Emergency rescue team of Railway Department responded after receiving information about an Udaipur-Ahmedabad bound passenger train hit an auto rickshaw injuring eight people.
The accident took place when the rickshaw was crossing a man less Railway Crossing between Umerda and Kharvachanda villages (12km from Udaipur). The information was later revealed as a mock drill to check the efficiency of all the departments of Railways under emergency situations. Harphool Singh Choudhary, officer in Railways said that the department got the information at 9:10 in the morning today.
Various teams led by Harphool Singh Choudhary, Sohanchand Verma (Traffic Inspector) and Gopal Singh Yadav (DCMI) rushed to the scene. Teams of GRP, RPF, Police, Regional officers and Railway Ambulance also reached the spot.
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“Our department is always prepared to respond such mishaps for medical aid and other processes to rescue the victims”, said Harphool Singh.
The mock drill was conducted under the directions of the senior officer D.K. Murari.

Date: 23.05.2013
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TEMPORARY AUGMENTATION OF SULTANPUR EXPRESS AND SADBHAVNA EXPRES TRAINS
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‍For the convenience of the rail passengers and to increase the passenger carrying capacity of Trains, Northern Railway has decided to augment the 14014/14013 Delhi Jn- SultanpurJn- Delhi Jn, Sultanpur Express and 14018/14017 Delhi Jn-Muzaffarpur-Delhi Jn Sadbhavna Express Trains o­n temporary basis as per the under-mentioned programme:

The 14014/14013 DelhiJn- SultanpurJn- Delhi Jn Express Train...
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will be augmented by o­ne Additional sleeper class Coach from 25.05.2013 to 29.06.2013 when departing from DelhiJn & from 26.05.2013 to 30.06.2013 when departing from SultanpurJn. The other features like timings, route, stoppages, composition etc. will remain as unchanged.

The 14018/14017 Delhi Jn-Muzaffarpur-Delhi Jn, Sadbhavna Express Train will be augmented by o­ne Additional sleeper class Coach from 29.05.2013 to 26.06.2013 when departing from Delhi Jn & from 31.05.2013 to 28.06.2013 when departing from Muzaffarpur Jn. The other features like timings, route, stoppages, composition etc. will remain as unchanged.

Preeti Rathi, the 25-year-old woman who fell victim to an acid attack at the Bandra railway station in Mumbai, is said to be in critical condition after one of her lungs collapsed.
Doctors at Bombay Hospital, where Rathi is being treated at, said on Wednesday that her condition has worsened ever since the attack on 2 May.
"The acid had entered her oesophagus, wind pipe and trachea. Her right lung has collapsed, while there is a hole in her left lung and it is only partially functional. We have put her on a machine that is supporting her lung functions," Dr Ashok Gupta at told The Times of India,
Rathi is presently receiving cardiac and respiratory support through Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a...
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technique used in extreme conditions where medicines and ventilators fail to respond.
She was shifted from Masina Hospital to Bombay Hospital on Wednesday as her health was rapidly deteriorating.
An enraged Roshni, the victim's mother, told Indian Express, "She has been in hospital for 20 days but her condition is worsening. Doctors there only treated her external wounds and did not concentrate on internal wounds, which are quite serious. She has been running fever for several days and also contracted a chest infection. The authorities (at Masina Hospital) should have told us they do not have facilities to treat her further."
Doctors said her fragile condition allowed no scope of operation at the moment, adding that keeping her alive was their main priority.
Meanwhile, her family has accused the Government Railway Police (GRP) of being incapable of handling the case as there has been no valid lead even after three weeks of the brutal acid attack.
The family alleges that the officials have nabbed a wrong person and there has been laxity on their part.
Rathi's father has requested Maharahtra Home minister RR Patil to take the case away from the GRP. "We want it to be handed over to either the state Crime Investigation Department of Central Bureau of Investigation as the GRP are not investigating it properly," he told IANS.
Rathi, a Delhi resident, received major burn injuries after an unidentified youth threw acid on her face. She had come down to Mumbai to join the Army Hospital as a nurse.

