्यक्ष राजीव गौर की आज सुबह सागर जिले के मंडी बामोरा स्टेशन से भोपाल की ओर लगभग दस किलोमीटर दूर कुल्हार स्टेशन के निकट दक्षिण एक्सप्रेस के टू टियर वातानुकूलित शयनयान से गिरकर मौत हो गई।पुलिस सूत्रों के अनुसार किसी काम के सिलसिले में मंडी बामोरा गए राजीव गौर आज सुबह लगभग साढे आठ बजे भोपाल आने के लिए दक्षिण एक्सप्रेस के एसी टू टियर डिब्बे में चढे, तभी ट्रेन चल दी। डिब्बे का दरवाजा अंदर से बंद था।
उन्होंने दरवाजा खुलवाने के प्रयत्न किए होंगे, लेकिन उनकी आवाज किसी ने नहीं सुनी। इसी बीच ट्रेन ने रफ्तार पकड ली और लगभग दस किलोमीटर तक डिब्बे के दरवाजे पर लटके राजीव का हाथ अगले स्टेशन कुल्हार से पहले छूट गया तथा नीचे गिरकर उनकी घटनास्थल पर ही मृत्यु हो गई।सूत्रों ने बताया...
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कि उनका शव भोपाल लाने का प्रयास किया जा रहा है, ताकि यहां उसका पोस्टमार्टम किया जा सके। इस दुर्घटना की सूचना मिलते ही सागर रेंज के पुलिस महानिरीक्षक पंकज श्रीवास्तव एवं सागर जिला पुलिस अधीक्षक अभय सिंह घटनास्थल के लिए रवाना हो गये।

BHOPAL: In a tragic rail mishap Executive President of a leading construction company Jaiprakash AssociatesBSE -1.31 % died near here today, police said.
Rajiv Gaur was trying to board the II AC coach of the Dakshin Express train at Mandi Bamora station but its door was closed.
By the time he realised that he would not be able to get in, the train had started running at a high speed and he clung on to the door, they said.
Though Gaur must have tried to get open the door but no one inside the compartment heard his voice, police said
His hands probably slipped and he fell down near Kulhar...
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station and died on the spot, they added.

Unwilling to wait till Delhi Metro’s Phase-III is completed, the Centre wants construction work on “some sections” of the Phase-IV project to start immediately once the detailed project report is completed.

Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath also said Delhi’s Airport Metro Express might start functioning again by the end of this month or early next year as an inspection by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety is expected by then. Addressing the valedictory session of the 5th Urban Mobility Conference 2012, he said the detailed project report of the Phase-IV of Delhi Metro will be completed soon and that the ministry intends to start work on “some sections”. “Not completely, but we would start work on some sections through which we can connect the existing Phase I and II...
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and also the Phase-III which is being built. When Phase-IV is fully completed, Delhi will have 440 km of metro network which will be bigger than the London underground,” he said. The minister also batted for monorail saying it will function as a “good feeder to unviable metro projects” by supplementing Metro in certain routes. He also talked about delegation of more powers to state government in Metro construction and building up of human capacity to run such systems in the country.

ALLAHABAD: To prevent fire accidents on trains, the North Central Railway has launched a helpline number where passengers can give information about any inflammable material on board trains.
The helpline number -- 9794835916 - is that of the Headquarters Security Control of NCR. The passengers can also send their complaints or information through SMS on this number.
NCR chief public relations officer Sandeep Mathur said this would help in minimising fire mishaps on trains. He said NCR is also spreading awareness about this number through stickers and pamphlets.
The service has been started at the behest of Railway Board chairman who had directed for a mobile phone number which can be assessed by passengers or railway staff through call/SMS to convey information regarding...
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inflammable articles on board trains.
Railways has been concerned about the incidents involving fire in coaches which have led to loss of human lives. Inquiries have revealed that such incidents have been caused due to illegal carriage of inflammable articles by some passengers, and can be prevented to a large extent if railways gets timely information.
In this connection, Railway Board has decided that there should a provision of a mobile number in each zone which can be accessed through call/SMS by co-passengers/ railway staff to facilitate checks by GRP at the next/closest en route station.
The communication system introduced should enable conveying of such information simultaneously to the divisions/zone control officer, chief safety officer for prompt action.

