CHENNAI: More than 10 lakh people use suburban trains in the city every day but Southern Railway does not appear to care about whether they have basic facilities or the trains run on time.Many stations in the city do not have drinking water or proper toilets and trains are usually not cleaned. But Southern Railway's Chennai division has not taken any steps to obtain feedback from commuters. Southern Railway's page on Facebook carries this warning: "This page should not be used as a complaint redressal mechanism." The message sums up its approach to feedback. Suburban and non-express trains are revenue generators, but the ticket-purchasing public do not have say in service quality unlike those who use similar utilities like Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, which proactively gathers data from passengers. Southern Railway follows an archaic method of gathering inputs from the travelling public: Through rail users' consultative committees at divisional and...
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zonal levels. These committees, which have various representatives, including commuters who are either nominated or elected, meet more as routine and not for serious business. Suburban rail users consultative committees hardly ever hold meetings.
"Complaints presented in the meetings are never resolved," said S Mohanram, a member of divisional rail users' consultative committee. "Railways has asked members of zonal rail users' consultative committees to raise only two points. There are a hundred things to talk about. How do you identify just two issues?"
Most members only discuss problems that affect them personally and not about common problems that commuters face. "Southern Railway has not yet addressed suggestions and complaints discussed more than nine months ago. Officials agree that the suburban train network is not in good shape, but for some reason do not do anything about the issue," Mohanram said.
"Trains and stations are dirty, approach roads to stations are often encroached upon by vendors and people illegally set up parking lots outside," said P Loganathan, a regular commuter. "Things have gone from bad to worse over the past five years."
"We earlier had plans to collect feedback from commuters but they did not take off. Chennai division is too bogged down with operating long distance trains on time from two of its major stations at Egmore and Central. Everything else is put on the back burner," said a senior railways officer.
The railway ministry announced two years ago that it intended to hive off suburban operations so an autonomous body could operate the network, but it has not taken steps to implement the proposal.

NEW DELHI: Having called the ministerial reshuffle last October as the last of UPA-2, PM Manmohan Singh sat quietly to watch 85-year-old Sisram Ola read out his oath of office and secrecy on Monday.Ola was overlooked for a ministerial perch in every rejig over four years but the old warhorse held on, optimistic "he would have to be sworn in before elections in Rajasthan". On Monday, he read his oath smoothly, if slowly, to claim age was on his side.The rejig showed that Congress had made a virtue of a necessity. Forced into filling vacancies created by the sacking of ministers of law and railways over scandals, the ruling camp moved to plug the gaps in its armour ahead of the busy political calendar.Given the eight inductions led by Ola, Girija Vyas, Oscar Fernandes and KS Rao, the exercise appeared political rather than driven by any grand idea to serve...
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administration. The big idea of shifting Mallikarjuna Kharge to the coveted Rail Bhavan was sealed on May 10 as consolation for his losing out for Karnataka's chief ministership.
Politics was written over the exercise. Ola's sulk threatened to stoke larger grievance among Jats in Rajasthan that goes to polls in November. Thwarted by detractor and CM Ashok Gehlot for four years, Ola has been rewarded in the nick of time, ironically, to boost his inhouse foe's chance of re-election. However, the five-term MP who first became an MLA in 1957 did not appear to mind.
Vyas came in as another Rajasthan face, only because fellow Brahmin C P Joshi was drafted into the Congress organization a day before. Vyas has been in limbo since UPA-2 came into being, having even been dangled the Speakership bait.
When Rao bowed to the PM and party chief Sonia Gandhi, he was another ambition fulfilled, having thrown a fit at being passed over in October. As a move, Congress views it as another representation for Andhra where it is hard pressed to salvage the situation.
Fernandes's elevation to the plum highways ministry was seen as much a reward for loyalty as to sugarcoat his easing out of AICC.
The selection of three SC/ST leaders out of four as ministers of state — JD Seelam, Santosh Chowdhary and Manikrao Gavit - appeared to serve the party design to make use of vacancies to score whatever points possible with these communities.