Darjeeling (West Bengal), May 22 (ANI): Tourists, both domestic and foreign, are making a beeline for Darjeeling, to escape the scorching heat of the plains.
Darjeeling, located in the Lesser Himalayas, with its varied landscape and spectacular beauty, has been a favorite and affordable destination not only for locals, but also for people across the globe.
Tourists seemed to enjoy the cool weather while taking photographs of the hilly terrain.
Raj Basu, a local tour operator and member of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), said: "We are very enthusiastic about Darjeeling, the reason being, in the past two years, with the peace coming back in Darjeeling, what has happened is that the number of tourists has increased not only in...
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the town of Darjeeling, but across the villages around Darjeeling. The Darjeeling Hills are full of foreign and Indian tourists."
The main attraction of the valley is the famous Toy Train, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and runs between Siliguri and Darjeeling.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) Toy Train was launched in 1896 by the then British Lieutenant Governor Ashley Eden, offering riders an opportunity to enjoy the majestic beauty of nature along the picturesque hills. In its initial years, this railway was named as the Darjeeling steam Tramway Company.
Tourists have also been enthralled by the beauty of famous tea gardens of the hilly town.
"It's very good. We have been here for one day and we are going to stay for couple of days it's very beautiful. We are just having a look around the town at this moment," said Thomas, an Australian tourist.
The state has 183 established tea gardens belonging to British era, besides over 500 tea gardens planted in recent years.
The tea industry in West Bengal forms the backbone of the state's economy. It contributes 21 percent of the total production of tea in India.
Tea from the gardens in Darjeeling is famous world over for their finest blends.
Tourism in Darjeeling, which accounts for substantial revenues for the state tourism industry, has been badly hit since 2008 when the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) revived a violent stir in support of forming a separate state of Gorkhaland but now it has gained momentum after peace prevailed in the hill town. (ANI)

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has ordered an inquiry into the accounts and regulatory filings of about 100 companies alleged to be linked to family members of former Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Mr. Bansal had to resign earlier this month as Union Railway Minister, after his nephew and a few other persons were arrested by the CBI in a case involving alleged payment of bribe for fixing a top-level Railway Board position.
As the CBI probe continues into the matter, the MCA has asked the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to conduct a scrutiny of the accounts and other regulatory filings of more than 100 firms, against whom complaints have been received, linking them with Mr. Bansal and his family members, Ministry sources said.
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The scrutiny follows complaints filed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya and a few others, wherein it has been alleged that these companies had close links with Mr. Bansal and his family.
Mr. Somaiya has also submitted some documents to the CBI about financial and other details of the companies linked to Mr. Bansal’s family.
Mr. Bansal has denied any wrongdoings in the entire matter and has also distanced himself from his nephew V. Singla and his business dealings. A day after Mr. Singla’s arrest on May 3, Mr. Bansal said he had no business links with his nephew and also sought an expeditious CBI inquiry into the issue.
However, he had to resign as Railway Minister within days on May 10.
Besides Mr. Singla, others arrested by the CBI included Mahesh Kumar, who was recently promoted as Member (Staff) of the Railway Board and was allegedly trying to get the lucrative position of Member (Electrical).
Mr. Singla was arrested in Chandigarh for allegedly accepting Rs. 90 lakh as bribe in cash from a conduit of Mahesh Kumar.
The money is said to be part of a total bribe amount of Rs 10 crore allegedly promised for lateral shifting of Mr. Kumar in the Railway Board.
Keywords: Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Pawan Kumar Bansal. railway board bribery case, BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, Vijay Singla

Train accidents on suburban Mumbai local routes has claimed 23,473 lives in the past 11 years, information sought under the RTI has revealed.
"As per information given by Central Railway, in the last 11 years (till 2012) a total of 23,473 people lost their lives in various train accidents on suburban Mumbai routes," RTI activist and president of Thane+district" target="_blank">Thane District Railway Passengers Association, Om Prakash Sharma, who sought this information from Central Railway, told reporters here today.
"Out of the total number of victims, 14,554 were killed while they were crossing the tracks," Sharma said.
The Mumbai Central Railway suburban locals run on various routes between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Karjat, Kasara, Panvel, among others.
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Sharma said that 4,561 commuters died after they fell from speeding trains; 253 died after being hit by poles located along the tracks, while 90 people died by falling in the gap between the train and the platform.
The death toll on account of other accidents involving the local trains was 4,015, he added.
The number of persons injured in the suburban train accidents during this period was 11,981, he said
According to him, the information also revealed that 2,536 people died on the Western Railway's suburban route between Churchgate and Virar in 2009-2012.
"Almost 70 per cent of those injured in the train accidents succumb to injuries later. The deaths and injuries on the Mumbai suburban routes is a matter of concern and we have urged the railway authorities to take corrective steps in this regard," Sharma said, adding that many times it is the mistake of people, who despite appeals, cross the tracks.

Poor quality of CCTV footage seems to have hurt investigations into the incident of miscreants throwing chilli powder mixed with colour on commuters of a running train, leading to death of three of them a day prior to Holi. The probe has hit a dead-end, sources said.
On March 25, Holi eve, eight commuters had fallen off the train after chilli powder mixed with colour were thrown at them making them lose their balance. One commuter had died on the spot and two succumbed to injuries later.
The miscreants were travelling in another train moving in the opposite direction. Police scanned CCTV footage and zeroed in on two suspects carrying yellow colour but sources said investigators are unable to identify them as their faces are not clear.
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CCTV footage obtained from Sion show two persons carrying a yellow coloured substance but sources said the investigators are helpless because the image of the suspects are blurred.
When contacted, Shivaji Dhumal, senior police inspector, Kurla GRP, said, "We have seen footage from Kalyan to Sion station. Two persons are seen carrying yellow coloured substance. Their faces cannot be seen clearly." He added that investigation was still on and police are trying to track the two.
A source said not only is the footage grainy, the cameras do not cover enough of the station area for police to trace where the two suspects are heading.
Police, it is learnt, have scanned footage from over 100 cameras to track the miscreants.
According to a source, no commuter has come forward to give any information about the suspects, which has made police suspect that the incident could have been accidental.
About the CCTV not covering the whole expanse of the station, Mukesh Nigam, Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway, said, "It is difficult to cover every corner as stations have a vast expanse."
When asked about the quality of cameras, the officer said technology is rapidly progressing, but given the constraints, a government enterprise cannot constantly upgrade technology.