Washington: India's famed Maharajas' Express is making select stops on the US West Coast to showcase its luxurious amenities to North American travellers who want to experience Incredible India by stepping back into time.
The Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which owns and operates the luxury train is hosting special events in Los Angeles (Nov 26), San Francisco (Nov 30), and Las Vegas to showcase Maharajas' Express, according to a media release.
Awarded 'Best Luxury Train' by CNBC Travel in 2010 and named 1st runner up in the Readers Choice Award for Conde Nast Traveler in 2011, the train offers a range of five incredible itineraries between the months of September and April.
"The train is designed to transport guests into...
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a more gracious age of train travelling," said Rakesh Kumar Tandon, managing director, IRCTC.
"Interiors suffused with nostalgia, state-of-the-art amenities, a tastefully-crafted itinerary, and impeccable hospitality enable Maharajas' Express to present India in a way never seen before."
Each train carries 14 guest carriages, including one truly classic presidential suite that stretches the length of an entire carriage. Every cabin has large windows, designed so that guests can savour every bit of magnificent India.
All passenger cars come with independent, cabin-controlled air conditioning, online water filtration systems, environmentally-friendly toilets, pneumatic suspension, live television, Wi-Fi Internet, CCTV cameras, hair dryers, electronic safe deposit boxes, bath tubs in suites and the presidential suite - almost everything one could imagine to travel in luxury.
The Maharajas' Express features two fine-dining restaurants that each seat 42 people, and everyone on board dines together. For added zest, there is an exotic Safari bar and Rajah Club, with the choicest collection of complimentary, house brand spirits. Each train comfortably fits a total of 88 passengers.

CAIRO: Forty-nine people, mostly children, were killed when a train slammed into a schoolbus as it crossed tracks in a city south of Cairo on Saturday , state media and officials said.
All but two of the dead were children, aged around four to eight, said a senior security official in Assiut, near the site. One woman and a man, probably the bus driver, also died, he added.
The bus was broken in half by the force of the crash, pictures run by an Egyptian newspaper, showed. Blood was spattered on the front of the engine and school bags and text books, some bloodstained , were scattered.
Transport minister Mohamed Rashad submitted his resignation after the accident , an offer...
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which President Mohamed Morsi was considering, state media said. Egypt's roads and railways have a poor safety record and Egyptians have long complained successive governments have failed to enforce even basic safeguards, leading to a string of deadly crashes. State television said that as well as 49 dead, 18 people were injured.
"They told us the barriers were open when the bus crossed the tracks and the train collided with it," said Mohamed Samir, a doctor at Assiut hospital where the injured were taken, citing witnesses.
Assiut governor Yahya Keshk also said the railway crossing was open when the train hit the bus. "The crossing worker was asleep. He has been detained," he said. The doctor said the bodies of many of those killed were severely mutilated, indicating the force of the crash, which took place in the city of Manfalut, near Assiut, about 300 km south of the capital.
"I saw the train collide with the bus and push it about 1 km along the track," said Ahmed Youssef, a driver.
Another witness also said the train hit the bus with great force, smashing up the bodies. Officials said the level of mutilation made it difficult to count and identify the bodies.

With the twin objectives of easing rush and facilitating hassle-free boarding at New Delhi station, Railways is actively considering to make an additional entry point to the station for passengers.
Named as Premier Access, passengers will have to pay a fee to avail the facility for entering the platform using a separate gate at the New Delhi station.
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, while inspecting the station on Friday, had instructed the Delhi division of Northern Railway to explore the Premier Access system to ease out the passenger rush at the main entrance of the station.
"After the instruction of Railway Minister, we are exploring to make State Entry Road entrance available for passengers at the Pahargunj side of the station. Similar arrangement...
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of separate gate at Ajmeri side is also being explored," a senior Northern Railway official said.
New Delhi station handles over 300 trains and approximately 5.5 lakh passengers each day.
"The footfalls at the station increased to about 7.5 lakh this festive season," the official said, adding that the Premium Access system will help in easing out the load at the entrance to some extent. The fee amount has not yet been decided.
The official said an executive lounge, first-of-its-kind for Railways, will be operational from next month at the New Delhi station.
The executive lounge will have facilities like seating arrangement, food and beverage, books and magazines, wheel chairs for senior citizens and the handicapped. It will also have Wi-Fi facility, business centre with fax, laptop facility, locker facility and wash room.
"The construction of lounge at 300 sq m area at platform 16 of New Delhi station is complete now and we are ready to open it next month. One needs to pay Rs 300 to avail the executive lounge for three hours," the official said.
The IRCTC, a subsidiary of Railways, will be managing the executive lounge. There will be trained staff at the lounge to assist passengers.
From receiving passengers to arranging porters for carrying their luggage and helping them board the coaches safely, rail volunteers of the executive lounge will be available to serve on payment, the official said.
Besides New Delhi, the executive lounges will also come at other major stations like Howrah, Mumbai, Bangalore, Agra and Chennai to provide value added service to passengers.