BANGALORE: Bangaloreans will have to wait longer to commute on light trains, a globally tried and tested form of mass rapid transit system. For, the state government has been sitting on the detailed project report on Light Rail Transit (LRT) project over the past six months. Light trains appear relevant in the light of all the controversy generated by the Namma Metro realignment and consequent land acquisition problems as LRT does not require huge tracts of land and can be run along streets like trams of yesteryear. LRT was proposed for Bangalore after a UK-based consultancy firm tasked with suggesting the best feeder rail network for the city favoured light trains over monorail. The Bangalore Airport Rail Link (BARL), the nodal agency for implementing it, then submitted a draft DPR on the Rs 6,400-crore LRT in December 2012. The DPR has proposed two LRT corridors spanning a length of 41.3...
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km, one from JP Nagar to Hebbal (31.3 km ) and the other from Toll Gate on Magadi Road up to Peripheral Ring Road (10 km ) on MagadiRoad.TheLRThasbeen planned to provide smooth connectivity in areas where Namma Metro corridors are absent and also as feeder lines to Metro routes.
However, a high-level governmental meeting chaired by the chief secretary on this has not been held since December. A meeting scheduled for Monday was postponed as the chief secretary had other assignments in New Delhi. Sources in the BARL said the meeting had been deferred twice in past two months.
Speaking to TOI, BARL director (projects ) C Jayaram said the project can reach cabinet only after the high level meeting clears the DPR.
Asked about land acquisition and other related issues, a senior BARL official said the same would be made public only after getting government nod. "As much of the corridor falls along the Outer Ring Road, there won't be many land acquisition problems. Also, the space required for corridor construction would be less compared to Metro," he added.
What is LRT?
Light Rail Transit is electric power based mass rapid transit system. The passenger capacity will be lower than Metro. Light trains are similar to trams. It is easier to construct and costs less compared to other forms of train networks. LRT is said to be flexible as it can be built on dedicated viaducts as also along streets at the surface level.

ALLAHABAD: Extending a new facility to the passengers, Indian Railways is now offering passengers to book retiring rooms at the railway station through the IRCTC website.Instead of arranging for accommodation anywhere else, passengers may now book a place in the retiring rooms at the stations through the website.In this connection, Director Traffic Commercial (G) SK Ahirwar in the Railway Board has written letters (dated June 6, 2013) to all zonal railways to begin offering the facility.All zonal railways across the country have been advised to take necessary steps to facilitate booking at railway stations where the retiring rooms exist.Advance booking can be done through internet on a ticket purchased through PRS during the reservation period prescribed for purchase of tickets. The system will validate authenticity of the ticket.Booking of retiring rooms will be permitted only against confirmed/RAC tickets and will not be permitted against wait-listed ticket, card tickets or platform...
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tickets. The customer will have to register on the website for the booking and give PNR number for the transaction to be linked to PRS booking. On one PRS ticket, up to three retiring rooms can be booked. The booking will also be available on arrival at the railway station on PRS/UTS/card ticket.
A genuine passenger holding a general ticket for more than 500 kms will be allowed to avail of the facility at the railway station. Chief commercial managers have been authorised to relax the condition of 500 kms for specific locations based on local conditions.
On cancellation of ticket, the booking of retiring room will be cancelled automatically and will attract cancellation charges of about 10% 48 hours ahead of the day of checking in.
There will be deduction of about 50% if cancellation of the ticket is done within a period of less than 48 hours. But, there will be no refund if cancellation is done on the day of occupation.
Booking will be permitted for a period of 12 hours or 24 hours as per the need and in any case for not more than a period of 48 hours. Check in and check-out time should be between 8 am and 8 pm.
Passenger booking the retiring room needs to carry one of the approved five photo ID cards, namely Voter Identity Card, Passport, PAN Card, driving License, photo identity card issued by Central/state government, student identity card with photograph issued by recognised school/college for students, passbook of a nationalised bank along with photograph and credit card by banks with laminated photographs.

GURGAON: Two minor girls were kidnapped from Rewari railway station within the past fortnight. Yet a peek into the security arrangements Gurgaon railway station reveals how vulnerable place remains. There is no security check at the entrance to the station. The station is yet to have CCTV cameras installed. There is nobody to oversee the baggage of passengers baggage entering the station. The fence on the other side of the railway station, which is meant to block entry, is freely used by common people and anti-social elements who easily make their way through the holes in the fence. The station is also frequented by stray animals, especially dogs. "Gurgaon railway station is one of the most crowded stations in Haryana but the infrastructure is sub-par. There is no effort to upgrade the station. There is total lack of seriousness on the part of the administration and state government to pressure...
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the railways to upgrade the railway station. Our government wakes up only when there is an accident and loss of life," says Manish Yadav, a resident of DLF -II Gurgaon.
There is no metal detector or any security check at the gate of the Gurgaon railway station and anybody can enter the complex.
Even the signboard displaying rules and regulations was lying in a corner near the Government Railway Police (GRP) booth at the entrance of the gate, with the writing on it barely legible.
"So far there has been no report of crime being committed at the Gurgaon railway station. We are going to discuss the security status of the railway station with top officials of Northern Railway," says Ajay Michael, PRO Northern Railways Delhi Division.
When TOI visited the railways station, two GRP men were seen talking to someone and allowing the passengers to enter the station without the mandatory security check.
Northern Railway sources say there are three security officials on shift at any given time. Passengers in the waiting room fear for their safety and security.
"When the railway stations in Delhi have all the necessary security arrangements, why is there no security here in Gurgaon? This is really surprising," says Pavan Kumar a passenger.