Almost two years since it first became operational, the 6.7-km Reach-1 of Namma Metro continues to see trains move at a designated speed, much slower than what BMRCL wants.
This is despite the Corporation having been assured that it will be allowed to operate at a speed of 75 kmph after three months of operation.
Reach-1 was inaugurated in October 2011, but trains are operated at 67.5 kmph on straight lines, 45 kmph while entering the stations and 35 kmph at the curves on the stretch.
In June 2011, the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) had conducted oscillation trials at a maximum speed of 85 kmph, but had reduced the speed at which the BMRCL can commercially operate the trains.
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“Although the results were satisfactory, the maximum speed of the Rolling Stock was arbitrarily fixed at 55 kmph in July 2011.
Extended trials
“Upon strong representation, RDSO deputed a testing team to Bangalore for extended trials on priority for two days, along with long confirmatory runs, at a maximum speed of 85 kmph,” a senior BMRCL official said.
Based on the fresh trials, the RDSO, vide a letter dated August 12, 2011, certified the maximum speed of 75 kmph applying mainline railway criteria, but later reduced even this to 65 kmph, owing it to certain issues with the Schedule of Dimensions (SOD).
BMRCL spokesperson B L Y Chavan said:“We have made representations with the Indian Railways and we are hopeful that the speeds will be revised.”
Howeve­r, representations in the past have not been fruitful. In one such communication, BMRCL, vide a letter dated May 8, 2012, sent a consolidated report on operation of Metro services after satisfactory completion of six months of revenue services with the request to permit maximum speed of 75 kmph as certified by RDSO.
A year after that, the BMRCL still operates the trains at the same speeds, with no clearance coming its way to operate at the desired 75 kmph.
The Corporation is now readying itself for oscillation trials on Reach 3 and 3-A (Swastik to Peenya), and sources said that the speed limit on this reach would depend on the fresh findings of RDSO during the trials.
Even this stretch has a few SOD clearances awaited by BMRCL.

A businessman from Mumbai was allegedly drugged and robbed of his belongings last week when he was returning to the city from Howrah in Gyaneshwari Express.
The victim, Satish Kumar Saraf, 34, alleged that a conman, who befriended him during the journey, fled with his diamond ring, laptop, Rs10,000 cash, two mobile phones, passport, two debit cards, three credit cards, pan card and driving licence. Saraf said the culprit offered him tea mixed with sleeping pills.
After fleeing with Saraf’s belongings, the conman allegedly shopped and purchased gold ornaments worth Rs1.97 lakh from two jewellers at Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
Narrating the incident, Saraf, who trades textile yarn, said, “I boarded the third AC coach of Gyaneshwari Express on May 13. I...
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had to share my berth with another man. During the journey, we got friendly. At 9am the next day, when the train reached Bilaspur, he bought me tea. Upon drinking it I felt giddy and went to sleep. After a few hours, four policemen approached me and asked me to get down from the train so that they could take me to a hospital. But I refused and went to sleep.”
“On May 15, around 4.45am, the train reached Kalyan and my brother Sandeep came to receive me. On seeing my condition, he approached the GRP station. The officials got me admitted to Kalyan railway hospital and then recorded my statement,” said Saraf, who lodged a complaint of theft against the conman. He said that he also immediately approached the banks to block his credit and debit cards. That’s when he found out that the conman had already used the cards for buying jewellery.
“We registered a case under sections 328 (causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit offence) and 379 (theft) of the IPC on May 15 and forwarded the case to the Bilaspur GRP station where the incident took place,” said an officer of the Kalyan GRP station.
“I have been contacting several police officers at Raipur and Ballarpur for the past five days asking for an update on my case. But, so far, I haven’t got any feedback,” alleged Saraf.