CHANDIGARH: As Union railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal got off the train at the Chandigarh station on Saturday morning, many hopes were pinned on him announcing a festival package for the City Beautiful. And the minister, who is the local MP, did not disappoint. A day after TOI highlighted the glaring problems at the railway station, Bansal directed officials of Ambala railway division to maintain the place and construct more parking lots.
Bansal met the officials at the railway station as he arrived from Delhi and asked them to increase the parking capacity and beautify the place. He also ordered to start work on installing accelerator connecting platforms immediately. The minister told TOI that the upkeep of the station, its beautification and provision of more parking were prominent concerns. Ambala's divisional railway manager P K Sangi said, "We have identified land...
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at the left and right sides of the building for constructing parking lots. Beautification will be taken up simultaneously."
The DRM inspected the station along with other railway officials after Bansala's departure and directed the officers concerned to improve the sanitation and other facilities.

BHOPAL: A man from Maharashtra was nabbed at the Bhopal railway station on Saturday for carrying fire crackers in contravention to the railway rules.
On Saturday, a flying squad of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) caught Pradeep Chaudhary, 23, for carrying firecrackers of around Rs 800. The man was charged under the Section 164 of Railway Act, 1989.
Carrying inflammable materials or objects like fireworks, explosives, crackers, gas cylinders, petrol and kerosene in trains is a punishable offence. The offender may get a three-year jail term or be fined Rs 1,000 or both under Section 164 of Railway Act, 1989. Besides, a compounding fee of Rs 500 can be imposed under the Section 165.
The man has been booked at RPF Post, Jabalpur.
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The three divisions of West Central Railway (WCR) have constituted flying squads for checking inflammable materials and objects like fireworks due to the upcoming festival of Diwali. Dog squads are also assisting the flying squads in the exercise.
The squads are operational from November 7. Three persons have been booked in various passengers trains like Jabalpur - Itarsi passenger train and Katni - Satna passenger train for carrying fireworks. Twice, around 30 kg of fireworks were seized while once around 20 packets were seized.

Northern Railway to run Tri-Weekly Deepawali Festival Special Train between CHANDIGARH- VARANASI
Northern Railway has announed to run a Tri- Weekly Festival special train no. 04504/04503 Chandigarh- Varanasi- Chandigarh Tri- Weekly special train as per the following programme:-
The 04504 Chandigarh- Varanasi Tri- Weekly special train will depart from Chandigarh on every Monday, Thursday & Saturday from 05.11.2012 to 01.12.2012 (12 trips) at 11.15 p.m. to reach Varanasi at 05.30 p.m. the next day. In the return direction, 04503 Varanasi- Chandigarh Tri- Weekly special train will depart from Varanasi on every Tuesday, Friday & Sunday from 06.11.2012 to 02.12.2012 (12 trips) at 09.10 p.m. to reach Chandigarh at 02.30 p.m. the next day.
Comprising of One AC III Tier, Six Sleeper Class, Nine...
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General Class & Two Second class cum luggage van coaches, the 04504/04503 Chandigarh- Varanasi- Chandigarh Tri- Weekly special train will stop at Ambala Cantt., Jagadhari, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Lucknow & Sultanpur stations enroute in both directions.

KOLKATA: To clear the rush of passengers during Diwali, Chhat and other festivals, Eastern Railway will run 124 trips of special trains in November to popular destinations across the country. In addition to this, extra coaches will be attached to regular trains moving towards popular destinations. Special care is being taken to ensure that these trains as well as regular ones run smoothly and passengers do not suffer due to congestion along the routes.
"Eastern Railway also ran 119 trips of special trains in October to clear the extra rush of passengers during Durga Puja and Navaratri. This created thousands of additional berths and seats to facilitate a very large number of additional passengers. Many people need to travel during the festive season. While some are tourists, others return home from their places of work.
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Other modes of travel like air and road get expensive during these seasons. This year, to mitigate the problems faced by people, Indian Railways decided to run as many special trains as possible. While doing so, the railways were fully aware of the impact that such a decision may have, particularly on popular destinations and routes which are already choked due to heavy congestion. All efforts are being made to monitor the running of these trains," an ER official said.