MUMBAI: The ambitious 63 km-long elevated Churchgate-Virar rail corridor again gained traction. A joint inspection was carried out on Saturday by officials of the Planning Commission, the railway board and state agencies to sort out critical issues so that there are no hurdles in the project's implementation.The project has been delayed because of difference of opinion between the state government, the Planning Commission and the railways on the quantum of floor space index and relocation of utilities.A senior railway official said, "This development augurs well for the project and will help speed up the execution of the bidding process. A joint inspection report is likely to be prepared within a fortnight, following which meetings will be held to iron out remaining differences.""The team spent eight hours surveying the alignment and the eight land parcel where commercial exploitation of land is proposed," an official said. "Important projects like Metro were delayed...
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because of divergent view points. This kind of teamwork can prevent cost escalations due to delays."

AHMEDABAD: The Government Railway Police (GRP) caught a fakir near the Sabarmati station with money he had allegedly looted from the Smriti Jain Mandir in Sabarmati on Monday. The fakir was held when GRP were inspecting the security area for Rath Yatra to be held next month.Mohammad Khurdus Salman, 60 was taken into custody after his movement was found to be suspicious by the inspecting team. He was carrying a bag with over Rs1 lakh which he had looted from temples across the city. "Mohammad used to target temples. He would do a recce for days and loot donation boxes at night," said N N Rathva, sub-inspector, GRP. Mohammad had allegedly looted two Jain temples in Ghatlodia area last month."He revealed everything after we interrogated him," said Rathva. He added, "The money recovered was all of smaller denominations which made it clear it was from donation boxes." Police recovered Rs...
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1,05,440 from Mohammad.

A 43-year-old man ended his life by jumping in front of a train near Manapparai railway station.The body of V. Moorthy alias Krishnamurthy (43), of Sevalur village near Manapparai, was found on the railway track between Manapparai and Samuthiram railway stations on Monday morning.According to police, family squabble had prompted Moorthy to take the extreme step. Police sources said Moorthy, an alcoholic, has attempted self-immolation at his house on Sunday night.As Moorthy tried to embrace his daughter, his wife pulled the girl aside and rushed out of the house.Upon noticing this, the locals saved Moorthy and rushed him to Manapparai Government Hospital with burn injuries.On Monday, Moorthy was taken to a private hospital by ambulance for treatment. Upon reaching the hospital, he pushed aside the ambulance driver and rushed towards the railway track and ended his life by jumping in front of a train, railway police sources said.
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The railway key man noticed the mutilated body and alerted the Manapparai station master.
The information was passed on to the Government Railway Police (GRP) who identity the victim and conducted inquiries with the family members. The Railway Police, Tiruchi has registered a case.
Moorthy, an alcoholic, had earlier attempted to set himself afire on Sunday night