A petition was filed on Wednesday in the Kerala High Court seeking a directive to the Kochi Metro Rail Corporation to extend the rail to Tripunithura.
The petition was filed by A.B. Babu. The extension of the rail from Pettah to Tripunithura would benefit the corporation, Mr. Babu claimed.
The land acquired at Pettah would not be able to accommodate facilities such as a metro station-cum-commercial complex, parking area for commuters and loco-service station.
The acquisition would lead to the eviction of a large number of families and vendors. If the rail was extended to Tripunithura eviction of families could be avoided, he said.
The petitioner said 10 acres of unused land of SAIL...
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at Tripunithura could be used to build a metro station and set up other facilities.
The terminal point could also be set up on paddy fields near the Tripunithura railway station. Authorities were yet to conduct a study in this regard, he said.
The petitioner said extending the metro rail in the first phase itself would ensure the economic viability of the project. All commuters using the metro rail would benefit if the service terminated at Tripunithura.
The proposed extension would be an added advantage as the terminal point would be a meeting point of the metro rail, the Tripunithura railway station and the proposed municipal bus terminal in the area, he said.

KOLKATA/MALDA: Shiekh Hamid and his friends wait with bated breath as the Delhi-bound Farakka Express chugs into Malda station. The train is their passport to a new life - away from Bengal. Away from the gloom and despair in their village. As they jostle to squeeze into the already crowded coach, a few turn around for a last glance at what they are leaving behind... home, hearth, family.
It's a scene played out on hundreds of railway stations across Bengal. The mass of sweaty, sun-burnt men packing into the third-class is no different from the well-groomed, ambitious students, MBAs and engineers who take the air-conditioned class out of Bengal.
The one thing common about the two classes of migrants is that they tell the same tragic story. Of how what was once...
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the promised land has turned into the forsaken one. There was a time, not too long ago, when all roads led to Kolkata - students, industrialists and businessmen and coolies, rickshawpullers and priests alike flocked to the city from far-off states. Now, it seems all roads lead out of Kolkata.
The exodus began during the Left Front regime and continues unabated even as the Mamata Banerjee government celebrates its second anniversary, belying the claims of the Keynesian money-multiplier effect that governments flaunt in each Budget.
Earlier, migrant labourers would talk of Delhi, Haryana, Mumbai, Punjab and Rajasthan. Now, Shiekh Hamid and his friends from Nagharia village are willing to head out just about anywhere - Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and even Bhutan. It's an indicator of how far Bengal has fallen behind. The educated are eyeing even upcoming Tier-II cities which are the focus of investment. "There is nothing happening here. No agriculture, no industry. Everything seems stagnant. I have got a cushy banking job in Mumbai and have no plans to come back," says Jadavpur University alumnus Maitreyi Chatterjee as she bids her mother 'bye.
The despair is palpable among the young and the restless. A Presidency, JU or a St Xavier's isn't enough to accommodate the huge number of go-getter pass-outs, who want everything in life and they want it now. Many of them would be quite happy to get it closer home, but Kolkata hasn't been a happening place for quite some time. Bengal missed out even on the IT revolution that transformed the country. Jyoti Basu may have made the first cellphone call in India in July 1995, but other cities basked in the sunshine sector. Take a look at the IT sector in Salt Lake Sector V. Most of the verticals in these IT companies are either at Bangalore or Hyderabad, leaving little scope for Kolkata to catch up with other metros.
The migration of the impoverished rural masses showcases the push-effect from land where productivity has stagnated since the Nineties. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee tried to leap-frog the crisis by hastily taking Bengal ahead the Singur and Nandigram way, but it boomeranged. Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, dumped land acquisition for big industries and banked on small-scale enterprises to avoid large-scale displacement, but has not been able to plug the outflow of labour.
Economist Anup Sinha sees nothing wrong in people moving out if they do so for stable job opportunities. But for the majority in Bengal, moving out is a matter of sheer survival. "Migration, as a result of push effect from land, is noticeably growing. This could have helped release the pressure on fragmented land holdings if these men were absorbed in non-agricultural sector. But the opportunities are mostly confined to high risk, unstable, informal and in the unorganized sector," says Sinha.
It also a pointer to the fact that the land reforms initiated by the Left Front regime have come a full circle. With 84.3% of the rural population having land holding of less than 1 hectare, the paltry income from farming is no longer enough for a family of five in times of rising costs.
The urban migration is a compounded effect of de-industrialization, shrinking of opportunities in public sector and lack of growth of sunrise industries that could have had a spin-off in the state economy. Bengal suffered a flight of capital and brain-drain right from the Sixties, pulling the state down to where it hangs now. The share of industry in state domestic product (SDP) fell from 24% in 1947 to 11.9% when the Left Front came to power. Now it has plummeted to 4.2%.
The Left may blame it on freight equalization. Rivals may accuse the Left of militant trade unionism. Mamata may be blamed for putting off industry through her rigid stand against acquisition. But the fact remains that Bengal doesn't have a single industry in the hope sector. The times, they have left us behind.