RANCHI: If you are hoping for a comfortable, if not luxurious, journey on Rajdhani Express, don't be disappointed if you get half-cooked rice, cold tea or bland soup. You can also be bullied by some rogue railway staffer.
Passengers of Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express have many such harrowing experiences to narrate. Many people, most of them frequent travellers, have found the quality of food to be sub-standard and sanitation appalling. But complaints usually fall on deaf ears.
Recently, when passengers of Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani Express No. 12439 wanted to report low quality of services on the train, attendants refused to put it on records and told them there was no complaint book available.
Piyush Poddar, a city-based businessman who had recently travelled on a Delhi-bound...
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train, said, "I was served cold tea and when I asked for a fresh cup of the beverage, the attendants flatly refused." He had similar experiences on his way back to Ranchi.
Many among Poddar's co-passengers also have tales to tell. Most of them complained about lack of hygiene. "Bed-sheets were dirty, the soup was cold and the ice-cream had already melted. It was really bad," said Ashok Kumar Singh, a senior official at Heavy Engineering Corporation here. Singh was on the same train with Poddar from Delhi.
According to Ashok Nagpal, another Rajdhani passenger, things have always been bad and are getting worse.
To add insult to injury, attendants on board handle situations roughly and often pick up fights with passengers when they try to complain.
Riled by such brawling attendants, Binod Kumar De wanted to bring the issue to higher authorities' notice. But he was refused an official complaint. "I wanted to complain in writing. When I asked the attendants for the complaint book they said there was none," De told TOI.
Even after a ruckus, no higher official took charge of the situation. Even the pantry car manager did not show up, complained another passenger.
DRM G Malaya, when informed, said the catering has been outsourced to the Indian Railway Catering and Travel Corporation (IRCTC).
"I am not saying complaints are untrue. I will make inquiries," said Malaya.
Sources, however, said IRCTC gets its supply of food from agencies.

ALLAHABAD: Railway revenue earnings registered an increase of about 19.72 per cent during April- October 2012. The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during April 1 to October 31, 2012 were Rs. 68,671.58 crore compared to Rs. 5,7359.88 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 19.72 per cent.
The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs. 38,090.19 crore during April 1 to October 31 in 2011 to Rs 47386.64 crore during April 1 to October 31, 2012 registering an increase of 24.41 per cent.
The total passenger revenue earnings during April 1 to October 31 2012 were Rs 18,017.12 crore compared to Rs 16,305.84 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 10.49 per cent.
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The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs 1,783.27 crore during April-October 2012 compared to Rs 1,619.68 crore during the same period last year, an increase of 10.10 per cent.
The total approximate number of passengers booked during April 1 to October 31 was 5002.49 million compared to 4817.02 million in the corresponding period last year, showing an increase of 3.85 per cent. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during April-October 2012 was 2600.52 million and 2401.97 million compared to 2,518 million and 2,056.95 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 3.84 per cent and 4.52 per cent, respectively.

BEGUSARAI: As many as 12 people were injured on Wednesday when a coach of Danapur-Jainagar Intercity Express derailed near Bachhwara railway station in Bihar's Begusarai district, official sources said.
An SLR coach of 13226 UP Danapur-Jainagar Intercity Express derailed due to mechanical problems and rammed into an electric post, the sources said.
The driver applied brakes all of a sudden to bring the train to a grinding halt, they said, adding that 12 people, including the guard, sustained injuries even as several passengers jumped off the coach.
Bachhwara station manager, Sudhir Rai, and the in-charge of Railway Protection Force's (RPF) nearby outpost, Ramji Yadav, rushed to the spot and took the injured to a hospital for treatment, the sources said....
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Train services have been disrupted due to the incident, they said, adding that efforts were on to remove the coach from the track to normalise the situation.

HYDERABAD: After dilly-dallying for years, defence authorities have agreed to hand over an acre of land belonging to the Secunderabad Club to the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited for a metro station and circulation area.
The 'Board of Officials' (BoF), which has representation from Army, Defence Estates Office, Military Engineering Services (MES) and headed by the Andhra Sub-Area Commandant, met recently and discussed the proposal sent by the L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail to the local Defence Estates Office (DEO) seeking three-acre land, including one-acre club land, for the right of way and construction of a metro rail station and circulation area.
The HMRL needs three-acre land, including an acre belonging to the Secunderabad Club and remaining two acres between Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) and YMCA X Roads, for its corridor-II ....
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HMR had submitted drawings pertaining to the right of way, metro station and circulation area to DEO authorities in 2010. "The Board has taken a decision to hand over three-acre land. A resolution to this effect was also passed unanimously at the Board meeting," Defence Estates Officer, AP Circle, A V Dharma Reddy told TOI. However, the Board put up a rider saying that until the state government allots land in lieu of defence land no permission would be given to conduct soil tests on the defence land. Though the government has allotted around 25-acre land in Rangareddy district , it has not yet issued the necessary orders, he said.
"For ratification, we will send the resolution to allot defence land for metro rail to Ministry of Defence (MoD). Once, we receive the GO then the file will be sent to Delhi for granting the land to the state government," official replied.