Thiruvalla railway station, the only stop in the district for trains where pilgrims to south India’s famous pilgrimage centre of Sabarimala could alight, is said to face neglect, both at the hands of the Railways and the people’s representatives.Despite Thiruvalla’s reputation of being a Non-Resident Indian pocket and cultural capital of Central Travancore, development eluded the railway station and people were left to bear the hollow promises made by the authorities concerned, said Bishop Sunny Abraham of the United Church of India.The bishop was addressing a dharna on Monday, jointly organised by the Railway Passengers’ Association and the Rail View Residents’ Association before the railway station in Thiruvalla, demanding improved passenger facilities and stop for all trains here.Inaugurating the dharna, Victor T. Thomas, Kerala Congress (M) district president, alleged it was a shame on the Southern Railways to deny stop for nine major trains such as Kochuveli-Yashvantpur Gareeb Rath, Kochuveli-Dehradun...
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(Saturdays), Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai superfast, Kanyakumari-Dibrugrah Vivek Express (Saturdays), Kochuveli-Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram –Kozhikode Janashatabdi Express, at an important station like Thiruvalla.
Cement yard
Mr. Thomas further said nowhere in the country one could find a cement yard operating so near the platforms, posing health risks to the passengers. He called upon the Railways to take immediate steps to shift the cement yard to a more convenient location near Nalukody. Addressing the dharna, P.D. George, former Revenue Divisional Officer, alleged that certain vested interests were marring the prospects of railway development in Thiruvalla. Mr. George said the Railway authorities should realise the fact that Thiruvalla railway station had been catering to the travel needs of a large number of people residing in the far-off hilly tracts of Konni, Ranni, and in the low-lying Upper Kuttanad region.
The daily revenue collection, through ticket sales alone, at the Thiruvalla railway station was said to be between Rs.3.5 lakh to Rs.4.5 lakh, he said.
Communist Party of India district secretary K. Ananthagopan and the Bharatiya Janata Party State vice-president K.R. Prathapachandra Varma alleged that the loud promises on railway development made by the local MP had turned out to be hollow. The fate of the much-publicised multiplex project of the Railways in Thiruvalla still remained a non-starter, they alleged.
‘Nowhere in the country one could find a cement yard operating so near the platforms, posing health risks to the passengers’.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Vijayawada discussed on how to prevent the possible Maoist attacks and other crimes on moving trains or on isolated railway stations. At a security meeting held here, GRP Superintendent of Police Ch. Syam Prasad, Guntakal Division Railway SP Munu Swamy, RPF Divisional Security Commissioner Ramesh Chandra and officers from about 10 districts talked about impending threats to the railway passengers and properties. Following the Maoist attack on Dhanbad-Patna Intercity Express near Jamui in Bihar on June 13, in which three persons were killed and six others were injured and Chhattisgarh naxal attack killing 29 people, including some Congress party and Salwa Judum leaders on May 25, the railway police were asked to carry weapons compulsorily while on beat duties.
Joint beats
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The officers decided to conduct joint beats on moving trains and on platforms, particularly in naxal-affected districts, forests and danger zones. The GRP or the RPF can open fire, if necessary on thieves to protect themselves and the passengers, said the officials. The GRP SPs and the RPF divisional chief said that the police should be alert while on the moving trains in the naxal-dominated areas and keenly observe the bushes and forests along the tracks. As regards thefts by inter-state dacoit gangs, Mr. Syam Prasad said that visible policing is necessary on platforms and on running trains to prevent looting in bogies. The beat constables should carry weapon, torch lights and walkie-talkies and the concerned DSPs and CIs should monitor the beats regularly. Speaking to the newsmen later, Mr. Syam Prasad said that robbery cases in trains have come down during this summer, when compared to the previous years. Vigil has been stepped up in railway stations to avoid movement of anti-social elements. The GRP and RPF will conduct joint operations for providing safe journey to the passengers, he said.
RPF Assistant Commandant Ponna Raju, Vijayawada Railway DSP Rajashekar, Guntur DSP Kasim Baig, Nellore Railway DSP Srinivas and police officers from other districts participated.

There has been a demand to make Gulbarga a divisional headquarters: The appointment of M. Mallikarjun Kharge as Railway Minister on Monday has revived the hopes of people of the Hyderabad Karnataka region that their demands on improving the rail connectivity in the region would become a reality.Giving the Railway portfolio to Mr. Kharge, who missed the chance to become Chief Minister thrice, is seen in political circles as a recognition by the high command of his party loyalty .With Mr. Kharge heading of the Railway Ministry, the chances of Gulbarga getting a railway divisional headquarters, as recommended by the Sareen Committee several decades ago, appears to be bright. Hyderabad Karnataka, which got a raw deal as far as railway network was concerned, can now look to Mr. Kharge undoing the injustice done to the region so far.
Instrumental
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Mr. Kharge, who was elected from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency in the 2009 elections and made Minister for Labour and Employment, took several steps including sanctioning high-tech super speciality ESIC hospitals in different parts of the country and opening medical colleges in the ESIC hospitals. He was also instrumental in sanctioning an ESIC Medical Complex, with a medical college, dental college, pharmacy and other paramedical institutes and a super speciality ESIC hospital in Gulbarga.
President Pranab Mukerjee, who was then the Union Finance Minister, had laid the foundation for the ESIC super-speciality hospital and medical complex in Gulbarga, which is in the advanced stage of construction. The Medical Council of India is understood to have given permission for admitting 100 students for MBBS course for 2013–14 at the ESIC medical college in the city.
Milestone
Heading the Railway Ministry is yet another milestone in the long political innings of Mr. Kharge who has the unique achievement of not having lost even one election.
Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Umakant Nigudgi congratulated Mr. Kharge. Congress party workers burst crackers and distributed sweets to express their happiness.