Come May 2014, Ranchi station will feel like Ranchi airport.
One of South Eastern Railway’s busiest junctions, which was also adjudged the best-kept station in the last fiscal, is all set to embrace an integrated surveillance system and will share the honour with four compeers — Muri, Bokaro, Tatanagar and Chakradharpur.
The hi-tech makeover at all the five stations will comprise closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance with IP-based cameras, under vehicle scanning systems (UVSS) for entry and exit points, door-frame metal detectors, parcel and personal baggage scanners and explosives detection and disposal facilities. These individual systems will be integrated by networking and monitored at centralised control rooms.
Preliminary work on the project — precisely, survey and identification of vulnerable points for installation of CCTV...
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cameras — has begun, while the real surveillance grind is expected to kick off next month.
“We have completed our survey at Ranchi and Muri, which is 60km from the capital station. To my knowledge unprotected areas have also been identified at the other stations in Dhanbad and Chakradharpur railway divisions. In Ranchi and Muri, system installation will begin next month,” confirmed A.K. Das, the senior divisional security commissioner of Ranchi.
Sources informed that the SER authorities were upgrading security systems across 11 stations under its jurisdiction — Kharagpur, Midnapore, Adra and Purulia in Bengal and Rourkela and Jharsugda in Odisha being the other six. The total estimated cost is around Rs 17 crore.
Ranchi and Muri will get around 30 CCTV cameras each. Senior RPF officers will man their control rooms.
At a time when station forces are faced with acute manpower crunch and foolproof security to trains and passengers remains a dream, technology is likely to buoy the confidence of the RPF, feels Ranchi DRM Gajanan Mallya.
“Once the system is in place, an entire station will be under real-time surveillance. Foolproof security of passengers can be ensured from criminal gangs that often drug and rob them,” Mallya said, adding that another important station in his division, Hatia, would be covered in the second phase of upgrade.
Currently, integrated surveillance systems exist at many big stations like Delhi and Chennai, where every passenger is required to screen their baggage like in airports to ensure that no objectionable items like explosives, inflammable substances and sharp tools are carried on board.
In Jharkhand, where 18 of the 24 districts are grappling with Left-wing extremism and many cities and towns have sleeper cells of terrorist outfits, the hi-tech vigil is expected to nip subversive efforts in the bud.
Das expects the integrated surveillance system to be in place at all the five stations within 11 months from the date of commencement.
“We hope to commission the systems by May next year,” he said.

After missing two completion deadlines, work on India’s first private Metro service — Rapid Metrorail Gurgaon (RMG) — is almost complete and is expected to be inaugurated in June.
According to RMG officials, five out of six Metro stations (except Gateway Tower) are ready. Also, work on signaling, electrification and laying of tracks has also been completed. Four of the five trains to be pressed into service have arrived at the site from China too.
However, an inspection by the safety commissioner of the railways — a crucial step — is yet to take place though trial runs on the 6.1-km-long track have been going on.
The project concessionaire — Rapid Metrorail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL) — will have to request the Northern Railways...
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to facilitate the inspection. The railways safety nod is mandatory before the service is opened to the public — as done with the Delhi Metro.
Though RMGL officials were not available for comments, sources said the launch will be star-studded with Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Union urban development minister Kamal Nath. In March, Sanjiv Rai, managing director of RMGL, had told HT that the service was expected to be thrown open to the public in May.
“We are giving final touches. We will be ready for an inspection by the commissioner of metro rail safety in April,” he had said.
After the safety inspection, 30-day service trials will be carried out to iron out remaining operational issues, if any.
The Rapid Metro service was supposed to start in January this year. Later, the launch was pushed to April.

नागपुर. जल्द ही नागपुर रेलवे स्टेशन पर यात्रियों को बेल्जियम के स्टेशनों पर यात्रियों को मिलनेवाली सुविधाएं मिल सकती हैं। इसके साथ ही नागपुर स्टेशन पर यात्रियों को दी जा रही सुविधा बेल्जियम के रेलवे स्टेशनों पर मुहैया कराई जा सकती है। शुक्रवार 24 मई को नागपुर रेलवे स्टेशन पर बेल्जियम से एक विशेष टीम यात्रियों की सुविधाओं के लिए अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्तर पर विचारों का आदान-प्रदान करेगी। नागपुर स्टेशन पर सुबह 9 बजे से शुरू होनेवाले निरीक्षण दौरे में उपराजधानी के स्टेशन पर वर्तमान स्थिति में उपलब्ध सुविधा यदि उन्हें पसंद आती है, तो उन सुविधाओं को वह बेल्जियम के रेलवे स्टेशनों पर उपलब्ध कराएंगे। निरीक्षण के बाद वह रेलवे अधिकारियों से बैठक कर अपने देश के रेलवे स्टेशनों की खूबियां भी बताएंगे।
और वही खूबियां नागपुर स्टेशन पर लाने के लिए वह मदद भी करेंगे। विशेष टीम में बेल्जियम रेलवे टेक्निकल डायरेक्टर...
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मार्क बीव्रिज और वास्तुतज्ञ एरीक केलेंस रहेंगे। वहीं दिल्ली से भी कुछ लोग इनसे जुड़कर नागपुर आएंगे।
अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्तर पर बेल्जियम व भारत के बीच रेलवे स्टेशनों पर यात्रियों को दी जानेवाली सुविधाओं का आदान-प्रदान करने का निर्णय लिया गया है। इसमें भारत के रेलवे स्टेशनों पर मिलनेवाली सुविधाओं का अभ्यास करने के लिए बेल्जियम द्वारा भारत के दो रेलवे स्टेशनों का चुनाव किया है, जिनमें जम्मू स्टेशन के साथ नागपुर रेलवे स्टेशन भी शामिल है। 24 मई की सुबह उपरोक्त अधिकारियों के साथ एक विशेष टीम नागपुर रेलवे स्टेशन पर पहुंच स्टेशन परिसर का जायजा लेगी। टीम स्टेशन के प्रतीक्षालय, प्लेटफार्म, रिजर्वेशन सेंटर, बेस किचन, लोको पायलेट प्रतीक्षालय आदि का निरीक्षण करेंगी। इनका अभ्यास कर वह अपने देश के स्टेशनों पर इसी तरह की सुविधा मुहैया कर सकते हैं।
निरीक्षण के बाद वह मंडल के मंडलीय प्रबंधक बृजेश दीक्षित के साथ व वरिष्ठ रेलवे अधिकारियों के साथ मिलकर स्टेशनों पर वर्तमान स्थिति में दी जानेवाली सुविधाओं को समझेंगे। वहीं अपने देश के स्टेशनों पर दी जानेवाली सुविधाओं की जानकारी देंगे। इनमें यदि नागपुर मंडल बेल्जियम के रेलवे स्टेशनों की सुविधा यहां लाना चाहे तो टीम के अधिकारी इसके लिए पूरा सहयोग देंगे।
ऐसे में भविष्य में नागपुर स्टेशन पर बेल्जियम रेलवे स्टेशन की तरह सुविधा मिलने की संभवना व्यक्त की जा रही है। नागपुर रेलवे स्टेशन अपने आप में एक इतिहास है। कई वर्षों बाद आर्थिक संकटों से निकलकर आज नागपुर स्टेशन एक सफल जंक्शन के रूप में पहचाना जाता है। नागपुर से रोजाना सैकड़ों गाडिय़ों का आवागमन होता है। रोजाना 15 हजार से ज्यादा यात्री इस स्टेशन की सुविधाओं पर निर्भर रहते हैं। ऐसे में बेल्जियम की टीम निरीक्षण के बाद होनेवाली बैठक में जंक्शन कीसफलता के बारे में भी चर्चा करेगी।
मालगाड़ी में आग लगने की जांच होगी, विस्फोटक पदार्थ लेकर जा रही मालगाड़ी मालगाड़ी में लगी आग की घटना की जांच आर्डिनेंस फैक्ट्री के महाप्रबंधक करेंगे। मंगलवार की शाम यह घटना हुई थी। 43 वैगन की मालगाड़ी भांदक से गुवहाटी के लिए सैन्य सामग्री ले कर जा रही थी। आग से मालगाड़ी में कई विस्फोट हुए थे।  सेना के नाम पर आरक्षित मालगाड़ी के तीसरे डिब्बें में सायं 7.20 बजे तुलजापुर स्टेशन के समीप अचानक आग लगी थी। घटना के तुरंत बाद ही डिब्बे को इंजन से अलग कर लिया गया था। डिब्बों में विस्फोटक वस्तुएं रहने से थोड़ी ही देर बाद एक बाद एक कई विस्फोट हुए थे, जिससे परिसर में खलबली मच गई थी। घटना की गंभीरता को देखते हुए तुलजापुर से नागपुर रेलवे मार्ग का ओएचई करंट बंद कर दिया गया था, जिससे यह मार्ग घंटे
भर ठप रहा। इसके चलते केरला एक्सप्रेस को सवा घंटे तक सेलू मार्ग पर आउटर सिग्नल पर खड़ा कर दिया गया था। बूटीबोरी अग्निशमन दल घटना स्थल पर पहुंच कर करीब दो घंटे बाद आग पर नियंत्रण पाया। घटना स्थल पर एअर फोर्स का अग्निशमन दल, आरपीएफ, जीआरपी व रेलवे अधिकारी पहुंचे थे। बताया जा रहा है कि आग लगने का कारण जांच के बाद ही पता चल पाएगा। घटना की तह तक पहुंचने के लिए ऑर्डिनेंस फैक्ट्री के महाप्रबंधक के नेतृत्व में एक समिति गठित की जा रही है। समिति की जांच के दायरे में वैगन में सामान रखने से लेकर गाड़ी जिस स्टेशन से छूटी वहां से घटना स्थल तक सफर में कहां-कहां रुकी, गाड़ी के संपर्क में कौन आए। कहीं डिब्बों में रखे सामान से छेड़छाड़ तो नहीं हुआ आदि चीजों की जांच होगी।