As the water in the Yamuna is expected to touch the warning level at Old Railway Bridge here within the next day or two, residents living along the banks have been evacuated and State officials are on standby to face any adverse situation.With 8.06 lakh cusec having been released upstream at the Hathnikund barrage on Monday, the water in the Yamuna is expected to reach over 204 metres within the next two days. “At present, the water levels are normal and expected to be about 207.20 metres by 11 p.m. on Wednesday,” said Irrigation & Flood Control Department Chief Engineer V.P.S. Tomar. He added that the local rainfall is a significant contributor to the water level. “This is what the forecast is for now but it may be revised depending on the catchment areas.”Delhi Chief Secretary D. M. Spolia reviewed the flood control preparations and instructed the Revenue Department to...
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evacuate families from areas adjoining the Yamuna by Tuesday noon.
Mr. Spolia said setting up of tents and camps should be completed by midnight. He told the agencies to monitor the stability of the Eastern Yamuna Bandh, keeping in view the highest discharge expected from Hathini Kund and instructed them to submit daily reports on the status of flood in his office by 6.30 p.m.
The Office of the Department of Revenue’s Deputy Commissioner (East) is coordinating the flood control mechanisms. “We have set up additional tents at three to four locations and deployed 13 additional boats to the existing 40,” said a source.

While two Karnataka stalwarts have been rewarded with major portfolios for the Congress’ victory in the recent Assembly elections, the Union Cabinet reshuffle on Monday has redeployed forces for retaining power in Rajasthan. The State goes to polls in November.Both Mallikarjun Kharge and Oscar Fernandes, hailing from Karnataka, have been given the charge of the Railways and Road Transport and Highways Ministries respectively replacing C.P Joshi, who held both the portfolios until his induction in the party’s organisation.Rajasthan has been accommodated with as many berths in the Union Cabinet to make up for the loss of Dr. Joshi in the form of Sis Ram Ola and Girija Vyas.Mr. Kharge will be the seventh Railway Minister and Mr. Fernandes the third to steer the Road Ministry during the UPA’s second term in office.The Congress, which is keen on improving the functioning of the Railways, has passed the baton to its fourth...
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leader in less than one year after taking over the Ministry from the Trinamool Congress which quit the UPA.
Similarly, the Congress has failed to provide stability even in the Road Transport Ministry, posting three persons in just about four years.
In the case of the Railways, three TMC leaders Mamata Banerjee, Dinesh Trivedi and Mukul Roy worked as Ministers.
The Congress started its Railway innings after a gap of 16 years with Dr. Joshi but he made way for Pawan Kumar Bansal. However, following bribery charges Mr. Bansal had to quit the post. That got Dr. Joshi back into the Rail Bhawan only to take the train to the organisation giving way to Mr. Kharge.
Kamal Nath’s stint at the Road Transport Ministry was for about 18 months, making way for Dr. Joshi, who was shifted out of Rural Development. Like Mr. Nath, Dr. Joshi too failed to put the Highways on the road to development. Now Mr. Fernandes, considered close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has been vested with the responsibility to rectify the situation.

The news of auctioning the historic Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock Bridge across the Godavari shortly by the Railway Board came as a rude shock to the people of Rajahmundry as well as East and West Godavari district.In a recent meeting, the General Manager of South Central Railway informed the local MLA that the Railway Board had taken a decision to auction the Bridge as scrap.Immediately, the MLA appealed to Rajahmundry MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar to keep the decision of the Railway Board in abeyance and then represent it to Union Railway Minister and State Minister.The issue, which has been hanging fire for long, has come to the fore again, when Union Minister of State for Railways Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy came to Rajahmundry in the month of December, 2012.After serving the Indian Railways for over a century, the Havelock Bridge was abandoned.After the news was broke out, historians, academicians, intellectuals, elite...
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and non-government organisations along with political parties decided to take up agitations to protect the historical monument.

The news of auctioning the historic Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock Bridge across the Godavari shortly by the Railway Board came as a rude shock to the people of Rajahmundry as well as East and West Godavari district.In a recent meeting, the General Manager of South Central Railway informed the local MLA that the Railway Board had taken a decision to auction the Bridge as scrap.Immediately, the MLA appealed to Rajahmundry MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar to keep the decision of the Railway Board in abeyance and then represent it to Union Railway Minister and State Minister.The issue, which has been hanging fire for long, has come to the fore again, when Union Minister of State for Railways Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy came to Rajahmundry in the month of December, 2012.After serving the Indian Railways for over a century, the Havelock Bridge was abandoned.After the news was broke out, historians, academicians, intellectuals, elite...
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and non-government organisations along with political parties decided to take up agitations to protect the historical monument.