ALLAHABAD: Next time crush empty bottle of mineral water to make sure that it cannot be reused. Though ordinary, but this simple act can save someone's life in this sizzling summer. The business of refilling bottles with water, from washing lines along tracks, and re-selling it is witnessing a boom. These refilled bottles are sold to passengers travelling in general compartments of trains.
This zero-investment business results in handsome profit to suppliers of used bottles. Passengers often throw away empty bottles on tracks or leave it in trains. These bottles are then filled with normal water eithe r from taps on platforms or washing lines. The authorities have so far turned a blind eye to this flourishing trade that openly plays with the health of buyers.
Youth collecting discarded bottles can be...
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found at every railway stations. However a major chunk of them operates at the Allahabad Junction. Here, they can be seen loitering on the tracks, collecting empty bottles and filling them from pipes meant for supply water to trains' toilets. These youth target long-distance trains with a large number of passengers hailing from rural India. Hence, trains heading for Mumbai and Bihar are their favourite.
As the trains arrive, these sellers target the general compartment and that too from the opposite side of the platform as passengers sitting on this side find it hard to get down on the platform owing to heavy rush. In such a scenario, they have no option but to buy these recycled mineral water bottle being sold for Rs 5 or Rs 10.
The flip side is that there is no check on quality water being supplied. These bottles are collected from drains of washing lines or from the filth between the tracks and never cleaned before being refilled. Besides, water being supplied through washing lines too is not potable.
The business of making quick profit at the cost of buyers' health is conducted right under the nose of railway authorities and the RPF (Railway Protection Force). RPF inspector Anand Kumar said, "Such elements are on watch list. Small kids collecting discarded bottles have been apprehended repeatedly. However, the problem is that passengers continue to discard empty bottles at their seats. Besides, most of the juvenile homes refuse to house these kids owing to lack of space."
However, sources said that owing to tender age of these bottle-collectors, RPF was unable to book them under heinous criminal offences. Hence, they were often released after a warning. As such the business has continued unabated. Sources said that main culprits always go scotfree. Besides, the business is patronized by people who are well connected and profit is always shared.
Commenting on ailments caused by consumption of such water, former head of medicine department of the MLN Medical College Dr S K Shukla said that effects of drinking contaminated water can be immediate or may not be evident noticed for many years. These include gastrointestinal and stomach illnesses like nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhoea and even cholera. Many factors too affect the possible impact on health such as the age and general health status of the consumer, the type of contaminant, the amount of how long the person has been drinking such water etc.
If he or she suffers from Cholera, which is an acute intestinal infection, it causes acute diarrhoea that in turn leads to severe dehydration. It also may be accompanied by vomiting. If not treated, dehydration may lead to death. About 20% of cholera patients develop diarrhoea to the extent of severe dehydration, while another 80% to 90 % develop only moderate type of diarrhoea.
Similarly, typhoid is a bacterial disease caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi, present in water contaminated with the feces or urine of infected people. After an incubation period of one to three weeks, infected individuals develop symptoms such as fever, headaches, diarrhoea, an enlarged spleen and liver and reddish-coloured spots on the chest. Symptoms may range from mild to severe and individuals become carriers after the acute illness.

ALLAHABAD: Due to heavy rush of passengers during the ongoing summer season, railway administration has decided to run a weekly summer special between Patna and Bengaluru. Train number 06513/06514 will comprise of 17 general class coaches only and though it would not pass through Allahabad, it will touch Chheoki railway station located in the vicinity of the Sangam city.
Providing more information about the train, PRO of North Central Railway Manzar Karrar said train number 06513 will depart from Bengaluru at 10:10 am and pass through Bengaluru Cantt, Jollarpetai, Katpadi junction, Arakonnam, Chennai, Gudur, Warrangal, Ramagundam, Sirpur Kagaz Nagar, Ballarshah, Nagpur, Itarsi, Piparia, Katni, Satna, Manikpur, Chheoki, Mirzapur, and Mughalsarai before terminating at Patna at 9:50 am.
During the return journey, this train will leave Patna at 8:20 pm and reach Bengaluru...
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at 9:00 pm after completing its two-day course. This train will run from Bengaluru every Tuesday from May 21 to June 25 and from Patna every Thursday from May 23 to June 27.

रेलवे ने अपनी रिजर्वेशन प्रणाली को पुख्ता और प्रभावी करने के लिए 100 करोड़ की लागत से आईआरसीटीसी साइट को नए सिरे से तैयार किया है। इसके बाद प्रतिदिन चार लाख ई टिकट बुक हो सकेंगे।
एक वरिष्ठ अधिकारी ने कहा कि हमने सिस्टम को और बेहतर बनाया है। उच्च क्षमता के सर्वर लगाए हैं। अभी हम प्रति मिनट 1200 टिकट बुक कर रहे हैं। लेकिन अब यह संख्या 2000 हो जाएगी।
इतना ही नहीं आगामी भविष्य में एक मिनट में करीब 7200 टिकटें बुक की जा सकेंगी। 2012 में हम प्रति दिन 3.67 लाख टिकट बुक करते थे। अब 4.15 लाख टिकट बुक हो सकेंगे।
रेलवे में गर्मी की छुट्टियों के दौरान यात्रियों की संख्या में बढ़ोतरी हो जाती है। रेलवे ने...
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यात्रियों को उचित सुविधा देने के लिए साइट में आधुनिक सुविधाएं मुहैया कराई हैं।
पूर्व रेल मंत्री पवन बंसल ने बजट में टिकट सिस्टम में बेहतरी तथा तेजी लाने की घोषणा की थी।

Signal conversion for double line to be taken up soon
Rail traffic on the new Valadi-Kallakudi Palanganatham BG section is expected to start soon with the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Southern Circle, Bangalore, according his statutory sanction on Wednesday. Sources told The Hindu that the CRS, who inspected the double track near Tiruchi last week, has prescribed an initial speed limit of 80 km per hour on the 25-km.
Working under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the CRS conducted the day-long inspection travelling on a motor trolley at first followed by a high-speed trial.
The mandatory inspection was done to assess the standard of the new track and to check railway stations, overhead electrical equipment, level crossings, bridges,...
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and traction sub stations .
With the clearance, the work of converting the signal from single line to double line would be taken up and completed shortly, say the sources.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Government of India enterprise executing the doubling project, will carry out the signal conversion work.
The base work of installing signals in the up line (towards Chennai from Tiruchi) and down line (towards Tiruchi from Chennai) are over and only connection had to be given, a railway official said.
A new panel board installed as part of the doubling project at the new station building in Pullambadi, falling between Valadi and Kallakudi Palanganatham, would be commissioned soon. Similar panel boards had already been installed at Valadi and Lalgudi railway stations. The sources said the Kattur railway station en-route would be downgraded as a halt station.
The double line forms part of the 270-km Villupuram-Dindigul doubling project being executed by the RVNL. The stretch from Valadi to Ariyalur (50 km) was taken up on priority to ease congestion, especially at night when traffic reaches its peak. It is a crucial segment of the Tiruchi-Villupuram chord line section.
Work commenced simultaneously in two portions – between Valadi and Kallakudi Palanganatham (25 km) and from Kallakudi Palanganatham to Ariyalur (25 km). Doubling work in the Kallakudi Palanganatham-Ariyalur stretch is expected to be completed by September.
The sources say congestion would get reduced to some extent once rail traffic becomes operational in the stretch. However, substantial reduction in congestion could be realised once the remaining stretch too gets commissioned.

Purulia: A bogey of a goods train caught fire at Purulia railway station which was doused by fire tenders, railway sources said.
No casualty or loss to property was reported in the incident.
The fire was detected in the coal-laden train, on its way from Bilaspur to Durgapur, when it stopped at the Purulia railway station in the early hours this morning.
It took more than an hour to douse the flame.
Five local trains and an express train were delayed for about an hour following the incident.
The affected bogey was detached while the train resumed its journey towards Durgapur, sources said.
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With the cause of the fire not known, the authorities have ordered an enquiry.

CHENNAI: The rails on the Arakkonam-Mahendrawadi section of Southern Railway, where 11 coaches of the Muzzafarpur-Yeshwantpur Express derailed on April 10, were welded together using a technique considered the best. But this is not foolproof. One person was killed and 32 injured in the April 10 accident.
A study by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), which develops safe and cost-effective technology, has revealed that "about 50% of weld-failure incidents are attributed to poor quality of execution at the site." A large number of welders in zonal railways don't have competency certificates and carry out short cuts to complete a job quickly to open a line for traffic.
The Alumino-Thermic welding technique is quick and supposed to minimize the time needed to block traffic.
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Sources said the chances of such situations occurring in Southern Railway were high because most of the trunk routes were busy stretches where prolonged traffic blocks would lead to disruption of services. Hence, "tracks are welded together using AT welds and engineers keep on monitoring the joints frequently," said a senior official.
The wear and tear of tracks increases when heavy trains are operated at top speeds. Under pressure to move more freight, the railways has increased axle load of goods trains from 20.32 tonnes to 22.82 tonnes. Speed of passenger trains has gone up to nearly 160kmph.
All these put pressure on rail joints and weld joints. The Muzzaffarpur-Yeshwantpur Express was travelling at 103kmph when a rail weld failed and coaches derailed.
The RDSO studied AT weld failures reported over three years and found that the process used to do the welding was not good and had resulted in accidents. And railway engineers have been debating the technique to minimize risks at various seminars.
Three RDSO officials who presented a paper at one such seminar say AT welds have inherent weaknesses because of the welding technique. "Efforts are on to reduce the number of such welds by using other technologies like rolling longer rails, carrying out flash butt welding," says the paper.